(W. G. Blaikie, M. A.)

1. First of all, he was "cunning in playing." David all this time had no idea, of course, of how by this very skill, and by the means of his enemy Saul, the road to the throne was to be opened to him. It is often when a young fellow really hands himself over to God, body, soul, and spirit to be used by Him, that he sees how even in his unconverted days God had His plan of preparation in the thing that he did. He sees this by the light God has now abed on his life's track — a light that will never fade. Now, is there not many a young fellow who is not cultivating even his own natural abilities, who is not developing what is already in him? And the Gospel quite encourages this cultivation: it does not say to us, "Be so heavenly-minded that you can't touch a flute."

2. David was fond of music, with all the soothing and refining influences it brings — he loved it — but at the same time he was "a mighty valiant man." And it is worth while noticing how the two things are put side by side. I like the combination. We are apt to think that those who bare a turn for music, and develop it, are soft men, mere carpet knights, fit only for drawing rooms and small concerts, without grip and sinew and muscle. Such, at all events, was not, the ease with David, and God knew it when He chose him. God is always looking out for capable men, so keep yourself up to the mark — develop all that is in you. David was a brave spirit, too — "a man of war." he had the grand and wonderful combination of the suaviter with the fortiter. How many of us have this? There are some of you, I grant, who have quite enough of the flint about you, and whom I shouldn't care to thwart or cross, but what about the soft side of your nature? Others, again, are all soft, and haven't a bit of the flint at all, though it will have to come in and on you before you'll make much progress, either as regards this world or the next. David was brave, outspoken, and manly. He was "prudent in matters." This point will come home to many of you if the foregoing haven't. Perhaps you have no taste for music, and you haven't had a chance to cultivate or display your bravery like him. But here is prudence — this is a thing you find you need right in your everyday life. It seems to be just the next thing to the Grace of God. David had it, and by it he reined in his burning and ardent convictions, which would otherwise, perhaps, have borne him to destruction When we sit down to a game of chess or draughts we need, in order to win the game, not so much great dashes, but simply prudence and watchfulness. A hush falls on yourself and your partner, and the excitement is just enough to call forth all your powers, but if you mean to do well it will not go the length of making you nervous or fumbling, or cause that dimness in hand and eye which ends in a blunder. So it is in life: we ought to be keenly alive to what is going on around us, and of our position in the midst. I fear that oft-times from our young men trying to be too supernatural, they fall beneath the level of average commonsense, which they would have avoided had they but exercised a little prudence.

4. David was also "a comely person." Some of you may not be so, and are not to blame for your physique, for you had not the making of yourselves, but don't you think you might be a little better than you are? We ought to train and develop our bodies. I never did so much tossing the caber, or putting the stone, or used the dumbbells to such an extent as after I was converted. I felt then that I had a body that wanted looking after. David was a fine, strapping, stalwart fellow, "ruddy and good to look to," and we also ought to be as comely as God intended we should be.

5. Now we come to the point; not as in the case of Naaman — "he was a leper" — but "the Lord was with him." Can we meet David here? Have we got the supernatural as well as the natural? We have the same chance here at all events, as he had, if in all the other respects he stands alone. He accepted the Lord when He came to him on Samuel's feet, and without Him he would have been a mere skilful player and valiant man, that was all. But the Grace within could not be hid. It would not, and permeated far and wide. It was the common report that he was a good and religious fellow For, remember again, that this is the estimate of him by one of those among whom he was. God grant that we too may so live that the world may say of us, "There is something good about that man."

(John McNeill.)

