"il; (or, becauſe my life 5s yet whole within me þ.
mp embroi= F (j.e.) Lean upon me with thy weight and force, that the Spear
red coat ) may come through me: Or, ſtay by me; (i. e.) Stop thy flight, and hindereth tarry ſo long with me till thou haſt killed me. g (1.e.) Iamin me, thi® great pain of Body, and anguiſh ofMind. Or thus, »:y coat of Mail, nj, &c- Or, embroydered coat, hath hindered me, that the Spear could not pierce into me. © Thus divers both Hebrew and other Learned Expoſitors underſtand it. þ T am heart-whole, andnot likely to die, as well
as not willing to live. : The
10: So | ſtood upon him, and ſlew him 7, Becauſe I
was ſure that he could not live after that he was fallen & : and I took the crown that 4s upon his head /, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them
hither unto my Lord m.
k Ir is moſt probable this was alye,deviſed to gain Davia'sFavour, as he ſuppoſed. For, 1. Saul was not killed by a Sp-ar, ashe pre- tends, bur by his Sword, 1 Sam. 31.4. 2. It is expreſly ſaid, That Saul's Armour-bearer being yet living, ſaw that Sarl was dead, 1 Sam. 31. 5- which doubtleſs he would very throughly examine and know, before he would kill himſelf upon that account, as he did. 3. Saul's death is manifeſtly aſcribed to his own Attion, even to his falling upon his Sword, verſes 4, 5. k This he addeth by way of Caution and Excuſe, that ir might be thought an att of neceſſity and kind- neſs, and not of choice or 1ll-will that he killed $au!. Burt here al- ſo he betrays himſelf: For how could this be true, when Sau!'s life was whole within him, as he had now ſaid, verſeg? U Not that he then wore it; which would have expoſed him too much, and that unneceſſarily, to the rage ofthe Philiines ; but that he uſed to wear it. Ir is nor likely that he found it now _— upon Saul's head, bur that he mer with it in ſome part of the Camp, whither Saul had brougkt it to wear it when he ſaw fit. »» Unto thee, whom, now Saul is dead, I own for my Lord and King.
ir Then David took hold on his clothes, and * rent them, and likewiſe all the men that ere with him.
12 And they mourned and wept, and faſted unti: even, for Saul and for Jonathan his ſon, and for the people of the LORD, and for the houſe of Iſrael, be- 6aule they were fallen by the ſword. |
13 © And David ſaid unto the young man that told
"Chap. 3. 31, and 13. 31,
him, Whence art thou «? And he anſwered, I am the.
ſon of a ſtranger, an Amalekite. n# David heard and knew before what he was, but he asked it a- gain judicially, in order to his Trial and Puniſhment. 14 And David ſaid unto him, * How waſt thou not afraid to ſtretch forth thine hand to deſtroy the LORD*s
anointed 0?
o Why didſt not thou refuſe to kill him, as his Armour-bearer had done ? For notwirhſtanding his great danger, ſomething might have fallen out through God's All-diſpoſing Providence, whereby his life might have been preſerved.
15 And David called one of the young men, and ſaid, Go near and fall upon him. And he ſmorethim that he died» 2
16 And David ſaid unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head p: for thy mouth hath teſtified againſt thee, ſaying, I have ſlain the LORD's anointed 9.
p The guilt of thy blood-ſhed or death lies upon thy ſelf, not upon me. 9 Thy free and voluntary Confeſhon is ſufficient proof of thy guilt in killing the King, :
17 C And David lamented with this lamentation o- ver Saul, and over Jonathan his Son:
18 T(Alfor he made them s, teach the children of Judah * rhe »ſe of the bow « ; behold, zt is wricten x * in the book || of Jaſher. )
r Having mentioned David's Lamentation in general, before he comes to the particular deſcription of it, he interpoſeth this Verſe by way of Parentheſis; To ſignifie, That David did nor ſo give up himſelf to Lamencation,as to negle& his great buſineſs,the care of the Common-wealth, which now lay upon him; bur took particular care to fortifie them againſt ſuch further Loſſes and Calamities as he be- wails in the following Song ; And by his Example, and this Counſel, to inſtrutt the people, that they ſhould not giveup themſelves toSor- row and Diſpondency for their great and general Loſs ; But ſhould raiſe up their Spirits, and betake themſelves ry Affion. 5s David being now aGually King upon Saut's death, rakes his Power upon
*Plalios. Is,
"Joſh, T0,
3, IOr » of the wright.
«
WOE Chap. lll
bim, and gives forth his Commands. # Theſe he more particular- y teacheth, becauſe they were the Chief, and now the Reyal Tribe, and likely to be the great Bulwark to all Jrael againſt the Philiſtines, upon whoſe Land they bordered; And withal, to be the molt friendly and true to him, and to his Intereſt. « (i. e.) The uſe of their Arms, which are all Synecdochically expreſſed, under the name of the bow, which then was one of the chief Wea- pons; and for the dextrous uſe whereof, Jonathan is commended in the following Song: Which may be one reaſon, why he now gives forth this Order, that ſo they might ſtrive to imitate Jonathan in the Military Skill, and to excell in it, as he did. » Not the fol- lowing Song, as many think, for thar is written here, and there- fore it was needleſs to refer us to another Book for it ; but this fore- :oing counſel and courſe which David took to repair the laſt Loſs, which 1s here mentioned but briefly, and in general terms ; Bur, as it ſeems, more largely and particularly deſcribed in the Book of Ja= jher : Of which, ſee on Joſh. 10. 13.
19 The beauty of Iſrael y is ſlain upon the high places 2: how are the mighty tallen 4!
y Their Flower and Glory, Saul and Jonathan, and their Army, conſiſting of young and valiant Men. # Heb. pon thy high places ; (i.e.) Thoſe which belong to thee, O Land of 1/-ae/. a How ſtrange« ly ! how ſuddenly ! how dreadfully and univerſally !
20 * Tell it not in Gach b, publiſh * not in the ſtreets of Askelon : left the daughters c of the Phili- ſtines rejoyce ; leſt the daughters of the uncircumciſed triumph,
b This is not a Precept, but a Poetical wiſh ; whereby he doth not ſo much deſire, that this might not be done, which he knew to be vain and impoſlible ; As, expreſs his great ſorrow, becauſe it was, and would be done, to the great diſhonour of God. and of his People c He mentions theſe, becauſe it was the cuſtom of wo- men in thoſe Times and Places ro celebrate thoſe Victories which their men obtained, with Triumphant Songs and Dances; as Exod. IF. Judges 11. 34. 1Sam. 18.6.