e 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 forever."
THE STORY OF THE FIGHT WITH THE GIANT
All through the reign of Saul, there was constant war with the
Philistines, who lived upon the lowlands west of Israel. At one time,
when David was still with his sheep, a few years after he had been
anointed by Samuel, the camps of the Philistines and the Israelites were
set against each other on opposite sides of the valley of Elah. In the
army of Israel were the three oldest brothers of David.
Every day a giant came out of the camp of the Philistines, and dared
some one to come from the Israelites' camp and fight with him. The
giant's name was Goliath. He was nine feet high; and he wore armor from
head to foot, and carried a spear twice as long and as heavy as any
other man could hold; and his shield bearer walked before him. He came
every day and called out across the little valley:
"I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul. Now choose one of your
men, and let him come out and fight with me. If I kill him; then you
shall submit to us; and if he kills me, then we will give up to you.
Come, now, send out your man!"
But no man in the army, not even King Saul, dared to go out and fight
with the giant. Forty days the camps stood against each other, and the
Philistine giant continued his call.
One day, old Jesse, the father of David, sent David from Bethlehem to
visit his three brothers in the army. David came, and spoke to his
brothers; and while he was talking with them, Goliath the giant came out
as before in front of the camp calling for some one to fight with him.
They said one to another:
"If any man will go out and kill this Philistine, the king will give him
a great reward and a high rank; and the king's daughter shall be his
wife."
And David said:
"Who is this man that speaks in this proud manner against the armies of
the living God? Why does not some one go out and kill him?"
David's brother Eliab said to him:
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