Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known his acts among the peoples.
David has just brought the ark of the covenant — the chest that marked God's presence among Israel — into the tent he prepared for it on Mount Zion. This verse opens the song he handed to the singers that day, and its three commands set the tone for all that follows.
This song is not about victory over enemies. Commentators tie its whole character to the ark reaching its resting place.
The song of 1 Chronicles 16 is completely different. It is the hymn of the beginning of the kingship, announced by the setting up of the ark in Zion. The ark is God's throne among His people, at last entering into its rest… This psalm is called "the first" to celebrate the Lord. Here the subject is not what it was in Samuel: victory over the wicked, the responsibility of the saints, and God's government over them. The subject here is God's faithfulness to His promises. That faithfulness was accomplished at last by the ark's return to Zion, after Israel had forfeited every right to keep it among them.
The words are not new that day. David drew them from psalms found elsewhere and joined them into one piece for this moment.
This is a magnificent psalm indeed (1 Chronicles 16:8-36), which this chapter alone records in a continuous form, made up of the first fifteen verses of Psalm 105, followed by the whole of Psalm 96, and concluded by the last two verses of Psalm 106. All this shows how fully David grasped the importance of the occasion and its far-reaching effects. They touched not only the little nation of Israel, the only nation there that day, but pointed on as a first instalment of that coming day of glory.
Each phrase of the verse shapes the people who sing it.
The psalm opens with a call to Israel to give thanks to the Lord; to call upon His name, and to make known His deeds among the peoples. So restored Israel are to be a praising people, a dependent people and a witnessing people.
Notice who the song does not talk about. The singers themselves stay out of view.
1 Chronicles 16 is the hiding of self and the setting forth of the character and ways of God. In short, it is a song of praise; you only have to read it to be refreshed.
What follows verse 8 shows which acts of God go on public record. One writer traces them back past Moses to Abraham.
Psalm 105 celebrates the deeds of the Lord, His marvellous works, and the judgments of His mouth. God calls Israel to remember, not Moses and the conditional promises given to the people through him, but the covenant He made with Abraham. That covenant carried no conditions — an everlasting covenant to give the land to his seed. The psalm reminds Israel how God preserved those heirs of promise, as they went from nation to nation… The beginning of the psalm celebrates grace towards Israel, according to the promises made to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, when the judgments of God are in all the earth.
"Among the peoples" reaches far past Israel. The song moves out from one tent on one hill to the whole earth, and forward to a day that had not yet come.
This psalm fits the circumstance of the ark being still in a tent. Yet it looks on 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. It opens with a burst of praise… It calls all the earth to sing to the Lord, for the blessings of Israel will spread from a centre over the whole earth.
- Occasion — The verse opens the first psalm David gave to the singers, sung when the ark came to rest in Zion. Its theme is God's faithfulness to His promises.
- Thanks — Thanksgiving comes first: the song hides self and sets out God's character and ways instead.
- Dependence — To call on His name is what marks a dependent people, leaning on Him and not on themselves.
- Witness — What Israel makes known is grace. The covenant with Abraham had no conditions, unlike the promises given through Moses.
- Horizon — The audience is "the peoples." The blessing centred in Zion will spread over the whole earth, in a day still ahead.
Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; Meditate upon all his wondrous works.
David had brought the ark of God home, and Israel answered with a psalm of thanksgiving. This line comes near its start, and it raises two questions: which works does it celebrate, and who may talk about them?
David had already failed once in trying to move the ark his own way. The second time, he followed God's own instructions.
David remembers his fall, and the lesson is learned; he now sets himself to act according to God's intention. So we see that the work of man no longer spoils the work of God. God is glorified, the people are joyful, the ark of the Lord has taken its place among them again, and the blessing is so great that the psalms they sing are the ones that will be sung in the millennium, when the Lord returns to Israel. In 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 they sing Psalm 105, and from verses 23 to 33 they sing Psalm 96.
The song borrows only the first part of Psalm 105. It keeps God's promise to Abraham and drops everything that rests on Israel's own conduct.
The first 15 verses of Psalm 105 are an appeal to celebrate the Lord because of His covenant "which He made with Abraham, and of His oath to Isaac... To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." This is a covenant of pure grace, God's faithfulness to His promises. The covenant of Sinai was different: it rested on the people's responsibility... We do not find a single word about Israel's oppression by the nations as a result of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage.
The song's opening calls ask for more than music. Together they shape a whole people.
The psalm opens with a call to Israel to give thanks to the Lord, to call upon His name, and to make known His deeds among the peoples. So restored Israel are to be a praising people, a dependent people and a witnessing people.
The same writer points to two objects of praise here: what God has done, and who He is.
They are called to praise the Lord for what He has done and for what He is in the glory of His Person. He has done wondrous works, and His name sets forth what He is — He is holy.
One writer traces every song in Scripture back to a single cause.
The first thing to notice about this outburst of joy is this: Scripture never mentions singing except in connection with redemption. Angels are never even said to sing... It is only redeemed ones, therefore, who can sing, and from this we learn the true character of Christian song. It should express the joy of salvation — the notes of praise and gladness that the knowledge of redemption produces in the soul. "Is anyone cheerful?" says James, "Let him sing praise." (James 5:13.)
That link also decides who has any business with the second half of the verse.
Singing is also advised (v. 2), for singing is the language of a redeemed people (Ex. 15); and it is only fitting to speak of His wondrous works when we have received the blessing of them.
The last part of the verse holds its easiest command, though it is often mistaken for something harder. The ESV reads "tell of all his wondrous works"; the older translation quoted here reads "talk."
We read in the Psalms, "Let us talk of all His wondrous works." That is a real privilege, and it is within the reach of all who know Him. Notice that it does not say, "Let us preach." If it did, we might feel the instruction was beyond us. But it says let us talk — talk about Him, as a child talks about his father, saying to his playmates, "I wish you knew my father, he is the best in all the world."
Israel's song looks at what God did for their nation. Christians have still greater works to speak of.
On the Lord's day morning, when we come together, what fills our hearts is the theme of His praise. We have the still more wonderful works of God in Christ and the new creation; and the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven bears His witness to these (Acts 2:11). Here Israel is pictured as occupied with the wonderful things God has done to deliver their nation.
- Grace first. The part of Psalm 105 sung here celebrates God's promise to Abraham. It says nothing about the people's failure.
