mh_parser/vol_split/9 - 1Samuel/Chapter 15.xml

<div2 id="iSam.xvi" n="xvi" next="iSam.xvii" prev="iSam.xv" progress="31.61%" title="Chapter XV">
<h2 id="iSam.xvi-p0.1">F I R S T   S A M U E L</h2>
<h3 id="iSam.xvi-p0.2">CHAP. XV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="iSam.xvi-p1">In this chapter we have the final rejection of
Saul from being king, for his disobedience to God's command in not
utterly destroying the Amalekites. By his wars and victories he
hoped to magnify and perpetuate his own name and honour, but, by
his mismanagement of them, he ruined himself, and laid his honour
in the dust. Here is, I. The commission God gave him to destroy the
Amalekites, with a command to do it utterly, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.1-1Sam.15.3" parsed="|1Sam|15|1|15|3" passage="1Sa 15:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>. II. Saul's preparation for this
expedition, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.4-1Sam.15.6" parsed="|1Sam|15|4|15|6" passage="1Sa 15:4-6">ver. 4-6</scripRef>.
III. His success, and partial execution of this commission,
<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.7-1Sam.15.9" parsed="|1Sam|15|7|15|9" passage="1Sa 15:7-9">ver. 7-9</scripRef>. IV. His
examination before Samuel, and sentence passed upon him,
notwithstanding the many frivolous pleas he made to excuse himself,
<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.10-1Sam.15.31" parsed="|1Sam|15|10|15|31" passage="1Sa 15:10-31">ver. 10-31</scripRef>. V. The
slaying of Agag, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.32-1Sam.15.33" parsed="|1Sam|15|32|15|33" passage="1Sa 15:32,33">ver. 32,
33</scripRef>. VI. Samuel's final farewell to Saul, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.34-1Sam.15.35" parsed="|1Sam|15|34|15|35" passage="1Sa 15:34,35">ver. 34, 35</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="iSam.xvi-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15" parsed="|1Sam|15|0|0|0" passage="1Sa 15" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="iSam.xvi-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.1-1Sam.15.9" parsed="|1Sam|15|1|15|9" passage="1Sa 15:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Sam.15.1-1Sam.15.9">
<h4 id="iSam.xvi-p1.9">The Amalekites Destroyed. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p1.10">b. c.</span> 1065.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iSam.xvi-p2">1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p2.1">Lord</span> sent me to anoint thee <i>to be</i> king
over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the
voice of the words of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p2.2">Lord</span>.
  2 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p2.3">Lord</span> of
hosts, I remember <i>that</i> which Amalek did to Israel, how he
laid <i>wait</i> for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
  3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they
have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and
suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.   4 And Saul gathered
the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred
thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.   5 And Saul
came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.   6 And
Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the
Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to
all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the
Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.   7 And Saul smote
the Amalekites from Havilah <i>until</i> thou comest to Shur, that
<i>is</i> over against Egypt.   8 And he took Agag the king of
the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the
edge of the sword.   9 But Saul and the people spared Agag,
and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings,
and the lambs, and all <i>that was</i> good, and would not utterly
destroy them: but every thing <i>that was</i> vile and refuse, that
they destroyed utterly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p3">Here, I. Samuel, in God's name, solemnly
requires Saul to be obedient to the command of God, and plainly
intimates that he was now about to put him upon a trial, in one
particular instance, whether he would be obedient or no, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.1" parsed="|1Sam|15|1|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. And the making of this
so expressly the trial of his obedience did very much aggravate his
disobedience. 1. He reminds him of what God had done for him:
"<i>The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be a king.</i> God gave thee
thy power, and therefore he expects thou shouldst use thy power for
him. He put honour upon thee, and now thou must study how to do him
honour. He made thee king over Israel, and now thou must plead
Israel's cause and avenge their quarrels. Thou art advanced to
command Israel, but know that thou art a subject to the God of
Israel and must be commanded by him." Men's preferment, instead of
releasing them from their obedience to God, obliges them so much
the more to it. Samuel had himself been employed to anoint Saul,
and therefore was the fitter to be sent with these orders to him.
2. He tells him, in general, that, in consideration of this,
whatever God commanded him to do he was bound to do it: <i>Now
therefore hearken to the voice of the Lord.</i> Note, God's favours
to us lay strong obligations upon us to be obedient to him. This we
must render, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.116.12" parsed="|Ps|116|12|0|0" passage="Ps 116:12">Ps. cxvi.
12</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p4">II. He appoints him a particular piece of
service, in which he must now show his obedience to God more than
in any thing he had done yet. Samuel premises God's authority to
the command: <i>Thus says the Lord of hosts,</i> the Lord of all
hosts, of Israel's hosts. He also gives him a reason for the
command, that the severity he must use might not seem hard: <i>I
remember that which Amalek did to Israel,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.2" parsed="|1Sam|15|2|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. God had an ancient quarrel with
the Amalekites, for the injuries they did to his people Israel when
he brought them out of Egypt. We have the story, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.17.8-Exod.17.16" parsed="|Exod|17|8|17|16" passage="Ex 17:8-16">Exod. xvii. 8</scripRef>, &amp;c., and the crime is
aggravated, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.25.18" parsed="|Deut|25|18|0|0" passage="De 25:18">Deut. xxv. 18</scripRef>.
