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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:1-5

Here, I. Samuel gives them a short account of the late revolution, and of the present posture of their government, by way of preface to what he had further to say to them, 1 Sam. 12:1, 2. 1. For his own part, he had spent his days in their service; he began betimes to be useful among them, and had continued long so: ?I have walked before you, as a guide to direct you, as a shepherd that leads his flock (Ps. 80:1), from my childhood unto this day.? As soon as he was illuminated with the light... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:6-15

Samuel, having sufficiently secured his own reputation, instead of upbraiding the people upon it with their unkindness to him, sets himself to instruct them, and keep them in the way of their duty, and then the change of the government would be the less damage to them. I. He reminds them of the great goodness of God to them and to their fathers, gives them an abstract of the history of their nation, that, by the consideration of the great things God had done for them, they might be for ever... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:16-25

Two things Samuel here aims at:? I. To convince the people of their sin in desiring a king. They were now rejoicing before God in and with their king (1 Sam. 11:15), and offering to God the sacrifices of praise, which they hoped God would accept; and this perhaps made them think that there was no harm in their asking a king, but really they had done well in it. Therefore Samuel here charges it upon them as their sin, as wickedness, great wickedness in the sight of the Lord. Note, Though we... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:1

And Samuel said unto all Israel ,.... When assembled at Gilgal, after they had recognized Saul as their king, and he was established in the kingdom, and while in the midst of their mirth and joy: behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye have said unto me ; respecting the affair of a king, to which it must be limited, as appears by what follows; otherwise it is possible, in some things they might apply to him about, he did not think fit to hearken to them, and grant their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:2

And now, behold, the king walketh before you ,.... He invested with his office, and in the exercise of it, and goes in and out as the captain, commander, and leader of the people; it is expressive of his being in the full possession of regal power and authority, and therefore Samuel might speak the more freely, as he could not be thought to have any hope and expectation of being reinstated in his government, or to have parted with it with any regret; and he wisely took this opportunity of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:3

Behold, here I am ,.... No longer the supreme governor, but a subject, and accountable for any misdemeanour charged upon me, and to which I am ready to give answer, being now at your bar to be tried and judged before you: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed ; signifying, that if they had anything to lay to his charge, that they would produce it, and give proof and evidence of it in the presence of God, in whose name they met, and of Saul, anointed king, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:4

And they said ,.... One in the name of the rest, or they all cried out as one man: thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us ; had done them no wrong, neither privately nor publicly, by fraud or by force: neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand ; as a gift, present, or bribe, to fit your his cause. Some would infer hence that be took nothing of them for his support and maintenance, and that he lived upon his own substance; but that is not likely or reasonable; it was but... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:5

And he said unto them, the Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day ,.... Should they hereafter reproach and vilify him, and charge him with any acts of corruption, injustice, and violence: that ye have not found ought in my hand ; that they had nothing to accuse him of and charge him with throughout his whole administration, but had asserted his innocence and integrity, had honourably acquitted him, and given him a fair character: and they answered, he is... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:6

And Samuel said unto the people ,.... Having cleared and established his own character, he proceeds to lay before the people some of the great things God had done for them formerly, and quite down to the present time, the more to aggravate their ingratitude in rejecting God as their King: it is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron ; raised them from a low estate, the one in a foreign country in Midian, the other in bondage in Egypt, to be deliverers, guides, and governors of his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 12:7

Now therefore stand still ,.... Keep your place, and do not as yet break up the assembly, but wait a little longer patiently, and with reverence and attention hearken to what I have further to say: that I may reason with you before the Lord ; as in his presence; and which he observes to command the greater awe upon their mind, and the greater regard to the subject of his discourse and resolutions; which would be: of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your... read more

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