1 Chronicles 15:16
And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.
The verse belongs to the history of David gathering Israel's chosen men to bring the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem, the city of David, after an earlier failed attempt. In this account the Levites were appointed to carry the ark as God had ordained. David told the chief of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as singers with psalteries, harps, and cymbals, sounding by lifting up the voice with joy to accompany the ark's return in a joyful procession.
The appointment shows that singing and instrumental music were deliberately organized as part of worship and religious service. The music was dedicated to praising God, with lifted voices and joyful singing expressing joy as a way of praise.
Together with the next verse, the passage identifies Asaph, a friend of David, among the Levites appointed as singers with musical instruments. The event is connected with the inspiring psalm in 1 Chronicles 16. The parallel account describes David and all Israel accompanying the ark with instruments.