We've been following Saul's walk of faith from God's Spirit coming upon him, to his increased pride and disobedience to the point where God was grieved that he had made Saul king. Today we read, "Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him" (1 Samuel 16:14), and later: "Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him" (1 Samuel 16:23).
The People's Bible has really good commentary on this: "Saul refused to repent, and the Spirit of God left him, leaving the way wide open for Satan to come in, which God permitted as a judgment against Saul. Even the evil spirits must serve God's purposes when he calls upon them to do so. Saul became a man tormented, suffering from insecurity and bouts of dark depression.
"Even Saul's advisers realized his depression was chiefly a spiritual problem. For in selecting a musician to calm the king's troubled heart, they selected one of whom it could be said, 'The LORD is with him.'"
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