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OK, let's turn to 2 Samuel 1. 2 Samuel 1. Our focus this evening 
is David's lamentation in verses 17 to 27. After hearing the news 
of Saul's death, Saul and Jonathan, David and his men grieve in verses 
11 and 12. But David then gives expression 
to that grief in this lamentation. in verses 17 to 27. When we first 
meet David back in 1 Samuel 16, we know that he's a musician. 
When we read the Psalms, we certainly know that he's a poet. And as 
we read this particular lamentation, we see the that the heart of 
David and this expression of grief that he has for the death 
of Saul and Jonathan. I do want to read the whole chapter, 
and as I said, our focus will be verses 17 to 27. Beginning 
in verse 1 of 2 Samuel 1, Now it came to pass after the death 
of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, 
and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, on the third day, 
behold, It happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his 
clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was when he came 
to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. 
And David said to him, where have you come from? So he said 
to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. Then David said 
to him, how did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, 
the people have fled from the battle. Many of the people are 
fallen and dead. and Saul and Jonathan, his son, 
are dead also. So David said to the young man 
who told him, how do you know that Saul and Jonathan, his son, 
are dead? Then the young man who told him 
said, as I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there 
was Saul leaning on his spear. And indeed, the chariots and 
horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind 
him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, here I am. And he said to me, Who are you? 
So I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said to me again, please stand 
over me and kill me for anguish has come upon me, but my life 
still remains in me. So I stood over him and killed 
him because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. 
And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet 
that was on his arm and have brought them here to my Lord. 
Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, 
and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and 
wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his 
son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, 
because they had fallen by the sword. Then David said to the 
young man who told him, where are you from? And he answered, 
I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite. So David said to him, 
how was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy 
the Lord's anointed? Then David called one of the 
young men and said, go near and execute him. And he struck him 
so that he died. So David said, said to him, your 
blood is on your own head for your own mouth has testified 
against you saying, I have killed the Lord's anointed. And David 
lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, 
his son. And he told them to teach the 
children of Judah the song of the bow. Indeed, it is written 
in the book of Jasher. The beauty of Israel is slain 
on your high places. How the mighty have fallen. Tell 
it not in Gath. Proclaim it not in the streets 
of Ashkelon. Lest the daughters of the Philistines 
rejoice. Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised 
triumph. O mountains of Gilboa, let there 
be no dew nor rain upon you, nor fields of offerings, for 
the shield of the mighty is cast away there, the shield of Saul, 
not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, 
from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn 
back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. Saul and Jonathan 
were beloved and pleasant in their lives. and in their death 
they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. 
They were stronger than lions. Oh, daughters of Israel, weep 
over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with luxury, who put 
ornaments of gold on your apparel. How the mighty have fallen in 
the midst of the battle. Jonathan was slain in your high 
places. I am distressed for you, my brother 
Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to 
me. Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women. 
How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perished. 
Amen. So as we saw last week, after 
the death of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa, the narrative 
picks up in 2 Samuel chapter 1. David comes back from slaughtering 
the Amalekites. He's in Ziklag. Of course, as 
we just read, this man comes to Ziklag to report the death 
of Saul. And this man claims responsibility. He thinks, or he's trying to 
curry favor with David. He knows that David and Saul 
are enemies, and if Saul is taken out of the way, then David's 
accession to the throne is going to be facilitated. So this young 
Amalekite, or this man, thinks that by doing this, he is going 
to receive favor from David, but what he receives is David's 
sword of judgment. and he is executed. So I said, 
if you notice specifically in verses 11 and 12, therefore David 
took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all 
the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and 
fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for 
the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because 
they had fallen by the sword." We looked at that last week, 
obviously, and we noted how David, when we consider everything, 
it was an extraordinary thing for David to express grief in 
light of the fact that Saul persecuted him Saul hunted him, Saul ultimately 
wanted to destroy him. But David was able to recognize 
the good gifts of God that had even come through a wicked man. 
And we also noted that Saul didn't do everything wrong. Initially 
when Saul was put on the throne, his first victory was to kill 
the Ammonites who were plaguing the the Jabesh Gileadites, as 
well in 1 Samuel 14, at the end of the chapter there's a summary 
there of Saul's reign and it reads very well. And even in 
this particular song of lamentation that David sings, he tells the 
daughters of Israel to weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet 
with luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. That 
indicates that under Saul's reign there was economic stability, 
there was prosperity, There was good that happened in the land. 
