DAILY READINGS: 2 Samuel 7; Nahum 2-3; Romans 14:1-18
How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
2 Samuel 1:27
When David sang his lamentation over Saul and Jonathan’s death
(II Sam. 1:17-27), he used an intriguing phrase three times, “How
are the mighty fallen” (vv. 19, 25, 27). His greatest grief, it appears,
was the loss of his best friend, Jonathan. But he includes his mortal
enemy, Saul, in that lament. This was the same Saul that repeatedly
tried to kill him, the same one that had a bounty on him, the one
whose throne he would fi ll. But despite all the turmoil that Saul
caused him, David was gracious to him in death. May we all be so
gracious in the lives—and deaths—of those who have harmed us.
—Craig Funston
Let your smile be cheerful, ever warm and bright,
Make the hearts around you, happy with its light. —Fanny Crosby