We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
The verse looks back to a former intimate friendship marked by sharing counsel together and walking to the house of God in company. That sweet counsel was the precious fellowship of fellow believers meeting together, even sitting at the same table, and such fellowship strengthened and comforted their hearts. Because of that closeness, opposition coming afterward from one once counted as a close friend and companion in worship is felt as betrayal, and the earlier fellowship makes the grief especially sharp.
The same remembrance also warns that brooding over supposed wrongs can lead a person to misread present words and actions as proof that a trusted friend has turned against him. Taking sweet counsel together remains a shared spiritual privilege, in which careful consultation joined with earnest prayer for divine guidance brings spiritual refreshment and upholds lasting work. When such companions are parted from, the verse gives voice to sorrow over the separation and to longing to see old friends again and to remember the counsel once shared.
The verse looks back to a former intimate friendship marked by sharing counsel together and walking to the house of God in company. That sweet counsel was the precious fellowship of fellow believers meeting together, even sitting at the same table, and such fellowship strengthened and comforted their hearts. Because of that closeness, opposition coming afterward from one once counted as a close friend and companion in worship is felt as betrayal, and the earlier fellowship makes the grief especially sharp.
The same remembrance also warns that brooding over supposed wrongs can lead a person to misread present words and actions as proof that a trusted friend has turned against him. Taking sweet counsel together remains a shared spiritual privilege, in which careful consultation joined with earnest prayer for divine guidance brings spiritual refreshment and upholds lasting work. When such companions are parted from, the verse gives voice to sorrow over the separation and to longing to see old friends again and to remember the counsel once shared.