Sermon 87: 1 Samuel 24:17-20

17. And when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said: Is this your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 18. And he said to David: You are more just than I; for you have given me good things, but I have repaid you with evil. 19. And you have shown today the good things you have done me, how the Lord delivered me into your hand and you did not kill me. 20. For who, when he has found his enemy, will let him go on a good way? But may the Lord repay you good for what you have done for me today.

[Footnote: Verses 14-16 were not transcribed in the editio princeps.]

In yesterday's sermon we heard how God puts a bridle on us so that, when provoked by injuries, we may not be carried away by our too vehement passions. And we said that the true remedy of patience is to rise to God, who attributes this to himself as proper, to avenge the wicked and those who do injury to their neighbors. And accordingly we taught that we must beware lest we usurp what is not lawful, since this would be to invade God's office; and that on the contrary we must recognize that afflictions and injuries are to be borne the more patiently, the more often God has testified that this is proper to him -- to avenge injuries and to watch over our salvation and to defend the just salvation of his own. And therefore the apostle Paul, wishing to exhort the faithful to patience, not without reason uses these words: that no place is to be given to wrath -- as if to say that our affections must be moderated, and a bridle put on wrath, and we must abstain from all vengeance and give place to God, who, if we are obedient to his commands, can defend us from all injuries. For if earthly judges restrain those who try rashly to avenge themselves before them, because they have rashly invaded another's office or have entirely abandoned it, what do we think God will do to those who invade his office? And indeed we often experience in fact that the wicked triumph over the faithful, with God permitting; we investigate the cause of which and wonder why God so patiently endures the wicked and delays his help to us laboring. But we do not notice that our impatience puts a delay on him, and by too great ardor we do not await the opportune time of vengeance. For just as David teaches us that God will manifest his justice against the enemies who pursued him because he had awaited the divine help in quiet and silence, so on the contrary he warns that we, by our impatience anticipating the opportune time of vengeance, draw down upon ourselves the judgment of God, with God deferring help and permitting the enemies to insult the wretched and tear them with their claws. For we are not worthy that God should make manifest in fact the care which he has for us, since we do not give place to his justice and vengeance, but wish to usurp what he attributes to himself alone. For he has in his power the occasions and times that he never lets slip, indeed in such a way that just as he does not hasten to vengeance against the wicked, so also he does not for a moment defer aid promised to the faithful and necessary, just as he says through the prophet that he will give place to his promises, which nothing can hinder. The more therefore we are by nature prone to seeking vengeance, by which it happens that God withdraws from us, since we have closed access to him, so to speak, the more diligently must the doctrine here set before us be meditated. Since we know that God will be the judge, and will know about all causes, and that no iniquity will go unpunished, and that he will have mercy on the wretched and afflicted, let us firmly resolve not to move our hands, not to draw the sword, not to attack the enemy without divine command.

Moreover, let these things be said about private vengeance for injuries; for the case of magistrates is different, whom God has armed with the sword, and accordingly to whom it is permitted to punish crimes and wickednesses with the sword; indeed who, if they do not do this, are guilty before God of having to give an account. And this very thing Solomon teaches when he says that he who spares the criminal is no less guilty before God than he who committed the crime, which is to be understood about those to whom this office is committed by God. For if any private person has suffered injury or damage from another, he is commanded to bear it patiently, and to possess his life in silence, and to repay good for evil and to await God as judge and protector. Therefore David also used the ancient proverb, as we saw, that wickedness comes forth from the wicked, and accordingly his hand would not be against Saul. By which words David wished to testify that he was not such as the courtiers slandered him to be. For how shall the evil be distinguished from the good except by works? For 'by their fruits the tree is known,' as the Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 7. For God alone searches the hearts of men, into which the eyes of men cannot penetrate; but they make judgment about individuals from their life and conduct. If anyone therefore has the fear of God, he demonstrates it in fact and in his works, just as we call that a good tree which produces good fruit. But on the contrary if anyone is prone to evil, in our judgment we condemn him as wicked and an enemy, because he has shown himself such by his works. So in the present case David proves his innocence from his deed, for there is no doubt that if he had been wicked toward Saul, who had fallen into his hands, he would have taken away his life without any difficulty and without any danger. Therefore it is sufficiently apparent with what mind he had been disposed toward Saul, when as if with bound hands to offend the king and his lord he neither willed nor was able. Furthermore, from that ancient proverb by which David defends himself, we ought to gather a useful doctrine; for he joins two things together at once: that iniquity will come forth from the wicked, and that he will therefore not lay hands on Saul. Therefore, when we wish to declare that we are not wicked, let us not use those customary excuses -- that he attacked us first, that we wish well toward all but, when provoked, must repel force with force, that we should not give the wicked occasion for raging against us, that we must howl with the wolves out of a kind of necessity. But on the contrary let us rather suffer him to be wicked who wishes to be so; let us, however, be persuaded that God requires from us a constant obedience in all temptations, and let us willingly obey him. And this is the use of that ancient proverb that David employs: namely, although we be provoked by the wicked, and as it were yielded to them as prey, although they goad us and would, if they could, drive us beyond the bounds of reason, yet let us never forget the divine commandments, and let us not become like those by whom we are solicited to evil, and whom Satan abuses as fiery torches to lead us into evil, and let us never be shaken. To be sure, this doctrine, I confess, is greatly repugnant to our affections and our nature. For even if we had put on an angelic nature, we are nevertheless very easily corrupted by the wicked when they provoke us, even if we have set ourselves to follow God's will, so that we appear most like storms, leaning now to this side, now to that. So much so that we hand over to oblivion the reverence which is owed to God, and the rationale of equity and patience which we had previously received -- and in this men for the most part fall.

