1 Samuel 16:13 Kommentar

At this chapter begins the story of David, one that makes as great a figure in the sacred story as almost any of the worthies of the Old Testament, one that both with his sword and with his pen served the honour of God and the interests of Israel as much as most ever did, and was as illustrious a type of Christ. Here I. Samuel is appointed and commissioned to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse at Bethlehem (Sa1 16:1-5). II. All his elder sons are passed by and David the youngest is pitched upon and anointed (Sa1 16:6-13). III. Saul growing melancholy, David is pitched upon to relieve him by music (Sa1 16:14-23). Thus small are the beginnings of that great man.

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 16 In this chapter Samuel is ordered to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, Sa1 16:1 all whose sons were made to pass before him, excepting David, Sa1 16:6 who being then with his father's sheep, was sent for and was anointed, Sa1 16:11, after which the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and he became melancholy, and it was advised to seek out a musician for him, and David was mentioned to him as a proper person, Sa1 16:14 upon which he was sent for, and acted as a musician to Saul, and also became his armourbearer, which was the first rise of him, Sa1 16:19.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil,.... Out of his pocket, which he brought along with him by the direction of God: and anointed him in the midst of his brethren; not in the presence of them, they sitting around, or standing by and seeing the ceremony performed; which is not consistent with the secrecy with which Samuel was directed to manage this affair, and which was necessary to observe, to keep it from the knowledge of Saul; and with Eliab's treatment of David afterwards, who would never have addressed him in the manner he did, had he known that he was anointed king, Sa1 17:28 but the sense is, according to Kimchi and Abarbinel, that he was selected out of them, and separated from them, and privately anointed by Samuel, and at most only his father Jesse present; wherefore some observe, that the words may be rendered, "anointed him from the midst of his brethren" (h); that is, he took him apart from them, and anointed him: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward; not as a spirit of grace and holiness, which probably had come upon him before this time; but a spirit of prophecy, as did on Saul after his unction; and which particularly showed itself in music and poetry, in which he immediately became very eminent, and he was taken notice of for it, and which was the means of bringing him into Saul's court; and a spirit of wisdom and prudence, in civil as well as in sacred things; and a spirit of fortitude, as the Targum, of strength of body, and courage and valour of mind; whereby he was enabled to encounter with the lion and bear, and get the mastery of them; which, with all other gifts of the spirit fitting him for government, he was now endowed with, and which continued with him: so Samuel rose up and went to Ramah his native place, and where he resided; that is, after the festival of the peace offerings, to which Jesse and his sons were invited; for the anointing seems to be before that. (h) So Pool, Patrick, &c.

So clearly holy David was filled with heavenly inspiration, and not through human actions, the birth of twins, angels, visions, a dream, a cloud and a voice from heaven, or any other way of that kind. As the first book of Kings [Samuel] says of him: “And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” The Lord himself too says in the Gospel: “If David in the spirit calls him Lord, how do you say he is his son?” By these words we realize that the psalms were clearly expressions of prophecy through the holy Spirit.

