1 Samuel 15:13

“And Samuel came to Saul, etc.] At Gilgal: and Saul said unto him, blessed be thou of the Lord; signifying that he had abundant reason to bless the Lord on his account, not only that he had anointed him king, but had sent him on such an errand, in which he had succeeded so well, and it was a pleasure to him that he might report it to him: I have performed the commandment of the Lord; either he was really ignorant that he had done amiss; and thought that his sparing Agag, when he had destroyed all the rest, and reserving some of the best of the cattle for sacrifice, could not be interpreted a breach of the orders given him; or if he was conscious he had broken the commandment of the Lord, this…”

“Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord--Saul was either blinded by a partial and delusive self-love, or he was, in his declaration to Samuel, acting the part of a bold and artful hypocrite. He professed to have fulfilled the divine command, and that the blame of any defects in the execution lay with the people. Samuel saw the real state of the case, and in discharge of the commission he had received before setting out, proceeded to denounce his conduct as characterized by pride, rebellion, and obstinate disobedience. When Saul persisted in declaring that he had obeyed, alleging that the animals, whose bleating was heard, had been…”

“Gilgal being within 15 miles of Ramah, Samuel might easily have come from Ramah that morning. Self-will and rashness had hitherto been Saul’s chief faults. He now seems to add falsehood and hypocrisy. return to 'Top of Page'”

“They - That is, the people. Thus, he lays the blame upon the people; whereas they could not do it without his consent; and he should have used his power to over - rule them. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 15:18”

“15:13 I have carried out the Lord’s command! Cp. 15:3. Saul apparently thought his actions were justified (15:15; cp. Lev 22:19). Samuel, however, cut through Saul’s pretense (1 Sam 15:17-19) and carried out God’s command himself (15:32-33).”

“Blessed: Sa1 13:10; Gen 14:19; Jdg 17:2; Rut 3:10 I have performed: Sa1 15:9, Sa1 15:11; Gen 3:12; Pro 27:2, Pro 28:13, Pro 30:13, Pro 31:31; Luk 17:10, Luk 18:11 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 15:14”

“When Samuel met him there, Saul attempted to hide his consciousness of guilt by a feigned friendly welcome. "Blessed be thou of the Lord" (vid., Rut 2:20; Gen 14:19, etc.) was his greeting to the prophet; "I have set up the word of Jehovah." 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 15:14”