He basely smote the hindmost of them, and feared not God. God then
swore that he would have <i>war with Amalek from generation to
generation,</i> and that in process of time he <i>would utterly put
out the remembrance of Amalek;</i> this is the work that Saul is
now appointed to do (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.3" parsed="|1Sam|15|3|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>): "<i>Go and smite Amalek.</i> Israel is now strong,
and the measure of the iniquity of Amalek is now full; now go and
make a full riddance of that devoted nation." He is expressly
commanded to kill and slay all before him, <i>man and woman, infant
and suckling,</i> and not spare them out of pity; also <i>ox and
sheep, camel and ass,</i> and not spare them out of covetousness.
Note, 1. Injuries done to God's Israel will certainly be reckoned
for sooner or later, especially the opposition given them when they
are coming out of Egypt. 2. God often bears long with those that
are marked for ruin. The sentence passed is not executed speedily.
3. Though he bear long, he will not bear always. The year of
recompence for the controversy of Israel will come at last. Though
divine justice strikes slowly it strikes surely. 4. The longer
judgment is delayed many times the more severe it is when it comes.
5. God chooses out instruments to do his work that are fittest for
it. This was bloody work, and therefore Saul who was a rough and
severe man must do it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p5">III. Saul hereupon musters his forces, and
makes a descent upon the country of Amalek. It was an immense army
that he brought into the field (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.4" parsed="|1Sam|15|4|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): 200,000 <i>footmen.</i> When he
came to engage the Philistines, and the success was hazardous, he
had but 600 attending him, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.13.15" parsed="|1Sam|13|15|0|0" passage="1Sa 13:15"><i>ch.</i>
xiii. 15</scripRef>. But now that he was to attack the Amalekites
by express order from heaven, in which he was sure of victory, he
had thousands at his call. But, whatever it was at other times, it
was not now for the honour of Judah that their forces were numbered
by themselves, for their quota was scandalously short (whatever was
the reason), but a twentieth part of the whole, for they were by
10,000, when the other ten tribes (for I except Levi) brought into
the field 200,000. The day of Judah's honour drew near, but had not
yet come. Saul numbered them in <i>Telaim,</i> which signifies
<i>lambs.</i> He numbered then <i>like lambs</i> (so the vulgar
Latin), numbered them <i>by the paschal lambs</i> (so the Chaldee),
allowing ten to a lamb, a way of numbering used by the Jews in the
later times of their nation. Saul drew all his forces to the
<i>city of Amalek,</i> that city that was their metropolis
(<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.5" parsed="|1Sam|15|5|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), that he
might provoke them to give him battle.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p6">IV. He gave friendly advice to the Kenites
to separate themselves from the Amalekites among whom they dwelt,
while this execution was in doing, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.6" parsed="|1Sam|15|6|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. Herein he did prudently and
piously, and, it is probable, according to the direction Samuel
gave him. The Kenites were of the family and kindred of Jethro,
Moses's father-in-law, a people that dwelt in tents, which made it
easy for them, upon every occasion, to remove to other lands not
appropriated. Many of them, at this time, dwelt among the
Amalekites, where, though they dwelt in tents, they were fortified
by nature, for <i>they put their nest in a rock,</i> being hardy
people that could live any where, and affected fastnesses,
<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Num.24.21" parsed="|Num|24|21|0|0" passage="Nu 24:21">Num. xxiv. 21</scripRef>. Balaam had
foretold that they should be wasted, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.24.22" parsed="|Num|24|22|0|0" passage="Nu 24:22">Num. xxiv. 22</scripRef>. However, Saul must not waste
them. But, 1. He acknowledges the kindness of their ancestors to
Israel, when they came out of Egypt. Jethro and his family had been
very helpful and serviceable to them in their passage through the
wilderness, had been to them instead of eyes, and this is
remembered to their posterity many ages after. Thus a good man
leaves the divine blessing for an inheritance to his children's
children; those that come after us may be reaping the benefit of
our good works when we are in our graves. God is not unrighteous to
forget the kindnesses shown to his people; but they shall be
remembered another day, at furthest in the great day, <i>and
recompensed in the resurrection of the just. I was hungry, and you
gave me meat.</i> God's remembering the kindness of the Kenites'
ancestors in favour to them, at the same time when he was punishing
the injuries done by the ancestors of the Amalekites, helped to
clear the righteousness of God in that dispensation. If he entail
favours, why may he not entail frowns? He espouses his people's
cause, so as to <i>bless those that bless them;</i> and therefore
so as to <i>curse those that curse them,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.24.9 Bible:Gen.12.3" parsed="|Num|24|9|0|0;|Gen|12|3|0|0" passage="Nu 24:9,Ge 12:3">Num. xxiv. 9; Gen. xii. 3</scripRef>. They cannot
themselves requite the kindnesses nor avenge the injuries done
them, but God will do both. 2. He desires them to remove their
tents from among the Amalekites: <i>Go, depart, get you down from
among them.</i> When destroying judgments are abroad God will take
care to separate between the precious and the vile, and to hide the
meek of the earth in the day of his anger. It is dangerous being
found in the company of God's enemies, and it is our duty and
interest to <i>come out from among them,</i> lest we share in their
sins and plagues, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.18.4" parsed="|Rev|18|4|0|0" passage="Re 18:4">Rev. xviii.