So David is able to parse out the good things that Saul had 
done, express grief for the death of Saul as God's anointed, without 
of course having forgotten the fact that David had been plagued 
by Saul and that Saul was a hunter of David. and wanted to persecute 
him. Now David goes into, as I've 
said, the song of lamentation. I want to look at it under two 
broad considerations. First, the introduction to the 
lamentation, and then secondly, the contents of the lamentation. But in the first place, notice 
the introduction proper in verse 17. then David lamented with 
this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son. I mentioned 
this on Sunday night in the scripture reading. Hopefully you remember, 
after the book of Jeremiah comes a book called Lamentations. And 
Lamentations is just that. It's a written record of Jeremiah's 
sorrows over the fall of Jerusalem. And so this is a literary convention 
that the Bible employs, and it's not strictly biblical, certainly 
outside of the Bible. Pagans, unbelievers as well can 
compose songs of lament, but it is something that features 
often in the Bible itself. As I said, the entire book of 
Lamentations, There are several psalms of lament, both individual 
and community. I have a whole list of them. 
If you're interested in that, let me know and I'll send you 
the notes. But as well, the significance of such a thing ought to be appreciated. The Bible does not minimize the 
reality that there are pain and grief in this world. The Bible 
never tells us that, you know, life is just going to be rosy 
and filled with happy thoughts and with birds and songs and 
feasting and delight. No, the moment you open the book 
of Genesis, when Adam and Eve plunge into sin, we see from 
thence on this is a world filled with misery. There is pain, there 
is grief, there is sin, there is distress, there is confusion. And lament, or these songs of 
lamentation, are a wonderful vehicle by which we can express 
this lament unto our Lord God. The practice of lamentation is 
a helpful response to such grief and pain. We are told in the 
Bible we are to weep with those who weep. And certainly there's 
the verses 11 and 12 sort of weeping. We get some particular 
news and we immediately grieve on behalf of the parties involved. But then there is this written 
form that David engages in in this particular place. And this 
is a poetic masterpiece. It really is a beautiful piece 
of literature. As well as I mentioned on Sunday 
night, the Book of Lamentations. It's five chapters. The first 
two are 22 verses and they form an acrostic with the Hebrew alphabet. So each verse begins with a letter 
of the alphabet. So it would be A, and then B, 
and if it was in an English alphabet, it would go C, D, E, F, G. There's 
22 consonants, so there's 22 verses. So the first two chapters 
are 22, and they're acrostic. The third chapter is 66, so the 
first three verses would all be A verses. The next three would 
all be B. And it's an impressive thing 
just to look at on the written page. The fourth goes back to 
22 verses, so the 22 consonants, so it's again an A through Z 
sort of a motif. And then in chapter five, there's 
no acrostic. And I think there's a reason 
for that, as I intimated on Sunday night, we'll deal with that when 
we get there. The point is, it is a It is a work of literary 
art. And I like what Davis has to 
say with reference to this particular aspect. of this poem or of this 
song. He says a lament, treating the 
written form that we find here, a lament differs from the informal, 
spontaneous, immediate outbursts of grief like those of chapter 
1, verses 11 and 12. He says a lament is no less sorrowful 
or sincere, but it is a vehicle for the mind as well as for the 
emotions. He says a lament is an expression 
of thoughtful grief. In a written lament then words 
cannot simply be dumped or gushed or mushed as in initial grief. Here one cannot simply vomit 
out feelings but must choose words. Not that the lament is 
cold, objective, and detached. Rather, the intensity of one's 
emotions unite with the discipline of one's mind to produce structured 
sorrow, a sort of authorized version of distress, a kind of 
coherent agony. In a lament, therefore, words 
are carefully selected, crafted, honed to express loss as closely 
yet fully as possible. And that's what we're dealing 
with here in verses 19 to 27. Specifically, it is a piece of 
art, a piece of work, a piece of literature that is carefully 
selected, crafted, honed to express loss as closely yet fully as 
possible. And then notice as well what 
verse 18 indicates. And he, David, told them to teach 
the children of Judah the song of the bow. Indeed, it is written 
in the book of Jasher. There's some variance, there's 
some differing understandings about what's going on here. He 
told them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow. 
Some suggest that what it means is that he instructed them to 
teach the sons of Judah on the art of the bow, or how to fight 
war, how to engage in battle. But this isn't necessarily a 
song that provides military strategy. It's probably called the song 
of the bow because the bow was Jonathan's choice of weapon. Notice specifically in verse 
22, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back. So it's probably named after 
that aspect, and so David wants them to teach the children of 
Judah the song of the bow. In other words, Judahites are 
supposed to know this song of lamentation. They're supposed 
to have it in their minds. They're supposed to have it in 
their hearts as well. And there's probably a variety 
of reasons for this, not least of which is to imitate David 
in expressing grief for the death of God's anointed and of his 
sons. Again, this is something that 
fared well in the life of David. He didn't want to kill Saul. 
