The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Samuel — Section 527

help from the prophet of the Lord, who was the exponent and executor of his will. No rlirection was given "what he must do," and no ground of hope afforded ~hat he might find mercy with the Lord himself if he sought it in aright spirit. "The belief that Samuel had come to revisit him from the dead so worked upon Saul's mind as to suggest to his conscience what seemed to be spoken i~ his ear" (Smith's 'Old Testament History'). II. THE DIVINE JUDGMENT IA SOMETIMES FELT TO BE IRREVOCABLE. Of this he had occasionally caught a glimpse, but it was now brought home to him with over- whelming force in connection with-1. The C011,8r,ious1ieBs of his present condition, as an object of Divine displeasure, and destined to be replaced in the kingdom by David, to whom he had long ago applied the words of the prophet ( eh. xiii. 14; xv. 28): "The Lord bath rent," &c. (ver. 17). "The perfects express the purpose of God which had already been formed, and was now about to be fulfilled'' (Keil). 2. The remembrance of his past transgression. "Because,'' &c. (ver. 18). The sparing of _Amalek was the well-known cause of his estrangement from Samuel and his rejection; nnd how vividly. does some former act of disobedience sometimes rise before the mind of the sinner, increasing his burden of guilt and justifying his con- demnation I 3. The fear of his future fate, now foreseen to be approaching (ver. 19). Israel would share his defeat, he and his 80ns would be on the morrow num- bered with the dead, and the camp spoiled by the enemy. It was a terrible message, an inward realisation and confirmation of the Divine sentence. How little had he profited by resorting to divination I " The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent." Ill. THE CONVICTION THAT THE DIVINE JUDGMENT CANNOT BE ALTERED PRODUCES DESPAIR.. ".And Saul fell straightway all along on the earth," &c. (ver. 20). Up t~ this moment some hope lingered in his breast. " The wretch condemned with life to part Still, still on hope relies ; And every pang that rends the heart Bids expee;tation rise. " Hope, like the glimmering taper's light, Adorns and cheers the way ; And still, as darker grows the night, Emits a brighter ray" (Goldsmith). But now it was quite extinguished. "Whilst evil is expected we £ear, but when 1t is certain we despair." "Saul was too hardened in his sin to express any grief or pain, either on his own account, or because of the £ate 0£ his sons and his people. In stolid desperation he went to meet his fate. This was the terrible end of a man whom the spirit of God had o'bce taken possession of and turned into another man, and whom he had endowed with gifts to be leader of the people of God " (0. von Gerlach). "All human history has £ailed to record a despair deeper or more tragic than his. Over the close 0£ this life broods a thick and comfortless darkness, even the darkness of a night without a star'' (Trench, 'Shipwrecks'). Remark that-1. If men are forsaken by God, it is only because he has been forsaken by them. 2. Their only effectual resource in distress is the mercy of God, against whom they have sinill'd. 3. Persistent transgression infallibly ends in misery and despair.-D. Vers. 20-25. (ENDOR. )-The witch of Endor. According to Jewish tradition she was the mother of Abner, on which account perhaps she escaped when others were "put away ; " and the two attendants of Saul, in his visit to her, were Abner and Amasa. She dwelt at Endor (the fountain of habitation), a village four miles south of Mount Tabor (Josh. xvii. 11; Ps. lxxxiii. 10). "The calcareous cliffs aro)lDd are filled with wide caverns, and some of the modem habitations are formed of front walls shutting in these caves,'' in one of which shll may have dwelt and practised her forbidden art. This possessor or mistress of Ob (see vers. 7-10), although differing much from those who were accounted "witches," greatly abhorred and severely punished in more recent times, was a representative of many of the!ll b38 Tirn FIHST BOOK OF SAMUEL. [CH. XXVIII. 1-26.