THE SHEPHERD'S SONG
David had many fierce battles to fight
for King Saul against the enemies of Israel,
and he won them all. Then, later, he had
to fight against the king's own soldiers, to
save himself, for King Saul grew wickedly
jealous of David's fame as a soldier, and
tried to kill him. Twice, when David had
a chance to kill the king, he let him go
safe; but even then, Saul kept on trying to
take his life, and David was kept away
from his home and land as if he were an
enemy.
But when King Saul died, the people
chose David for their king, because there
was no one so brave, so wise, or so faithful
to God. King David lived a long time,
and made his people famous for victory
and happiness; he had many troubles
and many wars, but he always trusted
that God would help him, and he never
deserted his own people in any hard
place.
After a battle, or when it was a holiday,
or when he was very thankful for
something, King David used to make songs,
and sing them before the people. Some
of these songs were so beautiful that they
have never been forgotten. After all these
hundreds and hundreds of years, we sing
them still; we call them Psalms.
Often, after David had made a song, his
chief musician would sing with him, as the
people gathered to worship God. Sometimes
the singers were divided into two
great choruses, and went to the service in
two processions; then one chorus would
sing a verse of David's song, and the
other procession would answer with the
next, and then both would sing together;
it was very beautiful to hear.
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