Verse | Translation | Text |
Ps 78:72 | Strong Concordance | So he fed [07462] them according to the integrity [08537] of his heart [03824]; and guided [05148] them by the skilfulness [08394] of his hands [03709]. |
King James | So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
So he fed them - He performed toward them the office of a shepherd. According to the integrity of his heart - literally, "According to the perfection of his heart." That is, he was upright and pure in the administration of his government. And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands - literally, "by the understanding of his hands" - as if the hand had been endued with intelligence. Compare Psa 144:1 : "Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." See also Psa 137:5. The idea is, that he administered the government with integrity and uprightness. This is a beautiful tribute to the integrity and purity of the administration of David. It is not the language of flattery; it is a simple statement, flowing from the heart, in favor of a just and upright administration; and it is a true statement of what the administration of David was. Save in the matter of Uriah - over which he afterward wept so bitterly - his administration was eminently just, pure, impartial, wise, and benignant; probably none among people have been more so. The whole psalm is thus a beautiful argument showing why the government had been transferred from Ephraim to Judah, and why it had been placed in the hands of David. |