On the Rejection of Saul and the Anointing of David
With the rejection of Saul recited, now the substitution of the elected king in his place is described. And the Lord says to Samuel: "How long will you mourn for Saul?" that is, the rejection of him from the royal dominion laments, grieving for his emotion, "whom I have rejected from reigning over Israel?" Fill your horn with oil, such as is accustomed to be given to kings and pontiffs, of which more fully in the exposition of what follows; "and come to me on a spiritual errand with promptness of heart, that I may send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite," that is, to the citizen and inhabitant of the town of Bethlehem. It was said above that the Lord anointed Saul with oil from a vial, which is a fragile vessel: which mystically seems to have been done, that he might presignify the instability and fragility of the reign of Saul. But David is ordered to be anointed with oil from a horn, for presignifying the solidity of his reign, since a horn is a solid vessel. Nevertheless, the oil of the same species was in both, because there was the same species of dignity in both.
And He said to Samuel: 'How shall I go?' as if to say, 'It is dangerous for me to have exhausted this command, unless you were to see it beforehand, and fittingly show me the manner of proceeding.'" For Saul hears that I have anointed another king, and he will kill me. This Samuel said, not diffidently or timidly asserting, but prudently forming a superfluous death, as if prudently conjecturing, what was probable according to human consideration, that it might happen.
"And the Lord said: 'Take a heifer from the herd in your hand,' that is, take leading animals, 'and say: I have come to immolate to the Lord.' This was the reason. There was also another principal reason, as will be evident below. Truth is sometimes reasonably concealed, although falsity is never without fault to be brought forth. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, so that he and his sons may be present at the sacrifices, and I may show you what you should do, and you shall anoint whomever I shall show to you."
"Therefore Samuel did as the Lord spoke and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city met him, trembling. And he said: 'Peaceably do I come; your sacrifice has entered?' For they interrogated him, fearing lest he might come suspecting, offending, or reproving, whom they knew did not stand well with Samuel. Or they feared lest he might be sent by God or by the king, either to reproach them or to announce something adverse. He said: 'Peaceably; as if to say: 'No peril threatens you except I come.' To immolate to the Lord I have come. 'Be sanctified,' that is, 'prepare yourselves specially for prayer, by washing of garments, by continence from spouses, and by similar things accustomed in the law; 'and come with me to the immolation in the sacrifice,' that is, 'to the banquet, although priests were not present, nevertheless by divine dispensation he sanctified them.'"
"Samuel sanctified Jesse and his sons, sprinkling them with water of lustration, and urging them to this, both to devotion, and he called them especially to the sacrifice, and he immolated specially for them."
"And when Jesse and his sons had entered before the altar, and as some expound, or rather in the secret place of the house of Jesse, or that the anointing of the king might be done secretly, Samuel saw Eliab himself, and said: 'Is the christ of the Lord before the Lord?'" as if to say: 'This one has been brought to me by God, elected by God as king?'" For Samuel esteemed this, because Eliab was the firstborn of Jesse, and more elegant than the rest in stature. Indeed, just as Saul excelled in stature above the people, certainly you see whom the Lord has chosen, who is not similar to him; thus he thought of Eliab.
"And the Lord said to Samuel: 'Do not regard his countenance, nor the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.' Samuel believed the Lord, not doubting but that it was an angel; for an angel appeared to Samuel outwardly; but the angel, sounding forth external words, rather spoke within him in an internal vision, not so certain to the intellectual sense, as if it were speaking to the ears of the mind: by which it is to be understood, that when Samuel spoke the aforesaid words, he responded within to the angel interrogating in the person of God appearing and speaking: 'Do not regard his appearance, nor the height of his stature,' that is, 'do not esteem the appearance of his face as manly, and the sublimity of that person's stature, and from that arbitrarily elect him as king; because I have rejected him,' that is, 'I have decreed to repel him from this eminent royal dignity;' and perhaps he was vicious in the future, as in the following chapter it is made clear, how proud he was and irascible, as the Master of Histories says: 'Seeing Eliab the firstborn of excellent and optimal countenance, I esteemed him to be anointed. But the Best One is accepted for the anointed.'"
"Nor do I judge according to the intuition of man, that is, according to the sentiment of dignity or indignity, or according to the baseness of things, especially the rationality of creatures, I do not prefer according to the external disposition of these things. 'For man sees those things which appear,' that is, those things which are first apprehended by the external sense, then by the common sense and the power of imagination, thence by the cogitative power, and finally by the intellective: and thus from external cognition, he proceeds to internal cognition: in which process he is frequently deceived, especially because the free power, and by the helping grace of God, can be restrained, those things which incline nature, and which indicate externals. Some also assume that fornicators by industry have the signs of virtue, of which the signs are far from the interior morals of the fornicator, just as Job, when friendship appeared, dissimulated enmity against Amasam, 'Save, my brother.' Therefore it is written: 'He who humbles himself is not known,' and the interior things are full of hidden sorrow. 'The Lord beholds the heart,' that is, the thoughts and affections of the heart, secret things, which in the Apocalypse are done: 'All the Churches shall know, because I am He who searches the reins and hearts.' Hence the Savior says: 'Do not judge according to the face.' In Proverbs also it is had: 'He who is inspector of the heart, He understands, and the preserver of the soul does not fail.'"
"And Jesse called Abinadab his second-born son, and brought him before Samuel, who said: 'Neither has the Lord chosen this one.' And Jesse brought Sammaa, who said: 'Eliam has not the Lord chosen.' And Isaï brought before Samuel his seven sons, except David, ergo Jesse had eight sons, of whom only seven are read in the book of Paralipomenon. They respond, that among the sons of Jesse is computed Nathan, or (as some say) Jonathan the son of Sammaa the son of Jesse, whom Sammaa adopted, or he nourished that son as his own. And Samuel said to Isaï: 'The Lord has not chosen these. Say therefore to Jesse: 'Have all your sons been completed? Who are present?' He responded: 'There remains yet a little one, who tends sheep.'
Samuel said to Jesse: "Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down to eat until he comes here." For Samuel knew that this one had been chosen to be king, and he wished to anoint him on an empty stomach and to fulfill God's command before refreshment.
"Therefore he sent and brought him. He was ruddy, that is, rubicund, and of beautiful appearance, and of decorous face. For indeed an elegant complexion of agreeable color, and for natural elegance eminently disposed to excellent goodness is gratifying. And the Lord said to Samuel: 'Arise, anoint him, for this is he.' Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers."
"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward, and thenceforth, that is, from that hour the Spirit of the Lord was infused in him, and the Holy Spirit, as much as the increment of grace, and that special grace of a certain kind. But Jerome and Josephus say, that the spirit of prophecy began from that hour to be in David. Some indeed especially expound that he was endowed with the grace of fortitude, by which Saul previously conquered enemies, and thenceforth it was in David. But it is rather to be understood of the infusion of the Holy Spirit, as much as the gifts were increments of grace making and of grace freely given, for which David was from that day made apt for reigning. For he was not yet king, inasmuch as the king might reign, nor yet had he royal jurisdiction over the people."
"Samuel therefore rising up, departed to Ramatha."
CONTINUE
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