And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”
This narrative of David's triumph over the Philistines is much the same with that, Sa2 5:17, etc. 1. Let the attack which the Philistines made upon David forbid us to be secure in any settlement or advancement, and engage us to expect molestation in this world. When we are most easy something or other may come to be a terror or vexation to us.
Commenting on 1 Chronicles 14:8-17
for God is gone forth before thee--"a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees," that is, the rustling of the leaves by a strong breeze suddenly rising, was the sign by which David was divinely apprised of the precise moment for the attack.
A sound of going - "When thou shalt hear the sound of the angels coming to thy assistance, then go out to battle; for an angel is sent from the presence of God, that he may render thy way prosperous." - T.