From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
Psalm 78 spends seventy verses on Israel's ruin. Then it ends with a choice: God takes a young shepherd from among the nursing ewes and hands him a nation.
After all that failure, God does not repair the old order. He makes a fresh choice. One writer notes how the psalm sets aside every claim of natural right:
After describing the ruin of Israel, Psalm 78 shows us Jehovah awaking. But it sets aside all rights of inheritance, and all testimony to His former dealings with Israel. The birthright was Joseph's, and yet "He CHOSE the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. He CHOSE David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds." This psalm reaches further than our present history, but it applies God's election to David and to Zion.
Nothing was left to build on. The priesthood and the ark had both failed before God made this choice:
Scripture identifies Zion with David and his sovereignty. It also identifies Zion, very plainly, with the sovereign grace of God. This was at a time when everything entrusted to man had failed in Israel. The priesthood had broken down, and the ark had gone into captivity in the enemy's land... All might seem to have gone, but it was not so.
Each clause carries a lesson for anyone who cares for others:
"He chose David" — the Lord chooses the shepherds; they are not appointed by men. "David… His servant" — shepherds are servants of God. Christians say a lot about "leadership" or even "servant-leadership", but Scripture simply speaks about servants. "And took him from the sheepfolds" — the Lord found David where he was. Let us not forget where we came from, where the Lord has found us. "From following the nursing ewes" — David knew about special needs among his sheep. "To shepherd Jacob His people, Israel His inheritance" — never forget: the sheep are the Lord's sheep, not ours! "Feed my lambs… Shepherd my sheep… Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17).
(Older translations read "the ewes great with young" and "to feed Jacob his people.")
Hidden service came before public service. Scripture repeats the pattern:
Joseph, in prison, learned to rule in obscurity before he governed in public, next to the mighty Pharaoh. Moses spent forty years at the back of the desert. Then he led God's people across that wild land for forty years more. David struck down the lion and the bear in secret before he killed the giant in public. He cared for his father's sheep in the wilderness before God called him to care for His people. From the sheepfold to the throne is the moral order in which God lifts a man up.
Another writer points out how small the flock was, and why that mattered:
Minding the sheep was considered fit service for the youngest of the family. Nor was it a large flock, but being "faithful in that which is least," God would entrust him with greater matters... This marked him out as a man specially suited to be the "shepherd of Israel," a fitting type of Him who was to be "the Shepherd of the sheep."
David came to the nation straight from a flock. That sets a standard for everyone who holds power:
God's ideal king is therefore neither selfish nor a tyrant. He is a wise shepherd of the people. He serves knowing that the people belong to God, and that he, the king, is only God's honoured servant in rule. In this spirit David prayed for the people when the plague was raging. He pleaded with Jehovah to spare the sheep, and punish him instead (2 Sam. 24:17).
One writer sees in this choice a greater Shepherd than David:
The crowning fact is His sovereign grace. He chose Judah and Mount Zion, which He loved, and built His sanctuary there. He chose David His servant to shepherd Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance. Here we may well think of the Son of David, God's Anointed. In Him God makes His sovereign grace known, and He will yet shepherd Jacob and Israel His inheritance.
Others draw the same line through the whole psalm's close:
In sovereignty He "chose" the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion for His sanctuary, and David to feed His people. Zion thus becomes the symbol of grace, and David the type of Christ, the One through whom all the grace is ministered.
- Chosen — the psalm ends in a choice, not a reward. God sets aside every right of inheritance and chooses Judah, Zion and David.
- Grace — the choice came at the lowest point, after priesthood and ark had failed. That is what makes Zion and David lasting pictures of grace.
- Sheepfold — God found David where he was, among ewes that needed special care. The hidden years were his training, and faithfulness with a small flock fitted him for a nation.
- Servants — Scripture calls those who care for God's people servants, not leaders. The flock is never theirs. The sheep belong to the Lord.
