In 1 Chronicles 16, we have the settlement of the ark of God, and we have the psalm of praise that David gives upon this occasion, and the settlement of the public worship of God through the appointment of David as king and as prophet. Hear now the word of Almighty God, inspired by his spirit, profitable for us. 1 Chronicles 16, starting at verse 1, reading the whole chapter. So they brought the ark of God and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it. And they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. And he dealt to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread and a good piece of flesh and a flagon of wine. And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord and to record and to thank and praise the Lord, God of Israel. Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jael, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Matithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jael, with psalteries and with harps. But Asaph made a sound with cymbals. Benaiah also, and Jehazael, the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. Then on that day, David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him. Talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name. Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face continually. Remember His marvelous works that He hath done, His wonders and the judgments of His mouth. O ye seed of Israel, His servant, ye children of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of His covenant. the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac, And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance, when ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it. And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people, he suffered no man to do them wrong, yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Show forth from day to day his salvation. declare His glory among the heathen, His marvelous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the people are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Glory and honor are in His presence, strength and gladness are in His place. Give unto the Lord ye kindreds of the people. Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear before him all the earth. The world also shall be stable. Let it be not moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let men say among the nations, the Lord reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the woods sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord. So he left there before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the Ark continually as every day's work required. And Obed-Edom, with their brethren, threescore and eight, Obed-Edom also the son of Jedathon, and Hosea to be porters. And Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon, to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel. And with them, Heman and Jedethon, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth forever. And with them, Heman and Jedethon, with trumpets and cymbals, for those that should make a sound. And with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jedethon were porters, And all the people departed, every man to his house, and David returned to bless his house. Thus far, the reading of God's inspired word from the book of First Chronicles, chapter 16. May the Lord bless us in the reading and hearing of his inspired word. We have here a solemn settlement of the ark in verses 1 through 3. We've read of this previously in 2 Samuel 17 through 19, very slight differences. Sometimes the word Lord is used versus God is used in 1 Chronicles 16, but otherwise the narrative is identical. Verses 4 through 6. We have the solemn appointment of the Levites to minister in song before the Lord. Notice verse four, he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord. These were the orders mentioned in First Chronicles 15, 18. These were public or liturgical servants before the face of God's holy ark, the symbol of his presence. Remember, the ark has the mercy seat on top, the gospel, the sprinkling of blood and the forgiveness of sins, called the Heliosterion or the atonement or the propitiation. That's what that seat is called in the Bible. Then inside of the ark is the broken tables of the law, the 10 commandments, broken and therefore in need of redemption, but also to be written upon the hearts of those who are reconciled by the gospel. So in the ark of the covenant or the Testament, we have the law and the gospel both represented to the people with the presence of God and the sprinkling of blood. It says in verse four, likewise, and he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Lord and to record. And this is very important. The word record, Diodati comments, record unto the church God's benefits and wonders and to make unto him perpetual acknowledgement of them by songs and holy songs. That's what David appointed them for. You'll read about Asaph. You'll read about Heman. You'll read about the sons of Korah. You'll read about the chief musician. That's what this is talking about. Asaph was the chief musician. The others were allied with him working there in the singing of God's praise to record, to hear what Psalms God would