“Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!
Parallel Translations
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“Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!
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The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
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Thy beauty, O Israel, upon thy high places is slain! How are the mighty fallen!
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 1:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 1:27 How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”
- Deuteronomy 4:7-8 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to them as Yahweh our God is whenever we call on him? What great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you today?
- 2 Samuel 1:25 How the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan was slain on your high places.
- Lamentations 5:16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
- 1 Samuel 31:8 On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
- 2 Samuel 1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.
- Isaiah 4:2 In that day, Yahweh’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the beauty and glory of the survivors of Israel.
- Lamentations 2:1 How has the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger! He has cast the beauty of Israel down from heaven to the earth, and hasn’t remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.
- Zechariah 11:7 So I fed the flock of slaughter, especially the oppressed of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called “Favor”, and the other I called “Union”, and I fed the flock.
- Zechariah 11:10 I took my staff Favor, and cut it apart, that I might break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples.
- Isaiah 53:2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, Saul.
Meaning, Saul.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 1:19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon…
2Sa 1:19 The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
Ver. 19. The beauty of Israel.] Here beginneth this sad sonnet, whereof this verse is the foot, and is therefore repeated. {2Sa 1:25; 2Sa 1:27} Junius {a} readeth it, O thou beauty of Israel: which is, saith he, a periphrasis of God, of the land, saith Diodate. {Dan 8:9; Dan 11:16} In this short song there are many things to be understood as being concise: the expressions of a man grieved for the death of his dear friends, and done in metre, which causeth a cloud.
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How are the mighty fallen!] q.d., By a divine hand doubtless, else they could hardly have been over matched: such notable warriors they were. In the remembrance of many that are yet alive at Ostend in the Netherlands, the most warlike soldiers of Europe, whilst they most eagerly contended for that barren plot of land, had, as it were, one common sepulchre, but an eternal monument of their valour. {b}
{a} Est genus lamentationis cycloides. - Jun. Decus, desiderium, et gloria.
{b} Camd., Elis.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The beauty of Israel; their flower and glory, Saul…
The beauty of Israel; their flower and glory, Saul and Jonathan, and their army, consisting of young and valiant men.
Upon thy high places, i.e. those which belong to thee, O land of Israel.
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How are the mighty fallen! how strangely! how suddenly! how dreadfully and universally!
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high…
The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places,.... The high mountains of Gilboa, where Saul their king, and Jonathan his son, a prince of the blood, and natural heir to the crown, and multitudes of young men, the flower of the nation, were wounded and slain. Here begins the lamentation, or the elegiac song:
how are the mighty fallen! mighty men of war, strong and valiant, as Saul and his sons were, and the soldiers in his army.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Beauty - Their flower and glory. Saul and Jonathan,…
Beauty - Their flower and glory. Saul and Jonathan, and their army. High places - Hebrew. upon thy high places; that is, those which belong to thee, O land of Israel. How - How strangely! How suddenly! How universally!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 1:19. The beauty of Israel — Hebrew, הצבי,…