But against all these things David's example is to be followed, not such as is here described to us, but such as he himself sets forth in the Psalms: namely, that he diligently observed the wicked, and the more prone he saw them to vices, the more diligently he too kept himself in the fear of God. Therefore the more we are prone to depraved affections when the wicked offer us occasion, let us learn to put a bridle on our desires, and the more the wicked have foamed out their fury, the more let us subject ourselves to the will of God; and besides, let us know that we have a struggle not only against them when they assail us, but also against the higher powers -- as the apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians chapter 6, when he says that our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the lords of the world, the rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual wickednesses. Therefore when wicked men have risen up against us, and with open jaws like lions or bears seem to wish to devour us, let us know that this does not happen by their own motion (although the wicked are carried by their own malice to evil, of which one day they will give an account before God), but we must rise higher: namely, that they are instruments of the devil by which he drives us to impatience, and accordingly let us not speak against God, nor be carried headlong into an excess of fury. But let us ascend to the origin of our afflictions. For if we shall be so dull and stupid that we cleave to those by whom we are provoked, it will go with us just as with dogs that gnaw the stone thrown at them, and out of anger foam at the mouth, but never look at the hand of him who threw the stone. And such for the most part is the nature of all men who, when provoked by anyone, do not consider by whose impulse it is done, namely Satan their prince. But the spiritual struggle is such that it far exceeds whatever falls under our eyes, or whatever damages we could suffer in these earthly things; and therefore it must be most carefully guarded against that we do not repay evil with evil, but on the contrary turn our eyes to God, and patiently wait for his help, asking from him with fear and reverence strength of mind, that we may be able to resist whatever temptations and assaults. By this means we shall always carry away victory over our spiritual enemies, if we recall this doctrine to use, and that we may resist all temptations, join together these two heads at once: because iniquity proceeds from the wicked, that we be not incited to evil, and that we not pollute our hands with blood, that we not seek vengeance against those who shall have offered occasion, and that we not cover injustice with specious reasons, as men are usually ingenious in seeking out such evasions, when the question concerns the equity of a cause and the retention of a good reputation. But this principle must be retained: that God uncovers the baseness of men, even though it be hidden from mortal creatures. Therefore let every disguise depart far from us, by which we cover our iniquities, and let us approach God with all humility, about to obtain pardon from him. For it would be of little avail to be acquitted before men if we were guilty before the divine majesty. And what indeed will it have profited men to be condemned before God in order that they may be esteemed and made great by men? And what shall it have profited to imitate the malice and wickedness of men, and to join oneself as their companion, whom a horrible curse awaits?

And thus far concerning these things. There follow those words of David: After whom did the king of Israel come forth? Whom do you pursue? You pursue a dead dog, you pursue a single flea. By which words he objects to Saul that he himself does not have a just occasion for fearing himself from David, who has always conducted himself faithfully and modestly toward him, so that he can desire no service of duty, that he has gathered no troops, has agitated no plans against him. And therefore he compares himself to a dead dog and to a flea. I confess indeed that hypocrites and dissemblers, and those who have been most injurious, when finally caught, appear most mild and most gentle, imitating foxes which when caught are accustomed to fawn upon those into whose power they have fallen, to lower their head, to feign death -- which you would finally call the mildest of all beasts; and yet, if they can escape by any fraud, they bring nothing but harm and evil. The same is the manner of double-dealing men, in whom there is no integrity, no candor. For if, after they have indulged their crimes and have raged against their neighbors, finally their hope frustrates them and God uncovers their plans or frauds, so that they fear the imminent punishments of their crimes and wickednesses, then you would say they are altogether other men, in that they are accustomed to excuse themselves with flattering words, to confess their crime, to detest it, to beg for pardon; in short, to promise everything and to make great promises about themselves for the future. This, I say, is the custom of hypocrites: that when they are pressed by necessity, they are accustomed to imitate the sons of God like apes. But not so David, who calls himself a dead dog and a flea, in order to clear himself before Saul of the calumnies, and to show that he had never thought of seeking any dignity by exalting himself and entering into plans against him -- in short, that he had attempted nothing through ambition.

For I ask, from where arise so many quarrels, so many contentions among men, except from ambition and the desire for honors? Hence, as Paul rightly admonishes, the hatreds of some toward others, hence dissensions, hence the various zeals of doing harm to others. Therefore, if David had aimed at revolution, if he had sought favor and authority among the people by evil arts, if he had exalted himself above the king and his sons, then truly Saul would have had sufficiently just occasions offered to him for pursuing David, and for pursuing him with potsherd and mud, and for filling everything with just complaints and terrors -- as when the heaven is shaken with thunders, and earth and heaven seem to be mixed with hail and savage storms. But from where such a great crash, and so great a murmur on every side? Surely because vapors are lifted up from the earth into the air, and alter its constitution. For if there were no alteration in the air by the rising of vapors, the highest tranquility would always exist; but when those things rise which ought to creep on the ground, and when clouds running together in the air impede the splendor of the sun, then we see all things so confused with thunder and storms that nothing appears anywhere except the highest confusion. Not otherwise do we see it happen among men. For if individuals contained themselves in their calling, and bore themselves modestly in it, and contented with that desired nothing greater, the highest tranquility and quiet would appear everywhere, and we would not imitate hunting dogs always gaping for prey and tearing one another with their teeth. But ambition and the desire of honors drive men into quarrels, contentions, and various conflicts. Therefore not without reason does David here compare himself to a dead dog, that he may show himself never to have wished to be exalted beyond his calling, to have plotted no plans against Saul, to have sought no revolutions, to have not sought favor and authority for himself by base boasting nor insolence against Saul, but to have been content with his lot, and to have preferred his humble station to a greater. And we must recall this doctrine to use, so that he who is set over others in dignity and authority may not on that account be lifted up, nor think magnificently of himself, nor despise his inferiors and those subject to him; but in the fear of God and in simplicity and modesty walk; and let him fear the horrible punishment upon the proud, and that the more grave the more they have been lifted up, and have violated the human order. For graver vengeance of God awaits those who by ambition and desire of honors have raised themselves above others, than those who have lived contented with their middling state and condition. Hence, therefore, let subjects learn not to desire the dignity of their superiors, much less to rise up against them in order to obtain it, but contented with their own condition, although it be vile and abject, to live a life of concern toward men, knowing that it is pleasing and acceptable to God, no less than a higher and more excellent one. Therefore let them abstain from all complaints and reproaches and murmurings against God, of whatever rank and dignity men may be, and let them peacefully submit themselves to God's will, and let them also use the doctrine of the apostle Paul, that individuals in honor should prefer others and put them before themselves; and accordingly let rich men and men of the first rank know that even to abject and despised men God has distributed his gifts, not to be despised; and let them diligently examine their own vices, and weigh their own infirmity, that they may know themselves to have been placed by God in such a rank not by their own merit but by his goodness; and accordingly let them subject themselves to the feet of God, and so deal with their neighbors that they should not wish to do an injury to any, even the smallest, even if they say an occasion has been offered, that they complain of having been first provoked by injuries. Let us from the heart detest and flee the example of Saul, whose fury we see in pursuing David; but rather let us patiently bear whatever injuries, and let us overcome by patience the fury of the most savage enemies, that they may be found inexcusable before God, since they cannot rightly complain of having been provoked by us by any injuries, nor of their authority having been violated by our plans -- whom their own conscience convicts of always having been quiet and peaceful.