4</scripRef>. The Jews have a saying, <i>Woe to the wicked man and
woe to his neighbour.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p7">V. Saul prevailed against the Amalekites,
for it was rather an execution of condemned malefactors than a war
with contending enemies. The issue could not be dubious when the
cause was just and the call so clear: <i>He smote them</i>
(<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.7" parsed="|1Sam|15|7|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), <i>utterly
destroyed them,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.8" parsed="|1Sam|15|8|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. Now they paid dearly for the sin of their ancestors.
God sometimes <i>lays up iniquity for the children.</i> They were
idolaters, and were guilty of many other sins, for which they
deserved to fall under the wrath of God; yet, when God would reckon
with them, he fastened upon the sin of their ancestors in abusing
his Israel as the ground of his quarrel. Lord, How unsearchable are
thy judgments, yet how incontestable is thy righteousness!</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p8">VI. Yet he did his work by halves,
<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.9" parsed="|1Sam|15|9|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. 1. He
<i>spared Agag,</i> because he was a king like himself, and perhaps
in hope to get a great ransom for him. 2. He spared the best of the
cattle, and destroyed only the refuse, that was good for little.
Many of the people, we may suppose, made their escape, and took
their effects with them into other countries, and therefore we read
of Amalekites after this; but that could not be helped. It was
Saul's fault that he did not destroy such as came to his hands and
were in his power. That which was now destroyed was in effect
sacrificed to the justice of God, as the God to whom vengeance
belongeth; and for Saul to think the torn and the sick, the lame
and the lean, good enough for that, while he reserved for his own
fields and his own table the firstlings and the fat, was really to
honour himself more than God.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iSam.xvi-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.10-1Sam.15.23" parsed="|1Sam|15|10|15|23" passage="1Sa 15:10-23" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Sam.15.10-1Sam.15.23">
<h4 id="iSam.xvi-p8.3">Samuel Reproves Saul; Saul Rejected of
God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p8.4">b. c.</span> 1065.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iSam.xvi-p9">10 Then came the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.1">Lord</span> unto Samuel, saying,   11 It repenteth
me that I have set up Saul <i>to be</i> king: for he is turned back
from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it
grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.2">Lord</span> all night.   12 And when Samuel rose
early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul
came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone
about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.   13 And Samuel
came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed <i>be</i> thou of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.3">Lord</span>: I have performed the
commandment of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.4">Lord</span>.   14
And Samuel said, What <i>meaneth</i> then this bleating of the
sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?  
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for
the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to
sacrifice unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.5">Lord</span> thy God; and
the rest we have utterly destroyed.   16 Then Samuel said unto
Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.6">Lord</span> hath said to me this night. And he said
unto him, Say on.   17 And Samuel said, When thou <i>wast</i>
little in thine own sight, <i>wast</i> thou not <i>made</i> the
head of the tribes of Israel, and the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.7">Lord</span> anointed thee king over Israel?   18
And the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.8">Lord</span> sent thee on a journey,
and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and
fight against them until they be consumed.   19 Wherefore then
didst thou not obey the voice of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.9">Lord</span>, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst
evil in the sight of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.10">Lord</span>?
  20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice
of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.11">Lord</span>, and have gone the way
which the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.12">Lord</span> sent me, and have
brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites.   21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and
oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly
destroyed, to sacrifice unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.13">Lord</span> thy God in Gilgal.   22 And Samuel
said, Hath the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.14">Lord</span> <i>as great</i>
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice
of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.15">Lord</span>? Behold, to obey
<i>is</i> better than sacrifice, <i>and</i> to hearken than the fat
of rams.   23 For rebellion <i>is as</i> the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness <i>is as</i> iniquity and idolatry.
Because thou hast rejected the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p9.16">Lord</span>, he hath also rejected thee from
<i>being</i> king.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p10">Saul is here called to account by Samuel
concerning the execution of his commission against the Amalekites;
and remarkable instances we are here furnished with of the
strictness of the justice of God and the treachery and
deceitfulness of the heart of man. We are here told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p11">I. What passed between God and Samuel, in
secret, upon this occasion, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.10-1Sam.15.11" parsed="|1Sam|15|10|15|11" passage="1Sa 15:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10, 11</scripRef>. 1. God determines
Saul's rejection, and acquaints Samuel with it: <i>It repenteth me
that I have set up Saul to be king.</i> Repentance in God is not,
as it is in us, a change of his mind, but a change of his method or
dispensation. He does not alter his will, but wills an alteration.
