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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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S E C O N D S A M U E L
CHAP. I.
In the close of the foregoing book (with which this is connected as a
continuation of the same history) we had Saul’s exit; he went down
slain to the pit, though we was the terror of the mighty in the land of
the living. We are now to look towards the rising sun, and to enquire
where David is, and what he is doing. In this chapter we have,
I. Tidings brought him to Ziklag of the death of Saul and Jonathan, by
an Amalekite, who undertook to give him a particular narrative of it,
II. David’s sorrowful reception of these tidings,
III. Justice done upon the messenger, who boasted that he had helped
Saul to dispatch himself,
IV. An elegy which David penned upon this occasion,
And in all this David’s breast appears very happily free from the
sparks both of revenge and ambition, and he observes a very suitable
demeanour.
| David’s Concern at Saul’s Fate. | B. C. 1055. |
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1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was
returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had
abode two days in Ziklag;
2 It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man
came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth
upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he
fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
3 And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said
unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.
4 And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee,
tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the
battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul
and Jonathan his son are dead also.
5 And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest
thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?
6 And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance
upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo,
the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.
7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me.
And I answered, Here am I.
8 And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I
am an Amalekite.
9 He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay
me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole
in me.
10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that
he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown
that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm,
and have brought them hither unto my lord.
Here is,
I. David settling again in Ziklag, his own city, after he had rescued
his family and friends out of the hands of the Amalekites
(v. 1):
He abode in Ziklag. Thence he was now sending presents to his
friends
and there he was ready to receive those that came into his interests;
not men in distress and debt, as his first followers were, but persons
of quality in their country, mighty men, men of war, and
captains of thousands (as we find,
such came day by day to him, God stirring up their hearts to do so,
till he had a great host, like the host of God, as it is said,
The secret springs of revolutions are unaccountable, and must be
resolved into that Providence which turns all hearts as the rivers of
water.
II. Intelligence brought him thither of the death of Saul. It was
strange that he did not leave some spies about the camp, to bring him
early notice of the issue of the engagement, a sign that he desired not
Saul’s woeful day, nor was impatient to come to the throne, but willing
to wait till those tidings were brought to him which many a one would
have sent more than half-way to meet. He that believes does not make
haste, takes good news when it comes and is not uneasy while it is in
the coming.
1. The messenger presents himself to David as an express, in the
posture of a mourner for the deceased prince and a subject to the
succeeding one. He came with his clothes rent, and made obeisance to
David
(v. 2),
pleasing himself with the fancy that he had the honour to be the first
that did him homage as his sovereign, but it proved he was the first
that received from him sentence of death as his judge. He told David he
came from the camp of Israel, and intimated the bad posture it was in
when he said he had escaped out of it, having much ado to get away with
his life,
v. 3.
2. He gives him a general account of the issue of the battle. David was
very desirous to know how the matter went, as one that had more reason
than any to be concerned for the public; and he told him very
distinctly that the army of Israel was routed, many slain, and, among
the rest, Saul and Jonathan,
v. 4.
He named only Saul and Jonathan, because he knew David would be most
solicitous to know their fate; for Saul was the man whom he most feared
and Jonathan the man whom he most loved.
3. He gives him a more particular account of the death of Saul. It is
probable that David had heard, by the report of others, what the issue
of the war was, for multitudes resorted to him, it should seem, in
consequence; but he was desirous to know the certainty of the report
concerning Saul and Jonathan, either because he was not forward to
believe it or because he would not proceed upon it to make his own
claims till he was fully assured of it. He therefore asks, How
knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan are dead? in answer to which
the young man tells him a very ready story, putting it past doubt that
Saul was dead, for he himself had been not only an eye-witness of his
death, but an instrument of it, and therefore David might rely upon his
testimony. He says nothing, in his narrative, of the death of Jonathan,
knowing how ungrateful that would be to David, but accounts only for
Saul, thinking (as David understood it well enough,
that he should be welcome for that, and rewarded as one that brought
good tidings. The account he gives of this matter is,
(1.) Very particular. That he happened to go to the place where Saul
was
(v. 6)
as a passenger, not as a soldier, and therefore an indifferent person,
that he found Saul endeavouring to run himself through with his own
spear, none of his attendants being willing to do it for him; and, it
seems, he could not do it dexterously for himself: his hand and heart
failed him. The miserable man had not courage enough either to live or
die; he therefore called this stranger to him
(v. 7),
enquired what countryman he was, for, provided he was not a Philistine,
he would gladly receive from his hand the coup de grace (as the
French call it concerning those that are broken on the wheel)–the
merciful stroke, that might dispatch him out of his pain.