Moreover, the arguments which David brings forward in his own defense seem to have been about to irritate Saul more and more against him, whom we see thereafter not made better, nor returned to a sound mind, but obstinately pursuing David to the death; yet they greatly aided David. For when his voice was heard, Saul, moved, exclaimed: Is this your voice, my son David, and lifting up his voice he wept. And he said to David: You are more just than I, for you repay me with good when I have afflicted you with evil. He therefore confesses David to be just and innocent, and himself to be wicked, who pursues him provoked by no injury. Nor indeed should we think those words to have been feigned, words which tears followed -- witnesses of the conscience that was rebuking him, and which declared that some natural good affection still remained in Saul, so that he could rightly be said to seem to have returned to a sound mind, and to be led by repentance for his deed, since he had so perfidiously pursued a faithful servant. So great was the force of David's voice, that it elicited this confession from him. And there is no doubt that God in some way wished to relieve him in his labors, that for the future he might persevere in patiently bearing the rest of his afflictions, having learned, taught by experience, that God does not permit his own to be yielded as prey to enemies, to be torn and devoured by them, even though they fall as it were into the very jaws of wolves, but is a faithful shepherd who protects and guards his sheep against any incursions of wild beasts. Let us, therefore, learn that the condition is not best of those who greatly exalt themselves and breathe nothing but blood and slaughter, but that those are blessed who under God's protection and guard patiently bear the injuries of others. We must therefore beware lest we seek to provide for ourselves with headlong zeal, the outcome of which God shows will be unfortunate. Or shall we change the will of those manikins? Therefore in these times, in which the enemies strive with all their forces to suppress the light of the gospel, let us beware lest, although many reasons may occur not only for escaping dangers but even for propagating the gospel in many places, we nevertheless rashly undertake anything, unless we rest on a firm foundation -- since otherwise all our efforts are going to be in vain. Therefore the whole matter must be committed to God, and we must take refuge in his help, so that he who possesses any authority should yet acknowledge that he is not permitted to use it unless God commands, and let him by no means doubt that God is the witness of his humility, and when it shall be opportune will run to the help of him who labors -- which will be far more excellent than all human safeguards. And this doctrine must be meditated by the example of David, whom we observe to have soothed and pacified with friendly words the mind of Saul, previously raging with anger and hatred against him. And what this example sets before our eyes, the same Solomon teaches in general: that violent affections and wrath are broken by gentle words. Let us therefore, about to break the threats and plans of wicked and arrogant men, by which they devise nothing but disgrace, injuries, slaughters, defend ourselves by our innocence; let us declare in deed itself that we do not desire to repay evil with evil, yet so however that we do not dissemble their wickedness and malice, but set them before their own eyes, reproach their ungrateful soul, and at length, when they persevere in stubbornness and rebellion, let us cite a day for them before the tribunal of God -- as we saw David to have done before. Following this method, let us not doubt that God protects, and so aids us by his help that, having experienced his help in our straits, we may have an occasion of fleeing to him, and may not doubt that he will continue it to the very end. And accordingly we shall be so prepared that, if having received an injury a second and third should follow, we may patiently bear them, endowed with that mildness which God commands.

But come, let us expound the individual words of Saul. He calls David his son, just as David also had called him father: not only on account of the kinship and connection of affinity, because Saul had given his daughter to David, but also because kings and princes ought to be endowed with a paternal affection toward their subjects. Indeed I confess David had not experienced such a Saul toward himself, but rather a tyrant and a wicked man. Yet by that word David roused Saul to recognize his own duty, and to put on some humanity admonished by that appellation of father, and to return to a better mind. Saul therefore, moved by that word, calls him son whom previously he had made detestable to all as a traitor and an enemy of the kingdom, and had sought with great forces to put to death. Son, I say, he calls him, and besides confesses and acknowledges himself to be perfidious and a traitor. But who would have dared to charge the king with this crime? Who would have got off with impunity who had called the king a tyrant and wicked, who so cruelly pursued an innocent man and one to whom he was bound by very many benefits? For if you compare David's cause with Saul's, you will say that the latter could not complain of him, nor could he accuse him of injustice -- and we are speaking about human and civil justice among men, that we may understand how David conducted himself toward Saul. Saul therefore himself judges in favor of David, and acknowledges his innocence, which no one would have wished to defend, whether of the courtiers or of the common people, all of whom rather had to flatter Saul, and David had to be held a wicked man whom Saul hated and pursued.

And these are flatteries far too common among men. For because judges are to be honored, and one must stand by and acquiesce in their decrees and sentences — since otherwise everything on earth would be in confusion — this, I say, by this specious pretext, those who sit at the helm of affairs and have been advanced to some grade of dignity, although they conduct themselves most petulantly, and seem to wish to mix heaven with earth, and are injurious to God himself and to nature, yet do not allow such things to be objected to themselves, nor admit anyone's reproof; in fact, they are gravely angered, as though something were detracted from their probity and integrity, which is a wicked thing. But to omit those impudent-faced men, condemned by their own vices, what shall we say about those preachers who pollute their office most miserably under the appearance of virtue? For, they say, since the magistrate approves me, who can rightly reprove me? Do I not have liberty of speaking, this or that, and of using my authority for this or that matter? And so they think that whatever they care to babble out is permitted them. But it must be known that we are not to rely on men, but on equity and justice and integrity, of which all are witnesses. Therefore, if it should happen that wicked men dazzle the eyes of the simple by some pretext, although nevertheless they have polluted the very air by their crime and have darkened the sun's brightness, let us patiently await the outcome, which one day shall be doleful for them, with God uncovering their baseness and eliciting from their own mouth the confession that those whom they unjustly and perfidiously pursued were just. Although therefore they have been complaisant to all things, yet, even unwilling, God will at length compel them to confess their wickedness and worthlessness.

