“Remember O LORD in David’s favour, all the hardships he endured, how he swore to the LORD and vowed …” (Psalm 132:1,2). This prayer and petition has a significant lesson for us. What particular thing did David vow that he should be remembered for? Was it some great thing, like the killing of Goliath? His vow has nothing to do with human strength or the praise of men. The memory of David’s vow should count in his favour and this is the kind of a vow we should consider making.

David vowed “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” (Psalm 132:3-5).

This is odd as the Lord had dwelt in the Tabernacle for centuries. Isaiah 57 is informative, where we read “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isaiah 57:15).

Perhaps the dwelling place that David vowed to find for the LORD was in his own heart. To do that he had to abase himself before the Lord! We can do this by trying to comprehend God’s immeasurable greatness and how He desires to dwell in the hearts of the humble.

Remember Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). Our heart becomes a Temple if we carry out the first commandment to the full! At the end of each day we need to take stock, and restore any loss the day has brought to the Father’s spiritual temple in our heart.