I. Consider David's calling. The words of the text form the clearest and grandest explanation of the wonderful process by which the unknown shepherd became Israel's greatest king. Two questions present themselves here: (1) How was David's shepherd life an unconscious preparation for his calling? The effect of solitude is to awaken faith in the invisible. Sailors see portents in the clouds, hear words in the night wind; shepherds have a strong belief in the supernatural. In solitude and stillness the deeper soul awakens. Amid the stillness of the ancient hills, David, the shepherd youth, was learning to feel a presence which surrounded him behind and before, and to realise the nearness of One who read his thoughts in the silence. (2) How did the Divine summons fit him for his vocation? The hour came when he was to know that through all his years he had been trained for it, when "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward." And now observe, he was sent back to his flocks,in the full knowledge of his grand destiny sent to pass years of silent waiting. There were two great convictions awakened in him then that formed in him elements of strength through all his career: (a) the belief in a Divine Leader; (b) the belief in a Divine choice.
II. Notice the modern lessons of David's calling. (1) There is a Divine plan in every life. (2) There is a Divine vocation for every man. (3) There is a Divine Shepherd for every man.
E. L. Hull, Sermons Preached at King's Lynn,1st series, p. 132.
References: Psalms 78:70; Psalms 78:71. F. D. Maurice, Prophets and Kings of the Old Testament,p. 36. Psalms 79:13. F. W. Farrar, Old Testament Outlines,p. 124.Psalms 79 J. H. Hitchens, Catholic Sermons,vol. ii., p. 73.Psalms 79 J. H. Evans, Thursday Penny Pulpit,vol. iv., p. 217. Psalms 79 P. Thomson, Expositor,2nd series, vol. i., p. 247.