And he smote him, that he died— Though it be a maxim of the Jewish law, that no man should be condemned out of the mouth of one witness, and that no man's confession should be taken solely against himself; yet Maimonides asserts, that it was the royal prerogative to condemn a man upon the evidence of a single person, or upon the strength of his own confession; and he produces this fact as an instance. See Bishop Patrick. This self-convicted wretch intended to make a merit of his falsehood: but he knew not David; he knew not that a crown would be unwelcome to him, at the price of treason; and that the throne would not tempt him, if to be purchased by parricide. He who himself thrice spared Saul when he had him absolutely in his power, could he forbear punishing the man that boasted of having murdered him?—no: he justly ordered his immediate execution for having slain the Lord's anointed. It is true, he died for a crime which he had not committed; yet well deserved to die, for taking the guilt of it upon him; thus doubly devoted to destruction. David rightly judged, that Saul had no power over his own life, and, consequently, should not have been obeyed in such a command. God and the state had as much right to his life when he was weary of it, as when he most loved it; and further, it behoved David to vindicate his innocence to the world by so public an execution: he might otherwise, perhaps, have been branded with the guilt of employing that wretch to murder his persecutor. Besides this, David had it in view to deter others by this example. He consulted his own safety in this, as Caesar is said, by restoring the statues of Pompey, to have fixed his own. This was a wise lecture to princes, and many of them unquestionably have profited by it. Mr. Saurin, in the second dissertation of his 5th volume, has justified this conduct of David towards the Amalekite, by shewing at large, 1. That the Amalekite deserved death: 2. That David had a right to inflict the punishment of which he had made himself worthy: 3. That no want of formality rendered this rigour unlawful: and, 4. That if the conduct of David towards this murderer be just in itself, it had nothing exceptionable in the motives which led him to it.
REFLECTIONS.—Very different from what the Amalekite expected, was David's reception of his tidings.
1. In the agony of sorrow, he rent his clothes; and all that were with him followed his example; the day is spent in bitter mourning, and they observe a solemn fast until evening. He mourned for Jonathan his friend, but there was hope in his death; he mourned for Saul his enemy, where no hope appeared; and especially over the desolations of Israel, fallen by the sword of the Philistines. Note; (1.) His country's sufferings are a grief to the true patriot's heart. (2.) As a good man loves his enemy whilst alive, he is so far from rejoicing at his fall, that he can weep over his grave.
2. He commands immediate execution on the messenger, who hoped to have received high preferment, but suffers the just reward of his deeds. Thus did David express his own detestation of regicide, and testify the sincerity of his grief.