Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 16:23

"And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." — 1 Samuel 16:23 (ASV)

David took a harp, and played with his hand. —“The music,” beautifully writes F. D. Maurice, “was more than a mere palliative. It brought back for a time the sense of a true order, a secret, inward harmony, an assurance that it is near every man, and that he may enter into it. A wonderful message, no doubt, to a king or a common man, better than a great multitude of words, a continual prophecy that there is a deliverer who can take the vulture from the heart, and unbind the sufferer from the rock... As the boy minstrel played, the afflicted monarch was refreshed, and the dark clouds rolled away.”

“He is Saul, you remember in glory—before error had bent
The broad brow from the daily communion, and still, though much spent
Is the life and the bearing that face you, the same God did choose
To receive what a man may waste, desecrate, never quite lose.”—BROWNING: Saul.

And the evil spirit departed from him. —Many instances besides those recorded above (see note to 1 Samuel 16:16) might be quoted of the beneficial effects of music and singing on a disturbed spirit, or on a diseased mind. The holy Elisha, we are told, when “disturbed in spirit,” would call for a minstrel, and after listening to the sweet, soothing strains, would write and speak his prophetic utterances.

In modern times, a well-known instance of this strange power over a troubled spirit is that of Philip V. of Spain, who, we are told, was restored from the deepest melancholy and depression by the sweet voice and words of Farinelli. Luther speaks of this power of music over the sick and weary soul as “one of the fairest and most glorious gifts of God, to which Satan is a bitter enemy, for it removes from the heart the weight of sorrow and the fascination of evil thoughts.”

Basil’s words on this subject are worth quoting: “Psalmody is the calm of the soul, the repose of the spirit, the arbiter of peace. It silences the wave, and calms the whirlwind of our passions. It is a promoter of friendship, a healer of dissension, a reconciler of enemies. It repels demons, attracts the ministry of angels, shields us from nightly terrors, and refreshes us in our daily toil.”