Dear Friends,
It is a great truth to realize that our words when spoken can cause us
great grief, but did you ever realize that unspoken words can also be a
potent source of grief? Today’s attached devotional will explain. God
bless you.

Because of Calvary,
John Janney

• II Samuel 1:17-27 (ESV)

  17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar. He said:

  19 “Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!
  How the mighty have fallen!
  20 Tell it not in Gath,
  publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
  lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
  lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
  21 “You mountains of Gilboa,
  let there be no dew or rain upon you,
  nor fields of offerings!
  For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
  the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
  22 “From the blood of the slain,
  from the fat of the mighty,
  the bow of Jonathan turned not back,
  and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
  23 “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
  In life and in death they were not divided;
  they were swifter than eagles;
  they were stronger than lions.
  24 “You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
  who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,
  who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
  25 “How the mighty have fallen
  in the midst of the battle!
  “Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
  26     I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
  very pleasant have you been to me;
  your love to me was extraordinary,
  surpassing the love of women.
  27 “How the mighty have fallen,
  and the weapons of war perished!”

“There is a wealth of unexpressed love in the world. It is one of the chief causes of sorrow evoked by death; what might have been said or done that never can be said or done.” [Arthur Hopkins in John R. Rice, Poems that Speak, (Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1952), #78]