Saul did not continue very long in his gracious mood toward David, in which we left him at the end of chapter 24. In the course of his wanderings, David came once more to Hachilah, in the region of Ziph; and the inhabitants of that town – being disappointed, perhaps, at the failure of their former attempt – sent word again to Saul to disclose David’s whereabouts. The result was that the king came with his troops, expecting to capture his enemy. David did not go to the hill this time, but abode in the wilderness – always keeping a vigilant eye upon the movements of his adversary.

At length, one night, David – accompanied by his nephew, Abishai – went into the very midst of Saul’s encampment while he and his troops were asleep! Abishai reasoned that the time had come for Saul to be slain, and he offered to do the treacherous deed himself. But David remained true to his reverence for the Lord’s anointed one, and he would not consent. He was content to leave the whole controversy between himself and Saul in God’s hands, and he would not rashly hasten its settlement by any crime of his own. “As the Lord liveth,” said he, “the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed.” David would not force his way to his promised crown by any wrong methods. The temptation was very strong; but if he had yielded, he would have sinned against God. Therefore, he resisted the temptation and gave the matter into the Lord’s hands. Thus David restrained Abishai; but he did tell him to take the spear which was stuck in the ground by the pillow of the chief, as well as his vessel of water. Then they stealthily crept out of the camp. 

David climbed to the top of a hill which overlooked the valley in which Saul was sleeping; and shouting to Abner, the captain of the king’s host, he bantered him concerning the “careful watch” which he had kept over his master – showing, at the same time, the king’s spear and pitcher as proof that he himself had indeed been at the very side of Saul!

When the king heard David’s voice, he was moved as deeply as he had been at En-gedi. He said, “I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.” David’s response was a renewal of his appeal to God, and Saul parted from him with a benediction. Truly, “when a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him!” (Prov. 16:7) Although we cannot defend every detail of David’s life, yet we must not fail to note how – long before the words of Paul were written – the “man after God’s heart” verified the truth which they express: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord… Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

As far as we know, this was the last meeting between Saul and David; and it is pleasing to think that after all that had occurred, Saul’s last utterance to him was one of benediction – both a vindication of David’s past conduct, and a forecast of his future glory. Truly, the Psalmist was speaking from his own experience when he said, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday” (Ps. 37:5-6).

Let us observe, from the case of Saul, that true repentance is a deeper thing than feeling; and it is distinguished by permanence as well as sincerity. Saul said, “I have sinned”; but we must not imagine that because he uttered those words, he had truly repented of his transgressions. Indeed, the Scriptures record a number of instances in which this very expression was employed – but with a different result in almost every case! And they also differed in the root from which they sprung. Some people only utter these words from a sense of fear, or from a desire to escape punishment. But when a true child of God uses them in the spirit of humble confession and says, “I have sinned” – those words spring from the contemplation of God, particularly as He has revealed Himself to us in the Person and work of Jesus Christ! Have you ever said, “I have sinned”? And if so, why did you say it? True repentance is simultaneous with faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and it must not be regarded as a preparation for coming to Him. The question is often asked as to whether faith or repentance comes first when a person is saved; but in reality, they may almost be regarded as two ways of describing the same thing. A person truly believes only when he repents, and he really repents only when he believes. Faith is the grasp with which repentance clings to Christ; repentance is the view which faith has of sin. Faith is the soul’s turning to the Savior, but it cannot turn to Him without also turning from sin at the same time – and that is repentance. Faith is the eye resting upon Jesus; repentance is the tear that gathers and glistens in that eye as it sees the soul’s own sins in the burden which the Redeemer carried. May each of us learn to thus confess, “I have sinned,” at the foot of the cross; and then we shall have no doubts about the genuineness of our repentance!

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