Even though Saul was a wretched man and Saul was trying to kill 
David, David spared his life on several occasions. and David 
had respect for him because he was Yahweh's anointed. So certainly 
he wants the Judahites to understand that and express the same sort 
of grief over Saul and his sons. We'll see some other reasons 
why as we move on in this particular passage. Now there's a reference 
here to the book of Jasher. That book is also referenced 
in Joshua chapter 10 and verse 30. It's a lost piece of work. We do not have it. It is most 
likely an anthology or is probably an anthology of war songs, hero 
tales, different things to fire up the troops in Israel to go 
out to battle against their enemies. Now let's look specifically at 
the contents of the Lamentation. And sometimes in poetry, at least 
for me it is, sometimes difficult to know how to carve it up. Sure, 
there's a whole lot of ways that persons could approach this in 
terms of the structure, but I think there's three main thoughts going 
on here. First, the disgrace associated 
with the defeat in verses 19 to 21. Secondly, the appreciation 
expressed for the warriors in verses 22 to 24. And then thirdly, 
the distress experienced because of loss. Note first the disgrace 
associated with defeat. Verse 19, the beauty of Israel 
is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen. That's 
the refrain three times, how the mighty have fallen. Who's 
the mighty in view? It's Saul and his sons. When 
he says the beauty of Israel, Kyle and Dalich render it as 
the ornaments of Israel. Either way, it probably refers 
to Saul and his sons, the leaders of Israel are slain on your high 
places how the mighty have fallen." And then notice, he moves from 
this statement concerning the lament to a particular petition 
in verse 20. Now David knows he can't stop 
things from being said in Philistia. David can't actually go and post 
guards and make sure no one in Philistia ever talks about this 
event. But this is his petition. This 
is the yearning of his heart. This is the longing of his heart. 
Now I'm not suggesting we pray for things that we know we'll 
never get. But when we do petition God in 
this manner, it indicates something about what's going on in our 
heart and what is a concern to us. Notice in verse 20 he says, 
Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon. 
These were chief cities in Philistia. David does not want this report 
of the mighty who have fallen on Mount Gilboa to circulate 
among the Philistines. Why doesn't David want them to 
know that? Notice what he says in verse 
20, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the 
daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. We have seen this convention 
when David comes back from battle in the Valley of Elah. The women 
dance, and they sing, and they pray. Saul is killed as thousands, 
but David is 10,000. We see this also in Gath when 
David visits there in 1 Samuel chapter 21. They report to Achish, 
isn't this the one of whom they say he has killed as 10,000? 
You see a similar convention in Judges 11 as well. And David 
does not want these Philistine women to be able to rejoice at 
the thought that the mighty of Israel have fallen. So in other 
words, David is concerned first and foremost, I think here, with 
the glory of God. Because when these daughters 
of Philistia rejoice, when these uncircumcised triumph, yes, it's 
going to be in the case that Saul and his sons are dead, but 
it's going to be a reflection upon the impotence of Yahweh 
as far as these uncircumcised Philistines are concerned. Remember, 
we saw that when Saul was dead, they cut off his head and they 
put his head in the temple of Dagon. They took his armor and 
put it in the temple of Asherah. This was a means by which they 
indicated that Dagon and Asherah were victorious over the death 
of Saul and his sons. Even though the chronicler tells 
us that it was God who killed Saul. So what this means is that David 
in this particular lament is genuinely and earnestly and in 
the first place concerned with the glory and the majesty and 
the excellence of Israel's God. He doesn't want these Philistine 
girls dancing and praising and celebrating because it won't 
take long for them to say, now that Saul and his sons are dead, 
to the point where they say Yahweh is impotent, He is not the God 
of heaven and earth, He could not keep and He could not protect 
Saul and his sons. For David, Hallowed be thy name 
starts in the first place, just as David's greater son, teaches 
us later in Matthew's Gospel. So he states the fact concerning 
the death of Saul and his sons, how the mighty have fallen and 
his heart immediately soars to the honor and the glory of God 
most high. Lest the daughters of the Philistines 
rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Nothing 
could be more heartbreaking to David than to know that pagans, 
wicked, Dagon-worshipping wretches, were casting aspersion upon the 
name of our great and glorious God. I think we ought to learn 
from David and we ought to learn from our Lord Jesus. that when 
we go to prayer, the very first emphasis that we ought to bring 
to the throne of grace is not for my happiness, not for my 
wholeness, not for my benefit, but for the glory and the excellency 
and the majesty of God. You see, that's where Jesus starts 
when he teaches us to pray. Hallowed be thy name. Before we get to, God please 
give us food, and please give us forgiveness, and God please 
give us protection, we start specifically with the name of 
God, we move to the kingdom of God, and then we move to the 
will of God. The Lord's Prayer is structured 
with a theological priority, and that's what we need to be 
about in our prayer lives. Again, if you fall down a well 
and you're hanging there, you can say, God, save me. But as 
a matter of course, when you pray, You ought to follow the 
