1<A Song of the going up.> Lord, give thought to David, and to all his troubles; 2How he made an oath to the Lord, and gave his word to the great God of Jacob, saying, 3Truly, I will not come into my house, or go to my bed, 4I will not give sleep to my eyes, or rest to my eyeballs, 5Till I have got a place for the Lord, a resting-place for the great God of Jacob. 6We had news of it at Ephrathah: we came to it in the fields of the wood. 7Let us go into his tent; let us give worship at his feet. 8Come back, O Lord, to your resting-place; you and the ark of your strength. 9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness; and let your saints give cries of joy. 10Because of your servant David, do not give up your king. 11The Lord gave a true oath to David, which he will not take back, saying, I will give your kingdom to the fruit of your body. 12If your children keep my word, and the teachings which I will give them, their children will be rulers of your kingdom for ever. 13For the Lord's heart is on Zion, desiring it for his resting-place. 14This is my rest for ever: here will I ever be; for this is my desire. 15My blessing will be on her food; and her poor will be full of bread. 16Her priests will be clothed with salvation; and her saints will give cries of joy. 17There I will make the horn of David fertile: I have made ready a light for my king. 18His haters will be clothed with shame; but I will make his crown shining.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
David's care for the ark. (1-10) The promises of God. (11-18) 1-10 David bound himself to find a place for the Lord, for the ark, the token of God's presence. When work is to be done for the Lord, it is good to tie ourselves to a time. It is good in the morning to fix upon work for the day, with submission to Providence, for we know not what a day may bring forth. And we should first, and without delay, seek to have our own hearts made a habitation of God through the Spirit. He prays that God would take up his dwelling in the habitation he had built; that he would give grace to the ministers of the sanctuary to do their duty. David pleads that he was the anointed of the Lord, and this he pleads as a type of Christ, the great Anointed. We have no merit of our own to plead; but, for His sake, in whom there is a fulness of merit, let us find favour. And every true believer in Christ, is an anointed one, and has received from the Holy One the oil of true grace. The request is, that God would not turn away, but hear and answer their petitions for his Son's sake. 11-18 The Lord never turns from us when we plead the covenant with his anointed Prophet, Priest, and King. How vast is the love of God to man, that he should speak thus concerning his church! It is his desire to dwell with us; yet how little do we desire to dwell with him! He abode in Zion till the sins of Israel caused him to give them up to the spoilers. Forsake us not, O God, and deliver us not in like manner, sinful though we are. God's people have a special blessing on common enjoyments, and that blessing puts peculiar sweetness into them. Zion's poor have reason to be content with a little of this world, because they have better things prepared for them. God will abundantly bless the nourishment of the new man, and satisfy the poor in spirit with the bread of life. He gives more than we ask, and when he gives salvation, he will give abundant joy. God would bring to nothing every design formed to destroy the house of David, until King Messiah should arise out of it, to sit upon the throne of his Father. In him all the promises centre. His enemies, who will not have him to reign over them, shall at the last day be clothed with shame and confusion for ever.