- Redemption sings. Scripture ties singing to redemption, and never says angels sing. Song is the language of the rescued.
- Sing to Him. Praise goes to God for what He has done and for what His name shows Him to be — He is holy.
- Then talk. The command is not "preach" but "talk," a privilege open to everyone who knows Him, just as a child boasts about his father.
- More to tell. Christians have wonders David never had: the works of God in Christ and the new creation. The Holy Spirit bears witness to them.
Glory in his holy name Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.
David gave this song when the ark came up to Zion. It calls the people to make God's name their boast and God Himself their joy. Two questions follow. What makes God's name worth boasting in? And why does seeking Him make a heart glad?
Commentators tie this song to the day the ark reached its resting place. They also see in it the opening of David's kingship.
The song of 1 Chronicles 16 is completely different from the song in 2 Samuel 22. It is the hymn of the beginning of the kingship. Setting the ark up in Zion proclaimed that kingship: the ark is God's throne among His people, and it has at last entered into its rest. This song is closely tied to the ark's return. We are told, "Then on that day David first delivered this psalm to give thanks to the LORD through Asaph and his brothers." It is called the first psalm given to celebrate the Lord. In Samuel the subject was victory over the wicked, the responsibility of the saints, and God's government toward them. Here the subject is God's faithfulness to His promises. The ark's return to Zion accomplished that faithfulness at last, after Israel had forfeited every right to keep it among them.
The song draws on the first part of Psalm 105. One writer weighs what that part holds, and what it leaves out.
The first fifteen verses of Psalm 105 call us to celebrate the Lord because of His covenant. It is the covenant "which He made with Abraham, and of His oath to Isaac; and He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." This is a covenant of pure grace, God's faithfulness to His promises. The covenant of Sinai stands in contrast, for it rested on the people's responsibility… Here we do not find a single word about Israel's oppression by the nations because of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage.
Praise here rests on two things at once.
They are called to praise the Lord for what He has done and for what He is in the glory of His Person. He has done wondrous works, and His name sets forth what He is — He is holy.
It would be easy to boast only in what God can do. One writer points past His power to His holiness — and then to what the seeker finds.
They may well glory too in His holy name — not only in the power of that great name, but in the holiness of it. It will surely be true also that the hearts of those who honestly seek the Lord will greatly rejoice. In seeking the Lord, they will also seek His strength.
To glory in something is to boast in it. The verse does not kill that urge; it gives it the right object.
Grace brought them all to glory in the Lord — to boast in Him! They had nothing in themselves to boast in, and the heart needs something, or rather someone — a worthy object; therefore He is the One provided for this purpose. He who glories in men is not wise; and he who boasts in himself is a fool… The word boast may sound a little out of place at first, but it is the word the Spirit of Truth has used to build us up, and we do well to take hold of its force: "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
David's first try at moving the ark ended in disaster. What he changed the second time explains the joy of this song — and points beyond that day.
In 1 Chronicles 15:2 David says, "None ought to carry the ark of the Lord but the Levites." He remembers his fall, and the lesson is learned; he now applies himself to act according to God's intention. So we see that the work of man no longer spoils the work of God. God is glorified, the people are joyful, and the ark of the Lord has again taken its place among them. The blessing is so great that the psalms they sing are the very psalms Israel will sing in the millennium, when the Lord will return to them… How different are the results in chapter 13! There David acts by himself without consulting the Lord, and he and all his people are plunged into affliction.
- Grace first. The song quotes only the promise half of Psalm 105. That covenant is pure grace, unlike Sinai, which rested on the people's responsibility.
- Grace names Him. His name shows what He is: holy. Praise Him both for His wondrous works and for who He is.
- Grace redirects the boast. The heart must boast in something; God gives Himself as the worthy object, so glorying in men or in self is folly.
- Grace rewards the seeker. Seek the Lord honestly and your heart will rejoice. In seeking Him you also find His strength.
- Grace outlasts the day. Once David acted God's way, joy replaced the disaster of chapter 13. Israel will sing those same songs again when the Lord returns.
Seek Jehovah and his strength, Seek his face continually;
David sang these words on the day the ark came to rest in Zion. They call a whole nation to stop looking at itself, to draw its strength from the Lord, and to stay in His presence. The verse raises two questions: why is seeking put in terms of strength, and why must it be continual?
These words come from a song for a turning point in Israel's history. One writer sets out the occasion:
The song of 1 Chronicles 16 is completely different. It is the hymn that opens the kingship, announced by setting the ark in Zion. The ark is God's throne among His people, and at last it has entered its rest. This song is closely tied to the ark's return. On that day, we read, "David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD by Asaph and his brothers." So this psalm is called "the first" song of praise to the Lord.
What does "seek the LORD" mean here? One writer ties the call to promises older than the Temple:
It is a call to Israel to stand again on their true ground, the ancient promises, and to seek the LORD. The ark of the covenant now rests among His believing ones, not because it is set up in the Temple, but because God is faithful.
The song's opening call places the seeker between two other callings — thanks before, and witness after:
The psalm opens with a call to Israel to give thanks to the Lord; to call upon His name, and to make known His deeds among the peoples. So restored Israel is to be a praising people, a dependent people and a witnessing people.
Why strength, and why without a break? The same writer answers both, quoting an older wording, "seek his face," where the ESV has "seek his presence":
They are to call upon Him, or "seek the Lord," because they are weak and "strength" is with Him. This dependence must be constant: they must "seek his face continually" (compare John 15:5).
Where is God's face seen? One writer answers:
God's face shining on His people means that He is revealed in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. We see it in the transfiguration, when "his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light" (Matthew 17:2). And 2 Corinthians 4:6 confirms it: God "has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Believers today enjoy this shining out of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
One writer turns the command into a habit for today, and says what it proves:
Let us, then, follow these examples of Scripture. If we seek the Lord and His strength — Psalm 105:4 — we shall prove how He can enable feeble ones to stand against the storm. And then let us not forget to render to Him the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His holy name.
The joy of this chapter came at a cost. A severe lesson at a threshing floor came first, and seeking the Lord is one of the lessons it names:
The magnificent psalm of 1 Chronicles 16 looks back and looks forward. It pours out present praise, and it draws praise to God from ALL the people. All of this is the precious result of what they went through and the lesson they learned at this threshing floor... God's choosing; God's preparation; God's due order; God's command according to His own word; the need for sanctification and for seeking the Lord.
