(19) And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. (20) And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?
Here Samuel gives the first intimation of Saul's future greatness, and his own present ability as a prophet of the Lord. By telling him of the safety of his asses, he gave him to understand that he knew his errand before he communicated it; and by the promise of telling him all that was in his heart on the morrow, he prepared his mind for what he had to communicate. But what I would particularly desire the Reader to remark, in this first interview between Samuel and Saul, is, how the prophet passed by everything until he had called the king elect to the sacrifice. Though all the grand objects of the intended kingdom were in the prophet's mind, and all in full prospect before him, yet prayer and praise must precede every other consideration. How sweet is it to see this gracious conformity in every truly awakened soul in all his actions. These things will be spontaneous, and, like the lips of the spouse, will drop freely as the honeycomb; not by constraint, nor by pressure, but of themselves, and continually. Song of Solomon 4:11.