“A good friend” by Campegius Vitringa

“Beloved, if you find a friend who is good, sincere, faithful, honest, gentle, humble, godly, similar to you in temperament and spirit, sharing with you in Christ’s grace, seeking the same goals as you, committed to sharing the same responsibilities, and oriented to the same pursuits as you are, then foster this friendship.

Cherish this friend and hold close to him. (Though, of course, sensibly and in accordance with your circumstances).

Attach yourself to that friend with such constancy and propriety that he may never have cause to blame you or doubt your faithfulness.

In sum, treat him as Jonathan did David. This will profit you greatly as you run your race in the Lord.

How great is the fruit of fellowship and familiarity with friends who are striving for the same goal as we are!

This is why the godly man says, ‘I am a partner with all who reverence you and keep your precepts’ (Ps. 119:63; cf. Ps. 122:1).

It is enormously beneficial both from the pleasure you will have from this kind of honest fellowship as well as from its usefulness, which is not paltry.”

–Campegius Vitringa, The Spiritual Life, Trans. and Ed. Charles K. Telfer (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2018), 135.