In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that one of the marks of His disciples is that they keep their promises (Matthew 5:33–37). We should be so trustworthy that a simple “Yes” or “No” is sufficient. If God expects us to honour our oaths, we can certainly trust Him to honour His promises to us.

Psalm 132 is a psalm in two halves about two oaths. Both halves speak of promises made about God’s dwelling, the temple in Jerusalem. The first part (vv. 1–10) recalls David’s oath to build a temple for God. In the second part (vv. 11–18), the people remember God’s oath to put David’s descendants on the throne and dwell in Zion (see 1 Kings 8:16).

In 1 Chronicles 22:14, David said, “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver” and so on (emphasis added). The investment in the temple came at great personal cost: the Hebrew word translated as “great pains” is the same word used in Psalm 132 for his “self-denial”, or “hardship” (v. 1).

The psalmist, speaking for a later generation, remembers David’s determination to complete this project (vv. 3–5). This generation expresses its solidarity with David’s oath by committing itself to worshipping the Lord in this dwelling place (vv. 6–8). This first section concludes with the primary focus of the psalm—David’s descendant (v. 10). The psalmist’s overriding concern is that the Lord will stay committed to David’s son. It’s on this note that the second half of the psalm starts (vv. 11–12). The psalmist recalls God’s promise to place a descendant of David on the throne (see 2 Samuel 7:12). There was, however, an important condition—this descendant must remain faithful to the Lord.

The rest of the psalm speaks of the abundance that will come to the people through having the presence of God in their midst. Both halves of the psalm make special mention of the righteousness or salvation with which God will clothe His priests, and the joy of all the people (Psalm 132:9, 16).

Sadly, this wonderful picture of life in God’s presence was never fulfilled in Israel’s history. David surrendered to adultery, and Solomon to idolatry. The people groaned under the yoke of hard labour (1 Kings 12:1–4), and less than 400 years later, David’s throne was gone for ever because of his descendants’ faithlessness.

Still, God kept His promise to His people. The apostle Paul wrote, “No matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20). In Jesus, God came to live with His people. Jesus was the Son of David who would save and rule for ever (see Matthew 21:9). In Him we have abundant life and joy (John 10:10). And according to Revelation 21:1–7, the best is yet to come—the perfect fulfilment of all we read in Psalm 132.

God always keeps His promises. That’s why Christians can sing this psalm with even greater confidence and hope.