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1
Chronicles Chapter Sixteen
1 Chronicles 16
Chapter Contents
The solemnity with which the ark was fixed. (1-6) David's
psalm of praise. (7-36) Setting in order the worship of God. (37-43)
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16:1-6
(Read 1 Chronicles 16:1-6)
Though God's word and ordinances may be clouded and
eclipsed for a time, they shall shine out of obscurity. This was but a tent, a
humble dwelling, yet this was the tabernacle which David, in his psalms, often
speaks of with so much affection. David showed himself generous to his
subjects, as he had found God gracious to him. Those whose hearts are enlarged
with holy joy, should show it by being open-handed.
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16:7-36
(Read 1 Chronicles 16:7-36)
Let God be glorified in our praises. Let others be
edified and taught, that strangers to him may be led to adore him. Let us
ourselves triumph and trust in God. Those that give glory to God's name are
allowed to glory in it. Let the everlasting covenant be the great matter of our
joy his people of old, be remembered by us with thankfulness to him. Show forth
from day to day his salvation, his promised salvation by Christ. We have reason
to celebrate that from day to day; for we daily receive the benefit, and it is
a subject that can never be exhausted. In the midst of praises, we must not
forget to pray for the servants of God in distress.
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16:37-43
(Read 1 Chronicles 16:37-43)
The worship of God ought to be the work of every day.
David put it into order. At Jerusalem, where the ark was, Asaph and his
brethren were to minister before the ark continually, with songs of praise. No
sacrifices were offered there, nor incense burnt, because the altars were not
there; but David's prayers were directed as incense, and the lifting up of his
hands as the evening sacrifice. So early did spiritual worship take place of
ceremonial. Yet the ceremonial worship, being of Divine institution, must by no
means be omitted; therefore at Gibeon, at the altars, the priests attended; for
their work was to sacrifice and burn incense; and that they did continually,
morning and evening, according to the law of Moses. As the ceremonies were
types of the mediation of Christ, the observance of them was of great
consequence. The attendance of his appointed ministers is right in itself, and
encourages the people.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Chronicles》
1 Chronicles 16
Verse 4
[4] 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:
To thank, and praise — All our rejoicings should express themselves in thanksgivings to him,
from whom all our comforts are received.
Verse 7
[7] Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into
the hand of Asaph and his brethren.
First —
Hereby it is implied, that after this he delivered many other psalms into their
hands, to be sung by them to the praise of God in his public service. We shall
find it in the same words, in Psalms 105:1-15 and Psalms 96:1-11, all but the three last verses.
Verse 35
[35] 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.
From the Heathen —
This psalm or prayer was made by David for the use of the church, not only in
that present time, but in future ages, in which David foresaw by the spirit of
prophecy, the Israelites would forsake God, and for their apostacy be dispersed
among the Heathens. In the midst of our praises, we must not forget to pray for
those servants of God that are in distress. When we are rejoicing in God's
favours, we should remember our afflicted brethren, and pray for their
deliverance as our own. We are members one of another.
Verse 37
[37] 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:
He left — He
appointed them their work and station there. Indeed no incense was burnt there,
nor sacrifices offered, because the altars were not there. But David's prayers
were directed as incense, and the lifting up of his hands as an evening
sacrifice. So early did spiritual worship take place of ceremonial.
Verse 39
[39] And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle
of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,
Zadok —
The chief-priest at Gibeon, where the tabernacle and altar made by Moses still
were, where also the ordinary sacrifices were offered, and the stated worship
of God was performed, as the extraordinary worship was before the ark upon
great occasions, as when God was consulted, which was to be done before the ark
and by the high-priest, who was Abiathar.
Verse 40
[40] 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;
Which he commanded Israel — These must be kept up; because however in their own nature they were
inferior to prayer and praise, yet as they were types of the mediation of
Christ, the observance of them was of mighty importance.
Verse 42
[42] And
with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should
make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun
were porters.
Of God —
Appropriated to the worship of God; not such as they used on other occasions.
Between common mirth and holy joy, there is a vast difference: and the limits
and distances between them must be carefully kept up.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Chronicles》
16 Chapter 16
Verse 3
And He dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman.
Individuality
I. The great event
itself does not absorb all. We can easily understand how the bringing of the
ark to Jerusalem would have absorbed all minor considerations, but it does not.
Israel is not generalised into simply the male heads of the families; the bread
and flesh are distributed to “both man and woman.” God was being glorified, and
simultaneously the people blessed. Diffusion is what God delights in; He
connects the blessing of many with His own glory.
II. There was a
special provision here for personal enjoyment. The placing of the ark in its
tent of rest was not to be a mere historical fact, involving no personal
enjoyments. It is not in bare abstractions that God delights, but in their
bearing upon individuals. Perhaps one reason why the future glory of Christ is
so unsubstantial to many, and operates so little on their feelings, and raises
so few thoughts of joyousness in them, is the fact that they see so little of
its bearing upon themselves. The beams of this glory are to light up every
individual; every believer has actually a personal interest in them. Each man
has his own independent existence with its longings and aspirations, and no
generality will satisfy them. He must have for his own very self. This is not
selfishness; it is a law grounded on the very constitution of our nature. No
future lies before God’s people in which God Himself absorbs everything. He
will pervade all, which is a very different thing.
III. We are struck
with the distinct individuality of each. We cannot be too particular in
preserving our individuality. It is the foundation of our responsibility, of
His closest dealings with us, of all our capacity for happiness or sorrow in
the time to come. Every man is to give account of himself to God; every man is
to receive according to his works.
