1 Chron. 14-16
Though the Philistines are smitten, they are not yet subdued; they were the most inveterate and persistent of all Israel's enemies. The reign of peace is not come, and David finds that there are other powerful foes to contend with. The Philistines had overcome Saul, and were doubtless astonished at the rapid recovery of the kingdom after the crushing defeat on the mountains of Gilboa. They were soon to learn that it was not with a Saul, a king disowned of the Lord, but with a David, a king specially chosen of him, with whom they would fight. And this chosen man was only the type and representative of One infinitely higher. As the representative of Him, David was bound to conquer, whatever his failure might be as a saint, or he would not be a type. The Philistines soon learned his might. “And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed, king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David” (1 Chron. 14:88And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them. (1 Chronicles 14:8)). It is against David, Israel does not seem to count for anything, their strength is in him. The Philistines war against the anointed king, so when the true David comes to take the kingdom, it is against Him that the world's power will be arrayed. Against Him will “the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together.” Something like this combination was seen when Jesus was born, though then within a limited area. It was the same spirit of hatred and hostility that united Herod and the rulers in Jerusalem and which then proved itself murderous, which will show itself in its strength and be all but universal when He comes the second time in glory and power to sit upon His throne.
The Philistines are not enemies such as Assyria and Babylon, who were afterward executors of God's wrath on a nation of rebels. Assyria carried away the ten tribes, and Babylon the kingdom of Judah. At that time there were found in the armies of Israel no mighty men performing astonishing deeds of valor, but on all great dismay and terror, all fleeing from their enemies. These wars were the pouring out of God's wrath upon them after every remedy had been tried, and had been found ineffectual. In earlier years judgment and chastisement had been blended together, in their distress the people had cried to the Lord, and He had never failed to raise up a deliverer (see Judges), and even then we find Philistines, in the days of Shamgar, of Samson; notably in the days of Saul. Now in the days of David it is neither judgment nor disciplinary chastisement, but the bringing of the enemy to feel and own the power of the man God has placed upon the throne. For David is God's king, and Jerusalem is God's city; and the ark of God is about to be placed there, and all is in the sunshine of God's favor.
The very servants of David are mighty, wonderful men. All to prove the power and manifest the purpose of God, which if dimly seen then will soon shine in the glory of God, perfectly accomplished according to His good pleasure. But even what was seen then might well raise the feelings of wonder and awe, if of joy. For the Lord God Himself fights their battles and overthrows their enemies, so that Israel has to pursue rather than fight. On one occasion David is to turn away from his Philistine foe, and not to move till he heard a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees; then he would know that God was gone forth before him (1 Chron. 14:1515And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. (1 Chronicles 14:15)). Did the Philistines hear that sound? If they did, they could have no true intelligence as to its cause. No doubt it would excite superstitious fears, but even so it would be a proof to them that a mightier sword than David's was against them. David's fame is spread abroad, and Jehovah brings the fear of him upon all nations.
In his prosperity David does not forget the ark of God. The same earnestness of desire, but now obedience to the ordinance of God. With what carefulness he now brings it to the place prepared for it. “None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God and to minister unto Him forever.” All is done according to the law. But the king directs, he takes the first place, not the priest. He assembles the priests' families, arranging their order. And besides this present carefulness there is a confession that on the former occasion “we sought Him not after due order.” Now the singers are duly appointed, it is a true and acceptable service to God, and a service of song to Him; for why indeed should they not sing? At the former time there was gladness of heart which perhaps vented itself in unintelligent and uproarious shouting, not the orderly and reverent joy of those who worship God; at that time David and all Israel played before God with all their might (1 Chron. 13:88And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets. (1 Chronicles 13:8)). Now the singers are appointed; Haman, Asaph, and Ethan take the lead. Then, it was fleshly joy intruding into holy things, and God in vindication of His own order and majesty was compelled to judge them all in the person of Uzzah. This fleshly joy manifests itself in its own true character by its immediate reaction when rebuked; for David was displeased and afraid. The joyous procession never reached Jerusalem. Now it is holy joy, David's heart is bowed and laying aside his royal robe, he arrays himself in a priestly one, a robe of linen, as the Levites and the singers, as it were, humbling himself to take part in the song as one of the company, yet was he the true leader. Again, as constantly through these scenes, we are reminded of Him Who said, “In the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.”
These outward expressions of praise (David in a linen robe and dancing) are not for the saints in the church of God now, whose melody is made in their hearts, and more acceptable to God than the best harmony of voice and instrument, even though the singers and the players, yea, the instruments be all appointed by Him, as they were at that feast of joy (1 Chron. 16:4242And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters. (1 Chronicles 16:42)). For the song of the church exceeds that song of Israel infinitely more than that song exceeded the perhaps disorderly singing and shouting which characterized the previous attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem, but which ended in failure.
David abased himself to be as one in that holy congregation, to join in that service so acceptable and well pleasing to God. But there was one looking upon it whose heart was not in unison with it, one who scorned the idea of laying aside kingly dignity on any occasion, not even to join in praise to the King of all the earth, and such an one could only feel contempt for a king who would be happy in being more vile, provided it was abasing himself before the Lord (see 2 Sam. 6:2222And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honor. (2 Samuel 6:22)). David's heart was overflowing with fullness of joy, Michal's was occupied with the thought of David's appearance. The ark of God has not the first place in her soul, and so she is here called not the wife of David, but Saul's daughter. In her father's time the ark was unthought of, and she, educated in that neglect, thinks not of the ark now. For though she loved David (1 Sam. 18:2020And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. (1 Samuel 18:20)), she had no heart for God, she was still Saul's daughter. The nearest of earthly ties with the saints of God cannot bring the unrenewed heart into communion with Him.
