He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside
the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
You must not think that David's life was ever an easy one. He always
had hard battles to fight. Once, for quite a long period, he was an
outlaw, much like Robin Hood of a later day, and with a band of brave
young men he lived in the woods and the mountains, defending the
property of his friends from other outlaws, and sometimes perhaps making
forays against his foes, sweeping off their cattle and burning their
tents and houses. Those were wild and exciting days, when the battle was
for the strongest to win, and when many things were done of which in our
modern times we cannot wholly approve. The thing about David which
pleases me most is that he had a rare quality called magnanimity; he did
not take a mean advantage of an enemy, and when, as occasionally it must
be owned, he did commit a great sin, his repentance was deep and
sincere.
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