Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth!
This verse is the high point of the psalm David gave for the day the ark came to Zion. Why does it send one sentence out to the nations — the LORD reigns — and why should heaven and earth be glad about it?
One writer sees the day as far bigger than the crowd standing there:
It is a magnificent psalm, and this chapter alone records it as one continuous song. It is made up of the first fifteen verses of Psalm 105, then the whole of Psalm 96, and it closes with the last two verses of Psalm 106. All this shows how fully David grasped the importance of the day and its far-reaching effects. Those effects went beyond the little nation of Israel, the only nation present that day. The day was a foretaste of that coming day of glory. Then Jehovah, who so often in this people's history called Himself the God of all the earth, will be owned as such in a universal supremacy, with Zion at its centre.
The song does not stay inside Israel. One writer follows the announcement out to the nations:
All the families of the peoples are called to come up and own this Jehovah the Creator, whose glory is in Israel. They are to worship in His courts there in the beauty of holiness. All the earth is to fear before Him. They are not only called to come up. The great declaration "Jehovah reigns" — the LORD is King — is to go through the nations. The world itself will stand firm and unmoved under the reign of Jehovah, and He will judge the peoples in righteousness. Then the universe is called on to rejoice at this display of His righteous power. So while Israel stands centrally as the place of Jehovah's covenant, the whole creation is summoned into joy, for He is the Creator as well as Israel's God.
The gladness is not only for people. One writer explains what changes for the created world when the reign begins:
And while Israel rejoices, the nations hear that He reigns, all creation will rejoice as well, for He takes the curse away and delivers creation from its groans.
Another writer traces that hope back to the first promise God made:
The first promise pointed so clearly to the Lord taking the earth back that the whole creation is pictured as hoping and waiting for it. (Gen. 3:15; Rom. 8:19-21) And so in the day of the kingdom of our God, these hopes of creation will not be disappointed. Then "the heavens will rejoice, and the earth be glad, the sea and all that fills it. The field will be joyful and all that is in it: the floods, the hills, and the trees of the wood will rejoice before the Lord."
Verses 23–33 follow Psalm 96 almost word for word, but not quite. One writer weighs the small changes:
Only in Psalm 96 do the words "Say among the nations that Jehovah reigns" stand where they take on a more prophetic character. Here the joy of the heavens and the earth comes before this message to the nations. And instead of "His courts," it says "before Him." The words "He shall judge the peoples with righteousness" are left out too. So is the second half of the last verse, which applies this judgment to the world. Apart from these changes, these verses match Psalm 96. To me the changes give this psalm more the character of a present joy.
A second writer explains why those lines were left out:
Compared with 1 Chron. 16:23–33, notice how prominent His reign is in Psalm 96. "He will execute judgment upon the peoples with equity" and "He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness" (vv. 10, 13) are not found in 1 Chron. 16. No one could say this as the direct testimony of David's own day.
Israel had a habit of singing this future while still living in the present:
In the days of Israel's triumphs they remembered the hope of the kingdom. They sang of it at the Red Sea, and looked on to it as the ark entered Jerusalem under David. (Exodus 15; 1 Chron. 16:23-33.)
- Reign — the verse turns on one announcement — the LORD reigns. Everything else in the song follows from it.
- Announced — that word is to travel out through the nations. Zion stands at the centre of it.
- Invited — the nations are not only told. They are called to come up, own the Creator, and worship Him in the beauty of holiness.
- Released — creation joins the gladness. His reign lifts the curse and ends its groaning.
- Already — small changes from Psalm 96 shift the tone from prophecy toward present joy. Israel sang the coming kingdom on the day the ark arrived.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field exult, and all that is therein.
David's psalm at the entry of the ark into Zion (1 Chronicles 16) does not stop with Israel. It calls the sea and the open country to join in — but why summon unthinking nature to praise, and when could such a song be answered?
These words were not composed for the occasion. Commentators point out that the whole song is a patchwork of psalms already in use:
The Song recorded here (verses 8-36) is composed of fragments of three psalms. Verses 8-22 correspond to Psalm 105:1-15; verses 23-33 correspond to Psalm 96:1-12; and finally, verses 34-36 correspond to Psalm 106:1, 47-48.
So our verse comes from Psalm 96.
