The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 18

own anguish of spirH-so tender and pathetic as it is-must be accepter! as the inler- p_reter of the act of public _mourning in Davi_d's camp. None but 11. deeply earnest and sincere mnn could thus wnte of the woe which came to men on the heights of Gilboa, 'l'ested by the principles that govern the secular mind, the elegy is perfectly unaccount- able, especially considering Saul's long-continued persecution of D:i.vid and the open pathway to the throne which the defeat at Gilboa laid open to him. BL1t there was a. wonderful spiritual unity in David's life; and to those who have followed our inter- pretation of his conduct, and motives as set forth elsewhere (see 'Pulpit Commentary,' 1 Samuel, Homiletics, pp. 365, 415, 482, 513), there can be no difficulty in perceiving in this public act, and in the elegy, a culmination of the intense and painfully loving interest with which he all along had watched the downward course of the unhappy monarch. 'l'here were, indeed, several items entering into his sorrow, Ile thought of t.he kingless nation, and mourned for the bereaved "house of Israel" (ver. 12), He thought of the chosen people, distinguished above all nations as the channels of a great and merciful Divine purpose to the world, and he mourned for" the people of the Lord." Ho could not forget the man whose love to him had been " wonderful, passing the love of women," and he wept for Jonathan (vers. 12, 26). But, most of all, he thought of one great in position, great in responsibilities, who once had set before him the possi- bilities of a grand destiny in connection with the unfolding of God's merciful purposo to m;mkind; and he mourned with an overwhelming sorrow that he had fallen on the field a defeated, ruined man, covered with the shame and misfortunes of a woeful mis- carriage of his life's mission. I. ]fAILURE IN LIFE'S MISSION 1B THE GREAT DISASTER OF LIFE. David knew that death came to all men, and that the removal from earth of one who ha.s figured before our vision disturbs the whole current of feeling. Had Saul died under some circum- stances David would ha.ve sorrowed, but the pa.ng of this his sorrow would not ha.vc been experienced. He had known Saul a.s the chosen of God, equipped for high enterprise in the kingdom of God, and in a position to prepare the pathway for the coming of a mightier king. Splendid opportunities a.rose; strong influences were brought to bea.r; but all in vain. Life's mission failed. The noble work was not done. Fine abilities were wasted. Dishonoured, abandoned by God, covered with shame- the shame of an abortive life-he passed away, Simple death would ha,e been glory a.nd blessing as compared with this. What was true of Saul ma.y be true of others and, unhappily, is too often the fact. God has a purpose in the life of every human being, and our business in this world is to comprehend the nature of tha.t purpose and realize it in our experience, It is an unutterable disaster if, knowing why we are here, and. possessing all the appliances and means of carrying out God's will, we neverthe- less pass away as unprolitable servants (Matt, xxv. 26-30). There a.re instances of frequent occurrence in which splendid abilities, robust health, excellent social position, fine openings for usefulness, are all wasted by the dominance of unholy passions, and men have to witness the sad spectacle of early promise issuing in a dishonoured name and premature grave. Those who believe that all who are born amidst Christian influences are sent into the world to work out for themselves and others a pure and blessed destiny, and that this can only be secured by our personally falling in the line of Christ's purpose and becoming one with him in the deepest spiritual sense, as Saul was expected to fall in the line of God's great purpose to man through Israel, and live in its spirit,-such persons recognize a terrible miscarriage of life when men live, it may be, in ease and wealth and respectability, but alien in heart to Christ, and then die in the same condition. They have not laid up treasure for the future. :Nations and communities are also charged with their respective life-work, and it is a fearful thing when, through unfaithfulness, their mission is abortive. Jeremiah's wail over Judah (Jer, ix.), our Saviour's lamentation over Jerusalem, and his prospective sorrow over the Church at Laodicea (Rev. iii. 14-20), were based on the same view of miscarriage of life's purpose as was David's lament over Saul. II. The sorrow felt for a miscarriage of life's purpose is DEEPE..'iED BY THE APPRE- HENSION OF ITS EFFECT ON THE REPUTATION AND PROGRESS OF THE KINGDOM OF GoD. Saul was not simply a monarch maintaining his own special interests as one among the many kings of the earth ; he was regarded by David as, and in fact was, the official reprcsontBtive of the thoocraoy-the kingdom of God in its early stage of development.  14 THE SEOON'.O BOOK OF SAMUEt. [cm. t. 1-21