9 15. David pleads his innocence<\/p>\n
9<\/strong>. men’s words<\/em> ] Calumniators like “Cush the Benjamite,” against whom Psalms 7<\/span> is directed, strove to inflame Saul’s mind against David. That Psalm has been with much probability referred to this period of his life. David’s protestation of innocence in 1Sa 24:3-4<\/em><\/span> of the Psalm is closely parallel to his words in 1Sa 24:10-11<\/em><\/span>; and his appeal to the judgment of Jehovah in 1Sa 24:8-9<\/em><\/span> of the Psalm resembles that in 1Sa 24:15<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n David was quite aware that there were flatterers at Sauls court who were continually inflaming the Kings mind by their false accusations against him. This explains the language of many of the Psalms, e. g. Ps. 10<\/span>; Psa 11:1-7<\/span>; Psa 12:1-8<\/span>; 35<\/span>; and many more.<\/P> <\/p>\n He prudently and modestly translates the fault from Saul to his followers and evil counsellors. <\/P> <\/p>\n And David said to Saul, wherefore hearest thou men’s words<\/strong>,…. The false charges and accusations, that some of Saul’s courtiers brought against David, as Doeg the Edomite, and such like sycophants and flatterers, to whom Saul hearkened, and believed what they said, and acted upon it. David chose rather to lay the blame on Saul’s courtiers than on himself; and he began with him in this way, the rather to reconcile him to him, and cause him to listen to what he had to say: and represents them as<\/p>\n saying<\/strong> to him,<\/p>\n behold, David seeketh thy hurt<\/strong>? seeks to take away thy life, and seize upon thy crown and throne; than which nothing was more foreign from him.<\/p>\n David Expostulates with Saul.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 1057.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD<\/B> had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some<\/I> bade me<\/I> kill thee: but mine eye<\/I> spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is<\/I> the LORD<\/B>‘s anointed. 11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is<\/I> neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. 12 The LORD<\/B> judge between me and thee, and the LORD<\/B> avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. 15 The LORD<\/B> therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.<\/P> We have here David’s warm and pathetic speech to Saul, wherein he endeavours to convince him that he did him a great deal of wrong in persecuting him thus and to persuade him therefore to be reconciled.<\/P> I. He calls him father<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>), for he was not only, as king, the father of his country, but he was, in particular, his father-in-law. From a father one may expect compassion and a favourable opinion. For a prince to seek the ruin of any of his good subjects is as unnatural as for a father to seek the ruin of his own children.<\/P> II. He lays the blame of his rage against him upon his evil counsellors: Wherefore hearest thou men’s words?<\/I> v.<\/span> 9<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. It is a piece of respect due to crowned heads, if they do amiss, to charge it upon those about them, who either advised them to it or should have advised them against it. David had reason enough to think that Saul persecuted him purely from his own envy and malice, yet he courteously supposes that others put him on to do it, and made him believe that David was his enemy and sought his hurt. Satan, the great accuser of the brethren, has his agents in all places, and particularly in the courts of those princes that encourage them and give ear to them, who make it their business to represent the people of God as enemies to Caesar and hurtful to kings and provinces, that, being thus dressed up in bear-skins, they may “be baited.”<\/P> III. He solemnly protests his own innocence, and that he is far from designing any hurt or mischief to Saul: “There is neither evil nor transgression in my hand,<\/I> v.<\/span> 11<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. I am not chargeable with any crime, nor conscious of any guilt, and, had I a window in my breast, thou mightest through it see the sincerity of my heart in this protestation: I have not sinned against thee<\/I> (however I have sinned against God), yet thou huntest my soul,<\/I>” that is, “my life.” Perhaps it was about this time that David penned the seventh psalm, concerning the affair of Cush the Benjamite (that is, Saul, as some think), wherein he thus appeals to God (v.<\/I><\/span> 3-5<\/span>): If there be iniquity in my hands, then let the enemy persecute my soul and take it,<\/I> putting in a parenthesis, with reference to the story of this chapter, Yea, I have delivered him that without cause is my enemy.<\/I><\/P> IV. He produces undeniable evidence to prove the falsehood of the suggestion upon which Saul’s malice against him was grounded. David was charged with seeking Saul’s hurt: “See,<\/I>” says he, “yea, see the skirt of thy robe,<\/I> v.