The change was in Saul: <i>He has turned back from following
me;</i> this construction God put upon the partiality of his
obedience, and the prevalency of his covetousness. And hereby he
did himself make God his enemy. God repented that he had given Saul
the kingdom and the honour and power that belonged to it: but he
never repented that he had given any man wisdom and grace, and his
fear and love; these gifts and callings of God are without
repentance. 2. Samuel laments and deprecates it. <i>It grieved
Samuel</i> that Saul had forfeited God's favour, and that God had
resolved to cast him off; and he <i>cried unto the Lord all
night,</i> spent a whole night in interceding for him, that this
decree might not go forth against him. When others were in their
beds sleeping, he was upon his knees praying and wrestling with
God. He did not thus deprecate his own exclusion from the
government; nor was he secretly pleased, as many a one would have
been, that Saul, who succeeded him, was so soon laid aside, but on
the contrary prayed earnestly for his establishment, so far was he
from desiring that woeful day. The rejection of sinners is the
grief of good people; God delights not in their death, nor should
we.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p12">II. What passed between Samuel and Saul in
public. Samuel, being sent of God to him with these heavy tidings,
went, as Ezekiel, in <i>bitterness of soul,</i> to meet him,
perhaps according to an appointment when Saul went forth on this
expedition, for Saul had come to Gilgal (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.12" parsed="|1Sam|15|12|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), the place where he was made
king (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.11.15" parsed="|1Sam|11|15|0|0" passage="1Sa 11:15"><i>ch.</i> xi. 15</scripRef>),
and were now he would have been confirmed if he had approved
himself well in the trial of his obedience. But Samuel was informed
that Saul had set up a triumphal arch, or some monument of his
victory, at Carmel, a city in the mountains of Judah, seeking his
own honour more than the honour of God, for he set up this place
(or <i>hand,</i> as the word is) for himself (he had more need to
have been repenting of his sin and making his peace with God than
boasting of his victory), and also that he had marched in great
state to Gilgal, for this seems to be intimated in the manner of
expression: <i>He has gone about, and passed on, and gone down,</i>
with a great deal of pomp and parade. There Samuel gave him the
meeting, and,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p13">1. Saul makes his boast to Samuel of his
obedience, because that was the thing by which he was now to
signalize himself (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.13" parsed="|1Sam|15|13|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>): "<i>Blessed be thou of the Lord,</i> for thou
sendest me upon a good errand, in which I have had great success,
and <i>I have performed the commandment of the Lord.</i>" It is
very likely, if his conscience had now flown in his face at this
time and charged him with disobedience, he would not have been so
forward to proclaim his obedience; for by this he hoped to
prevent Samuel's reproving him. Thus sinners think, by justifying
themselves, to escape being <i>judged of the Lord;</i> whereas the
only way to do that is by <i>judging ourselves.</i> Those that
boast most of their religion may be suspected of partiality and
hypocrisy in it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p14">2. Samuel convicts him by a plain
demonstration of his disobedience. "Hast thou performed the
commandment of the Lord? <i>What means then the bleating of the
sheep?</i>" <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.14" parsed="|1Sam|15|14|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>.
Saul would needs have it thought that God Almighty was wonderfully
beholden to him for the good service he had done; but Samuel shows
him that God was so far from being a debtor to him that he had just
cause of action against him, and produces for evidence the
<i>bleating of the sheep, and the lowing of the oxen,</i> which
perhaps Saul appointed to bring up the rear of his triumph, but
Samuel appears to them as witnesses against him. He needed not go
far to disprove his professions. The noise the cattle made (like
the <i>rust of silver,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Jas.5.3" parsed="|Jas|5|3|0|0" passage="Jam 5:3">Jam. v.
3</scripRef>) would be a <i>witness against him.</i> Note, It is no
new thing for the plausible professions and protestations of
hypocrites to be contradicted and disproved by the most plain and
undeniable evidence. Many boast of their obedience to the command
of God; but what mean then their indulgence of the flesh, their
love of the world, their passion and uncharitableness, and their
neglect of holy duties, which witness against them?</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p15">3. Saul insists upon his own justification
against this charge, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.15" parsed="|1Sam|15|15|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>. The fact he cannot deny; the sheep and oxen were
brought from the Amalekites. But, (1.) It was not his fault, for
<i>the people spared them;</i> as if they durst have done it
without the express orders of Saul, when they knew it was against
the express orders of Samuel. Note, Those that are willing to
justify themselves are commonly very forward to condemn others, and
to lay the blame upon any rather than take it to themselves. Sin is
a brat that nobody cares to have laid at his doors. It is the sorry
subterfuge of an impenitent heart, that will not confess its guilt,
to lay the blame on those that were tempters, or partners, or only
followers in it. (2.) It was with a good intention: "It was <i>to
sacrifice to the Lord thy God.</i> He is thy God, and thou wilt not
be against any thing that is done, as this is, for his honour."
This was a false plea, for both Saul and the people designed their
own profit in sparing the cattle. But, if it had been true, it
would still have been frivolous, for God hates robbery for
burnt-offering. God appointed these cattle to be sacrificed to him
in the field, and therefore will give those no thanks that bring
them to be sacrificed at his altar; for he will be served in his
own way, and according to the rule he himself has prescribed. Nor
will a good intention justify a bad action.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p16">4. Samuel overrules, or rather overlooks,
his plea, and proceeds, in God's name, to give judgment against
him. He premises his authority. What he was about to say was what
the Lord had said to him (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.16" parsed="|1Sam|15|16|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>), otherwise he would have been far from passing so
severe a censure upon him. Those who complain that their ministers
are too harsh with them should remember that, while they keep to
the word of God, they are but messengers, and must say as they are
bidden, and therefore be willing, as Saul himself here was, that
they should <i>say on.</i> Samuel delivers his message faithfully.