priority that our Lord Jesus Christ establishes, and we ought 
to appreciate that that's where David's heart soars when he goes 
to prayer with reference to this song of lamentation over Saul 
and his sons. Lest the daughters of the Philistines 
rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. This 
is consistent Davidic theology. Remember when he comes on the 
scene at the Valley of Elah, His father, Jesse, sends him 
to take wheels of cheese to his brothers and to ascertain their 
particular status. When David gets there and he 
hears the taunt of the uncircumcised Philistine, this is the first 
thing he says, recorded in the Bible. Who is this uncircumcised 
Philistine who taunts the armies of the living God? For David, 
we serve a living God. And if that's the case, then 
big-headed beasts like that ought not to be able to inhabit this 
earth. And that's what sends him out to battle in the Valley 
of Elah. It is theological to the core, and when David is reflecting 
upon the death of Saul and his sons, yes, he's lost a great 
friend and brother in Jonathan. Yes, the Lord's anointed has 
been slain by Philistine Pagans, but the name and the glory of 
God Most High is at stake, and that's where David begins when 
he comes to pray. Davis says concerning this particular 
petition as well. It would be a helpful instructor 
to the sons of Judah. Remember I said there were various 
reasons for verse 18. He told them to teach the children 
of Judah the song of the bow. And then verse 20. something 
that the sons of Judah would need to learn from this song 
of the bow. Davis says, this disgrace is 
useful. Now he's not saying it's good 
and it's righteous, but this is what does seem to be the theme 
in this brief section, is the disgrace that has befallen Israel. Because the beauty of Israel 
is slain on your high places, how the mighty have fallen. Disgrace 
has come. to Israel. So David says that 
yet such disgrace is useful. At least David intends to use 
it. He says, remember the preface 
to David's lament. And he ordered them to teach 
the sons of Judah the bow. The bow is the title for David's 
dirge of verses 19 to 27. David wanted the fighting men 
of his own tribe to know this sad song, to know it by heart, 
to have it crammed into their pores. This is legit. This is what he says. David doesn't 
just say, teach it to the sons of Judah like we say it. We don't 
really actually care if people take in the Bible or not. David 
is the king elect in Israel. When he says, I want the sons 
of Judah to memorize this song, they would memorize this song. 
Now he goes on. Why? Why should troops learn 
poetry? Why should the army of Judah 
always have the lyrics of defeat ringing in their ears? Because 
David intends it as part of their motivational military training. Gilboa was not the last time 
Israel would fight Philistines. And David wanted his men to remember 
Gilboa. Remember the tragedy. Remember 
the pagan arrogance. He wanted them deeply stirred 
and moved for the next time. Remember the Song of the Bow 
the next time you face these Philistines and the disgrace 
they cast on the name of the living God. Hopefully that would 
put some steel in their bones and they would go into battle 
with an earnest desire to loose the heads of Philistines on the 
battlefield. Notice as well, under this whole 
idea of the disgrace associated with defeat, the imprecation 
regarding Gilboa. An imprecation is when we call 
down God's curse on something. And that's essentially what David 
is doing in verse 21. Now it's a symbolic imprecation. I don't think David is anti-environment. I don't think David wants to 
ruin the lives of anybody that lives near Gilboa. It's a symbolic 
act to highlight the notoriousness of this place. Oh, mountains 
of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you, nor fields 
of offerings, for the shield of the mighty is cast away there, 
the shield of Saul not anointed with oil. That means that his 
shield is essentially useless. Because a shield, a leather shield, 
would be anointed with oil. Literally, it would be messiahed 
with oil. Robert Alter said this is probably 
indicative of the fact that Saul has been un-messiahed. He is 
no longer the anointed, no longer the king over Israel. But the 
shield with the oil, it would be helpful in battle. But in 
this particular instance, the shield of the mighty is cast 
away there, the shield of Saul not anointed with oil. So essentially 
he is saying, because of that, oh hills of Gilboa, let nothing 
grow upon you anymore. This is lament. This is grief, 
this is sorrow, this is ache, this is pain, and this is David 
giving vent to it. Now notice in the second place 
the appreciation expressed for the warriors in verses 22 to 
24. He says, for the blood of the slain From the fat of the 
mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword 
of Saul did not return empty." Those were their weapons of choice, 
and David says in battle these men were excellent. In battle, The bow of Jonathan 
did not turn back and the sword of Saul did not return empty. 
That's that language that you find in the scriptures. In Deuteronomy 
32, you find it in the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. The sword 
goes and gets blood. The idea is that it's victorious. Those wielding it are successful 
in the way that they bring that to bear upon those that they 
are at war with. And then notice as well their 
character and life. So he highlights their ability 
in battle in verse 22, and then their character and life at verse 
23. So Saul and Jonathan were beloved 
and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were 
not divided. Now in this I think we see what 
we saw in chapter 31 of 1 Samuel. Jonathan was faithful, wasn't 
he? Jonathan was a faithful man. You all know the story. We go 
back in 1 Samuel. Saul is anointed as the king. 
