It must have been a happy day in David's history when Abner set out from Hebron to convene the assembly of the tribes that was to call him with one voice to the throne. It was the day long looked for come at last. The dove had at length come with the olive leaf, and peace would now reign among all the tribes of Israel. And we may readily conceive him, with this prospect so near, expressing his feelings, if not in the very words of the thirty-seventh Psalm, at any rate in language of similar import:--
"Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land, and follow after faithfulness. Delight thyself also in the Lord, And He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall make thy righteousness to go forth as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Fret not thyself because of him that prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land."
But a crime was now on the eve of being perpetrated destined for the time to scatter all King David's pleasing expectations and plunge him anew into the depths of distress.