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1 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-six
1 Samuel 26
Chapter Contents
Saul goes after David
who again spares Saul's life.
(1-12) David exhorts Saul. (13-20) Saul acknowledges his sin. (21-25)
Commentary on 1 Samuel 26:1-12
(Read 1 Samuel 26:1-12)
How soon do unholy hearts lose the good impressions
convictions have made upon them! How helpless were Saul and all his men! All as
though disarmed and chained
yet nothing is done to them; they are only asleep.
How easily can God weaken the strongest
befool the wisest
and baffle the most
watchful! David still resolved to wait till God thought fit to avenge him on
Saul. He will by no means force his way to the promised crown by any wrong
methods. The temptation was very strong; but if he yielded
he would sin
against God
therefore he resisted the temptation
and trusted God with the
event.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 26:13-20
(Read 1 Samuel 26:13-20)
David reasoned seriously and affectionately with Saul.
Those who forbid our attendance on God's ordinances
do what they can to
estrange us from God
and to make us heathens. We are to reckon that which
exposes us to sin the greatest injury that can be done us. If the Lord stirred
thee up against me
either in displeasure to me
taking this way to punish me
for my sins against him
or in displeasure to thee
if it be the effect of that
evil spirit from the Lord which troubles thee; let Him accept an offering from
us both. Let us join in seeking peace
and to be reconciled with God by
sacrifice.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 26:21-25
(Read 1 Samuel 26:21-25)
Saul repeated his good words and good wishes. But he
showed no evidence of true repentance towards God. David and Saul parted to
meet no more. No reconciliation among men is firm
which is not founded in an
cemented by peace with God through Jesus Christ. In sinning against God
men
play the fool
and err exceedingly. Many obtain a passing view of these truths
who hate and close their eyes against the light. Fair professions do not
entitle those to confidence who have long sinned against the light
yet the
confessions of obstinate sinners may satisfy us that we are in the right way
and encourage us to persevere
expecting our recompence from the Lord alone.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel》
1 Samuel 26
Verse 5
[5] And David arose
and came to the place where Saul had
pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay
and Abner the son of Ner
the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench
and the people pitched
round about him.
The Ziphites - Probably Saul would have pursued David no
more
had not these wretches set him on.
Verse 6
[6] Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite
and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah
brother to Joab
saying
Who will go down
with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said
I will go down with thee.
Zerujah — David's sister. His father is not named either because
he was now dead; or because he was an obscure person.
Verse 7
[7] So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and
behold
Saul lay sleeping within the trench
and his spear stuck in the ground
at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.
Came — That is
to Saul's host. It might seem a bold and
strange attempt; but it may be considered: 1. That David had a particular
assurance that God would preserve him to the kingdom. 2. That he had a special
instinct from God
to this work; and possibly God might inform him
that he had
cast them into a deep sleep
that he might have this second opportunity of
manifesting his innocency towards Saul.
Verse 9
[9] And David said to Abishai
Destroy him not: for who can
stretch forth his hand against the LORD's anointed
and be guiltless?
Destroy him not
… — Though Saul be a
tyrant
yet he is our Lord and king; and I
though designed king
as yet am his
subject; and therefore cannot kill him without sin
nor will I consent that
thou shouldst do it.
Verse 11
[11] The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand
against the LORD's anointed: but
I pray thee
take thou now the spear that is
at his bolster
and the cruse of water
and let us go.
Take the spear — Which will shew where we have
been
and what we could have done.
Verse 13
[13] Then David went over to the other side
and stood on the
top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them:
Afar off — That his person might be out of their reach
and yet
his voice might be heard; which in a clear air
and in the silence of the night
might be heard at a great distance.
Verse 14
[14] And David cried to the people
and to Abner the son of
Ner
saying
Answerest thou not
Abner? Then Abner answered and said
Who art
thou that criest to the king?
Cried to the people — It is probable this
was early in the morning.
Verse 19
[19] Now therefore
I pray thee
let my lord the king hear
the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me
let him
accept an offering: but if they be the children of men
cursed be they before
the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance
of the LORD
saying
Go
serve other gods.
The Lord — If the Lord hath by the evil spirit which he hath
sent
or by his secret providence
directed thy rage against me for the
punishment of thine
or my sins.
An offering — Let us offer up a sacrifice to
God to appease his wrath against us.
Driven me — From the land which God hath
given to his people for their inheritance
and where he hath established his
presence and worship.
Go serve — This was the language of their actions. For by driving
him from God's land
and the place of his worship
into foreign and idolatrous
lands
they exposed him to the peril of being either ensnared by their
counsels
or examples; or forced by their power to worship idols.
Verse 20
[20] Now therefore
let not my blood fall to the earth before
the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea
as
when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
Before the Lord — Remember
if thou dost it
God
the judge of all men seeth it
and will avenge it; though I will not avenge
myself.
Verse 21
[21] Then said Saul
I have sinned: return
my son David: for
I will no more do thee harm
because my soul was precious in thine eyes this
day: behold
I have played the fool
and have erred exceedingly.
My soul
… — This second instance of David's
tenderness wrought more upon Saul than the former. He owns himself melted and
quite overcome by David's kindness to him. My soul was precious in thine eyes
which I thought had been odious. He acknowledges he had done very ill to
persecute him: I have acted against God's law
I have sinned: and against my
own interest
I have played the fool
in pursuing him as an enemy
who was
indeed one of my best friends. And herein I have erred exceedingly
have
wronged both thee and myself. Nothing can be more full and ingenuous than this
confession: God surely now touched his heart. And he promises to persecute him
no more: nor does it appear that he ever attempted it.
Verse 25
[25] Then Saul said to David
Blessed be thou
my son David:
thou shalt both do great things
and also shalt still prevail. So David went on
his way
and Saul returned to his place.
Blessed
… — So strong was his conviction now
that he could not forbear blessing him
foretelling his success
applauding
David
and condemning himself
even in the hearing of his own soldiers. And
this
it seems
was their last interview. After this they saw each other no
more.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Samuel》
26 Chapter 26
Verses 1-25
Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah.
The reproach of the enemy
Dr. Maclaren is specially emphatic in connecting Psalms 7:1-17 with this part of David’s
history
and indicates its value in helping us to understand the rapid
vacillations is Saul’s behaviour.
1. It is headed Shiggaion of David
which he sang unto the Lord. That
is
it is an irregular ode; like a stream broken over a bed of rocks and
stones
expressing by its uneven measure and sudden changes the emotion of its
author. We have often to sing these Shiggaion metres; our songs are frequently
broken with sighs and groans.
Happy
are they who can find themes for singing to the Lord in every sad and bitter
experience!
2. The title proceeds
concerning the words of Cush
a Benjamite. Who
was this Cush? The word means black. It may possibly refer to the colour of the
skin and hair
and been given as a familiar designation to some swarthy
Benjamite. Some have supposed that it was David’s title for Saul. Others have
referred it to Shimei
the Benjamite
whose furious abuse of the king
in the
hour of his calamity
elicited such plaintive resignation from him
such
passionate resentment from Abishai. If the psalm be carefully examined
it will
be found to hear a close resemblance to the words spoken by David
when Saul
and he held the brief colloquy outside the cave at Engedi
and afterwards at
the hill Hachilah. On comparison of psalm and narrative it seems more than
likely that
Cush was one of Saul’s intimate friends and constant companions
and that he was incessantly at work poisoning the king’s mind with malignant
and deliberate falsehoods about David.
I. Search your
heart to see if these slanders have foundation in fact. Perhaps those quick
envious eyes have discerned weaknesses in your character
of which your closest
friends are aware
but they have shrunk from telling you.
II. If there is no
basis for them
rejoice! How thankful we should be that God has kept us from
being actually guilty of the things whereof we are accused! We might have clone
them
and worse.
III. Take shelter in
the righteous judgment of God. We are his servants
and if He is satisfied with
us
why should we break our hearts over what our fellow servants say? It is
after all
but a small matter with us to be judged of man’s judgment.
IV. Abjure more
completely the carnal life. Why do we smart under these unkind and slanderous
words
which are as baseless as uncharitable? Is it not because we set too high
a value upon the favour and applause of men?
V. Leave God to
vindicate your good name. (F. B. Meyer
B. A.)
Verses 1-25
Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah.
The reproach of the enemy
Dr. Maclaren is specially emphatic in connecting Psalms 7:1-17 with this part of David’s
history
and indicates its value in helping us to understand the rapid
vacillations is Saul’s behaviour.
1. It is headed Shiggaion of David
which he sang unto the Lord. That
is
it is an irregular ode; like a stream broken over a bed of rocks and
stones
expressing by its uneven measure and sudden changes the emotion of its
author. We have often to sing these Shiggaion metres; our songs are frequently
broken with sighs and groans.
Happy
are they who can find themes for singing to the Lord in every sad and bitter
experience!
2. The title proceeds
concerning the words of Cush
a Benjamite. Who
was this Cush? The word means black. It may possibly refer to the colour of the
skin and hair
and been given as a familiar designation to some swarthy
Benjamite. Some have supposed that it was David’s title for Saul. Others have
referred it to Shimei
the Benjamite
whose furious abuse of the king
in the
hour of his calamity
elicited such plaintive resignation from him
such
passionate resentment from Abishai. If the psalm be carefully examined
it will
be found to hear a close resemblance to the words spoken by David
when Saul
and he held the brief colloquy outside the cave at Engedi
and afterwards at
the hill Hachilah. On comparison of psalm and narrative it seems more than
likely that
Cush was one of Saul’s intimate friends and constant companions
and that he was incessantly at work poisoning the king’s mind with malignant
and deliberate falsehoods about David.
