Psalm 132 (KJV): Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions

From Psalms

Psalm 132
(A song of ascents.)

¹Lord, remember David,
      and all his afflictions:

²How he sware unto the LORD,
      and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
³Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house,
      nor go up into my bed;
⁴I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
      or slumber to mine eyelids,
⁵Until I find out a place for the LORD,
      an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

⁶Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah:
      we found it in the fields of the wood.
⁷We will go into his tabernacles:
      we will worship at his footstool.
⁸Arise, O LORD, into thy rest;
      thou, and the ark of thy strength.
⁹Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
      and let thy saints shout for joy.

¹⁰For thy servant David's sake
      turn not away the face of thine anointed.

¹¹The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David;
      he will not turn from it;
Of the fruit of thy body
      will I set upon thy throne.
¹²If thy children will keep my covenant
      and my testimony that I shall teach them,
their children shall also
      sit upon thy throne for evermore.

¹³For the LORD hath chosen Zion;
      he hath desired it for his habitation.
¹⁴This is my rest for ever:
      here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
¹⁵I will abundantly bless her provision:
      I will satisfy her poor with bread.
¹⁶I will also clothe her priests with salvation:
      and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

¹⁷There will I make the horn of David to bud:
      I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
¹⁸His enemies will I clothe with shame:
      but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

Wow, is this the longest song of ascent, or what?  I did a little research and indeed it is.  In fact, you can see when I initially wrote it (almost two years ago) I underestimated the length in the way the letters get so much smaller towards the bottom of the page.  In any case, I started this posting about a week ago thinking these songs of ascents are only 3-5 verses, only to be overwhelmed to put it off to a time I had more energy...and then the beast of procrastination set in.  The psalm got bigger and bigger, and the task became harder and harder.  And that's some of the tricks our mind plays on us - until our mind has made the task next to impossible.

Our minds are powerful in that way than can make things out to be bigger, or smaller, than they actually are.  In order to combat this I go to meetings where I can talk about my problems, my procrastination, my perception.  Where I find that I am not alone in my afflictions.  That others share my afflictions.  In order to combat my minds' perception I also pray.  I pray not to see things from my limited and selfish perspective, but rather that God will help me see things from His perspective.  That He will show me a new perspective that there will be hope, and a way that will guide me.

Dear Lord, as I pray to you today, and come into your tabernacles, continue to guide me.  Let me see through your eyes so that my perspective is clear.  Help me to see my afflictions and recognize them.  Then help me be willing to remove my afflictions.  Give me the strength I need to work for change in my life.  Give me community and family that will support me through our struggles and through this time of change.  Help to show me what You value.  When my priorities are misplaced - help me shift my priorities to those things that you value.  When I am doing work that is not valuable to You help me realize this and guide me to more important endeavors.  In your son's name I pray.  Amen.
Thanks for letting me share.