Study Desk

He also chose David His servant And took him from the sheepfolds;

From tending the ewes with nursing young He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.

So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart; And guided them with his skillful hands.

For they have devoured Jacob And made his pasture desolate.

"I removed the burden from his shoulder; His hands were freed from the basket.

I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the LORD will say, For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones— But let them not turn again to folly.

Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder], That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.

Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].

His foundation is on the holy mountain.

"I will crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him.

"My faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him, And in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].

"I will also set his hand on the [Mediterranean] sea, And his right hand on the rivers [the tributaries of the Euphrates].

"His descendants I will establish forever, And his throne [will endure] as the days of heaven.

"If his children turn away from My law And do not walk in My ordinances,

"His descendants shall endure forever And his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me.

You have spurned and repudiated the covenant with Your servant; You have profaned his crown [by casting it] in the dust.

You have broken down all his [city] walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

All who pass along the road rob him; He has become the scorn of his neighbors.

You have exalted the right hand of his foes; You have made all his enemies rejoice.

Also, You have turned back the edge of his sword And have not made him [strong enough] to stand in battle.