Psalm 132:8

8 Lord, rise thou into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thine hallowing. (Arise, O Lord, and come back to thy resting place; thou, and the Ark of thy power.)

Psalm 132:8 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 132:8

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, ( 2 Chronicles 6:41 2 Chronicles 6:42 ) ; 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, ( 2 Samuel 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 ( Psalms 132:13 Psalms 132:14 ) ;

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 ( Psalms 78:61 ) ( 105:4 ) . 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.

Psalm 132:8 In-Context

6 Lo! we heard that (the) ark of (the) testament (is) in Ephratah [Lo! we have heard (of) it in Ephratah]; we found it in the fields of the wood. (Lo! we have heard that the Covenant Box is in Ephratah; we found it in the fields of Jaar, or of Jearim.)

7 We shall enter into the tabernacle of him (We shall go into his Tabernacle, or his dwelling place); we shall worship in the place, where his feet stood.

8 Lord, rise thou into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thine hallowing. (Arise, O Lord, and come back to thy resting place; thou, and the Ark of thy power.)

9 Thy priests be clothed with rightfulness; and thy saints make full out joy. (Let thy priests be clothed in righteousness; and thy saints rejoice.)

10 For David, thy servant; turn thou not away the face of thy christ. (For the sake of thy servant David; turn thou not away thy face from thy anointed king.)