IV. The
consciousness of individual life is the foundation of individual effort. Let us
be encouraged, then, to have individual expectations. Let us link ourselves
individually with the great events of God. Both man and woman triumphed in the
bringing up of the ark; and both had the portion of bread and flesh and wine. (P. B. Power, M.
A.)
Verses 4-7
And to record.
The recorders
These recorders were to take notes of what God had done; they were to be the
chroniclers of the nation, and out of their chronicles they were to compose the
psalms and songs. The original of the word “record” bears another meaning--“to
bring to remembrance.” We gather--
I. That if
recorders were appointed, there is some fault in our memory towards the Lord.
1. Memory has been prejudiced by the fall.
2. Memory towards God’s mercy has been very much impaired by neglect.
3. Memory touching God’s mercy is often overloaded with other things.
I think Aristotle used to call memory the stomach of the soul, in which it
retains and digests what it gathers; but men cram it full of everything that it
does not want--upon which the soul cannot feed, and thus they ruin it for
remembering the best things.
4. Memory has also suffered from its connection with the other
faculties.
5. Our memory of God’s goodness is often crushed down by a sense of
present pain.
II. That we ought
to do all we can to assist our memories towards God.
1. It is a good thing to make an actual record of God’s mercy.
2. Be sure to praise God thoroughly at the time you receive His
goodness.
3. Set apart a little time for meditation.
4. Often rehearse His mercy in the ears of others.
5. Use everything about you as a memento.
III. We have all had
mercies to remember.
1. Common mercies.
2. Special providence.
3. The long-suffering of God.
IV. That all our
memories should tend to make us praise and bless God. Rowland Hill used to say
that worldlings were like the hogs under the oak, which eat the acorns, but
never think of the oak from which they fall, nor lift up their heads to grunt
out a thanksgiving. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
And Jeiel with psalteries
and with harps.--
The meaning of song
The meaning of song goes deep. Who is there that in logical words
can express the effect that music has on us? A kind of inarticulate,
unfathomable speech, which leads us to the edge of the infinite, and lets us
for moments gaze into that. (T. Carlyle.)
Musical talent dedicated to God
Jenny Lind believed that her art was the gift of God, and to be
dedicated to His service. “I have always put Him first,” said she, in her last
illness. (Church Worker.)
Verses 7-22
Then on that day David delivered first this psalm.
A psalm of thanksgiving
This, a composite psalm, represents a form of service rather than
a psalm. The whole of it, with slight variations, found in Psalms 96:1-13; Psalms 105:1-15; Psalms 106:47-48. It celebrates
redemption as unfolded in the history of Israel, proclaimed to the world, and
triumphant in judgment. This part sets forth.
I. An exhortation
to the noblest work--praising God. In three ways, chiefly, is this duty
recommended.
1. In giving thanks to God.
2. In seeking God.
3. In commemorating God’s works (verse 12).
II. Motives to
influence us in this noblest work.
1. God’s great love.
2. God’s great manifestations of love.
3. God’s great dominion.
4. God’s great claims.
5. God’s vindication of these claims. (J. Wolfendale.)
A memorable day
Let us gather up a few of the lessons which Providence read out to
humanity on that day.
I. That religion
is a subject in which the leaders of the people should endeavour to interest
the masses.
1. Religion is suited to the common and primary instincts of human
nature.
2. Religion provides for the fallen condition of human nature.
II. That religion
develops the distinctive characteristics of mankind. Through it “the thoughts of many
hearts are revealed.” In the history of this “day” four states of mind are
developed in relation to the Divine.
1. An enthusiastic interest in the Divine. Such was David’s state.
2. A stolid unconsciousness of the Divine. This was revealed in
Uzzah’s conduct. To him the ark only appeared as a common chest. He was a type
of those who engage in religious services without the religious spirit.
3. A calm confidence in the Divine. This was revealed in the conduct
of Obed-edom. The terrible fate of Uzzah filled David with overwhelming
excitement. The people were panic-stricken. But Obed-edom was calm. He took the ark into his own house
for three months; he stands by a deserted cause.
4. A thoughtless contempt for the Divine. This was developed in
Michal (1 Chronicles 15:29). She is a type
of a class who despise religious observances, religious people, and religious
services.
III. That religion
is always associated with the cheerful and the generous.
1. Here is music.
2. Here is hospitality. True religion is evermore the parent of true
philanthropy.
IV. That religion
is the patron of the highest art as well as the inspirer of the holiest
feelings (1 Chronicles 15:16-24). (Homilist.)
Verse 9
Sing psalms unto Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works.
Good conversation
I. The subject
here suggested for our commonplace talk: “his wondrous works.” We ought to talk
more about God’s wondrous works.
1. As we find them in Holy Scripture.
2. As we find them in the history of our own country.
3. As we find them in our own individual history.
II. The excellency
of this subject is both negative and positive.
1. Negative. Were we to talk more of God’s wondrous works--
2. Positive. The habit once acquired of talking more of God’s
wondrous works--
III. Let me urge
this taking ordinarily and commonly about God’s wondrous works. Not only will
it prevent much evil and do us much good, but it will be the means of doing
much good to others. It will--
1. Impress the sinner.
2. Enlighten the ignorant.
3. Comfort the desponding. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 11
Seek the Lord and His strength.
The seeker encouraged
There are three reasons for this.
I. Because it is
an evidence of grace.
II. Because their
success is sure.
III. Because, when
they have found, their aim and wish in seeking are fully answered. (W. Jay.)
