David: Shepherd, Psalmist, King

He character and life of DAVID are
supremely fascinating, not only to holy
souls, whose deepest thoughts have been
expressed in his unrivalled Psalms, but
to all men: because of their humanness; their
variety; their sharply contrasted experiences; their
exhibition of traits of generosity and courage which
always elicit admiration.

Whilst sketching every period of DAVID’S life, I have concentrated myself on those passages which trace the steps by which the shepherd became the king. It was in these that his character was formed his sweetest psalms composed, and those manifold experiences encountered which enabled him to interpret and utter the universal heart of man.

Sweet Singer of the World; Ancestor of Christ; Founder of a Dynasty of Kings; a Prophet, inspired and taught, as the Apostle Peter tells us, by the Holy Ghost; the type and precursor of Him, who, though his Son, was also his Lord; the man after God’s own heart, who “did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that He commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” So long as time lasts, DAVID must always enlist affection and command respect.

“We stride the river daily at its spring,

Nor in our childish thoughtlessness foresee
What myriad vassal streams shall tribute bring,

How like an equal it shall greet the sea.
” O small beginnings! Ye are great and strong,

Based on a faithful heart and weariless brain;
Ye build the future fair, ye conquer wrong,
Ye earn the crown, and wear it not in vain.”

J. R. LOWELL.

HE story of David opens with a dramatic contrast between the fresh hope of his young life and the rejection of the self-willed king Saul, whose course was rapidly descending towards the fatal field of Gilboa.

Few have had a fairer chance than Saul. Choice in gifts, goodly in appearance, favoured by nature and opportunity, he might have made one of the greatest names in history. His first exploit, the relief of Jabesh-gilead, justified the wildest anticipations of his friends. But the fair dawn was soon overcast. The hot impatience that persisted in offering the sacrifice before Samuel came; his needless oath and ruthless proposal to take Jonathan’s life; his flagrant disobedience to the distinct charge respecting Amalek — all proved that he was not fit to act as God’s vicegerent, and that he must be set aside.

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The final announcement of his deposition was made at Gilgal. At that spot, on entering Canaan, Israel, at Joshua’s bidding, had rolled away the reproach of uncircumcision. The place suggested the only condition on which God can use human instruments; but in Saul’s case there had been no humbling of pride, no submission of self-will, no putting away of the wild energy of the flesh. He was called whilst seeking his father’s straying asses, as David was whilst watching his father’s sheep; and there was a good deal of the wild-ass nature about Saul, as about Ishmael, which neither of them sought to subdue. Saul, it is said, rejected the word of the Lord; and the Lord rejected him from being king.

From Gilgal Saul went up to his house at Gibeah, in the heights of Benjamin: while Samuel went to Ramah, a little to the south — there was his house; there he had judged Israel for twenty years; and there he dwelt as father and priest among the people, known far and near as the man of God (vii. 17; ix. 6, io, 12). There, too, he mourned for Saul. No bad man drifts down the rapids unwarned, unwept; but the Divine purpose cannot stay till such pitying tears are dried. Nor must we cling to the grave of the dead past, whence the Spirit of God has fled; but arise to follow, as He transfers the focus of his operation from the rocky heights of Benjamin to the breezy uplands of Bethlehem, and conducts us to the house of Jesse.

In the selection of every man for high office in the service of God and man, there are two sides — the Divine and the human: the election of God, and its elaboration in history; the heavenly summons, and the earthly answer to its ringing notes. We must consider, therefore, I. The Root of David in God; II. The Stem of Jesse — that is, the local circumstances that might account for what the boy was and III. The White Bud of a Noble Life.

I. THE ROOT OF DAVID. — Once in the prophecy by
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Isaiah, and twice in the Book of Revelation, our Lord is called the “Root of David.” “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the Book and to loose the seven seals thereof.” And still more emphatically, among the last words spoken by the Saviour, before the curtain of the Ages fell, “I, Jesus, am the Root and the Offspring of David; the Bright, the Morning Star.”

The idea suggested is of an old root, deep hidden in the earth, which sends up its green scions and sturdy stems. David’s character may be considered as an emanation from the life of the Son of God before He took on Himself the nature of man, and an anticipation of what He was to be and do in the fulness of time. Jesus was the Son of David, yet in another sense He was his progenitor. Thus we return to the ancient puzzle, that Jesus of Nazareth is at once David’s Lord and Son (Mark xii. 35-37).

There are four great words about the choice of David, the last of which strikes deeply into the heart of that great mystery.

The Lord hath sought Him a man (i Sam. xiii. 14). — No one can know the day or hour when God passes by, seeking for chosen vessels and goodly pearls. When least expecting it, we are being scrutinized, watched, tested, in daily commonplaces, to see if we shall be faithful in more momentous issues. Let us be always on the alert, our loins girt, our lamps burning, our nets mended and cleansed.

I have found David my servant (Psa. lxxxix. 20). — There is ecstasy in the voice, like the thrice repeated found of Luke xv. David was found long before Samuel sent for him. Which was the moment of that blessed discovery? Was it one dawn, when in the first flicker of daylight the young shepherd led his flock from fold to pasture; or one morning, when, in an outburst of heroic faith, he rescued a trembling lamb from lion or bear; or one afternoon, when, as he sat and watched his charge, the first conception of the Shepherd Psalm stirred in his heart; or one night, when he heard the silent speech of the heavens declaring the glory of God? And was there not some secret glad response to the Master’s call, like that which the disciples gave, when Jesus found them at their nets, and said, “Follow Me”?

He chose David to be his servant (Psa. lxxviii. 70). — The people chose Saul; but God chose David. This made him strong. He was conscious that the purpose of God lay behind and beneath him; and when in after years Saul lay in its power, or Michal taunted him with his extravagant gestures, the thought that he was Divinely commissioned was his stand-by (2 Sam. vii. 21). We are immovable when we touch the bed-rock of God’s choice, and hear Him say, “He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear my name.”

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