Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1951-05-03

good reasons. Some
may be artists, NJ ~
some may be sol
diers, others states u
men or prophets.
Once in while a
man is born who is
great in more ways than one.
David the Ideal King
OUCH man was David, King OF
~ Israel and one of the worlds
most famous men. The United
Kingdom of Israel had a short his
tory, only three kings reigning over
it-Saul, David and Solomon. OF
the three. David was by all odds
the greatest man and greatest king.
Neither Saul nor Solomon was
capable of holding for a lifetime
to = high ideal. Neither was
capable Of whole-hearted devO-
ton to God. Neither one could
gain and hold the loyalty Of the
nation.
1t was only David who could do
these things. 1t is no accident that
forever after, when Hebrew
thought Of the ideal king, he would
think neither of IsraeTs first king
nor of the wealthiest, but of David
the best and most beloved.
Military Genius
DAVID was great, in part because
Of his power in battle. What no
one since Joshua had been able to
do, David did: he welded the quar-
reling, jealous, weak tribes of Is
rael into Single sword" The
times called for military genius,
and David had it. He gave Israel
the military might that was es-
sential for their peace and pros
perity.
So, often since David's time,
there have been great soldiers
who have used their military
genius not for conquest in It.
self but In order to win some
place in the sun for peace
loving nations. One thinks of
Charles Martel, who saved ku-
rope from barbarian conquest;
of william of Orange who set
the Dutch free from Spanish
tyranny; of Washington, ''fa-
Their" Of a great nation; and of
many others.
The great soldiers Of history have
been more than professionally
skilled and successful killers of
men; they have been like David,
men whose skill was used to pre-
serve nations, not to destroy them.
LOvable Leadership
TN OUR times Hitler brought the
4 word Leader" under a shadow,
because his leadership was in the
wrong direction. But there Is such
thing as noble and wise leader
ship, and David had this quality in
q high degree.
1t is true, success has some
thing to do with 1t. Men will
flock to winner who would
have nothing to do with him II
he were q loser. But still 1t
Is fact that most Of the worlds
great leaders who have come
up from obscurity, as David did,
have arisen at the head of
groups Of devoted mer who have
followed them Loyalty through
the darkest times.
So it was with David. During his
years as leader of the under
ground" Literally so, since for some
time his headquarters were in a
great limestone cave, he developed
the hard core Of the army he COM
manded at later time, a core of
men who would rather lose with
David than win against him.
Leader In Faith
DAVID had yet another quality of
greatness, and for this he is
perhaps best remembered. He was
man Of deep religion. But religion
for him was not merely a personal
matter; he carried his faith into
public life, he made his faith con-
tagious. He did his best to make
faith in God central, as Il had
never been, in the life of his ma
ton.
: Religion for him was not a
stick with which to beat other
people about the head, but n
rod and staff TO lean upon. II
was not . secret locked In his
ewn heart but something he de-
sired TO share with all his peo-
pie. II was not = device to
keep his subjects contented; II
was an acid test for his own
life.
And though he sometimes slipped
and terribly fell, he could always
rise again, for his religion gave
him that rarest Of all qualities in
great men: humility before God
and man.
copyright 1881 by the Division Of
Christian Education. National Council
Of the Churches Of ChyiSt In the United
states Of America. Released by VIM
EeaturesD
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