II. NOW, THEN, LET US CONSIDER WHAT WAS, AS FAR AS WE CAN UNDERSTAND, HIS ESPECIAL GRACE, WHAT IS HIS GIFT; as faith was Abraham's distinguishing virtue, meekness the excellence of Moses, self-mastery the gift especially conspicuous in Joseph. This question may best be answered by considering the purpose for which he was raised up. (1 Samuel 13:14.) The office to which first Saul and then David were called was different from that with which other favoured men before them had been intrusted. From the time of Moses, when Israel became a nation, God had been the king of Israel, and His chosen servants, not delegates, but mere organs of His will. Moses did not direct the Israelites by his own wisdom, but he spake to them, as God spake from the pillar of the cloud. Joshua, again, was merely a sword in the hand of God. Samuel was but His minister and interpreter. God acted, the Israelites "stood still and saw" His miracles, then followed. But, when they had rejected Him from being king over them, then their chief ruler was no longer a mere organ of His power and will, but had a certain authority entrusted to him, more or less independent of supernatural direction; and acted, not so much from God, as for God, and in the place of God. David, when taken from the sheepfolds "to feed Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance," "fed them," in the words of the Psalm, "with a faithful and true heart; and ruled them prudently with all his power." From this account of his office, it is obvious that his very first duty was that of fidelity to Almighty God in the trust committed to him. Saul had neglected his Master's honour; but David, in this an eminent type of Christ, "came to do God's will" as a viceroy in Israel, and, as being tried and found faithful, he is especially called "a man after God's own heart." David's peculiar excellence, then, is that of fidelity to the trust committed to him; a firm, uncompromising, single-hearted devotion to the cause of his God, and a burning zeal for His honour. There is a resemblance between the early history of David and that of Joseph. Both distinguished for piety in youth, the youngest and the despised of their respective brethren, they are raised, after a long trial, to a high station, as ministers of God's Providence. Joseph was tempted to a degrading adultery; David was tempted by ambition. Both were tempted to be traitors to their masters and benefactors. Surely the blessings of the patriarchs descended in a united flood upon "the lion of the tribe of Judah," the type of the true Redeemer who was to come, he inherits the prompt faith and magnanimity of Abraham; he is simple as Isaac; he is humble as Jacob; he has the youthful wisdom and self-possession, the tenderness, the affectionateness, and thee firmness of Joseph. And, as his own especial gift he has an overflowing thankfulness, an ever-burning devotion, a zealous fidelity to his God, a high unshaken loyalty towards his king, an heroic bearing in all circumstances, such as the multitude of men sea to be great, but cannot understand.

(J. H. Newman, B. D.)

I. I wish to say something to you about HIS PERSON, his pleasing and attractive presence or address. Someone says to me, "You may pass over this matter, it is a point of little importance." I beg your pardon; it is not a point of little importance. A man may have a very shabby exterior, and yet be a true nobleman. M. Renan speaks of St. Paul disrespectfully indeed, but perhaps truthfully, as "the ugly little Jew:" and yet, we all know that though "his bodily presence" may have been "weak," that man had moral weight enough to shake the world. There are deformed men, and dwarfs, and cripples, who command instant and profound respect; whilst there are fine-looking, strapping fellows, who are only big boobies. Sometimes, though the casket is very poor, there is a glorious jewel within. Perhaps you would be surprised to see, in running through the Bible, how frequent is the allusion to bodily form. Why, I could give you quite a string of names of persons, both male and female, who are described as having been "comely" to look to. The body, no doubt, is but the tabernacle, the shell; but don't despise it; it bears the stamp and image of God. He was "a young man from the country." None the worse for that. As I read the story of his life, I smell the breath of the new-mown hay, and I hear the bleatings on the Bethlehem hills. A good many of us have come from the country. And some are silly enough to be ashamed of it. Be proud of it. Be proud if you know all about yoking the horses and herding the cattle, or even (as Mr. Gladstone said one day when addressing the young men of Glasgow University) about blowing the country forge, or keeping the toll gate.