(1.) He reminds Saul of the honour of God had done him in making
him king (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.17" parsed="|1Sam|15|17|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>),
<i>when he was little in his own sight.</i> God regarded the
lowness of his state and rewarded the lowliness of his spirit.
Note, Those that are advanced to honour and wealth ought often to
remember their mean beginnings, that they may never think highly of
themselves, but always study to do great things for the God that
had advanced them. (2.) He lays before him the plainness of the
orders he was to execute (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.18" parsed="|1Sam|15|18|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>): <i>The Lord sent thee on a journey;</i> so easy was
the service, and so certain the success, that it was rather to be
called a <i>journey</i> than a <i>war.</i> The work was honourable,
to destroy the sworn enemies of God and Israel; and had he denied
himself, and set aside the consideration of his own profit so far
as to have destroyed all that belonged to Amalek, he would have
been no loser by it at last, nor have gone this <i>warfare on his
own charges.</i> God would no doubt have made it up to him, so that
he should have no need of spoil. And therefore, (3.) He shows him
how inexcusable he was in aiming to make a profit of this
expedition, and to enrich himself by it (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.19" parsed="|1Sam|15|19|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>): <i>"Wherefore then didst thou
fly upon the spoil,</i> and convert that to thy own use which was
to have been destroyed for God's honour?" See what evil the love of
money is the root of; but see what is the sinfulness of sin, and
that in it which above any thing else makes it evil in the sight of
the Lord. It is disobedience: <i>Thou didst not obey the voice of
the Lord.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p17">5. Saul repeats his vindication of himself,
as that which, in defiance of conviction, he resolved to abide by,
<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.20-1Sam.15.21" parsed="|1Sam|15|20|15|21" passage="1Sa 15:20,21"><i>v.</i> 20, 21</scripRef>. He
denies the charge (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.20" parsed="|1Sam|15|20|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:20"><i>v.</i>
20</scripRef>): "<i>Yea, I have obeyed,</i> I have done all I
should do;" for he had done all which he thought he needed to do,
so much wiser was he in his own eyes than God himself. God bade him
kill all, and yet he puts in among the instances of his obedience
that he brought Agag alive, which he thought was as good as if he
had killed him. Thus carnal deceitful hearts think to excuse
themselves from God's commandments with their own equivalents. He
insists upon it that he has <i>utterly destroyed the Amalekites</i>
themselves, which was the main thing intended; but, as to the
spoil, he owns it should have been <i>utterly destroyed;</i> so
that he knew his <i>Lord's will,</i> and was under no mistake about
the command. But he thought that would be wilful waste; the cattle
of the Midianites was taken for a prey in Moses's time (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.31.32-Num.31.34" parsed="|Num|31|32|31|34" passage="Nu 31:32-34">Num. xxxi. 32</scripRef>, &amp;c.), and why
not the cattle of the Amalekites now? Better it should be prey to
the Israelites than to the fowls of the air and the wild beasts;
and therefore he connived at the people's carrying it away. But it
was their doing and not his; and, besides, it was for <i>sacrifice
to the Lord</i> here at Gilgal, whither they were now bringing
them. See what a hard thing it is to convince the children of
disobedience of their sin and to strip them of their
fig-leaves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p18">6. Samuel gives a full answer to his
apology, since he did insist upon it, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.22-1Sam.15.23" parsed="|1Sam|15|22|15|23" passage="1Sa 15:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22, 23</scripRef>. He appeals to his own
conscience: <i>Has the Lord as great delight in sacrifices as in
obedience?</i> Though Saul was not a man of any great acquaintance
with religion, yet he could not but know this, (1.) That nothing is
so pleasing to God as obedience, no, not sacrifice and offering,
and the fat of rams. See here what we should seek and aim at in all
the exercises of religion, even acceptance with God, that he may
delight in what we do. If God be well pleased with us and our
services, we are happy, we have gained our point, but otherwise
<i>to what purpose is it?</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.11" parsed="|Isa|1|11|0|0" passage="Isa 1:11">Isa. i.
