and the Levites the singers, all they of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, clad in byssus, with cymbals and lutes and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets),
The ark is in its place, the priests have come out of the holy place, and Chronicles pauses over the music. Why does it name the singers, count the trumpeters and describe their linen, and what is all this praise meant to picture?
One writer reads this whole scene as a preview of worship in a coming day.
The passage from verse 11 to 14 of our chapter is missing in the book of Kings... This is the right picture of worship in the thousand-year reign, when the "song of triumph and praise" will sound. There the Lord is praised: "For He is good, for His loving-kindness endures forever." All the instruments of music ring out, just as in Psalm 150, which describes the same scene.
Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun were not volunteers. David had appointed them years before, and the temple gave song a place the tabernacle never gave it.
In 1 Chronicles 25 we have the service of song. "David and the chiefs of the service also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals." It is called "prophesying" because it brought God in so directly, and that is the strong meaning of prophesying... There were twenty-four groups of singers. In the tabernacle the marked feature was not song but sacrifice. In the temple, in the day of glory, the song of triumph is the new and fitting feature.
The singers' fine linen is not a costume. One writer explains what the priests' linen shut out, and what it pictures.
The priests must be clothed in linen garments. No wool was allowed — nothing that would bring out the sweat of nature, for this can have no place in His presence. Linen we know as a symbol of righteousness, and of the righteous deeds of the saints, as in Revelation 19:8. Think of our standing before God, of what we are made in Christ, or of the daily life of the believer: righteousness alone suits the holy presence of God. These are the garments of praise that should always clothe us as a holy priesthood.
Notice who holds what. The Levites carry the cymbals and strings. Only priests blow the trumpets.
Only priests were allowed to blow the sacred trumpets. It takes being in the holy place, in the presence of God, in communion with His mind, to know when to sound the notes of testimony and praise. In the same way, only the sons of Asaph — Levites, "according to the king's order" — were to use the sacred cymbals.
The count is exact. One writer sets it beside another hundred and twenty at the start of the church, and carries the line on to the instruments God has now.
In the symbolic system of the old covenant, the music of praise to God began at the place of Jehovah's name. One hundred and twenty priests sounded their trumpets, and "the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord." So when the new worship was about to begin, after Christ had ascended to heaven, the hundred and twenty were together, and we read, "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer."... In the assembly of which Christ is the ascended Head today, we read, "There is one body and one Spirit"; and, being "filled with the Spirit," the new musical instruments of God are fitted for making melody to the Lord in the heart.
Appointed men sang Israel's praise for the nation. That arrangement did not carry over into Christian worship.
In the old ritual of praise, unity came from performing the act always in a set way. Today unity comes from the Spirit of God, who fills every mind with the same truth and gives it life... We have not so much as a word as to the formation of a choir to ensure efficient singing. We cannot find a syllable in the writings of the apostles about musical accompaniment of any kind... Not a section or a selection of believers: each one in the assembly is fully qualified as a singer. The work of Christ for him and the work of the Spirit in him make him so.
- Appointed — the singers did not choose themselves. David set apart Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun to "prophesy" with instruments, because their song brought God in.
- Clothed — linen is the dress of those who serve before God. It stands for righteousness — the garments of praise that fit a holy priesthood.
- Divided — trumpets for priests, cymbals and strings for Levites. Knowing when to sound the note of testimony takes communion with God's mind.
- United — a hundred and twenty trumpeters and the singers made one sound. A hundred and twenty were of one accord again before Pentecost.
- Fulfilled — Chronicles alone records this praise, and it pictures worship in the coming day. Today unity comes not from set ritual but from the Spirit, who makes every believer a singer.
-- it came to pass when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one voice to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah; and when they lifted up their voice with trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments of music, and praised Jehovah For he is good, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; that then the house, the house of Jehovah, was filled with a cloud,
Solomon's temple is finished, and the ark is in its place. Singers and trumpeters sound together for the first time, and God answers by filling the house with a cloud. Two questions follow. Why did praise, not sacrifice, bring out the glory? And what does singing in unison ask of God's people today?
