Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
Honest, heartfelt advice from a friend is as welcome as perfume.
1 Samuel 18:1
1 Samuel 18:1
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
Where the friendship of David and Jonathan begins: a king’s son and a shepherd, their souls knit together.
KJV1 Samuel 18:1 in context
1And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. 3Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
Begins with Hannah’s prayer for a child and follows Israel to its first kings.
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Related verses
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Friendship in two movements: share the joy, and share the tears.
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Ruth’s vow to her mother-in-law Naomi, now a classic vow of faithful love: where you go I will go, your God will be my God.
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
Before they said a word, Job’s friends sat with him on the ground for seven days. Sometimes being there is the help.