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Education
These life records declare what every human being will one day
understand—that sin can bring only shame and loss; that unbelief
means failure; but that God’s mercy reaches to the deepest depths; that
faith lifts up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of
God.
The Discipline of Suffering
All who in this world render true service to God or man receive a
preparatory training in the school of sorrow. The weightier the trust
and the higher the service, the closer is the test and the more severe
the discipline.
Study the experiences of Joseph and of Moses, of Daniel and
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of David. Compare the early history of David with the history of
Solomon, and consider the results.
David in his youth was intimately associated with Saul, and his
stay at court and his connection with the king’s household gave him
an insight into the cares and sorrows and perplexities concealed by the
glitter and pomp of royalty. He saw of how little worth is human glory
to bring peace to the soul. And it was with relief and gladness that he
returned from the king’s court to the sheepfolds and the flocks.
When by the jealousy of Saul driven a fugitive into the wilderness,
David, cut off from human support, leaned more heavily upon God.
The uncertainty and unrest of the wilderness life, its unceasing peril,
its necessity for frequent flight, the character of the men who gathered
to him there,—“everyone that was in distress, and everyone that was
in debt, and everyone that was discontented” (
1 Samuel 22:2
),—all
rendered the more essential a stern self-discipline. These experiences
aroused and developed power to deal with men, sympathy for the
oppressed, and hatred of injustice. Through years of waiting and peril,
David learned to find in God his comfort, his support, his life. He
learned that only by God’s power could he come to the throne; only
in His wisdom could he rule wisely. It was through the training in
the school of hardship and sorrow that David was able to make the
record—though afterward marred with his great sin—that he “executed
judgment and justice unto all his people.”
2 Samuel 8:15
.
The discipline of David’s early experience was lacking in that of
Solomon. In circumstances, in character, and in life, he seemed favored