Counſels, and therefore cannot be in God who is unchangeable, moſt Wile, and molt Bleſſed; bur it isaſcr1bed to God in ſuch caſes, when men give God cauſe to repent,and when God alters his courſe and-method of dealing, and tiears a perſon as if he did indeed re- ent of all the kindneſs he had ſhewed to him. z To implore his pardoning mercy for Saul, and for the People - ſo far was he from rejoycing in their Calamiries, as an envious and ſelf-ſecking perſon would have done. : 1> And when Samuel roſe early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, ſaying, Saul came to Carmel a, and behold, he fer him up @ Þ place 6,
and is gone about, and paſſed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 1 HD
s Not mount Carmel, of which Joſb. 12: 22. but another Moun- tain or Town in the Tribe of Judah; of which ſee Joſh: 15: 55, þ ji, e. A Monument or Trophy of his Viftory, as the ſame Hebrew word is uſed, 2 Sam: 183 18. And this may be here Noted by way of Cenſure, That he ſex ir up not to God's honour, but #o himſelf, je &, to his own praiſe; which he minded in the firſt place, and afrerwards went to Gilgal, as it here follows, to offer ſacrifice ro God.
12 And Samuel came unto Saul, and Saul ſaid unto him, Bleſſed be thou of the LORD c; TI have ÞF per- formed the commandment of the LORD 9.
c I thank thee, and I beg that God would bleſs thee, for ſend- ing me upon this Employment, and giving me this opportunity of manifeſting my obedience ro God. 4 To wit, for the main and ſubſtance of it, to wir, the Exrirparion of that wicked People: for be rhought rhe ſparing of 4gag and the Cattel very inconfiderable in the caſe; though indeed ic was expreſly contrary ro God's com- mand : but Self-inrereſt made him exceeding partial in his own Cauſe : or clſe like a bold Hypocrite, he prerends that for his part he had obeyed God ; reſolving, it ſeems, ro caſt the blame upon the People, as he did. ;
14 And Samuel ſaid, What meaneth then this bleat-
ing of the {beep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear e ?
e How can this Evidence of Guilt conſiſt with the profeſſion of thy Innocency- :
' 15 And Saul faid, They f have brought them from the Amalekirtes :
4+ Heb: hand.
T Heb:
confirmed,
Repentance properly Notes grief of heart, and change of
for che people ſpared che belt |
22. Whereby he implies, thatnow he was grown proud, and ſtubs born, and impudent, borh re commit fin, and juſtific it. |
18 And the LORD ſent thee on a journey, and ſaid, Go, and utterly deſtroy the ſinners & the Ama- _ and fight againſt them, UImeo,
k So called by way of Eminency,as that word is uſed,Gen: 13:13, Matthz 9: 10. Fibn 9: 24, 31.
the LORD, but di1ſt flye upon the ſpoil, and didfſt e. vil in the fight of the LORD /?
Prey for thy elf. 20 AndSaul ſaid unto Samuel,
| king of Amalek », and have utterly deſtroyed tize Ama» lekites, |
m Hz addeth Obſtinacy and Impenitency to his Crime, and {tities his Fa&, though he hath nothing of any Moment wht he {aid vefore.
God pleaferh, and as thou thinkeſt fir.
en, the chick of che things which ſhould have been uccerly deſtroyed o, Gcd in Gilgal.
0 Hev: The chief of the devoted things: which being devoted to Des ſtcuttion, I choughr 1t moſt proper to deſtroy them by Way of Sas crifice to God. Bur God hath commanded Saul himſeif ro ſmite and ſlay all upon che place, above, werſe 3
.
22 And Samuel faid, * Hath the LORD as great de- light 1n burnt-offerings and ſacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? Behold, * to obey is bet-
| rams 7,
.> Becauſe Obedience to God is a Moral Duty, conſtantly and in- | ditp-nſavly neccflary ; but Sacr:ifi.e is but a Ce:emonial Inſtitution, | ſometimes unncelfary, as it was in the Wilderneſs ; and tometimes | finful, wh-n it is offered by a. p>llutred hand, or in an nreguſar
manner. Therefore thy grois Ditcb:dience 10 God's ex preſs Cons mand, 1s not to be compenſated with Sacrifice. 9 i. e. To obcy as hearing 1t ofc uied in Scripture. » Than the choice part cf all ; The Sacrifice, ro wit, the Fat, which was appropriated to Gcd,
It. 23 For rebellion / as the ſin of + witchcraft z, and ſtubborpnelſs « # as * iniquity and idolatry x : becauſe thou haſt rejected the word of the LORD, he hath alſo { rejected thee from being king y. J i» e. Ditobedience to God's expreſs Precept, which was Sau!'s caſe fr Is, though not ſo great, yet as inexculcable and impud<cnt ; a fin, as Witchcraft; as plainly Condemned, and as certainly De« ; ſtruQive and Damnable. &« Either, wilful and preſumptuous ſin ! whereby a man violently breaks looſe from God's Command, and res ſiſts his Authority : Or rather, Perſeverance or Contumacy in ſin juſtifying it, and pleading for it, which was Sau!'s preſent Crime: , x Or, the Iniquity of Idolatry; this being an Hendiadis ; as Tuagement and Juſtice, Dent. 16; 18. is put for the Judgement of Juſtice, or Juſt Judges vient, Or, Idolatry ( for fo the Hebrew word ven ſignifies, as Jer: 107 15. Hoſe 48 153 and 1045, Compare with 1 Kings 12: 29. ) even the Teraphim, which is here mentioned as one of the worſt kinds of IdolJatry. y t e. Hath pronounced the Sentence of RejeCtion : for that he was not attually Rejefted or Depoſed by God, plainly ap« pears, becauſe not only the People, but even David, after this owned him as King 3 and Samuel, at Saul's deſire, did honour him; i- e own him as King, before the People, wv. 3o. * y | 24 4 And Saul faid unto Samuel, T have finned z: for I have tranſgreſſed thecommandment of the LORD,
and thy words « ; becauſe I feared the people 5, and | obeyed their voice. z Which confeſſion proceeded not from true Repentance, but from the ſence of his great Danger, and from a deſire of recalling that dreadful Senrence denounced againſt him. # i. e. The Com= mandmens of the Lord delivercd ro me by thy words. Another HendiA8ive
19 Wherefore then didſt thou not obey the voice of
{ Who cannot be deceived by thy fair profeſſions of Religion, bue knows very well, that thou didit not ſeck Sacrifices for God, but
Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD », and have gone the way which the LORD ſent me, and have brought Agag the
JU | to ſay, but | So he gives Samucl the Jye, and refl:&s upon him, as one that aad fiſly Accuſed him. » To be dealt with as
21 But the peopie rook of the ſpoil, ſheep and ox-
to ſacritice unto the LORD thy
|ter than facritice p: and to hearken 9, than the fac of
; Levis; 3: 16, Whereas the Offcrer might partake of other parts of