- Shepherd-King — shepherd-rule leaves no room for selfish or harsh power. David points on to the Son of David, who will yet shepherd Jacob and Israel, God's inheritance.
And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
Psalm 78 spends seventy-one verses tracing Israel's failure. Then it ends not with judgment, but with a shepherd on a throne. The closing line describes how David cared for the people. It answers the question the whole psalm has been building toward: what does God do when His people have failed Him completely?
The psalm's ending is not a reward for Israel's improvement. God found nothing in them to build on, so He turned to His own grace.
Psalm 78 is clearly a recap of Israel's history. It convicts them of their disobedience and unbelief, and shows how useless all God's dealings were as far as their hearts were concerned. Then, so magnificently, He turns to His own sovereign grace to bless. Sovereign grace is God's only resource if He is to bless man. All His dealings, however gracious, fail of their aim. He loves His people, but He has no way of blessing them except His own grace.
Israel's old order lay in ruins. God did not repair it.
The establishment of David upon Israel's throne was divine intervention in grace. God was setting up a new institution for the blessing of His people upon the ruins of the old.
The order matters. David cared for sheep before he ruled a nation.
Most vital of all is His choice of David as the ruler of His people. David — clearly a picture of Christ — was a shepherd before he was given the place of king. He was a servant before he became a ruler. His care for the sheep helped greatly to qualify him to be trusted with ruling the people. He learned to take and keep the lowly place of serving the people's needs instead of lording it over them.
The verse gives two measures of good shepherding, and they are not interchangeable. One is what a man is; the other is what he can do. The comment below quotes an older translation of the verse: "the integrity of his heart" and "the skilfulness of his hands".
'He chose David' — the Lord chooses the shepherds; they are not appointed by men. 'David … His servant' — shepherds are servants of God. Christians talk a lot about 'leadership' or even 'servant-leadership'. But Scripture simply speaks about servants. 'to feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance' — never forget: the sheep are the Lord's sheep, not ours! 'So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart' — the first requirement for shepherds is a right moral condition of heart. 'and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands' — a special skill is also needed for this work.
Shepherding is not a sentimental word. In David's life it meant rescue, protection, provision and welcome.
He was a gathering point for the distressed and discontented in Israel. He provided safety for those fleeing from Saul. David recovered everything. He rescued Israel's captives from the Amalekites. He gave a share of the spoil to those too exhausted to follow him. He fed the weak and recovered the lost. He brought the lame Mephibosheth to his table and fed him royally. He had the heart of a shepherd. To feed is to satisfy, to maintain, to protect and to provide.
The verse also shows what God looks for in a king.
God's ideal king is neither selfish nor tyrannical. He is a wise shepherd of the people. He serves in the awareness that the people belong to God, and that he — the king — is simply God's honoured servant in rule. In this spirit David prayed for the people when a plague was raging. He pleaded with the Lord to spare the sheep and punish him instead.
Authority and tenderness are not rivals here. Both belong to the same office.
David's authority was absolute, and he was to rule. He was to carry out judgment if and as needed, but also to feed his subjects and to guide them. His rule was to be absolute but wholly good for them.
What was said of David can be said of Christ, and said far more fully.
It is said of David that he fed the people according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them according to the skilfulness of his hands. How fully and perfectly the same can be said of David's Lord! Though He is now in glory, He takes account of every hair of our heads. He is never unmindful of the smallest need of any sheep of His pasture. How sweet to think of the unwearied activity of this tender and gracious Shepherd — so patient with us, so forbearing, so full of pity and wisdom!
- Ruin — all God's dealings failed to change Israel's heart. Grace was His only resource left.
- Choice — grace then acted. God chose David as His servant and shepherd; the Lord picks His shepherds, and men do not appoint them.
- Heart — a right heart is the first thing God asks of a shepherd. Character comes before skill.
- Hands — skill is still required. Right motives do not replace the skill needed to guide people well.
- Fulfilment — what was partly true of David is fully true of Christ. The sheep were always God's, never the shepherd's.