But better than all, David’s deeds of valor and the great fame he had among the nations, which abides to this day, was, in my mind, the fact that he wrote many of the psalms which we use in our public worship, this, the twenty-third, is one of the very sweetest of them all: 

     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.

     He restoreth my soul:  he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
     for his name’s sake.

     Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
     will fear no evil:  for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
     comfort me.

     Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: 
     thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

     Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: 
     and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

You must not think that David’s life was ever an easy one.  He always had hard battles to fight.  Once, for quite a long period, he was an outlaw, much like Robin Hood of a later day, and with a band of brave young men he lived in the woods and the mountains, defending the property of his friends from other outlaws, and sometimes perhaps making forays against his foes, sweeping off their cattle and burning their tents and houses.  Those were wild and exciting days, when the battle was for the strongest to win, and when many things were done of which in our modern times we cannot wholly approve.  The thing about David which pleases me most is that he had a rare quality called magnanimity; he did not take a mean advantage of an enemy, and when, as occasionally it must be owned, he did commit a great sin, his repentance was deep and sincere.  He lived in so much communion with God, that God spoke of him always as his servant, and he has been called, to distinguish him from other heroes in the Bible gallery, “The man after God’s own heart.”  Whatever duties or trials came to David, they were met in a spirit of simple trust in the Lord, and with a child-like dependence on God’s will.

David had many children, some very good and some very bad.  His son Absalom was renowned for his beauty and for his wickedness, while Solomon became famous, and so continues to this day as the wisest among men, a man rich, far-sighted and exalted, who reigned long in Jerusalem after the death of David, his father, who passed away in a good old age.  Wonderful lives are these to read and to think of, full of meaning for every one of us.  And many, many years after both these men and their successors were gone there came to our earth, One born of a Virgin, who traced His mortal lineage back to David of Bethlehem, and who brought goodwill and peace to men.  Even Christ our Blessed Lord.