31 Let the heavens have joy and let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, The Lord is King.
And there came to my ears the voice of a great army, like the sound of waters, and the sound of loud thunders, saying, Praise to the Lord: for the Lord our God, Ruler of all, is King.
Let your voice be loud in song, O heavens; and be glad, O earth; make sounds of joy, O mountains, for the Lord has given comfort to his people, and will have mercy on his crushed ones.
The Lord is King, let the earth have joy; let all the sea-lands be glad.
Say among the nations, The Lord is King; yes, the world is ordered so that it may not be moved; he will be an upright judge of the peoples.
Even so, I say to you, There is joy among the angels of God, when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing.
And suddenly there was with the angel a great band of spirits from heaven, giving praise to God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace among men with whom he is well pleased.
<To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David.> The heavens are sounding the glory of God; the arch of the sky makes clear the work of his hands.
Make a song, O heavens, for the Lord has done it: give a loud cry, you deep parts of the earth: let your voices be loud in song, you mountains, and you woods with all your trees: for the Lord has taken up the cause of Jacob, and will let his glory be seen in Israel.
Give praise to the Lord. Let the Lord be praised from the heavens: give him praise in the skies. Give praise to him, all you his angels: give praise to him, all his armies. Give praise to him, you sun and moon: give praise to him, all you stars of light. Give praise to him, you highest heavens, and you waters which are over the heavens.
<A Song of praise. Of David.> Let me give glory to you, O God, my King; and blessing to your name for ever and ever.
The Lord is King; he is clothed with glory; the Lord is clothed with strength; power is the cord of his robe; the world is fixed, so that it may not be moved. The seat of your power has been from the past; you are eternal.
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.