| Barnes' Notes on the Bible Goodness has power to charm and win even enemies to itself. Clarke's Commentary on the BibleWhen a man's ways please the Lord - God is the guardian and defense of all that fear and love him; and it is truly astonishing to see how wondrously God works in their behalf, raising them up friends, and turning their enemies into friends. Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleWhen a man's ways please the Lord,.... As they do when a man walks according to the rule of his word; when he walks as he has Christ for an example; when he walks after the Spirit, and not after the flesh; when he walks by faith, and does all he does in faith; without which it is impossible to please God, Hebrews 11:6; and when all his ways and actions are directed to the glory of God; he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him; as Abimelech with Isaac, Esau with Jacob; and the enemies of the church and people of God with then, in the latter day, Revelation 3:9. Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament7 If Jahve has pleasure in the ways of a man, He reconciles even his enemies to him - properly (for השׁלים is here the causative of the transitive, Joshua 10:1): He brings it about that they conclude peace with him. If God has pleasure in the ways of a man, i.e., in the designs which he prosecutes, and in the means which he employs, he shows, by the great consequences which flow from his endeavours, that, even as his enemies also acknowledge, God is with him (e.g., Genesis 26:27.), so that they, vanquished in heart (e.g., 2 Samuel 19:9.), abandon their hostile position, and become his friends. For if it is manifest that God makes Himself known, bestowing blessings on a man, there lies in this a power of conviction which disarms his most bitter opponents, excepting only those who have in selfishness hardened themselves. Geneva Study BibleWhen a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary7. Persecutions, of course, excepted. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary16:4. God makes use of the wicked to execute righteous vengeance on each other; and he will be glorified by their destruction at last. 5. Though sinners strengthen themselves and one another, they shall not escape God's judgments. 6. By the mercy and truth of God in Christ Jesus, the sins of believers are taken away, and the power of sin is broken. 7. He that has all hearts in his hand, can make a man's enemies to be at peace with him. 8. A small estate, honestly come by, will turn to better account than a great estate ill-gotten. 9. If men make God's glory their end, and his will their rule, he will direct their steps by his Spirit and grace. 10. Let kings and judges of the earth be just, and rule in the fear of God. 11. To observe justice in dealings between man and man is God's appointment. |