David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord.
Joy in religion
The orchestra was probably as rustic and rude as the procession. “Instruments made of fir-wood” sounds strange, and probably the text should be emended from the account in 1 Chronicles, which reads, “with all their might, even with songs.” The instruments specified are two-stringed, and three of percussion. “Castanets” should be “sistra,” which were much used in religious ceremonies, and consisted of rings hung on iron or other metal rods, which made a harsh noise when shaken. Like Eastern music in general, it would have struck our ears as being “a joyful noise,” rather than a concord of sweet sounds. But it meant gladness and praise, and that was the main thing. His felt nearness should be, as the Psalmist says, “the gladness of my joy.” Much of our modern religion is far too gloomy, and it is thought to be a sign of devotion and spiritual-mindedness to be sad and of a mortified countenance. Unquestionably, Christianity brings men into the continual presence of very solemn truths about themselves and the world which may well sober them, and make what the world calls mirth incongruous.
“There is no music in the life
That rings with idiot laughter solely.”
But the Man of Sorrows said that His purpose for us was that His joy might remain in us, and that our joy might be full; and we but imperfectly apprehend the Gospel if we do not feel that its joys “much more abound” than its sorrows, and that they even burn brightest, like the lights on safety-buoys, when drenched by stormy seas. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