I. Search your
heart to see if these slanders have foundation in fact. Perhaps those quick
envious eyes have discerned weaknesses in your character
of which your closest
friends are aware
but they have shrunk from telling you.
II. If there is no
basis for them
rejoice! How thankful we should be that God has kept us from
being actually guilty of the things whereof we are accused! We might have clone
them
and worse.
III. Take shelter in
the righteous judgment of God. We are his servants
and if He is satisfied with
us
why should we break our hearts over what our fellow servants say? It is
after all
but a small matter with us to be judged of man’s judgment.
IV. Abjure more
completely the carnal life. Why do we smart under these unkind and slanderous
words
which are as baseless as uncharitable? Is it not because we set too high
a value upon the favour and applause of men?
V. Leave God to
vindicate your good name. (F. B. Meyer
B. A.)
Verse 7
Saul lay sleeping within the trench.
The danger of spiritual lethargy
The circumstances of Saul
and the manner in which he was treated
by David
may have a warning voice to unbelievers
careless
thoughtless
and
slumbering in their sins. The King of Israel was bound to David by every tie of
gratitude
as to the man who had saved his life and kingdom. Yet with all
unthankfulness the most flagrant did he aim if possible to destroy him. With
this unrighteous purpose
he had followed David into the wilderness of Ziph
and every malignant feeling was arrayed against the man after God’s own heart.
And what is the unbeliever’s state in reference to God? Hath not the Most High
visited him with providential and spiritual mercies? Look how eternal love is
manifested
in that “Christ hath died for him
the just for the unjust
that He
might bring him to God.” What is the result? Hath this flow of goodness
softened and melted him into deep repentance
adoring gratitude
and holy
reconciliation? No; look how the offender is pursuing the Lord to dishonour
Him--mark how the carnal mind is enmity against God. The lips
to which God
hath given language
ere opened to blaspheme Him. The feet
to which He hath
given motion
walk in the way of scorners. In prosecution of his unrighteous
purpose
Saul had pitched in the hill of Hachilah
whither David and Abishai
his sister’s son followed him. And when they came
“behold Saul lay sleeping
within the trench
and the spear stuck in the ground at his bolster; but Abner
the captain of his host
and the people lay round about him.” His army
confident and well appointed
were at his bidding and hard at hand; he looked
for no resistance
but expected soon and safely to possess and destroy his
enemy
and he fell asleep in the fulness of security. In that warfare which the
rebellious sinner wages with his offended Maker
how often doth self-confidence
lull his soul to sleep in the trench! His heart is lulled to sleep by the
deceitfulness of sin. The very forbearance he hath received serves to deepen
his lethargy. Satan leads him blindfold into danger. Jonah slept in the storm;
Samson slept in the lap of Delilah
while the Philistines were upon him; Sisera
slept in the tent of Jael the Kenite; and thus doth the soul without Christ
sleep amidst the terrors of impending wrath. A deep sleep had fallen upon Saul
“from the Lord.” O tremble
lest
while ye are wrapped up in this
insensibility
an offended God should continue and deepen the spirit of slumber
upon you in judgment. Saul slept securely
but he was in the power of his
enemies. David had good reason to regard him as a foe; and how shall God regard
you who depart from him? Abishai said unto David
“God hath delivered thine
enemy into thy hand this day.” Is your spiritual slumber so deep that ye cannot
hear Satan express a similar desire? Doth he not long to put
forth his hand
for a first and final stroke against your lives? (R. P. Buddicom
M. A.)
Verse 9
Destroy him not.
Vengeance left with him to whom it belongs
Our attention has been called to the fact that the first great
victory achieved by David was over his own spirit. As we pursue his history
we
are glad to find that his first triumph of this noblest kind was not his last.
