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A keeper of sheep, suddenly becoming conscious that he was chosen for a great yet terrible destiny; being gradually fitted among the quiet hill-sides to meet this mighty calling; and then, rising to the throne, so gifted with kingly power that he guided the people through their days of peril, and established them in a strength that outlived the wear of centuries — this man (so called) seems to stand far off from ourselves in a distant world of wonder. And yet, if we ask how he was trained unconsciously for his calling — how he was strengthened to discharge it, we shall find that the same Divine hand is shaping our career; the same Divine voice calling us; and the same Divine Spirit willing to fit us for our part in the battle of life.

I. THE DIVINE CALLING OF DAVID.

1. How was David's shepherd-life an unconscious preparation for his calling? Amid the stillness of the ancient hills, David, the shepherd youth, was learning to feel a presence which "surrounded him behind and before," and to realize the nearness of One who read his thoughts in the silence, when the beatings of his own heart were audible, and who watched over him when the great night with its gleaming worlds gathered over valley and hill.

2. How did the Divine summons fit him for his vocation? The hour came when he was to know that through all his years he had been trained for it, when the "Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward." And now observe — he was sent back to his flocks; in the full knowledge of his grand destiny, sent to pass years of silent waiting. He knew that a Heavenly will had chosen him for his work; that a Heavenly eye was marking his way; that a Heavenly hand had arranged every trifle in his destiny; and therefore, let the future threaten and storm as it might, he could stand firmly on that rock of belief, amid the whirling tides of trouble.

II. ITS MODERN LESSONS.

1. There is a Divine plan in every life. We cannot guide ourselves. Great events which we never foresee, or trifles which we despise, are the powers that seem to influence irresistibly the current of our earthly years. And, even when our cherished schemes succeed, they are never what are expected. Now, behind these mysterious forces, and acting through them — controlling these strange disappointments, and rendering them blessings — is the plan of God; which plan, proceeding from the everlasting past to the everlasting future, makes the individual life of every man, as it made that of David, a Divine education.

2. There is a Divine vocation for every man. A Heavenly Spirit is near us all. There are hours when His light flashes consciously across the soul, calling it to arise. Like David, every man was meant to be a king — to be a king in heaven, by becoming on earth a priest in the sacrifice of himself.

3. There is a Divine Shepherd for every man. "He gave His life for the sheep" That tells us who was the Shepherd whose presence David felt — the Christ, who came into this wild wilderness to seek and to save the lost.

(E. L. Hull, B. A.)

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KJV: He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

WEB: He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds;