David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, ... Gratitude for the high and splendid dignity to which he had been elevated would naturally, at this period, impart a fresh animation and impulse to the habitually fervent piety of David; but, at the same time, he was animated by other motives: he fully understood his position as ruler under the theocracy, and, on entering on his duties, was resolved to fulfill his mission as a constitutional king of Israel. Accordingly, his first act as a sovereign related to the interests of religion, and the ark being then the grand instrument and ornament of it, he takes the opportunity of the official representatives of the nation being with him, to consult them about the propriety of establishing it in a more public and accessible locality. The assembly at which he spoke of this consisted of the [ saareey ] princes of thousands and hundreds (2 Samuel 6:1; cf. Exodus 18:25). During the reign of the late king the ark had been left in culpable neglect, and the consequence was that the people had, to a great extent, been careless about the ordinances of divine worship, or had contented themselves with offering sacrifices at Gibeon, without any thought of the ark, though it was the chief and most vital part of the tabernacle. The duty and advantages of this religious movement suggested by the king were apparent, and the proposal met with universal approval.