11</scripRef>. Now here we are plainly told that humble, sincere,
and conscientious obedience to the will of God, is more pleasing
and acceptable to him than all <i>burnt-offerings and
sacrifices.</i> A careful conformity to moral precepts recommends
us to God more than all ceremonial observances, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Mic.6.6-Mic.6.8 Bible:Hos.6.6" parsed="|Mic|6|6|6|8;|Hos|6|6|0|0" passage="Mic 6:6-8,Ho 6:6">Mic. vi. 6-8; Hos. vi. 6</scripRef>. Obedience
is enjoyed by the eternal law of nature, but sacrifice only by a
positive law. Obedience was the law of innocency, but sacrifice
supposes sin come into the world, and is but a feeble attempt to
take that away which obedience would have prevented. God is more
glorified and self more denied by obedience than by sacrifice. It
is much easier to bring a bullock or lamb to be burnt upon the
altar than to bring <i>every high thought into obedience</i> to God
and the will subject to his will. Obedience is the glory of angels
(<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.103.20" parsed="|Ps|103|20|0|0" passage="Ps 103:20">Ps. ciii. 20</scripRef>), and it
will be ours. (2.) That nothing is so provoking to God as
disobedience, setting up our wills in competition with his. This is
here called <i>rebellion</i> and <i>stubbornness,</i> and is said
to be as bad as <i>witchcraft</i> and <i>idolatry,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.23" parsed="|1Sam|15|23|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. It is as bad to set up
other gods as to live in disobedience to the true God. Those that
are governed by their own corrupt inclinations, in opposition to
the command of God, do, in effect, consult the <i>teraphim</i> (as
the word here is for idolatry) or the diviners. It was disobedience
that made us all sinners (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Rom.5.19" parsed="|Rom|5|19|0|0" passage="Ro 5:19">Rom. v.
19</scripRef>), and this is the malignity of sin, that it is the
<i>transgression of the law,</i> and consequently it is <i>enmity
to God,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p18.7" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.7" parsed="|Rom|8|7|0|0" passage="Ro 8:7">Rom. viii. 7</scripRef>.
Saul was a king, but if he disobey the command of God, his royal
dignity and power will not excuse him from the guilt of rebellion
and stubbornness. It is not the rebellion of the people against
their prince, but of a prince against God, that this text speaks
of.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p19">7. He reads his doom: in short, "<i>Because
thou has rejected the word of the Lord,</i> hast <i>despised it</i>
(so the Chaldee), hast <i>made nothing of it</i> (so the LXX.),
hast cast off the government of it, therefore he has <i>rejected
thee,</i> despised and made nothing of thee, but cast thee off
<i>from being king.</i> He that made thee king has determined to
unmake thee again." Those are unfit and unworthy to rule over men
who are not willing that God should rule over them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iSam.xvi-p0.4" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.24-1Sam.15.31" parsed="|1Sam|15|24|15|31" passage="1Sa 15:24-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Sam.15.24-1Sam.15.31">
<h4 id="iSam.xvi-p19.2">Saul's Dethronement
Foretold. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p19.3">b. c.</span> 1065.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iSam.xvi-p20">24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for
I have transgressed the commandment of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p20.1">Lord</span>, and thy words: because I feared the
people, and obeyed their voice.   25 Now therefore, I pray
thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p20.2">Lord</span>.   26 And Samuel said unto
Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word
of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p20.3">Lord</span>, and the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p20.4">Lord</span> hath rejected thee from being king over
Israel.   27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid
hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.   28 And
Samuel said unto him, The <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p20.5">Lord</span> hath
rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to
a neighbour of thine, <i>that is</i> better than thou.   29
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he
<i>is</i> not a man, that he should repent.   30 Then he said,
I have sinned: <i>yet</i> honour me now, I pray thee, before the
elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me,
that I may worship the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p20.6">Lord</span> thy God.
  31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped
the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p20.7">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p21">Saul is at length brought to put himself
into the dress of the penitent; but it is too evident that he only
acts the part of a penitent, and is not one indeed. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p22">I. How poorly he expressed his repentance.
It was with much ado that he was made sensible of his fault, and
not till he was threatened with being deposed. This touched him in
a tender part. Then he began to relent, and not till then. When
Samuel told him he was <i>rejected from being king,</i> then he
said, <i>I have sinned,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.24" parsed="|1Sam|15|24|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>. His confession was not free nor ingenuous, but
extorted by the rack, and forced from him. We observe here several
bad signs of the hypocrisy of his repentance, and that it came
short even of Ahab's. 1. He made his application to Samuel only,
and seemed most solicitous to stand right in his opinion and to
gain his favour. He makes a little god of him, only to preserve his
reputation with the people, because they all knew Samuel to be a
prophet, and the man that had been the instrument of his
preferment. Thinking it would please Samuel, and be a sort of bribe
to him, he puts it into his confession: <i>I have transgressed the
commandment of the Lord and thy word;</i> as if he had been in
God's stead, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.24" parsed="|1Sam|15|24|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>.
