(26) And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. (27) And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. (28) And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. (29) And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. (30) Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. (31) So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
Though Samuel at first refused to join in worship with Saul; yet perhaps in reflection he judged it to be right. Where shall gracious souls lead sinners but to a throne of grace? The rent of Saul's skirt was an apt allusion to the renting of the kingdom from him, and as Samuel made application of it to this event, so it is remarkable, that in the after history of Saul's life, when David cut off a portion of Saul's skirt, Saul, as if recollecting this circumstance, applied it to David. I know well (said he) that thou shalt surely be King. 1 Samuel 24:20.