And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord,.... That is, before the ark, which was a symbol of the presence of the Lord:on all manner of [instruments made of] fir wood: which is a general expression, the particulars follow; though instruments of different sorts are mentioned, and even some of metal, as cymbals, which were vessels of brass, they struck one against another, and gave a very acute sound, being hollow ;even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals; harps, psalteries, and timbrels, are frequently met with; cornets, according to Kimchi, are such sort of instruments, that in playing upon them it required an agitation of the whole body.
Now it was that David penned the sixty eighth psalm, which begins, "let God arise", &c. Ps 68:1, words used by Moses when the ark set forward, Nu 10:35.