falsehood with the truth he utters, for the sake of enhancing the value of his goorl offices. If he had been PBtisfled with simply telling the tidings of the death of Sct11l, nll would have been woll with him; but by his gratuitous inventions he entangles bimsolfln n dangerous snare. 6. Unconscious seif-accu.~ation. "I stood upon him, and sfow him, because I WB!l sure that he could not live after that he was fallen" (ver. 10). Ile accuses himself in the excuses he makes for his conduct. Qui •'excu.~e s'accuBe. Even the request of Saul would not havo justified his act or absolved him from re~p1m- sibility. And how could he be sure that the wounded king could not live? Even the most.hardened villain deems it needful to endeavour to palliate his offence. And he who is solely intent upon his own interest often makes admissions that dearly reveal bis guilt. 1. Fatal miscalculation. He judges of the character of another by his own, meets with a generosity, loyalty, and justice which be cannot understand, fails of bis purpose, antl receives a reward which he did not anticipate. "The incident gives us the opportunity of marking the immense difference in the order of mind and character which may subsist between two individuals. brought together by one event, and having their attention qccupied by <ine and the same object" (J. A. Miller,' Saul'). "He taketh the wise in .their own craftiness" (Job v. 13). "The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands" (Ps. ix. 16; Prov. vi. 15; xviii. 7).-D. Vers, 11, 12.-(ZmLAG.) Unselfish grief. "They mourned, and wept" (ver. 12). Few things are more remarkable in the character of David than the generosity which he displayed with respect to Saul. He once and again spared bi~ life ; anrl, instead of rejoicing, he was overwhelmed with grief at his death. He entirely lost sight of any aµvantage which it promised to himself, in his sorrow over the disaster which befell the king, his sons, and the people of Israel. We have here- I. THE NEWS OF A GREAT CALAMITY, now only too fully confirmed (vers. 5-11). A calamity is deeply affecting when, as in this case, it: 1. Consists of a combination of mournful events (ver. 12). 2. Falls on those who are intimately connected with us. 3. Occurs suddenly and unexpectedly. 4. Involves irreparable loss, and affords little prospect of' alleviation. And the cloud of affliction is peculiarly dark when it is pervaded by Divine wrath (Hos. xiii .. 11). "Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and my acquaintance into darkness" (Ps. lxxxviii. 18). II. THE SOENE OF A GRIEVOUS :MOURNING. • The sincerity and intensity of David's grief, ip. which his six hundred men.sh~red, were shown by (1) rending the garments; (2) wailing 'aloud; (3) fasting; (4) until the evening; common signs of sorrow in the East, as genuine as any other, and relieving as well as indicating a burdened heart. What a "day of trouble" was that <in which David and his heroes sat there watching the sinking suh I (For other days <if a like nature, see eh. ii. 24; iii. 32; vi. 9 ; xii. 1, 16; xiii. 21, 30; xv. 13 ; xviii. 33; xx. 4; xxi. 1 ; x.xiv. 13, 17.) ill. THE PROOF OF AN EXCELLENT DISPOSITION. Sorrow is an evidence of love. David's. disposition WM: 1. Forgiving toward an enemy. "For Saul." 2. Faithful toward a friend. "For Jonathan his son." 3. Patriotic. "For the house of Israel."' 4. Devout. "For the people of the Lord." "The uprightness of his heart and the sincerity of his feelings cannot for a moment be doubted by those who read his lament over Saul and Jonathan with an unprejudiced mind. Pretended. sorrow never could speak thus" (Hengstenberg). "The only deep mourning for Saul, with the exception ~f the Jabeshites, proceeded from the man whom be had hated and persecuted for so many years, even to the time of his death; just as David's Successor wept over the fate of Jerusalem even when it was about to destroy himself" (0. von Gerlach). Observe: 1. That the most generous grief requires to be restrained within due bounds. Its excessive indulgence is injurious and wrong. 2. That the beneficial effect of trouble is not usually experienced at " the present," but " afterward" by means of reflection nnd submission (Heh. xii. 11). 3. That to the eye of faith the darkest cloud is illumined by Diviue goodness and mercy. "At eventide weeping cometh in to tarry for a night; but with the morning cometh a shout of joy" (Ps. xxx. 5).-D.
Vers. 13-16,-(ZiKLAG.) Capital punishment. "Thy blood be upon thy head" (ver, 16). 'l'he grief of David at the death of Saul wns associated with indignation at the conduct of the Amnlekite, who, according to his own confession, bad taken part ia 24 THE SECO:Nn noott or SA:MUtt. Celt. I, 1-2,