1 Samuel 19

1Sa 19:1-7.

JONATHAN

DISCLOSES

HIS

FATHER'S

PURPOSE TO

KILL

DAVID.

1. Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they

should kill David--The murderous design he had secretly cherished

he now reveals to a few of his intimate friends. Jonathan was among the

number. He prudently said nothing at the time, but secretly apprised

David of his danger; and waiting till the morning, when his father's

excited temper would be cooled, he stationed his friend in a place of

concealment, where, overhearing the conversation, he might learn how

matters really stood and take immediate flight, if necessary.

4-7. Jonathan spake good of David--He told his father he was committing

a great sin to plot against the life of a man who had rendered the most

invaluable services to his country and whose loyalty had been uniformly

steady and devoted. The strong remonstrances of Jonathan produced an

effect on the impulsive mind of his father. As he was still susceptible

of good and honest impressions, he bound himself by an oath to

relinquish his hostile purpose; and thus, through the intervention of

the noble-minded prince, a temporary reconciliation was effected, in

consequence of which David was again employed in the public service.

1Sa 19:8-17.

SAUL'S

MALICIOUS

RAGE

BREAKS

OUT AGAINST

DAVID.

8-10. David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them

with a great slaughter--A brilliant victory was gained over the public

enemy. But these fresh laurels of David reawakened in the moody breast

of Saul the former spirit of envy and melancholy. On David's return to

court, the temper of Saul became more fiendish than ever; the melodious

strains of the harp had lost all their power to charm; and in a

paroxysm of uncontrollable frenzy he aimed a javelin at the person of

David--the missile having been thrown with such force that it pierced

the chamber wall. David providentially escaped; but the king, having

now thrown off the mask and being bent on aggressive measures, made his

son-in-law's situation everywhere perilous.

11, 12. Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to

slay him--The fear of causing a commotion in the town, or favoring his

escape in the darkness, seemed to have influenced the king in ordering

them to patrol till the morning. This infatuation was overruled by

Providence to favor David's escape; for his wife, secretly apprised by

Jonathan, who was aware of the design, or by spying persons in court

livery watching the gate, let him down through a window

(see on

Jos 2:15).

13, 14. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed--"an image,"

literally, "the teraphim," and laid, not in the bed, but literally on

the "divan"; and "the pillows," that is, the cushion, which usually

lay at the back of the divan and was stuffed with "goat's hair," she

took from its bolster or heading at the upper part of the divan. This

she placed lower down, and covered with a mantle, as if to foster a

proper warmth in a patient; at the same time spreading the goat's hair

skin, so as to resemble human hair in a dishevelled state. The pretext

was that David lay there sick. The first messengers of Saul, keeping at

a respectable distance, were deceived; but the imposition was detected

on a closer inspection.

15. Bring him to me in the bed--a portable couch or mattress.

1Sa 19:18-23.

DAVID

FLEES TO

SAMUEL.

18-23. David fled, . . . and came to Samuel to Ramah--Samuel was living

in great retirement, superintending the school of the prophets,

established in the little hamlet of Naioth, in the neighborhood of

Ramah. It was a retreat congenial to the mind of David; but Saul,

having found out his asylum, sent three successive bodies of men to

apprehend him. The character of the place and the influence of the

sacred exercises produced such an effect on them that they were

incapable of discharging their commission, and were led, by a

resistless impulse, to join in singing the praises of God. Saul, in a

fit of rage and disappointment, determined to go himself. But, before

reaching the spot, his mental susceptibilities were roused even more

than his messengers, and he was found, before long, swelling the ranks

of the young prophets. This singular change can be ascribed only to the

power of Him who can turn the hearts of men even as the rivers of

water.

1Sa 19:24.

SAUL

PROPHESIES.

24. lay down naked--that is, divested of his armor and outer robes--in

a state of trance. Thus God, in making the wrath of man to praise Him,

preserved the lives of all the prophets, frustrated all the purposes of

Saul, and preserved the life of His servant.