Psalms 78:71

71 he took him from behind sheep with lambs. To feed Jacob his servant; and Israel his heritage. (yea, he brought him out from following behind the sheep with their lambs, to feed his people Jacob; yea, his inheritance Israel.)

Psalms 78:71 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:71

From following the ewes great with young
Or, "from after" them F1; it was usual with the shepherd to put them before him, and to follow them, and gently drive them, which is expressive of his care and tenderness of them; see ( Genesis 33:13 Genesis 33:14 ) , the same is observed of David's antitype, the great and good Shepherd of the sheep, ( Isaiah 40:11 ) . David was a type of Christ as a shepherd; as he kept his father's sheep, so Christ keeps those that the Father has given him, ( John 10:29 ) , as David kept his flock with great care and courage, and in safety, ( 1 Samuel 17:34-36 ) , so does the Lord Jesus Christ keep his flock in safety, and preserves it from Satan, the roaring lion, and from grievous wolves that enter into it, and every beast of prey that would devour it; and particularly as David took special care of those that were with young, so does the Lord take special care of such that are newborn babes, that have Christ formed in them, and are big with desires after him, carry a burden, and are weary, and heavy laden: the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret the word F2 of such that give suck, and so it most properly signifies:

he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance;
that is, to rule over them: this is said in allusion to his having been a shepherd; and nothing is more common than for kings to be represented as shepherds, and their acts of government by leading and feeding; and one and the same word in the Greek language signifies to feed and rule: and so the Targum,

``he brought him to rule over Jacob his people:''

this was a great honour indeed, to be the governor of the Lord's people, a special people above all people on the face of the earth, and whom he had chosen to be his inheritance; and in this also he was a type of Christ, who has the throne of his father David given him, and who reigns over the house of Jacob, one of whose titles is King of saints; for as the government of the world in general, so of the church in particular, is on his shoulders, ( Luke 1:32 Luke 1:33 ) ( Revelation 15:4 ) ( Isaiah 9:6 Isaiah 9:7 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F1 (rxam) "de post", Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus; "a post", Michaelis.
F2 (twle) "lactantes", Vatablus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Psalms 78:71 In-Context

69 And he as an unicorn builded his holy place; in the land, which he founded into worlds. (And he built his holy place like his home in heaven/And he built his holy place as high as the heavens; and he founded it like the earth, to last forever.)
70 And he chose David his servant, and took him up from the flocks of sheep; (And he chose David to be his servant, and took him away from the flocks of sheep;)
71 he took him from behind sheep with lambs. To feed Jacob his servant; and Israel his heritage. (yea, he brought him out from following behind the sheep with their lambs, to feed his people Jacob; yea, his inheritance Israel.)
72 And he fed them in the innocence of his heart; and he led them forth in the understandings of his hands. (And David fed them from the innocence of his heart; and he led them forth by the skillfulness of his hands.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.