His cruel and implacable foe
who had come out with three thousand armed men
determined either to take him prisoner or to hunt him to death
was now
entirely in his hands. It was a golden opportunity
and David made a golden use
of it
for he refused to avenge himself
and suffered his deadly enemy to
depart in peace. For three years he had lived the life of a fugitive
and in many
ways and places had sought to shelter himself against the unrighteous and
pitiless wrath of Saul. There were many things to enkindle his resentment and
make forbearance towards Saul a most difficult virtue. Think of what be had
lost
and what he had suffered! How strangely things combined together to make
the worse appear the better course! The promise and the providence of God both
seemed on the side of instant and complete vengeance! But David was versed in
the Law of God: and in one of the earlier books of his incomplete
but
precious
priceless Bible
he had read these commandments: “Thou shalt not
avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people
but thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 12:1-8; Leviticus 13:1-59; Leviticus 14:1-57; Leviticus 15:1-33; Leviticus 16:1-34; Leviticus 17:1-16; Leviticus 18:1-30). David’s
generous forbearance touched the heart of Saul
disarmed him of his rage
melted him into tears
and constrained him to become a suppliant at the feet of
the man for whose blood he had been thirsting. This second display of
magnanimity on David’s part was a greater triumph of saintly principle than the
first. All the former reasons in favour of avenging himself still existed
and
in greater force
because of the additional sufferings he had endured; and now
there was to be added another reason of almost irresistible power
he had cast
his pearl before swine which had turned again to rend him. His kindness had
been shamefully abused
and evil had been returned for his good. The King’s
life
which he had nobly spared
was consecrated afresh to the work of securing
his destruction. To spare it a second time was for David to sharpen the sword
by which he himself would be slain; and that surely would be charity
degenerating into fanaticism. It is evident that David’s faith in God was one
of the great roots out of which all these fruits of forbearance and patience
and compassion grew. He was confident that God would in His own way and in His
own time fulfil the promises which had been made; and
therefore
instead of
taking the matter into his own hands
he could rest in the Lord and wait
patiently for Him. They say that “Revenge is sweet.” There can be no doubt of
the truth of this
for perverted natures have perverted tastes
and loathe what
they ought to love
and banquet with delight on what they ought to abhor. David
had feelings in his heart which would have been intensely gratified if he had
taken vengeance on his enemy; but would not his revenge have been like the book
the seer did eat in the Apocalypse
sweet in the mouth
but bitterness in the
belly? Patience and meekness and forgiveness are often very hard to exercise
but when they become matters of memory
are they not things of beauty
and a
joy forever? The poet tells of one who sat by the grave of the friend from whom
he had parted in anger
and wept at the remembrance of his former
harshness:--“Cruel
cruel the words I said! Cruelly come they back today.”
Probably there are men now sleeping in the dust who in their lifetime wronged
and injured you. If you forgave them
and prayed for them
and sought to bless
them
does the memory of that Christ-likeness on your part ever give you a
moment’s sorrow? Yes
revenge may be sweet
but
like all the pleasures of sin
it is but for a season. Mercy is God’s delight. He who receives it through
Jesus secures his passport to the skies. He who learns to imitate it
lays up
treasure for himself in heaven. Happy he who by the grace of God so carries
himself toward them that curse him and despitefully use him
that he does not
invoke his own condemnation
when
in his daily prayer
he cries
“Forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.” (C. Vince.)
Who can stretch forth his
hand against the Lord and be guiltless?--
David’s magnanimity
I. The persons
here concerned are Saul and David and the state in which the text shews us
these two was that of enmity. Consider
therefore
that the prince that was his
captive now
and at his mercy had somewhile since descended so below himself
as to become the envier and detractor from his praise
was poorly jealous of
the honours he had purchased
and tried to blast the laurels he had gathered
at the expense oil so much painful boil and hazard; and ‘tis no little share of
grace and goodness that can restrain a young aspiring hero from taking
vengeance on the maligners of his praise
and from removing all impediments in
his pursuit of fame and glory. When men’s lives are so apparently sought after
they usually lay all respects aside
and listen to the dictates of unruly
Nature. He was a false
perfidious prince. Nothing affects a generous mind so
sensibly as being cheated under shew of friendship; and treachery is never
viler than when ‘tis covered with the mask of godliness. But further
be was
perjured. He had but lately taken a solemn oath before the Lord and Jonathan
David should not be slain. And when a prince has thus abandoned common honesty
broken the sacred cords that knit societies
and keep up governments and mutual
correspondences
he is justly delivered into the hands of those whose innocence
and good credulity he had imposed on
and abused almost to their destruction.
Oh
what a mighty measure of God’s grace must fill the heart of him that then
could say
“The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the
Lord’s anointed.” There are some things besides our lives and persons
in
which
if we are touched
we think ourselves extremely injured; and they are
specially our friends
our fortunes and religion; and David was in every one of
these affected more or less by Saul’s implacable pursuit
and hunting after
him. But notwithstanding all this
great as he was in court
great as he was in
camp
and greater yet in favour of the people
he would not venture on the
impious fact
still it was
“The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my
hand against the Lord’s anointed.” ‘Tis surely with ambition
as with other
passions
the imaginary joys are greater than the experienced and substantial
ones: The hopes and expectations far exceed the pleasures of possession.
Whatever cares belong to crowns
they lie concealed within their circles
and
are more seldom seen than felt. But this temptation found no place with David
young
and gay
and vigorous as he was and even so near the crown
Ahab by
conniving at Abishai’s blow
he might have been in full and sure possession of
it; yet he suffered not himself to be transported beyond the bounds of rigid
honesty and loyalty
and still cries out
“The Lord forbid.” Now
to conclude
and to complete this character
and lastly
to these great advantages of being
son-in-law
a mighty man of valour
and accepted in the sight of all the
people
of knowing Saul rejected
and himself designed for successor
the
greatest yet of all advantages
and that is opportunity; that without which all
others signify but little; and that with which alone men serve their turns
and
make up the defects of all the rest; that pander to all sin
and fatal snare of
virtue! That has ruined many thousand souls and betrayed them into most
detestable commissions. Opportunity
that few have virtue
few have strength
sufficient; to withstand
and of all opportunities
none are so strong
and
work so powerfully upon the minds of men as those that look providential ones
and seem to come from God. Yet this was David’s opportunity
and yet withstood.
