For many years David had waited for this day. At the death of Saul,
two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, had proclaimed him king, but ten of
the tribes had crowned Saul's son, Ishbosheth, as his father's
successor. So David waited seven and a half years longer, and then the
whole kingdom came under his rule.
Many times during those long years when a fugitive from Saul, hiding
in caves or seeking the protection of heathen kings, it must have
seemed as if God had forgotten him, and once David did almost break
down, but he rallied, took a fresh hold, and "carried on."
Now, fellows, it must be a fine sight to see a man receive a royal
crown, but it is a finer sight when there are fine qualities in a man
deserving honour and reward. No head deserves a crown unless there
are crowning virtues in the life. What were some of the qualities in
David which merited a crowning on that great day?
One was his faith. Faith in God; faith in his fellow-man; faith in
himself. It takes faith even to start anywhere, and it takes more
faith to arrive. David's faith was of the coronation variety.
Another was his patience. David waited. He did not try to force
matters. Whenever God was ready--that was David's time. In one of his
great psalms, he wrote: "I waited patiently for the Lord, and he heard
my cry.
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