The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-07-19

herd leading him, and caring for him.
and with the thought had come as we
have said, an inexpress.ble sense OF
JOY and gladness which he did not
understand himself. He knew that
the nature about him spoke a familiar
language to his heart and told him of
the God which Israel worshiped. He
knew that he loved his sheep and that
as he cared for them he found de-
light in thinking of Gods care for him.
He wondered now, as he walked along,
whether he was as willing to trust
God as his sheep were wiling to trust
him. and whether he was as willing to
be obedient to the Divine will as they
were to obey his voice.
NO" he said, suddenly rousing
himself as his watchful eye noted
that one of the young sheep had reck-
lessIy wandered far up the hillside,
and was even then disappearing into
the dense growth of underbrush. mo,
am just like that straying sheep.
wander SO often in forbidden paths.
But" he added, cheerfully, as he hur-
ried off after the truant, the Lord
goes out after me and brings me
back, even as | must go and bring
him back"
But David had covered scarcely half
OF the distance to the point where he
had e the lamb disappear when he
heard the most piteous bleating as
though he had fallen into some snare
Or had been seized by some wild
beast. Without thought of danger
to himself, David broke into q run and
plunged into the thick junglelike
growth, from which came the sound
Of the beating.
In the semi-darkness OF the densely
shaded place David could not see
clearly, but with no other thought
than that of reaching his precious
sheep he continued his rapid flight
towards the place from which the
sounds of distress came, and before
he realized it he suddenly stumbled
and almost fell owe a soft-yielding
something, which turned and faced
him with a fierce, muffled growl.
David took in the situation at q
glance, and with a q%uickness which
took the beast by surprise, he dealt
1t a stunning blow between the eyes
with his heavy staff, at the same time
seizing the lamb and placing it behind
him, Then with e prayer that God
would help him, he waited the attack
OF the creature, which was now infu-
rated at the loss of its meal. AS the
creature sprang into the air at his
throat, he bent his 1.-THE body to one
side and then with the quickness Of
a cat he was upon the beast almost
before it had touched the ground. For
tunately it landed between two jut-
ting pieces of rock in such a way as
to pinion its body SO that with the
weight of David's body upon it, it was
unable to extricate itself, and the
more desperately it struggled, the
more tightly did it become wedged
between the edges of the unyielding
rock. It was the work Of but a mo.
ment for David to unfasten the sling
of strong thongs which he carried at
his side. and to bring it taut about
the neck of the animal beneath him.
Then with ever tightening coils ne
slowly choked the animal to death.
"The Lord, my shepherd, did help
me to save my sheep" he exclaimed, |
gratefully, as he lifted the lamb he
had just rescued from the ground
where it had lain in abject fear, and
examined it to see if it had been In.
jured. Il am glad now that | did not
stay to the feast and sacrifice. 1t
was better that / should be here. Sure.
ly, | have been of more service here
than | could have been there and
guess the Lord was nearer to me here
than he could have been had l re-
maineds to see the prophet. But
wonder what mission he had to the
house of Jesse, my father. Perhaps
he continued musingly, as he hurried
back to the rest of his sheep which
he found grazing quietly, perhaps it
was to call Eliab, the eldest, to some
work. Surely he is a fine fell
low and deserving Of such good for.
tune" And seating himself again in
the shade of the tree he took up his
harp and began to play softly, while
his thoughts busted themselves with
picturing the future for his brother.
And then he got to wondering what
he was going to do when he got to be
a man grown.
my, l would like to be a great lead
or like Moses or Joshua" he exclaim.
ed, enthusiastically, and then as his
eyes rested on his sheep, bringing
him to the present responsibility, he
"And | will try and do my
best here. Yes, / am always going
to try and do my best. l am sure
God will like to have me do that,
whatever may be the task"
A sharp halo interrupted his fur.
thought, and 0 Eliab, his
brother, was standing before him.
What did the prophet give you to
he asked, eagerly.
For me?" Eliab repeated half sui
Ienly. Nothing, but he asketh for
thee, and will not suffer the feast to
continue until thou art come. / will
stay with the sheep. Go quickly"