Ministering Before the Ark

16:8–22pp—Ps 105:1–15
16:23–33pp—Ps 96:1–13
16:34–36pp—Ps 106:1,47–48

16 They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitchedd for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. 2 After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessede the people in the name of the Lord. 3 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisinsf to each Israelite man and woman.

4 He appointed some of the Levites to ministerg before the ark of the Lord, to extol,a thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel: 5 Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel,b Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

7 That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praiseh to the Lord in this manner:

8 Give praisei to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nationsj what he has done.

9 Sing to him, sing praisek to him;

tell of all his wonderful acts.

10 Glory in his holy name;l

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

11 Look to the Lord and his strength;

seekm his face always.

12 Remembern the wonderso he has done,

his miracles,p and the judgments he pronounced,

13 you his servants, the descendants of Israel,

his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

14 He is the Lord our God;

his judgmentsq are in all the earth.

15 He remembersc r his covenant forever,

the promise he made, for a thousand generations,

16 the covenants he made with Abraham,

the oath he swore to Isaac.

17 He confirmed it to Jacobt as a decree,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

18 “To you I will give the land of Canaanu

as the portion you will inherit.”

19 When they were but few in number,v

few indeed, and strangers in it,

20 theyd wanderedw from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another.

21 He allowed no one to oppress them;

for their sake he rebuked kings:x

22 “Do not touch my anointed ones;

do my prophetsy no harm.”

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

24 Declare his gloryz among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

25 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;a

he is to be fearedb above all gods.c

26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.d

27 Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

28 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.e

29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;f

bring an offering and come before him.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of hise holiness.g

30 Trembleh before him, all the earth!

The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.i

31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;j

let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!k”

32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;l

let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

33 Let the treesm of the forest sing,

let them sing for joy before the Lord,

for he comes to judgen the earth.

34 Give thankso to the Lord, for he is good;p

his love endures forever.q

35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;r

gather us and deliver us from the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name,

and glory in your praise.”

36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,s

from everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

37 David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements.t 38 He also left Obed-Edomu and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah,v were gatekeepers.

39 David left Zadokw the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeonx 40 to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Lawy of the Lord, which he had given Israel. 41 With them were Hemanz and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, “for his love endures forever.” 42 Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song.a The sons of Jeduthunb were stationed at the gate.

43 Then all the people left, each for their own home, and David returned home to bless his family.