II. But now for a few words, secondly, upon his PASTIME. Every sensible man must have some pastime. We cannot be always working. We are not mere mechanics; both body and mind demand occasional relaxation. In the LXX version of the Old Testament — that copy of it from which our Lord and His Apostles generally quoted — I find, strange to say, an additional Psalm to the hundred and fifty in our Bibles. It is entitled "A genuine Psalm of David." "Small was I among my brethren, and youngest in my father's house; I tended my father's sheep. My hands formed a musical instrument, and my fingers tuned a psaltery. And who shall tell nay Lord? The Lord Himself, he hears, he sent forth His angel, and took me from my father's sheep, and He anointed me with the oil of His anointing. My brothers were handsome and tall; but the Lord did not delight in them. I went forth to meet the Philistine, and he cursed me by his idols. But I drew his own sword and beheaded him, and removed reproach from the children of Israel. Praise ye the Lord." Well, I want you to observe that David consecrated this great gift of his to the highest ends, and that he found music to be most enjoyable when it was linked with sacred themes. What a pity that so sublime a gift is often prostituted to ignoble ends! What a shame that it is so frequently consecrated to the devil! And what vile rubbish you do sometimes listen to under the name of music! The grand chorales of Luther did quite as much as his preaching to arouse the people from their slumber of spiritual death. Now, hundreds of you are crazy about music. It is your chief pastime. And an elevating one it is, if wisely directed and controlled.

III. I point you now to his PATRIOTISM. The text calls him "a mighty valiant man, and a man of war;" but I must have you notice that David's courage and chivalry were not confined to camps and battlefields, but characterised his whole life. If ever man loved his country it was he. If ever there was a noble, chivalrous, magnanimous, unselfish spirit it was he. His heroic fearlessness of danger was constantly put to the proof. True men, nature's noblemen, are scarce; and Goldsmith was right when he said: —

"Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,

When wealth accumulates, and men decay,"A healthy and unselfish public spirit needs to be cultivated. We want a larger number of young men who, not content to see their country's honour and weal in the hands of a select few, are ambitious of contributing their quota to the formation of a healthy public opinion; and will willingly bear burdens, and take rubs, and forego conveniences, if they can in any way advance the national welfare. There must be some here who well remember how, during the Franco-Prussian War, many a young German, knowing his country was likely to be invaded, hurried home from a safe and lucrative position in England and America, to take his place in the line of battle, and, if need be, pay the penalty with his life. And when the war rolled over into France, many a young Frenchman went from quiet homes in distant and safe parts of his own land, to march with disorganised armies, and under doubtful generalship, through great and constant hardships; destined, alas! to find in a few weeks a nameless grave. Well, they only did their duty. And I am as certain as I am of my own existence that there are scores of young patriots here, who, under similar circumstances, would do precisely the same. There are bloodless achievements within the reach of all of you, by which you can nobly serve your fatherland. Ay, there are battles to be fought in Cornhill and Lombard Street, in Manchester and Liverpool, and thousands of other places at home, that demand a perseverance, a pluck, and a heroism quite as great as though you were summoned, with rifle and knapsack, to the jungles of Burmah or the mountains of Afghanistan.

IV. I point you now to his PRUDENCE. The text describes him as prudent in matters" — i.e., a young man of sound judgment, of sterling common sense. This is a wonderful recommendation to a man, no matter what kind of office he has to fill. Next to piety — and we are coming to that immediately — there is no endowment more valuable than what in England goes by the name of good common sense. "Prudent in matters." This word "prudent" is just a contradiction of "provident," and provident literally means looking before you, providing for the future. The one hundred and twelfth Psalm is just a portrait of a wise and generous man; and in it David says that such a person will "guide his affairs with discretion," and in consequence, "will not be afraid of evil tidings." if you are prudent in your affairs you will not spend all you earn upon immediate gratification, but will endeavour to make some provision for after days, and for those who possibly may be dependent on you I suppose there were no life insurance offices in those early times, or I feel sure David would have taken a wise step, which I urge upon every young man; and the sooner you take it the better.

