4 And he appointed certain of the Levites to do the service 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 instruments of lutes and with harps; and Asaph sounding with cymbals;
6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 Then on that day David delivered first [this psalm] to give thanks to Jehovah through Asaph and his brethren.
8 Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known his acts among the peoples.
9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; Meditate upon all his wondrous works.
10 Glory in his holy name: Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
11 Seek Jehovah and his strength, Seek his face continually;
12 Remember his wondrous works which he hath done; His miracles, and the judgments of his mouth:
13 Ye seed of Israel his servant, Ye sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He, Jehovah, is our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Be ye ever mindful of his covenant, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations, --
16 Which he made with Abraham, And of his oath unto Isaac;
17 And he confirmed it unto Jacob for a statute, Unto 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 a few men in number, Of small account, and strangers in it.
20 And they went from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people.
21 He suffered no man to oppress them, And 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; Publish his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations, His wondrous works among all peoples.
25 For Jehovah is great, and exceedingly to be praised; And he is terrible above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols; But Jehovah made the heavens.
27 Majesty and splendour are before him; Strength and gladness in his place.
28 Give unto Jehovah, ye families of peoples, Give unto Jehovah glory and strength!
29 Give unto Jehovah the glory of his name! Bring an oblation, and come before him: Worship Jehovah in holy splendour.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth: The world also is established, it shall not be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; 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 forest sing out at the presence of Jehovah, For he cometh to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good; For his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever.
35 And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us, and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, To triumph in thy praise.
36 Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, from eternity and to eternity! And all the people said, Amen! and praised Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 16
1Ch 16:1-6. David's Festival Sacrifice and Liberality to the People.
2. he blessed the people in the name of the Lord—The king commended their zeal, supplicated the divine blessing upon them, and ordered the remains of the thank offerings which had been profusely sacrificed during the procession, to be distributed in certain proportions to every individual, that the ceremonial might terminate with appropriate festivities (De 12:7).
3. flagon of wine—The two latter words are a supplement by our translators, and the former is, in other versions, rendered not a "flagon," but a "cake," a confection, as the Septuagint renders it, made of flour and honey.
4-6. he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord—No sooner was the ark deposited in its tent than the Levites, who were to officiate in the choirs before it, entered upon their duties. A select number of the musicians were chosen for the service from the list (1Ch 15:19-21) of those who had taken a prominent part in the recent procession. The same arrangement was to be observed in their duties, now that the ark again was stationary; Asaph, with his associates, composing the first or principal company, played with cymbals; Zechariah and his colleagues, with whom were conjoined Jeiel and Obed-edom, forming the second company, used harps and similar instruments.
5. Jeiel—the same as Aziel (1Ch 15:20).
6. Benaiah also and Jahaziel—The name of the former is mentioned among the priests (1Ch 15:24), but not the latter. The office assigned to them was that of blowing trumpets at regular intervals before the ark and in the tabernacle.
1Ch 16:7-43. His Psalm of Thanksgiving.
7. Then on that day David delivered first this psalm—Among the other preparations for this solemn inauguration, the royal bard had composed a special hymn for the occasion. Doubtless it had been previously in the hands of Asaph and his assistants, but it was now publicly committed to them as they entered for the first time on the performance of their sacred duties. It occupies the greater part of this chapter (1Ch 16:8-36), and seems to have been compiled from other psalms of David, previously known to the Israelites, as the whole of it will be found, with very slight variations, in Ps 96:1-13; 105:1-15; 106:47, 48. In the form, however, in which it is given by the sacred historian, it seems to have been the first psalm given for use in the tabernacle service. Abounding, as it does, with the liveliest ascriptions of praise to God for the revelation of His glorious character and the display of His marvellous works and containing, as it does, so many pointed allusions to the origin, privileges, and peculiar destiny of the chosen people, it was admirably calculated to animate the devotions and call forth the gratitude of the assembled multitude.
36. all the people said, Amen—(Compare Ps 72:19, 20; 106:48). In the former, the author of the doxology utters the "amen" himself, while in the latter the people are exhorted to say "amen." This may arise from the fact that the latter psalm originally concluded with the injunction to say "amen." But in this historical account of the festival, it was necessary to relate that the people obeyed this injunction on the occasion referred to, and therefore the words "let them praise," were altered into "and they praised" [Bertheau].
37-42. So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, &c.—The sequel of the chapter describes the appointment of the sacred musicians and their respective duties.
38. Obed-edom with their brethren—Hosah, mentioned at the close of the verse, and a great number besides (see on 1Ch 26:1).
to be porters—doorkeepers.
39, 40. And Zadok … before the tabernacle … at Gibeon—While the above-mentioned officers under the superintendence of Abiathar, were appointed to officiate in Jerusalem, whither the ark had been brought, Zadok and the priests subordinate to him were stationed at Gibeon to perform the sacred service before the ancient tabernacle which still remained there.
40. continually morning and evening—as the law enjoined (Ex 29:38; Nu 28:3, 6).
and do according to all that is written in the law—(See Nu 28:1-31). Thus, in the time of David, the worship was performed at two places, where the sacred things that had been transmitted from the age of Moses were preserved. Before the Ark in Jerusalem, Asaph and his brethren officiated as singers, Obed-edom and Hosah served as doorkeepers, and Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets. While at the tabernacle and burnt offering in Gibeon, Heman and Jeduthun presided over the sacred music, the sons of Jeduthun were door keepers, and Zadok, with his suite of attendant priests, offered the sacrifices.