Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 132:8
Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.
8. The people’s prayer that Jehovah will occupy the resting-place (1Ch 28:2) prepared for Him; that His Presence may accompany the symbol of it. The first line is an adaptation of the watchword used when the Ark started to find a resting-place for the Israelites in their wanderings. See Num 10:33; Num 10:35. In 2Ch 6:41-42 the words of the Psalm are quoted at the close of Solomon’s prayer at the Dedication of the Temple, and some commentators suppose that in Psa 132:8 ff. the Psalmist carries us on into the Solomonic period; but it is simpler and more natural to suppose that he is still describing David’s translation of the Ark to Zion.
the ark of thy strength ] See 1Sa 5:7; 1Sa 6:19 ff.; Psa 78:61.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Arise, O Lord, into thy rest – Into that which is appointed for its permanent place of repose, that it may no longer be removed from spot to spot. This is spoken of the ark, considered as the place where God, by an appropriate symbol, abode. That symbol – the Shechinah – rested on the cover of the ark. The same language was used by Solomon at the dedication of the temple: Now, therefore, arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength, 2Ch 6:41.
Thou, and the ark of thy strength – The ark, the symbol of the divine power, as if the power of God resided there, or as if the Almighty had his abode there. Perhaps the language was derived from the fact that the ark, in the wars of the Hebrews against their foes, was a symbol of the divine presence and protection – that by which the divine power was put forth.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 132:8-9
Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy strength.
Blessings on the sanctuary
I. The temple is here called the place of rest, or the abiding place of God.
II. The temple, gorgeous as it was, was incomplete and valueless without the ark. In all ages the ark in the Temple is its life. Still the quick heart within the man, and you will have the stately skeleton soon. Withdraw the magic vapour, and the wheels whirr no longer, and the most exquisite contrivances are mute and motionless machinery. Take the breath from the great organs heart, and in vain you bid it discourse its harmonies.
III. Look at the other blessings which are asked for, either obviously or by direct implication in the psalm.
1. The ark of Gods strength in the Temple implies that Gods power is in the Temple, and He waits to exert it in the Word, in the ministers appeals, in the peoples prayers.
2. The prayer proceeds to ask that the priests may be clothed with righteousness, which is, in fact, a petition for universal purity. It is a prayer not only for us who minister, but for you who hearken, that we may, all of us, be robed always, robed already, in the new linen, clean and white, in which the saints were seen in heaven.
3. The third blessing that is asked for is holy joy in God, which has its foundation in oneness with God, both in favour and feeling, and which has its outlet in the appropriate expressions of praise. (W. M. Punshon, LL. D.)
The gracious presence of God in His own ordinances, an object of earnest desire to every acceptable worshipper
I. The glorious Object to whom the people of God present their supplication, in the view of a solemn appearance before God in the ordinances of His worship–Jehovah Himself.
1. He, to whom this great name belongs, is the independent, self-existent God, whose being is in and of Himself; and who gives being to all His words and works.
2. He is the eternal, and, consequently, the unchangeable God.
3. He is the fountain of all blessedness, as well as of all being. Indeed, if He is the one, he must needs be the other. If He is independent, He cannot but be all-sufficient.
4. He is Israels own God. In our applications to Him, therefore, on this and on every other occasion, we ought still to view Him as Jehovah, our God: our God by His own gracious grant and promise; our God by virtue of that everlasting covenant, which is sealed to every worthy communicant at the sacramental table. This will encourage us both to be fervent in our supplications for His presence, and confident in our expectations of it.
II. The place into which God is here invited, or where His presence is desired; called, in the text, His rest. The Church of Christ may be called Gods rest on a twofold account.
1. On account of His Divine pleasure and satisfaction in her, much beyond the pleasure that a weary or burdened person has in a place or state of rest.
2. On account of His constant and perpetual residence in her.
III. The invitation which they humbly, yet confidently, address to Him. Arise. The manner of expression here used, especially when applied to the Church, intimates the following things.
1. That, in taking possession of His rest, it is necessary that God should make signal displays of His power.
2. That there may be times when God seems, in human reckoning, inactive and negligent about the affairs of His Church.
3. That though Zion is Gods rest, there is, and always will be, much work for Him to accomplish in her.
IV. The manner in which He was desired and expected to accept the invitation. They did not ask Him to be present, unless in a manner adapted to the dispensation under which they lived, and under those symbols by which His presence among them was always exhibited and secured. They only wished Him to be present, along with the ark of His strength. This imports–
1. That the people of God had an earnest desire after the symbol itself, and expected not to enjoy the presence of God, in the same comfortable manner, without it.
2. That they could not be satisfied with the symbol, without the thing signified and represented by it.
3. But the principal thing to be attended to about this ark of Gods strength was its being the most lively type of Christ. This intimates–
(1) That they desired the presence of Christ as Mediator, and the benefit of His mediation, as well as the presence of God Himself. Indeed, these two can never be separated.
(2) That they neither expected the presence of God, nor desired it, otherwise than through Christ. Out of Christ God is a consuming fire.