Threefold seeking
I. The Lord for
mercy
II. His strength
for service.
III. His face for
happiness. (A. G. Brown.)
Verses 15-22
Be ye always mindful of His covenant
The national covenant
Learn:
I.
That
God’s method of intercourse with men has ever been in the form of a covenant.
Tayler Lewes says: “There is no religion without this idea of covenant with a
personal God, and therefore all such views as those of Comte, Mill, and Spencer
are, for all moral and religious purposes, wholly atheistical.”
II. That this
covenant method of intercourse with men displays the sovereign will and free
grace of God (Ephesians 1:5).
III. That this
covenant method of intercourse puts man under deep obligation to God.
1. They are chosen to great favours.
2. They should render thanks for these favours.
IV. The obligations
of men to God for his covenant mercies can never cease.
1. It is of Divine authority.
2. It is confirmed from time to time.
3. It is “an everlasting covenant” (1 Chronicles 16:17), “made with man
as an immortal being, and in itself an evidence of his designed immortality.” (J.
Wolfendale.)
Verses 19-22
He suffered no man to do them wrong.
Evil-doing restrained
I. Here is the
nearness and dearness of the saints unto God.
II. Here is the
great dancer to kings and states to deal with His saints otherwise than well.
III. Here is the
care and protection which God had over them, set and amplified.
1. By the number and condition of the persons whom He defended.
2. By what He did for them. (Thomas Goodwin.)
Touch not Mine anointed:--
Touch not Mine anointed
I. The person
whose the speech is. “He is the Lord our God” (1 Chronicles 16:14).
II. The persons to
whom. In general to all; specially to some.
III. The persons
concerning whom. His anointed.
1. The patriarchs, who were the rulers of their people. The name
implies fatherhood and government. They were anointed before there was any
material anointing at all.
2. The kings who were the successors of the patriarchs.
(a) The third general Council of Ephesus.
(b) The great Council of Toledo the Fourth.
(c) The great Western Council of Francford.
3. The fathers use the term in the same way.
4. After the patriarchs, this term is appropriate to kings, and kings
only, all the Bible through. It is used--
In the text and in Psalms 105:1-45. it is applied to the
patriarchs; all the other instances refer either to Christ or to kings. (Bp.
Andrewes.)
Verse 23-24
Declare His glory among the heathen.
Declaring God’s glory
I. Declare among
the heathen the glory of God’s perfections, that they may acknowledge Him as
the true God.
II. Declare the
glory of His salvation, that they may accept Him as their only Redeemer.
III. Declare the
glory of His providence, that they may confide in Him as their faithful
guardian.
IV. Declare the
glory of His word, that they may prize it as their chief treasure.
V. Declare the
glory of His service, that they may choose it as their chief occupation.
VI. Declare the
glory or His residence, that they may seek it m their best home. (William
Jackson.)
Verse 25
He also is to be feared above all gods.
The theology of The Old Testament
in the perusal of the Old Testament few sentiments more frequently
meet our eye than comparisons between the great object of worship among the
Jews and those imaginary deities to which the Gentiles in general paid
adoration. This contrast pervades alike their doctrines of religion, their
precepts of morality, and their hymns of thanks and praise. To the mind of a
legislator, a judge, or a prophet of Israel, comparisons of this kind naturally
and unavoidably arose, when he witnessed the ignorance, the polytheism, and the
superstitions of the nations around him. As the religious sentiments of the
Jews and Gentiles correspond with the objects of their faith and worship
respectively, a concise comparison between the theology of the Bible and that
of the heathen philosophers cannot fail to be interesting and instructive.
I. The Greeks and
Romans undoubtedly excelled the Jews, if not in the natural endowments of the
mind, at least in every artificial improvement. But in their doctrines respecting
the Creator, and His providence and His laws, they can come in no competition
with the nation whom they fancied they had reason to despise.
II. The writers of
Greece and Rome greatly exceeded those of Judea in the variety of their
publications in the variety of the subjects to which their genius appears to
have been adapted. In the authors of the Old Testament, when we again advert to
the peculiar subject of their excellence, we find such poetical addresses of
reverence or supplication to the supreme Being, and such descriptions of His
proceedings and His providence, as the whole circle of human literature cannot
elsewhere supply.
III. Amongst the
Greeks and Romans the most rational opinions entertained on these difficult and
important subjects were confined to a small number of the superior classes of
society. From the unlearned populace those opinions were, for reasons of pride
or policy, systematically and successfully concealed. Amongst the Jews, on the
other hand, we find no traces of one creed for the learned and another for the
ignorant.
IV. The
philosophers of Greece and Rome, if they did not themselves believe, permitted
or taught the people in general to believe that a different deity presided over
every separate nation and every separate city; over almost every different
profession among men, and almost every different object of nature; that these
various deities often disagreed in their interests and opinions, and opposed
each other in their wishes and pursuits. The Jews believed and taught that
there was One mighty Being, the Maker and Ruler of the world; to whose
authority every other sentient being owed implicit obedience.
V. The public
worship of the Gentiles was addressed on various occasions to as various
objects that were no Gods; and their rites and ceremonies were contaminated
always by superstition, and not seldom by impiety. The worship of the Jew was
addressed to one God, under one uniform character, as the only proper object of
adoration; whose perfections no image could fitly represent, and to whom pure
and spiritual worship was the most acceptable. To the one the Sabbath was a
pious rest from his labours. With the other, religious festivals were seasons
of intemperance, often immoral, and always licentious. (W. Barrow, LL.
D.)
