They told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul. — 2 Sam 2:4
This word about the men of Jabesh–gilead calls up a tender little episode amid the cruelties of ancient war.
When the Philistines found the bodies of Saul and his sons on the battlefield, they carried them away and hung them on the walls of the town of Beth–shan, exposing them to public gaze. Jabesh–gilead was a town, which Saul had once helped when it was in trouble. The people remembered this old–time kindness, and now, when the bodies of the king and his sons were exposed in such an inhuman way, they rescued them from dishonor.
We should never forget a favor done by another to us, and if we have an opportunity we should be careful to return kindness for kindness. It is a good thing for us to keep our heart warm in the midst of all this world’s coldness and hardness.
This we can do by cherishing always gentle feelings and by doing at every opportunity deeds of kindness.