V. Improvement of the subject. It affords us–
1. Matter of wonder, gratitude, and praise; in that we enjoy the symbols of Gods presence, and have access to worship Him according to His own appointment.
2. Matter of reproof to all who satisfy themselves with outward privileges, and matter of warning to all who enjoy them, against such a fatal mistake.
3. Matter of encouragement to all in this company who have business with God to-day.
4. Matter of consolation to all those who mourn for the low state of the Church in our day, and for the very low state of the work of God in her.
5. Matter of trial to all present; particularly to those who intend to eat the sacramental bread and drink the sacramental cup. (John Young, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou and the ark of thy strength.] Using the same expressions which Solomon used when he dedicated the temple, 2Ch 6:41-42. There are several difficulties in these passages. Ephratah may mean the tribe of Ephraim; and then we may understand the place thus: “I have learned that the ark had been in the tribe of Ephraim, and I have seen it at Kirjath-jearim, or Field of the woods; but this is not a proper place for it, for the Lord hath chosen Jerusalem.” It is true that the ark did remain in that tribe from the days of Joshua to Samuel, during three hundred and twenty-eight years; and thence it was brought to Kirjath-jearim, where it continued seventy years, till the commencement of the reign of David over all Israel.
But if we take Ps 132:6-8, not as the continuation of David’s vow, but as the words of the captives in Babylon, the explanation will be more plain and easy: “We have heard, O Lord, from our fathers, that thy tabernacle was formerly a long time at Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim. And our history informs us that it has been also at Kirjath-jearim, the fields of the wood; and afterwards it was brought to Jerusalem, and there established: but Jerusalem is now ruined, the temple destroyed, and thy people in captivity. Arise, O Lord, and re-establish thy dwelling-place in thy holy city!” See Calmet and others on this place.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Arise, i.e. arise and come. One word put for two, as Gen 43:33, marvelled (i.e. marvelled looking) one at another; and Gen 43:34, he took messes, i.e. he took and sent messes, as our translation renders it. And this word is very proper in this place, because it was to be used by Gods appointment when the ark was to be removed from one place to another, Num 10:35, as now it was from the tabernacle in Zion to the temple in Moriah, upon which occasion this and the two following verses were used by Solomon, 2Ch 6:41,42.
Into thy rest; into thy resting-place, the temple, so called Isa 66:1, where thou hast now a fixed habitation.
The ark of thy strength; the seat of thy powerful and glorious presence, from whence thou dost put forth and manifest thy strength on the behalf of thy people when they desire and need it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8, 9. The solemn entry of theark, symbolical of God’s presence and power, with the attendingpriests, into the sanctuary, is proclaimed in the words used bySolomon (2Ch 6:41).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Arise, O Lord, into thy rest,…. Which words, and what follow, were used by Solomon at the dedication of the temple; and with which he concluded his prayer, 2Ch 6:41; and so may be a request to the Lord, that he would take up his residence in the temple built for him, where he would have a firm and stable place of rest; who, from the time of Israel’s coming out of Egypt, had not dwelt in a house; but had walked in a tent or tabernacle from place to place, 2Sa 6:6; and that he would take up his abode in his church, the antitype of the temple, and rest in his love there, and cause his people to rest also; see Ps 132:13;
thou, and the ark of thy strength; the Targum is,
“thou, and the ark in which is thy law.”
This is sometimes called the strength of the Lord; because by it he showed his great strength in destroying the enemies of his people, the Philistines and others; see Ps 78:61. It was a type of Christ, who is the power of God, and the mighty God; and, as man, made strong by the Lord; and, as Mediator, has all strength in him for his people. And so the words may be considered as a request to him, either to arise and enter into his rest in heaven, having done his work of redemption and salvation here on earth, for which he became incarnate; or to grant his presence with his church, and take up his rest there, and give them spiritual peace and rest for their souls.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. Arise, O Jehovah? (134) Such language as this, inviting the great God who fills heaven and earth to come into a new place of residence, might seem strange and harsh, but the external symbols of religion which God had appointed are spoken of in these exalted terms to put honor upon them, and the better to ensure to them the regard of God’s people. Should God institute no medium of intercourse, and call us to a direct communication with heaven, the great distance at which we stand from him would strike us with dismay, and paralyze invocation. Although, therefore, he does not thereby change place himself, he is felt by us to draw sensibly nearer. It was thus that he descended amongst his ancient people by the Ark of the Covenant, which he designed to be a visible emblem of his power and grace being present amongst them. Accordingly, the second clause of the verse is of an exegetical character, informing the Church that God was to be understood as having come in the sense of making a conspicuous display of his power in connection with the Ark. Hence it is called the Ark of his strength, not a mere dead idle shadow to look upon, but what certainly declared God’s nearness to his Church. By the rest spoken of we are to understand Mount Zion, because, as we shall see afterwards, God was ever afterwards to be worshiped only in that place.