Moreover, to these words tears were added: by which, although Saul testified that he was not insincerely pronouncing David just, yet he did not make his own condition before God any better, nor was he led by serious repentance for sin. And in this part many are deceived, who think that they can cover their sins by some groans and sighs, and that God deals unjustly with them unless he immediately absolves them, and comes to meet them about to congratulate them. But where do these things flow from except abundantly from hypocrisy innate to us, which we cannot renounce, nor our affections, which, as is fitting, we do not weigh? Besides, we are entirely ignorant of what true repentance is; if we had a true sense and knowledge of it, we would not so rashly use its name. But we think that one or two tears suffice for covering sins, or we esteem the mere confession of sin to be true repentance: but we wander by a whole heaven. For let us compare such a confession with Saul's tears. For here a king weeps, indeed wails, and with a great voice confesses his perfidy, so that not only David himself and the troops of soldiers that accompanied him are witnesses of that confession, but even the very rocks and crags seem to be moved and to be filled with Saul's groans. Shall we not therefore rightly say that the groans and tears of this king should be held rather for serious repentance than the words of those who say with the mouth: 'It repents me of the deed'? Surely it was no small thing for Saul of his own accord to undergo this disgrace, that he should call himself a man who had perfidiously pursued an innocent man, and frankly confess his fault; and accordingly this confession of Saul, confirmed by so many words, is to be far preferred to the simple confession of those who say in one word: 'It repents me.' And it seems to have been a great virtue not to blush before so many witnesses' faces. But these things ought not so to move us, that if we shall see the tears of certain ones, we should call them on that account converted, but rather we must wait a little, until the outcome shall reveal what was the disposition of their mind: whether they have conducted themselves dissemblingly, or whole and sincerely. But if at the very first moment their repentance is not to be admitted as serious — which they testify nevertheless by tears and groans — what shall we judge to be established about wicked and cruel men, who, hateful to God and men, have so hardened themselves that you would more easily extract water from a pumice than a tear from them? Indeed they must have rubbed off shame from their forehead, and put off blushing like a whore in a brothel, and been marked by a special sign of the devil. Therefore this doctrine must be diligently meditated, and recalled to our use, lest we suppose we can impose upon God when we have been touched by some sense of sin and affected with sadness. For God is not appeased like men or boys with a cake or an apple; but he requires a sincere mind, the inner recesses of which are searched, and perseverance.

What then shall we say of Saul's repentance, who calls David his son, who pronounces him more just than himself, who confesses his sin of his own accord, who even pours forth tears — witnesses that nothing is said by him insincerely? He was therefore not playing with David in empty words, but speaking seriously. And yet there was a certain dissimulation and hypocrisy hidden in his breast, by which men laboring are so blinded by their own vice, and become so stupid, that they do not feel nor acknowledge with what disease they labor. Thus it for the most part happens that those who, having committed some sin, have shed a few tears, seem to themselves to have satisfied God and to have put on a new skin; to whom, if you should pardon that, they return to their former mind, indeed are carried with a kind of frenzied license to evil: because they persuade themselves that they have more than satisfied God before, and that he will not henceforth require an account of their misdeeds from them. Hence therefore let us learn to weigh ourselves precisely; and let us know that true repentance is not placed in this. For mere sadness on account of an evil deed, although it be the beginning of true repentance — as Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians — is not nevertheless the whole of repentance, which must be continual. Many therefore imitate Saul, content with the external signs alone of repentance: but these things do not suffice for the truly penitent, who must put off the old man, and so deeply imprint the fear of God in their souls that they may hate the past evil, and for the future give effort that they may not only be moved by some impulse, but persevere in the repentance begun, and that piety may take such deep roots in their souls as to bring forth good fruit. For although a thousand times we should profess a serious conversion to God, and should testify that vices displease us, yet unless our life corresponds, whatever we shall profess with our mouth will be deceitful and fraudulent. Therefore let us pray to God with ardent voice that he may grant us true repentance with perseverance: that it may correspond to the tongue, and that we be not so light and inconstant as to return in a moment to those things which we previously condemned.

There follows next that Saul pronounced sentence against himself with these words: The Lord repay you good for what you have done to me today. For God had delivered me into your hands, but you have let me go unharmed, you have today loaded me with many benefits. From which words you may gather that Saul was not only truly converted and led by repentance for his deed, but also very religious, and burning with zeal for true repentance, and inwardly affected in soul by the injury which he had inflicted on David, when he so demits himself and in some way subjects his royal dignity to David — far unlike those who confess their sins only in part and from the mouth, while in the breast they cherish something else. For Saul could seem to have been able to take exception against David: 'Granted, he let me go unharmed, but having reverenced my dignity, which he knew that, if he had violated it, he would not have got off with impunity.' Or he could have satisfied the people with words, and retained his authority before them, while yet dissembling the injury which he had inflicted, and the benefits which he had received, as kings and princes are wont to dissemble the benefits which they have received from their subjects, because they are ashamed to confess them, although they indeed acknowledge some faithful subject, yet do not wish to confess that they have wronged him. But on the contrary Saul here openly and frankly not only confesses the injuries done by him to David, but also acknowledges the benefits conferred by him upon himself, and pronounces sentence against himself, and forgets none of those things which made for David's innocence. In fact, he even prays well for him, so that you would say nothing was lacking in Saul for true repentance, and — what is more — that he was being ruled by the Spirit of God himself: for whereas previously he heaped up nothing but curses, and implored the help and aid of his men against David, now praying well for David he asks God that he would abundantly repay to him the benefits which he received from David. All of which indeed have the appearance of a good mind: as many are wont to feign piety by certain external signs; but yet, since there is no perseverance nor constancy, they cannot be held for true repentance, and although there be many tears, many groans, yet unless they appear as the fruit of that living root, they are vain and empty.

Therefore learn that we must seriously think about ourselves; and that effort must be given that each one hold himself suspect, lest, if we are touched by some bite of conscience and affected by some sadness, we suppose that we have arrived at perfect conversion: but if any spark of conversion has been kindled in us by God, let us ask that that fire be kindled, and let us condemn our sins more and more, and beg pardon for our sins; and let us solicit God with more ardent prayers that he may open our eyes, that recognizing our sins and miseries, we may learn to hate them, indeed even ourselves, until we feel the true fear of God engraved in our hearts, by whose force and efficacy we may daily make progress for the better, so much indeed that, if any affliction shall exercise us, we never despair, and whatever befalls, we never waver. For how miserable would our condition be if at one moment we were led by love of the right, and bore some integrity before us, but at another moment were thrown across by the fraud of the devil, and dragged from the right path — which would surely happen if, having been converted to God, we did not persevere in what was begun, and as it were with a ring inserted in our nostrils were led about. Therefore in Saul as in a mirror we ought to behold how great is the hypocrisy in men, how great the force of vices, how great of blasphemous voices, how great of human affections, that we may the more ardently learn to pray to God that he would strip from us all arrogance of soul, and grant a good mind which may teach us to walk before God without disguise.