2Sa 1:19. The beauty of Israel — Hebrew, הצבי, hatsebi; the honour, glory, flower, or ornament, meaning Saul and Jonathan, and their army. Delaney understands the expression only of Jonathan, and observes, as Jonathan’s death touched him nearest, it was natural he should be the first object of his lamentation; and, to put it out of all doubt that Jonathan is meant, he varies the expression in a subsequent verse — Jonathan slain in thy high places! The word rendered slain, חלל, chalal, properly means stabbed, and does not appear anywhere to bear the sense that Dr. Kennicott would put upon it, who would understand it as a noun, and not as a participle, and translate it a warrior. How moving a circumstance is this here noticed! Jonathan’s falling on his own high places! those in which he might naturally have expected safety; those in which he delighted; those in which he had long enjoyed peace and pleasure. Or thine, O land of Israel. How are the mighty fallen — How untimely and lamentably Jonathan! How sadly and shamefully Saul by his own hand! How strangely! how unexpectedly! how universally the army! This solemn, noble, and pathetic exclamation of sorrow was probably repeated at the close of every verse of this mournful song.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The beauty ... - i. e. Saul and Jonathan…
The beauty ... - i. e. Saul and Jonathan who were the chief ornament and pride of Israel, and slain upon “high places” 2Sa 1:25, namely, on Mount Gilboa.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Illustrious. Hebrew, "the glory (beauty, hart, &c.) of Israel…
Illustrious. Hebrew, "the glory (beauty, hart, &c.) of Israel hath been pierced," &c. The comparison of Saul with a hart, is noble enough in the ideas of the ancients, Psalm xvii. 34., Canticle of Canticles ii. 9., and viii. 14. Syriac and Arabic, "O hart of Israel, they have been slain," &c. (Calmet) --- Slain. Hebrew chalal, signifies also "a soldier;" and this word agrees perfectly well with giborim, "valiant," both here and ver. 22 and 25. Kennicott would apply it to Jonathan, upon whom David’s attention is mostly fixed. "O ornament of Israel! O warrior, upon thy high places! How," &c. (Haydock) --- In this manner many such pieces commence, Lamentations i. (Tirinus)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high…
The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places--literally, "the gazelle" or "antelope of Israel." In Eastern countries, that animal is the chosen type of beauty and symmetrical elegance of form.
how are the mighty fallen!--This forms the chorus.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. Gazelle — The word צביprimarily means ornament, beauty,…
19. Gazelle — The word צביprimarily means ornament, beauty, and is so rendered by the common version and most interpreters. But it also Signifies in many places a gazelle, or antelope, one of the fleetest and most beautiful of eastern animals. We prefer this rendering here because of its appropriateness and beauty. The allusion is to Jonathan, not to both Saul and Jonathan. This is seen in 2Sa_1:25, where, instead of gazelle of Israel, we have the name Jonathan. Hence the mistake of those who urge that mighty ones of one member of the parallelism must be equivalent to the corresponding word of the other.
Thy mountains — The mountains of the gazelle. The image is that of a fleet and beautiful animal pierced with arrows, and dead upon its own native heights.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. The beauty of Israel, &c.] Better, Thy beauty…
19. The beauty of Israel, &c.] Better, Thy beauty (lit. the beauty), O Israel, upon thine high places is slain. Saul and Jonathan are thus described as the chief ornament and honour of Israel. The word translated glory may also mean roe or gazelle, a rendering which is adopted by some commentators, who refer it to Jonathan. There is not however any satisfactory evidence to shew that Jonathan’s personal beauty and swiftness of foot in attack or retreat had gained for him among the troops the name of ‘the Gazelle,’ as Ewald supposes (Hist. of Israel, III. 30), and as the elegy celebrates both Saul and Jonathan, the opening word cannot be limited to the latter only.
thy high places] Gilboa is meant. The expression suggests the extremity of the disaster, when the mountain-strongholds of the land were forced and their defenders slain. Cp. note on ch. 2Sa_22:34.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) The beauty of Israel, in the sense of…
(19) The beauty of Israel, in the sense of the glory or ornament of Israel, referring to Saul and Jonathan. The rendering of the Syriac and some commentators, “the gazelle,” as a poetic name for Jonathan, is uncalled for, both because the words are spoken of Saul and Jonathan together, and because there is no evidence elsewhere that Jonathan was so called, nor is there any allusion to him under this figure in the song.