(134) Arise, O Jehovah! were the words which Moses used (Num 10:35) whenever in the journey through the wilderness the Ark moved forward; and this and the two following verses form a part of the prayer which Solomon offered at the dedication of the Temple, (2Ch 6:41,) which might be considered as the restingplace of God and of the Ark. The Ark is here called “the Ark of thy strength” that is, the symbol of thy power and majesty. This phrase is found only in this place and in the passage above cited.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) Ark of thy strength.See the reference in Chronicles. The expression occurs nowhere else but in Psa. 78:61, where the word strength by itself denotes the ark. The technical word ark nowhere else occurs in the psalms. For strength the LXX. and Vulg. have sanctification.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(8-10) These are the words which the chronicler (2Ch. 6:41-42) puts into Solomons mouth at the dedication of the Temple. Some think that they are there only as a quotation from this psalm, but the mode in which the words are here introduced points the other way. The psalmist does not at his distance from the events distinguish between David and Solomon. He merges the executor of the work in the projector; and in honour of the second Temple it is as natural for him to take up words used at the actual dedication of the first as it was to refer to the original purpose in Davids mind. All is blended together in the long perspective of poetry. As to the form of the words, they are of course themselves a reminiscence of the ancient battle-cry of the nation when the Ark set forward on the march. (See Psa. 68:1, Note.) The mention of the Ark does not definitely dispose of the Maccaban theory of this psalm, though it doubtless must weigh against it. The quotation may have been adopted generally without meaning literal correspondence between all the circumstancesjust as the battle-cry had become merely a religious formulaor, as Lightfoot and Prideaux suggest (see Prideaux, Connection, i. 141), there may have been an ark made for the second Temple in imitation of the original.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest Let Jehovah take possession of the ark on Zion, and make it his dwelling place, as in the tabernacle in the wilderness. Exo 40:34-35; Lev 9:23-24. The formula was quoted by Solomon. 2Ch 6:41.
Ark of thy strength The “ark” was the standing symbol of the power and protection of God. It is simply called “strength,” Psa 78:61, which see. The word “ark” occurs nowhere else in the Psalms.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
ALL these very precious promises, prayers, and praises, will find an easy explanation from the view of the scriptures just referred to, as well as other portions of the divine word, which come in to our aid, to illustrate and prove their application to the Lord Jesus, and to him only. When the call is, Arise, O Lord, into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength; who can want to be told that from the very first use of those words by Moses, the church understood the presence of Jehovah in Christ, whom the ark typified? see Num 10:35-36 . So again by Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, 2Ch 6:41-42 . And that we might not falsely interpret any part of this precious scripture, or refer any portion of it, but to the person of Christ; Peter was commissioned by the Holy Ghost to comment upon the oath of Jehovah to this very point, on the memorable day of Pentecost, Act 2:22-36 . Reader! behold Jesus as the person all along spoken of in this Psalm, to whom the promises are made, and in whom they are fulfilled, and then all the blessings arising from them in his name, and for his righteousness sake alone, will be yea and Amen, 2Co 1:20 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 132:8 Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.
Ver. 8. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest ] The place of thy rest; for the ark was transportative till settled in Solomon’s temple; so, till we come to heaven, we are in continual motion.
Thou, and the ark of thy strength
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Arise. Figure of speech Ellipsis (App-6) = [and will say] “Arise, O LORD”. &c. This is what Solomon did say in 2Ch 6:41, see Psa 68:1 (and note there), according to Num 10:35. Psa 132:8-10 record what David said.
the ark of Thy strength. Occurs only here and 2Ch 6:41. See notes on Exo 25:22 and 1Ch 13:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Arise: Psa 68:1, Num 10:35, Num 10:36, 2Ch 6:41, 2Ch 6:42
the ark: Psa 78:61
Reciprocal: 2Sa 6:17 – they brought 1Ch 6:31 – after that 1Ch 16:1 – in the midst 2Ch 5:7 – the priests Psa 24:7 – shall Psa 105:4 – his strength Psa 132:14 – my rest Eze 24:21 – the excellency
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 132:8-10. Arise, O Lord, to thy rest, &c. See notes on Num 10:35; 2Ch 6:41-42. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness Not only with those outward sacerdotal garments of glory and beauty, which thou hast appointed for them, but, especially, with the inward ornaments of righteousness and true holiness, that so their persons and services may be accepted by thee, both for themselves and for all thy people; and they may be clothed with salvation, (Psa 132:16,) which is the effect, or consequent, of the former clothing. And let thy saints shout for joy Let all thy people have cause of rejoicing in the tokens of thy goodness; which they eminently had at the dedication of the temple, as is signified 1Ki 8:66. For thy servant Davids sake In regard of thy singular kindness and promises vouchsafed to David, as this is explained in the following verses. This verse makes it more than probable that David was not the penman of this Psalm, for he never used to beg mercies from God for his own sake, but constantly for Gods names sake, and for the sake of his truth, mercy, goodness, or righteousness. Turn not away the face of thine anointed Of me, whom thou hast anointed to be king over thy people. Cast me not out of thy presence: do not reject or deny my request.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
132:8 Arise, O LORD, into thy {e} rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.
(e) That is Jerusalem, because later his Ark would move to no other place.