That means there's going to be a dynasty in his home. There's 
going to be a dynastic reign. It's a dynastic monarchy. So when Saul dies, his son Jonathan 
is going to be the king. Well, of course, God punishes 
Saul and his household as a result of Saul's sin. So God, in chapter 
13, announces that it's not going to be a Saul-eyed dynasty. He makes it clear later that 
it's going to be David. And when David comes on the scene, 
what does Jonathan do? Jonathan takes off his royal 
robes and hands them to David. Now, that's very untypical of 
man by nature. We want to cleave to those roads. 
We don't want anybody to take what's ours. If we have the least 
bit of right to a particular benefit, we're not going to part 
with that. But yet David comes back from 
battle victorious, and Jonathan's taking his robes off and handing 
them to him. Jonathan is truly a man of God, 
as evidenced throughout all the chapters that he makes appearances 
in. Now we know that Saul was not 
the best character, of course, to David, but also to Jonathan. At one point, Saul takes the 
spear that he tried to launch at David, and he throws it at 
his own son, Jonathan. But at the end, when we get to 
1 Samuel 31, where is Jonathan? He's right next to Saul on the 
field of battle in the mountains of Gilboa, and he dies there. He's a faithful man. He's a consistent 
man. He's a steadfast man. Now having 
pointed that out, where there was this sort of difficulty or 
tension between Saul and Jonathan, notice is David just whitewashing 
all that. Saul and Jonathan were beloved 
and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were 
not divided. That's not untrue. That's not incorrect. I mean, 
he did leave some things out, but I think we ought to take 
from this that at a funeral or in a song of lamentation, we 
don't need to necessarily celebrate every evil and despicable act 
someone ever did. You see, David is showing something 
here of an unbitter heart and a non-vindictive spirit. He is 
highlighting those things about Saul that he can legitimately 
and honestly speak well concerning. There's nothing incorrect here. 
There's nothing untrue here. Now, having come out of 1 Samuel, 
we might be inclined to say, but David, did you forget when 
he threw those spears at you? David, did you forget when he 
hunted you like you were a dog? David, did you forget all those 
times that he wanted to take you off the face of the earth? 
No, David didn't forget that, but David is a vindictive, vengeful, 
bitter little man. David is a righteous and a godly 
man who typifies his greater son, who, though opposed and 
who is looked at as an enemy by many, nevertheless prays, 
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Nevertheless, 
God demonstrates his own love toward us. In that while we were 
yet sinners, Christ died for us. So David is typifying David's 
greater son in his attitude in this particular instance. I think 
we can pull out a practical lesson here. Funerals are not the best 
time to highlight the wickedness of the one buried. I'm sure we've 
been at those funerals where we've heard the minister, we 
heard the eulogizers, and we thought, who are they describing? 
Because that didn't sound like anybody that I know, certainly 
not that wretch that's in that box. We are not to lie at funerals, 
but we are discouraged, at least by example, from bringing up 
every single detail in a man's life that is untoward. You know, 
there's this sort of an approach to funerals in our own day. It's 
called a celebration of life. I don't know what to think about 
that. I haven't thought a whole lot about that. I like to think 
we're celebrating the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and 
rejoicing. that this person in his death 
is now gone to be with Jesus, but that's pretty common today, 
a celebration of life. Whether that's legit or not, 
I know that, at least as I understand David here, a celebration of 
the deceased's sins and evil deeds and notorious acts isn't 
necessarily called for either. You know, there's got to be a 
godly restraint that we exercise. And we don't lie and say, you 
know, this person was of a sterling character when he was nothing 
but an ungodly wretch. But David is able to pull out 
those pieces of Saul's life that were genuinely admirable. He 
is able to eulogize in a way that is respectful, that shows 
or depicts that he's not a vindictive little man, but rather he is 
a large-hearted Christian brother who isn't going to engage in 
that sort of thing. Calvin, reflecting on the problems 
between Saul and Jonathan, he says, but David here paid no 
attention to that, for he buried Saul's offenses and recognized 
him as the one whom God had ordained as head over his people. So the 
point is, if somebody drops dead, they don't need you at their 
funeral to tell everybody about every bad thing they ever did 
in their life. That is not the purpose for a 
funeral. Again, I'm not saying lie. Maybe 
you practice the old maxim, if you don't have something nice 
to say, don't say anything at all. What happened to that maxim? It's gone, isn't it? That's what 
they used to teach us when we were little. If you don't have 
something nice to say, now it's blog about it, Facebook about 
it, tweet about it, yell at people, scream at them, and say everything 
that is in your heart. Well, you don't need to do that. 