- Occasion — David gave this as the "first" psalm of public thanks, when the ark, God's throne among His people, came to rest in Zion.
- Ground — the call sends Israel back to the ancient promises, which stand on God's faithfulness.
- Reason — you seek His strength because you are weak, and the strength is with Him.
- Duration — this dependence must be constant, so you seek His face without a break.
- Result — He holds weak people up in the storm and makes them a praising, dependent, witnessing people.
Remember his wondrous works which he hath done; His miracles, and the judgments of his mouth
David's song at the ark's arrival in Zion turns from praise to a command. The people are to hold God's past acts in living memory — but what were they to remember, and why does it matter so much?
David gave this song when the ark finally came to rest in Zion.
The song of 1 Chronicles 16 is completely different. It is the hymn that opens the kingship, proclaimed when the ark was set up in Zion. The ark is God's throne among His people, at last entering its rest. This song is bound up with the ark's return. Here the subject is not what it was in Samuel. There it was victory over the wicked, the responsibility of the saints, and God's government of them. Here it is God's faithfulness to His promises. That faithfulness came about at last by the ark's return to Zion, after Israel had forfeited every right to keep it among them.
The people sang psalms that reach far past their own day.
The blessing is so great that the psalms they sing are the psalms Israel will sing in the millennium, when the Lord returns to Israel. In 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 they sing Psalm 105 and from verses 23 to 33 they sing Psalm 96.
The command has a definite object. It rests on one covenant and not another.
God commands Israel, His people and the assembly of His chosen ones, to remember these things. They are to remember because He is Jehovah their God, and His judgments are in all the earth. The call is not to remember Moses and the conditional promises given through him. It is to remember the covenant God made with Abraham with no conditions attached — an everlasting covenant to give the land to his seed. The psalm reminds Israel how God preserved those heirs of promise as they went from nation to nation.
The verse names God's deeds and, beside them, the judgments He spoke.
The first section, in seven verses, calls for the celebration of Jehovah their God, as known in His glorious deeds. His Name is holy. Human weakness needs His power. The "judgments of His mouth" interpret His acts, and make them an illustration of His perfect ways.
How can anyone remember works they never saw?
Those in the millennium were not there when God did His marvellous works in freeing Israel from Egypt. Yet they are told to "remember His marvellous works." Of course they can do this just as we can remember all the events of the history of the Lord Jesus in His incarnation, His life of great goodness, His sufferings and sacrifice on Calvary, His resurrection and exaltation to God's right hand. We can remember because we have God's Word for all this. So "His wonders and the judgments of His mouth" can be remembered too.
The psalm's opening call shows what this people are to become.
The psalm opens with a call to Israel to give thanks to the Lord, to call upon His name, and to make known His deeds among the peoples. So restored Israel are to be a praising people, a dependent people and a witnessing people.
Israel had seen God's acts and sung about them. Seeing was not enough.
Israel saw His acts, and they were very wonderful. He had hurled plague after plague on their wicked oppressor. At last He forced their release by destroying the firstborn. He had divided the sea before them, while Pharaoh and his mighty army drove hard behind them. In the wilderness He had rained bread from heaven to meet their hunger... And when they saw these things they believed His word and sang His praise. But it had no lasting effect. They soon forgot His works, and Himself also.
- Remember the setting. Israel sang this command when the ark came home to Zion. It celebrates God's faithfulness to His promises, not Israel's record — they had forfeited every right to the ark.
- Remember the covenant. The call reaches back past Moses and his conditional promises. It rests on the everlasting covenant God made with Abraham, with no conditions attached.
- Remember the words. "The judgments of His mouth" interpret His acts. They turn raw events into a picture of His perfect ways.
- Remember by Scripture. You can remember what you never saw, because God's Word gives you the record. Believers recall Christ's life, cross, resurrection and exaltation the same way.
- Remember or forget. Memory makes a praising, dependent, witnessing people. Israel saw God's acts, sang about them, then soon forgot His works and Himself.
Ye seed of Israel his servant, Ye sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
David has just brought the ark of God into Jerusalem. His thanks take the form of a song, and in this line the song addresses the whole nation by two family names. The verse asks us who these people are, why they carry a father's name, and on what basis God calls them His own.
The words belong to a moment of recovery. David's first move of the ark had failed. This time he follows God's own instructions.
In 1 Chronicles 15:2 David says, "No one is to carry the ark of the Lord but the Levites." He remembers his fall, and he has learned the lesson. He now sets himself to act according to God's intention. So we see that the work of man no longer spoils the work of God. God is glorified, the people are joyful, and the ark of the Lord has again taken its place among them. The blessing is so great that the psalms they sing are the psalms that will be sung in the millennium, when the Lord returns to Israel.
The song itself is not new material. One writer traces its parts to three psalms:
The song recorded here (vv. 8-36) brings together fragments of three psalms. Verses 8-22 match Psalm 105:1-15. Verses 23-33 match Psalm 96:1-12. Verses 34-36 match Psalm 106:1, 47-48.
The same line appears in Psalm 105, but with a different father's name at the front.
The change is very striking. In the psalm (v. 6) "Israel," the national name of power, becomes "Abraham," the lone pilgrim of grace, calling, and election.
The title is not praise for work done well. It marks a place God gave the nation, and work He gave them to do.
Isaiah recalled this national relationship in words the Lord spoke to the people through him: "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham My friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, 'You are My servant'" (Isa. 41:8-9). So God made this chosen people His agents. They received and kept His holy words. They set out the worship of the One and Only God before the world. And they were the seat of the Lord's earthly government among the nations.
Each father named in the song carries a different lesson, and Jacob's is the harder one.
His people stand before this glorious God as the "seed of Abraham His servant" — the man whose own history marks him out as a servant by his obedience. They are also "the children of Jacob His chosen." Jacob's history is of another kind. It shows the struggle of a soul in the hand of God — a soul that knows Him, but knows Him too little. This is what makes God's dealings with that soul necessary, until at last an Israel comes out of a Jacob. These struggles and this discipline from God are plainly the pattern of the nation's history later on.
