The Ark Placed in a Tent
And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside athe tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord 3 and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins.
4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 aAsaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then on that day aDavid first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.
David’s Song of Thanks
8 aOh give thanks to the Lord; bcall upon his name;
cmake known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11 aSeek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
12 aRemember the wondrous works that he has done,
bhis miracles and the judgments he uttered,
13 O offspring of Israel his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
ahis judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant athat he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
17 which ahe confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 saying, a“To you I will give the land of Canaan,
as your portion for an inheritance.”
19 When you were afew in number,
of little account, and bsojourners in it,
20 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
21 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he arebuked kings on their account,
22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my aprophets no harm!”
23 aSing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For agreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared babove all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
abut the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
aascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him!
aWorship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
30 tremble before him, all the earth;
yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
31 aLet the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, b“The Lord reigns!”
32 aLet the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
35 aSay also:
“Save us, O God of our salvation,
and gather and deliver us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
36 aBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!”
bThen all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.
Worship Before the Ark
37 So David left Asaph and his brothers there abefore the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister regularly before the ark bas each day required, 38 and also aObed-edom and his sixty-eight brothers, while aObed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and bHosah were to be gatekeepers. 39 And he left aZadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord bin the high place that was at Gibeon 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord aon the altar of burnt offering bregularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord that he commanded Israel. 41 With them were aHeman and Jeduthun band the rest of those chosen and cexpressly named to give thanks to the Lord, dfor his steadfast love endures forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments afor sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.
43 aThen all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.