1 Chronicles 16:23

(23-33) See Psalms 96. This psalm, in the Psalter, consists of five strophes or stanzas of six lines each—an artistic arrangement which has been violated here. The subject is the extension of Jehovah’s kingdom over all the world, a thought familiar to the readers of the Book of Isaiah, where most of the ideas and phrases of the psalm may be found.

(23) Sing unto the Lord, all the earth.—The second line of the psalm. The spirited opening of the psalm is purposely weakened, by omission of the first and third lines, in order to make it fit in here. Strophe I. is thus compressed into four lines (1Ch_16:23-24).

All the earth.—All the land (of Israel).

Shew forth.—Heb., tell the (good) news of.

His salvation.—Deliverance (from exile).

(24) Heathen.—Nations (1Ch_16:31).

(25-27) Strophe II. of the psalm. Jehovah is the Creator; other gods are nonentities.

(25) He also.—And he. The conjunction is not in Psalms 96, and is a prosaic addition of the compiler. (Comp. 1Ch_16:20.)

(26) People.—Peoples.

Idols (’ĕlîlîm).—A favourite expression in Isaiah.

(27) Strength and gladness are in his place.—Psa_96:6 : “Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.” The psalmist’s idea of the heavenly temple seems to have been understood of the earthly; and then his phrase was altered as unsuitable.

Gladness (hedwâh).—A late word, occurring again in Neh_8:10 only. “Beauty” (tiph’èreth) is ancient.

His place—i.e., the tent of the Ark on Mount Zion. (Comp. 1Ch_15:1; 1Ch_15:3.)

(28, 29) Strophe III. of the psalm, mutilated. A call to all nations to come and worship in the Temple of Jehovah.

(28) Kindreds of the people.—Clans (races) of the peoples.

(29) So far each verse of this ode has symmetrically consisted of two clauses. The present verse has three—another mark of awkward compilation.

Come before him.—Psalms 96, “into his courts,” that is, the Temple courts: an expression modified here to suit another application.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.—Rather, bow ye down to Jehovah, in holy vestments. This line ought to be the first of the next couplet.

(30) Fear (plural).—Literally, Writhe ye.

Before him.—The preposition is a compound form common in the Chronicles; in the psalm it is simple.

The world also shall be stable.—A line, which precedes this in the psalm, is omitted here, to the detriment of the sense. That line—“Say ye among the nations, Jehovah is king”—begins the fourth strophe of the original hymn, but is here strangely transferred to 1Ch_16:31.

(31) Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice.—In the Hebrew, the initial letters of these words form an acrostic of the sacred Name of Jehovah; and those of the first half of 1Ch_16:32 make up Iahu, another form of the Name.

And let men say.—An adaptation of Psa_96:10 : “Say ye among the nations.”

(32) Let the fields rejoice.—Here begins the fifth strophe of the original psalm.

Fields.—Heb., the field, or open country. Psalms 96 has an archaic spelling of the word (sâdai), which is here modernised (sâdèh).

Rejoice.—Exult (not the same word as in 1Ch_16:31).

(33) At the presence of.—The compound preposition of 1Ch_16:30. The climax of the psalm—“He shall judge the world in righteousness, and peoples in his faithfulness”—is here omitted; and this long and heterogeneous composition terminates with verses borrowed from a third source.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ch 16:23 Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.

Ver. 23. Sing unto the Lord.] See Psa 96:1, &c {See Trapp on "Psa 96:1"} &c

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ch_16:23-24

Declare His glory among the heathen.

Declaring Gods glory

I. Declare among the heathen the glory of Gods 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.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23–33 (= Psa_96:1-13)

23. Sing unto the Lord] In Psa_96:1-2 this burden is thrice repeated; in Chron. it is once given. Note that 23 b corresponds with 2 b of the Ps.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 23-36. The grandeur and unusual comprehensiveness of the adoration and homage here proclaimed, as to be offered to the omnipotent Ruler of all nations, should be well pondered. Our eye and ear may have become too familiar with it, but when put a little into relief, and referred to its original time of day, it is fit to be ranked among the strongest moral evidences of inspiration in the word and the speaker.