"Chosen" settles the question of merit. One writer carries the word out to believers who are not Israelites at all:
No doubt this refers directly to Israel and her blessing in the millennium. But even today all believers count as children of Abraham: "If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" (Gal. 3:29). Because we have faith, we count as Abraham's children. And because believing Israelites are unworthy of the least of God's mercies, they count as Jacob's children — chosen despite being totally undeserving.
The quotation from Psalm 105 stops at verse 15, and the stopping point carries meaning.
This is a covenant of pure grace — God's faithfulness to His promises. It stands in contrast to the covenant of Sinai, which rested on the people's responsibility... We do not find a single word about Israel's oppression by the nations as a result of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage... So this first part leaves out the whole history of the people under responsibility. It brings out grace instead, and the promises made long before the law.
- Chosen — the address rests on God's choice, not on the people's record. They stand as Jacob's children, chosen while undeserving.
- Named — "Israel" is the national name of power. Psalm 105 puts "Abraham" in its place: the lone pilgrim of grace, calling and election.
- Shaped — Jacob's story is the nation's story in miniature. A soul struggles in God's hand until, by His dealings, an Israel comes out of a Jacob.
- Commissioned — "His servant" is a place God gave them. They kept His words, showed the world the one true God, and were the seat of His government on earth.
- Sustained — the song stops before the law and before the failure. All that is left is free grace, and the promises God made long before Sinai.
He, Jehovah, is our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
These words come from a psalm David gave to the singers on the day the ark reached Zion. In one line they say two things: whose God this is, and how far His rule reaches.
David had failed once over the ark, and he learned from it. This time he did it God's way — and the songs sung that day reach far past that day.
In 1 Chronicles 15:2 David says that only the Levites may carry the ark of the Lord. He remembers his fall, and the lesson is learned. He now sets himself to act the way God intended. So we see that the work of man no longer spoils the work 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 the ones that will be sung in the millennium, when the Lord returns to Israel. In 1 Chronicles 16:8-22 they sing Psalm 105, and from verses 23 to 33 they sing Psalm 96.
The command running through these verses is to remember. But the verse fixes exactly what is to be remembered, and it is not the arrangement made at Sinai.
Israel, as His people and the gathering of His chosen ones, are told to remember these things, for He is Jehovah their God, and His judgments are in all the earth. Israel is called to remember, not Moses and the conditional promises given to the people through him, but the covenant God made with Abraham with no conditions attached — an everlasting covenant to give the land to his descendants... The opening of the psalm celebrates grace towards Israel, according to the promises made to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, at a time when the judgments of God are in all the earth. This rests on the presence of the ark and the setting up of the throne in Zion, and it comes first.
The section of Psalm 105 that David uses stops before the history of Israel's obedience and failure begins. That cut-off point is deliberate.
The first 15 verses of Psalm 105 are a call to celebrate the Lord because of His covenant — the covenant He made with Abraham, His oath to Isaac, which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute and to Israel as an everlasting covenant: He would give them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. This is a covenant of pure grace. It rests on God's faithfulness to His promises, unlike the covenant of Sinai, which rested on the people's responsibility... There is not one word here about Israel being oppressed by the nations because of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage.
One writer starts from the word "judgments." He reads it through God's long dealings with Jacob, named a few verses earlier — the work that turned a Jacob into an Israel.
The "judgments of His mouth" explain His acts, and show them as examples of His perfect ways... They are also "the children of Jacob His chosen." Jacob's history is of a different kind. It shows the struggle of a soul in the hand of God — a soul that knows Him, but knows Him far too little. This makes God's dealings with him necessary, and by them a Jacob at last becomes an Israel. These struggles and this discipline from God are plainly a picture of the nation's history later on... and the victorious grace of God will not stop working toward them until He has made them, too, a true Israel. And this is "Jehovah our God," whose "judgments" are of the same kind, and they "are in all the earth."
One writer looks ahead. The promise of the land has still not been kept, and judgment is how it will come.
The unconditional promises made to the fathers will then be fulfilled in grace, brought in, as we have seen, by judgment. Psalm 105 is prophetic of this... "He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth."... Looking back at the nation's past, we saw that these promises have never yet been fulfilled. The people took their inheritance under law, and lost it. They will be made good to them in sovereign grace, and, as verse 7 says, by judgment — which shows very clearly that they are still to come.
- Corrected. David's joy came only after he stopped improvising and did things God's way — obedience made the singing possible.
- Remembered. The verse calls Israel back to the promise sworn to Abraham, not to the terms agreed at Sinai; one rests on God's faithfulness, the other on theirs.
- Ours. He is "our God" first, and only then His judgments spread over all the earth — the relationship comes before the reach.
- Everywhere. His dealings are not fenced inside one nation; the same patient hand that made an Israel out of Jacob is at work across the whole earth.
- Coming. What David sang at the ark's arrival is the song of an age still ahead, when judgment clears the ground and grace hands over the inheritance.
Be ye ever mindful of his covenant, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations, --
David's song at the ark's arrival in Zion looks back to a covenant older than Israel itself. Which covenant does it mean, why "a thousand generations," and what does an ancient promise ask of the people who hear it?
The ark — the chest that marked God's throne among Israel — had come to rest on Zion. This song belongs to that day.
This is the hymn of the beginning of the kingship. Setting up the ark in Zion proclaimed it: God's throne among His people had entered at last into its rest... Here the subject is not what it was in the song in 2 Samuel — victory over the wicked, the responsibility of the saints, and God's government toward them. The subject is God's faithfulness to His promises, accomplished at last by the ark's return to Zion, after Israel had forfeited every right to keep it among them.
The verse does not point back to Sinai, where everything hung on what the people did. It points further back, to Abraham.
The first fifteen verses of Psalm 105 are an appeal to celebrate the Lord because of His covenant. It is the covenant "which He made with Abraham, and of His oath to Isaac; and He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, To you I will give the land of Canaan, the portion of your inheritance" (1 Chron. 16:16-18). This is a covenant of pure grace. It is God's faithfulness to His promises, in contrast to the covenant of Sinai, which rested on the people's responsibility.
That is why nothing Israel did could cancel it.
This covenant is "the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations," and so it lasts through the ages. It is the covenant God made with Abraham. It was unconditional. It did not depend in the least on Israel's obedience. He affirmed the same covenant again to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob, despite Jacob's wandering away. It was an everlasting covenant, and so it depended only on the faithfulness of God.