You don't need to do it in life. You don't necessarily, you don't 
need to do it in death either. Notice, David goes on then and 
compares them to animals, eagles and lions. They were swifter 
than eagles, they were stronger than lions. It's true. In battle, 
ferocity, swords and spears, they were men of proven ability 
on the battlefield. Now notice, he encourages the 
daughters of Israel to weep over Saul. I love this because not 
only does David not degenerate into a petty, vindictive spirit, 
he doesn't get into this attitude, well Saul's gone now, I can tell 
everybody what he was really like. I can tell everybody what 
a wretch he was. We don't know how widespread 
the knowledge of Saul and David was. When David comes to Nob 
in 1 Samuel 21, the priest there seems to have some inkling that 
something isn't good between Saul and David. So we move through 
the narrative, we see that in various persons. There's this 
understanding that things aren't great between Saul and David. 
But we don't know how widespread that was. Do the daughters of 
Israel necessarily know of the problems between David and Saul? Well, David doesn't want them 
to. David doesn't express it. David's memoirs aren't, let me 
tell you about what a wretched man Saul was. That's typical 
today, too. Men write their memoirs, and 
they say, oh, you should have known so-and-so like I knew so-and-so. 
He was this sort of... David doesn't do that. You see, 
you have two options in your life. You can be a little pathetic 
whiner or you can man up and be a David and just deal with 
some of the problems and some of the issues and some of the 
hardships you face without necessarily telling everybody everything 
all the time. David not only did not degenerate 
into this littleness, but he discouraged Israel from falling 
into such a thing as well. Essentially, David is saying, 
think fondly of your king. Think fondly of Saul. Think fondly 
of the Lord's anointed. But David, didn't he do this 
to you? David says, oh daughters of Israel, weep over Saul. We 
ask the question, why should we weep over Saul? He clothed 
you in scarlet with luxury. It was pretty good, wasn't it, 
when Saul was on the throne? I mean, yeah, there was that 
internal skirmish between David and Saul, but insofar as Saul 
was able, he maintained a faithful and a diligent rule over Israel, 
at least for a portion of time. If you disagree, turn with me 
to 1 Samuel 14. I've already alluded to this. 
We read it last week. It bears reading again. Just 
so we can see that David here is capitalizing on the strengths 
of Saul, and he is encouraging others to do so as well. 1 Samuel 
14, 47. This is after his decline. This 
is after the reader, we the happy reader, knows that Saul has messed 
up. Saul is not going to be the dynasty. It's not going to be Saul's family. It is going to move to someone 
else. But nevertheless, verse 47, Saul 
established his sovereignty over Israel and fought against all 
his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, 
against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed 
them. And he gathered an army and attacked 
the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hands of those 
who blundered them. That's pretty good, isn't it? You should remember 
that. You should think fondly of that. 
And here in verse 24, O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who 
clothed you in scarlet with luxury, who put ornaments of gold on 
your apparel. I mean, it wasn't as bad as we 
made it out to be, was it? It wasn't as miserable. I think 
there's a lesson here, too. It can always be worse than what 
it is. It can always be a whole lot 
worse than what it is. And I think we're good in North 
America for complaining when then we read something about 
women in Uganda that are being beaten to almost death by their 
parents. kind of puts the long line at 
the gas station in a different perspective. Kind of puts the 
sale is over at Superstore in a bit of a different perspective. 
It can always be a whole lot worse. And David exhorts the 
daughters of Israel. Notice the contrast. The daughters 
of the Philistines are going to go and triumph. These uncircumcised 
are going to triumph. David says to the daughters of 
Israel on this occasion, weep over Saul. Why? because you had 
economic prosperity under his reign. And that brings us to 
the final section, the distress experienced because of loss, 
verses 25 to 27. You should notice the contrast 
here. David speaks well of Saul and 
Jonathan throughout this entire song. But note specifically, 
verse 24, he commands the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul. 
In verse 25, he weeps over Jonathan. Yeah, he respects Saul. Saul 
was the Lord's anointed. David has indeed said good things 
about Saul, but his heart was knit to Jonathan. David says 
if verses 22 and 23 hold the central position in David's dirge, 
verses 25 to 26 hold the climactic position. David assigns the women 
of Israel the task of weeping for Saul, but he turns away to 
mourn alone for Jonathan. Saul may have decked Israel's 
women in crimson, but Saul's son had extended a love to David 
that surpassed the love of women. How the mighty have fallen, he 
says in verse 25. In the midst of the battle, Jonathan 
was slain in your high places. And notice the transfer now. 