Understanding that he was an Amalekite (neither one of his subjects nor
one of his enemies), he begs this favour from him
(v. 9):
Stand upon me, and slay me. He is now sick of his dignity and
willing to be trampled upon, sick of his life and willing to be slain.
Who then would be inordinately fond of life or honour? The case may he
such, even with those that have no hope in their death, that yet they
may desire to die, and death flee from them,
Rev. ix. 6.
Anguish has come upon me; so we read it, as a complaint of the
pain and terror his spirit was seized with. If his conscience now
brought to mind the javelin he had cast at David, his pride, malice,
and perfidiousness, and especially the murder of the priests, no marvel
that anguish came upon him: moles (they say) open their eyes when they
are dying. Sense of unpardoned guilt will make death indeed the king of
terrors. Those that have baffled their convictions will perhaps, in
their dying moments, be overpowered by them. The margin reads it as a
complaint of the inconvenience of his clothes; that his coat of mail
which he had for defence, or his embroidered coat which he had for
ornament, hindered him, that he could not get the spear far enough into
his body, or so straitened him, now that his body swelled with anguish,
that he could not expire. Let no man’s clothes be his pride, for it may
so happen that they may be his burden and snare. “Hereupon,” saith our
young man, “I stood upon him, and slew him”
(v. 10)
at which word, perhaps, he observed David look upon him with some show
of displeasure, and therefore he excuses himself in the next words:
“For I was sure he could not live; his life was whole in him
indeed, but he would certainly have fallen into the hands of the
Philistines or given himself another thrust.”
(2.) It is doubtful whether this story be true. If it be, the
righteousness of God is to be observed, that Saul, who spared the
Amalekites in contempt of the divine command, received his death’s
wound from an Amalekite. But most interpreters think that it was false,
and that, though he might happen to be present, yet he was not
assisting in the death of Saul, but told David so in expectation that
he would reward him for it, as having done him a piece of good service.
Those who would rejoice at the fall of an enemy are apt to measure
others by themselves, and to think that they will do so too. But a man
after God’s own heart is not to be judged of by common men. I am not
clear whether this young man’s story was true or no: it may consist
with the narrative in the chapter before, and be an addition to it, as
Peter’s account of the death of Judas
is to the narrative,
What is there called a sword may here be called a spear,
or when he fell upon his sword he leaned on his spear.
(3.) However he produced that which was proof sufficient of the death
of Saul, the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on
his arm. It should seem Saul was so foolishly fond of these as to wear
them in the field of battle, which made him a fair mark for the
archers, by distinguishing him from those about him; but as
pride (we say) feels no cold, so it fears no danger, from
that which gratifies it. These fell into the hands of this Amalekite.
Saul spared the best of their spoil, and now the best of his came to
one of that devoted nation. He brought them to David, as the rightful
owner of them now that Saul was dead, not doubting but by his
officiousness herein to recommend himself to the best preferments in
his court or camp. The tradition of the Jews is that this Amalekite was
the son of Doeg (for the Amalekites were descendants from Edom), and
that Doeg, who they suppose was Saul’s armour-bearer, before he slew
himself gave Saul’s crown and bracelet (the ensigns of his royalty) to
his son, and bade him carry them to David, to curry favour with him.
But this is a groundless conceit. Doeg’s son, it is likely, was so well
known to Saul that he needed not ask him as he did this Amalekite
(v. 8),
Who art thou? David had been long waiting for the crown, and now
it was brought to him by an Amalekite. See how God can serve his own
purposes of kindness to his people, even by designing (ill-designing)
men, who aim at nothing but to set up themselves.
11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and
likewise all the men that were with him:
12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul,
and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for
the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
13 And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence
art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an
Amalekite.
14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch
forth thine hand to destroy the LORD‘s anointed?
15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near,
and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for
thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the
LORD‘s anointed.
