More than one with
whom I have watched upon these hills knew all the Psalms of David by
heart and many of the books of the prophets. The doctors in the
synagogues teach only the law; the shepherds love best the Psalms and
the prophets. They do not forget that King David was himself a
shepherd's lad. It was upon these very hills that he kept his father's
sheep. It was in that ravine over yonder, on that hillside, that he, a
mere stripling, caught by the beard and killed the lion and the bear
that attacked the sheep. It was on that slope, just a little to the
south, that the messenger found him with his flocks when he was called
home to be anointed by Samuel the prophet. When the doctors talk so
contemptuously about the shepherds, I wonder if they do not remember
that the great king wrote: 'The Lord is my Shepherd.' How can our
calling be so mean as they say, when David, who was called from the
sheepfolds, praises the Eternal One himself as his Shepherd? But hark!
what noise is that I hear? There is some trouble among the sheep."
"Let me run and see," answers the boy, "and I will come and bring you
word."
So saying, Joseph cast off his father's shaggy coat, seized the sling
in his left hand and the crook in his right and ran swiftly out to the
brow of the hill. He was a strong lad, large of frame and a swift
runner, and the sling in his hand was a sure weapon.
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