Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.
Now here is a confession of Saul, and Saul, if David's phrase was "What have I done?" Saul's phrase was, "I have sinned." But he never repented. He only declared a fact. This is sort of tragic. So many people do that today. They say, "Oh, I have sinned." but they don't change. It's more than just the confession of guilt that is necessary. It's the turning from the sin, which is important. "Except thou repent," Jesus said, "you're gonna perish." Repent means to turn. So it isn't just saying, "Oh, I have sinned." It's turning from your sin, which is so important to the Lord.Here is Saul again, and many times on many occasions whenever he was faced by Samuel the prophet, he'd say, "Oh, I have sinned." But there wasn't any sign of repentance. "I have sinned, I have played the fool, I have erred exceedingly." This is Saul's confession. Of course it's a very tragic confession. It's the truth, he did play the fool all through his life he played the fool. He was a man who was endowed by God with many natural talents and abilities. He was a man who was given every opportunity by God, but yet a man who blew his opportunities of really being a servant of God. He is a man who failed to do the work of God, though he had all that he needed to be a marvelous king over Israel, he became exalted and lifted up with pride, and played the fool, and erred exceedingly. So his autobiography, "I have sinned, I've played the fool, I've erred exceedingly."