Here is,
I. David’s reception of these tidings. So far was he from falling into
a transport of joy, as the Amalekite expected, that he fell into a
passion of weeping, rent his clothes
(v. 11),
mourned and fasted
(v. 12),
not only for his people Israel and Jonathan his friend but for Saul his
enemy. This he did, not only as a man of honour, in observance of that
decorum which forbids us to insult over those that are fallen, and
requires us to attend our relations to the grave with respect, whatever
we lost by their life or got by their death, but as a good man and a
man of conscience, that had forgiven the injuries Saul had done him and
bore him no malice. He knew it, before his son wrote it
that if we rejoice when our enemy falls the Lord sees it, and it
displeases him; and that he who is glad at calamities shall not
go unpunished,
Prov. xvii. 5.
By this it appears that those passages in David’s psalms which express
his desire of, and triumph in, the ruin of his enemies, proceeded not
from a spirit of revenge, nor any irregular passion, but from a holy
zeal for the glory of God and the public good; for by what he did here,
when he heard of Saul’s death, we may perceive that his natural temper
was very tender, and that he was kindly affected even to those that
hated him. He was very sincere, no question, in his mourning for Saul,
and it was not pretended, or a copy of his countenance only. His
passion was so strong, on this occasion, that it moved those about him;
all that were with him, at least in complaisance to him, rent
their clothes, and they fasted till even, in token of their
sorrow; and probably it was a religious fast: they humbled themselves
under the hand of God, and prayed for the repairing of the breaches
made upon Israel by this defeat.
II. The reward he gave to him that brought him the tidings. Instead of
preferring him, he put him to death, judged him out of his own mouth,
as a murderer of his prince, and ordered him to be forthwith executed
for the same. What a surprise was this to the messenger, who thought he
should have favour shown him for his pains. In vain did he plead that
he had Saul’s order for it, that it was a real kindness to him, that he
must inevitably have died; all those pleas are overruled: “Thy mouth
has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s
anointed
(v. 16),
therefore thou must die.” Now,
1. David herein did not do unjustly. For,
(1.) The man was an Amalekite. This, lest he should have mistaken it in
his narrative, he made him own a second time,
That nation, and all that belonged to it, were doomed to destruction,
so that, in slaying him, David did what his predecessor should have
done and was rejected for not doing.
(2.) He did himself confess the crime, so that the evidence was, by the
consent of all laws, sufficient to convict him; for every man is
presumed to make the best of himself. If he did as he said, he deserved
to die for treason
(v. 14),
doing that which, it is probable, he heard Saul’s own armour-bearer
refuse to do; if not, yet by boasting that he had done it he plainly
showed that if there had been occasion he would have done it, and would
have made nothing of it; and, by boasting of it to David, he showed
what opinion he had of him, that he would rejoice in it, as one
altogether like himself, which was an intolerable affront to him who
had himself once and again refused to stretch forth his hand against
the Lord’s anointed. And his lying to David, if indeed it was a
lie, was highly criminal, and proved, as sooner or later that sin will
prove, lying against his own head.
2. He did honourably and well. Hereby he demonstrated the sincerity of
his grief, discouraged all others from thinking by doing the like to
ingratiate themselves with him, and did that which might probably
oblige the house of Saul and win upon them, and recommend him to the
people as one that was zealous for public justice, without regard to
his own private interest. We may learn from it that to give assistance
to any in murdering themselves, directly or indirectly, if done
wittingly, incurs the guilt of blood, and that the lives of princes
ought to be, in a special manner, precious to us.
| David’s Lamentation for Jonathan. | B. C. 1055. |
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17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over
Jonathan his son:
18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of
the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are
the mighty fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of
Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the
daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let
there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the
shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as
though he had not been anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the
bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned
not empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives,
and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than
eagles, they were stronger than lions.
24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in
scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon
your apparel.
25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O
Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant
hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the
love of women.
27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
When David had rent his clothes, mourned, and wept, and fasted, for the
death of Saul, and done justice upon him who made himself guilty of it,
one would think he had made full payment of the debt of honour he owed
to his memory; yet this is not all: we have here a poem he wrote on
that occasion; for he was a great master of his pen as well as of his
sword. By this elegy he designed both to express his own sorrow for
this great calamity and to impress the like on the minds of others, who
ought to lay it to heart. The putting of lamentations into poems made
them,
1. The more moving and affecting. The passion of the poet, or singer,
is, by this way, wonderfully communicated to the readers and hearers.
2. The more lasting. Thus they were made, not only to spread far, but
to continue long, from generation to generation. Those might gain
information by poems that would not read history. Here we have,
I. The orders David gave with this elegy
(v. 18):
He bade them teach the children of Judah (his own tribe,
whatever others did) the use of the bow, either.
