1 Chronicles 16:1–43

16:4–7 David’s innovative appointing of Levites to provide music for the ark procession (cf. comment on 15:16–24) is made permanent, to be a regular component of worship “before the ark.” They are to be “ministers” in singing, with the separate roles continuing as priests “blow trumpets regularly” (16:6) and the Levites sing “thanksgiving . . . to the Lord” (v. 7; 15:16–24; 23:30). Names of specific Levites and their musical responsibilities are repeated (cf. 15:17–21; supplemented with more details and names in 16:37–42). Music is to be an integral part of worship from this point forward, in contrast to the largely silent liturgy of the tabernacle.

“Invoke” (v. 4) translates a word that has the sense of “bring to remembrance”: praise starts with naming the Lord, reminding worshipers of the God whose people they are (e.g., vv. 8–13; contrast the negative injunction of Ex. 23:13, “make no mention [same Hb. verb] of the names of other gods”). “Invoke” could also include worshipers’ asking the Lord to remember his people when they are in distress (as in the superscriptions of Psalms 38 and 70, “for the memorial offering”). The Lord elsewhere declares that altars are places where “I cause my name to be remembered” (Ex. 20:24); here that is enhanced by the Levitical choirs. To “thank” and to “praise” are intertwined in usage: “thank” tends to relate to specific instances of deliverance, both individual and corporate, whereas “praise” is commonly used for God’s general attributes and activity. As examples in the following psalm, verses 15–22 are specific while verses 23–27 are general.

The brief section ends by reaffirming that the singing of “thanksgiving” by the family of Asaph had its origins when “David first appointed” this activity. Davidic authority is later the basis for resuming the practice after the exile (Ezra 3:10; Neh. 12:45–46; cf. 2 Chron. 29:25, 30).

16:8–36 In the center of the chapter’s narrative of the ark’s installation in Jerusalem, the Chronicler inserts an extensive integrated adaptation of psalms of thanksgiving sung at the temple through the centuries.² By prominently placing this psalm (the only such song in Chronicles) at the beginning of worship in Jerusalem, the Chronicler unmistakably shifts his hearers’ attention from the ark itself (which for the hearers had ceased to exist) to what the ark symbolized, the sovereign Lord who had made “an everlasting covenant” with Israel (vv. 6, 13–17). In combining and adapting Psalms 105:1–15; 96:1–13; 106:1, 47–48, the Chronicler brings together God’s covenant with Israel, the land of Canaan as Israel’s inheritance, God’s protection (1 Chron. 16:14–22), God as creator and sovereign over all nations (vv. 23–27), and a call for all nations to recognize his glory and for all creation to rejoice (vv. 28–33). The call to “give thanks to the Lord” frames the psalm (vv. 8, 34) and leads into a separate brief cry to God to “save us” so that “we may give thanks” (vv. 35–36). The story of God and his people and their present plea for deliverance (vv. 13–22, 35) are in the larger setting of God’s global and cosmic reign: in Israel’s praise, the Lord, the God of Israel, is affirmed to be the sovereign over all nations and even the whole of the natural world.

Throughout the “thanksgiving . . . to the Lord” (v. 7) God’s character and deeds are to the fore (“the Lord,” 15x), but, as is common in the book of Psalms, the words are addressed not to God but about God to others. God is praised by singing about him, calling others to join; the Levites may be leading the singing but all Israel, the nations, and all creation are called to participate. From beginning to end are several imperatives, most being forms of words already used in the preceding narrative: “give thanks” (vv. 8, 34, 35), “remember” (vv. 12, 15), “praise” (vv. 10 [“glory”], 25, 35, 36), and “sing” (vv. 9, 23), together with “declare” (v. 24), “ascribe” (vv. 28 [2x], 29), and “bring an offering and come” and “worship” (v. 29). The nonhuman world is also addressed, using an indirect imperative (“let . . .”; vv. 31, 32). Only in the plea of verse 35 is God addressed directly.

The opening, verses 8–12, is identical to Psalm 105:1–5; the call to “seek the Lord” matches a key theme of the Chronicler.³ The addressees of the opening imperatives are named in 1 Chronicles 16:13 as the “offspring of Israel, . . . the children of Jacob.” The change from “Abraham” (Ps. 105:6) to “Israel” may be because the Chronicler focuses on the covenant promise of land, which was given not to all of Abraham’s descendants but only to Jacob’s. Further, throughout the book the Chronicler uses “Israel” to focus upon God’s people as including all who are descendants of the patriarch (“Jacob” occurs in Chronicles only in this passage, 1 Chron. 16:13, 17).⁴

Psalm 105 recounts God’s actions for his people from the patriarchal period through the exodus to the possession of the land, but the Chronicler incorporates only the patriarchal section, which speaks of the covenantal promises to Israel of “the land of Canaan . . . for an inheritance” and of God’s protection during the patriarchal period (1 Chron. 16:14–22; Ps. 105:7–15).⁵ Making two grammatical changes, the Chronicler calls his postexilic audience to “remember” that God made an everlasting covenant concerning the land with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (1 Chron. 16:15; cf. “he [God] remembers,” Ps. 105:8), and he associates his audience with the vulnerable situation of the patriarchs, who were protected in the land by God (“you were few in number,” 1 Chron. 16:19; cf. “they,” Ps. 105:12). The psalm in this way both fits the context and invites hearers to be a part. A song of thanksgiving is an encouragement to trust God and so join in praise.