He moves from the third person to the second person. He says, 
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very 
pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, 
surpassing the love of women." These brothers had an amazing 
relationship together. Davis says, it is utterly wrong-headed 
to read the idea of homosexuality into this text. I hate to have 
to even deal with this, but because we live in a wicked, godless, 
God-hating, pagan world that despises the Bible and tries 
to capitalize on things like this and say, Well, his love 
was more than the love of women, so therefore David must have 
been a homosexual. And that's the only kind of an 
interpretation that a debauched generation can put on a beautiful 
text. But he says it is utterly wrong-headed 
to read the idea of homosexuality into this text. He says the comparison 
between Jonathan's love and a wife's love is not at the point of sexuality, 
but at the point of fidelity. It's a faithful love, it's a 
covenant love, it's that one flesh love. That's what Jonathan 
and David had by covenant under Yahweh toward one another. Matthew 
Henry said he had reason to say that Jonathan's love to him was 
wonderful. Surely never was the like. For 
a man to love one who he knew was to take the crown over his 
head and to be so faithful to his rival. This far surpassed 
the highest degree of conjugal affection and constancy. You 
see what Matthew Henry says, for Jonathan to hand David the 
crown is something you seldom see even in a marriage relationship. That's how unified these two 
men were. It's not at the point of sexuality, 
it's at the point of fidelity, and that, a covenant fidelity, 
that's why David is struck with this song of lament for Saul, 
of course, but it sort of apexes or climaxes in this expression 
of his love, his grief and his love for Jonathan at the news 
of his death. And then he ends with the refrain 
again in verse 27, how the mighty have fallen and the weapons of 
war perished. It truly is a beautiful, beautiful 
song. Well, a couple of thoughts before 
we close. in the first place, the place 
of lamentation in the Christian life. I got to tell you today, 
going through this, I thought, you know, I need to learn better 
on lamentation. People go through hardships and 
they go through troubles and they go through trials and they 
go through travail. And, you know, typically we say, 
yeah, brother, I'm praying for you. And that's good. I'm not 
saying we shouldn't pray for them, but, you know, might not 
hurt to compose a song if you're so inclined to help them when 
in their grief. No, I can't compose songs, so 
I'll point them to the songs in the scripture. But the point 
is, is that sometimes that's part of the process for persons, 
is that they express that grief. I like what Davis, again, I thought 
his chapter, I almost just brought it and read his chapter for the 
study tonight, because I thought he really nailed it in many ways. 
But with reference to, you know, what does this mean to us? And 
we always do that, right? Well, what can I do with this 
passage? Or how can I use this text? What 
does it mean to me? Or how does it affect the way 
that I live? Davis says we are far removed from Gilboa. No doubt, 
right? We're not even near Gilboa. That's just not, you know, on 
our way to work or on our way to school. He says we are not 
biding our time until we strike the Philistines. That doesn't 
fit us either. But David's charge to remember 
Gilboa still places its claim upon us. David knew that sadness 
packs a punch that frivolity can never muster. And he cites 
Ecclesiastes 7 here. You all know Ecclesiastes 7. 
It's better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the 
house of feasting. Why? Because the living learn 
lessons. Funerals are more instructive 
than birthday parties. It's just the nature of the case. God made us that way. He says, 
David knew that sadness packs a punch that frivolity can never 
muster. He says, and so a principle remains 
even after the Philistines have disappeared. Somehow brooding 
over the tragic state of the covenant people stirs us to seek 
their restoration. Is this not what drives Christians 
to intercessory prayer? When we carry with us the afflictions 
of the people of God, we are moved to cry out to the Father 
on their behalf. Isn't that the case? I hope when 
you get these emails, prayer update or prayer request, you 
can say, wow, that's a horrible tragedy in that person's life. 
And that grief and that sadness and that pain drives you to the 
throne of grace on their behalf. at the point, right? We don't 
just say, hey, guess what's happening over at the Smith's home. And then after considering several 
different things that do plague the people of God, cancer, the 
loss of children, the loss of spouses, illness, financial problems, 
He says, is it not that to some small degree we enter into their 
sadness and disgrace and allow it to drive us to seek heaven's 
help for them? Don't hesitate to carry on your 
mind the sufferings of God's people. That's one of the points 
of the Song of the Bow here. It's to instill in the sons of 
Judah that grief, that tragedy, that disgrace. So yes, they'll 
go out and kill Philistines, but that tragedy, that grief, 
that disgrace should hopefully send us to the throne of grace 
and fetch help for these people that are in great need. As well, 
we learn from this the heart of David. One commentator, a 
guy named Gerlach, I'd never seen this name before. Kyle and 
Dalich referred to him. I thought what he said here was 
beautiful. He says, the only deep mourning for Saul, with 
the exception of the Jabashites, that's what he calls the men 
of Jabash Gilead, proceeded from the man whom he had hated and 
persecuted for so many years, even to the time of his death. 
