1 Samuel 18:16

All Israel and Judah loved David, etc. All who have believed from the Jews and the Gentiles loved, and love, and will love Christ. For He went forth appearing in the flesh, went in returning to the Father; before them, that He might grant hope and shape to those still remaining to live rightly outwards, and to those entering to reign blessedly. He goes out even today before us, protecting us with aid while fighting on earth. He enters, however, when with the battle finished, He leads those to be crowned to eternal life. We thought it necessary to remind the reader that the order of allegorical completion cannot always be preserved in the same way as the order of historical prefiguration. For instance, Joseph is first stripped of his tunic and thrown into a cistern, and afterwards sold with Judah advising; first sold by Judah acting, and thereafter signifies Christ stripped of the garment of the body, buried. This is customary not only in prophetic deeds but also in words. For Isaiah first said: "In that day the root of Jesse, who stands as a sign for the people, Him shall the Gentiles seek" (Isa. XI). And then he added: "And his sepulcher shall be glorious" (Ibid.). With all believers it is evident that first the tomb of the Lord, glorified, was made by Him rising from the dead, and subsequently the sign of His cross being exalted by the apostles was made for the people, that the Gentiles might seek Him. Those skilled in the Scriptures have been accustomed to call it recapitulation in Greek. This too must be noted that one and the same person does not always indicate one and the same portion of a person or thing that it shows. For instance, David signifies Christ, but sometimes in himself, sometimes in His holy preachers, sometimes in other faithful followers, sometimes in the just who fall seven times but rise again through repentance, all of whom as various parts of one body adhere uniformly to the head Christ. Similarly, Saul figuratively represents the Jewish people, sometimes reigning, sometimes teaching rightly, sometimes believing in Christ, sometimes neglecting Christ's commands, sometimes envying and persecuting Christ, sometimes inflicting threats, plots, murders, and deaths upon His faithful, showing different aspects. Likewise, Goliath, who carries the type of the devil, sometimes is expressed in the very head of all the impious, sometimes in…