The number is not a countdown. And the two names in the song, Jacob and Israel, each carry their own weight.
He is always mindful of it. He has commanded it to a thousand generations — a round number, it seems, for as many as there may be (compare Deut. 7:9)... To Jacob, with all the frailty and sinfulness that the name implies, it still takes the form of a decree, the fixed expression of His absolute will. With Israel, in whom His transforming power has taken effect, it is an everlasting covenant.
God remembered the covenant before He ever told Israel to remember it. Their remembering is not what keeps it safe; it brings them back onto that older ground.
These were the promises they were to remember. The dealings of deliverance in Egypt no longer appear here, nor their faults in the accompanying Psalm 106. God remembered Abraham in Egypt — now they were to remember him. Jehovah had remembered His covenant. His judgments were now in all the earth. It is a call to Israel to get onto their true ground of the ancient promises and seek Jehovah.
Israel did live in Canaan, but only on terms, and only for a time.
Israel held the land on conditions, and only for a time. That possession is not the fulfilment of the covenant with the fathers.
So where does that leave the promise?
Looking back over the nation's history, we saw that these promises have never yet been fulfilled. The people took their inheritance under law, and lost it. God will make the promises good to them in sovereign grace.
- Remember — the verse calls Israel back to a covenant God gave, not a deal they made.
- Whose covenant — Abraham's, not Sinai's: "a covenant of pure grace," not one resting on the people's responsibility.
- How long — "a thousand generations" is a round number for as many as there may be. The promise outlasts counting.
- Who keeps it — it depends "only on the faithfulness of God," which is why Jacob's wandering never cancelled it.
- What is still ahead — God remembered the covenant before He told Israel to. Israel lost the land under law, but He will yet make the promise good "in sovereign grace."
Which he made with Abraham, And of his oath unto Isaac;
David has just brought the ark into Jerusalem, and the song sung that day reaches back to a promise God made to one family. So why does a song of national triumph rest everything on a covenant with Abraham and an oath to Isaac?
The words of this song were not new that day. David chose older songs, and his choice shows what he thought the day meant.
The king chose three Psalms: 105, 96 and 106. All three come from the fourth book of Psalms, and none of them are credited to David. He picked them to give everyone fitting words for that occasion. They began with part of Psalm 105, verses 1-15. David linked that day's ceremony with God keeping His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: to give their descendants the land.
God dealt with Israel under two very different arrangements. One is the law He later gave at Mount Sinai. This verse points to the older one.
This is a covenant of pure grace. It rests on God's faithfulness to His promises, unlike the covenant of Sinai, which rested on the people's responsibility... Not one word here mentions Israel being oppressed by the nations because of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage.
The wording changes with each name. God makes the covenant with Abraham, swears it to Isaac, then confirms it to Jacob and to Israel. One writer draws out why.
He made it with Abraham, and swore it to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree that cannot be changed, and to Israel as an everlasting covenant... To Jacob, with all the weakness and sin that the name implies, it still comes as a decree, the fixed expression of His absolute will. To Israel, the name in which His transforming power has done its work, it is an everlasting covenant.
God's word alone would be enough. So the oath does not make the promise stronger; it makes us sure of it.
Notice first that His purpose cannot change: change is impossible. The oath adds nothing to His Word; it only confirms it. But it shows the rich goodness of God's heart, and how willing He is to give the heirs of promise every encouraging assurance.
Israel lived in Canaan, then lost it. That raises a problem, because this covenant promises the land for ever.
Finally, God gave the land to Abraham's descendants "for ever," or as it is put elsewhere, "for an everlasting possession." Israel's hold on Canaan was clearly nothing like that. But has the Lord forgotten His promise? Far from it. In the same prophecy where He speaks of holding the land on condition, and warns that Israel will be cast out if they disobey, He points forward to the time when the promise made to Abraham will receive its true fulfilment... So the conditional, temporary possession Israel enjoyed is not the fulfilment of the covenant with the fathers.
- Made — God makes the covenant with Abraham, long before the law came at Sinai. David's song reaches back to that beginning and says nothing about Israel's later failure.
- Sworn — to Isaac the same promise comes as an oath. God's word could not have been truer, but He stooped to swear so that the heirs would have every assurance.
- Confirmed — to Jacob it becomes a fixed decree, and to Israel an everlasting covenant. The names change as the promise is repeated; the promise does not.
- Held — this is a covenant of pure grace. It rests on God's faithfulness, not on the people's obedience, so their disobedience could not break it.
- Unfinished — Israel's short hold on Canaan was never the fulfilment. The promise God swore to Abraham and Isaac still waits for the day He keeps it in full.
And he confirmed it unto Jacob for a statute, Unto Israel for an everlasting covenant,
David's song at the setting up of the ark looks back past his own reign to a promise God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who lived in the land as strangers. Verse 17 is the hinge: God fixed that promise on Jacob as a statute and made it permanent for Israel.
David's song draws on Psalm 105. One writer notes what it leaves out:
The first fifteen verses of Psalm 105 are an appeal to celebrate the Lord because of His covenant "which He made with Abraham, and of His oath to Isaac; and He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, To you will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." This is a covenant of pure grace, and of God's faithfulness to His promises. It stands in contrast to the covenant of Sinai, which was based on the people's responsibility… We do not find a single word about Israel's oppression by the nations as a result of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage.
The verse names one man twice and uses two different words for what he received. Neither the doubling nor the difference is accidental:
He made it with Abraham; with an oath to Isaac, He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree that cannot be changed, and to Israel as an everlasting covenant. The double name here clearly points to the people as well as to the father of their twelve tribes, and, as always, it carries meaning. To Jacob, with all the weakness and sinfulness that the name implies, it still takes the form of a decree, the fixed expression of His absolute will. With Israel, in whom His transforming power has taken effect, it is an everlasting covenant. So He works in perfect sovereignty, and in keeping with the holiness of His own nature.
The same writer adds that this covenant secured the land to them even "when they were in it as strangers only, a few people, and counted as nothing by others."