Upon thy high places.—Comp. 2Sa_1:21; 2Sa_1:25. This line may be considered as the superscription of the whole song.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The beauty of Israel. The word zebi means both…
The beauty of Israel. The word zebi means both "beauty" and also "the gazelle." Ewald takes it in the second sense, and explains it of Jonathan. "everywhere the first in courage, in activity, and speed; slender also and of well-made figure, and whose personal beauty and swiftness of foot in attack or retreat gained for him among the troops the name of "the gazelle." The Syriac Version also translates "gazelle, but Ephrem says that the whole Israelite nation is meant, the flower of whoso manhood lay slaughtered on Mount Gilboa. Which signification we take must really depend upon the meaning we attach to the words, "thy high place;" and these in the Authorized Version have nothing to refer to, and so become unmeaning. The Revised Version follows the Vulgate in taking Israel as a vocative, sad renders, "Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places." The sense would thus be that given by Ephrem, Israel"s glory being its "mighty" men or heroes, its warriors slain upon Mount Gilboa with their king. But ver. 25 makes it plain that the "high places" are Jonathan"s, and not those of the nation; and the more correct rendering is "O beauty or, "gazelle" of Israel, slain upon thy high places! how are the heroes fallen!" Thus Jonathan is certainly meant, and the heroes are the young, prince and his father; and as the hunted antelope is said to return to its lair in the mountains, and there await its death, "gazelle" is probably the right rendering. In a dirge in honour of Saul and Jonathan we may be pretty sure that Jonathan would be referred to in its opening words, and the camp name of his friend would bring back to David"s mind many a brave feat wrought together, and many a pleasant hour of companionship in past years.
Vers. 19-27.
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David"s lamentation over Saul and Jonathan.
In this lamentation there is
I A DECLARATION OF THE CAUSE OF MOURNING.
O pride of Israel, on thy high places slain!
Alas! fallen are the heroes. (Ver. 19.)
This is the keynote. It contains "the theme of the entire ode.
1. Men of rich endowments are the ornament, beauty, and glory of apeople.
2. Such men are sometimes stricken down suddenly and under unexpectedcircumstances. "Not on the level plains where defeat from the chariots and horses of the enemy might have been expected and had been before encountered, but on the high places where victory seemed the rightful prize of the mountain chiefs and the indomitable infantry of the Israelitish hosts" there the towering form of Saul was "hit by the archers", (1Sa_31:3) the heroic heart of Jonathan thrust through, the splendour of Israel eclipsed. "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field," etc. (Isa_40:6, Isa_40:7; Jer_9:23, Jer_9:24)
3. Their loss is a great calamity, and a source of bitter grief to those whoform a proper estimate of their worth, and possess a genuine concern for the public good (ver. 12).
II A DEPRECATION OF THE TRIUMPH OF THE ENEMY.
Tell it not in Garth, Publish not the tidings in the streets of Askelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. (Ver. 20.)
In imagination the poet sees the swift-footed messengers bearing the tidings to the nearest cities of the Philistines to Gath and Askelon; hears their songs of victory; and, in sympathy with his people, he utters the wish, "Oh that it might not have been!
1. The fall of men of eminence among the people of God causes exultationamong their adversaries.
2. The triumph of the wicked (the "uncircumcised") increases the sufferingand shame of the godly in their misfortunes. (Psa_44:9-26 Psa_123:4)
3. Whatever contributes to this result should be earnestly deprecated by allwho have a sincere regard for the reputation of the great, the welfare of the good, and the honour of God. That which makes the ungodly rejoice should often make the faithful weep.
III AN IMPRECATION ON THE SCENE OF DISASTER.
O mountains in Gilboa, nor dew nor rain (be) upon you, Nor fields of sacred offerings! For there lies rusting the shield of heroes, The shield of Saul unanointed with oil. (Ver. 21.)
"Over against the exultant joy of victory of Israel"s enemies, which he would be gladly spared, David sets the attitude of mourning, in which he would behold the mountains of Gilboa, the scene of the heroes" death struggle" (Erdmann). As that scene presents itself to his imagination, its beauty and fertility appear incongruous with the degradation of the slain, the misery of Israel, and his own absorbing grief. Has it no sympathy with them in their woe? He impatiently resents its indifference to his sorrow, and says in effect, "Oh that it might no more enjoy the favour of Heaven, nor produce the oblations by which its wrath is propitiated, but be a perpetual memorial of the mournful event!". (Eze_31:15)
1. It is the tendency of grief to dwell upon the objects that are associatedwith its cause, and by the contemplation of them it becomes intensified.