Verse 27
1 Chronicles 16:27; 1 Chronicles 16:29
Glory and honour are in His presence.
The beautiful place
Apply this to the sanctuary.
I. Beautified by
God’s presence.
II. Beautified by
attractive services.
1. Cheerful song.
2. Freewill offerings.
3. Spiritual fervour.
III. Beautified by
loyal attendants.
1. Regular in attendance.
2. Mindful of its interests.
3. Obedient to its rules. (J. Wolfendale.)
Religious worship
I. It is due to
God.
1. It is right.
2. It is acceptable. Though not enriching, yet well pleasing to Him.
“Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth Me.”
II. It befits our
moral nature.
1. It meets our aspirations.
2. It satisfies our wants.
3. It dignifies our character.
It detaches from earth and sin, gives beauty to contemplate,
strength to imitate, and fear to humble and guide. “It is good for me to draw
near to God.” (J. Wolfendale.)
Strength and gladness are
in His place.
Abiding strength and gladness
We all need enthusiasm and vigour in our work. It is, however, a
rare thing to find these as an abiding, continuous experience. Youth, of
course, has freshness and freedom. Its ardent hopefulness covers everything,
just as we find when, looking at distant objects through a lens not perfectly
achromatic, we see them fringed with prismatic tints--a rainbow brilliancy
which does not belong to the objects themselves. There are objects in life that
lose their illusive and enchanting brightness when viewed in the sober
inspection of maturer age. Health, too, has its influence in imparting
enthusiasm. On a bright and bracing day we walk the street with resounding
foot. The sunlit skies and the crisp air help to quicken and enliven our
spirits. Contact with a friend we love warms our soul with new emotion, and
pours the elixir of life into languid veins. A great thought, or the perusal of
a delightful book, may stir our intellect to fresh activity. A new key to the
mystery of life is given us by momentary contact with an illuminated mind. But
society is complex. Cares are multiplied and minute in this our hurrying and
exacting life. By no voluntary act of ours can we maintain this tension, any
more than we can stretch a wire a hundred yards without a sag. With added years
and with narrowing friendships we see less of pleasure ahead to anticipate. We
come to feel the need of something to alleviate the weariness of life. Can we
as Christian disciples find in our religion that ennobling and enlivening
element which was found in the Hebrew? If not, ours is narrower and more
limited than the Hebrew. Yes, we do not find strength and gladness here. We do
not find a transient glow, an occasional enthusiasm, but an abiding joy, as we
come under the power of the religion of Christ? Do you ask, How this is to be
maintained?
I. We find it in
the entire relief from solitude as to the future which the grace of Christ
imparts.
II. We realise this
abiding strength and gladness as we remember that we are working out God’s will
concerning us in all that is done or borne by us.
III. We are educated
by what we do. The thought of developed character and of virtues daily
nourished within us is calculated to give abiding joyousness and strength to
life.
IV. Life eternal is
thus linked to this. A light supernal cheers and lifts up our spirits as the
swing of the sea lifts and carries forward the waves till they flood every
inlet and beach along the winding shore. We are released from apprehension as
to the future. We see all things working together for our good, around us and
within us. We do not rightly estimate the believer’s privilege. We go moaning
and whining, instead of walking on the high places. We go with weights, and not
with wings, over the bleak and barren paths of life. But if character have this
abiding strength and gladness, freshness and exuberance; if each of us have
this shekinah of glory within the soul, we shall show to men of the
world that we have what they have not. We have more than a knowledge of the
truth in its verbal exactness. We have Christ in us the hope of glory. We have
an enthusiasm more continuous than the ardour of youth or the glow of health,
or the inspiration of genius. This abiding power is what the world wants. Its
fruits, seen in character, ennoble society and link earth with heaven. They
make earth bright and vocal. Culture, art, science, mechanical skill cannot
work this transformation. Wealth is powerless. (Richard S. Storrs,
D. D.)
Verse 28-29
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name.
The claims of God to the worship and homage of His creatures
I. God is entitled
to and claims the homage of His creatures.
II. These claims
are made upon us, his intelligent creatures.
III. The worship and
homage required elevates the man who pays it. (J. Robinson.)
The glory which is due to Jehovah
The whole preceptive part of the Bible is contained in this one
command. Every being has a right and may justly claim to be regarded and
treated by all who know him in a manner suitable to the nature and character
which he possesses to the relations and offices which he sustains, and to the
works which he performs. Consider what is due to Jehovah.
I. An account of
His nature. He is God alone. He deserves something which is due to no other
being in the universe--religious worship and adoration.
II. On account of
the character he possesses. It is absolutely perfect. There is something in His
character suited to excite every proper affection of which the human soul is
capable.
III. On account of
the relations and offices which He sustains.
1. Creator.
2. Preserver.
These imply that God must necessarily be the universal Teacher, Master,
Sovereign, and Judge.
IV. On account of
the works which He has performed. Conclusion:
1. How reasonable are God’s requisitions! He merely requires the
payment of a great debt.
2. How immeasurably great, then, is the debt which our world has
contracted, and under the burden of which it now groans. (E. Payson, D.
D.)
The claims of the Supreme Being to the worship and homage of His
creatures
These claims are founded--
I. On our relation
to God as His creatures.
II. On the
manifestations of the Divine excellence visible in the universe around us.
III. In the
constitution and susceptibilities of our minds. Worship is not only fit and
proper as an act of the mind, but one to which it is naturally prone.
IV. On a
consideration of what is most conducive to the well-being of men. The very act
itself elevates the mind; it reminds us of our true position as the creatures
and the servants of God. Conclusion:
1. These acts of worship divide the world into two great
classes--those that fear God and those that fear Him not.
