1 Samuel 16

11. There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep--Jesse having evidently no idea of David's wisdom and bravery, spoke of him as the most unfit. God, in His providence, so ordered it, that the appointment of David might the more clearly appear to be a divine purpose, and not the design either of Samuel or Jesse. David having not been sanctified with the rest of his family, it is probable that he returned to his pastoral duties the moment the special business on which he had been summoned was done.

12. he was ruddy, &c.--JOSEPHUS says that David was ten, while most modern commentators are of the opinion that he must have been fifteen years of age.

13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him--This transaction must have been strictly private.

14-18. The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him--His own gloomy reflections, the consciousness that he had not acted up to the character of an Israelitish king, the loss of his throne, and the extinction of his royal house, made him jealous, irritable, vindictive, and subject to fits of morbid melancholy.

19. Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David--In the East the command of a king is imperative; and Jesse, however reluctant and alarmed, had no alternative but to comply.

20. Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them . . . unto Saul--as a token of homage and respect.

21. David came to Saul--Providence thus prepared David for his destiny, by placing him in a way to become acquainted with the manners of the court, the business of government, and the general state of the kingdom.
became his armour-bearer--This choice, as being an expression of the king's partiality, shows how honorable the office was held to be.

23. David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well--The ancients believed that music had a mysterious influence in healing mental disorders.