2. Under the influence of strong emotion the mind seeks sympathy withitself even in material and inanimate objects, and is apt to indulge in wishes that are incapable of literal fulfilment.
3. The aspects of nature correspond in greater or less degree with themental mood in which they are regarded. Sorrow projects its shadow over the external world, and clothes the fairest scenes with gloom.
4. The language of poetic inspiration must not be interpreted in its literal,prosaic sense, but in the light of the feeling and imagination of the poet. David"s imprecation was no more intended to have an actual effect on the fields of Gilboa than Job"s (Job_3:1) on the day of his birth.
IV A CELEBRATION OF THE VIRTUES OF THE FALLEN.
From blood of slain, From fat of heroes The bow of Jonathan turned not backward, And the sword of Saul returned not unsatisfied. Saul and Jonathan! the beloved and lovely! In their lives and in their death they were not parted; Than eagles fleeter, Than lions stronger. (Vers. 22, 23.)
The poet turns away from the melancholy scene to contemplate the heroes as he had known them, and describes their warlike prowess, their amiable dispositions, their mutual affection and faithful companionship, their agility and strength. Sincere sorrow over the dead:
1. Imposes a becoming silence concerning their imperfections, is forgetfulof personal injuries, and puts out of sight everything that is contrary to itself (vers. 11, 12). De mortuis nil nisi bonum.
2. Delights to dwell upon the special aspects of their character which areworthy of admiration.
1. Sees in their extraordinary virtues a measure of the loss that has beenexperienced. "The nobility of Jonathan"s character cannot easily be overestimated. The rival claims of friendship and of nature, of David and Saul, were adjusted with admirable delicacy. He strengthened his friend"s (1Sa_22:16) and saved his life; but he clung to his father. The shadows were falling on Saul, yet he did not join David"s party, though he knew that he would succeed to the throne. With a gallant loyalty and a true-hearted despair, he followed his doomed sire to Gilboa" (B. Kent).
2. AN ENUMERATION OF THE GIFTS OF A BENEFACTOR.
O daughters of Israel, wail for Saul! He clothed you in scarlet with loveliness; He put jewels of gold upon your apparel.
Alas! fallen aye the heroes
In the midst of the battle. (Vers. 24, 25.)
stream of sorrow, which down to this point has been united, here divides." David calls upon the daughters of Israel to wail, while the daughters of the Philistines triumph; and reminds them of the beneficence of Saul in distributing among them the spoils of war gained in his former victories.
1. The benefits conferred by an able and successful ruler upon his peopleare great, and deserve a grateful recognition.
2. The value of those benefits is seldom fully appreciated until they can beno longer bestowed.
3. Public mourning is as appropriate in its season as public rejoicing. (1Sa_13:7) It expresses and deepens the general sorrow, and is a testimony to departed worth. The chorus is here repeated. "This recurrence of the same idea is perfectly congenial to the nature of elegy, since grief is fond of dwelling upon the particular objects of the passion, and frequently repeating them" (Lowth).
VI A COMMEMORATION OF THE LOVE OF A FRIEND.
O Jonathan, on thy high places slain! Woe is me for thee, my brother Jonathan! Lovely wast thou to me exceedingly, Marvellous (was) thy love to me beyond the love of woman.
Alas! fallen are the heroes,
And perished the instruments of battle. (Vers. 26, 27.)
this culmination of grief the lament again sounds the keynote of the whole, and returns in conclusion to its chief object, the sorrow for the hero glory of Israel destroyed in Saul and Jonathan." David"s expression of sorrow manifests his deep love to his friend; still more, commemorates the "wonderful" love of his friend to him. "And in that love which he had borne towards him, there was something "separate from all beside," "miraculous," like a special work of God (this is the force of the word), more singular, undivided, and devoted than the love of women even of Michal, of Ahinoam, of Abigail" (Stanley).
