4 And he putteth before the ark of Jehovah, of the Levites, ministers, even to make mention of, and to thank, and to give praise to Jehovah, God of Israel,
5 Asaph the head, and his second Zechariah; Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of psalteries, and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals is sounding;
6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests `are' with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 On that day then hath David given at the beginning to give thanks to Jehovah by the hand of Asaph and his brethren: --
8 Give thanks to Jehovah, call in His name, Make known among the peoples His doings.
9 Sing ye to Him, sing psalms to Him, Meditate on all His wonders.
10 Boast yourselves in His holy name, Rejoice doth the heart of those seeking Jehovah.
11 Seek ye Jehovah and His strength, Seek His face continually.
12 Remember His wonders that He did, His signs, and the judgments of His mouth,
13 O seed of Israel, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
14 He `is' Jehovah our God, In all the earth `are' His judgments.
15 Remember ye to the age His covenant, The word He commanded -- To a thousand generations,
16 Which He hath made with Abraham, And His oath -- to Isaac,
17 And He establisheth it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel -- a covenant age-during.
18 Saying: To thee I give the land of Canaan, The portion of your inheritance,
19 When ye are few of number, As a little thing, and sojourners in it.
20 And they go up and down, From nation unto nation, And from a kingdom unto another people.
21 He hath not suffered any to oppress them, And reproveth on their account kings:
22 Come not against Mine anointed ones, And against My prophets do not evil.
23 Sing to Jehovah, all the earth, Proclaim from day unto day His salvation.
24 Rehearse among nations His glory, Among all the peoples His wonders.
25 For great `is' Jehovah, and praised greatly, And fearful He `is' above all gods.
26 For all gods of the peoples `are' nought, And Jehovah the heavens hath made.
27 Honour and majesty `are' before Him, Strength and joy `are' in His place.
28 Ascribe to Jehovah, ye families of peoples, Ascribe to Jehovah honour and strength.
29 Ascribe to Jehovah the honour of His name, Lift up a present, and come before Him. Bow yourselves to Jehovah, In the beauty of holiness.
30 Be pained before Him, all the earth:
31 Also, established is the world, It is not moved! The heavens rejoice, and the earth is glad, And they say among nations: Jehovah hath reigned.
32 Roar doth the sea, and its fulness, Exult doth the field, and all that `is' in it,
33 Then sing do trees of the forest, From the presence of Jehovah, For He hath come to judge the earth!
34 Give thanks to Jehovah, for good, For to the age, `is' His kindness,
35 And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us, and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Thy holy name, To triumph in Thy praise.
36 Blessed `is' Jehovah, God of Israel, From the age and unto the age;' And all the people say, `Amen,' and have given praise to Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 16
This chapter relates that David offered sacrifices when the ark was brought into his city, 1 Chronicles 16:1 who were the singers he appointed to sing before it continually, 1 Chronicles 16:4 and the song he that day composed and delivered to them to sing, 1 Chronicles 16:7 and that he appointed not only proper persons to minister before the ark, but also before the tabernacle at Gibeon, 1 Chronicles 16:37.
So they brought the ark of God,.... What is contained in these three verses is the same with 2 Samuel 6:17, see the notes there. See Gill on 2 Samuel 6:17. See Gill on 2 Samuel 6:18. See Gill on 2 Samuel 6:19.
And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord,.... By singing the praises of God:
and to record; or bring to remembrance; to commemorate in a song the great and good things God had done for Israel as a people:
and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel; for all his benefits, and the blessings of his goodness bestowed on them.
Asaph the chief,.... Of those that were now appointed: otherwise, of the three principal singers, Heman was the chief, and Asaph next, 1 Chronicles 6:33.
and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, with psalteries, and with harps; to play upon them before the ark at the same time the psalms and songs were vocally sung; the above persons are such as are named before, 1 Chronicles 15:18,
but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; he struck and played upon them, see 1 Chronicles 15:19.
Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests,.... These were appointed to blow
with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; morning and evening.
Then on that day,.... The ark was brought to Zion, and the above persons appointed to minister before it:
David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren to be sung by them now, and on every proper occasion; and this seems to be the first that was delivered to them; afterwards there were many more, as the titles of the psalms show; the following is composed of part of two others, as they now stand in the book of Psalms. From hence, to the end of 1 Chronicles 16:22 is the same with Psalm 105:1, with a little variation, see the notes there; and from thence to the end of 1 Chronicles 16:33 is Psalm 96:1 which see; and 1 Chronicles 16:34 is the same with Psalm 106:1, see the notes there. See Gill on Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 105:1, Psalm 105:2, Psalm 105:3, Psalm 105:4, Psalm 105:5, Psalm 105:6, Psalm 105:7, Psalm 105:8, Psalm 105:9, Psalm 105:10, Psalm 105:11,on Psalm 105:12, Psalm 105:13, Psalm 105:14,on Psalm 105:15
And say ye, save us, O God of our salvation,.... The author of temporal, spiritual, and eternal salvation; the words are a direction to the singers, and those that sung with them, to express the prayer and doxology in the next verse, which both are the same with Psalm 106:47. See Gill on Psalm 106:47, Psalm 106:48; which David directed by a spirit of prophecy, foreseeing the people of Israel would be in captivity among the Heathens; though some think these were added by Ezra; for though there was in his time a return from the captivity, yet many still remained in it.
So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Asaph and his brethren,.... Whom he, that is, David, had appointed for the service of it:
to minister before the ark continually; in singing the praises of God:
as every day's work required; at the time of the morning and evening sacrifice, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it.
The Levites, the brethren of Asaph and Obededom, these were left before the ark to minister there:
Obededom also the son of Jeduthun; or Ethan, which some take to be another Obededom; but the ו, "vau" may be explanative, "even Obededom":
and Hosah to be porters; these he left to be doorkeepers of the ark.
And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests,.... These he left, having appointed them
to be before the tabernacle of the Lord, in the high place that was at Gibeon; namely, the tabernacle of Moses, which was removed from Nob thither in the days of Saul, and continued there to the times of Solomon, 1 Chronicles 21:28.
To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord,.... Which was the work of the priests only to do:
upon the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening; the lambs of the daily sacrifice, which were a burnt offering, and only to be offered on the brasen altar at the tabernacle:
and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel; with regard to them, and all other sacrifices, see Exodus 29:38.
And with them,.... That is, with Zadok, and the priests with him at Gibeon:
he left Heman and Jeduthun: or Ethan, two principal singers:
and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name; see 1 Chronicles 16:18.
to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever; to praise him for his benefits, flowing from his grace and mercy continually.
And with them Heman and Jeduthun, with trumpets and cymbals,.... Or with them were the trumpets and cymbals, as Kimchi; or, as Piscator supplies it, with them he "left" the trumpets and cymbals:
for those that should make a sound; by striking upon them:
and with musical instruments of God; sacred ones, such as were devoted to his service, as psalteries and harps; the Syriac and Arabic versions carry the sense of the words quite differently, that these men did not sing with those musical instruments, but with a pleasant voice, and with pure and acceptable prayers, in humility and uprightness, glorified God:
and the sons of Jeduthun were porters; at the tabernacle in Gibeon.
And all the people departed, every man to his house,.... Having accompanied the ark to its place, and having praised the Lord for it, and been refreshed with food, see 2 Samuel 6:19.
and David returned to bless his house; his family; the Targum is,"to bless the people;'see 2 Samuel 6:20.