Moreover, although Saul's confession seems in the opinion of men to have profited David nothing, yet it was not altogether useless. For grant that David received no benefit from this confession, Saul wished nevertheless that he should be condemned by his own mouth and sentence, that a heavier judgment might be derived upon his own head, like a thunderbolt. For this reason Paul adduces the sentence of Solomon: namely, that those who do good to enemies, and repay evil with good, heap coals of fire upon their heads. For with these words the apostle teaches that enemies are either drawn by benefits to a better mind, and in a manner softened, who previously seemed to rage, or are made more hardened, with God blinding them and casting them down into greater confusion — as we see happened to Saul. For although God wished Saul to pray that he would repay David the benefits with which he had affected him, indeed there is no doubt that he took God as judge for himself in David's cause, and as it were despoiled himself of God's mercy and favor, in order to hand over to David the hope of the kingdom — as if to say: May God never spare me, never be propitious, may he strike me with all curses as with a thunderbolt, and on the contrary aid David with his help and perpetually defend his integrity. This force those words of Saul had, by which he took God as judge to himself, and as it were appointed him as adversary if he should deceive. Hence let us learn, when about to pray to God either for enemies or for those by whom we have been affected by benefits, to beware lest we pray against ourselves. That is, let us give every effort that with that mildness of soul, that patience, that equity, that integrity we walk before him, and live with our neighbors, that we provoke him not to wrath, by injuring this or that one. For God always defends the cause of the innocent, and protects the afflicted. Therefore those who are about to invoke God ought to lay aside all enmities, hatreds, frauds, and harms, and to put off all depraved affections, that we may feel God's favor toward us. For God is wont to do good to those, and to receive into his protection, who not only do not pursue the injuries received against their enemies, but repay benefits for injuries, and retain inviolate the authority of those whom God has raised to some grade of dignity.

But now, come, etc.

17. When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said: Is this your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 18. He said to David: You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me with good, while I have repaid you with evil. 19. You have shown today how well you have treated me — the Lord gave me into your hand, and you did not kill me. 20. For who finds his enemy and lets him go safely on his way? May the Lord repay you with good for what you have done to me today.

Verses 14-16 were not transcribed in the first edition.

In yesterday's sermon we heard how God puts a bridle on us so that when we are provoked by injuries, we are not carried away by our passions. We said that the true remedy of patience is to look up to God, who claims as His own the right to avenge the wicked and those who harm their neighbors. We therefore taught that we must take care not to seize what does not belong to us — for to do so would be to invade God's own role. Instead we must recognize that afflictions and injuries are to be borne all the more patiently, the more often God has declared this to be His own work: to avenge wrongs, watch over our salvation, and defend the righteous. This is why Paul, wanting to call the faithful to patience, uses these words: give no place to wrath — meaning our passions must be moderated, anger restrained, all vengeance set aside, and room given to God. If we obey His commands, He is fully able to defend us from all injuries. If earthly judges restrain those who try rashly to take revenge in their presence — because they have invaded another's authority — what do we think God will do to those who invade His? We often experience the wicked triumphing over the faithful with God's permission, and we wonder why He tolerates them so patiently and delays His help to us in our struggle. But we fail to notice that our own impatience causes the delay — in our excessive urgency we do not wait for the right time for God's intervention. David teaches us that God will demonstrate His justice against the enemies who pursued him, because David waited for divine help in quietness and stillness. And on the other side, David warns that when we, in our impatience, try to anticipate the right time for vengeance, we draw God's judgment down on ourselves — God withholds His help and allows our enemies to insult and tear at us. We are not worthy of God making plain His care for us if we do not give place to His justice and judgment, but insist on seizing what He has reserved for Himself alone. He controls the times and occasions — and He never lets them slip. Just as He does not rush to punish the wicked, so He does not delay for a moment the help He has promised to the faithful — as He says through the prophet, He will fulfill His promises without fail. Since we are by nature prone to seeking revenge — which causes God to withdraw from us, as though we have shut the door to Him — we must meditate all the more diligently on the teaching before us. Knowing that God will be the judge, that He knows every cause, that no wrongdoing will go unpunished, and that He has mercy on the wretched and afflicted — let us firmly resolve not to raise our hands, not to draw the sword, not to attack our enemy without God's command.

All this concerns private revenge for injuries. The case of magistrates is different: God has armed them with the sword, and therefore they are permitted to punish crimes and wickedness by it — indeed, if they fail to do so, they are guilty before God and must give an account. Solomon teaches this very point when he says that a judge who lets the guilty go unpunished is no less guilty before God than the one who committed the crime — which applies to those to whom God has given this office. When a private person has suffered injury or harm from another, he is commanded to bear it patiently, to possess his life in stillness, to repay good for evil, and to wait for God as his judge and protector. This is why David used the ancient proverb, as we saw — that wickedness comes out of the wicked — and therefore his hand would not be against Saul. By these words David wanted to demonstrate that he was not the man the courtiers slandered him to be. For how else can the evil be distinguished from the good, except by their actions? 'By their fruits the tree is known,' as our Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 7. God alone searches the hearts of people, into which no human eye can see — but people make their judgments about one another from their lives and conduct. If anyone fears God, that fear shows itself in action and in how they live — just as we call a tree good when it produces good fruit. On the contrary, if anyone is inclined to evil, we judge them as wicked and an enemy, because they have shown themselves to be so by their actions. So in this case David proves his innocence by what he did: if he had harbored evil intentions toward Saul, who had fallen completely into his hands, he would have taken his life easily and without any risk. It is therefore plain enough what his attitude toward Saul had been — when Saul was in his power, David had neither the will nor the ability to raise a hand against his king and lord. From that ancient proverb David uses in his defense, we can draw a useful lesson. He links two things: that wickedness comes from the wicked, and that he therefore will not lay hands on Saul. So when we want to show that we are not wicked, let us not reach for the usual excuses: that the other person attacked first, that we mean well toward everyone but must fight back when provoked, that we must not give the wicked room to rage against us, that necessity forces us to howl with the wolves. Instead, let the wicked be wicked if that is their choice. Let us be persuaded that God requires steady obedience from us in every temptation, and let us willingly give it. This is the real point of the ancient proverb David uses: although we are provoked by the wicked, handed over to them as if as prey, goaded by them, pushed almost beyond the limits of reason — let us never forget God's commands. Let us not become like those who tempt us to evil, whom Satan uses as burning torches to lead us into sin. Let us never be shaken. I confess that this teaching conflicts deeply with our nature and our passions. Even if we had taken on an angelic character, we are still very easily corrupted when the wicked provoke us — even when we have resolved to follow God's will. We are tossed like trees in a storm, leaning first one way, then another. In such moments we forget the reverence we owe to God and the principle of fairness and patience we had previously received — and this is where most people fall.

