(<'h. ::-;xii. ~~), and his lowly occnpation-1. Was adapted to nurture physical .<trmgth, agility, and _end_urnnce _; to call forth energy, self-reliance, nnd courage amidst numerous perils m a wild country, from beasts of prey nnd hill robbers (1 C)uoi:i. vii. 21); to make him exper~_in the use of the.~ling, like the neighbouring BenJam1tes (Judges xx. 16; 1 Sam. xvn. 50; 1 Chron. xu. 2); nnd to prepare him to rule over men by developing a sense of responsibility, and leading him to seek the welfare and study the increase and improvement of the flock (Ps. lxxviii. 70-72). :2. Lcfi: him mnch alone, and afforded him leisure for meditation and the cultivation of " ta.st.e for 'Tn?i,Sic, by playing on the hand-harp, which he could easily carry with him "·hen he ''. followed the flocki" and _th~ rare gift of song, in both of which he may h:n·e greatly improved, after lns a.nomtmg, by attendance at the school of the prophets at Ramah (eh. xix. 18). To his musical skill he owed his first introduction to the court of Saul, and by its means he became "the sweet singer of Israel." ""~~th his whole _heart ~e sa~g songs, and l_ove~ him that made him" (Ecclua. xh-11. _8). 3. Fu;_1:1shed hnn. ~1th the sugg~stive i1}1,agery of man)'. of his psalms, especrnlly Ps. =m.-' T!1~ D1vme Shepherd. "It 1s the echo of his shepherd life, and breathes the very spmt of sunny confidence and of peifect rest in God." III. THE NATURAL CREATION. To him the visible universe was a manifestation of the glory of the invisible, immanent, ever-operating God (Ps. civ.). He regarded nature "not as an independent and self-subsisting power, but rather as the outer chamber of an unseen Presence-a garment, a veil, which the eternal One is ever ready to break through" (Shairp, 'Poetic Inter. of Nature'). Brought into direct and constant communion with it, he felt a boundless delight in contemplating " The silence that is in the starry sky, The sleep that is among the lonely hills ; " in listening to its mysterious voices, and watching its ever-varying aspects ; and poured forth the thought and feeling of his heart in songs of adoration and praise ; a.s in Ps. xix. 1-13--' The heavens by day;' Ps. viii.-' The heavens by night;' Ps. xxix.-' The thunder-storm.' "What we call the love of nature is in fact the lo-ve and admiration of the Deity (so far forth as he is perceived in external nature). The enthusiasm with which men survey the endless vicissitudes which the spectacle of the universe exhibits is nothing else than the devotional temper, moderated and repressed by the slight veil which sensible objects interpose between us and their author" (D. Stewart). IV. HISTORIC REVELATION. He was instructed in "the law of the Lord" (Ps. xix. 7-14-' The moral law'), and in the wonderful. works which he had wrought on hehalf of his people in past time (Ps. cv.); whilst the scenes amidst which his life was spent formed a pictorial Bible, by which they ,were more deeply impressed on his memory. His acquaintance with the contents of the sacred records then existing would be greatly increased under the teaching of Samuel. "Thy creatures have ·been my books, but thy Scriptures much more" (Bacon). V. PRonDENTIAL PRESERVATION. The same special care which had been exercised by Jehovah over Israel he was taught to recognise in the lowly course of his own individual life. Once and again he was preserved in imminent danger (eh. xvii. 37), anc.l thus his faith in the ever-watchful presence and providence of the Great Shep- nerd grew strong. " Every Hebrew might consider himself alone in the presence of God ; the single being to whom a great revelation had been made, and over whose head an exceeding weight of glory was suspended. His personal welfare was infinitely concerned with every event that had taken place in the miraculous order of Providence. . . . . His belief in him could not·exist without producing, as a neces- sary effect, that profound impression of passionate individual attachment which in the Hebrew authors always mingles with and vivifies their faith in the Invisible" (A. H. Hallam). VI. RELIGIOUS INSPIRATION. Led by Divine grace from his earliest years int.o <lin,ct and loving communion with Jehovah, he was endowed with unusual spiritual 1Jower, wl,ich, as he faithfully surrendered himself to it, wrought in him more and mo:e mightily, and prepared him for his high destiny. And all true spiritual life, na well a.a the peculiar endowments of the prophets and apostles, is a Divine inspiration ,en. XVI, 1-23.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SA:VIUEL. .'307
{John iii. 8; Acts ii. 17). "The morning of his day this extraordinrtry man spent not in colleges nor camps nor courts, but in following the sheep among the pastures of Bethlehem. There, under the breathings of spring and the blasts of winter; there, in fellowship with fields and flocks and silent stars ; there, with the spirit of nature and of God fresh upon him; there, in the land of vision, miracle, anc:! angels-there it was that his character was formed, a character which afterwarrl11 -exhibiterl so rare a combination of simplicity and grandeur, sensibility and power" (C. Morris). Application (to the young) :-1. The morning of life is the appropriate season for education-physical, mental, moral. If neglected, the evil cannot be repaired. 2. No educational advantages can be of service without your own diligent co-operation. -3. All circumstances-adverse as well as proi:,itious, solitude and society, work and recreation-may be helpful to your highest progress. 4. "Have faith in G0n," the -secret of all David's greatness.-D.