Fascination with David, the psalmist warrior is never-ending. But while an artifact of his life is currently touring the world and researchers are digging for details of his time, you have a connection with him near at hand: the Rosary.
He is “par excellence the king ‘after God’s own heart.’” He is also one of the great adventure heroes of all time, beating Goliath, Saul, and countless opponents with cleverness and skill.
But more than that, he is the one who received the promise of salvation that Jesus Christ delivered on. The Rosary not only tells the story of that promise, it puts us in David’s footsteps.
In addition to being the “founding father” of our salvation, David is the founding father of the Rosary.
David is the traditional author of the 150 Psalms, which monks prayed in sets of 50 in three cycles. Lay people wanted to join in, but with no books (or the ability to read) they prayed 150 Our Father prayers instead, keeping track of their prayers on beads. Later, the Hail Mary was added.
But I love one take on David and the Rosary that goes a step further. When David faced Goliath, he ditched his armor and instead “selected five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. With sling in hand, he approached [Goliath].”
We face Goliaths in our time too, with a sling of five Our Father beads — with 10 Hail Marys added for good measure, in what Padre Pio called “the ‘weapon’ for these times.”
But the Rosary also tells us everything we need to know about David’s covenant.
The Joyful mysteries tell the tale of God raising up the new King in the Line of David that he promised.
The Annunciation is the announcement that the forever-kingdom promised to David’s descendants has arrived. The Angel Gabriel is sent to Mary because she is betrothed to a man “of the house of David” and is given a child destined for the “throne of his father David.”
The Visitation compares Mary to David. Luke includes many parallels between David’s three-month visit to the hill country of Judah with the ark of the covenant, and Mary’s three-month visit. Mary even uses words from the dawn of David’s story to pray in her Magnificat.
The Luminous Mysteries show Jesus inaugurating the new Davidic kingdom.
At the Baptism in the River Jordan, the Father’s voice publicly lays claim to his “Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” fulfilling his promise of a redeeming son.
The Wedding Feast at Cana reveals the kingdom. Jesus is a king who came to serve, and he begins his service by being as attentive to his mother as David himself.
The Transfiguration is a foretaste of the kingdom. In Matthew, Mark and Luke before, showing himself transfigured, Jesus promises to show a few apostles “the kingdom of God coming with power.”
The Institution of the Eucharist inaugurates the kingdom. At the Last Supper, our new king from the town of David, Bethlehem — which means house of bread — directs “his disciples attention toward the fulfillment of Passover in the kingdom of God,” says the Catechism.
The Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries finish David’s story in an unexpected way.
The Catechism says David models three virtues: of submission to God, repentance, and prayer. The Rosary ends with Jesus doing the same: Jesus models submission to God in the Agony in the Garden, and shows the path of repentance in the Scourging at the Pillar, then, like a king, he is Crowned with Thorns and robed in purple and Carries His Cross with a sign proclaiming him “King of the Jews.” Last, Jesus is Crucified after granting a prayer to “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
But this son of David shows that he is also the Lord of David by his Resurrection and Ascension to the right hand of the Father where “all authority is given to me”. At Pentecost the Davidic Kingdom comes at last — in the Church — and Mary mother Assumed into heaven to her Coronation as the Queen Mother.
So spend some time with King David and his Great Descendant.
Without King David, there would be no Rosary — in more ways than one.