II. Consider the
reason David gave for his refusal of Abishai’s and the soldiers’ proffer
“It
is the Lord’s anointed.” The laws of God did certainly secure the lives of
kings as well as other men’s
if it did no more. The Lord shall smite him
or
his day shall come
or he shall perish in the battle
that is
I leave him to
God’s disposal; let God
the Judge of all the earth
do with him as he pleases.
And though we think the leaving wicked kings to God is the lightest and the
kindest expression of nothing in the world that can be; yet we would quickly
alter our opinions and be of David’s mind
if we would give ourselves leave to consider:
1. That he hates injustice more.
2. That he is much more ready.
3. Much more able to punish it than we can be. (W.
Fleetwood.)
Verse 21
I have played the fool.
Playing the fool
The greatest and most difficult problem which the Church of God
has had to face in all ages
and has had to try and solve is this--how to
prevent men and women playing the fool. Thank God all down history there have
been those who were bold enough to put out a protest
who
in spite of
tremendous difficulties
were bold enough to call upon the fools not to deal so
foolishly
and to the wicked not to set up their horn. And
believe me
the
protest is stiff required. In spite of all our advance
in spite of our free
education
there is still a vast number of those who walk in the ways of folly.
Education is not enough to prevent a man playing the fool. You find men
gambling away fortunes honest men have made
and you find men who try to drown
their sorrows in what is called the sparkling cup--forgetting all the time that
they are drowning their souls in perdition. You have no right to charge at
God’s door the things that you ought to charge at the door of your own folly.
It is always being done--the Lord this
and the Lord that; it is you.
1. The folly of banishing God from life. Well
now; I find in God’s
Word that
there are three very special forms of folly which He there points
out. I don’t know whether you have observed that Psalms 14:1-7 and Psalms 53:1-6 are word for word the same;
and in both there is this statement: “The fool hath said in his heart
There is
no God.” Literally in the Hebrew that is not just the idea of the writer. It
is
“The fool hath said in his heart
No God”--that is
“No God for me.” The
folly here spoken of is a much more common folly--I mean the folly of the man that
says
“I do not want God in my life
I do not want God in my home
I do not
want God to rule and control in my heart.”
2. The envious fool. Furthermore
you find another description of a
foolish person in Psalms 73:1-28 --the foolishness that is
envious at the prosperity of the wicked. It is an old problem.
3. The money-grubbing fool. Another definition of a fool that I must
not omit tonight comes in connection with our Blessed Lord’s ministry
and that
is Luke 12:1-59 --“Thou fool!” What does it
mean? Oh
it means that to put much emphasis on temporal things
and to neglect
eternal things
and to set much value on things that pass away
and neglect the
things that do not pass away
is the act of a fool.
4. The self-important fool. We dwell upon the special foolishness
which attached to Saul
King of Israel. His foolishness lay in this
that he
had an overweening estimate of his own importance. Saul was head and shoulders
above his people
a pity for him
because it turned his head. Oh
it is a
dreadful thing to be over-conscious of your own importance. God can do nothing
with a man like that till He has brought him down
down
down
down. “He
bringeth down the mighty from their seats
He exalteth the humble and meek.”
Then there was another great mistake Saul made
he fought against David. He
knew that David was indeed the Lord’s anointed; he knew that David ought to
have the throne; he knew that David had been infinitely kind to him. But Saul
determined
in the pride of his heart
to have David’s life; there was a
confederacy against him
the Lord’s chosen.
5. God’s remedy for folly. It would be sorry work to talk about the
follies of men and women if one could not tell of a remedy. The fool requires
two things. He requires a revelation of wisdom
to meet his folly; and he
requires a revelation of power
to overcome his weakness. Is there such a
revelation? Yes
here
and nowhere else than in that book. (Marcus
Rainsford.)
Playing the fool
Now
if Saul’s folly mainly consisted in yielding to the impulses
of passion
and obeying the dictates not of duty but of a selfish heart
with
no regard to the consequences
certainly he has no lack of successors. A few
choice specimens have come under my personal notice. My album has some rare
portraits: and the first I shall name is
I. The idler. If
the world contains a genuine fool
it is the young man who wastes his time. Some
things God gives often
others only once. Youth belongs to the latter category
and if it be thrown away is beyond recovery. Idleness is always demoralising.
Almost all the moral havoc that is wrought amongst young men is effected after
the office door is closed. Few men go wrong when they are busy at work. Tell me
how a youth spends his evenings and his half-holidays
and I shall have a good
idea of his character. The worst thing you can do of an evening is to do
nothing. You may easily predict a man’s future when you know how he spends his
hours of leisure. The next portrait I have to present
is
II. The buffoon.
There are many who seem incapable of a serious thought. They jest at
everything. They live in an atmosphere of hilarity. They treat life as if it
were a great joke. There is scarcely a trace of gravity or good sense in them.