This verse is composed of the latter half of each of the first two verses of the psalm (96.).

Vers. 23-25.

Christian joy a witness.

These verses reappear in Psalm 96. In that psalm the sacred nation is charged to praise Jehovah, and to spread the good tidings in all places. Such praise is fitting, seeing that all other deities are nothing, and Jehovah is God alone. Calvin, writing on this psalm, says, "It is an exhortation to praise God, addressed not to the Jews only, but to all nations. Whence we infer that the psalm refers to the kingdom of Christ; for till he was revealed to the world his Name could not be called upon anywhere but in Judaea." It is said that when the sun is going out of sight the pious Swiss herdsman of the Alps takes his Alpine horn and shouts loudly through it, "Praise ye the Lord." Then a brother herdsman on some distant slope takes up the echo, "Praise ye the Lord." Soon another answers, still higher up the mountains, till hill shouts to hill, and peak answers to peak, the sublime anthem of praise to the Lord of all. Characteristic of the psalmist is joy in God: and in this he is the one great Scripture example; Isaiah, perhaps, coming next after him, and St. Paul having much of the same feature marking even his toilsome and suffering life. Joy, as an element of religious life, must in part depend on:

1. Disposition. Some are of sanguine and hopeful, others of desponding, disposition. Some can easily turn everything into song, while others can never get beyond stern prose. We are not responsible for our natural dispositions, but we are for their due modification, harmony, and culture. Often latent and unsuspected faculties can be developed, and it is seldom wise to excuse failure and shortcoming on the ground of "human nature

2. Poetical faculty. Where this is given joy and song would seem to Be easy; yet, on the other side, it may be said that poets are often sad-toned men, probably because accompanying the poetical faculty is a power of insight which brings to the poet"s eye the wrong that lies at the heart of so much that is seemingly good. But this cannot apply to thoughts and views of God. Insight and faculty can only find reasons for joy and song when they have to do with him and his all-merciful ways.

3. Youthful piety. Those who seek God early, as David did, usually have a brightness and gladness and joy of full trust on their whole religious lives Which the later-renewed can never reach. This is one of the best of the rewards given to early piety.

4. Earnest soul-culture. This, by leading to renewals of trust, to firmer hold of revealed truth, and to deeper experiences of Divine communion, bears directly upon the joy side of Christian feeling. When attained, Christian joy becomes a witness for two reasons or in two ways.

I IT MEETS THE COMMON SENTIMENT THAT A THING MUST BE GOOD IN ITSELF IF IT TENDS TO MAKE US BRIGHT AND HAPPY. How common this sentiment is may be shown from ordinary life. The people who always cheer us, we feel sure, must be good people, and the same may be said of books, etc. In this way, therefore, our personal joy in God may become a gracious moral power on all who are around us. And hazy Christians have a most noble and blessed witness.

Sing on your heavenward way, Ye ransomed sinners, sing.

A weary world sadly needs the sweet relief and cheering of much Christian song.

II IT SETS CHRISTIANITY IN A DISTINCT AND IMPRESSIVE CONTRAST WITH ALL OTHER RELIGIONS. They are familiar enough with the sentiment of fear. In perilous rebounds they know seasons of intense sensual excitement, which caricature true joy. But the prevailing tone of all other religions besides Christianity is sad. Only the Christian may "abound in joy through the Holy Ghost." Who could sing before that Athenian altar whereon was inscribed, To the unknown God"? And who could fail to sing ann give praise, that might look into the face of the Father of Jesus, and say, "This God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our Guide even unto death "? R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)

all the earth

This refers to the people of the earth. AT: "all you people who live on the earth" (See: Metonymy)

announce his salvation

The abstract noun "salvation" can be translated using the verb "save." AT: "announce that he has saved us" or "tell people that he is the one who saves" (See: Abstract Nouns)

day after day

"every day"

Declare his glory among the nations

"Tell all the people in every nation about his great glory"

translationWords

Yahweh

earth

save

declare

glory

amazed

works

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.