19. The horn of oil is lifted up, so that the entire life of the pontiff may be shown to be spiritual. The horn of oil is lifted up, so that in that excellent liquid the master of the Church may strive to be a man of great mercy. The head of the king is anointed with oil, because he ought to shine upon the lampstand through the flame of the word. The horn receives oil, so that by rebuking he may cleanse, and by showing compassion he may draw others through gentleness. The horn also receives, in the loftiness of office, oil for the nourishment of virtue. But he is anointed with a full horn, so that the virtue of the pontiff may be shown to be complete. For the horn has fullness in its anointing if he is perfect in the virtue of mercy as well as in charity and in the word. He is also recognized as having a full horn in his anointing whose every power is dispensed through mercy. Indeed, the very authority of the holy Church, when it is without mercy, is nothing; for the rigor of discipline is spiritual only when it is not devoid of the balm of mercy. Therefore the horn and the oil are shown together, so that discipline may always be maintained with mercy. For the horn is said to be full of oil, so that wherever the horn displays its sharpness, it may also display the anointing of poured-out grace. But when the anointing is brought to anoint the king, the horn is seen on the outside, while the fullness of oil is hidden within. Let the prophet therefore carry the horn on the outside, but fill it with oil within; let him set forth the text on the outside, but declare the mysteries within. Let the prophet therefore know what he bestows; let the anointed king know, by receiving what is offered, what he must do. What then does it mean that the horn is on the outside and the oil within, except that often the hardness of subjects deserves to feel the rebuke of the pastor, yet fails to perceive something of his mercy? The ruler therefore displays the horn, in which the oil lies hidden; because when someone is sharply corrected out of charity, the punishment is felt, but the charity is not seen. For the ruler appears harsh who rebukes in such a way as if he does not love; he reproves as if he vehemently hates. What then is perceived by those who are stung with compunction, except the sharpness of the horn by which they are struck more keenly? But because the pastor deeply loves within the one whom he strikes outwardly by reproving, what else does he do but show the horn by rebuking while hiding the oil by loving? Therefore a full horn is declared in the anointing of the king, so that in the chosen preacher both qualities may be shown to be perfect. For he ought to be sharp in reproving, gentle in showing mercy. Let him strike perfectly, so that he may perfectly pierce the whole force of the disease; let him anoint perfectly through mercy, so that he may restore to health the wounds he inflicts. For if he strikes less forcefully than he ought, he fails to expel what lies deeper hidden. And if he strikes forcefully but does not anoint abundantly, he kills the one struck through severity and does not restore him to health. Let the horn therefore be whole, and the fullness of oil complete, so that through the horn wounds may be struck with severity, and through the oil they may be soothed. 20. But what does it mean that he is anointed in the midst of his brothers, except that he is commanded to spread examples of virtue all around? He is anointed in the midst of his brothers so that all may be able to become partakers of so great an anointing. For he who is placed in the midst is seen from every side. He is anointed with oil in the midst of others because he who is set up as an example for others ought to have no part of himself obscure, so that all may look upon him and take from him an example of light. Hence also the holy living creatures are described as having eyes all around (Ezek. 1), because when the chosen teacher receives the ardor of charity, the power of mercy, and the zeal for righteousness from the gift of the Holy Spirit, he dwells as it were in a sphere of light, which renders him radiant from every side to those standing around him. Or he is anointed in the midst of his brothers so that he may always consider himself both anointed and in the middle. Let him therefore acknowledge his dignity and exercise the force of that dignity, because he has been anointed. Let him see himself as one in the middle, a man of common condition, so that he may recognize that those over whom he stands are his equals. He is therefore anointed in the midst of his brothers so that he may be both humble and exalted—exalted in rank, humble in self-estimation. Likewise, he is anointed in the middle so that he may not love himself with private affection, but from all his preeminence may seek the gain of others. Hence Saul is reported to have been anointed alone at the farthest part of the city (1 Sam. 9). For what does it mean that he is anointed alone by one alone, except that he was destined to swell with pride over the power of his high position through private self-love! For when he wished to love himself singularly on account of the dignity he had received, he carried the nourishment of light, as it were, alone. Hence also the boy who accompanied him is sent ahead, because none of the elect follows the examples of him who is rejected by divine authority. David, therefore, is anointed in the midst of his brothers, because the chosen teacher does not glory with singular love in that by which he is raised to singular heights. And because spiritual gifts are heaped upon chosen rulers through the ministry of men, it is added: (v. 13) "And the Spirit of the Lord was directed upon David from that day forward." 