They are to society only what bells are to horses
making plenty of jingle
but
not assisting to draw. It is a poor ambition this; the habitual jester is an
empty fribble. Such men have no reverence in their nature. They have not a
conception of the dignity of manhood. They have scarcely respect even for
religion
and some profane quotation from Holy Writ is enough to set them in a
roar. Let all such characters awaken within you a feeling of revulsion. Do not
associate with them. Admissible they might be in a menagerie
but life is too
serious to tolerate them. The next page of my album introduces to us:
III. The worldling.
The next on my list is:
IV. The sensualist.
I mean the man who is a slave to his baser passions and wallows in the mire of
bestiality. The pure shrink from his touch; his breath blights every innocent
thing.
V. The persistent
unbelieverse (J. Thain Davidson
D. D.)
Playing the fool
I. Saul’s history
justifies this expression
inasmuch as his public life was marked by a
continued attempt at thorough independence of God. Here is discoverable the
great secret of Saul’s downfall. This was his folly
here he erred. He made the
attempt to get on without God.
1. This was folly--first
because it was subversive of all that
reason and wisdom suggested. For the very being of a God is of itself a fact
sufficiently indicative of the place which the creatures of that God should
occupy. It was attempting to alter the relative positions of the Universal
Sovereign and of His subjects--the relative position of the Great Proprietor of
all and of those who are entirely at His disposal. The laws of nature
in
regard to matter
allow no interference with them which would subvert the
relative conditions of strength and weakness
independence and dependence
without such results as expose the folly of the attempt. Let the lighter
materials
of which the superstructure may be safely built
be employed for the
foundation
and let the heavy blocks--the solid masses--of which the foundation
should consist
be used for the superstructure
and the builder will soon have
to say
“I have played the fool
and have erred exceedingly.” Attempt to frame
a raft of some substance whose specific gravity is greater than that of water
and the moment you launch it on the waves it will sink
and imminent peril will
ensue
and you will just have been “playing the fool.” Or come to nature’s laws
as regards moral beings--indulge a course of Action which subverts these. Let
the rule be that the child’s will shall take precedence of the parent’s
the
servant’s of the master’s
that superior and inferior should change places
and
would not the results in families and households soon prove that all this was but
“erring exceedingly?” And shall there be any success where man
dependent man
thus takes or attempts to take the place of independence? Can he rid himself of
God
when
at the utmost stretch of self-will
he is asking
“Who is Lord over
me?”
2. Besides
if it be against all reason to put our own will into the
place of God’s
it is not less against our interest to do so. Saul
indeed
attempted to do as well without God as with Him; but did he succeed? Did he get
on as well without God as with Him? And did ever the history of a single
individual justify the supposition that this was possible? It is only “the
blessing of the Lord” which “maketh rich
and he added no sorrow with it.”
II. Applicable as
the sentence was to the whole retrospect of his history
it was preeminently
appropriate to this portion of it. In many respects he had thus erred; in one
respect most especially and distressingly so. He was now addressing David
a
man whom on every ground
he ought to have loved
for he was lovely in himself
and he had done Saul good service; and
moreover
he stood in very near
relationship to him--the husband of his daughter
the bosom friend of his son.
It is not difficult to gather the reasons of this verdict pronounced upon
himself; and they demand our attention
because they expose to our view points
of possible error in our own conduct. His folly and error consisted in treating
a man as his enemy who was
in reality
his best friend. Have you ever
like
Saul in reference to David
felt the risings of dislike to your friend
because
in some form or another
he seemed to stand in the way of your
cherished plans and self-gratifying projects? Beware how you listen to the
suggestions of the evil spirit. Saul’s folly consisted
not simply in treating
as an enemy the man who was really his best friend
but in attempting
by this
very conduct towards David
to fly in the face of those Divine arrangements to
which
however humiliating their character
he was bound
in meekness
to have
submitted. God had assigned the kingdom to David: Saul was determined to keep
it for himself and his family. It was the one purpose of Saul’s life to defeat
God’s arrangement; and nothing promised so readily and directly to accomplish
his object as the death of David
and this became
therefore
the one great
point at which he aimed. Yet never does a man commit himself to a harder
and
at the same time more fruitless
enterprise than when he fights against God’s
providential arrangements--when
for instance
God is evidently calling on him
to give up some plan of his own--when God is requiring him to take a humbler
level
and he will grasp tightly and hold tenaciously the position which
everything combines to tell him is not for himself nor his family
but for
another. “Their folly shall be made manifest to all men;” and not less shall it
be felt by themselves. Submission
which they would not render voluntarily to
One who has a just right to claim it
will be wrung out of them reluctantly by
One against whom “none ever hardened himself and prospered.” Saul
alas!
admitted his error
but took no steps to turn his confession to practical
advantage. Let us be careful against such a neglect. Let us proceed at once
by
God’s blessing
to act out our convictions. (J. A. Miller.)
