Looking back, he saw that he had made many mistakes, that his soul was stained with many sins; but he knew, too, that G.o.d would listen when he prayed, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
As a little shepherd lad he had cared far more for his sheep than his own safety. He had always been ready to risk his life for them. So now, when he became king, his people were just as precious to him as his sheep had been. He cared for them with all his heart. He was prepared to suffer himself rather than any hurt should come near them.
So perhaps he was, after all, not unworthy to stand as a type of the great King, "great David"s greater Son," the little Baby who was to be born in the town of Bethlehem, the Good Shepherd who was to lay down His life for His sheep.