The setting was modest. Yet the song's view stretches far beyond it:
This psalm suits the moment, with the ark still in a tent. Yet it looks forward to the time when the heavens will be glad and the earth will rejoice, and when men will say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." It has a prophetic character. It brings before the eye of faith what did not then appear... All the earth is summoned to sing to the LORD, because Israel's blessings will spread from one centre over the whole world.
Creation has something to be delivered from. One writer ties this call to the present state of the world:
Creation has a deep and personal interest in this. Its condition, made subject to futility, must stay unchanged until we are in glory. Then it "will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:21)... Right now the whole creation groans and suffers pain together. When the Lord comes back in power, its keynote will be changed, and created things will give Him a glad welcome.
The sea in Scripture is often a picture of unrest. Here the same noise means something else, and the fields have their own reason to join:
Nature is therefore called to rejoice in harmony: a song begun in heaven is taken up on earth, and the sea too lifts up its waves in gladness, not rebellion. The field is to exult too, and the trees of the wood, for the curse of barrenness is lifted off. Jehovah has come, and come to judge the earth.
Not every writer hears the roar that way. Elsewhere the word has a harder sound:
Under this beautiful imagery is the joy of saints and their sense of security while the sea — the world — is still roaring... "Roaring" does not suggest peaceful rest. In Scripture it is connected with tumult, battle, war, vengeance, and wrath.
Commentators differ over how to read the picture. Some take the images as figures for groups of people:
The earth (or the land), speaking of Israel, will overflow with gladness; the sea (the nations) will roar in worship (Psalm 96:11). "The field" is the world (Matthew 13:38), which will rejoice with all that is in it (Psalm 96:12). Then comes "all the trees of the woods" — a picture of every individual. Nothing is left out of the great celebration of the triumph of the true King.
Others hesitate. When one writer treated the roaring sea as turbulence and applied it to the nations, an editor added a caution in the margin:
Turbulence here may be questioned, as well as the application to the nations. "Roaring" is hardly uniform.
Where Chronicles borrows from Psalm 96, it also edits. The differences are not accidents of copying:
This section leaves out details that belong to the theme of Christ's reign but not to the theme of David's reign... Verse 33 says only, "For He comes to judge the earth." The psalm says more: "He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness" (Psalm 96:13). Such a fullness of government could not match David's reign.
- Borrowed — The verse comes from Psalm 96, sung the day the ark came to rest in Zion — the ark still in a tent.
- Prophetic — The song outruns its own day. It shows faith a time when the nations will say, "The LORD reigns."
- Groaning — Creation groans under futility now, so the song calls it to rejoice in the freedom ahead.
- Gladness — The sea's roar here is joy, not revolt; the field exults because the curse of barrenness is lifted.
- Measured — Chronicles drops the psalm's fullest words about judging the world in righteousness. David's reign could not carry them. Commentators also differ on whether sea and field mean nature or peoples.
Then shall the trees of the forest sing out at the presence of Jehovah, For he cometh to judge the earth.
David's song at the ark's arrival ends by handing the praise over to the forest. Two questions sit inside that line. Why should creation celebrate a coming judgment? And why sing about the far future on a day in David's own reign?
David did not compose this piece from scratch. He picked psalms that already existed and set them for the day the ark reached Jerusalem. One commentator traces which ones he picked, and why.
The king chose three Psalms for that occasion: 105, 96 and 106. All three come from the fourth book of Psalms, and none of them is credited to David. They began with Psalm 105, verses 1-15, and stopped there. David tied that day's ceremony to God's promise to the patriarchs to give their descendants the land. Next they sang Psalm 96, because the ark's entrance into Jerusalem was the pledge of the coming day of glory, when God's supremacy over the nations will be shown and owned.
Compare this verse with Psalm 96:13 and something is missing. Chronicles stops at the coming. The psalm goes on to say how God will judge the world.
Verse 33 says only, "For He comes to judge the earth." These words replace the words of the psalm (v. 13): "For He comes to judge the earth: He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness." Such a fullness of government could not match David's reign.
The ark was still in a tent when Israel sang this. One writer shows the song reaching far past that day.
This psalm suits the time when the ark was still in a tent. Yet it looks on to the day when the heavens will be glad and the earth will rejoice, and when men will say among the nations, "The Lord reigns." It has a prophetic character. It brings before the eye of faith what did not then appear.
One writer traces the joy back to a lesson David had learned the hard way.
