1 Chronicles 16:27

1Ch_16:27; 1Ch_16:29

Glory and honour are in His presence.

The beautiful place

Apply this to the sanctuary.

I. Beautified by Gods 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 Gods 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 believers 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.)

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

27. Glory and honour] R.V. Honour and majesty.

are in his presence] R.V. are before him, i.e. are His, belong to Him as His attributes. Perhaps also before him refers to God’s abode in heaven, while the parallel expression in his place (Psa_96:6, in his sanctuary) refers to His temple on earth.

strength and gladness] Psa_96:6, strength and beauty. The reference seems to be to the strength and gladness (or beauty) which God bestows on Israel (Psa_68:35; Isa_61:3).

in his place] Read with Psa_96:6, in his sanctuary. Cp. the two preceding notes.

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.

Place. In Psalm xcv. 6., holiness and majesty in his sanctuary. Hebrew, "strength and beauty in," &c. God is served in his tabernacle with piety.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

There is beauty and majesty before Him; might and joy in His place But the idols are lying like dead; wherever they are placed they lie, because our God is the true God.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.