1. Pure, fervent, self-denying love is the chief excellence of humancharacter. It is the greatest of all great things (1Co_13:13; Col_3:14; Jam_2:8; 1Pe_1:22)
2. It is exalted and glorified in our view by means of death.
3. The memory of those in whom it dwells in an eminent degree is worthyof being perpetuated to all ages. (For translations and paraphrases of this
lament see Lowth; Horsley, "Bibl. Crit.;" Geo. Sandys: 1636; J. Oldham: 1677.) D.
How are the mighty fallen!
This expression suggests numerous refleclions on
I THE VANITY OF MAN in the glory of his might. He is proud of his exalted state, his wisdom, strength, or riches; and he is admired and envied by others. But:
1. How precarious his position! He stands on "slippery places." All his grandeur rests on life, than which nothing is more unsubstantial or uncertain.
2. How futile his purposes! Formed in ignorance, weakness, and presumption, they are defeated and" broken off." "There is no king saved by the multitude of a host;" etc.. (Psa_33:16)
3. How unsatisfying his possessions! They afford no solid peace in life or death. "Vanity of vanities," etc.. (Ecc_1:1)
4. How transient his duration! "Man is like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away". (Psa_144:4)
5. How signal his downfall! "How are they brought into desolation as in a moment!". (Psa_73:19)
6. Hew evanescent his fame!
Your renown Is as the herb, whose hue doth come and go; And his might withers it, by whom it sprang Crude from the lap of earth." (Dante, "Purg.," 11.)
7. How complete his humiliation! The sword of Saul is cast away, his shield covered with blood and rust, his sceptre broken, his diadem and bracelet pilfered, his head placed in the temple of Dagon, his body fastened on the wall of Bethshan, his sons slain, and his dynasty destroyed. "Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish" (Psa_49:20 Psa_39:5; Dan_4:31; Act_12:23) "The last act is sanguinary, beautiful as is all the rest of the play. Dust is cast upon the head, and there is an end and forever" (Pascal).
Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness! This is the state of man: Today he putteth forth The tender leaves of hope; tomorrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honours thick upon him:
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost; And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls, as I do. (Shakespeare, "Henry VIII")
II THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD in the fall of the mighty. "If there be a God, the world must be governed by Providence". (1Sa_2:1-10 1Sa_9:1-25)
1. How evident its existence! "The Lord reigneth." It is not only declared in the Scriptures, but also plainly shown by the facts of history and daily observation. Of Saul it is said, "The Lord slew him". (1Ch_10:14)
2. How great its power! "He bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity" (Isa_40:23; Dan_4:25)
3. How vast its domain! All space, all time, all orders of being and all events, the least as well as the greatest. (Mat_10:29) Even the actions of free and responsible creatures, of individuals and nations, the Philistines as well as the Israelites, the evil as well as the good, are encircled and pervaded by it; foreseen, permitted, directed, controlled, restrained, or overruled. The course of Saul was foreseen at his appointment; yet he was not thereby placed under the necessity of acting as he did
Contingency, whose verge extendeth not Beyond the tablet of your mortal mold, Is all depictured in the eternal sight; But hence deriveth not necessity, More than the tall ship, hurried down the flood, Is driven by the eye that looks on it. ("Par.," 17.)
1. How manifold its operations! What skilful adaptations it makes! What endless instrumentalities it employs! What varied issues it evolves!
2. How mysterious its methods! The fact is certain, the mode unknown. Its ways are obscure, perplexing, completely hidden for a while, and then made apparent and fully justified. "We know in part.
3. How righteous its administration!. (Psa_31:23 Psa_37:1-11 Psa_97:2) "Saul died for his transgression," and Israel (whose self-will he reflected) was chastised through the man of their own choice.
4. How beneficent its aims! The repression of sin, the salvation of men, the glory of God. The fall of Israel"s first king was overruled for the good of the nation; the fall of Israel, in subsequent ages, was "the riches of the world." "Oh the depth," etc.!. (Rom_11:33-36)
IMPROVEMENT.