Against all of this, David's example must be followed — not just the example described here, but the one he sets out in the Psalms as well: he carefully observed the wicked, and the more prone he saw them to vice, the more diligently he kept himself in the fear of God. So the more our depraved passions are stirred up when the wicked give us occasion, let us learn to put a bridle on our desires. The more the wicked foam with fury, the more let us submit ourselves to God's will. And let us remember that we are struggling not only against those who attack us, but against higher powers — as Paul teaches in Ephesians 6, where he says our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against spiritual forces of wickedness. When wicked people rise up against us and seem ready, like lions or bears, to devour us with open jaws, let us know that this is not driven by their own initiative alone — though the wicked are carried along by their own malice, for which they will one day answer before God. We must look higher: these people are instruments of the devil by which he drives us toward impatience. So let us not speak against God or be swept headlong into uncontrolled fury. Let us trace our afflictions back to their source. If we are so dull that we focus only on those who provoke us, it will go with us like a dog that gnaws the stone thrown at it and foams with rage, but never looks at the hand that threw it. This is the nature of most people: when provoked, they never consider whose impulse lies behind it — namely Satan, their adversary. But the spiritual battle is one that far exceeds anything that falls within our sight, or any earthly damage we might suffer — and so we must be most careful not to repay evil with evil. Instead, turn our eyes to God, wait patiently for His help, and ask Him with reverence and fear for the strength of mind to resist every temptation and assault. By this means we will always carry away victory over our spiritual enemies, if we hold these two principles together: because wickedness proceeds from the wicked, we will not be provoked to evil; and because we will not stain our hands with blood, we will not seek revenge against those who give us occasion — nor will we cover injustice with plausible-sounding excuses, as people tend to be very inventive at doing when it comes to defending the fairness of their cause and protecting their reputation. But this principle must be held firm: God uncovers the wickedness of people, even when it is hidden from human eyes. So let every disguise we use to cover our wrongdoing be stripped away, and let us approach God in all humility to receive forgiveness from Him. For it would mean very little to be cleared before other people if we stand guilty before the divine majesty. And what profit is it to be condemned before God in order to be admired and honored by people? And what does it gain to imitate the malice and wickedness of people, and to join their company — those for whom a terrible curse is waiting?

Enough on those matters. What follows are David's words: 'After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? You pursue a dead dog, you pursue a single flea.' By these words David points out to Saul that Saul has no just reason to fear him — David has always conducted himself faithfully and humbly toward him, has gathered no troops, has stirred up no plans against him. He therefore compares himself to a dead dog and to a flea. I acknowledge that hypocrites and deceivers — people who have done the most harm — when finally cornered, put on their most mild and gentle appearance. They act like foxes when caught: they fawn on those who have them in their power, lower their head, feign helplessness — you would call them the most harmless of all creatures. And yet, if they can escape by any trick, they bring nothing but harm and evil. This is the way of double-dealing people, in whom there is no integrity and no honesty. When they have indulged their crimes and raged against their neighbors, and finally their hopes are frustrated and God exposes their plans and schemes so that they fear the punishment drawing near — suddenly they seem like completely different people: making flattering excuses, confessing their crimes, expressing horror at what they have done, begging forgiveness, and making grand promises about how they will behave in the future. This is the hypocrite's pattern: when pressed by necessity, they put on an imitation of God's children. David was nothing like this. When he calls himself a dead dog and a flea, it is to clear himself before Saul of the slander — to show that he had never entertained any thought of seeking dignity for himself, never plotted against him, never acted out of ambition.

Where do so many quarrels and conflicts among people come from, except from ambition and the desire for status? As Paul rightly observes, this is the source of hatreds, of divisions, and of the various drives to do harm to others. If David had aimed at revolution — if he had sought popular favor and influence through underhanded means, if he had set himself above the king and his sons — then Saul would have had more than enough just reason to pursue David relentlessly and fill the world with well-founded complaints, like a sky shaken with thunder, with hail and violent storms crashing down. But where does such a great crash come from, and that roaring on every side? It comes from vapors rising from the earth into the air and disturbing its constitution. If no vapors rose to alter the air, perfect calm would always reign — but when things that should stay on the ground rise up, when clouds pile together in the sky and block the light of the sun, then we see everything thrown into confusion with thunder and storms. The same thing happens among people. If each person kept to their calling, conducted themselves humbly in it, and were content without grasping for more, the highest peace and quiet would prevail everywhere — we would not act like hunting dogs always snapping for prey and tearing each other apart. But ambition and the hunger for status drive people into quarrels, conflict, and endless strife. This is why David is right to compare himself to a dead dog — to show that he never wanted to be raised above his calling, had plotted nothing against Saul, had sought no revolution, had not grasped at favor or authority through boasting or disrespect toward Saul, but had been content with his lot and preferred his humble position to a higher one. Let us apply this lesson to ourselves: anyone placed in authority and dignity over others must not on that account be puffed up, think highly of himself, or look down on those below him. Rather, let such a person walk in the fear of God, in simplicity and humility — and fear the terrible punishment that falls on the proud, which is all the greater the higher they have lifted themselves and the more they have violated the human order God established. God's judgment falls more severely on those who have raised themselves above others through ambition and pride than on those who have lived content with a moderate station. So let those under authority learn not to covet the position of those above them, and much less to rise up against them to seize it — but content with their own station, however humble and lowly, let them live a life of service to others, knowing that such a life is no less pleasing and acceptable to God than a higher and more prominent one. Therefore let people of every rank and position abstain from complaining and grumbling against God. Let them submit themselves peacefully to His will, and put into practice Paul's teaching that each person should honor others and prefer them above themselves. Let the wealthy and prominent recognize that God has distributed His gifts even to the lowly and despised — not to be disregarded. Let them honestly examine their own faults and recognize their own weakness, knowing that they have been placed in their position not by their own merit but by God's goodness — and therefore let them humble themselves before God and treat their neighbors in such a way that they give no occasion for injury to even the least person, regardless of whether they feel they were provoked first. Let us from the heart detest and flee Saul's example — his raging pursuit of David. Instead, let us patiently bear whatever injuries come to us, and overcome the fury of even the most savage enemies by patient endurance — so that they are left without excuse before God, unable to complain that we provoked them with any wrong or threatened their authority by any scheme, while their own conscience testifies that we have always been quiet and peaceable.