give, and then to sing them in remembrance to God himself. To thank and to praise the Lord God of Israel. They were witnesses of the holy Psalms in the church of God in the Old Testament. They were there to give thanks and praise. And we likewise, when we sing these sacred songs and psalms, remember, these were breathed out by God and profitable, recorded by the holy prophets and the Levites. Let us, as we sing these psalms, enter in with thanksgiving, to praise the God of Israel, to rejoice in his benefits and in his wonders, and to acknowledge them by means of these songs and psalms." That's God's intention for them. That's God's intention for us. Asaph is mentioned in verse 5, who made a sound with cymbals. We read about this in chapter 15 of 1 Chronicles, verses 17 through 19. Remember, there were two orders. The first order was Asaph, Heman, and Ethan. Then the second order, several names were given. And in the second order, they were divided into various instruments. One, the more shrill sounds, the higher notes. The other for the lower sounds. And some also did trumpets before the ark, which we've read about here. Verses 7 through 22, or through verse 36, I should say, we have David's psalm of praise. Verse 7 tells us that David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord. In other words, this is the first time David comes to give a psalm and say, this is authorized by God. You should be using this in public worship. Here are words worthy of God, inspired by his spirit for giving thanks and praise to him. Now this Psalm is at least four Psalms. So the Spirit of God gave this to David on this occasion, but later by the Spirit, the same Spirit that gave him this, he divided it out and expanded the material of this one Psalm. In fact, here are the Psalms, Psalm 96, Psalm 105, Psalm 106 and 107, little parts of it, So God, in his great wisdom, determined to give a prototype of the rest of the Psalms in this one, and then to expand it later by his providence and overruling power. David delivered this, verse seven tells us, into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to the chief musician, as we read in Psalm 12 or Psalm 18. Asaph is the chief musician. These Psalms, hymns and songs of David were to be used by the Levites in the temple, especially by the musician Asaph and his brethren. Let us rejoice in the majesty of the Psalms. They are high and exalted. You can read the hymns written by men, as they call them. You can read the ditties. You can read the praise songs and the I just wanna wanna songs. You can look through all of these things. You will find nothing like the Psalms of David. They are majestic. They are rich in variety. They are powerful in their doctrines. They are practical in their applications. They afford us abundant matter of praise. The ancient fathers used to say, the Psalms of David are the first, the middle, and the end of Christian worship. At the beginning, at the end, and in the middle, what do you find? The Psalms of God. They are a Bible within the Bible. They give you every doctrine and every major historical fact through the rest of the Bible in one book. They look back on the Exodus, back on the creation, back on the judges, back on David, back on Saul, forward to Christ yet to come, to the captivity and the deliverance from captivity, the redemption in Christ, the incarnation of the Son of God. They teach us how to repent. They teach us how to sorrow. They teach us how to be angry. They are a mirror for our souls. They are a manual of prayer, of praise, of piety, and godly living. They calm our fears, inspire our hopes, and exalt our God. The Psalms abase us. They give holy expression to our joy and proper vent to our anger. They exalt us to heaven. They comfort us while we mourn. They teach us to repent. They are a lamp to our path, a mirror to our souls, and the wells of living water to those who are a thirst. This is what he's talking about. These are the Psalms that David gave as matter of praise to God to glorify him in his worship. And we are a holy priesthood. This is why we're to sing the Psalms. God gave them to the Levites, to the priests. And then he says, you people are my priesthood. You are a royal priesthood, a chosen generation to show forth what? The praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That's what the book of Psalms is all about. Verses 8 through 22. We have a virtual parallel of Psalm 105 verses 1 through 15. and I will put off the exposition of that portion of the Word of God until we come to the Psalms, God willing, in some years. Verses 23 through 33, we have a virtual parallel to Psalm 96. Verses one through 13, again, we will defer the exposition. Verse 34 is a virtual parallel to Psalm 106, verse one. And Psalm 107, verse one, again, we'll defer the exposition. And then verses 35 and 36, a virtual parallel to Psalm 106, 47, and 48. You see what I mean? This is a seminal Psalm in this chapter. It becomes the seed for all kinds of other Psalms, explicitly with added material, or it weaves its way into the other Psalms that I have not even mentioned. Then verses 37 through 43, we have the settlement of the public worship of God. We have the ark settled, now we have the worship settled that centers around