1 Samuel 16:14-2314But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 18Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. 19Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. 20And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. 21And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armorbearer. 22And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight. 23And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (1 Samuel 16:14‑23)
DID Saul know who was to be king instead of him? No, Samuel did not tell Saul what he had done. Saul would have been very angry if he had known that David had been anointed; but he did not know it.
Yet Saul was very unhappy. God had let a wicked spirit come into him. Saul felt frightened and uneasy, so that he could not rest. He lived in a fine house, called a palace, but this did not make him happy; he had many servants to wait upon him, but they could do him no good. You see, my dear children, what a sad thing it is to disobey God. God can make people happy, and He can make them unhappy.
What should Saul have done, now he was so unhappy? He should have prayed to God to forgive him. But he did not love praying to God.
Saul's servants saw that he had a wicked spirit in him, and they said to him, 'Shall we look for a man who can play very sweetly on the harp? Perhaps, if you were to listen to very sweet music, you might get well.'
Then Saul answered his servants, 'Look for such a man, and bring him to me.' Who could the servants send for? One of the servants had heard of David, and he said to Saul, 'I have seen one of the sons of Jesse, who lives at Bethlehem, and he can play beautifully on the harp; and besides this he is a very brave young man, who can fight well; and he can speak very wisely, and he is very handsome; and God loves him: shall I send for him?'
Saul said, send for this young man. Some of Saul's servants went to Jesse, and said, `King Saul wishes to see your son David, who takes care of the sheep.'
Jesse said that David might go: and he told David to take a present to King Saul. What was the present? Some bread, a kid (which is a young goat), and a bottle of wine. David put all these things upon an ass, and brought them to Saul. When Saul saw David, he loved him very much. Perhaps Saul loved him because he had a sweet look, and could play well on the harp; but God loved him because he wished to please Him.
Saul liked David so much that he wished David to stay with him a long time, and to be always near him. So Saul sent a message to Jesse to say that he wished to keep him.
David very often played to Saul upon the harp, and when David played, Saul grew better, and at last grew quite well.
At last David went away from Saul, and fed his father's sheep, as he used to do. I think David liked taking care of the sheep better than living with Saul: for Saul was wicked, and many of his servants were wicked.
David was very happy when he was alone, thinking about God. Did you ever hear any of David's psalms? In one of these psalms he calls God his shepherd. David took great care of his sheep, and led them to places where green fresh grass grew, and to smooth and clear water: and he made them lie down on the softest grass in cool places by the river's side. While David was taking so much care of his sheep, he thought that God took still more care of him; and he said, 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters.' What are pastures? Grass. And what are still waters? Smooth waters.
Have you a shepherd, my dear children? I hope that the Lord is your shepherd, too, and that you are His dear little lambs. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who died to save you.
He loves you very much, and wishes to make you happy. Do you wish to be His little lambs? Jesus will be so kind to you. He will keep you from Satan, and He will put His Spirit in you, and He will comfort you when you are unhappy, and at last He will take you to heaven.
How happy those little children are who love Jesus!
Questions on Lesson 8
Did Saul know who was to be king instead of him?
What came into Saul?
What did Saul's servants advise him to do to make him well?
Where did David go when Saul was well?
Do you remember any of the Psalms of David?
What are psalms?
What are still waters?
What has your Shepherd done for you?