The arguments David put forward in his own defense might have seemed likely to inflame Saul further — and indeed we see afterward that Saul did not become a better man or return to his right mind, but continued relentlessly pursuing David to the death. Yet those arguments greatly helped David. For when his voice reached Saul, Saul was moved and cried out: 'Is this your voice, my son David?' — and he lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David: 'You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me with good while I have afflicted you with evil.' He therefore confesses that David is just and innocent, and that he himself is wicked for pursuing a man who gave him no cause. We should not think these words were false, since tears followed them — tears that were witnesses of a conscience rebuking Saul, showing that some natural and genuine feeling still remained in him. He seemed, for a moment, to have come to his senses and to be moved by remorse for having so treacherously pursued a faithful servant. Such was the power of David's voice that it drew this confession from Saul. There is no doubt that God wished to give David some relief in his struggles, so that he might persevere in patiently bearing what remained — having learned by experience that God does not allow His own to be handed over as prey to their enemies, to be torn and devoured, even when they seem to have fallen into the very jaws of wolves. He is a faithful shepherd who protects and guards His sheep against every attack of wild beasts. Let us therefore learn that the best condition is not that of those who exalt themselves and breathe nothing but blood and slaughter — but that those are blessed who under God's protection patiently bear the injuries of others. We must therefore beware of providing for ourselves with reckless zeal, the outcome of which God shows will be unfortunate. In these times, when enemies strive with all their strength to suppress the light of the Gospel, let us beware — even though many opportunities may appear not only for avoiding danger but even for advancing the Gospel in many places — of rashly undertaking anything without resting on a firm foundation, since otherwise all our efforts will be in vain. The whole matter must be committed to God, and we must take refuge in His help. Whoever holds any authority must still acknowledge that it cannot rightly be used unless God commands — and must not doubt that God is the witness of their humility and will, at the right time, come to the aid of those who labor. That will be far better than any human protection. This lesson must be taken to heart from David's example — we see how he soothed and quieted Saul's mind, which had been raging with anger and hatred against him, with gentle and honest words. What this example shows us, Solomon states as a general principle: that harsh passions and anger are broken by gentle words. So let us, when seeking to break the threats and plans of wicked and arrogant people who intend nothing but disgrace, injury, and harm — defend ourselves by our innocence. Let us demonstrate in practice that we have no desire to repay evil with evil, yet without hiding their wickedness and malice. Let us set their own conduct before their eyes and confront their ungrateful hearts. And when they persist in stubbornness and rebellion, let us call them to stand one day before God's tribunal — as we saw David do. Following this approach, let us not doubt that God protects us and aids us in such a way that, having experienced His help in our difficulties, we may have reason to flee to Him again — and may not doubt that He will continue it to the very end. And so we will be prepared that if, after receiving one injury, a second and third should follow, we may patiently bear them all, endowed with the gentleness God requires of us.

Now let us examine Saul's words carefully. He calls David his son, just as David had called him father — not only because of their family connection through Saul's daughter whom David had married, but because kings and princes are supposed to have a fatherly affection toward their subjects. David had certainly not experienced this fatherly care from Saul — he had experienced a tyrant and a wicked man. Yet by that word 'father,' David was rousing Saul to recognize his own duty, urging him through that fatherly title to reclaim some humanity and return to a better mind. Moved by that word, Saul calls 'son' the very man he had made out to be a traitor and enemy of the kingdom in everyone's eyes, and had hunted with a great army to put to death. Son — he calls him son, and besides confesses and acknowledges himself to be treacherous and faithless. But who would have dared accuse the king of this crime? Who could have called the king a tyrant and a wicked man — a man who so cruelly pursued an innocent person to whom he owed so much — and escaped unpunished? If you compare David's conduct with Saul's, you must conclude that Saul had no complaint against David and could not honestly charge him with injustice — speaking now of plain human and civil justice, simply to show how David conducted himself toward Saul. Saul therefore pronounces judgment in David's favor and acknowledges his innocence — the very innocence that no courtier or common person would have dared to defend, since all of them were obliged to flatter Saul, and David was held to be the wicked man Saul hated and pursued.

What we see here is unfortunately a far too common pattern among people. Because authorities are to be honored and their decrees obeyed — since otherwise everything would fall into disorder — those in positions of power use this legitimate principle as a cover. Even when they conduct themselves with complete arrogance, turning everything upside down and acting injuriously toward God and human decency, they refuse to allow any such charge to be leveled at them and will not tolerate any rebuke. They grow deeply offended, as if their integrity and uprightness had been questioned — which is a wicked thing. But setting aside those shameless people condemned by their own obvious vices — what about preachers who defile their office most wretchedly under the appearance of virtue? They say: 'The magistrate approves me — who can rightly criticize me? Do I not have the freedom to say whatever I please and use my authority however I see fit?' And so they think they are permitted to babble out whatever they like. But we must know that we are not to rely on human approval, but on fairness, justice, and integrity — of which everyone is a witness. So if wicked people manage to dazzle the eyes of the simple with some pretense — though they have in reality poisoned the very air by their crimes and darkened the brightness of the sun — let us patiently wait for the outcome, which will one day be terrible for them. God will uncover their wickedness and draw from their own mouths the confession that those they unjustly and treacherously pursued were innocent. Even though they have made themselves agreeable to everyone, God will in the end compel them, even against their will, to confess their wickedness and worthlessness.

Saul's confession was accompanied by tears — which testified that his declaration was sincere in the moment. Yet it did not improve his standing before God, and it was not the fruit of genuine repentance for sin. Many people are deceived at this point, thinking they can cover their sins with a few sighs and groans, and that God is being unjust if He does not immediately forgive them and come to meet them with open arms. But where does this come from but the deep-rooted hypocrisy within us — which we cannot shake off — and our passions, which we do not honestly examine? Beyond that, we are entirely ignorant of what true repentance actually is. If we had a genuine sense and knowledge of it, we would not use the word so carelessly. We think one or two tears are enough to cover sins, or that a bare confession of sin counts as true repentance — but we are completely mistaken. Consider Saul's tears alongside such confessions. Here a king weeps — indeed cries out with a loud voice — and openly confesses his treachery. Not only David and his soldiers witnessed that confession, but the very rocks and cliffs seemed to be moved and filled with Saul's groaning. Should we not say that this king's tears and groans deserve to be considered more genuine repentance than the words of those who simply say with their mouth, 'I am sorry for what I did'? It was no small thing for Saul to voluntarily accept this disgrace before so many witnesses — to call himself a man who had treacherously hunted an innocent person and to confess his fault openly. And so Saul's confession, confirmed by so many words, far surpasses the simple 'I'm sorry' of those who say the words and nothing more. It might also seem like a great virtue that he did not blush in front of so many witnesses. But we must not let this kind of thing move us too quickly, so that whenever we see someone's tears we conclude they have been converted. We must wait a little and let the outcome reveal what was actually in their heart — whether they acted in pretense, or sincerely and with their whole being. But if even those whose repentance is accompanied by tears and groaning should not be immediately accepted as genuinely repentant — what shall we conclude about wicked and cruel people who have so hardened themselves against God and humanity that you would more easily squeeze water from a stone than draw a tear from them? Such people have rubbed all shame from their faces and put away any sense of embarrassment, like a woman of the street, and have been marked by the special sign of the devil. This lesson must therefore be taken seriously and applied to ourselves — lest we think we can fool God when we feel a passing twinge of guilt and a moment of sadness. God is not appeased like a child won over with a treat. He requires a sincere heart, whose inmost recesses He searches, and He requires perseverance.

