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Patriarchs and Prophets
which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint
me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play
before the Lord. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base
in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of,
of them shall I be had in honor.” To David’s rebuke was added that of
the Lord: because of her pride and arrogance, Michal “had no child
unto the day of her death.”
The solemn ceremonies attending the removal of the ark had made
a lasting impression upon the people of Israel, arousing a deeper inter-
est in the sanctuary service and kindling anew their zeal for Jehovah.
David endeavored by every means in his power to deepen these im-
pressions. The service of song was made a regular part of religious
worship, and David composed psalms, not only for the use of the
priests in the sanctuary service, but also to be sung by the people in
their journeys to the national altar at the annual feasts. The influence
thus exerted was far-reaching, and it resulted in freeing the nation from
idolatry. Many of the surrounding peoples, beholding the prosperity
of Israel, were led to think favorably of Israel’s God, who had done
such great things for His people.
The tabernacle built by Moses, with all that appertained to the
sanctuary service, except the ark, was still at Gibeah. It was David’s
purpose to make Jerusalem the religious center of the nation. He had
erected a palace for himself, and he felt that it was not fitting for the
ark of God to rest within a tent. He determined to build for it a temple
of such magnificence as should express Israel’s appreciation of the
honor granted the nation in the abiding presence of Jehovah their King.
Communicating his purpose to the prophet Nathan, he received the
encouraging response, “Do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is
with thee.”
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, giving
him a message for the king. David was to be deprived of the privilege
of building a house for God, but he was granted an assurance of the
divine favor to him, to his posterity, and to the kingdom of Israel:
“Thus saith Jehovah of hosts; I took thee from the sheepcote, from
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following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel; and I
was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine
enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto
the name of the great men that are in the earth. Moreover I will appoint