The verse does not say the covenant began with Jacob. It says God confirmed it to him, long after He first gave it:
This unconditional covenant of God (unconditional because it is "in Christ"), first given to Abraham, had been confirmed 430 years before the Law was given. The confirmation was not to Abraham (because the dates do not match) but to Jacob, as Psalm 105:10 states plainly. God wants us to see that when He pledged His word, He acted with full deliberation and perfect knowledge of everything past, present and future. The time between the giving of the covenant and its confirmation was long enough to expose how unworthy those who received the promise were. Of course, God's Word is enough for faith: it stands for ever. But how compassionate He is that He would confirm the covenant for the assurance of His undeserving people.
Commentators differ on which moment in Jacob's life the confirmation points to. One traces it to God's word to him at Bethel, "in spite of Jacob's wandering away." Another locates it later:
In Galatians, the covenant is confirmed, not made. Genesis 46:1-4 records that confirmation. God appeared to Jacob at Beersheba and confirmed the covenant He had made with Abraham.
An everlasting covenant cannot end when Israel loses the land. One writer works this through:
Finally, God gave the land to Abraham's offspring "for ever," or as it is put elsewhere, "for an everlasting possession." There is no doubt that Israel's possession of Canaan was not like that. But has the Lord forgotten His promise? Or are we to assume that the promise was not meant for Israel? Far from it. The Lord speaks in the same prophecy of holding the land on conditions, and He foretells that Israel will be cast out if they disobey. Yet in that same prophecy He points forward to the time when the promise made to Abraham will be truly fulfilled: "When they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, and I will not abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break My covenant with them" (Lev. 26:44)… So the conditional and temporary possession Israel enjoyed is not the fulfilment of the covenant with the fathers.
- Grace first. This covenant is pure grace. It rests on God's faithfulness to His promises, not on the people's responsibility, as Sinai did.
- Given, then fixed. God made it with Abraham, swore it to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob — confirmed, not made, and long before the law.
- Two names, two words. To Jacob, with all the weakness the name implies, it is a decree that cannot be changed. To Israel it is an everlasting covenant.
- Delay proves the point. The years between the promise and its confirmation exposed how undeserving the people were. God confirmed it anyway, to assure them.
- Still outstanding. Israel's short, conditional hold on the land was never the fulfilment. The Lord points forward to the time when He will truly keep the promise.
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance;
David's song at the bringing home of the ark does not start with that day: it reaches back centuries to a promise God spoke to Abraham. This verse is the heart of that backward look, and it raises two questions: on what terms did God give the land, and has He yet made that gift good?
David's song takes its first part from Psalm 105. It stops before Israel's history of disobedience begins, and one writer says that omission is the point.
This is a covenant of pure grace, God's faithfulness to His promises, in contrast to the covenant of Sinai, based on the people's responsibility. The passage cited ends with these words: "He allowed no one to oppress them; He rebuked kings on their account, saying, Touch not My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm." We do not find a single word about Israel's oppression by the nations as a result of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage.
The same writer then notes what fills the rest of the psalm.
In verses 23-45 we find the deliverance from Egypt and the journey through the wilderness under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Then comes the people's entry into Canaan, "that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws" — and we know where this rule of law led.
The gift rests on the covenant named just before: made with Abraham, sworn to Isaac, confirmed to Jacob. Commentators stress that none of it hung on Israel's obedience.
This is certainly not the covenant of Sinai, which demanded obedience from the people, and which they broke as soon as they came under it... It is the covenant God made with Abraham, which was unconditional, not in the least conditional on the obedience of Israel. He affirmed the same covenant again to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob, despite Jacob's wandering away. It was an everlasting covenant, so it rested only on the faithfulness of God.
Another writer weighs the two names of the same man, Jacob and Israel, and finds a different word for the covenant under each.
To Jacob, with all the weakness and sinfulness that the name implies, it still takes the form of a decree, the fixed expression of His absolute will. To Israel, as one in whom His transforming power is at work, it is an everlasting covenant... This covenant makes the land secure to them. It was secure even when they lived there as strangers only, a few people whom others counted as nothing.
God said "To you I will give" to men who owned no part of Canaan. The timing of the promise is part of its wonder.
God promised the land to Israel at a time when, to natural eyes, it looked impossible to fulfil. The people who received the promise were few in number and strangers in the land. Yet they stayed under the constant care of the Lord. They went from one nation to another and from kingdom to kingdom, but anyone who wronged them came under the rebuke of God.
Another translation reads "the lot of your inheritance" — the share that falls to an heir. This word carries a settled meaning across Scripture.
Scripture speaks of the land of promise again and again as the inheritance of Israel. God gave them this land flowing with milk and honey. So when Israel returns to take possession of the land in a future day, Scripture still calls it their inheritance. All this shows that they were, and will be, an earthly people. God blessed them on earth in relationship with Himself as Jehovah, and He will bless them on earth again when they own the Lord Jesus as their Messiah.
If the covenant is unconditional and everlasting, Israel's loss of the land cannot be the end of the story. One writer holds that the promise still waits for its real fulfilment.
God will then fulfil in grace the unconditional promises made to the fathers, and, as we have seen, judgment will bring them in. Psalm 105 is a prophecy of this... We may remember that when we looked at the nation's past history, we saw that these promises have never yet been fulfilled. The people took their inheritance under law — and lost it. God will make them good to them in sovereign grace.
- Given, not earned. God speaks the land to Israel as a gift. It rests on a covenant of pure grace, not on the covenant of Sinai with its demand for obedience.
- Given to the frail. To Jacob in all his weakness the promise is a fixed decree. To Israel it is an everlasting covenant. Its security rests on God's faithfulness alone.
- Given before possession. God spoke it when the heirs were few, strangers, and counted for nothing. He guarded them through every kingdom they passed.
- Given as an inheritance. The word marks Israel out as an earthly people with an earthly portion. They will hold it again when they own the Lord Jesus as their Messiah.
- Given, and still to be made good. They took the land under law and lost it. Commentators hold that the promise still waits, and that God will make it good in sovereign grace.
When ye were a few men in number, Of small account, and strangers in it.
David's song at the ark turns from praise to memory. Verse 19 recalls the fathers as a small band of foreigners in the land God had promised them — so why does a song of triumph pause on such a weak picture?
David brought the ark up to the tent he had prepared for it, and that occasion drew out this song. One writer explains how the Spirit used such events:
The conditions, circumstances, or acts of David, or of others of God's people, became the occasion for the Holy Spirit to breathe through them words and revelations. These suited the time or the circumstance, but their full meaning reached beyond it. God delivers David from Saul. The ark of God comes into the tent prepared for it. The Spirit uses those events as His occasion. His inspiration has such range that, knowing the end from the beginning, He takes in larger scenes that are still far off.
