1 Samuel 26

The grave is your long home, but not your last home: though death strip you of your beauty, yet at the Resurrection you shall have it restored again. As David when he found Saul asleep, took away his spear and flask of water, but when he awoke he restored them again (1 Samuel 26…

Here was a swift motion for the angel to come from heaven to earth between the beginning and ending of Daniel's prayer. 4. The angels are a watchful guard, not like Saul's guard, asleep when their Lord was in danger; (1 Samuel 26:12). The angels are a vigilant guard, they watch…

A sober and considerable party in the Land (however traduced) have entred their dissent, and openly protested against the scandalous actings of others; so that it is to be hoped, the Lord will not impute the sin of some to the whole. There are a certain number that said as David…

And the expression in that of the Psalmist, answers directly to what God speaks concerning the house of Eli (1 Samuel 3:14): The sin of the house of Eli shall not be expiated, [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉], neither by Sebach, nor by Mincha: that is, by no sort of sacrifices appoin…

This the Psalmist confesses of himself (Psalms 69:5): "O God, you know my foolishness." Every time a person commits any sin, he has just reason to say of himself, as he (1 Samuel 26:21), "I have sinned, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly." And it must needs be so…

Saul, as inveterate an enemy as could be, was more than once melted by David's mildness and meekness, "Is this your voice, my son David?" said he (1 Samuel 24:16). "I have sinned, return my son David" (1 Samuel 26:21). And after that, Saul persecuted him no more (1 Samuel 27:4).

The restraint is to God's law, that a master command nothing against it, but what is agreeable to it. Abishai would fain have had David's warrant to have killed Saul: but David was so far from commanding him to do it, as he kept him from it (Nothing unlawful to be commanded by m…

When Shimei cursed David, and Abishai, one of David's bodyguard, would have beheaded Shimei, King David said, Let him alone, and let him curse (2 Samuel 16:11). And when Saul had wronged and abused David, and it was in David's power to have found Saul napping and killed him (1 S…

And he lift up his voice and wept, ver. 16. But for all this he follows David again, and pursues after him (1 Samuel 26). Secondly, so men can lift up their voice and weep for sin, yet follow their sins again.

Destroyed it may be it shall be, but cured it cannot be. If a man has an enemy to deal withal that is too mighty for him, as David had with Saul, he may take the course that he did; consider what it is that provoked his enemy against him, and so address himself to remove the cau…

He melts (as sometimes a pricked conscience will do at a sermon) and wept, so as you would have thought his heart had melted, but it was only his conscience that was pricked; David durst not trust him for all that. And shortly after that, Saul went out with three thousand chosen…

For a man to rely upon another for any good thing, and at last to fail in his expectation, this must needs shame him in the disappointment of his hopes; but when the hopes of a man are grounded upon the unsearchable riches, and the unfailing promise, and the immutable truth, pow…

(1) Because, all sort of murder is expressly forbidden in the sixth command, you shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13), where there is a clear distinction made by the word "You," between a private man and a public magistrate, that does it by divine authority. (2) Because, though Saul wa…