21. For the Spirit of the Lord is directed after the anointing: because we receive the sacraments outwardly, so that we may be filled inwardly with the grace of the Holy Spirit. For outwardly man operates, inwardly God, and not man. For outwardly man rises, inwardly the spirit directs itself: because man bestows upon man the order of religion, but the spirit is directed into him upon whom the order is conferred, so that outwardly he may receive the sublimity of the order, and inwardly the strength of the Holy Spirit. Outwardly the order is entrusted, so that he may do the things that are of God; inwardly the spirit is directed, so that he may powerfully accomplish what is enjoined. For great is the burden of holy orders, great the frailty of the flesh. Therefore, because so great a burden is entrusted to one who is weak, the spirit is directed: so that the weak one may be strengthened, and may bear so great a burden all the more willingly, the more powerfully the almighty spirit itself helps him to bear it. But the spirit is said to be directed, so that, turned away from the proud king, it may be perceived. Therefore the spirit directs itself into another, when the grace of the same spirit flees the proud and the deceitful. Whence it is also written: "The Spirit of the Lord of discipline will flee from the deceitful" (Wis. 1:7). Hence also He says through Himself in the Gospel: "The Spirit breathes where He wills, and you hear His voice, and you do not know whence He comes or where He goes" (John 3:8). The Spirit indeed comes and goes, because He abandons the reprobate and takes up the elect. And because the judgment of almighty God is inscrutable, man does not know whence He comes and where He goes: because it cannot be known whether anyone ought to persevere forever in the grace which he receives. The spirit is therefore said to come from him who has fallen away, and to go to him who will persevere: because He abandons some in time, takes up others, and yet does not abandon them. Whence also, as a type of the elect, it is said of David: "The Spirit of the Lord was directed upon David from that day and for the remainder." He is directed indeed on the day of anointing, when we so receive the sacraments of Christ outwardly that we are filled inwardly with the grace of the Holy Spirit. And the spirit is directed "for the remainder," who never departs from the grace which he receives. This grace of the directed spirit we ascribe to preachers in such a way that we attribute it to all orders of the holy Church. For whoever receives the faith of our Redeemer is reborn through the baptism of our redemption, and is redeemed from all sin by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Whence also, suggesting the gift of the same Holy Spirit to the elect who have been redeemed, the Apostle Paul says: "In whom you were sealed on the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30). If therefore we consider the people formerly proud in circumcision losing the Holy Spirit, we see equally the direction of the same spirit into those who are baptized. In whom indeed we are directed, because through pride they lost the grace of the Holy Spirit. What then does it mean, what is said, "From that day and for the remainder," unless that the grace of the Holy Spirit is so received that the elect are taught to persevere in it even to the end? Many indeed after the remission of sins commit sins unto death, in whom assuredly the spirit does not appear to be directed "for the remainder." Therefore the spirit is directed in the elect alone "from that day for the remainder," because for the reprobate, at the beginning of their faith, sins are forgiven through the Holy Spirit, but they afterward lose the grace of the Holy Spirit through iniquity. For He is directed "for the remainder," but in David, because David is interpreted as "strong of hand." He is indeed strong of hand who prevails over the devil and holds through perseverance unto the end the good that he has received. Of whom the Lord certainly says: "He who perseveres unto the end shall be saved" (Matt. 10:22). But if the state of the universal Church is considered, we see the Spirit of the Lord directed upon David "for the remainder": because the grace of the Holy Spirit began to fill the elect of the holy Church from the very beginnings of that same Church, whom He does not cease to guard even to the end of the world.

Lofty indeed, nay most lofty, is this virtue of perfect conduct, yet it is perfectly accomplished by many. Great indeed is this sublimity, yet holy Church possesses many who are sublime. For from the time she rejected the Synagogue, she raised up holy Church to an innumerable height of virtue. Rightly therefore it is said: "And the Spirit of the Lord was directed upon David from that day forward." The day indeed is faith in the Redeemer, in which holy Church is illuminated and the rejected Synagogue is cast down in wondrous blindness. On that day, therefore, the Holy Spirit is directed upon David, because his grace is taken from the Synagogue and given to the elect of holy Church. For he is directed because he abandons those and takes up these. But he is directed on the day because he who is not illuminated in faith in the Redeemer cannot have the Spirit directing himself within him. The Spirit, therefore, is directed on the day because he is given to those who possess the light of faith. Moreover, he is directed upon David because only holy Church receives him, which is the body of the Redeemer. But since, with God as author, we have completed the things we proposed to treat from the Book of Kings, the supreme and almighty Spirit must be entreated that he who brought forth his words through whomever he willed may grant both to the writer and to the reader the disposition of virtue. Amen.