2. That as the public worship of God is one most important means of
proclaiming the great facts of His existence and government, it demands the
special and constant attention of all that fear God.
3. That as worship and homage are the requirements and the just
rights of the Supreme Being, and as they are intimately connected with our
well-being in this life and that which is to come, it is a serious and
important inquiry how we may be able to present it most acceptably. (J.
Robinson.)
Bring an offering.--
Hearing and worshipping
I. What do we come
to Church for? Not merely to get but to give. Not to take only but to offer.
Not to hear simply, but to worship: “bring an offering,” “worship the Lord.”
II. What is the
offering the bringing of which constitutes worship? It is the offering of
ourselves. Spirit, soul, body, substance. Conclusion:
1. This true explanation of the object of our meeting in God’s house
gives the clearest condemnation of those who absent themselves. “I can read my
Bible at home” might be an answer if we be but “hearers”; none if we be
“worshippers.”
2. How great is the honour of being allowed to honour God--as
worshippers!
3. Our direct worship shall be the smoke of the incense; but our
whole life shall be, as it were, a compound of sweet spices. (J. R. Vernon,
M. A.)
The beauty of holiness
The religion of the gospel of Christ is the “beauty of holiness,”
as it concerns--
I. Its author.
II. Its plan.
III. Its fruits.
(Legh Richardson.)
Verse 29
1 Chronicles 16:27; 1 Chronicles 16:29
Glory and honour are in His presence.
The beautiful place
Apply this to the sanctuary.
I. Beautified by
God’s presence.
II. Beautified by
attractive services.
1. Cheerful song.
2. Freewill offerings.
3. Spiritual fervour.
III. Beautified by
loyal attendants.
1. Regular in attendance.
2. Mindful of its interests.
3. Obedient to its rules. (J. Wolfendale.)
Religious worship
I. It is due to
God.
1. It is right.
2. It is acceptable. Though not enriching, yet well pleasing to Him.
“Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth Me.”
II. It befits our
moral nature.
1. It meets our aspirations.
2. It satisfies our wants.
3. It dignifies our character.
It detaches from earth and sin, gives beauty to contemplate,
strength to imitate, and fear to humble and guide. “It is good for me to draw
near to God.” (J. Wolfendale.)
Strength and gladness are
in His place.
Abiding strength and gladness
We all need enthusiasm and vigour in our work. It is, however, a
rare thing to find these as an abiding, continuous experience. Youth, of
course, has freshness and freedom. Its ardent hopefulness covers everything,
just as we find when, looking at distant objects through a lens not perfectly
achromatic, we see them fringed with prismatic tints--a rainbow brilliancy
which does not belong to the objects themselves. There are objects in life that
lose their illusive and enchanting brightness when viewed in the sober
inspection of maturer age. Health, too, has its influence in imparting
enthusiasm. On a bright and bracing day we walk the street with resounding
foot. The sunlit skies and the crisp air help to quicken and enliven our
spirits. Contact with a friend we love warms our soul with new emotion, and
pours the elixir of life into languid veins. A great thought, or the perusal of
a delightful book, may stir our intellect to fresh activity. A new key to the
mystery of life is given us by momentary contact with an illuminated mind. But
society is complex. Cares are multiplied and minute in this our hurrying and
exacting life. By no voluntary act of ours can we maintain this tension, any
more than we can stretch a wire a hundred yards without a sag. With added years
and with narrowing friendships we see less of pleasure ahead to anticipate. We
come to feel the need of something to alleviate the weariness of life. Can we
as Christian disciples find in our religion that ennobling and enlivening
element which was found in the Hebrew? If not, ours is narrower and more
limited than the Hebrew. Yes, we do not find strength and gladness here. We do
not find a transient glow, an occasional enthusiasm, but an abiding joy, as we
come under the power of the religion of Christ? Do you ask, How this is to be
maintained?
I. We find it in
the entire relief from solitude as to the future which the grace of Christ
imparts.
II. We realise this
abiding strength and gladness as we remember that we are working out God’s will
concerning us in all that is done or borne by us.
III. We are educated
by what we do. The thought of developed character and of virtues daily
nourished within us is calculated to give abiding joyousness and strength to
life.
IV. Life eternal is
thus linked to this. A light supernal cheers and lifts up our spirits as the
swing of the sea lifts and carries forward the waves till they flood every
inlet and beach along the winding shore. We are released from apprehension as
to the future. We see all things working together for our good, around us and
within us. We do not rightly estimate the believer’s privilege. We go moaning
and whining, instead of walking on the high places. We go with weights, and not
with wings, over the bleak and barren paths of life. But if character have this
abiding strength and gladness, freshness and exuberance; if each of us have
this shekinah of glory within the soul, we shall show to men of the
world that we have what they have not. We have more than a knowledge of the
truth in its verbal exactness. We have Christ in us the hope of glory. We have
an enthusiasm more continuous than the ardour of youth or the glow of health,
or the inspiration of genius. This abiding power is what the world wants. Its
fruits, seen in character, ennoble society and link earth with heaven. They
make earth bright and vocal. Culture, art, science, mechanical skill cannot
work this transformation. Wealth is powerless. (Richard S. Storrs,
D. D.)
Verse 31
And let men say among the nations, the Lord reigneth.