Now (1 Chron. 16) the king blesses the people in the name of Jehovah; all share in the joy. “To each one a loaf of bread, a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.” The king appoints certain Levites to minister before the ark, Asaph to sound with cymbals. They are to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel. But the song itself is given by David; he is inspired of God to give thanks to Him in a psalm which, while boasting in a covenant already made with their fathers, embraces in its onward look the future wondrous actings of the mercy that endureth forever. This psalm is suited to the then time, for the ark is not yet in its final resting place. It was in a tent all through David's life. There were enemies to be subdued, more victories to be won, before the final aspect of triumph and peace could appear—the ark in the temple.
But this psalm while in keeping with the circumstance of the ark being yet in a tent, looks onward to the time when the heavens shall be glad and the earth rejoice, and when men shall say among the nations, “The Lord reigneth.” It has a prophetic character, it brings to the eye of faith what did not then appear. It opens with a burst of praise—Give thanks unto the Lord, etc., and then, which is an essential part of Israel's worship, looks back to the covenant with Abraham, made for a thousand generations. Made with Abraham, repeated with an oath to Isaac, confirmed to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. Made when they were but few people and wanderers from one kingdom to another. But the covenant stood firm. Yea, He reproved kings for their sake, saying, “Touch not mine anointed and do My prophets no harm” (see Gen. 12:17; 20:717And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. (Genesis 12:17)
7Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. (Genesis 20:7)). Now, all the years of unfaithfulness and ruin passed over, he strikes at once the chords of praise at the future mighty intervention of God for His still beloved people. All the earth is summoned to sing unto the Lord; for the blessings of Israel as from a center will radiate over the whole earth. First it is the intelligent creation called to give the glory due to His name, let men say, “The Lord reigneth.” Then the heavens will be glad and the earth will rejoice. We sometimes sing, “Let earth and heaven agree,” etc. But this can only be when the Lord reigneth. The time contemplated in this psalm seems not full millennial peace. But the Lord reigns, and both the heavens and the earth rejoice in the blissful change. The Lord will make His power felt before the ark is in the temple. Then we know how at His presence even the inanimate creation shall cease its groaning and there will be fullness of joy. The fields will rejoice and the trees of the wood sing. Yet these words have a deeper meaning than the blessedness of inanimate creation, figuratively expressed. Under this beautiful imagery is the joy and conscious security of saints while yet the sea—the world—is roaring; not yet the full millennial blessing. “Let the sea roar;” but “roaring” is not suggestive of peaceful rest. It may be with conscious power as when a lion roars over his prey (Isa. 31:44For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. (Isaiah 31:4)), or with a sense of impotency as the waters roar (Psa. 46)—the enemies of God against His saints. “Roaring” is in scripture connected with tumult, battle, war, vengeance, and wrath. Even the wrath of the Lord upon the heathen is His roaring. “The Lord shall roar out of Zion (Joel 3:1616The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16); Amos 1:22And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. (Amos 1:2)). It is used to express deepest distress of soul from temporal calamities, as Job 3:2424For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. (Job 3:24). The burden of sin upon the conscience made the psalmist roar (Psa. 32:33When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. (Psalm 32:3); see also Psa. 38:88I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. (Psalm 38:8), which, if referring to our Lord, shows the disquieting pressure of our responsibilities which He in grace took upon Himself). Even the Lord Jesus Himself when on the cross suffering under the forsaking of God cries out, “Why art Thou so far from the words of my roaring” (Psa. 22:11<<To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.>> My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1)). The millennium will be peace and rest. This verse (32) expresses the state of the world just before the reign of peace, but after the church has gone, and its testimony to the long-suffering and grace of God, passed away forever. There will be saints on the earth, but their rejoicing and testimony will be different from that of the church, then at that time in glory with the Lord but whose past testimony on the earth was grace, not judgment. The saints at that time, under the emblem of rejoicing fields and singing trees, will rejoice because the Lord cometh to judge the earth. So when the Lord shall execute judgment and shall roar like a lion (Hos. 11:1010They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. (Hosea 11:10)) there will be also His chosen ones in conscious security, saying, “God is our refuge.” Nevertheless the fields will rejoice and the trees of the wood will sing. Mark the contrast between the turbulent roaring sea, and the calm quiet rest of joyful fields and singing trees. The blessedness of saints is given not infrequently in pictures of natural beauty. Sometimes the saints themselves personally are “trees of righteousness” as the righteous man in the first psalm. Or it may be their state of happiness, as “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters.” So also Balaam in prophetic vision as the future happiness of Israel passed before him, “As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river side, as the trees of lignaloes which the Lord hath planted, as cedar trees by the waters” (Num. 24:66As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6)). This psalm does not actually reach into the time of millennial rest though in near view of it. All enemies are not subdued, nor are all Israel yet gathered, for they say, “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together and deliver us from the heathen that we may give thanks to Thy holy name and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel forever and ever.” All the people say, “Amen,” and praise the Lord.
Portions of this psalm are found in others, but that does not make this to be mere quotations from them. This as a whole is most suited to the circumstances then—(1) the ark in a tent, (2) the sea roaring, and (3) the prayer for deliverance while praising God for His mercy. There will be a similar experience just before the Lord enters upon the Solomon character of His reign.