caught in his own trap.
Out of his own mouth will David judge him. How dare he stretch forth his
hand against the Lord's anointed? Let one of the young men fall on him,
and kill him. And so the wretch dies.

And then bursts forth all the nobleness of David's heart. He thinks of
Saul no longer as the tyrant who has hunted him for years, who has put on
him the last and worst insult of taking away his wife, and giving her to
another man. He thinks of him only as his master, his king, the grand
and terrible warrior, the terror of Ammonites, Amalekites, and
Philistines, the deliverer of his country in many a bloody fight, and he
bursts out into that fine old lamentation over Saul and Jonathan,
sentences of which have been proverbs in the mouths of men to this day.
"How are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the
streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest
the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let
there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of
offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the
shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. From the
blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan
turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and
Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they
were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than
lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in
scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your
apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O
Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for
thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love
to me was wonderful, passing the love of woman. How are the mighty
fallen, and the weapons of war perished!" (2 Sam. i. 19-27).

Let each and every one of us, my friends, imitate David's loyalty, and be
true to our duty, true to our masters, true to our country and true to
our queen, through whatever trials and temptations. Above all, let us
learn from David to obey; and remember that to obey we need not become
cringing and slavish, or give up independence and high spirit. David did
neither. Unless you learn to obey, as David did, you will never learn to
rule. Imitate David--and so you will imitate David's greater son,