<\/span> 11<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Let this be a witness for me, and an unexceptionable witness it is; had that been true of which I am accused, I should now have had thy head in my hand and not the skirt of thy robe, for I could as easily have cut off that as this.” To corroborate this evidence he shows him, 1. That God’s providence had given him opportunity to do it: The lord delivered thee,<\/I> very surprisingly, to day into my hand,<\/I> whence many a one would have gathered an intimation that it was the will of God he should now give the determining blow to him whose neck lay so fair for it. When Saul had but a very small advantage against David he cried out, God has delivered him into my hand<\/I> (ch.<\/I><\/span> xxiii. 7<\/span>), and resolved to make the best of that advantage; but David did not so. 2. That his counsellors and those about him had earnestly besought him to do it: Some bade me kill thee.<\/I> He had blamed Saul for hearkening to men’s words and justly; “for,” says he, “if I had done so, thou wouldest not have been alive now.” 3. That it was upon a good principle that he refused to do it; not because Saul’s attendants were at hand, who, it may be, would have avenged his death; no, it was not by the fear of them, but by the fear of God, that he was restrained from it. “He is my lord, and the Lord’s anointed, whom I ought to protect, and to whom I owe faith and allegiance, and therefore I said, I will not touch a hair of his head.” Such a happy command he had of himself that his nature, in the midst of the greatest provocation, was not suffered to rebel against his principles.<\/P> V. He declares it to be his fixed resolution never to be his own avenger: “The Lord avenge me of thee,<\/I> that is, deliver me out of thy hand; but, whatever comes of it, my hand shall not be upon thee<\/I>” (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>), and again (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>), for saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked.<\/I> The wisdom of the ancients is transmitted to posterity by their proverbial sayings. Many such we receive by tradition from our fathers; and the counsels of common persons are very much directed by this, “As the old saying is.” Here is one that was in use in David’s time: Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked,<\/I> that is, 1. Men’s own iniquity will ruin them at last, so some understand it. Forward furious men will cut their own throats with their own knives. Give them rope enough, and they will hang themselves. In this sense it comes in very fitly as a reason why his hand should not be upon him.<\/I> 2. Bad men will do bad things; according as men’s principles and dispositions are, so will their actions be. This also agrees very well with the connexion. If David had been a wicked man, as he was represented, he would have done this wicked thing; but he durst not, because of the fear of God. Or thus: Whatever injuries bad men do us (which we are not to wonder at; he that lies among thorns must expect to be scratched), yet we must not return them; never render railing for railing. Though wickedness proceed from the wicked,<\/I> yet let it not therefore proceed from us by way of retaliation. Though the dog bark at the sheep, the sheep does not bark at the dog. See Isa. xxxii. 6-8<\/span>.<\/P> VI. He endeavours to convince Saul that as it was a bad thing, so it was a mean thing, for him to give chase to such an inconsiderable person as he was (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>): Whom does the king of Israel pursue<\/I> with all this care and force? A dead dog; a flea; one flea,<\/I> so it is in the Hebrew. It is below so great a king to enter the lists with one that is so unequal a match for him, one of his own servants, bred a poor shepherd, now an exile, neither able nor willing to make any resistance. To conquer him would not be to his honour, to attempt it was his disparagement. If Saul would consult his own reputation, he would slight such an enemy (supposing he were really his enemy) and would think himself in no danger from him. David was so far from aspiring that he was, in his own account, as a dead dog. Mephibosheth thus calls himself, 2 Sam. ix. 8<\/span>. This humble language would have wrought upon Saul if he had had any spark of generosity in him. Satis est prostrasse leoni–Enough for the lion that he has laid his victim low.<\/I> What credit would it be to Saul to trample upon a dead dog? What pleasure could it be to him to hunt a flea, a single flea, which (as some have observed), if it be sought, is not easily found, if it be found, is not easily caught, and, if it be caught, is a poor prize, especially for a prince. Aquila non captat muscas–The eagle does not dart upon flies.<\/I> David thinks Saul had no more reason to fear him than to fear a flea-bite.<\/P> VII. He once and again appeals to God as the righteous Judge (1Sa 24:12<\/span>; 1Sa 24:15<\/span>): The Lord judge between me and thee.<\/I> Note, The justice of God is the refuge and comfort of oppressed innocence. If men wrong us, God will right us, at furthest, in the judgment of the great day. With him David leaves his cause, and so rests satisfied, waiting his time to appear for him.