One writer ties Israel's first songs to a reign of peace.
Solomon's was the time of rest. No enemy was left for him to conquer. He had no more preparing to do through trouble and toil. He sits down full of honour and peace. And his was the time of joy also. Then, for the first time, songs broke out from the middle of the congregation of Israel. Moses long ago had appointed sacrifices, but no songs had been heard in the tabernacle. David had appointed the singers, given them their charge, and settled them in their courses. But all this joy was prepared for Solomon. In the house that he had built, the priests, the trumpeters, and the singers — Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and brothers — first awakened the praises of Jehovah in Israel.
The same writer notices what the glory put a stop to.
The priests could not stand to do their usual service, for the glory had displaced them. No sacrifices could then be bound to the horns of the altar. Nothing was there but the fruit of praise and joy. Only thanksgiving and the voice of melody were heard. And in this Jehovah rested.
The instruments were not decoration. One writer shows what went into them, and where the sound was aimed.
Israel, God's chosen people for earth, needed a way to express their thanksgiving, praise and worship to God. So they quarried minerals from the hills, took wood from the forests, and strings from animals they killed. King David ordered these made into cymbals, cornets, trumpets, psalteries, and harps. They were for the Levite singers and the 120 priests with trumpets, so they could join "as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord." … But this cannot be stressed too strongly — the music of praise was TO GOD, and not for the mere entertainment OF MEN!
That oneness came from following a set order of service. One writer marks the change: the church does not copy the method, because oneness now has a different source.
In the ancient ritual of praise, unity came from always doing the act in a set way. Today the unity comes from the Spirit of God, who fills every mind with the same truth and gives it life. … We have not so much as a word about the formation of a choir to ensure efficient singing. … Not a section or a selection of believers: every one in the assembly is a fully qualified singer, through the work of Christ for him and the work of the Spirit in him.
The words they sang were not written for that day alone. A psalm opens with the same line. (Where these writers say "mercy," the ESV reads "steadfast love.")
This Psalm opens with what may be called the refrain of Israel's national song — at least from the time of Solomon's temple (see 2 Chr. 5:13). The song which proclaims that "His mercy endures for ever" is surely a song for eternity.
The force of "for ever" is measured against the nation's own record.
This Psalm takes up mercy as enduring for ever, not merely the sense of the present greatness of it — but when they saw how God's truth had held firm in spite of their sin, they see the incomparable patience of God — His own character celebrated in them, as of "mercy for ever."
One writer reads the cloud as God's answer, and as a picture of Israel's joy in an age still to come.
The trumpeters and singers were "as one." Their harmony was beautiful as the stringed instruments joined in too. So the whole gathering thanked and praised the Lord together, saying, "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever" (v. 13). All this is a picture of the spontaneous great joy that will fill the hearts of Israel at the dawning of the millennial age. The Lord then expressed His own approval by filling the temple with the cloud of His glory.
One writer reads the scene as a pattern for God's people now.
So now, if we want the house of God filled with the glory of God, we must keep the lessons taught here. These things are foundation principles. A crucified, risen, and glorified Christ. A Christ holding His own proper place of authority, in gathering and rule. The hearts of His people as one in giving thanksgiving, praise, and blessing. Then the glory of the presence of the Lord will be known among us.
- One rest. Songs began only after the fighting and the building ended. Solomon's peace made praise possible.
- One sound. Trumpeters and singers merged into a single voice. The music aimed at God, never at the entertainment of men.
- One Spirit. Israel's oneness came from a set ritual. Today it comes from the Spirit, who fills every mind with the same truth and makes every believer a qualified singer.
- One refrain. "His mercy endures for ever" became Israel's national song from Solomon's temple on — and it is a song for eternity.
- One answer. God met the united praise with His glory. He so filled the house that the priests could not serve, and only song remained.