From: 1 Chronicles 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2
Enthronement of the ark in Jerusalem
[16] David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brethren as
the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres
and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.
The ark is placed in the tent
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
15:1-24. The preparations for the transfer of the ark involve leading figures in the
life of the people and in the priesthood. Firstly, David himself, who makes arran-
gements about where it will be lodged (v. 1), calls the people together (v. 3), and
gives all the necessary instructions (vv. 4, 11-12, 16); secondly, the Levites, cho-
sen to be the only ones to carry the ark (vv. 2, 12) and organize the liturgical
chant (v. 19); thirdly, the priests, particularly those appointed by David Zadok
and Abiathar (cf. 2 Sam 8:17; 15:24-27; 17:15; 19:12), who are sanctified along
with the Levites (vv. 11, 14); and finally the entire people gathered in liturgical
assembly.
The liturgy of the Church uses much of this passage in the Mass of the Vigil of
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, thereby teaching that Mary is the true ark
of the Covenant, the temple of God’s enduring Presence on earth. Apropos of
the Assumption, St John Damascene says, in a meaningful play on words, “To-
day, she who was the temple of the Lord is at rest in the divine temple that was
not built by human hand” (”In Assumptionem”, 2).
16:1-43. The Levites who brought the ark to Jerusalem are charged by David
himself with organizing the liturgy and its music. This definition of their role will
be a point of reference for those who succeed them, including those who were
alive when this book was written.
“To invoke, to thank and to praise the Lord” (v. 4), three essential elements of the
liturgy, are spelt out also in the psalm that follows. Invocation includes the joyful
remembrance of the wonders worked by the Lord (vv. 12, 15); thanksgiving means
acknowledging God in all his works (vv. 8, 34, 35); and praise of the Lord means
sharing in his glory, glorying in him (vv. 10, 25, 36). In Christian liturgy, as a res-
ponse of faith and love to the spiritual blessings God gives us, “the Church, uni-
ted with her Lord and ‘in the Holy Spirit (Lk 10:21), blesses the Father ‘for his in-
expressible gift (2 Cor 9:15) in her adoration, praise and thanksgiving” (”Cate-
chism of the Catholic Church”, 1083).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.