As far as nature could see, the promise of the land had no chance of coming true:
God made the promise of the land to Israel at a time when, to natural sight, it would look impossible to fulfil. The people who received the promise were few in number and strangers in the land. Still, they were under the constant care of the Lord. They went from one nation to another and from kingdom to kingdom. But no one wronged them without coming under the reproof of God.
"Sojourners in it" means foreigners in the very country promised to them. One writer describes what that life looked like in Canaan:
They are in the place of strangers; that is clear ("at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land"). They own nothing, "not so much as to put a foot upon." Everything rests on how much they value the promises (Heb. 11:9). They have just two things: the altar and the tent. They travel about and worship God, so they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
That position was God's own design, not an accident of history:
He was a pilgrim and stranger in Canaan; and this by divine design... But the God of glory gave Abraham no inheritance in it — not even a place to set his foot. He promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, at a time when he had no child. Abraham thus lived on promise and walked by faith, not by sight.
"Few in number" and "of little account" meant real danger. One writer puts their survival down to one cause:
God protected the weak handful of His people, strangers in the land that was allotted to them as their inheritance. Apart from His protection they would have been destroyed again and again.
Their neighbours had reason to want them gone, and Abraham had a name to shelter in:
Abraham needed protection, and Abraham had it in God with the blessed name of the "Almighty." What a suitable name of relationship for him and his! His enemies were all near and around him, and word would leak out that his descendants were to take the land from the Amorites and the rest... The chosen people were few for a long time, but the truth would make itself felt as they increased and grew stronger.
The words of verse 19 describe a position believers are said to occupy now. One writer defines the two words that go with it:
All this, however, is to faith. We are not yet in actual possession of the inheritance, and so the apostle describes his readers as "strangers and pilgrims." This shows that our portion is not in this world. A "stranger" is someone who has no home in the place where he finds himself. A "pilgrim" is someone who knows where his home is, and is going to it.
- Few — God gave the promise when nature said it could never happen. Those who received it were few in number and strangers in the land.
- Strangers — they owned no ground at all. They had the altar and the tent, and everything rested on how much they valued the promises.
- Kept — apart from God's protection, that weak handful would have been destroyed again and again. He kept them, not their numbers.
- Almighty — enemies were all around him. Abraham needed protection, and he had it in God under the name "Almighty".
- Pilgrims — the same two words fit believers now. We do not yet hold the inheritance, and we have no home here — but we know where home is, and we are going to it.
And they went from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people.
David sang this song as the ark came up to Jerusalem, looking back to days when God's promise of a whole land rested on a few homeless men. How did they keep hold of that promise, with no country of their own and foreign kings all around?
The song sets this wandering inside a larger call to remember. One commentator names the promise the song holds on to, and the one it leaves out:
Israel must remember, not Moses and the conditional promises given to the people through him, but the covenant God made with Abraham with no conditions attached — an everlasting covenant to give the land to his offspring. Israel must remember how God kept those heirs of the promise safe when they went from nation to nation.
Nothing about the people who received this promise made it look likely:
God gave Israel the promise of the land at a time when, humanly speaking, it looked impossible to fulfil. The people who received the promise were few in number and strangers in the land. Still, they were under the constant care of the Lord. They went from one nation to another and from kingdom to kingdom, but no one wronged them without coming under the reproof of God.
David's song quotes only the opening part of the psalm it draws on. One writer points out what is missing:
This is a covenant of pure grace — God's faithfulness to His promises. It stands in contrast to the covenant of Sinai, which rested on the people's responsibility... Not one word here speaks of the nations oppressing Israel because they disobeyed. All is free grace in this passage.
The wandering was not unguarded. One commentator takes the case of Abimelech, a foreign king who seized a member of Abraham's household, and explains what God's response was and what it was not:
It was not justice that God was displaying... it was divine care over one He had called out to walk before Him. "He rebuked kings on their account, saying, Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm." God cares for those He calls to walk before Him. Abimelech had taken a member of Abraham's family by force. God shows that He will not let anyone touch His people on earth without consequence — He would show Himself careful of those He thus owned.
Another writer shows that this mercy met them at their weakest:
Even when the sons of Israel were wanderers, going from one nation to another, the preserving mercy of God was with them. That mercy delivered them from any possibility of oppression, and even rebuked kings for their sake... God showed special care for them despite their own weakness and failure.
Moving from kingdom to kingdom, the family owned nothing in the land promised to them. One writer names what they did carry:
They own nothing at all, "not even a foot's length"; everything rests on their valuing the promises. They have just two things, the altar and the tent. Travelling about and worshipping God, they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Abram admits that this is what he is; he says openly that he is looking for a country, and so, we are told, "God is not ashamed to be called their God."
What God did for those wanderers, He does not always do now. One writer sets the two times side by side:
Now, He may let any or all men do them wrong. For the present He may rebuke neither kings, nor subjects, nor servants, when they scorn His anointed and do His servants all the harm they can. Another day He will render to each according to his works. But what does He feel now?
- Wanderers. Abraham's family was small, landless, and always on the move. The promise rested on nothing they owned.
- Covenant. The promise to Abraham carried no conditions, unlike the terms given later through Moses. David's song stops before the failures and keeps only the grace.
- Kept. God rebuked kings on their account — care for those He had called, given even when their own faith wavered.
- Tent. All they carried was an altar and a tent, and that pilgrim life is why God is not ashamed to be called their God.
- Now. Today He may let men wrong His people and settle accounts later. What He felt for those wanderers, He still feels.
He suffered no man to oppress them, And reproved kings for their sakes,
David's song at the ark's installation looks back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were a few strangers moving between kingdoms, and this line says how they survived: God Himself stood between them and the powers around them.
The song is not new material. One writer traces each block back to its source:
The song recorded here (verses 8-36) brings together fragments of three psalms. Verses 8-22 correspond to Psalm 105:1-15. Verses 23-33 correspond to Psalm 96:1-12. Verses 34-36 correspond to Psalm 106:1, 47-48.
