And so they regarded, they regarded, eh, Saul, the nation of Israel
regarded Saul and Jonathan, something in the manner that we regard
the late John F. Kennedy (Let me see if I can tell you the story, and I ll
soon be through! Listen, if you please!)5 David had been engaged in a
battle, in a battle with the Amalekites and he had come to Ziklag, eh, to
recuperate. And when he was there two or three days, a young Amalekite
soldier came running in and, eh, approached David, and, eh, David
asked how was the battle going from that section from which he had come.
He declared it wasn t going too well, for he said:  Many of the soldiers have
fallen and even Saul and Jonathan are dead. And then, eh, David said
now:  On what authority do you give out this kind of information? He
said:  Well, I came upon Saul on the battlefield, and, eh, the enemy was
close behind him and he saw no way of escape and he fell on his spear
and tried to commit suicide, but, eh, when I reached him and the enemy
soldiers were pressing down on him, he said to me:  Come here, my boy,
take my sword and stand upon me and put me to death. And of course,
the boy said to David:  I took his bracelet and his crown to indicate that
I know what I m talking about. These are Saul s, as you can see.
He s dead. And when he told David that, David began to rent or tear
off his clothes and began to put dirt upon his head and drape his head in
mourning.
And, eh, the others, the soldiers that were around him, they began
to join him in weeping. And, eh, when David, eh, had mourned until
evening time, well, he said:  Now, bring that young man to me. And,
eh, let me talk with him again. And, eh, I wanna find out from that boy,
mmm, why wasn t he afraid to lay his hand on God s anointed? Mmm,
oh, Lord. Wasn t he fearful to take the life of someone that God had
destined to be a King? Oh, Lord. A common soldier, Great God, that s
possibly not more than a private, mmm, has taken the life, eh, of the
nation s sovereign King. Oh, Lord. (You re not praying with me!) Oh,
yeah. And then I heard, eh, David said to one of his men:  Fall upon him
and take his life, mmm, for he has admitted, eh, in his own testimony, eh,
that he killed God s anointed, eh. Oh, Lord. And then David, eh, began
to utilize, eulogize, the King Solomon, or King Saul and his son. Oh,
Lord. I heard him say:  Why, mmm, have the mighty fallen? Oh, Lord.
There are so many who deserve to be gone, there are so many that make
J ohn F. Kennedy, the Man and the Myth [ 7 ]