1. The bow used in war. Not but that the children of Judah knew how to
use the bow (it was so commonly used in war, long before this, that the
sword and bow were put for all weapons of war,
but perhaps they had of late made more use of slings, as David in
killing Goliath, because cheaper, and David would have them now to see
the inconvenience of these (for it was the archers of the Philistines
that bore so hard upon Saul,
and to return more generally to the use of the bow, to exercise
themselves in this weapon, that they might be in a capacity to avenge
the death of their prince upon the Philistines, and to outdo them at
their own weapon. It was a pity but those that had such good heads and
hearts as the children of Judah should be well armed. David hereby
showed his authority over and concern for the armies of Israel, and set
himself to rectify the errors of the former reign. But we find that the
companies which had now come to David to Ziklag were armed with bows
therefore,
2. Some understand it either of some musical instrument called a
bow (to which he would have the mournful ditties sung) or of the
elegy itself: He bade them teach the children of Judah Kesheth, the
bow, that is, this song, which was so entitled for the sake of
Jonathan’s bow, the achievements of which are here celebrated. Moses
commanded Israel to learn his song
so David his. Probably he bade the Levites teach them. It is
written in the book of Jasher, there it was kept upon record,
and thence transcribed into this history. That book was probably a
collection of state-poems; what is said to be written in that book
is also poetical, a fragment of an historical poem. Even songs would be
forgotten and lost if they were not committed to writing, that best
conservatory of knowledge.
II. The elegy itself. It is not a divine hymn, nor given by inspiration
of God to be used in divine service, nor is there any mention of God in
it; but it is a human composition, and therefore was inserted, not in
the book of Psalms (which, being of divine original, is preserved), but
in the book of Jasher, which, being only a collection of common poems,
is long since lost. This elegy proves David to have been,
1. A man of an excellent spirit, in four things:–
(1.) He was very generous to Saul, his sworn enemy. Saul was his
father-in-law, his sovereign, and the anointed of the Lord; and
therefore, though he had done him a great deal of wrong, David does not
wreak his revenge upon his memory when he is in his grave; but like a
good man, and a man of honour,
[1.] He conceals his faults; and, though there was no preventing their
appearance in his history, yet they should not appear in this elegy.
Charity teaches us to make the best we can of every body and to say
nothing of those of whom we can say no good, especially when they are
gone. De mortuis nil nisi bonum—Say nothing but good
concerning the dead. We ought to deny ourselves the satisfaction of
making personal reflections upon those who have been injurious to us,
much more drawing their character thence, as if every man must of
necessity be a bad man that has done ill by us. Let the corrupt part of
the memory be buried with the corrupt part of the man–earth to earth,
ashes to ashes; let the blemish be hidden and a veil drawn over the
deformity.
[2.] He celebrates that which was praiseworthy in him. He does not
commend him for that which he was not, says nothing of his piety or
fidelity. Those funeral commendations which are gathered out of the
spoils of truth are not at all to the praise of those on whom they are
bestowed, but very much the dispraise of those who unjustly misplace
them. But he has this to say in honour of Saul himself, First,
That he was anointed with oil
(v. 21),
the sacred oil, which signified his elevation to, and qualification
for, the government. Whatever he was otherwise, the crown of the
anointing oil of his God was upon him, as is said of the high
priest
(Lev. xxi. 12),
and on that account he was to be honoured, because God, the fountain of
honour, had honoured him. Secondly, That he was a man of war, a
mighty man
(v. 19-21),
that he had often been victorious over the enemies of Israel and
vexed them whithersoever he turned,
1 Sam. xiv. 47.
His sword returned not empty, but satiated with blood and spoil,
His disgrace and fall at last must not make his former successes and
services to be forgotten. Though his sun set under a cloud, time was
when it shone brightly. Thirdly, That take him with Jonathan he
was a man of a very agreeable temper, that recommended himself to the
affections of his subjects
(v. 23):
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant. Jonathan was always
so, and Saul was so as long as he concurred with him. Take them
together, and in the pursuit of the enemy, never were men more bold,
more brave; they were swifter than eagles and stronger than
lions. Observe, Those that were most fierce and fiery in the camp
were no less sweet and lovely in the court, as amiable to the subject
as they were formidable to the foe; a rare combination of softness and
sharpness they had, which makes any man’s temper very happy. It may be
understood of the harmony and affection that for the most part
subsisted between Saul and Jonathan: they were lovely and pleasant one
to another, Jonathan a dutiful son, Saul an affectionate father; and
therefore dear to each other in their lives, and in their death they
were not divided, but kept close together in the stand they made
against the Philistines, and fell together in the same cause.
