When King Saul realized that he had been rejected by God, and when he felt the force of the words of denunciation that had been addressed to him by the prophet, he was filled with bitter rebellion and despair. It was not true repentance that had bowed the proud head of the king. He had no clear perception of the offensive character of his sin, and did not arouse to the work of reforming his life, but brooded over what he thought was the injustice of God in depriving him of the throne of Israel and in taking the succession away from his posterity. He was ever occupied in the anticipating the ruin that had been brought upon his house. He felt that the valor which he had displayed in encountering his enemies should offset his sin of disobedience. He did not accept with meekness the chastisement of God; but his haughty spirit became desperate, until he was on the verge of losing his reason. His counselors advised him to seek for the services of a skillful musician, in the hope that the soothing notes of a sweet instrument might calm his troubled spirit. In the providence of God, David, as a skillful performer upon the harp, was brought before the king. His lofty and heaven-inspired strains had the desired effect. The brooding melancholy that had settled like a dark cloud over the mind of Saul was charmed away.

Han betragtede sine evner som værdifulde gaver fra Gud og benyttede dem til at forherlige den guddommelige giver. De rige anledninger, han havde til at gøre iagttagelser og meditere, bidrog til at skænke ham den visdom og gudsfrygt, som fik Gud og englene til at elske ham. Studiet af hans Herres fuldkomne skaberværk gav ham en klarere forståelse af Gud. Han fik lys over dunkle problemer, fandt forklaringen på vanskelige spørgsmål og så harmonien i det, der havde været en gåde for ham, og hver gang, han modtog en ny lysstråle, brød han ud i fornyet jubel og skrev endnu skønnere salmer til sin Guds og Frelsers ære. Hans kærlighed, hans sorger og hans sejre gav ham stof til eftertanke, og når han så, at det var Guds kærlighed, der lå bag ved alt det, han havde oplevet, bankede hans hjerte endnu heftigere i tilbedelse og taknemmelighed, hans stemme klang endnu skønnere, og han slog harpens strenge med endnu større jubel. Således gik hyrdedrengen frem fra styrke til styrke og fra kundskab til kundskab, for Herrens ånd var over ham.