Pessimism
I. Now, what is
the prevalent tendency of opinion, as illustrated in our day, in science, in
art, in journalism, in literature, in social speculation? It may certainly be
summed up in the one word “pessimism”--that is, unbelief and hopelessness. The
illustrations of the tendency are manifold, they come from every side. If we
turn to philosophy, we find, as a consequence of unbelief, the revival of the
old doctrine that life is not worth living, that man is a failure, just as
Pyrrho, the ancient sceptic, compared mankind to swine pent up in a foundering,
wrecked, and rudderless vessel in the midst of a hurricane. “Since the human
race,” says Schopenhauer, “always tends from bad to worse, there is no prospect
but ever-deepening confusion and wretchedness.” “Existence,” says Von Hartmann,
“is unspeakably wretched, and society will grow worse and worse.” “More dreary,
barren, base and ugly,” said Carlyle, “seem to me the aspects of this poor,
diminished, quack world, doomed to speedy death,” which he can only wish to be
speedy. “A wave of doubt, desolation, and despondency has passed over the
world,” says an English poet, Mr. Alfred Austin, in a lecture before the Royal
Institution. “One by one all the fondly cherished theories of life, society,
and empire have been abandoned; we no longer seem to know whither we are
marching, and many appear to think that we are travelling to perdition.” This
pessimistic spirit, he said, pervades all society and all thought.
II. I will speak
mainly of the supposed connection of science with this pessimistic tendency. To
science many attribute its growth and its spread. “Science,” says M. Zola, the
French novelist, in his speech, “hath emptied nations, and is incapable of
re-peopling them; it has ravished happiness from our human souls, and is
incapable of restoring it; in proportion as science advances the ideal slips
away.” Now I believe science to be beneficent, and I believe pessimism to be
destructive, and, desiring to combat the predominant pessimism, I shall try to
prove to you that science gives no ground for it at all. Science is part of
revelation. Religion on one side is nothing but a knowledge of God, and science
deepens our knowledge of God. Religion on the other side is nothing but
morality. It is a good mind and a good life. There is not one law of morality
which science does not repromulgate and emphasise in thunders louder than those
of Sinai. Science is one of the Bibles of God by which, as St. Paul boldly
says, the invisible things of Him are rendered visible; it is God’s revelation
to the mind of man through the works of Nature, and whatever may be the voice
in which God speak to us, it is impossible for Him to lie. If we are faithless,
He abideth faithful; He is not able to deny Himself. The supposed antagonism
between science and religion is merely due to the passion and ignorance of men.
And science has been to men a boon unspeakable, an archangel of beneficence as
well as an archangel of power. She has prolonged life, she has mitigated
disease, she has minimised torture, she has exorcised superstitious terrors;
she has given to feeble humanity the eyes of Argus and the arms of Briareus,
she has opened to men’s thoughts unimaginable realms of faerie, and has made
fire, flood, and air the vassals of His will
III. Does science
tend to unbelief? And it is not true that science leads to unbelief. Whose name
stands first in the modern era of science? The name of Sir Isaac Newton. Was he
an unbeliever? He was one of the whitest, purest, simplest, most believing
souls that ever lived. Whose name stands first in science in our own generation? The
name of Michael Faraday. Was he an atheist? His friend found him one day bathed
in tears, and asked if he was ill. “No,” he said, “it is not that”; but
pointing to his Bible, he said, “While men have this blessed book to teach
them, why will they go astray?” It has been sometimes assumed that Charles
Darwin was an unbeliever; yet he wrote in his book on the descent of man: “The
question whether there is a Creator and Ruler of the Universe has been answered
in the affirmative by the highest intellects that ever lived.” There have been
scientific atheists, but such men have not been atheists as a necessary
consequence of their science, but because they have committed the very fault
which they scorn so utterly in priests: it is because they have tried to soar
into the secrets of the Deity on the waxen wings of the understanding; it is because
they have pushed their science to untenable conclusions and mingled it with
alien inquiries. H unbelief were a necessary result of science, no benefit
which science could possibly bestow could equipoise its curse, for religion
means that by which the spirit
of man can live. The destruction of religion would be first the triumph of
despair, and next the destruction of morality. Once persuade man that he is no
better than the beasts that perish, and he will live like the beasts that
perish; he will cease to recognise the intangible grandeur of the moral law,
and will abandon himself to the struggles of mad selfishness. All religion is
based on three primary convictions, of God, of righteousness, and of morality,
and these convictions science strengthens and does not destroy. (Dean
Farrar.)
God’s rule the saint’s comfort
John Wesley used to say, “I dare no more fret than curse and
swear.” A friend of his said, “I never saw him fretful or discontented under
any of his trials, and to be in the company of persons of this spirit always
occasioned him great trouble. He said one day, ‘To have persons around me
murmuring and fretting at anything that happens is like having the flesh torn
from my bones. I know that God sits upon the throne ruling all things!’” (R.
Newton.)
Verse 34
O give thanks unto the Lord.
Thanksgiving due to God for His goodness
I. Instances of
the loving-kindness and mercy of God.
1. The unfolding of a plan of salvation for sinners through His
well-beloved Son.
2. The furnishing so fully of the means necessary to salvation.
3. Temporal blessings.
II. The
thanks-giving that is due.
III. This goodness
ought to lead us to repentance. We ought to improve both the temporal and
spiritual privileges we enjoy to the promotion of His glory. (Alex.
Davidson.)
Verse 36
And all the people said, Amen.
The people’s amen
I. Indicating--
1. Attention.
2. Appreciation.
3. Interest in the service.
II. A solemn
sealing.
III. A real duty. (J.
Wolfendale.)
Verse 37
As every day’s work required.
