4 And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of Jehovah, and to celebrate and to thank and praise Jehovah, the God of Israel:
5 Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;
6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 Then on that day did David first ordain to give thanks unto Jehovah, by the hand of Asaph and his brethren.
8 O give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known his doings among the peoples.
9 Sing unto him, sing praises unto him; Talk ye of all his marvellous works.
10 Glory ye in his holy name; Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
11 Seek ye Jehovah and his strength; Seek his face evermore.
12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
13 O ye seed of Israel his servant, Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is Jehovah our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant for ever, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
16 `The covenant' which he made with Abraham, And his oath unto Isaac,
17 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
18 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance;
19 When ye were but a few men in number, Yea, very few, and sojourners in it;
20 And they went about from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people.
21 He suffered no man to do them wrong; Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
22 `Saying', Touch not mine anointed ones, And do my prophets no harm.
23 Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth; Show forth his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations, His marvellous works among all the peoples.
25 For great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised: He also is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols: But Jehovah made the heavens.
27 Honor and majesty are before him: Strength and gladness are in his place.
28 Ascribe unto Jehovah, ye kindreds of the peoples, Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength;
29 Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name: Bring an offering, and come before him: Worship Jehovah in holy array.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth: The world also is established that it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth.
32 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field exult, and all that is therein;
33 Then shall the trees of the wood sing for joy before Jehovah; For he cometh to judge the earth.
34 O give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; For his lovingkindness `endureth' for ever.
35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us together and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, And to triumph in thy praise.
36 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And all the people said, Amen, and praised Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 16
This chapter concludes that great affair of the settlement of the ark in the royal city, and with it the settlement of the public worship of God during the reign of David. Here is,
1Ch 16:1-6
It was a glorious day when the ark of God was safely lodged in the tent David had pitched for it. That good man had his heart much upon it, could not sleep contentedly till it was done, Ps. 132:4, 5.
1Ch 16:7-36
We have here the thanksgiving psalm which David, by the Spirit, composed, and delivered to the chief musician, to be sung upon occasion of the public entry the ark made into the tent prepared for it. Some think he appointed this hymn to be daily used in the temple service, as duly as the day came; whatever other psalms they sung, they must not omit this. David had penned many psalms before this, some in the time of his trouble by Saul. This was composed before, but was now first delivered into the hand of Asaph, for the use of the church. It is gathered out of several psalms (from the beginning to v. 23 is taken from Ps. 105:1, etc.; and then v. 23 to v. 34 is the whole 96th psalm, with little variation; v. 34 is taken from Ps. 136:1 and divers others; and then the last two verses are taken from the close of Ps. 106), which some think warrants us to do likewise, and make up hymns out of David's psalms, a part of one and a part of another put together so as may be most proper to express and excite the devotion of Christians. These psalms will be best expounded in their proper places (if the Lord will); here we take them as they are put together, with a design to thank the Lord (v. 7), a great duty, to which we need to be excited and in which we need to be assisted.
1Ch 16:37-43
The worship of God is not only to be the work of a solemn day now and then, brought in to grace a triumph; but it ought to be the work of every day. David therefore settles it here for a constancy, puts it into a method, which he obliged those that officiated to observe in their respective posts. In the tabernacle of Moses, and afterwards in the temple of Solomon, the ark and the altar were together; but, ever since Eli's time, they had been separated, and still continued so till the temple was built. I cannot conceive what reason there was why David, who knew the law and was zealous for it, did not either bring the ark to Gibeon, where the tabernacle and the altar were, or bring them to Mount Zion, where the ark was. Perhaps the curtains and hangings of Moses's tabernacle were so worn with time and weather that they were not fit to be removed, nor fit to be a shelter for the ark; and yet he would not make all new, but only a tent for the ark, because the time was at hand when the temple should be built. Whatever was the reason, all David's time they were asunder, but he took care that neither of them should be neglected.