The same writer sets this part of the song beside the covenant of Sinai, and notes what it leaves out:
This is a covenant of pure grace. It is God's faithfulness to His promises. The covenant of Sinai was different, because it rested on the people's responsibility. The passage quoted ends with these words: "He allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, 'Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!'" We do not find a single word here about the nations oppressing Israel because of their disobedience. Everything here is free grace.
The promise points to real moments in Abraham's life, and to who God was protecting:
Even when the sons of Israel were wanderers, going from one nation to another, the preserving mercy of God was with them. It kept them from any possibility of oppression, and God even rebuked kings for their sake (v. 14). This is what happened with Abraham when he failed in the energy of faith and denied his true relationship to his wife (Gen. 12:17-20), and a second time as well (Gen. 20:2-3). Abraham was a prophet of God, and so were others of his sons. God showed special care for them despite their own weakness and failure.
God stepped in while Abraham was in the wrong, so the rebuke of the king was no reward for good behaviour. One writer says what it was instead:
In the case of Abraham and Abimelech, it was not justice that God was displaying; it was divine care over one He had called out to walk before Him. God cares for those He calls to walk before Him. Abimelech had taken a member of Abraham's family by tyrannical power, without cause. God shows that no one can touch His people on earth without consequence, and that He would show Himself careful of those He owned in this way. In this He made Himself known in connection with His people, and this was of the greatest importance.
God may have real disagreements with His own, yet He does not air them in front of their enemies:
Such is the way of God. He may have many a private controversy with His child over his practical ways. But the moment the enemy brings a case against him, the Lord always pleads His servant's cause.
Another writer follows the song from its opening praise back to the covenant:
It opens with a burst of praise — give thanks to the Lord, and so on. Then it looks back to the covenant with Abraham, made for a thousand generations, and that backward look is an essential part of Israel's worship. The covenant was made with Abraham, repeated with an oath to Isaac, and confirmed to Jacob as a statute and to Israel as an everlasting covenant. It was made when they were few in number and wanderers from one kingdom to another. But the covenant stood firm.
Commentators differ on how this reads now. Mackintosh applies it to the believer today. William Kelly points instead to what God may allow in the present:
Now, He may let any or all men do them wrong. For the present He may rebuke neither kings, nor subjects, nor servants, when they scorn His anointed and do His servants all the harm they can. Another day He will repay each one according to his works.
- Grace first. The verse sits inside a section taken from Psalm 105. That section names the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and says nothing about the people's disobedience.
- Grace protects. The covenant rested on promise, not on performance. So God guarded Abraham and his family despite their weakness and failure.
- Grace rebukes kings. God Himself stopped the kings who threatened Abraham's household — care for His own, not a verdict on good behaviour.
- Grace covers in public. God may have a private controversy with His child, yet He takes the child's side the moment an enemy accuses him.
- Grace outlasts. Writers differ on how far this holds now. Some see God still defending His own. Others say He may allow wrong today and settle every account later.
[Saying,] Touch not mine anointed ones, And do my prophets no harm.
The ark had just reached Jerusalem, and David's song of thanksgiving carries a warning God once spoke over a small band of wandering strangers. Who are these "anointed ones" and "prophets," and does God still guard His own this way?
One writer shows where this part of the song comes from, and what it leaves out.
The first 15 verses of Psalm 105 are an appeal to celebrate the Lord because of His covenant... This is a covenant of pure grace — God's faithfulness to His promises. The covenant given at Sinai was different: it rested on the people's own responsibility. The passage quoted ends with these words: "He allowed no one to oppress them. He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm" (1 Chron. 16:21-22). We do not find a single word about Israel's oppression by the nations as a result of their disobedience. All is free grace in this passage.
The song stops before any mention of Israel's disobedience. David's day of joy celebrates only what God gave freely.
The title may surprise a reader. One writer explains why it fits Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Again, let us take the patriarchs, who are expressly called prophets. "He allowed no one to wrong them: yes, He reproved kings for their sakes." (Ps. 105:14-15) The same principle explains their claim to this title. They were the interpreters of God's mind in their day. They were "called out" because a new and terrible evil had come into the world, one we never read of before the days of Abraham — idol worship... Prophecy, or a prophet, always means that a new and growing evil is present. Because of that evil, God is pleased to unfold His mind about the future.
The verse names no kings, but one case lies behind it. One writer explains what God was defending when He confronted Abimelech.
In the case of Abraham and Abimelech, this was divine care over one He had called out to walk before Him... God cares for those He calls to walk before Him. Gen. 20:3. Abimelech had used his royal power to seize a member of Abraham's household without cause. God shows that He will not let His people on earth be touched without consequence. He would show Himself careful of those He owned in this way. In this He made Himself known in connection with His people, and that was of the greatest importance.
God's defence did not wait for Abraham to be in the right.
In Abraham's case, he might lower himself in the eyes of Abimelech, king of Gerar, and Abimelech might have to rebuke him. Yet when God comes to deal with the case, He says to Abimelech, "Behold, you are a dead man," and of Abraham He says, "he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you."... This is God's way. He may have many a private dispute with His child about the way he lives. But the moment the enemy brings a case against him, the Lord always pleads His servant's cause. "Touch not My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm." "He who touches you touches the apple of My eye."
The open protection given to the patriarchs is not what believers see today. One writer faces that difference head on.
Now, He may let any or all men do them wrong. For the present He may reprove no one — not kings, not subjects, not common people — when they scorn His anointed and do His servants all the harm they can. Another day He will render to each according to his works. But what does He feel now?
David sang this while the ark still sat under a tent. The song reaches back to a covenant older than Israel, and forward past David's own day.
It has a prophetic character. It brings to the eye of faith what did not then appear... The song looks back to the covenant with Abraham, made for a thousand generations. It was made with Abraham, repeated with an oath to Isaac, confirmed to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. It was made when they were only a few people, wandering from one kingdom to another. But the covenant stood firm.
- Covenant — The verse sits inside a song about a free promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The song never mentions Israel's failure.
- Called — "Prophets" here means the patriarchs. God called them out to speak His mind when idol worship was spreading through the world.
- Covered — God guarded them because He owned them, not because they behaved well. He defended Abraham in the very episode where Abraham was in the wrong.
- Confronted — God rebuked kings for their sake, and made Himself known through His care for a handful of wanderers.
- Coming — That open defence is not the pattern now. God allows the wrong for a time, and settles accounts on another day.