<\/P> <\/p>\n Saul’s Insincere Repentance, vs. 9-22<\/strong><\/p>\n Having gained King Saul’s attention <\/em>David proceeded to administer a quite stern rebuke to him, though in a very humble manner. First, <\/em>David chided the king for believing that David sought to do him hurt, a belief which has right then been very convincingly proved wrong. For, second, <\/em>Saul was in the power of David, and David had been urged to kill the king who wished to kill him. But David had refused to allow Saul to be harmed, and had, thirdly, <\/em>sworn not to put forth his hand to harm the king, because he was the anointed of the Lord. David then showed Saul the skirt which he had cut off the king’s robe while he was in the cave. Thus David has no evil motive or harmful intent toward Saul, for the sword which bobbed off his robe could have as well taken off the king’s head.<\/em><\/p>\n Fourthly, <\/em>David called the Lord to judge between himself and Saul, for Saul had been scouring the country to take the life of David. David was willing to leave vengeance against Saul in the hand of the Lord, remembering what the law said about avenging oneself (De 32:43). In the fifth place, <\/em>David quoted a proverb of the ancients which was an indictment of wickedness against Saul and a claim of innocence on the part of David. Saul’s pursuit of David was ridiculous in that David was no more a threat to Saul than a dead dog or a flea.<\/em><\/p>\n Finally, <\/em>David made it clear to Saul that he was leaving all in the hand of the Lord who would judge between them and who would deliver David out of Saul’s hand.<\/em><\/p>\n Saul asked, “Is <\/em>this thy voice, my son David?” Why did he ask this? Perhaps David was far enough away that Saul could not recognize him by sight, though having just left the cave make this questionable. It is probable that Saul had brooded over his problem for so long and persuaded himself that David was out to get him that he could hardly believe that David would say these things. Saul had just heard the earnest and honest voice of David, and it held no animosity for him.<\/em><\/p>\n He commended David as righteous <\/em>in that he spared Saul’s life, who was his enemy. He admitted that the Lord had put him in David’s power, but David had not treated him as an enemy. For this Saul invoked the blessings of the Lord on David. Next Saul admitted that he knew the Lord would one day make David king of Israel and establish the kingdom in his hand. Finally, <\/em>he asked of David that, when these things had transpired, David would swear not to put Saul’s family to death and cut off his descendants from the earth. David did swear to Saul, and Saul returned to his home. However, David could not trust Saul’s good feeling to last. He took his men and went into the hold, or a defensive position.<\/em><\/p>\n Several lessons are to be found here: 1) <\/em>The devil never gives up trying to destroy the Lord’s people; 2) it is easy to take matters into one’s own hand and bring unending grief upon he who does so; 3) God’s people should be ready to boldly proclaim the sins of the lost to them; 4) humility is always in place when seeking to persuade others to do right; 5) one must never trust the promises of the world.<\/em><\/p>\n (9) Wherefore hearest thou mens words?<\/strong>David had many deadly enemies at the court of Saul, who evidently laboured with success to deepen Sauls jealousy, and to widen the breach which already existed between the king and David. Doeg has been already mentioned as one of the more prominent of these slanderers; another was Cush the Benjamite, who was alluded to in the inscription which heads the seventh Psalm. The Ziphites and their representatives at the royal residence also belonged to this class of malicious foes spoken of here.<\/p>\n 1Sa 24:9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?<\/p>\n Ver. 9. Wherefore hearest thou men’s words?] The tale hearer is no less faulty than the tale bearer; for as this carrieth the devil in his tongue, so doth that other in his ear. David blameth not so much Saul as his toadies, yet showeth that both were blameworthy.<\/p>\n men’s. Hebrew. ‘adam. App-14. evil. Hebrew. ra`a`. App-44. transgression. Hebrew. pasha`. App-44. sinned. Hebrew. chata’. App-44. soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13. <\/p>\n 1Sa 26:19, Lev 19:16, Psa 101:5, Psa 141:6, Pro 16:28, Pro 17:4, Pro 18:8, Pro 25:23, Pro 26:20-22, Pro 26:28, Pro 29:12, Ecc 7:21, Ecc 7:22, Jam 3:6 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Sa 26:18 – Wherefore Psa 7:3 – if I Psa 31:13 – I have Psa 35:11 – False witnesses Psa 64:6 – search Psa 119:61 – but I Psa 119:161 – Princes Psa 120:7 – when Pro 30:10 – Accuse not Jer 37:18 – General Dan 6:22 – and also<\/p>\n 24:9 And David said to Saul, {e} Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?<\/p>\n (e) Contrary to the report of those who said David was Saul’s enemy, he proves himself to be his friend.<\/p>\n And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 9 15. David pleads his innocence 9. men’s words ] Calumniators like “Cush the Benjamite,” against whom Psalms 7 is directed, strove to inflame Saul’s mind against David. That Psalm has been with much probability referred to this period … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 24:9”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7860\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"