The folly of man
This is not the kind of thing a man would say if he gave himself
time to think. It is not a statement made after preparation. Men do not speak
in this wise after thought and preparation
and that fact makes the utterance
the more valuable
for it is under such stress of circumstances that men often
reveal the ever present
but habitually hidden
consciousness. It was so with
Saul on this occasion.
1. This man was a man of good family and position in life. His father
was Kish
“a mighty man of valour
” and the marginal reading most strikingly
catches the thought of the original word--“a mighty man of substance; a wealthy
man.”
2. Notice
also
that he was a man of splendid physique--a choice man
is the word
a goodly man
a man standing head and shoulders above his fellows
handsome and strong. Let no man ever put any false value upon incompetency in
the physical realm. Saul started with the magnificent capital of a strong
physique.
3. Again
he was a man of simple life
living at home
interested in
his father’s affairs
by no means a prodigal.
4. He was
moreover
a man of modest disposition.
5. And then
once again
he was a man of courage
not the courage
that vaunts itself
which is of the very essence of cowardice
not the courage
that talks
but the courage that farms until his nation is insulted
and then
strikes. Now
this is the man that says in the words of my text
“I have played
the fool!”
Notice Saul’s opportunities.
1. He is the chosen of God; the choice is Divinely
definitely
stated. He had opened before him a door
passing through which he should find
the life--simple
and modest
and strong
and beautiful
that had been
preparing in the past--put into a place of activity and of service
of which he
had never dreamed. What scope for his powers in the kingly office! What chances
to bless his fellow men! This was his opportunity.
2. Then notice another fact proving how great that opportunity was.
He had the friendship of Samuel
a man of God
a seer
the leader of the
people.
3. Then remember this also
in speaking of his opportunity. It is
said of him that “there went with him a band of men whose hearts God had
touched.” This man with such glorious opportunities is the one who
coming near
the end of life
surprised in a crisis
cries out
“I have played the fool!”
This is not the story of a man who made final shipwreck in the
early years of his life
or the story of a man who had no chance in life
who
inherited forces that damned him
but the story of a man who seems to have had
everything in his favour at the beginning--his own person and character were
magnificent
his surroundings highly favoured and privileged
and yet this man
came at last to say that he had played the fool.
1. I find the first point of that failure on the day when Samuel had
come with the hosts of the people for the crowning of the man whom God had
chosen to be king. Where was he? Hiding away. A man has no business to be
modest when. God has anointed him for work. There is a modesty that is
blasphemous. It is of the very essence of a self-centred life
and if God has
anointed a man to be king
that man sins when he allows modesty to hold him
back from the kingly office. What was it? Failure to follow God at all costs
and against all inclinations. Here is the beginning of all the trouble that
wrecked this man’s character and life
that spoiled his opportunities
that
drew from him that which was at once an awful confession and a wail of anguish.
“Behold! I have played the fool!”
2. From that day pass over the years
and come to the day of
impatient waiting at Gilgal. Samuel did not come
as he was expected
and Saul
arrogated to himself the right to offer a sacrifice
an act that was not lawful
to him. Underlying that act is the spirit of rebellion
the rebellion of a
self-centred life.
3. Follow him still further
and notice the degeneration of
character. The man who began by hiding away
and then became self-dependent
and then fell into disobedience and lying
now becomes rash
and takes an oath
upon him which jeopardises the life of the fairest man in his kingdom
his own
con Jonathan.
4. Mark the process still further
and see him at last. In the early
years he was himself among the prophets
speaking by the inspiration of the
wind of God that passed across his soul. See him now creeping in the darkness
of the night to the witch of Endor
asking for some occult subtle revelation of
secrets because the light of day is blotted from his life. And the--What then?
Suicide! You may call it anything you like
but if I ask a man to slay me
and
because he refuses I fall upon my sword
what is it
if not suicide? What are
the causes? First
as we have said
lack of loyalty to God. Life makes
shipwreck of itself except when the hand of God is upon the helm; no matter how
fair and glorious and beautiful the promise of morning
night will bring
disaster and defeat
unless there is the loyal handing over of the will of man
to the will of God. But mark how this works out in life; see how the man
when
once his life is taken out of the Divine government and control
neglects his
beat friends
Samuel
David
Jonathan; mark how he fails to understand the
opportunity of his kingship. A man who seems only to have seen in kingship an
opportunity for fighting and victory and possession
forgets the greater fact
that the king is to be shepherd also
to provide for his people
protecting
them from harm
feeding and leading them like a flock.
Let us in a few closing words gather up what seem to be the
lessons of that life.
