Wesley Corpus

The conference between Achish and David, ver. 1 - 2. The preparation of the Philistines, and the distress of Saul, ver. 3 - 6. He applies to a woman which had a familiar spirit, to raise Samuel, ver. 7 - 11. Samuel appears, and foretells his defeat and death, ver. 12 - 19. Saul faints, and is with difficulty persuaded to take any sustenance, ver. 20 - 25. Can do - He speaks ambiguously, as he did before. He trembled - Had he kept close to God, he needed not fear all the armies of the Philistines. That hath, &c. - One that converseth with the devil, or dead men's ghosts, and by them can discover future things. See Isa 8:19. Disguised - Both because he was ashamed to be known, or thought guilty of this practice; and because he suspected, the woman, had she known him, would not practice her art before him. Samuel - Whose kindness and compassion as he had formerly experienced, so now he expected it in his deep distress. This practice of divination by the dead, or the souls of dead persons, was very usual among all nations. Saw Samuel - The words are express, the woman saw Samuel, instead of the spirit whom she expected to see, God ordering it so for his own glory. She cried with a loud voice - Terrified and astonished, and thence easily conjectured, whom she had been talking with. Gods - That is, a god, and divine person, glorious, and full of majesty and splendor, exceeding not only mortal men, but common ghosts. She used the plural number, gods, either after the manner of the Hebrew language, which commonly uses that word of one person: or, after the language and custom of the heathens. A mantle - The usual habit of prophets, and particularly of Samuel, chap.15:27. If it was not Samuel, but an other spirit in his shape, it is not true, that Saul perceived it was Samuel. It seems Saul did not see him, so soon as the woman, which occasioned his asking those questions. Called Samuel - Happy had it been, if he had called Samuel sooner, or rather the God of Samuel! It was now too late: destruction was at hand and God had determined, it should not be stayed. To him - To David.