Then on that day David (A)first assigned [a]Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.

Psalm of Thanksgiving

(B)Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;
(C)Make His deeds known among the peoples.
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
[b]Speak of all His [c]wonders.
10 Boast in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be joyful.
11 (D)Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually.
12 (E)Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,
(F)His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,
13 You [d]descendants of Israel His servant,
Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
(G)His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,
16 (H)The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac.
17 (I)He also confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 Saying, “(J)To you I will give the land of Canaan,
As the portion of your inheritance.”
19 (K)When they were only a few in number,
Very few, and strangers in it,
20 And they wandered from nation to nation,
And from one kingdom to another people,
21 He allowed no one to oppress them,
And (L)He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
22 “Do not touch My anointed ones,
And (M)do not harm My prophets.”
23 (N)Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day.
24 Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
25 For (O)great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He also is (P)to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are [e](Q)idols,
(R)But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and joy are in His place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an [f]offering, and come before Him;
(S)Worship the Lord in [g]holy attire.
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
31 [h](T)Let the heavens be joyful, and the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, “(U)The Lord reigns.”
32 (V)Let the sea [i]roar, and [j]everything it contains;
Let the field rejoice, and everything that is in it.
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy in the presence of the Lord;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
34 (W)Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
35 (X)Then say, “Save us, God of our salvation,
And gather us and save us from the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
And [k]glory in Your praise.”
36 (Y)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting!

Then all the people (Z)said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Worship before the Ark

37 So he left Asaph and his relatives there (AA)before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to minister before the ark continually, (AB)as every day’s work required, 38 and (AC)Obed-edom with [l]his sixty-eight relatives; Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and (AD)Hosah as gatekeepers. 39 He left (AE)Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests (AF)before the [m]tabernacle of the Lord in the high place which was at Gibeon, 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, (AG)even according to everything that is written in the Law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel. 41 With them were (AH)Heman and Jeduthun, and (AI)the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to (AJ)give thanks to the Lord, because His [n]kindness is everlasting. 42 And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who were to play them, and with instruments for (AK)the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate.

43 (AL)Then all the people departed, each to his house; and David returned to bless his household.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:7 Lit by the hand of Asaph
  2. 1 Chronicles 16:9 Or Meditate on
  3. 1 Chronicles 16:9 I.e., wonderful acts
  4. 1 Chronicles 16:13 Lit seed of
  5. 1 Chronicles 16:26 Or non-existent things
  6. 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or a grain offering
  7. 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or the splendor of holiness
  8. 1 Chronicles 16:31 Hopeful command or wish, not a request; and so through v 32
  9. 1 Chronicles 16:32 Or thunder
  10. 1 Chronicles 16:32 Lit its fullness
  11. 1 Chronicles 16:35 Lit boast
  12. 1 Chronicles 16:38 Lit their brothers, sixty-eight
  13. 1 Chronicles 16:39 Lit dwelling place
  14. 1 Chronicles 16:41 Or faithfulness

At that time David began the custom of using choirs in the Tabernacle to sing thanksgiving to the Lord. Asaph was the director of this choral group of priests.

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord and pray to him,” they sang.

“Tell the peoples of the world

About his mighty doings.

Sing to him; yes, sing his praises

And tell of his marvelous works.

10 Glory in his holy name;

Let all rejoice who seek the Lord.

11 Seek the Lord; yes, seek his strength

And seek his face untiringly.

12-13 O descendants of his servant Abraham,

O chosen sons of Jacob,

Remember his mighty miracles

And his marvelous miracles

And his authority:

14 He is the Lord our God!

His authority is seen throughout the earth.

15 Remember his covenant forever—

The words he commanded

To a thousand generations:

16 His agreement with Abraham,

And his oath to Isaac,

17 And his confirmation to Jacob.

He promised Israel

With an everlasting promise:

18 ‘I will give you the land of Canaan

As your inheritance.’

19 When Israel was few in number—oh, so few—

And merely strangers in the Promised Land;

20 When they wandered from country to country,

From one kingdom to another—

21 God didn’t let anyone harm them.

Even kings were killed who sought to hurt them.

22 ‘Don’t harm my chosen people,’ he declared.

‘These are my prophets—touch them not.’

23 Sing to the Lord, O Earth,

Declare each day that he is the one who saves!

24 Show his glory to the nations!

Tell everyone about his miracles.

25 For the Lord is great and should be highly praised;

He is to be held in awe above all gods.

26 The other so-called gods are demons,

But the Lord made the heavens.

27 Majesty and honor march before him,

Strength and gladness walk beside him.

28 O people of all nations of the earth,

Ascribe great strength and glory to his name!

29 Yes, ascribe to the Lord

The glory due his name!

Bring an offering and come before him;

Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness!

30 Tremble before him, all the earth!

The world stands unmoved.

31 Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice;

Let all the nations say, ‘It is the Lord who reigns.’

32 Let the vast seas roar,

Let the countryside and everything in it rejoice!

33 Let the trees in the woods sing for joy before the Lord,

For he comes to judge the earth.

34 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

His love and his kindness go on forever.

35 Cry out to him, ‘Oh, save us, God of our salvation;

Bring us safely back from among the nations.

Then we will thank your holy name,

And triumph in your praise.’

36 Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel,

Forever and forevermore.”

And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

37 David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to minister regularly at the Tabernacle,[a] doing each day whatever needed to be done. 38 This group included Obed-edom (the son of Jeduthun), Hosah, and sixty-eight of their colleagues as guards.

39 Meanwhile the old Tabernacle of the Lord on the hill of Gibeon continued to be active. David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests to minister to the Lord there. 40 They sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord each morning and evening upon the altar set aside for that purpose, just as the Lord had commanded Israel. 41 David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and several others who were chosen by name to give thanks to the Lord for his constant love and mercy. 42 They used their trumpets and cymbals to accompany the singers with loud praises to God. And Jeduthun’s sons were appointed as guards.

43 At last the celebration ended and the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own household.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:37 at the Tabernacle, literally, “before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.”