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Patriarchs and Prophets
developing and strengthening for the work of his afterlife. He was
daily coming into a more intimate communion with God. His mind
was constantly penetrating into new depths for fresh themes to inspire
his song and to wake the music of his harp. The rich melody of his
voice poured out upon the air, echoed from the hills as if responsive to
the rejoicing of the angels’ songs in heaven.
Who can measure the results of those years of toil and wandering
among the lonely hills? The communion with nature and with God,
the care of his flocks, the perils and deliverances, the griefs and joys,
of his lowly lot, were not only to mold the character of David and to
influence his future life, but through the psalms of Israel’s sweet singer
they were in all coming ages to kindle love and faith in the hearts of
God’s people, bringing them nearer to the ever-loving heart of Him in
whom all His creatures live.
David, in the beauty and vigor of his young manhood, was prepar-
ing to take a high position with the noblest of the earth. His talents, as
precious gifts from God, were employed to extol the glory of the divine
Giver. His opportunities of contemplation and meditation served to
enrich him with that wisdom and piety that made him beloved of God
and angels. As he contemplated the perfections of his Creator, clearer
conceptions of God opened before his soul. Obscure themes were
illuminated, difficulties were made plain, perplexities were harmo-
nized, and each ray of new light called forth fresh bursts of rapture, and
sweeter anthems of devotion, to the glory of God and the Redeemer.
The love that moved him, the sorrows that beset him, the triumphs
that attended him, were all themes for his active thought; and as he
beheld the love of God in all the providences of his life, his heart
throbbed with more fervent adoration and gratitude, his voice rang out
in a richer melody, his harp was swept with more exultant joy; and the
shepherd boy proceeded from strength to strength, from knowledge to
knowledge; for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him.
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