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I. WHAT DAVID DID. "He went on."

1. He "went on" with his appointed work. David was not alone in this. Every man has a work given him by God. David was, above all things, a servant of God, and every man may be that if he will!

2. He "went on" in the face of opposition. He was opposed by the Jebusites, and later by the Philistines. If we are in the path of duty, let us go forward! 'Tis patient going on that wins! In school and college, in workshop and office, perseverance triumphs. Even so is it in the godly life. "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." "To patient faith the prize is sure," etc.

II. WHAT DAVID BECAME. He "grew great." David "grew great" in his kingly power, and honours, and victories, great in the eyes of his foes, and great in the estimation of his subjects. The large majority have to be content with mediocrity. Most natures possess a spark of wholesome ambition, but in many cases it has become smothered and buried! Many throw away splendid opportunities of becoming at any rate greater than they are. The idler, the spendthrift, the drunkard, etc. Ambition may be worthy or unworthy. He who aspires to be great in an honourable calling by honourable means, to push his way by dint of hard work to the front, is surely to be commended! Let us grow great without sacrificing our integrity, or not at all! If we may not rise on the wings of righteousness let us be content to keep on the ground! Above all, let it be our aim to grow great morally and spiritually. But moral ennoblement comes from a higher source. Tennyson's Arthur, speaking of the Knights of the Round Table, says: —

"I made them lay their hands in mine and swear

To reverence the king as if he were

Their conscience, and their conscience as their king,

To break the heathen and uphold the Christ,

To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,

To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,

To honour his own word as if his God's,

To live sweet lives in purest chastity."Write "Christ" instead of Arthur and you have the patent of a higher nobility than earthly sovereign ever bestowed.

III. THE SECRET OF DAVID'S PROSPERITY. "The Lord God of Hosts was with him." The secret of all real greatness is in having the Lord on our side. How can we secure His presence and help? How did David secure these?

1. He trusted God.

2. He acknowledged and consulted Him.

3. He obeyed God.The same method of ensuring the Divine help is open to all. If we would go on and grow great, if we would prosper in all right ways we must begin to walk in those ways. Have we made the great commencement? He calls us now!

(J. Sellicks.)

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KJV: And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.

WEB: David grew greater and greater; for Yahweh, the God of Armies, was with him.