What, then, shall we say about Saul's repentance? He calls David his son, pronounces him more righteous than himself, confesses his sin voluntarily, and even pours out tears as witnesses that he means every word. He was not toying with David in empty words — he spoke in earnest. And yet a certain pretense and hypocrisy lay hidden in his heart — the kind that blinds people who are consumed by their own vices, making them so blind and numb that they neither feel nor recognize what disease they are suffering from. This is what usually happens with people who, having committed some sin and shed a few tears, feel they have satisfied God and put on a new self. If you forgive them, they return to their former ways — even rushing into evil with a kind of frenzied freedom — because they have persuaded themselves they have already more than satisfied God and that He will not hold their past misdeeds against them. Let us therefore learn to examine ourselves honestly, and recognize that true repentance is not found in this kind of thing. Mere sorrow over an evil deed — though it may be the beginning of true repentance, as Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians — is not the whole of repentance, which must be ongoing. Many imitate Saul, content with the outward signs of repentance alone. But this is not enough for the truly penitent — who must put off the old self, imprint the fear of God so deeply in their soul that they hate what is past, and going forward apply themselves not merely to an impulse of feeling, but persevere in the repentance they have begun, so that genuine devotion takes such deep root in their soul that it produces good fruit. Even if we profess genuine conversion to God a thousand times and testify that our sins disgust us, if our life does not correspond, everything we say with our mouth is fraudulent. Therefore let us pray to God earnestly that He would grant us true repentance with perseverance — so that our lives match our words, and we are not so fickle and unstable as to return in a moment to the very things we previously condemned.

What follows is that Saul pronounced sentence against himself with these words: 'May the Lord repay you with good for what you have done to me today. For the Lord gave me into your hands, but you let me go unharmed — you have heaped benefits on me today.' From these words you might gather that Saul was not only genuinely converted and moved to repentance, but deeply religious and burning with true zeal — inwardly affected in soul by the injury he had done to David, since he lowers himself so completely before David and in some way places his royal dignity beneath David's feet. This is very different from those who confess their sins only partially and with their lips while secretly harboring something different in their heart. Saul could have made excuses: 'Granted, he spared me — but only because he respected my royal dignity, which he knew he would be punished for violating.' Or he could have satisfied the public with words and kept his authority intact, while privately dismissing both the wrong he had done and the kindness he had received — as kings and princes typically do, concealing the benefits their subjects have done them, too ashamed to acknowledge them openly, though they may privately recognize a faithful servant's loyalty. But instead Saul here openly and frankly not only confesses the wrongs he did to David — he also acknowledges the benefits David showed him, pronounces judgment against himself, and omits nothing that speaks for David's innocence. In fact, he even prays a blessing on David — so much so that you might say nothing was lacking in Saul for genuine repentance, and that he was even being governed by the Spirit of God Himself. For whereas previously he heaped nothing but curses on David and called his men to help destroy him, now he prays blessing on David and asks God to abundantly repay him for the kindness he showed. All of this has the appearance of a good and sincere heart — as many are accustomed to mimic piety through certain outward signs. But since there is no perseverance or constancy, it cannot count as true repentance. However many tears and groans there may be, unless they are the fruit of a living root, they are empty and worthless.

Let us therefore take this seriously: we must examine ourselves carefully, and each person should treat themselves with suspicion — so that when we are pricked by our conscience or feel a wave of sadness, we do not conclude that we have arrived at complete conversion. If God has kindled even a spark of conversion in us, let us ask that this fire grow — let us condemn our sins more and more, beg pardon for them, and press God with more earnest prayer that He would open our eyes, so that recognizing our sins and wretchedness we may learn to hate them, and even hate ourselves, until we feel the true fear of God engraved in our hearts. By the force and working of that fear may we make daily progress for the better — so that even when affliction comes upon us, we never despair, and whatever happens, we never waver. How wretched our condition would be if at one moment we were drawn by love of what is right and maintained some integrity, but in the next moment were thrown off by the devil's deception and dragged off the right path — which would certainly happen if, having turned to God, we did not persevere in what was begun and were led about like an animal with a ring in its nose. Therefore in Saul, as in a mirror, we ought to see how great is the hypocrisy in people, how powerful are vices, how powerful are blasphemous impulses, how powerful are human passions — so that we may pray all the more earnestly that God would strip from us all pride of soul and grant us a sincere heart that teaches us to walk before Him without pretense.

Although Saul's confession may appear in human eyes to have done David no good, it was not entirely useless. Even if David received no direct benefit from it, Saul condemned himself by his own mouth and his own sentence — drawing a heavier judgment down on his own head like a thunderbolt. This is why Paul cites Solomon's saying: that those who do good to their enemies and repay evil with good are heaping burning coals upon their heads. By these words the apostle teaches that enemies are either drawn by kindness toward a better mind — softened, who previously seemed to rage — or are made harder, with God blinding them and casting them into greater confusion, as happened with Saul. For although God moved Saul to pray that He would repay David the kindness Saul had received from him, there is no doubt that Saul was in effect taking God as the judge of David's cause and stripping himself of God's mercy and favor in order to hand over to David all hope of the kingdom — as if saying: 'May God never spare me, never be favorable to me, may He strike me with every curse like a thunderbolt — and in contrast may He help David and defend his integrity forever.' This is the weight of Saul's words: he took God as judge against himself, and appointed God as his adversary if he should break his word. Let us therefore learn, when praying to God either for enemies or for those who have done us good, to take care that we do not pray against ourselves. That is, let us take every care to walk before God with gentleness, patience, fairness, and integrity — and to treat our neighbors in such a way that we do not provoke Him to anger by injuring this person or that. For God always defends the cause of the innocent and protects the afflicted. Those who are about to call on God should therefore lay aside all enmities, hatreds, deceits, and harms, and put away all corrupt passions, so that we may experience God's favor toward us. For God is pleased to do good to and take into His protection those who not only stop pursuing revenge against their enemies, but repay injuries with kindness and keep inviolate the authority of those whom God has placed in positions of dignity.

But now, come, etc.