How these words help us! Think of them when people rasp you, when the devil pricks you with his fiery darts, when your sensitive, self-willed spirit chafes or frets. Let a gentle voice be heard above the strife, whispering, "Keep sweet, keep sweet!" And, if you will but heed it quickly, you will be saved from a thousand falls and kept in perfect peace. True, we cannot keep ourselves sweet, but God will keep us if He sees that it is our fixed, determined purpose to be kept sweet, and to refuse to fret or bear a grudge or retaliate. The trouble is, we may at times enjoy a little irritation and morbidness. We want to cherish the little grudge, and sympathize with our hurt feelings and nurse our little grievance. God will give us all the love we really want and honestly choose. We can have our grievance, or we can have the peace that passeth all understanding; but we cannot have both. There is a balm for a thousand heartaches, and a heaven of peace and power in these two little words-keep sweet.