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, etc. The prophet received the task of proclaiming the glory of the true king, and said: "You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God has anointed you" (Psalm 44). He who was conceived of the Holy Spirit never ceased to have the fullness of that same Spirit from the hour of his conception. John received the duty of bearing witness to Christ; and when the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the midst of those he baptized, he saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God; and Jesus went forth in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.

Samuel arose and went to Ramah. Having completed the duty of anointing, Samuel returned home; for now, with the coming of the Lord who was foretold to come, the proclamations of the prophets were silenced. For the Law and the prophets prophesied until John (Matthew 11), from then on the kingdom of God is preached. But John himself, by the duty of his forerunning, said: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3).

Samuel is sent from Ramah to Bethlehem, to anoint David, Sa1 16:1-13. The Spirit of the Lord departs from Saul, and an evil spirit comes upon him, Sa1 16:14. His servants exhort him to get a skillful harper to play before him, Sa1 16:15, Sa1 16:16. He is pleased with the counsel, and desires them to find such a person, Sa1 16:17. They recommend David, Sa1 16:18. He is sent for, comes, plays before Saul, and finds favor in his sight, Sa1 16:19-23.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon David - God qualified him to be governor of his people, by infusing such graces as wisdom, prudence, counsel, courage, liberality, and magnanimity.

SAMUEL SENT BY GOD TO BETHLEHEM. (Sa1 16:1-10) the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul--Samuel's grief on account of Saul's rejection, accompanied, doubtless, by earnest prayers for his restitution, showed the amiable feelings of the man; but they were at variance with his public duty as a prophet. The declared purpose of God to transfer the kingdom of Israel into other hands than Saul's was not an angry menace, but a fixed and immutable decree; so that Samuel ought to have sooner submitted to the peremptory manifestation of the divine will. But to leave him no longer room to doubt of its being unalterable, he was sent on a private mission to anoint a successor to Saul (see on Sa1 10:1). The immediate designation of a king was of the greatest importance for the interests of the nation in the event of Saul's death, which, to this time, was dreaded; it would establish David's title and comfort the minds of Samuel and other good men with a right settlement, whatever contingency might happen. I have provided me a king--The language is remarkable, and intimates a difference between this and the former king. Saul was the people's choice, the fruit of their wayward and sinful desires for their own honor and aggrandizement. The next was to be a king who would consult the divine glory, and selected from that tribe to which the pre-eminence had been early promised (Gen 49:10).

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him--This transaction must have been strictly private.

III. Saul's Fall and David's Election - 1 Samuel 16-31 Although the rejection of Saul on the part of God, which was announced to him by Samuel, was not followed by immediate deposition, but Saul remained king until his death, the consequences of his rejection were very speedily brought to light. Whilst Samuel, by the command of God, was secretly anointing David, the youngest son of Jesse, at Bethlehem, as king (Sa1 16:1-13), the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit began to terrify him, so that he fell into melancholy; and his servants fetched David to the court, as a man who could play on stringed instruments, that he might charm away the king's melancholy by his playing (Sa1 16:14-23). Another war with the Philistines soon furnished David with the opportunity for displaying his heroic courage, by the defeat of the giant Goliath, before whom the whole army of the Israelites trembled; and to attract the eyes of the whole nation to himself, as the deliverer of Israel from its foes (1 Samuel 17:1-54), in consequence of which Saul placed him above the men of war, whilst Saul's brave son Jonathan formed a bond of friendship with him (1 Samuel 17:55-18:5). But this victory, in commemorating which the women sang, "Saul hath slain a thousand, David ten thousand" (Sa1 18:7), excited the jealousy of the melancholy king, so that the next day, in an attack of madness, he threw his spear at David, who was playing before him, and after that not only removed him from his presence, but by elevating him to the rank of chief captain, and by the promise to give him his daughter in marriage for the performance of brave deeds, endeavoured