But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul after the prophet denounced his disobedience, when Saul realized God had rejected him from being king. The troubling came because he had no true repentance, no clear perception of how offensive his sin was, and made no reform of life. Instead he brooded over what he saw as God's injustice in depriving him and his posterity of the throne, ever anticipating the ruin of his house, feeling his valor against his enemies should offset his disobedience, and refusing to accept chastisement with meekness until his haughty spirit became desperate. The evil spirit that troubled him was a brooding melancholy settling like a dark cloud over his mind that brought him to the verge of losing his reason. That troubled spirit produced strange exhibitions, distraction, settled gloom, and an excited, irrational mind.
His mind and character became marked by extremes and contradictions of combined strength and weakness, which made him unfit to rule. At times he was violent and abusive and then remorseful, melancholy and afraid without cause. He would be tender and full of sympathy toward those who pleased him and then unjust and cruel toward his best friends, revealing marked simplicity at one time and then manifesting jealousy and an overbearing spirit, with good and evil ever in collision and evil ever striving for supremacy. God left Saul to his own guilty course after his rebellion, no longer under the influence of the Holy Spirit but governed by his own passions and judgment. This led to extremes of guilt and crime, daring even to murder David, a righteous person chosen to save Israel, giving Israel daily living evidence in his cruel acts of how far a king who rebels against God can go and making them feel their peculiar position under such a ruler. The verse illustrates the general principle that God may remove His Spirit's presence from a person who persists in stubbornness and self-will and departs from His counsel. Such withdrawal is marked by pride in good work done and disregard of warnings, after which the person treats his own judgment and wisdom as proof that he is specially led by God.
In providence David, a shepherd lad who trusted God's promise of the throne, was brought to Saul's notice amid opposition from an established monarch with far greater earthly authority who struggled to keep his power. David was commended as a skillful harpist, a valiant man of war, prudent and faithful in all matters and especially guided by the Lord. While in a favorable state of mind Saul felt humbled and wanted one who knew from the Lord how to move according to His will to take charge of the kingdom. He sent messengers for David, soon loved him, and made him his armor-bearer and attendant, thinking one favored by God would safeguard him and save his life from enemies. David's skillful playing in soothing notes and lofty heaven-inspired strains calmed Saul's troubled spirit, dispelled the gloom, charmed away the melancholy, and restored his mind to a more rational and happy state. So the evil spirit departed for a time, and David had to be repeatedly recalled from his flocks to minister before the king.
When brought under the influence of sacred and vocal music Saul would catch the spirit of devotion and pour forth impassioned expressions of lofty eloquence in ecstasies of praise and prayer. He would give himself no rest day nor night while under that excitement until reaction came and his strength failed in exhaustion. When the paroxysm of wild excitement and inordinate zeal had spent itself he revealed his old disposition, falling into fury in word and deed dishonoring to himself and more dishonoring to God when his will was crossed. In his troubled condition he spoke prophetically of losing the throne and of his descendants perishing because of his sins.
The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul after the prophet denounced his disobedience, when Saul realized God had rejected him from being king. The troubling came because he had no true repentance, no clear perception of how offensive his sin was, and made no reform of life. Instead he brooded over what he saw as God's injustice in depriving him and his posterity of the throne, ever anticipating the ruin of his house, feeling his valor against his enemies should offset his disobedience, and refusing to accept chastisement with meekness until his haughty spirit became desperate. The evil spirit that troubled him was a brooding melancholy settling like a dark cloud over his mind that brought him to the verge of losing his reason. That troubled spirit produced strange exhibitions, distraction, settled gloom, and an excited, irrational mind.
His mind and character became marked by extremes and contradictions of combined strength and weakness, which made him unfit to rule. At times he was violent and abusive and then remorseful, melancholy and afraid without cause. He would be tender and full of sympathy toward those who pleased him and then unjust and cruel toward his best friends, revealing marked simplicity at one time and then manifesting jealousy and an overbearing spirit, with good and evil ever in collision and evil ever striving for supremacy. God left Saul to his own guilty course after his rebellion, no longer under the influence of the Holy Spirit but governed by his own passions and judgment. This led to extremes of guilt and crime, daring even to murder David, a righteous person chosen to save Israel, giving Israel daily living evidence in his cruel acts of how far a king who rebels against God can go and making them feel their peculiar position under such a ruler. The verse illustrates the general principle that God may remove His Spirit's presence from a person who persists in stubbornness and self-will and departs from His counsel. Such withdrawal is marked by pride in good work done and disregard of warnings, after which the person treats his own judgment and wisdom as proof that he is specially led by God.
In providence David, a shepherd lad who trusted God's promise of the throne, was brought to Saul's notice amid opposition from an established monarch with far greater earthly authority who struggled to keep his power. David was commended as a skillful harpist, a valiant man of war, prudent and faithful in all matters and especially guided by the Lord. While in a favorable state of mind Saul felt humbled and wanted one who knew from the Lord how to move according to His will to take charge of the kingdom. He sent messengers for David, soon loved him, and made him his armor-bearer and attendant, thinking one favored by God would safeguard him and save his life from enemies. David's skillful playing in soothing notes and lofty heaven-inspired strains calmed Saul's troubled spirit, dispelled the gloom, charmed away the melancholy, and restored his mind to a more rational and happy state. So the evil spirit departed for a time, and David had to be repeatedly recalled from his flocks to minister before the king.
When brought under the influence of sacred and vocal music Saul would catch the spirit of devotion and pour forth impassioned expressions of lofty eloquence in ecstasies of praise and prayer. He would give himself no rest day nor night while under that excitement until reaction came and his strength failed in exhaustion. When the paroxysm of wild excitement and inordinate zeal had spent itself he revealed his old disposition, falling into fury in word and deed dishonoring to himself and more dishonoring to God when his will was crossed. In his troubled condition he spoke prophetically of losing the throne and of his descendants perishing because of his sins.