A global context has already been part of the psalm’s language: the Lord’s “judgments are in all the earth” (1 Chron. 16:14), and God protected his people as they wandered “from nation to nation” among “another people” (v. 20). But the earth and the nations are not simply a backdrop to Israel’s life; Israel’s thanksgiving is to lead to universal praise. A call to “all the earth” to join in (vv. 23, 30), using Psalm 96:1–13, becomes part of Israel’s song of thanksgiving. God’s “glory” and “his marvelous works” are to be made known among “the nations” and “all the peoples” (1 Chron. 16:24, 28; cf. vv. 8, 12). He is to be praised because, first, unlike the “worthless idols” that are others’ gods, he “made the heavens” (v. 26), and, second, he reigns justly over all nations and all the natural world (vv. 30–33).

In verse 31, a rearrangement of the order of phrases in Psalm 96:10–11 now gives the “heavens” and “earth” the joyful task to “say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’” The nations are to see God’s reign through his works among his people and through the natural world. The Chronicler’s compilation is an example of worship that joyously affirms the coming day when the whole of creation, including God’s people and the nations, will be at one in giving glory to God—so this is to be proclaimed to all. Universal joy (1 Chron. 16:23–25) is anticipated by the “joy” that is now in “his place” (v. 27; cf. “beauty,” Ps. 96:6). The psalm is a bold declaration of faith for postexilic hearers living in the Persian Empire, whose ideology was centered on the emperor’s having been made king by Ahura Mazda, who was considered “the greatest of the gods, who created heaven and earth and man.”⁶

The concluding verses (1 Chron. 16:34–36) are based on the introduction and conclusion of Psalm 106 (vv. 1, 47–48). This choice may point hearers to the whole of that psalm, a litany of events from the time of the exodus that focuses on instances in which God’s people failed to trust him but God in his mercy nevertheless continued to lead them on and deliver them. Again the Chronicler’s variations are significant. The insertion of “Say also” (at the start of 1 Chron. 16:35) makes the use of Psalm 106:1 in 1 Chronicles 16:34 the conclusion of the whole preceding song of thanksgiving. Praising the Lord’s “good[ness]” and “steadfast love” embraces all of the song’s specifics (same wording in 16:34, 41; 2 Chron. 5:13; 7:3; 20:21; Ezra 3:11; Pss. 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1). Now the simple cry, “Save us,” flows from the character and deeds of God proclaimed extensively in all of 1 Chronicles 16:8–34. The Chronicler adds “of our salvation” and “deliver”: the people, no matter from where they are to be “gather[ed],” must be set free from foreign domination. Significantly, as in Psalm 106:47, the goal of the deliverance is that God is given praise and glory.

As a conclusion to the psalm, the Chronicler turns the ending of Psalm 106 (“Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Praise the Lord!”) into part of the narrative. It was not only the Levites who gave thanksgiving before the ark, for “all the people said, ‘Amen!’ and praised the Lord” (1 Chron. 16:36b). At this beginning of worship in Jerusalem, full participation by all is affirmed. In the Chronicler’s example, praise and thanksgiving become the basis of petition, which in turn leads to universal praise.

16:37–42 The arrangements for ministry at the ark continued “regularly . . . as each day required” (v. 37). Later Jewish tradition records that Levites recited specific psalms each day in the temple (m. Tamid 7:4).⁷ The Mosaic prescriptions, however, intended the ark to be housed in the tabernacle, which was still at Gibeon (cf. 2 Chron. 1:2–6; 5:5). Earlier “burnt offerings and peace offerings” had been offered before the ark (1 Chron. 16:1, 2; 2 Sam. 6:17, 18), but now the Chronicler is careful to say that David made arrangements for sacrifices at Gibeon, also to be accompanied by Levitical musicians (1 Chron. 16:39–42). The statement that certain Levites were “expressly named to give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever” (v. 41) beautifully combines the first and last words of the song (vv. 8, 34). Praise at Gibeon was to match that in Jerusalem. Whether before the ark or at the tabernacle, the Lord is sought not only with sacrifices but also in the performance of thanksgiving and praise.⁸

16:43 The Chronicler returns to the text of 2 Samuel 6:19b–20a, bringing to a literary closure the opening of 1 Chronicles 15:1–3. The account of Michal and David (2 Sam. 6:20b–23) is omitted; enough has been said in 15:29. The ark was now in its “place,” with arrangements for the Levites to “minister to [the Lord] forever” (15:1, 2), and so the people who had been gathered (15:3) could return home and David could now return to his “houses” (15:1) “to bless his household” (cf. the Lord’s earlier blessing of Obed-edom’s household; 13:14). The narrative will continue with focus on David’s “house/household” and a “house” for God.