to entangle him in such conflicts with the Philistines as should cost him his life. And when this failed, and David prospered in all his undertakings, he began to be afraid of him, and cherished a lifelong hatred towards him (1 Samuel 18:6-30). Jonathan did indeed try to intercede and allay his father's suspicions, and effect a reconciliation between Saul and David; but the evil spirit soon drove the jealous king to a fresh attack upon David's life, so that he was obliged to flee not only from the presence of Saul, but from his own house also, and went to Ramah, to the prophet Samuel, whither, however, Saul soon followed him, though he was so overpowered by the Spirit of the prophets, that he would not do anything to David (1 Samuel 19). Another attempt on the part of Jonathan to change his father's mind entirely failed, and so excited the wrath of Saul, that he actually threw the spear at his own son; so that no other course now remained for David, than to separate himself from his noble friend Jonathan, and seek safety in flight (1 Samuel 20). He therefore fled with his attendant first of all to Nob, where Ahimelech the high priest gave him some of the holy loaves and the sword of Goliath, on his representing to him that he was travelling hastily in the affairs of the king. He then proceeded to Achish, the king of the Philistines, at Gath; but having been recognised as the conqueror of Goliath, he was obliged to feign madness in order to save his life; and being driven away by Achish as a madman, he went to the cave of Adullam, and thence into the land of Moab. But he was summoned by the prophet to return to his own land, and went into the wood Hareth, in the land of Judah; whilst Saul, who had been informed by the Edomite Doeg of the occurrence at Nob, ordered all the priests who were there to be put to death, and the town itself to be ruthlessly destroyed, with all the men and beasts that it contained. Only one of Ahimelech's sons escaped the massacre, viz., Abiathar; and he took refuge with David (1 Samuel 21-22). Saul now commenced a regular pursuit of David, who had gradually collected around him a company of 600 men. On receiving intelligence that David had smitten a marauding company of Philistines at Keilah, Saul followed him, with the hope of catching him in this fortified town; and when this plan failed, on account of the flight of David into the wilderness of Ziph, because the high priest had informed him of the intention of the inhabitants to deliver him up, Saul pursued him thither, and had actually surrounded David with his warriors, when a messenger arrived with the intelligence of an invasion of the land by the Philistines, and he was suddenly called away to make war upon these foes (1 Samuel 23). But he had no sooner returned from the attack upon the Philistines, than he pursued David still farther into the wilderness of Engedi, where he entered into a large cave, behind which David and his men were concealed, so that he actually fell into David's hands, who might have put him to death. But from reverence for the anointed of the Lord, instead of doing him any harm, David merely cut off a corner of his coat, to show his pursuer, when he had left the cave, in what manner he had acted towards him, and to convince him of the injustice of his hostility. Saul was indeed moved to tears; but he was not disposed for all that to give up any further pursuit (1 Samuel 24). David was still obliged to wander about from place to place in the wilderness of Judah; and at length he was actually in want of the necessaries of life, so that on one occasion, when the rich Nabal had churlishly turned away the messengers who had been sent to him to ask for a present, he formed the resolution to take bloody revenge upon this hard-hearted fool, and was only restrained from carrying the resolution out by the timely and friendly intervention of the wise Abigail (1 Samuel 25). Soon after this Saul came a second time into such a situation, that David could have killed him; but during the night, whilst Saul and all his people were sleeping, he slipped with Abishai into the camp of his enemy, and carried off as booty the spear that was at the king's head, that he might show him a second time how very far he was from seeking to take his life (1 Samuel 26). But all this only made David's situation an increasingly desperate one; so that eventually, in order to save his life, he resolved to fly into the country of the Philistines, and take refuge with Achish, the king of Gath, by whom he was now received in the most friendly manner, as a fugitive who had been proscribed by the king of Israel. At his request Achish assigned him the town of Ziklag as a dwelling-place for himself and his men, whence he made sundry excursions against different Bedouin tribes of the desert. In consequence of this, however, he was brought into a state