1 Samuel 16:17

_LET OUR LORD NOW COMMAND THY SERVANTS, WHICH ARE BEFORE THEE, TO SEEK OUT A MAN, WHO IS A CUNNING PLAYER ON AN HARP: AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, WHEN THE EVIL SPIRIT FROM GOD IS UPON THEE, THAT HE SHALL PLAY WITH HIS HAND, AND THOU SHALT BE WELL._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

14-23 Saul is made a terror to himself. The Spirit of the Lord departed from him. If God and his grace do not rule us, sin and Satan will have possession of us. The devil, by the Divine permission, troubled and terrified Saul, by the corrupt humours of his body, and passions of his mind. He grew fretful, peevish, and discontented, and at times a madman. It is a pity that music, which may be serviceable to the good temper of the mind, should ever be abused, to support vanity and luxury, and made an occasion of drawing the heart from God and serious things. That is driving away the good Spirit, not the evil spirit. Music, diversions, company, or business, have for a time often been employed to quiet the wounded conscience; but nothing can effect a real cure but the blood of Christ, applied in faith, and the sanctifying Spirit sealing the pardon, by his holy comforts. All other plans to dis...

DAVID ANOINTED AS THE FUTURE KING, AND HIS FIRST INTRODUCTION TO SAUL. (1 Samuel 16:1) EXPOSITION CHOICE OF DAVID AS SUCCESSOR TO SAUL (1 Samuel 16:1). 1 SAMUEL 16:1 HOW LONG WRIT THOU MOURN? The grief of Samuel was prolonged almost to a sinful extent, nor can we wonder at it. We who see Saul's whole career, and know how deeply he fell

AND SAUL SAID UNTO HIS SERVANTS,.... Approving of, and pleased with the advice they gave: PROVIDE ME NOW A MAN THAT CAN PLAY WELL, AND BRING HIM TO ME; FOR BEING a sovereign prince, he could command whom he would to attend to his person and service....

III. DAVID, THE KING AFTER GOD'S HEART--HIS EXILE AND SUFFERING 1. David Anointed King and the Departure of the Spirit from Saul CHAPTER 16 _ 1. David anointed king (1 Samuel 16:1)_ 2. The Spirit departs from Saul and David with Saul (1 Samuel 16:14) The king after the people's heart has failed and is set aside, and now Jehovah brings forth His king after His own heart. That king like Jonathan, a man of faith, is devoted to Jehovah and in perfect subjection unto Him. Furthermore, from the tribe of Judah (Judah means “praise”) he is a worshipper through whom the Spirit of God pours forth the sweetest strains of praise and worship. He prospers into a great kingdom and Jehovah makes an oathbound covenant with him ...

DAVID, SAUL'S MINSTREL. (J), the ancient narrative, continues 1 Samuel 14:52. The earlier and more authentic of the two accounts of David's introduction to Saul (_cf._ 1 Samuel 17:55 ff.). Saul became possessed with some form of recurrent mania, which the primitive combination of pathology and theology explained by saying that the Spirit of Yahweh had departed from him, and that Yahweh had sent an evil spirit to torment him; so, according to Micaiah, 1 Kings 22:23, Yahweh put a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab's prophets. For us such statements connect themselves with the problem of the relation between the Divine Omnipotence and the origin of evil, but here they show that the Israelites did not yet ful

David's introduction to the Court of Saul 14. _But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul_ Note the contrast to 1 Samuel 16:13. As David rose, Saul sank. _an evil spirit from the Lord_ The cause of Saul's mental disorder is described as "an evil spirit from Jehovah," or "of Jehovah" (1 Samuel 19:9); "an evil spirit of God" (1 Samuel 16:15; 1 Samuel 18:10); "the spirit of evil" (1 Samuel 16:23); even "the spirit of God" (1 Samuel 16:23

_Saul Seeks a Musician._ 1 Samuel 16:14-23 14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord now command thy servants, _which are_ before thee, to seek out a man, _who is_ a cunning player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring _him_ to me. 18 Then answered one of the servants and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, _that is_ cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord _is_ with him. 19 Wheref

DAVID IS ANOINTED KING OVER ISRAEL From 1 Samuel 16 on, the interest centres in David rather than in Saul....

ISRAEL’S FIRST KING 1 SAMUEL _HELEN POCOCK_ CHAPTER 16 SAMUEL *ANOINTS DAVID V1 The *Lord said to Samuel, ‘You should not continue to be sad about Saul. I do not accept him as the king of *Israel now. Fill your jar with oil and go. I am sending you to a man whose name is Jesse. He lives in the town of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king’. V2 But Samuel said, ‘If I go, Saul will hear about it. He will kill me’. The *Lord said, ‘Take a young cow with you. Tell the people that you have come to give a *sacrifice to the *Lord. V3 Invite Jesse to the *sacrifice. I will tell you what