V. And last point of all, David's PIETY — "And the Lord is with him." He was "a man after God's own heart." The breathings of his soul in these wonderful Psalms have for ages been, in the whole Christian Church — alike Greek, Latin, Puritan, and Anglican — the chosen expression of the most profound devotion. Now you may have all the other qualifications described here, yet, if you lack this, you are awfully incomplete; you cannot be presented to the King, nor stand, harp in hand, before His face in glory. A friend was one day speaking to the late learned Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, about religious life in England, and was contrasting southern theology with the robust and stern orthodoxy of Scotland, and he let fall the expression, "It is like a limpet, it has no bone in it." "Ah, well," replied Dr. Duncan, "a limpet is not a strong thing, but it cleaves fast to the rock." Cleave to the rock, and you will not be swept away by those strong currents of error or torrents of temptation which are sure to sweep around you. Decide what the principles of your life are to be, and stand by them at any cost. Have more manliness than to heed the jeers of the scoffer. The world is always for compromise; compromise between truth and error, between right and wrong. If a man dies for his flag, the world calls him a hero; but if he is prepared to die for a principle, it calls him a fanatic. Yet the latter is the nobler of the two.

(J. T. Davidson, D. D.)

     4548   wineskin

1 Samuel 16:14-23

     5537   sleeplessness

1 Samuel 16:15-18

     5422   musicians

1 Samuel 16:16-18

     5387   leisure, pastimes

1 Samuel 16:17-23

     5086   David, rise of

The Call of David.
"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone."--1 Samuel xvii. 50. These words, which are taken from the chapter which you heard read just now in the course of the Service[1], declare the victory which David, the man after God's own heart, gained over Goliath, who came out of the army of the Philistines to defy the Living God; and they declare the manner of his gaining it. He gained it with a sling and with a stone; that is, by means, which to man might seem weak and …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Of the Joy of a Good Conscience
The testimony of a good conscience is the glory of a good man. Have a good conscience and thou shalt ever have joy. A good conscience is able to bear exceeding much, and is exceeding joyful in the midst of adversities; an evil conscience is ever fearful and unquiet. Thou shalt rest sweetly if thy heart condemn thee not. Never rejoice unless when thou hast done well. The wicked have never true joy, nor feel internal peace, for there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.(1) And if they say …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Early Days
The life of David is naturally divided into epochs, of which we may avail ourselves for the more ready arrangement of our material. These are--his early years up to his escape from the court of Saul, his exile, the prosperous beginning of his reign, his sin and penitence, his flight before Absalom's rebellion, and the darkened end. We have but faint incidental traces of his life up to his anointing by Samuel, with which the narrative in the historical books opens. But perhaps the fact that the story …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

And He had Also this Favour Granted Him. ...
66. And he had also this favour granted him. For as he was sitting alone on the mountain, if ever he was in perplexity in his meditations, this was revealed to him by Providence in prayer. And the happy man, as it is written, was taught of God [1112] . After this, when he once had a discussion with certain men who had come to him concerning the state of the soul and of what nature its place will be after this life, the following night one from above called him, saying, Antony, rise, go out and look.' …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Sun Rising Upon a Dark World
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon then hath the light shined. C ontrasts are suited to illustrate and strengthen the impression of each other. The happiness of those, who by faith in MESSIAH, are brought into a state of peace, liberty, and comfort, is greatly enhanced and heightened by the consideration of that previous state of misery in which they once lived, and of the greater misery to which they were justly exposed. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Christ Crowned, the Fact
"When God sought a King for His people of old, He went to the fields to find him; A shepherd was he, with his crook and his lute And a following flock behind him. "O love of the sheep, O joy of the lute, And the sling and the stone for battle; A shepherd was King, the giant was naught, And the enemy driven like cattle. "When God looked to tell of His good will to men, And the Shepherd-King's son whom He gave them; To shepherds, made meek a-caring for sheep, He told of a Christ sent to save them. …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

The Christian's Book
Scripture references 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21; John 5:39; Romans 15:4; 2 Samuel 23:2; Luke 1:70; 24:32,45; John 2:22; 10:35; 19:36; Acts 1:16; Romans 1:1,2; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; James 2:8. WHAT IS THE BIBLE? What is the Bible? How shall we regard it? Where shall we place it? These and many questions like them at once come to the front when we begin to discuss the Bible as a book. It is only possible in this brief study, of a great subject, to indicate the line of some of the answers. …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament