Better Times — Psalm 132

Introduction

Have you ever noticed how many of our Christmas songs are about better times? Think off Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Sinatra for example: Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. Next year all our troubles will be out of sight. Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Make the Yuletide gay. Next year all our troubles will be miles away. Once again, as in olden days. Happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us. Will be near to us once more.

Do you hear it? This year is hard, but next year will be better. This year is hard, but one day it will be as good as it used to be. That gets to the way many of us think this time of year. We think about those Christmas’ in the past when everyone in our family was still at the table and getting along. We think about how carefree we were and the special meals we have. And, we think about how much better things might be one day. We think about the times when we’ll be gathered with our own family or our own kids or own grandkids. We think about when our loved ones will be able to come home so that we can spend more time with them.

God’s Word

We find ourselves just making it through today with the hope that better times are ahead. And, that gets to the heart of Psalm 132. We don’t know exactly who wrote Psalm 132, but it was most likely from around the time of Nehemiah, maybe Nehemiah himself. Jerusalem is in ruins, and the new Temple is just a shell of itself; so, they’re meditating upon 2 Samuel 7 and the promise God made to David about his Temple and his kingdom and they’re remembering how much better the times used to be, and they’re living in hope of how much better the times will one day be. What to See About Better Times: (Headline)

Better times are “missed.”

Psalm 132:1–9 “Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured, how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!” Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.”

(on screen) The great theologian Andy Bernard once said: “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.” It’s interesting, isn’t it? No matter what is going right or wrong in our lives, we’re tempted always to want better times. But, very often, we look back realizing we should’ve savored the days we were in because they actually turned out to be the better times. Those thoughts come up a lot this time of year, don’t they?

We “long” for better times.

That’s not just your story. It’s Israel’s story, too. They were in Egypt and wanted out; so, God delivered them. Then, they wanted to go back to Egypt. They enter into the Promised Land where they see the miraculous, and then they want a king. But, when they come against the Philistines and Goliath, they miss the times when the Angel of the Lord did all the work. The Psalmist is writing after the people are returning from exile to find their city and homes in ruins, and he’s missing better times. They’re missing when the exodus was far more miraculous. They’re missing better times. It’s a song stuck on repeat, it seems.

But, the Psalmist is also making an observation. There’s a point to his pointing out the time of David. The flourishing of God’s people was not dependent upon the place or the person, but upon God’s presence. Their longing for better times was, whether they realized it or not, really a longing placed in them by God to miss and long for the presence of God. That’s the significance of verse 6, which may seem strange at first. “We found it in the fields of Jaar.” The “it” that he’s referring to is the Ark of the Covenant. 1 Samuel says that for 20 years the Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim, shortened here to Jaar. And, of course, the Ark of the Covenant was where God’s presence was most clearly manifested for his people. So, for 20 years, there were no offerings made to the Ark or sacrifices offered, no atonement for the sins of the people, no repentance for Israel.

And, the people languished. The longer their intimacy with God deteriorated so did the situation of the people, but they were so spiritually dulled that they couldn’t make the connection. They only knew they missed the good ole days when seas parted and walls fell and angels fought their battles. And now, you can imagine Nehemiah turning to those exile returning to their ruins and longing for the good ole days. He wants them to make the connection.

Better times “long” for the Lord.

You’re meant to miss better times, and missing better times is meant to draw you to the Lord. It’s meant to help you realize that you were intended to flourish with God rather than languish in Babylon. So, I want you to recognize your missing the better times for what it really is. Our lives are far more spiritual than we realize, we often, like Israel, are just not spiritually aware enough to make the connection. We only know we miss the good ole days, we miss being less worried, we miss not being so sad.You miss the joy and passion you used to have, and it could be because, like Israel, you became so wrapped up in all of the ways the kingdoms of this world told you that you could have better times — more side hustles, more ball for the kids, more freedom from your parents or your spouse. But, you miss the simpler times, don’t you? You really miss the presence of God. And, maybe for you, what you miss are the people who won’t be at your table this Christmas or the times when you felt good. You miss better times, but your heart really has the ingrained longing for Christ’s second advent when the presence of God will finally make all of this right again.

You see, that’s what made David so desperate to build a house for God. That’s why David went to such lengths to get the Ark back to Jerusalem. Everywhere the Ark was, the people flourished. And so, David, living in a palace, recognized that the good times are only trustworthy, the better times are only secure when they are caused and secured by God’s presence with him. So, David says: “I won’t enjoy the palace. I won’t rest my head. I won’t stop until I have the presence of God with me.” David understood that he really didn’t need a great house or a great victory on the battlefield or a great statue. What he needed was the presence of God because without it, all of those other things are just chasing the wind.

Are you missing better times today? Can you identify with the exiles who came home to ruins? Does your Christmas table feel like its in ruins? Well, the choice before you is the same as it was to those exiles all those years ago: Your languishing can either lead away from God, or it can make you desperate for him. Away from him, there are only more ruins, but with him, there is hope in front. Oh, miss the better times. Feel the sting of their loss. And, let it fuel a great hunger for God.

Better times are “promised.”

Psalm 132:10–16 “For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one. The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.” For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.”

(on screen) Earlier, I didn’t include the last verse of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It goes: Someday soon, we all will be together If the fates allow Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

Isn’t that interesting? What’s going to enable those missing better times of the past to “muddle through” somehow? It’s the promise that “someday soon” better times are coming. Of course, for them it’s not so much a promise as it is an aspiration, but if they’re to have any joy now, it has to have the promise of something better tomorrow.

Again, this gets to how we were built by God. We know that “muddle(ing) through somehow” isn’t what we’re meant for. We know we’re meant for something more even if we can’t articulate it. You see that in the Psalmist’s remembering of how God answered David’s desperation for his presence. David makes an oath in the first half of the Psalm that is answered by God’s promise in the second half. Verses 11-12 are a restatement of the covenant that God made with David. 2 Samuel 7 says that David endeavors to build God a house, and God responds by telling David that He’s going to build him into a “house” — a dynasty. One of his sons will sit upon his throne over his people forever. So, this is a promise not only that things will be good now, but that good times — better times — will endure “forever.” Kingdoms come and go, get strong and then weak, but God is promising to sustain David’s.

And, if you can imagine those exiles coming into a ruined Jerusalem where there is no “Son of David” on the throne, this promise seems like old news. After all, there was a condition of “If you sons keep my covenant..” which they, of course, did not. But, there’s still a forever-ness to this promise. Notice verse 14 says that Zion will be God’s “resting place forever.”

God’s “promises” are sustained by God’s “presence.”

And, the hope that this promise will hold up is found in verse 13: Psalm 132:13 “For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place.” God’s sovereign grace has chosen to keep a covenant that his people could not keep. The “Sons of David” will fail, but the God of David will not. In the second half of the Psalm, God says some version of “I will” ten different times. So, the point is: The promise of God will be sustained by the presence of God. It won’t be undone by the unfaithfulness of the sons of David, but it will be upheld by the Son of God’s faithfulness.

God’s “people” are sustained by God’s “promises.”

Imagine how that would hit as you walked through the ruins of your once great city trying to pick up the pieces. This is bad. This is hard. But, better times are coming. Today, everything feels sparse, but abundance is coming. Today, there isn’t enough food, but the poor will have bread. Today, we weep and cry and lament, but then we “will shout for joy!” God’s promise to them will be sustained by his presence, and God will use his promises to sustain his people.

God’s promise is that the ruins won’t last. And, that’ll sustain you until better times. Your best times are in front of you, not in yearbooks and photo albums. You greatest joy won’t ultimately be when your kids were young or the last Christmas with your wife or before the Alzheimer’s kicked in. Your greatest joy is in front. And, the guarantee that you have is that God has decided that his presence will dwell forever in Zion. And, in the new Kingdom that is coming, the kingdom with abundance and satisfaction and joy, Zion isn’t a place. Zion is a people. Zion is you. You are the city of God where He will dwell with you and you with him in uninterrupted splendor.

And, because of the first Advent, the fulfillment of the Son of David coming to rest upon the throne of David by being born into David’s home city, you can rest assured that we aren’t “muddling through” on some pipe dream or lofty aspiration. It’s assured…

Better times will be “enjoyed.”

Psalm 132:10 “For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”

Psalm 132:17–18 “There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.””

You’ll notice that the second half of the psalm begins with God’s ‘anointed’ and ends with God’s ‘anointed.’ It starts by imploring God not to turn his face away from the ‘anointed,’ and it ends by God promising that his ‘anointed’ will sit upon his throne with a shining ‘crown.’ And, this represents the space between the two advents. It represents the time between better days promised and better days enjoyed.

You see, ‘anointed’ is a translation of the Hebrew word “Messias” from which we get Messiah, or, in the Greek, Christ. And, how is it that God will secure the promise of better days. He secures it the same way that He’s always sustained it — through his presence. The Messiah will be called Immanuel, “God with us.” But, God will “turn his face away” from his Anointed. He will forsake him on the cross and allow the fullness of his wrath to fall upon his own Son. God will be present with us so that He might die as one of us.

But, “the stump of Jesse” (“a horn to sprout”) will produce a sprout. That is, from death will become new life. And, it won’t just be a Branch; it will be a “horn.” A symbol of power. Think of a rhino charging at you. It’s huge, powerful, but all you’ll be able to see is that enormous horn. It’ll have every bit of your attention. That’s how Jesus will return after his death. And, there will be seen in him “a lamp.” In the Temple, there was a lamp always lit, and it was meant to symbolize the faithfulness of God. So, Jesus is going to return in strength and faithfulness to exchange his crown of thorns for a shining crown to symbolize the new kingdom.

I “wills” will become I “haves”.

And, better times will be here for good. All of the “I wills” of God will become “I haves.” The abundance, safety, and unbroken experience of God’s presence will be ours to enjoy unhindered forever. So, we don’t “muddle” through our troubles. We live with the security of trust fund children. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a trust fund child? Of course, they still have problems and difficulties, but it just seems like it would be different, doesn’t it? They go to school and college, but the pressure wouldn’t be as much, would it? I mean, if it doesn’t work out, a trust fund child really doesn’t have to work any way. Their father has set them up. They go to the interview, and if they get the job great or if they don’t get the job great. Their life will be basically the same. In fact, they can turn down opportunities that no one else can afford to turn down because their position and their future is already secure.

“Orphans” will become “heirs.”

A trust fund child lives with less pressure and less stress and less need to perform and less need to achieve because of their inheritance. And, what Nehemiah was reminding the exiles of who felt the pressure of the ruins and what I’m reminding you of as you feel all the pressure to find security and abundance and better days is that you are trust fund children. Your Father has set you up. Your inheritance has secured what tomorrow will hold. He has forsaken his “anointed” so that He would not have to forsake you. And, remember you weren’t born as a trust fund baby. You were born an orphan scratching for bread. You’ll have to be born again, adopted as his trust fund children. So, God forsook his own Son so that He could give you his own Son’s inheritance — a shining “crown.”

(On screen) So, we can rewrite Sinatra’s famous song, if we dare. Someday soon, we all will be together Because Christ has allowed Until then, we don’t have to muddle through somehow We sing for joy until we bow So have yourself a merry little Christmas now