Daily service
That was the law. Not as yesterday’s work required, not as
to-morrow’s work might require, but as every day’s work required within its own
twelve hours or twenty-four. That was order. The men had been singing. A
musical man cannot be disorderly; he would refute his own song, he would
annihilate his own music. “As every day’s work required”--morning by morning;
now much, now more; now not quite so much; now a little variety; but every day
had its duty; every morning had its opportunity. That is the secret of success.
For want of knowing such a secret and applying it many men are without bread
to-day. “As every day’s work required.” There is only one time--Now. “Now is
the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” Now is God’s great opportunity
given to us all. Yesterday is gone, to-morrow is unborn, to-day is now, and the
golden portal rolls back to let us into the larger liberty. Things are not to
be done at any time. That is where so many people go into confusion. To so many
people there is no regular time; that is the reason of failure, that is the
leak. They were going to do this, but they forgot. What I a man forgetting? He was going to do
this at ten o’clock, but he was busy at that moment, and now he will do it in
the afternoon. Never ask if you can do this to-morrow; no man has a right to
promise you that liberty. The great secret of successful life is discipline,
promptitude, military obedience--now! altogether! the best I can; as every day
requires. That was the way that Jesus Christ lived. In that apparently coldly
ethical doctrine there is a great evangelical gospel; the Son of God is hidden
in that disciplinary prose: “I must work the works of Him that sent Me”: are
there not twelve hours in the day? I must work while the light lasts; the night
cometh wherein no man can work: I must not postpone Monday’s duties to be done
in Tuesday’s light.” How is it possible for you to do so much? we say to this
great king of labour, and that great leader of civilisation; and he makes answer,
Only by doing the day’s work within the day. There are a great many persons who
have out-of-the-way places in which they store things to be attended to some
time; the fact being that there is no peace in that household, no music, no
deep content; there is always something tugging at the conscience and reminding
the memory of the arrears. Never have any arrears. What does a well-spent day
mean? It means Sabbath every night, satisfaction; it is finished, it is enough;
I have told my tale, I have woven my thread, there is nothing more to be done
to-day; then comes the sleep of the labouring man, and that is sweet. The lazy
man cannot sleep, he can only snore. Only he who works, works for God, with
God, in the spirit of Christ, can sleep, and God will make up all that is due
to him whilst he is sleeping. Secondly, let us enlarge the meaning of the word
“day.” The term “day” is one of the most flexible terms in Holy Scripture, in
poetry, and in general experience. “In six days the Lord made heaven and
earth.” I have no doubt of it; but I do not know what “day” means. We speak of
“our day”: does it mean from eight o’clock in the morning until eight o’clock
in the evening? Is the word “day” there a term of clock-time, or does it relate
to centuries, eras, epochs? We say, “Our little systems have their day”; does
that mean a chronometer day, or a larger and variable period? Evidently it
means the latter. So the text may be expanded without a change of word. “As
every day’s work required”--as the time needed, as the exigency demanded, as
the epoch called for, as the century required. You are fully aware that every
day, in the larger sense of age, epoch, or era, has its own peculiar revelation
and its own peculiar truth and special and even unique duty and obligation. We
cannot go back upon the centuries and fit the expired aeons into the framework
of the immediate day in which we are breathing. The apostle did not hesitate to
speak of “the present truth,” the truth of this particular day, with all its
thrill and pulse and feverishness; the present truth, precisely adapted and
suited to the immediate intellectual and spiritual condition of the times. We
read of men who fell asleep after serving their generation--“and having served
his generation, he fell on sleep.” And he serves the next generation best who
serves the present generation well. Your influence will not be cut off, it will
run on when you are no longer visible; it will be a memory, an inspiration, an
enthusiasm, an ever-recurring poem, lifting life’s prose into nobler music. We
must catch the very spirit and genius of the time; our question should be, What
will the people hear? Not in any grovelling or degrading sense, but, What is
the supreme necessity of the human heart just at this hot moment? What is it, then,
that covers and sanctifies all days?--the little day of twenty-four hours or
twelve, and the great day of long centuries and piled millenniums? That
permanent and all-sovereign quantity or force is Jesus Christ. It is said of
Him, He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He describes Himself as He
that is and was and is to come--Alpha, new as the dawn; Omega, venerable as the
sunset of millenniums. He abides in the Church, He is ever on the throne, He
gives the order of the day, He has a message for every morning. If we could lay
hold of that great truth we should have a united Church at once. So much for
working on the broader scale; so much for working within day, meaning century,
age, epoch. We are not all working in the same way or all doing precisely the
same kind of work. If the Church would but believe this she might have summer
all the year round. We will compare one man with another; it would seem as if
there were no escape from this lunacy. We think that unless a man shall begin
where we expect him to begin, and continue as we expect him to continue, and
conclude as we expect he will conclude, that such man is wrong. Never forget
that that man could criticise you if he thought it worth while to stoop so low.
Day--day--day--in its usual sense
it means so short a space of time. Take short views of life. Mayhap I am
speaking to some one who is worrying himself about the day after to-morrow.
Where is that day? Who has seen it? What will it be like? Who told you about
it? What rights have you in it? To-day is thy limitation. He who works well
to-day shall have holiday to-morrow--holiday in the sense of renewed strength,
increased vigour, and power to deal with the problems and handle the
difficulties of life. You are wondering who will live in your house two years
after you are dead. Why should you trouble yourself about two years after? You
will not be there to see, why trouble about it now? To-morrow is with God;
to-morrow is lingering by the lakes of heaven; to-morrow has not yet left the
eternal throne. Why fret and worry and tear thyself about to-morrow? It may be
the brightest day that ever shone upon thee; and if thou wouldst make it so,
to-day be up and doing, and to-morrow thou shalt have joy in thy Lord. (J.
