Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 24:4

"And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul`s robe privily." — 1 Samuel 24:4 (ASV)

Behold the day of which the Lord said to you.—This was the version by David’s men of such predictions as 1 Samuel 15:28, 1 Samuel 16:1, and 1 Samuel 16:12. Jonathan’s words (1 Samuel 20:15; 1 Samuel 23:17) clearly show that these predictions were known, and the version of them given here was a very natural one from the mouths of David’s men (Speaker’s Commentary). It is, however, quite possible that a prophet such as Gad had publicly predicted, in the hearing of David’s band of followers, that the days would come when their now outlawed captain, the son of Jesse, the “Anointed of Jehovah”—with all his enemies overthrown—would reign in peace and glory over all the land.

Then David arose.—For a moment, the “king to be” listened to the seductive voice of the tempter. We may imagine him, with the sword of Goliath unsheathed in his hand, advancing towards his unconscious adversary, who was sleeping at the mouth of the cave. David was resolved to end the long, cruel war with one good blow. Then, with his great rival gone, he could seat himself at once on the empty throne which he knew the Eternal intended for him one day to occupy. But this lasted only for a moment, for the thought rapidly passed through David’s soul that the helpless, sleeping one was, after all, the “Anointed of Jehovah.” How could he, himself “an anointed king,” touch another of the same order to harm him?

So, with a matchless generosity, unequalled indeed in those rough days, he spared the man who so ruthlessly and so often had sought his life, even though Saul, at that very moment and with all the power of the land, was trying to put him to death. David the outlaw bent over the sleeping king who hated him with such a deep hate, and deftly cut off the skirt of his robe—perhaps some of the golden fringe that edged the royal m’il. As he bent over him and once more saw the face of Saul—from whose brow his minstrelsy had so often chased the dark clouds of madness—we can imagine the son of Jesse again loving the great hero of his boyhood, loving him as he did in the old days when he played for the king during his dark hours.

There is no doubt that one of the most beautiful characteristics of David’s many-sided nature was this enduring loyalty to Saul and to Saul’s house. No jealousy, or even bitter injuries inflicted in later years, could affect the old love, the old feeling of loyal reverence, the more than filial affection; it was even proof against time. Years after Saul was in his grave, David gave the most conspicuous proof of his faithful memory of his old, devoted friendship for Saul and his house when he pardoned Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, for his more than suspected treason in the matter of Absalom’s revolt, and restored to him a large portion of his forfeited lands (2 Samuel 19:24–29).