of dependence upon this Philistian prince (Sa1 27:1-12); and shortly afterwards, when the Philistines made an attack upon the Israelites, he would have been perfectly unable to escape the necessity of fighting in their ranks against his own people and fatherland, if the other princes of the Philistines had not felt some mistrust of "these Hebrews," and compelled Achish to send David and his fighting men back to Ziklag (Sa1 29:1-11). But this was also to put an end to his prolonged flight. Saul's fear of the power of the Philistines, and the fact that he could not obtain any revelation from God, induced him to have recourse to a necromantist woman, and he was obliged to hear from the mouth of Samuel, whom she had invoked, not only the confirmation of his own rejection on the part of God, but also the announcement of his death (1 Samuel 28). In the battle which followed on the mountains of Gilboa, after his three sons had been put to death by his side, he fell upon his own sword, that he might not fall alive into the hands of the archers of the enemy, who were hotly pursuing him (Sa1 31:1-13), whilst David in the meantime chastised the Amalekites for their attack upon Ziklag (1 Samuel 30). It is not stated anywhere how long the pursuit of David by Saul continued; the only notice given is that David dwelt a year and four months in the land of the Philistines (Sa1 27:7). If we compare with this the statement in Sa2 5:4, that David was thirty years old when he became king (over Judah), the supposition that he was about twenty years old when Samuel anointed him, and therefore that the interval between Saul's rejection and his death was about ten years, will not be very far from the truth. The events which occurred during this interval are described in the most elaborate way, on the one hand because they show how Saul sank deeper and deeper, after the Spirit of God had left him on account of his rebellion against Jehovah, and not only was unable to procure any longer for the people that deliverance which they had expected from the king, but so weakened the power of the throne through the conflict which he carried on against David, whom the Lord had chosen ruler of the nation in his stead, that when he died the Philistines were able to inflict a total defeat upon the Israelites, and occupy a large portion of the land of Israel; and, on the other hand, because they teach how, after the Lord had anointed David ruler over His people, and had opened the way to the throne through the victory which he gained over Goliath, He humbled him by trouble and want, and trained him up as king after His own heart. On a closer examination of these occurrences, which we have only briefly hinted at, giving their main features merely, we see clearly how, from the very day when Samuel announced to Saul his rejection by God, he hardened himself more and more against the leadings of divine grace, and continued steadily ripening for the judgment of death. Immediately after this announcement an evil spirit took possession of his soul, so that he fell into trouble and melancholy; and when jealousy towards David was stirred up in his heart, he was seized with fits of raving madness, in which he tried to pierce David with a spear, and thus destroy the man whom he had come to love on account of his musical talent, which had exerted so beneficial an influence upon his mind (Sa1 16:23; Sa1 18:10-11; Sa1 19:9-10). These attacks of madness gradually gave place to hatred, which developed itself with full consciousness, and to a most deliberately planned hostility, which he concealed at first not only from David but also from all his own attendants, with the hope that he should be able to put an end to David's life through his stratagems, but which he afterwards proclaimed most openly as soon as these plans had failed. When his hostility was first openly declared, his eagerness to seize upon his enemy carried him to such a length that he got into the company of prophets at Ramah, and was so completely overpowered by the Spirit of God dwelling there, that he lay before Samuel for a whole day in a state of prophetic ecstasy (Sa1 19:22.). But this irresistible power of the Spirit of God over him produced no change of heart. For immediately afterwards, when Jonathan began to intercede for David, Saul threw the spear at his own son (Sa1 20:33), and this time not in an attack of madness or insanity, but in full consciousness; for we do not read in this instance, as in 1 Samuel 18-19, that the evil spirit came upon him. He now proceeded to a consistent carrying out of his purpose of murder. He accused his courtiers of having conspired against him like Jonathan, and formed an alliance with David (Sa1 22:6.), and caused the priests at Nob to be murdered in cold blood, and the whole town smitten with the edge of the sword, because Ahimelech had supplied David with bread; and