He says, just as David's successor wept over the fall of Jerusalem, 
even when it was about to destroy him. So he sees that typical 
significance as well between David and Jesus. But what do 
we learn about David? He is concerned that Israel know 
the song of the bow. Verse 18, teach them this. Let 
them know something of this grief, let them know something of this 
misery, and the fact that the name of Yahweh has been, you 
know, been sullied by these wretched Philistines so that when they 
go into battle they'll destroy him. As well, he was very generous 
to Saul, his sworn enemy. Who was he? Would you do this? Would this be your song of lamentation 
if you were David and Saul was Saul? I have to tell you, knowing 
myself, I probably wouldn't have done this. I would be more inclined 
to do a blog post at what a wretched specimen of a human being That 
Saul was. That's the inclination. It's 
to fight back. It's to vindicate self. It's 
to show just how bad that person really is. But not so with David. Matthew Henry says, charity teaches 
us to make the best we can of everybody and to say nothing 
of those of whom we can say no good, especially when they are 
gone. They can't defend themselves 
then. He says, we ought to deny ourselves the satisfaction of 
making personal reflections upon those who have been injurious 
to us. We ought to deny ourselves of 
the satisfaction of blog posting about what an evil specimen that 
person was. Deny yourself that satisfaction. 
Because at a certain base level, it is satisfying, isn't it? If 
you were David, wouldn't it be just wonderful for everybody 
to know how wretched Saul was and what you had been put to 
over the past several years? Wouldn't there be an air of, 
But David doesn't do that. David does not capitalize on 
this. David does not dig in his heels and say, I'm going to let 
you have it, Saul, now that you're out of the picture. So Matthew 
Henry goes on. Let me just read that statement 
again. We ought to deny ourselves the satisfaction of making personal 
reflections upon those who have been injurious to us, much more 
drawing their character thence, as if every man must of necessity 
be a bad man that is done ill by us. I love this. Let the corrupt 
part of the memory be buried with the corrupt part of the 
man, earth to earth, ashes to ashes. Let the blemish be hidden 
in a veil drawn over the deformity." And then he goes on to say, he 
celebrates, with reference to David on Saul, he celebrates 
that which was praiseworthy in him. He does not commend him 
for that which he was not. He says nothing of his piety 
or fidelity. You see, David doesn't do that. 
He doesn't lie. He doesn't say, wow, Saul was 
the godliest man. He had such a respect for the 
scriptures and he always listened to the Bible. He doesn't do that. 
There's nothing untrue in what he says. But he doesn't make 
sure that everybody knows all the bad that was associated with 
Saul. Now, if that holds true at the 
death of somebody, it certainly must hold true when they're alive. We don't need to make sure everybody 
knows how everybody always wronged us. Now, there's a sense where 
if you are the victim of a crime, tell the police. And if it needs 
to go on a blog, by all means. But the day in, day out affairs 
of Christians, we're going to wrong each other. We are going 
to sin against each other. I always tell people that are 
going to get married, the issue is not if you sin against each 
other. The issue is when you sin against 
each other, how do you deal with it? And the same is true in the 
church. I'm always amazed when I hear complaints about the church. 
They're such sinners. Yeah, that's why we're in church. 
They're such hypocrites. What better place for hypocrites 
to be? I don't go into the cancer ward 
and say, they've got cancer. Well, of course, they should 
be in the cancer ward because that's where healing comes. Hypocrites 
need to be in the church because the gospel is preached. Now, 
by saying that, I'm not saying go and be a hypocrite. Do the 
opposite of what you know to do. But there are complaints 
about the church. They were mean. You know what? 
Sometimes we're just terrible people. Hopefully we confess 
it, we forsake it, we repent of it, and we deal properly. 
But knowing all that, let's not speak ill of people dead or living. We ought to be careful with our 
tongues. As well, David was very grateful 
for his friendship with Jonathan. David was deeply concerned for 
the honor of God most high. That's where it began. And David 
was deeply concerned for the good of all Israel. I think what 
we see in this section, you know, the last few chapters in Samuel, 
1 Samuel and here, you really see David's shepherd's heart, 
don't you? I mean, David's going to have 
some problems as we move through 2 Samuel. I'm not going to lie 
to you. There are some issues with David in 2 Samuel. But he 
has the heart of a shepherd, doesn't he? He's tied to the 
people of God. He wants the best for these people. He wants the glory of God. And 
certainly, he is the man after God's own heart. And in that, 
he is typical of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, Father, forgive 
them. They know not what they do. Jesus 
forgives even His enemies by God's grace. Now let us pray. Father, we thank You for this 
lament, this song. I pray that You'd help us to 
see the proper place of grief and sorrow in our Christian lives. God, help us to sympathize and 
empathize and enter in with others so that we will go to the throne 
of grace on their behalf. Help us as well, not only in 
our own local church, but to be concerned for the needs of 
the greater kingdom and the people of God in countries where they 
suffer great persecution. Help us to think in these ways 
and help us to glorify you and help us to be a faithful people, 
genuinely seeking for your honor and your glory. And we pray that 
you would go with us now, bring us together again on the Sabbath 
day, that we may worship you in spirit and truth. We ask through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.