4 And the king saith unto them, 'That which is good in your eyes I do;' and the king standeth at the side of the gate, and all the people have gone out by hundreds and by thousands,

Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:4

Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:1-8

(Read 2 Samuel 18:1-8)

How does David render good for evil! Absalom would have only David smitten; David would have only Absalom spared. This seems to be a resemblance of man's wickedness towards God, and God's mercy to man, of which it is hard to say which is most amazing. Now the Israelites see what it is to take counsel against the Lord and his anointed.