Saul did not take off his kingly robes and lay aside his crown when Samuel told him that God had rejected him from being king of Israel. He tried to act as if nothing had happened, and he kept on ruling the people. As long as he lived he ruled them.
So David did not become king at once after Samuel anointed him. He returned again to the fields near Bethlehem to watch his father’s sheep. But God sent his Spirit upon David’s heart that day, and afterwards David thought much about God. One day he wrote a beautiful poem, which we call the twenty-third Psalm In the first verse of this poem he said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” He believed that just as tenderly as he cared for his sheep, so the Lord cared for him.
As a shepherd-boy David lived much in the out-of-doors, and he learned to love the country scenes. The hills and valleys, the trees, grasses, and flowers all reminded him of the God who had made them. And many times as he looked at these things he felt gladness in his heart and he sang for joy.
David sang so well that in later years he was called the Sweet Singer of Israel. He also played well on a stringed instrument called a harp.
After Saul refused to obey God’s words, God took away the good spirit which he had given to him. And a bad spirit came to trouble him. Sometimes this spirit made Saul feel very unhappy, and he would act strangely, as if he did not know what he was trying to do. At such times if he could hear sweet music the bad spirit would go away, and Saul would feel cheerful again.
One day the servants who waited on Saul told him that it might be well if he could have a musician brought to the palace. Then when-ever the evil spirit should trouble him and cause unhappy feelings to enter his heart), the musician could play, and thus drive the sadness away. Saul believed this plan would be a good one to try, so he commanded his servants to find a musician and bring him to the palace.
One of the servants had lived in the land of Judah, and had known Jesse, the Bethlehemite, and his sons. He had often heard David play on his harp, and he had thought David’s music would surely please the King. Now he told Saul about David, the shepherd-boy, who played on the harp and sang so sweetly. And Saul sent at once to Jesse, asking him to let David come to Gibeah to visit the King’s palace.
Jesse called David from, the field and told him about the King’s message. “Then, he prepared a gift and sent it with his son to the King’s house. And David came to see Saul, and he stood before Saul, with the other servants.
Not long afterwards a second message came to Jesse from the King. This time Saul asked Jesse to let him keep David with him for a while, because he was well pleased with him.
Saul did not know that David had been anointed to become king in his place. If he had known this he would have been jealous of David, and he might have even tried to kill him. Because he did not know, he listened often to the soft, sweet music that David made with his harp, and he felt glad again. After a while the evil spirit did not seem to trouble him at all, and then he allowed David to return again to his father’s home at Bethlehem.