Fourthly, That he had enriched his country with the spoils of
conquered nations, and introduced a more splendid attire. When they had
a king like the nations, they must have clothes like the nations; and
herein he was, in a particular manner, obliging to his female subjects,
The daughters of Israel he clothed in scarlet, which was
their delight.
(2.) He was very grateful to Jonathan, his sworn friend. Besides the
tears he shed over him, and the encomiums he gives of him in common
with Saul, he mentions him with some marks of distinction
(v. 25):
O Jonathan! thou wast slain in thy high places! which (compared
with
intimates that he meant him by the beauty of Israel, which, he
there says, was slain upon the high places. He laments Jonathan as his
particular friend
(v. 26):
My brother, Jonathan; not so much because of what he would have
been to him if he had lived, very serviceable no doubt in his
advancement to the throne and instrumental to prevent those long
struggles which, for want of his assistance, he had with the house of
Saul (had this been the only ground of his grief it would have been
selfish), but he lamented him for what he had been: “Very pleasant
hast thou been unto me; but that pleasantness is now over, and I
am distressed for thee.” He had reason to say that Jonathan’s love
to him was wonderful; surely never was the like, for a man to love one
who he knew was to take the crown over his head, and to be so faithful
to his rival: this far surpassed the highest degree of conjugal
affection and constancy. See here,
[1.] That nothing is more delightful in this world than a true friend,
that is wise and good, that kindly receives and returns our affection,
and is faithful to us in all our true interests.
[2.] That nothing is more distressful than the loss of such a friend;
it is parting with a piece of one’s self. It is the vanity of this
world that what is most pleasant to us we are most liable to be
distressed in. The more we love the more we grieve.
(3.) He was deeply concerned for the honour of God; for this is what he
has an eye to when he fears lest the daughters of the
uncircumcised, that are out of covenant with God, should triumph
over Israel, and the God of Israel,
Good men are touched in a very sensible part by the reproaches of those
that reproach God.
(4.) He was deeply concerned for the public welfare. It was the beauty
of Israel that was slain
(v. 19)
and the honour of the public that was disgraced: The mighty have
fallen (this is three times lamented,
and so the strength of the people is weakened. Public losses are most
laid to heart by men of public spirit. David hoped God would make him
instrumental to repair those losses and yet laments them.
2. A man of a fine imagination, as well as a wise and holy man. The
expressions are all excellent, and calculated to work upon the
passions.
(1.) The embargo he would fain lay upon Fame is elegant
(v. 20):
Tell it not in Gath. It grieved him to the heart to think that
it would be proclaimed in the cities of the Philistines, and that they
would insult over Israel upon it, and the more in remembrance of the
triumphs of Israel over them formerly, when they sang, Saul has
slain his thousands; for this would now be retorted.
(2.) The curse he entails on the mountains of Gilboa, the theatre on
which this tragedy was acted: Let there be no dew upon you, nor
fields of offerings,
v. 21.
This is a poetical strain, like that of Job, Let the day perish
wherein I was born. Not as if David wished that any part of the
land of Israel might be barren, but, to express his sorrow for the
thing, he speaks with a seeming indignation at the place. Observe,
[1.] How the fruitfulness of the earth depends upon heaven. The worst
thing he could wish to the mountains of Gilboa was barrenness and
unprofitableness to man: those are miserable that are useless. It was
the curse Christ pronounced on the fig-tree, Never fruit grow on
thee more, and that took effect–the fig-tree withered away: this,
on the mountains of Gilboa, did not. But, when he wished them barren,
he wished there might be no rain upon them; and, if the heavens be
brass, the earth will soon be iron.
[2.] How the fruitfulness of the earth must therefore be devoted to
heaven, which is intimated in his calling the fruitful fields fields
of offerings. Those fruits of their land that were offered to God
were the crown and glory of it: and therefore the failure of the
offerings is the saddest consequent of the failure of the corn. See
To want that wherewith we should honour God is worse than to want that
wherewith we should sustain ourselves. This is the reproach David
fastens upon the mountains of Gilboa, which, having been stained with
royal blood, thereby forfeited celestial dews. In this elegy Saul had a
more honourable interment than that which the men of Jabesh-Gilead gave
him.
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