that ark and also back at the tabernacle. Verses 37 and 38, Asaph and his brethren are left before the ark to do according to every day's work with the priests of the second order as porters and players on instruments. Zadok is mentioned in verse 39. One of David's officers, we've read about him in 2 Samuel 8, 17. Also, we find out that he was a seer. Remember when his son Absalom pushed David out of Jerusalem, there was one who came with the ark, that was him, Zadok. He was coming with David with the ark and David said, what? No, go back to the city. Send me information through your son and through your nephew so that I can know what they plan to do and act accordingly. This is Zadok, the priest, David's friend in exile, his informant through his son Ahimeaz, and one of David's officers. He was in the high place that was at Gibeon. This is where the tabernacle was. Remember, the ark was taken out of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was at Gibeon. That's why it's called the high place. Solomon would sacrifice there a thousand burnt offerings before he built the temple. 1 Kings 3 verse 4. Notice that they were to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord. The morning and evening sacrifice, Exodus 29, 38-42 and Numbers 28, 3-8. To the law and to the testimony. That was the order of worship that David required. What did God say? What did he command? to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel." This is the precise nature of the inspiration of the Bible. God commands things as with His own voice. Where? Where do you find out what God commands? By a long train of oral traditions from the rabbis? In the Talmud? In the Mishnah? In the Midrash? In the Fathers? In the Councils? In the Reformers? In the Confessions? Is that where you find out God's speaking? No. Where do you find it out? As it is written. That's where you find it out. What saith the Scriptures? God commanded Israel in a written document called the Law of the Lord. That's where He commanded them. And this is not something that expired with the Jewish state. This is not something that was unique to them. Oh, well, there's no Christian book of Leviticus, therefore we can worship God however we want. That's absurd. God may not speak in the same genre as Leviticus, but He most certainly speaks to how He is to be worshipped. And we must hear, lest we fall prey to worshipping Him according to the doctrines and commandments of men. What saith the Scriptures? What is written in the law? How readest thou? That's how we should worship God. God commands in a written document called the Bible, Heman and Jedethon, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name. Listen. They were chosen. They were elected. They were expressed and called by name. They were a royal priesthood. They were a chosen generation as a type and shadow of the body of the faithful in Jesus Christ. Chosen by God for the praise of God. Chosen by God by His grace for His glory to show forth His praise. That's what they were. That's what we are. Let us rejoice that our names are written in heaven, that we are, as Simon Peter says, a royal priesthood chosen to sing God's praise, since God has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light by what? By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the greatest marvel and wonder that God has ever done. They were chosen and expressed by name. Verse 41 tells us to give thanks to the Lord. Why? Why should I give thanks to the Lord? Because His mercy endureth forever. How long does His mercy go on? That's how long your praise should go. Give thanks to Him. Why? Because the mercy He gives goes on forevermore. And mercy means God keeps His promises. God swears and makes a covenant and a testament, and you think He's going to violate that? No, He will not. His mercy endures forevermore. It is perpetual. We are to give thanks in all things. Why? Because there's no moment when His mercy stops. His mercy endures forever. So our thanks should endure forever. Also notice that they used musical instruments of God. Matthew Poole comments, he says, they were appointed and appropriate to the worship and honor of God. They were not the musical instruments that David, as an uninspired man, passed on and said, well, you know, maybe we should use these. Maybe it's a good idea. No, these were worthy of God because appointed by God, not appointed by the will of men. In the New Testament, we have the command to sing the Psalms, but do you ever read of a command to use a harp, or a lyre, or a trumpet, or a cymbal? No. He says to make melody with your hearts. You, the faithful, are the priesthood, you are the sacrifices, the living sacrifices, you are a royal priesthood, and you are to sing as the instruments of God to give thanks to the Lord. The inner man makes the melody. We are the instruments upon which the Spirit of God plays the tune, so to speak. And all the people departed, verse 43 tells us, every man to his house, and David returned to bless his house. This resumes what we read in 1 Chronicles 15, 29, from 2 Samuel 6, 19 and 20. And thus far the exposition, though David sought to bless his house, Michal brought a curse on herself, as we read in 2 Samuel 6. Thus far the exposition.