Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”
When the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, all good departed with Him. He had driven away God's grace by willful sin; now the evil spirit had possession of him, and he became prey to fear, rage, and suspicion. God made David his physician, and in serving at court the young shepherd would learn the ways of a kingdom without knowing he was being fitted to rule it.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Samuel 16:14-23
Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse,.... For David; not choosing to take him without his leave, though Samuel suggests that kings would do so, Sa1 8:11. and said, send me David, thy son, which is with the sheep; he had learnt his name, and what was his employment; and which last he mentions not by way of contempt, it not being reckoned mean and despicable...
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.