Parker, D. D.)
Verse 41
To give thanks to the Lord.
Praise in song
(for a Choir Service):--King David was the greatest innovator in
worship of whom Scripture contains a record, for he introduced instrumental
music to guide popular singing in worship, and he formed the whole tribe of
Levi into a guild of various branches, one of which was employed in the musical
services of religion. There had always been in Israel a tendency to song. At
the digging of a well, at the winning of a victory, at the issue of a great
deliverance the people sang, not men only, or priests only, but men and women.
But music was not in the stated worship of God till David organised it. It was
this organisation that Solomon found ready to his hand. The purpose of the
music, the purport of the song, was praise for the mercy of the Lord: “to give
thanks unto the Lord, because His mercy endureth for ever.” “I am burdened with
the sense of the mercies of God,” said the dying Norman Macleod. That was the
burden of Israel and Judah in the old time (2 Chronicles 20:21; Ezra 3:11). That was the National Anthem
of Israel. There is none like it yet, not even Luther’s, though that comes next
to it. It is a hymn we might sing in eternity. There is something to stir the
heart in the mercy of God. There were many things that stirred the heart of
Israel, but this one was always the chief. We know very little about the hymns
or music of the early Church. Everything that was sung that was not a psalm
seems to have been called a hymn. Paul enjoins “psalms, hymns, and spiritual
songs” as a means of instruction and teaching. Thus it was at the German
Reformation. Thus it was at the Scottish Reformation, when almost all the
learning was of rhyme; psalms, beatitudes, creeds, and commandments--they
rhymed and sang them all. The Gnostic heretics had, through their hymns, such
hold on the heart, that he was the best champion of orthodoxy who could write a
rival hymn. The Arians also swayed the mobs of the great cities of the East by
their processions and their songs, and their catches sung at meal hours, so
that Ambrose and Chrysostom had to counteract them with hymns that were charged
with the very truth of God and Christ and the Holy Ghost. To you members of the
choir I would say, “You sing not as pagans sang; your music is not a refined
amusement, or a toy, but a consecration to God of a great gift with which the
Lord of the talents has entrusted you. It is given you that by its use you may
lead us up to God. It is not congregational worship if some one sings in the
presence of the congregation. The heart of the people must go with the singer.
There is not much more worship in hearing some one sing than there would be in
seeing some one paint. But there is a strange power in music--above all in the
music of the human voice--to awaken emotion. Some of the grandest preaching I
have ever heard was the singing of a hymn with a purpose. It was not worship,
but it was wonderful teaching, and it led to worship--worship of the highest
kind. Now triumph will be in the music that moves us to noble deeds. When one
Greek orator spoke, men said, ‘What a noble speech!’ but when the other spoke
men looked on each other, grasped their swords and said, ‘Let us march on
Macedon.’ And if you use your gift to the highest purpose it will have for its
result that we will arise and go to our Father.” Basil said the Holy Ghost was
the author of Christian music. This lifts up the central purpose beyond mere
notation; the Holy Ghost takes of the things of Christ and shows them to us. (Prof.
Charteris, D. D.)
Verse 43
And all the people departed, every man to his house
On family worship
Public exercises of religion, when properly conducted, have a
happy tendency to prepare the mind for those of a more private nature.
Our text tells us that David returned to bless his house--that is, to present
them to God in prayer and entreat His blessing upon them. This suggests the
duty of family prayer.
I. This duty is a
practice by which good men have been distinguished in every age.
II. Family prayer
is a natural and necessary acknowledgment of the dependence of families upon
God, and of the innumerable obligations they are under to His goodness.
III. This duty is
enforced by its tendency, under the blessing of God, to form the minds of
children and servants to the love and practice of religion.
IV. Family worship
may be expected to have a most beneficial influence on the character and
conduct of the heads of families themselves.
V. Probable pleas
which will be urged for the neglect of this duty.
1. Want of ability. Answer--
2. Want of time. Consider on what principle this plea depends: that
religion is not the grand concern; that there is something more important than
the service of God; that the pleasing and glorifying our Maker is not the great
end of human existence--a fatal delusion, a soul-destroying mistake.
3. It has been neglected so long that they know not how to begin.
VI. Hints on the
practice.
1. Let it ever be joined with reading the Scriptures.
2. Let it be constant.
3. Attend with a full decision of mind, with the utmost seriousness.
4. Seek the aid of the Spirit. (Robert Hall, M. A.)
David’s attention to his household
I. The work in
which he had been engaged: the
bringing up the ark to Jerusalem. A glorious work--
1. In itself.
2. As typical of Christ’s ascension into heaven (Psalms 24:1-10; Psalms 47:1-9; Psalms 68:1-35; Psalms 132:1-18.).
II. The work to
which he returned: “to bless his house.”
1. To obtain blessings for them by his prayers.
2. To render himself a blessing to them by his conduct.
Learn--
1. How highly we are privileged. The ark, even the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, is present in the midst of us.
2. In what way we should improve our privileges. We should endeavour
to communicate the benefit of them to others. (Skeletons of Sermons.)
Domestic duties
We cannot always live in public; it is true that we have tent work
to do, temple work etc., but when all that is external or public has been done,
every man must bless his own home, make his own children glad, make his own
hearthstone as bright as he possibly can, and fill his own house with music and gladness. (J.
Parker, D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》