April 17
ENEMIES AT PEACE
"When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to
be at peace with him" Prov. 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!