Psalm 132 is the longest of the psalms of ascent (120-134), a group of psalms associated with pilgrimage to Jerusalem for festival days. It is a psalm about the ark of the covenant being transported to Jerusalem in the days of King David (2 Sam 6; 1 Chron 15-16).
In this case the ark was not on a temporary journey to Jerusalem for a festival. In fact, the ark was finally coming to rest at Zion at the end of a long pilgrimage. "Arise O Lord and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might," we read in Psalm 132:8.
The psalm praises David's tireless efforts to bring the ark to Zion and asks that God remember David for these efforts (vv 1-5). God responds that he will remember his covenant with David, a covenant that includes the promise that a Davidic king will rule forever.
Psalm 132 includes a messianic prophecy. Of Zion God says, "There I will make a horn sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed." Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, refers to this prophecy in Luke 1:69.
There is another reference to Psalm 132 in Acts 2:30, where Peter mentions the oath of Psalm 132:11 in his Pentecost sermon. And Stephen in Acts 7:46 alludes to Psalm 132:5.
On September 17, 2021, Kyle Kettering gave a sermon on Psalm 132 at Church of the Messiah. He noted another significant theme of Psalm 132, that of God as teacher (see v 12). "Who is a teacher like him?", Job 36:22 asks. Isa 2:3 pictures people from all nations coming to Zion to learn from him.
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