1. Glory not in any earthly good, but only in the Lord.
2. Be ambitious to serve rather than to rule.
3. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.
4. Strive for the crown and kingdom that will endure forever. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The beauty of Israel is slain.
2Sa_1:19-20
The beauty of Israel is slain.
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The fall of Christians
We have here an illustration of the degenerating influences of sin upon the character of Christians, and the lamentable effects in the eyes of the world.
I. The beauty of Israel. Christianity imparts a distinguishing character to the believer; the moral counterpart of Israel's separation from the heathen inhabitants that surrounded them, and the evil practices from which they were called.
II. The beauty of Israel slain. The history of souls proves this possibility.
III. The beauty of Israel slain in the high places. Many Christians who flourished in the Church while they occupied a lowly position, have had their beauty slain by an ecclesiastical or secular elevation. God's gems shine best in the shade. But few trees of His growth can challenge the stormy winds of high places.
IV. The lamentation. How are the mighty fallen, etc.
V. The church's proclamation. Tell it not, etc. (The Study.)
How are the mighty fallen!--
The death of the great
1. How is the mighty fallen!--fallen under the superior power of death!--Death, the king of terrors, the conqueror of conquerors; whom riches cannot bribe, nor power resist; whom goodness cannot soften, nor dignity and loyalty deter, or awe to a reverential distance. Death intrudes into palaces as well as cottages; and arrests the monarch as well as the slave. How astonishing and lamentable is the stupidity of mankind! Can the natural or the moral world exhibit another phenomenon so shocking and unaccountable? Death sweeps off thousands of our fellow-subjects every year. Our neighbours, like leaves in autumn, drop into the grave, in a thick succession; and our attendance upon funerals is almost as frequent and formal as our visits of friendship or complaisance. Yet how few realise the thought that they must die! Pilgrims and strangers imagine themselves everlasting residents; and make this transitory life their all, as if earth was to be their eternal home; as if eternity was but a fairy land, and heaven and hell but majestic chimeras.
2. Since the mighty is fallen, how vain are all things beneath the sun! Vanity of vanities; all is vanity! How unworthy the hopes, how inferior to the desires, how unequal to the duration of human nature! Who then art thou, who settest thine affections on things below? Dost thou value thyself on thy birth? Dost thou value thyself on thy riches? Dost thou value thyself on thy power? Dost thou glory in thy constancy, humanity, affection to thy friend; justice, veracity, popularity, universal love? If even kings cannot extract perfect happiness from things below; if the gross, unsubstantial, and fleeting enjoyments of life are in their own nature incapable of affording pure, solid, and lasting felicity, must we not all despair of it? Yet such a happiness we desire; such we need; nay, such we must have; or our very existence will become our curse, and all our powers of enjoyment but capacities of pain. And where shall we seek for it? where, but in the supreme Good? But though crowns, and thrones, and kings, though stars, and suns, and worlds, sink into promiscuous ruin, there is one gift of Heaven to mankind which shall survive; which shall flourish and reign for ever; a gift little esteemed or solicited, and which makes no brilliant figure in mortal eyes; I mean religion. Religion! Thou brightest ornament of human natural Thou fairest image of the Divine! Thou sacred spark of celestial fire, which now glimmers with but a feeble lustre; but will shine bright in the night of affliction; will irradiate the thick gloom of death, and blaze out into immortality in its native element! This will be an unfailing source of happiness, through the revolutions of eternal ages. These majestic trifles are not the tests of real worth, nor the badges of Heaven's favourites: it is religion that marks out the happy man; that distinguishes the heir of an unfading crown; who, when the dubious conflict of life is over, shall inherit all things, and sit in triumph for ever with the King of kings, and Lord of lords. (S. Davies, A. M.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:19 Your pride and joy: David’s description focused more…
1:19 Your pride and joy: David’s description focused more on Saul’s royal position than on his personal characteristics.
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