David, though convinced by the ministry of Nathan, yet, in his
confession, has his eye to God alone, not to Nathan. <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.4" parsed="|Ps|51|4|0|0" passage="Ps 51:4">Ps. li. 4</scripRef> <i>Against thee only have I
sinned.</i> But Saul, ignorantly enough, confesses his sin as a
transgression of Samuel's word; whereas his word was no other than
a declaration of the <i>commandment of the Lord.</i> He also
applies to Samuel for forgiveness (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.4" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.25" parsed="|1Sam|15|25|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>): <i>I pray thee, pardon my
sin;</i> as if any could forgive sin but God only. Those wretchedly
deceive themselves who, when they have fallen into scandalous sin,
think it enough to make their peace with the church and their
ministers, by the show and plausible profession of repentance,
without taking care to make their peace with God by the sincerity
of it. The most charitable construction we can put upon this of
Saul is to suppose that he looked upon Samuel as a sort of mediator
between him and God, and intended an address to God in his
application to him. However, it was very weak. 2. He excused his
fault even in the confession of it, and that is never the fashion
of a true penitent (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.5" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.24" parsed="|1Sam|15|24|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>): I did it <i>because I feared the people, and obeyed
their voice.</i> We have reason enough to think that it was purely
his own doing and not the people's; however, if they were forward
to do it, it is plain, by what we have read before, that he knew
how to keep up his authority among them and did not stand in any
awe of them. So that the excuse was false and frivolous; whatever
he pretended, he did not really fear the people. But it is common
for sinners, in excusing their faults, to plead the thoughts and
workings of their own minds, because those are things which, how
groundless soever, no man can disprove; but they forget that God
searchest the heart. 3. All his care was to save his credit, and
preserve his interest in the people, lest they should revolt from
him, or at least despise him. Therefore he courts Samuel with so
much earnestness (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.6" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.25" parsed="|1Sam|15|25|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:25"><i>v.</i>
25</scripRef>) to turn again with him, and assist in a public
thanksgiving for the victory. Very importunate he was in this
matter when he laid hold on the skirt of his mantle to detain him
(<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.7" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.27" parsed="|1Sam|15|27|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>), not that
he cared for Samuel, but he feared that if Samuel forsook him the
people would do so too. Many seem zealously affected to good
ministers and good people only for the sake of their own interest
and reputation, while in heart they hate them. But his expression
was very gross when he said (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p22.8" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.30" parsed="|1Sam|15|30|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>), <i>I have sinned, yet honour
me, I pray thee, before my people.</i> Is this the language of a
penitent? No, but the contrary: "<i>I have sinned,</i> shame me
now, for to me belongs shame, and no man can loathe me so much as I
loathe myself." Yet how often do we meet with the copies of this
hypocrisy of Saul! It is very common for those who are convicted of
sin to show themselves very solicitous to be honoured before the
people. Whereas he that has lost the honour of an innocent can
pretend to no other than that of a penitent, and it is the honour
of a penitent to take shame to himself.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p23">II. How little he got by these thin shows
of repentance. What point did he gain by them? 1. Samuel repeated
the sentence passed upon him, so far was he from giving any hopes
of the repeal of it, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.26" parsed="|1Sam|15|26|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:26"><i>v.</i>
26</scripRef>, the same with <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.23" parsed="|1Sam|15|23|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. <i>He that covers his sins
shall never prosper,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.28.13" parsed="|Prov|28|13|0|0" passage="Pr 28:13">Prov. xxviii.
13</scripRef>. Samuel refused to turn back with him, but <i>turned
about to go away,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.27" parsed="|1Sam|15|27|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>. As the thing appeared to him upon the first view, he
thought it altogether unfit for him so far to countenance one whom
God had rejected as to join with him in giving thanks to God for a
victory which was made to serve rather Saul's covetousness than
God's glory. Yet afterwards he did turn again with him (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.5" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.31" parsed="|1Sam|15|31|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), upon further
thoughts, and probably by divine direction, either to prevent a
mutiny among the people or perhaps not to do honour to Saul (for,
though Saul worshipped the Lord, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.6" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.31" parsed="|1Sam|15|31|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>, it is not said Samuel presided
in that worship), but to do justice on Agag, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.7" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.32" parsed="|1Sam|15|32|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>. 2. He illustrated the sentence
by a sign, which Saul himself, by his rudeness, gave occasion for.
When Samuel was turning from him he tore his clothes to detain him
(<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.8" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.27" parsed="|1Sam|15|27|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>), so loth
was he to part with the prophet; but Samuel put a construction upon
this accident which none but a prophet could do. He made it to
signify the <i>rending of the kingdom</i> from him (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.9" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.28" parsed="|1Sam|15|28|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>), and that, like this,
was his own doing. "He hath rent it from thee, and <i>given it to a
neighbour better than thou,</i>" namely, to David, who afterwards,
upon occasion, cut off the skirt of Saul's robe (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.10" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.24.4" parsed="|1Sam|24|4|0|0" passage="1Sa 24:4">1 Sam. xxiv. 4</scripRef>), upon which Saul said
(<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.11" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.24.20" parsed="|1Sam|24|20|0|0" passage="1Sa 24:20">1 Sam. xxiv. 20</scripRef>), <i>I
know that thou shalt surely be king,</i> perhaps remembering this
sign, the tearing of the skirt of Samuel's mantle. 3. He ratified
it by a solemn declaration of its being irreversible (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p23.12" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.29" parsed="|1Sam|15|29|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>): <i>The Strength of
Israel will not lie.</i> The <i>Eternity</i> or <i>Victory of
Israel,</i> so some read it; <i>the holy One,</i> so the Arabic;
<i>the most noble One,</i> so the Syriac; the <i>triumphant King of
Israel,</i> so bishop Patrick. "He is determined to depose thee,
and he will not change his purpose. <i>He is not a man that should
repent.</i>" Men are fickle and alter their minds, feeble and
cannot effect their purposes; something happens which they could
not foresee, by which their measures are broken. But with God it is
not so. God has sometimes repented of the evil which he thought to
have done, repentance was hidden from Saul, and therefore hidden
from God's eyes.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iSam.xvi-p0.5" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.32-1Sam.15.35" parsed="|1Sam|15|32|15|35" passage="1Sa 15:32-35" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Sam.15.32-1Sam.15.35">
<h4 id="iSam.xvi-p23.14">Agag Slain. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p23.15">b. c.</span> 1065.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iSam.xvi-p24">32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag
the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And
Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.   33 And
Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy
mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces
before the <span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p24.1">Lord</span> in Gilgal.   34
Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah
of Saul.   35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the
day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iSam.xvi-p24.2">Lord</span> repented that he had made Saul
king over Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p25">Samuel, as a prophet, is here set over
kings, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.10" parsed="|Jer|1|10|0|0" passage="Jer 1:10">Jer. i. 10</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p26">I. He destroys king Agag, doubtless by such
special direction from heaven as none now can pretend to. He
<i>hewed Agag in pieces.</i> Some think he only ordered it to be
done; or perhaps he did it with his own hands, as a sacrifice to
God's injured justice (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.33" parsed="|1Sam|15|33|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:33"><i>v.</i>
33</scripRef>), and sacrifices used to be cut in pieces. Now
observe in this,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p27">1. How Agag's present vain hopes were
frustrated: He <i>came delicately,</i> in a stately manner, to show
that he was a king, and therefore to be treated with respect, or in
a soft effeminate manner, as one never used to hardship, that
<i>could not set the sole of his foot to the ground for tenderness
and delicacy</i> (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.28.56" parsed="|Deut|28|56|0|0" passage="De 28:56">Deut. xxviii.
