Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-12

the address. II opened with a declaration
| OF klnship- We are thy bone and thy
nesh' Gen, NXix:lp children of Ahra-
nam ana Jacob Gen. KIND. a un!fying
thought, calculated to awaken memories
and inspire hope and confidence Next
the achleVements of David were reCitcd
particularly those of his early life when
ne was In the service of Saul Il Sam
NNii:l'), showing that while a Young man
David mad acquired fame which had en-
dured through the Intervening Years The
/ ADDRESS closed with a reference TO the Di-
VINE purpose. the announcement 10 Sam
ueI IN the home of David father Il San
SNi:l2). which fingered long in thu. puhlic
mind psalm lXXNii:1D. ConsaugI,nity
faithfulness. Providence-these three items
were made the basis OF request
on the part of -ihe ten tribes that ths
kingdom should he bestowed upon David
! III Is refreshing to contemplate the call ~
a man by the people into an office without
any effort on his part. Here is the ideal
government. the ideal officer and the ideal
constituency.
ANOINTED.-t was natural that
David should yield to such ovcrtures The
voice OF God and the voice of the peuple
the one in harmony with the other had
been heard If this great man never
pushed himself into place. neither did he
hesitate TO accept a trust On this oc-
casion he made league with the people
rms was recognition of their right and
power. formal binding together of the
e"o hihSuons IN one. III was done be
fore the Lord, as in the case of Jeph-
than Judges. xi:1D and of Jonathan with
David Il Sam. XXiii:1S The covenant
was made with religious ceremonies and
Gods blessing was invoked upon it, the
same In spirit as the administration OF
an cath with us. In this way "A remnant
or the iheocratiC View survived. the king
being vice regent of God over a nation
composed OF Gods people and raised up
for His glory. Then came the final act
J hn oil
poured upon David'S head il signitied the
gift Of grace by which alone he was to
be qualified for his duties. This was the
, third time the conservation had been
made-first in his youth at Bethlehem.
next over judah in Hebron, now II
Hebron over a united people whose hearts
and voices were all in his favor.
SURVEYING inspired writer now
/ thrusts in two verses-the fourth and fifth
/ to give summary view of King David's
| career. The intention is to sweep the en-
! tire field of his activity and measure Il
i by years. He was thirty years Old when
| he began to reign'-that Is. when he was
anointed king over Judah alone. His
reign over that tribe was seven years and
/ six months and over all Israel thirty
/ three years. making his entire reign lit
1 tie more than forty years AS he contin-
ued to be king until death q Kings lilo
/ 12) he was seventy years OF age at his
| decease. These figures helpful in
making estimates of influences. We may
!
parts-seventeen years at home with his
! father, thirteen years in the service OF
Saul. seven years ruling one tribe thirty
/ three years monarch in Jerusalem. The
! first and the second periods nearly half
of the whole. determined the remainder.
He was solidly built in obscurity dis
ciplined in adversely. tried and approved
in narrower sphere. then recognized as
worthy and called into the larger and
higher sphere. There was steady progress
! from childhood and the sheepfod to tho
! scepter. Great by nature. trained through
affliction. dying in honor full Of years.
CONCLCS1ON.-David. as king over
| all Israel. is a model worthy of study.
/ There We're at least two elements Of his
| character that placed him In the front
rank of public men. the causes of his sue
cess. First. he held himself close 10 the
public heart. He did not go out of Hebron
! to seek a throne: he waited until his
countrymen called him out In this way
| he disarmed criticism and prevented in
! trigue. Second. he relied constantly upon
| God. In the league between the two
kingdoms. In the progress after his
amounting, in the meditations upon his
past life. at every step he felt himself to
be amenable to the Supreme Being and
| conducted all things SO to gain the ia
vor of heaven. At no time did his faith
! in God depart. Here were the secrets Of
! his strength. With one hand he reached
! out and grasped the hand of every Israeli
! lite. With the other hand he took hold Of
! the Omnipotent Arm. connecting link be-
! tween a nation and the covenant keeping
! Jehova. David. type o fthe Universal
! King (ActS. Xiii:31).