8 And there was war again; and David went forth and fought with the Philistines, and smote them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.
The ùGod who girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect, Who maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], and setteth me upon my high places; Who teacheth my hands to war, and mine arms bend a bow of brass; And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand held me up; and thy condescending gentleness hath made me great. Thou didst enlarge my steps under me, and mine ankles have not wavered. I pursued mine enemies, and overtook them; and I turned not again till they were consumed. I crushed them, and they were not able to rise: they fell under my feet. And thou girdedst me with strength to battle; thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me. And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, and those that hated me I destroyed. They cried, and there was none to save; -- unto Jehovah, and he answered them not. And I did beat them small as dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; thou hast made me the head of the nations: a people I knew not doth serve me. At the hearing of the ear, they obey me: strangers come cringing unto me. Strangers have faded away, and they come trembling forth from their close places. Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation, The ùGod who hath avenged me, and hath subjected the peoples to me; Who hath delivered me from mine enemies: yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; from the man of violence hast thou delivered me. Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, and will sing psalms to thy name. [It is he] who giveth great deliverances to his king, and sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
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Commentary on 1 Samuel 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
1Sa 19:1-7. Jonathan Discloses His Father's Purpose to Kill David.
1. Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David—The murderous design he had secretly cherished he now reveals to a few of his intimate friends. Jonathan was among the number. He prudently said nothing at the time, but secretly apprised David of his danger; and waiting till the morning, when his father's excited temper would be cooled, he stationed his friend in a place of concealment, where, overhearing the conversation, he might learn how matters really stood and take immediate flight, if necessary.
4-7. Jonathan spake good of David—He told his father he was committing a great sin to plot against the life of a man who had rendered the most invaluable services to his country and whose loyalty had been uniformly steady and devoted. The strong remonstrances of Jonathan produced an effect on the impulsive mind of his father. As he was still susceptible of good and honest impressions, he bound himself by an oath to relinquish his hostile purpose; and thus, through the intervention of the noble-minded prince, a temporary reconciliation was effected, in consequence of which David was again employed in the public service.
1Sa 19:8-17. Saul's Malicious Rage Breaks Out against David.
8-10. David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter—A brilliant victory was gained over the public enemy. But these fresh laurels of David reawakened in the moody breast of Saul the former spirit of envy and melancholy. On David's return to court, the temper of Saul became more fiendish than ever; the melodious strains of the harp had lost all their power to charm; and in a paroxysm of uncontrollable frenzy he aimed a javelin at the person of David—the missile having been thrown with such force that it pierced the chamber wall. David providentially escaped; but the king, having now thrown off the mask and being bent on aggressive measures, made his son-in-law's situation everywhere perilous.
11, 12. Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him—The fear of causing a commotion in the town, or favoring his escape in the darkness, seemed to have influenced the king in ordering them to patrol till the morning. This infatuation was overruled by Providence to favor David's escape; for his wife, secretly apprised by Jonathan, who was aware of the design, or by spying persons in court livery watching the gate, let him down through a window (see on Jos 2:15).
13, 14. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed—"an image," literally, "the teraphim," and laid, not in the bed, but literally on the "divan"; and "the pillows," that is, the cushion, which usually lay at the back of the divan and was stuffed with "goat's hair," she took from its bolster or heading at the upper part of the divan. This she placed lower down, and covered with a mantle, as if to foster a proper warmth in a patient; at the same time spreading the goat's hair skin, so as to resemble human hair in a dishevelled state. The pretext was that David lay there sick. The first messengers of Saul, keeping at a respectable distance, were deceived; but the imposition was detected on a closer inspection.
15. Bring him to me in the bed—a portable couch or mattress.
1Sa 19:18-23. David Flees to Samuel.
18-23. David fled, … and came to Samuel to Ramah—Samuel was living in great retirement, superintending the school of the prophets, established in the little hamlet of Naioth, in the neighborhood of Ramah. It was a retreat congenial to the mind of David; but Saul, having found out his asylum, sent three successive bodies of men to apprehend him. The character of the place and the influence of the sacred exercises produced such an effect on them that they were incapable of discharging their commission, and were led, by a resistless impulse, to join in singing the praises of God. Saul, in a fit of rage and disappointment, determined to go himself. But, before reaching the spot, his mental susceptibilities were roused even more than his messengers, and he was found, before long, swelling the ranks of the young prophets. This singular change can be ascribed only to the power of Him who can turn the hearts of men even as the rivers of water.
1Sa 19:24. Saul Prophesies.
24. lay down naked—that is, divested of his armor and outer robes—in a state of trance. Thus God, in making the wrath of man to praise Him, preserved the lives of all the prophets, frustrated all the purposes of Saul, and preserved the life of His servant.