in them. But when the inhabitants of JabeshGilead, the city on the other side of the Jordan which Saul had saved from the Ammonites, in the beginning of his reign, heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went by night and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Bethshan. And they buried their bones under a tree at Jabesh. "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord; and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it." 1 Samuel xxvii. xxviii. xxix. xxxi. and 1 Chron. x. To disguise, is to change the appearance of a thing. To disguise oneself, is to make oneself look like a different person by wearing strange clothes, or in any other way. Chapter CXVII. THE MOURNING OF DAVID FOR SAUL AND JONATHAN. WHEN the Philistines went up from Aphek to Jezreel, to join battle with Saul and his army, David had turned back to Ziklag with the men who followed him. And after he had been there three days, there came a man out of the camp of Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head; and when he came to David he fell to the ground and did obeisance. Then he said, that he had escaped out of the camp of Israel, that the people had fled from the battle, that many were fallen and dead, and that Saul, and Jonathan his son, were dead also. Then David inquired of the man, how he knew that Saul and Jonathan were dead. And the young man answered, that he had been by chance upon mount Gilboa, near the place where the battle was fought, and saw Saul leaning upon his spear, while the chariots and horsemen of the Philistines followed hard after him; and that when Saul saw him he called to him, and prayed him to come and stand upon him and kill him, for he wished to die, because anguish had come upon him. And the young man said, "So I stood upon him and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord." And when David knew that Saul, and Jonathan his son, were dead, he took hold on his clothes and rent them; and the men who were with him rent their garments also. "And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword." Then David asked the young man who had brought the tidings of the death of Saul, who he was. And the man answered, that he was a stranger, the son of an Amalekite. Then he said to him, "How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed ?" And he called one of his men, and commanded him to put the man to death, because he had killed the anointed king of Israel. And he said to him, "Thy blood be upon thine own head; for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed." The young man, the son of the Amalekite, had spoken falsely, for he had not slain Saul; yet the guilt of his death was upon his own head, for he had borne witness against himself, and by his own word he was condemned. He had thought to have been rewarded by David when he brought him the crown and bracelet of the king, and said that he had slain his enemy who had sought his life for so many years. But David honoured Saul because he was an anointed king, though he had been his enemy, and had sought his life unjustly. Therefore he avenged his death, and slew the man ; for it was an evil thing, and a sin against the Lord, to kill the Lord's anointed. Then David wrote a Psalm of lamentation for Saul, and for Jonathan his son; and he lamented over them, and said, "The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high places. How are the mighty fallen! . . . Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul. . . . How are the mighty B.C. 1055. fallen in the midst of the battle! I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!" 2 Samuel i. To do obeisance, is to salute with respect a king or queen, or any other great person. In the land of Israel and other countries of the East, persons did obeisance to the great or noble by bowing down to the ground before them. When David in his Psalm of lamentation said, that Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, he meant that they were lovely and pleasant towards each other. For Jonathan had loved Saul because he was his father, and had honoured him and dwelt with him throughout his life. His love for David his friend had not drawn him from his father. While they lived they were together, and in death they were not divided. Chapter CXEX. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DAVID'S KINGDOM IN WHILE Saul lived, David had honoured him as |