The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 179

music of various instruments. l\Iusic was Litcmlly, "do for thyself as thy hand shall" nne of the great means employed by Samuel find," i~ e. follow the end of circumstances, in fraining his young men; nnd not only is and do thy best. This is the flood-timo of its effect at all times ele..-ating and refining, thy fortunes; press onward, and the kin"dom but in semi-barbarous times, united, as it is is thin~ own, for God is with thee~ and sure to be, with poetry, it is the chief edu- success 1s sure. cational lever for raising men's minds, and Ver. 8.-Thou shalt go down before me to giving them a tasfo for culture and intel- Gilital. We find in eh. xiii. 8-13 n mc~tin,,· lectual pleasures. The musical instruments at Gilgal so exactly parallel to what is n;._ meLtioned are the psaltery, Hebrew, nebel, a ranged here that we cannot help looking sort of harp with ten strings stretched across upon this, again, ns II sort of sign to be ful- a hiangle, the longest shi.ng being at its base, filled at a later period. It. is no argument and the shorfost towards its apex ; the tab- against it that Gilgal was the placo where in ret, Hebrew toph, a tambourine struck by the mean while Saul was solemnly inaugurated the hand ; the pipe, Hebrew, chal,il, i. e. king ; for he was appointed in order that " bored " or " pierced," so called from the ho might deliver Israel from the Philistines holes bored in it to make the notes, and (eh. ix. 16), and we may feel sure that this being prol,ably a sort of flute ; and, lastly, grand purpose would form the subject of con- the ha.rp, Hebrew, cinnor, a sort of guitar, versation between the prophet and the sol- chiefly used for accompanying the voice, and dier, either on the house-top or the next sometimes played with the fingers, and some- morning. In this conversation Gilgal would times with a plectrum or quill There is no- be selected as the place where Saul would as- thing to indicate that there was only one of semble Israel for the war of independence (so each of these instruments, so that the articles Rashi and other Jewish interpreters); and so would be better omitted. No doubt every grea.t an enterprise mnst necessarily be begun prophet was playing some one or other of with religious rites, and Saul was to wait a them. And they shall prophesy. The conju- full week for the prophet's coming, both to gation used here is not that employed for the try his faith, which ought to .have been con- prediction of future events, but means, liter- firmed by the fulfilment of the three ap- ally, and "they will be acting the prophet," pointed signs, and in order that the w,u:· t.he right word for men who were in training might be undertaken under the same holy for the prophetic office (see ' Prophecy a auspices as his own election to the kingdom. Preparation for Christ,' 2nd ed. p. 50). They The two years' interval, were it really so were really engaged in chanting God's long, would give time for Saul's character praises mth fervonr, and this was no doubt to develop umler the forcing influences of one of the methods employed by Samuel to royalty, and it would t_hen be p~oved, when refine and spiritualise their minds. Years he felt himself every mch a king, whether afterwards David was thus educated, an,l he was still as amenable to the Divine au- learned at one of Samuel's schools that skill thority as when 110 was first summoned from in metre and psalmody which, added to his obscurity to mount a kingly throne. But, natural gifts, made him '' the sweet singer of really, the words in eh. xiii. 1 do not justify Israel." For prophesyi'/1/J in the sense of this conclusion, and most probably the occur- playing instruments of music see 1 Chron. rences mentioned in that chapter followed· xxv. 1-3, and in the sense of chanting, immediately upon Saul's confirmation aa 1 Kings xviii. 29. king. . Ver. 6.-The spirit of J'ehovah will come Ver. 9.-God gave him another heart.· upon thee. The Hebrew means, _will come The Hebrew is remarkable : " When he mightily upon thee, will come upon thee turned his shoulder to go from Samuel, God so as to overpower thee. And thou shalt also turned for him another heart," i. e. God prophesy. Shalt act as a prophet (see above). turned him round by giving him a changed .Albeit untrained, thou shalt be carried away heart. He grew internally up to the level by religious fervour, and join in their singing of his changed circumstances. No longer and psalmody. And be turned into another had he the feelings of a husbandrnan, con- man. New thoughts, new emotions shall cerned only about corn and cattle; he. had: take possession of thee, and in addition to become a statesman, a general, and a pnncc. the bodily strength for which hitherto thou No man could hnvo gone through suchi hast been famous, thou shalt be filled with marvellous events, and experienced such mental power, making thee eager for action, varied emotions, without a vast inward and capable of taking the lead among all change. But it might have been only to- men, and in all emergencies. \Ve have an vanity and self-complacency. Saul's chang$- instance of this enlarged capacity in the was into a hero. vigour with which Saul acted against the Yers. 10, Il.-To the.hill. Hebrew, "to Ammonites. Gibeah," his home. He prophesied. 1'ook Yer. 7. - Do a■ occasion serve thee. part in prophetic exercises (see on ver. 6). CR. X. 1-16.] THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL. 177