阅读经文 

扫罗王和儿子约拿单都在与非利士人争战时阵亡了。（参撒上 31:1-6）于是大卫作了一首哀歌来悼念他们。

大卫怎会为扫罗哀伤呢？扫罗有几次曾尝试杀害大卫，他率士兵们也花了不少时间来追捕大卫，以致大卫沦为他们的敌人非利士人的难民。

尽管如此，扫罗阵亡的消息仍然令大卫哀伤，为什么呢？扫罗蒙神拣选为以色列第一任君王，出于对主的敬仰，大卫尊重神的秩序，他也时常称扫罗为“耶和华的受膏者。”

大卫哀悼约拿单是合情合理的，他是扫罗家中第一个公开维护大卫的人，尽管这样不利于他自己将来登基作王，他仍与大卫结为盟友。约拿单请求父亲视大卫为以色列民的祝福，而不是威胁。

扫罗让大卫看到，作为以色列民的领袖——不应该效法的榜样。约拿单则让大卫看到，一个人成为别人真正的朋友——应该效法的榜样。大卫同时为这两个人哀伤，并不觉得有所冲突，他们二人都带给了大卫一些影响，更能帮助他活出神在他身上的目的和计划。

King Saul and his son Jonathan had died in battle with the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:1-6). So David composed a song of lament to honor them.

How could David mourn for Saul? Saul had tried to kill David several times, and he had spent considerable time hunting David down with his army. Because of that, David had become a refugee in the land of their enemies the Philistines.

Even so, the report of Saul’s death grieved David. Why? Saul had been chosen by God to be the people’s first king. David honored that out of respect for the Lord, and he often called Saul “the Lord’s anointed.”

David’s mourning for Jonathan made sense. He was the first member of Saul’s family to stand up for David. He made a covenant of friendship with David against his own prospects for the throne. Jonathan pleaded with his father to see David as a blessing to Israel, not a threat.

Saul had shown David what not to do as Israel’s leader. And Jonathan had shown how a person can be a true friend. David found no paradox in mourning both of these men. They each gave him something that made him alive to God’s purposes and plans.