1. First
advantages do not ensure success. The fact of your family
the fact of your disposition
the fact of your physical power
the fact of your
courage
all these things are to be valued
but none of them will ensure
success. I pray you
do not undervalue the fact that your father believed in
God and your mother prayed. The young man that undervalues such facts is
already playing the fool
and unless he learns ere it be too late the infinite
value of that possession
he will do so to the end of time. Your parents gave
you no capital to start in life with
do I hear you tell your friend? It is not
true; your father gave you an example of cleanness and honour
your mother of
devotion and prayer
and the man who wants any other capital than that should
go to the workhouse and stay there! Where would some of us be if God had not
barred the way for us by a mother’s prayer and a father’s godly life? A man may
have all these
and play the fool at the end. Your disposition may be in your
favour--you are the very man that will make shipwreck if you do not mind. It is
not the cold
cynical man that is in danger of making shipwreck so much as the
man of laughter and life
the man who is the centre of every social circle.
That is the man the devil is after
because he is the man that God loves.
2. Again let me remind you that opportunities do not crown men. God
may have called you to a great opportunity in life
and you may even enter upon
the opportunity and yet miss it. How
then
says one man
can I live so as not
to play the fool? Hear this. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
Surrender to God
loyalty
obedience; these are the things that ensure a man
against folly and against failure. You can never achieve the possibilities that
slumber in your personality until you have exercised the kingship of your
being
by putting the crown of your manhood upon the brow of the Man of
Nazareth. Find your way in humility and loneliness to the Cross
and looking
into the face of the world’s God and King say
“Oh
Nazarene! Thou hast conquered;”
then you will begin to live. No man can make shipwreck if Christ he King. No
man can be lost in the swelling flood if the Pilot with the pierced hand is at
the helm. Yield to Him
man
tonight. Yield to Him who alone is able to realise
the possibilities of your being
and bring them at last to God’s consummation.
(G. Campbell Morgan
D. D.)
.
Verses 21-25
Then said Saul
I have sinned.
Saul’s second reconciliation
When a man like Saul has wept
and spoken words so morally noble
it is but fair to credit him with sincerity and permanence. At the time of his
reconciliation he meant every word he said. Yet in a brief period we find Saul
going down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men to seek
David
who had been reported as hiding himself in the hill of Hachilah. Then
came the gush of emotion upon the part of Saul. The weapon which conquered him
in the first instance conquered him also in the second. Forbearance was
mightier than weapons of war. The sword has slain its countless thousands
but
love holds the universe in sweet and glad captivity.
I. It is proved
that the deepest and sincerest emotion may be transient in its moral effects.
We left Saul reconciled; we find him again in arms. There are two things which
are often mistaken for Christian feeling.
1. Selfish gratitude for unexpected preservation.
2. Admiration of moral nobleness in others. See bow this is
applicable to hearers of the Gospel. Men hear of Jesus Christ’s sympathy
love
beneficence
etc. Feeling may be exhausted. “Past feeling.”
II. It is shown
that self-control is in proportion to the estimate formed of the Divine element
that is in man. How was it that David withheld his hand when Saul was delivered
over to him as lawful prey? Human nature said
Strike; another voice said
Forbear! Twice David might have slain Saul
and twice he spared his life. We
want to know the secret of this marvellous self-control. We find it pithily stated
in the interview between Abishai and David. Abishai said
“Thine enemy.” David
said
“The Lord’s anointed.” Two different views of the same man! The one
narrow
selfish
superficial; the other profound and true. So it is with every
man: he is not to be measured merely by his personal relations to ourselves.
Pray to see the highest and divinest aspect of every man’s character. We shall
thus be enabled:
1. To hope something even of the worst; and
2. to do something in the negative work of sparing
even where we
cannot do anything in the positive work of reclaiming.
Paul had respect even for a weak man
not because he was weak
but
because Christ died for him. By taking the highest view of man
he was enabled
to do many things for the sake of the Christ that was in him. “But when ye so
sin against the brethren
and wound their weak conscience
ye sin against
Christ.”
III. It is shown how
much better it is to trust our interests to the working out of Divine laws than
to care for them with narrowness of spirit. “As the Lord liveth
the Lord shall
smite him
” etc. Why fight with thy own poor weak fist? etc. Why prefer murder
to Divine retribution? Why narrow down bureau life to a paltry duel? etc. The
battle is not yours
but God’s. Shall not God avenge His own elect which cry
day and night unto Him
though He bear long with them?
IV. It is clearly
shown that flight from danger is perfectly compatible with the highest courage.
David was never chargeable with cowardice
yet he escaped like an affrighted
man. “If they persecute you in one city
” etc. There is a time to fight
(Goliath); there is a time to fly (Saul). The one was an uncircumcised
Philistine
the other was the Lord’s anointed. Understand that there are
differences of conquest. David conquered Saul as surely as he conquered
Goliath. God sees His own image in us. To recover it he sent His Son. (J.
Parker
D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》