David says that no one but the Levites should carry the ark of the Lord. He remembers his fall, learns the lesson, and now sets himself to act as God intended. So the work of man no longer spoils that of God. God is glorified, the people are joyful, and the ark of the Lord has taken its place among them again. The blessing is so great that the psalms they sing are those which will be sung in the millennium, when the Lord returns to Israel.
Trees do not sing about a court verdict. They sing because the coming of the Judge ends the damage done to the ground itself.
So nature is called to rejoice in harmony. A song that began in heaven is taken up on earth. The sea too lifts up its waves in gladness, not rebellion. The field is to be glad, and the trees of the forest, for the curse of barrenness is lifted off. The Lord has come, and come to judge the earth.
Creation does not sound like this today.
Now, the whole creation groans and travails in pain together. When the Lord comes back in power, its key-note will be changed, and created things will give Him a glad welcome.
The verse gives judgment as the reason for joy, which only works if this judgment is not the end of the world.
The whole earth, corrupted as it will be throughout, will pass through the crisis into the glory. God will judge; but His judgment will be purifying, not destructive. The earth outlives it.
Commentators differ on how literally to read the picture. Some hear the created world itself. Another reads the images as a picture of people.
"The field" is the world (Matt. 13:38), which will rejoice with all that is in it (v. 12). Then "all the trees of the forest" are mentioned, picturing every individual, so nothing is left out of the great celebration of the triumph of the true King.
Another writer finds God's people in the same imagery, at rest while the world is still in uproar.
These words have a deeper meaning than the blessedness of the natural world put in pictures. Under this beautiful imagery is the joy and conscious security of saints while the sea — the world — is still roaring.
- Occasion. David set this song to the ark's arrival in Jerusalem. He drew on Psalms 105, 96 and 106, because that day was a pledge of the coming day of glory.
- Restraint. Chronicles stops at "He comes to judge the earth." It drops the psalm's fuller words about judging the world, because that scale of rule did not match David's reign.
- Reach. The song looks past its own moment: the psalms sung that day are the ones to be sung when the Lord returns to Israel.
- Reason. The trees sing because the curse of barrenness lifts. Creation groans today; then it will change its key-note into a welcome.
- Result. This judgment purifies; it does not destroy. The earth outlives it, and that is why the coming brings joy and not dread.
Give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good; For his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever.
David has just brought the ark of the covenant up to Mount Zion. To mark the day, he hands Asaph and his fellow singers a psalm. Its closing line became the standing song of Israel. Why this line? Why at this moment? And how could a nation with such a record sing it at all? (The writers below say "mercy" where the ESV says "steadfast love.")
The refrain has a birthday. Israel had lost the ark to its enemies. David now set it in the place God chose for the king.
Psalm 136 celebrates a blessed principle tied to Zion, the place of sovereign grace in power. We have our place of praise and thanksgiving because of this: His mercy endures for ever. Ichabod had been written on Israel. The ark was where the blood was to be placed on the day of atonement, so that Israel might have a place with God. And that ark was taken — as far as Israel went, lost. But God's mercy endures for ever, and David, as soon as he sets the ark on Zion, establishes this song there.
David deliberately did not put the ark back where the old order of worship stood. That choice is bound up with the song.
David brings back the ark from Kirjath-Jearim. But he does not put it back in the tabernacle, where the outward form of worship went on. He puts it on Mount Zion, which God had chosen to be the seat of the kingship. Here it was grace, and grace exercised in power. So then, for the first time, David sets up the singing of the hymn: "For His mercy endures for ever."
This is not a sentimental line. Israel's record was one of complete failure, and the song stands against that background.
Next comes this form of words: "His mercy endures for ever." It declares that despite all the faults, all the sins and all the unfaithfulness of Israel, Jehovah's mercy has stood firm. This will be shown in full when the Lamb — the true ark of the covenant and the real David — stands on Mount Zion, even before He takes the character of Solomon.
Verses 34-36 come from Psalm 106 — but only the opening and the ending. One writer explains what is missing and why.
The third section of our chapter (vv. 34-36) is a citation from Psalm 106:1, 47-48. Its first verse suits the character of Chronicles and the moment when David gave his "first" psalm. Our passage deals only with the setting up of the ark in Zion, and leaves out all the rest of the psalm. That is because the psalm tells the history of the people under responsibility, and their complete failure in every situation they passed through — in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in Canaan.
Once given, the refrain reappeared at every major turning point — in glory, and in weakness.
