When a man's ways please the Lord,
he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7)
I must see that my ways please the Lord. Even then I shall
have enemies; and, perhaps, all the more certainly because I endeavor to do
that which is right. But what a promise this is! The Lord will make the wrath
of man to praise Him and abate it so that it shall not distress me.
He can constrain an enemy to desist from harming me, even
though he has a mind to do so. This He did with Laban, who pursued Jacob but
did not dare to touch him. Or He can subdue the wrath of the enemy and make him
friendly, as He did with Esau, who met Jacob in a brotherly manner, though
Jacob had dreaded that he would smite him and his family with the sword. The
Lord can also convert a furious adversary into a brother in Christ and a fellow
worker, as He did with Saul of Tarsus. Oh, that He would do this in every case
where a persecuting spirit appears!
Happy is the man whose enemies are made to be to him what
the lions were to Daniel in the den, quiet and companionable! When I meet
death, who is called the last enemy, I pray that I may be at peace. Only let my
great care be to please the Lord in all things. Oh, for faith and holiness; for
these are a pleasure unto the Most High!
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