In the close of the foregoing book (with which
this is connected as a continuation of the same history) we had
Saul's exit; he went down slain to the pit, though he was the
terror of the mighty in the land of the living. We are now to look
towards the rising sun, and to enquire where David is, and what he
is doing. In this chapter we have, I. Tidings brought him to Ziklag
of the death of Saul and Jonathan, by an Amalekite, who undertook
to give him a particular narrative of it,
1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; 2 It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. 3 And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. 4 And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. 5 And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? 6 And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. 8 And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. 9 He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. 10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.
Here is, I. David settling again in Ziklag,
his own city, after he had rescued his family and friends out of
the hands of the Amalekites (
II. Intelligence brought him thither of the
death of Saul. It was strange that he did not leave some spies
about the camp, to bring him early notice of the issue of the
engagement, a sign that he desired not Saul's woeful day, nor was
impatient to come to the throne, but willing to wait till those
tidings were brought to him which many a one would have sent more
than half-way to meet. He that believes does not make haste, takes
good news when it comes and is not uneasy while it is in the
coming. 1. The messenger presents himself to David as an express,
in the posture of a mourner for the deceased prince and a subject
to the succeeding one. He came with his clothes rent, and made
obeisance to David (
11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: 12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. 13 And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. 14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. 16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed.
Here is, I. David's reception of these
tidings. So far was he from falling into a transport of joy, as the
Amalekite expected, that he fell into a passion of weeping, rent
his clothes (
II. The reward he gave to him that brought
him the tidings. Instead of preferring him, he put him to death,
judged him out of his own mouth, as a murderer of his prince, and
ordered him to be forthwith executed for the same. What a surprise
was this to the messenger, who thought he should have favour shown
him for his pains. In vain did he plead that he had Saul's order
for it, that it was a real kindness to him, that he must inevitably
have died; all those pleas are overruled: "Thy mouth has
testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's
anointed (
1. David herein did not do unjustly. For,
(1.) The man was an Amalekite. This, lest he should have mistaken
it in his narrative, he made him own a second time,
2. He did honourably and well. Hereby he demonstrated the sincerity of his grief, discouraged all others from thinking by doing the like to ingratiate themselves with him, and did that which might probably oblige the house of Saul and win upon them, and recommend him to the people as one that was zealous for public justice, without regard to his own private interest. We may learn from it that to give assistance to any in murdering themselves, directly or indirectly, if done wittingly, incurs the guilt of blood, and that the lives of princes ought to be, in a special manner, precious to us.
17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: 18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) 19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! 20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. 22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. 25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. 26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
When David had rent his clothes, mourned, and wept, and fasted, for the death of Saul, and done justice upon him who made himself guilty of it, one would think he had made full payment of the debt of honour he owed to his memory; yet this is not all: we have here a poem he wrote on that occasion; for he was a great master of his pen as well as of his sword. By this elegy he designed both to express his own sorrow for this great calamity and to impress the like on the minds of others, who ought to lay it to heart. The putting of lamentations into poems made them, 1. The more moving and affecting. The passion of the poet, or singer, is, by this way, wonderfully communicated to the readers and hearers. 2. The more lasting. Thus they were made, not only to spread far, but to continue long, from generation to generation. Those might gain information by poems that would not read history. Here we have,
I. The orders David gave with this elegy
(
II. The elegy itself. It is not a divine hymn, nor given by inspiration of God to be used in divine service, nor is there any mention of God in it; but it is a human composition, and therefore was inserted, not in the book of Psalms (which, being of divine original, is preserved), but in the book of Jasher, which, being only a collection of common poems, is long since lost. This elegy proves David to have been,
1. A man of an excellent spirit, in four things:—
(1.) He was very generous to Saul, his
sworn enemy. Saul was his father-in-law, his sovereign, and the
anointed of the Lord; and therefore, though he had done him a great
deal of wrong, David does not wreak his revenge upon his memory
when he is in his grave; but like a good man, and a man of honour,
[1.] He conceals his faults; and, though there was no preventing
their appearance in his history, yet they should not appear in this
elegy. Charity teaches us to make the best we can of every body and
to say nothing of those of whom we can say no good, especially when
they are gone. De mortuis nil nisi bonum—Say nothing but
good concerning the dead. We ought to deny ourselves the
satisfaction of making personal reflections upon those who have
been injurious to us, much more drawing their character thence, as
if every man must of necessity be a bad man that has done ill by
us. Let the corrupt part of the memory be buried with the corrupt
part of the man—earth to earth, ashes to ashes; let the blemish be
hidden and a veil drawn over the deformity. [2.] He celebrates that
which was praiseworthy in him. He does not commend him for that
which he was not, says nothing of his piety or fidelity. Those
funeral commendations which are gathered out of the spoils of truth
are not at all to the praise of those on whom they are bestowed,
but very much the dispraise of those who unjustly misplace them.
But he has this to say in honour of Saul himself, First,
That he was anointed with oil (
(2.) He was very grateful to Jonathan, his
sworn friend. Besides the tears he shed over him, and the encomiums
he gives of him in common with Saul, he mentions him with some
marks of distinction (
(3.) He was deeply concerned for the honour
of God; for this is what he has an eye to when he fears lest the
daughters of the uncircumcised, that are out of covenant with
God, should triumph over Israel, and the God of Israel,
(4.) He was deeply concerned for the public
welfare. It was the beauty of Israel that was slain (
2. A man of a fine imagination, as well as
a wise and holy man. The expressions are all excellent, and
calculated to work upon the passions. (1.) The embargo he would
fain lay upon Fame is elegant (