That chorus had been sung in the bright day of David's success: when he brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 16:41). It sounded again in the days of Solomon, when the cloud and glory of His manifest presence filled the house of the Lord at Jerusalem (2 Chron. 5:13). Then the glory and brightness and successes of those days passed away, and the failure and ruin of Israel was complete. Even so, the returned remnant could raise the very same old note of praise… They had been faithless, but He was faithful.
The song also has a future.
This song will be sung during the millennium. But it could already be sung at the dawn of the reign of David and of the reign of Solomon (2 Chron. 5:13). That was the moment when God, in a foreshadowing picture, fulfilled His purposes of grace for the kingship.
The refrain does not stay in Israel's history. Anyone who traces God's dealings with them can take it up.
From first to last, and during all the time between, it is and will be nothing but mercy. Mercy in creation — and we can go further back still, even to God's purposes of grace in Christ before the foundation of the world. Mercy in our redemption, in our guidance through the wilderness, in our deliverance from our enemies, and in God putting us in possession of all that He has secured for us in Christ, whether now or when we are for ever with the Lord. So we may take up Israel's song and cry without ceasing, "O give thanks to the Lord; for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever."
- Ruin. Israel had lost the ark to the enemy. The song begins where human failure ends.
- Grace. David sets the ark on Zion, not back in the old tabernacle. Only then does he start the hymn, for this is grace working through power.
- Endurance. "For ever" means mercy that outlasts every fault, sin and unfaithfulness of the people.
- Reach. David sang these words. Solomon sang them in the filled temple, the weak returned remnant sang them, and the coming kingdom will sing them again.
- Ours. From God's purposes before creation to our being for ever with the Lord, it is all mercy. So the song is ours to sing too.
And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us, and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, To triumph in thy praise.
David's song for the day the ark came to Jerusalem ends with a prayer for rescue. No nation was oppressing Israel that day — so whose prayer is this, and why does a day of triumph close with a plea for help?
The last three verses of the chapter are not new words. David takes them from a psalm about Israel's failure — and leaves the failure out.
The third section of our chapter (vv. 34-36) is a quotation from Psalm 106:1, 47-48. Its first verse says, "Give thanks to Jehovah, for He is good; for His loving-kindness endures for ever." That suits the character of Chronicles, and the moment when David gave his "first" psalm... Our passage deals only with the setting up of the ark in Zion. It leaves out all the rest of the psalm. That is because the psalm holds the history of the people under responsibility. It records their complete failure in every situation they passed through — in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in Canaan.
The day ended with a prayer about a trouble no one there was in. It belongs to a people still to come.
So they closed that day with the first and the two last verses of Psalm 106. Those verses predict a state of things, and a need, that they were strangers to at that time. But we understand it, and the godly remnant of the future will fully enter into it... At that time no nation oppressed them.
In the psalm, this plea comes at the end of a long admission of guilt. The order matters: the people who ask to be gathered have first owned their sin.
They looked back over this history of constant failure. Even there they could trace the love that had acted towards them all through. He could not openly display it as He would; but the one cause of this was unrepented evil. Now, in their confession of their sin, He could return; and if He could, He would. They cry to Him for this: that He would save and gather them from the nations, so that they might give thanks to His holy Name, and triumph in His praise!
The answer to this prayer is still ahead. It waits on the day the throne of Jesus stands in the very city where the ark was placed.
Finally we have the two closing verses of Psalm 106. The first prays that God would gather Israel from among the nations. That gathering will be the result of the throne of Jesus being set up in Zion. The second closes the psalm by blessing for ever Jehovah the God of Israel — as we find at the end of each book of Psalms. This song of praise contains, then, every subject that the presence of Christ in Zion will give occasion to celebrate...
The verse makes four requests. The first one holds up the other three.
I would only draw attention to the last verse. In it we find the four great characteristics of the people of God fully set out... The Church of God is a saved company. Salvation is the basis of everything. We cannot answer to any of the other characteristics in this rich verse. First we must know ourselves as saved by the grace of God, through the death and resurrection of Christ.
The last request — thanks to His holy name — is not a separate item tacked on. It grows out of the three before it.
Finally, we have the spirit of a worshipping people: "That we may give thanks to your holy name." This follows from everything we have been looking at. Salvation, association, separation, and worship are all connected together. The Church breathes the atmosphere of God's salvation. The Spirit leads her into holy and happy fellowship. So, separated to the Lord Jesus, outside the camp, she presents the fruit of her lips to God, giving thanks to His name.
