The promise made to King David runs like a golden thread through the Scriptures. God had pledged that a son of David would sit upon the throne forever, that through his line the kingdom of Israel would never fade. “In the Psalms David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the first prophet of Jewish and Christian prayer,” the Catechism teaches. “The prayer of Christ, the true Messiah and Son of David, will reveal and fulfill the meaning of this prayer” (2579). Centuries passed, and the house of David crumbled -- yet God had not forgotten his promise.