56</scripRef>), to move compassion: and he said, "Surely, now that
the heat of the battle is over, <i>the bitterness of death is
past,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.32" parsed="|1Sam|15|32|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>.
Having escaped the sword of Saul," that man of war, he thought he
was in no danger from Samuel, and old prophet, a man of peace.
Note, (1.) There is bitterness in death, it is terrible to nature.
<i>Surely death is bitter,</i> so divers versions read those words
of Agag; as the LXX. read the former clause, <i>He came
trembling.</i> Death will dismay the stoutest heart. (2.) Many
think the bitterness of death is past when it is not so; they put
that evil day far from them which is very near. True believers may,
through grace, say this, upon good grounds, though death be not
past, the bitterness of it is. <i>O death! where is thy
sting?</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p28">2. How his former wicked practices were now
punished. Samuel calls him to account, not only for the sins of his
ancestors, but his own sins: <i>Thy sword has made women
childless,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.33" parsed="|1Sam|15|33|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:33"><i>v.</i>
33</scripRef>. He trod in the steps of his ancestors' cruelty, and
those under him, it is likely, did the same; justly therefore is
all the righteous blood shed by Amalek required of this generation,
<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.23.36" parsed="|Matt|23|36|0|0" passage="Mt 23:36">Matt. xxiii. 36</scripRef>. Agag, that
was delicate and luxurious himself, was cruel and barbarous to
others. It is commonly so: those who are indulgent in their
appetites are not less indulgent of their passions. But blood will
be reckoned for; even kings must account to the King of kings for
the guiltless blood they shed or cause to be shed. It was that
crime of king Manasseh which the Lord would not pardon, <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.24.4" parsed="|2Kgs|24|4|0|0" passage="2Ki 24:4">2 Kings xxiv. 4</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p28.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.13.10" parsed="|Rev|13|10|0|0" passage="Re 13:10">Rev. xiii. 10</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iSam.xvi-p29">II. He deserts king Saul, takes leave of
him (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.34" parsed="|1Sam|15|34|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>), and
<i>never came any more to see him</i> (<scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.15.35" parsed="|1Sam|15|35|0|0" passage="1Sa 15:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>), to advise or assist him in
any of his affairs, because Saul did not desire his company nor
would he be advised by him. He looked upon him as rejected of God,
and therefore he forsook him. Though he might sometimes see him
accidentally (as <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.19.24" parsed="|1Sam|19|24|0|0" passage="1Sa 19:24"><i>ch.</i> xix.
24</scripRef>), yet he never came to see him out of kindness or
respect. Yet he <i>mourned for Saul,</i> thinking it a very
lamentable thing that a man who stood so fair for great things
should ruin himself so foolishly. He mourned for the bad state of
the country, to which Saul was likely to have been so great a
blessing, but now would prove a curse and a plague. He mourned for
his everlasting state, having no hopes of bringing him to
repentance. When he wept for him, it is likely, he made
supplication, but the Lord had <i>repented that he had made Saul
king,</i> and resolved to undo that work of his, so that Samuel's
prayers prevailed not for him. Observe, We must mourn for the
rejection of sinners, 1. Though we withdraw from them, and dare not
converse familiarly with them. Thus the prophet determines to leave
his people and go from them, and yet to <i>weep day and night for
them,</i> <scripRef id="iSam.xvi-p29.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.9.1-Jer.9.2" parsed="|Jer|9|1|9|2" passage="Jer 9:1,2">Jer. ix. 1, 2</scripRef>.
2. Though they do not mourn for themselves. Saul seems unconcerned
at the tokens of God's displeasure which he lay under, and yet
Samuel mourns day and night for him. Jerusalem was secure when
Christ wept over it.</p>
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