The prayer asks for more than rescue. It asks God to turn a confessing people into a praising one.
The psalmist has confessed the sins of the people. Now he appeals to Jehovah to save His people, gather them from the nations, and make them a praising people. Expecting the answer to his prayer, he calls all the people to praise the Lord God, who is blessed from everlasting to everlasting.
- Saved first. Salvation is the basis of everything. The other requests wait on this one: knowing yourself saved by grace, through the death and resurrection of Christ.
- Gathered next. God gathers His people from the nations when Jesus takes His throne in Zion — the day the whole song looks forward to.
- Separated then. Deliverance from the nations sets a people apart to the Lord Jesus, outside the camp.
- Praising last. The rescue has a stated purpose: to make them a praising people, giving thanks to His holy name.
- Confessed throughout. The words come from a psalm of national failure. People who have owned their sin raise this cry, and God returns to them.
Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, from eternity and to eternity! And all the people said, Amen! and praised Jehovah.
David's great song, sung when the ark was carried into Jerusalem, does not end with the king's voice but with the whole nation's. Its last line blesses God for all time, and the people seal it with one word — so where did these words come from, and what does that "Amen" do?
David handed the singers a psalm built out of psalms already written, and he chose the closing lines with care. One writer traces where each part came from and shows that the ending looked past that day.
The king chose three Psalms — 105, 96 and 106 — all from the fourth book of the Psalms, and none of them credited to David. They gave fitting words for everyone on that occasion... So they closed that day with the first and two last verses of Psalm 106. These verses predict a situation and a need that Israel knew nothing of at that time. We understand them, and the godly remnant of Israel in days to come will enter into them fully... At that time no nation oppressed them.
The blessing has no end because the One it blesses never changes. One writer ties the people's Amen to God's unchanging nature.
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting" — He does not change, and all the people are called on to say Amen to this solemn truth. What wonderful grace first, and what patience of mercy afterwards! Such is the hope of Israel!
These words are not a one-off. Four sections of the book of Psalms end with a doxology — a short burst of praise — and each one draws the same short response.
The book of Psalms is divided into five books. Each of the first four ends with a doxology, and with it we meet the significant word "Amen." "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen" (Ps. 41:13)... "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, 'Amen!' Praise the LORD!" (Ps. 106:48).
The word the people spoke was already familiar in Israel. Its earlier uses were solemn ones, where a person went on record before God.
A strong statement of agreement and consent. We first read of its use when a woman was suspected of being unfaithful to her husband and had to drink the bitter water. The priest spoke a curse on her if she had been guilty, and the woman had to answer Amen, Amen (Num. 5:22). So when the priest on Mount Ebal read out the various curses, he added it to each one: "And all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen'" (Deut. 27:14-26).
Here the same word turns from agreeing with a curse to agreeing with praise.
Writers read the last two verses as reaching far beyond David's reign.
Verses 35 and 36 look ahead to the final accomplishment of all the blessings listed in our chapter. They will be fully realised only when God delivers Israel from among the nations. That time is still future, and then this praise will ring out: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!" David's people rejoice in this praise ahead of time.
One writer hears an echo of this verse in the New Testament, where Christ Himself leads the praise.
Are we not reminded by this verse of what is written in Psalm 22:22 and Hebrews 2:12: "In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise"? Christ is not only the centre of His gathered people, but the leader of their praise to God the Father.
The same thing happens when Christians gather now. One voice speaks, and the rest answer.
One believer expresses it for all the rest, and the gathered church says Amen. There is a worship meeting coming in which the whole church will take part, and will hear an Amen that echoes through creation... I believe that if the heart is right, an Amen will come out — a "so be it." You are putting your seal on what the Spirit of God draws out, and God looks for that.
- Given — David chose the closing lines from Psalm 106, words that spoke of a rescue Israel did not yet need on that day.
- Grounded — "From everlasting to everlasting" holds because God never changes. That is what the people say Amen to.
- Sealed — "Amen" is firm agreement. Israel had used it to accept curses; here they use it to seal praise.
- Shared — One voice gave out the psalm, and the whole nation answered. Christ leads His people's praise in the same way.
- Still ahead — They sang the song ahead of time. Its full sound waits for the day when God gathers Israel from among the nations.