Seeking Peace

18 FEBRUARY

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Psalm 34:14

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Jeremiah 29:4-7

The children of God are to abstain from all evil, the psalmist says, as well as devote themselves to doing good to their neighbors. As it often happens, the man who is liberal toward some is also prodigal toward some, or at least helps many by acts of kindness and wrongs others by defrauding and injuring them.

With much propriety, David begins by saying those who want their lives to be approved before God should abstain from doing evil. On the other hand, many think that, since they have neither defrauded, nor wronged, nor injured any man, they have discharged the duty God requires of them. But with equal propriety is the precept given to also do good to our neighbor. It is not the will of God that His servants should be idle but rather that they should aid one another, desiring each other's welfare and prosperity, and promoting it as much as they can.

David next commands us to maintain peace: Seek peace, and pursue it. We know that peace is maintained by gentleness and forbearance. But we have often dealt with men of a fretful, or factious, or stubborn spirit, or with those who always seem ready to stir up strife upon the slightest occasion. Some wicked people irritate us and alienate themselves from the minds of good men, while others industriously strive to find grounds of contention. So the psalmist teaches us that we ought not only to seek peace, but if at any time it seems to flee from us, we must use every effort to pursue it.

In our personal affairs we should be meek and condescending and endeavor as much as possible to maintain peace, even though maintaining it causes us much trouble and inconvenience.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: At times we are tempted to focus so completely on our battles with sin and avoiding evil that we neglect the other part of our Christian duty: the Christian life must also be active. David reminds us of that in this verse. Ask for grace today to both avoid evil and to do good.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and edited by Joel R. Beeke