this he did without paying any attention to the conclusive evidence of his innocence (Sa1 22:11.). He then went with 3000 men in pursuit of David; and even after he had fallen twice into David's hands, and on both occasions had been magnanimously spared by him, he did not desist from plotting for his life until he had driven him out of the land; so that we may clearly see how each fresh proof of the righteousness of David's cause only increased his hatred, until at length, in the war against the Philistines, he rashly resorted to the godless arts of a necromancer which he himself had formerly prohibited, and eventually put an end to his own life by falling upon his sword. Just as clearly may we discern in the guidance of David, from his anointing by Samuel to the death of Saul, how the Lord, as King of His people, trained him in the school of affliction to be His servant, and led him miraculously on to the goal of his divine calling. Having been lifted up as a young man by his anointing, and by the favour which he had acquired with Saul through his playing upon the harp, and still more by his victory over Goliath, far above the limited circumstances of his previous life, he might very easily have been puffed up in the consciousness of the spiritual gifts and powers conferred upon him, if God had not humbled his heart by want and tribulation. The first outbursts of jealousy on the part of Saul, and his first attempts to get rid of the favourite of the people, only furnished him with the opportunity to distinguish himself still more by brave deeds, and to make his name still dearer to the people (Sa1 18:30). When, therefore, Saul's hostility was openly displayed, and neither Jonathan's friendship nor Samuel's prophetic authority could protect him any longer, he fled to the high priest Ahimelech, and from him to king Achish at Gath, and endeavoured to help himself through by resorting to falsehood. He did save himself in this way no doubt, but he brought destruction upon the priests at Nob. And he was very soon to learn how all that he did for his people was rewarded with ingratitude. The inhabitants of Keilah, whom he had rescued from their plunderers, wanted to deliver him up to Saul (Sa1 23:5, Sa1 23:12); and even the men of his own tribe, the Ziphites, betrayed him twice, so that he was no longer sure of his life even in his own land. But the more this necessarily shook his confidence in his own strength and wisdom, the more clearly did the Lord manifest himself as his faithful Shepherd. After Ahimelech had been put to death, his son Abiathar fled to David with the light and right of the high priest, so that he was now in a position to inquire the will and counsel of God in any difficulty into which he might be brought (Sa1 23:6). On two occasions God brought his mortal foe Saul into his hand, and David's conduct in both these cases shows how the deliverance of God which he had hitherto experienced had strengthened his confidence in the Lord, and in the fulfilment of His promises (compare 1 Samuel 24 with 1 Samuel 26). And his gracious preservation from carrying out his purposes of vengeance against Nabal (1 Samuel 25) could not fail to strengthen him still more. Nevertheless, when his troubles threatened to continue without intermission, his courage began to sink and his faith to waver, so that he took refuge in the land of the Philistines, where, however, his wisdom and cunning brought him into a situation of such difficulty that nothing but the grace and fidelity of his God could possibly extricate him, and out of which he was delivered without any act of his own. In this manner was the divine sentence of rejection fulfilled upon Saul, and the prospect which the anointing of David had set before him, of ascending the throne of Israel, carried out to completion. The account before us of the events which led to this result of the various complications, bears in all respects so thoroughly the stamp of internal truth and trustworthiness, that even modern critics are unanimous in acknowledging the genuine historical character of the biblical narrative upon the whole. At the same time, there are some things, such as the supposed irreconcilable discrepancy between Sa1 16:14-23 and Sa1 17:55-58, and certain repetitions, such as Saul's throwing the spear at David (Sa1 18:10 and Sa1 19:9-10), the treachery of the Ziphites (Sa1 23:19. and Sa1 26:1.), David's sparing Saul (Sa1 24:4. and Sa1 26:5 ff), which they cannot explain in any other way than by the favourite hypothesis that we have here divergent accounts, or legendary traditions derived from two different sources that are here woven together; whereas, as we shall see when we come to the exposition of the chapters in question, not only do the discrepancies vanish on a more thorough and minute examination of the matter, but the repetitions are very clearly founded on facts.