Cor».d; Rules for the eradication of unjuft Anger. Chap.8. fore S.James exhorts us tobe tareli ad tram,flow to wrath; and he gives a very good James r.r6, reafonof it, becaufe this fuperfluity of mans wrath , doth never operari Nfitiam: 20 Dei, n'orktherighteoufnefiof God. For as the Wife man faith , the beginning of ri a i.r at when one letteth out water. As when one cuts a bank , it, is carte pr °v.1a,i 1f.. to flop the vvater at firft : but after it bath got way , it carries all before . it. Now thisanger of vvhich we fpeak , mull be underflood , either ofour felves towards others , or of others towards us. Of the firft we have hitherto fpoken, and of our anger againft others , and the rule in general was,' Refjtite, refift it. Of the other we are to fpeak , óvhen others are angry with us ; and here. r. The firft rule is, Cede, Give place. It is the Apoflles cóunfel, Give placeUnto 11001.12.2g wrath. It was Abigail: wifdomnot to tell Nabal of his faults ip the mid¡tof his 'Sam-2537 cups, but to tarry till the next day : for anger is momentanea infania,a momentany madnefs. And this may be done, if we think not too much of it; for cogitatio . learn auget,anger increafès the more we think of it : and therefore the Philofophers rule was, that this affeétionmull be fmothered with another 4400-, . as of joy,fear, or the like. But there isanother rule which the Holy Ghofr gives,which is,inour anger to fee r.God. 2.The Devil. Job afcribeth the taking awayof his goods to God:though the Job 1.z1 Chaldeans and Sabeans rob'd him,yet he lookedhigher, he faw further,he law Gods hand in it, and therefore he bare all with patience, becaufe he knew God would ne- ver permit it, but for his good. So Dávid,vvhenShimei railed upon him,faid to his z Sam, id. if fervants, Let him alone, and let himcurfe > for the Lordbath bidden him. So alfo the Devil may be feen in ouranger,as the Aponte intimates in that fpeech, Be angry,and Eph.4.27 fin not, neither give place to the Devil, becaufe wicked men , when they,provoke us, are but the Devils inftruments herein. Therefore Chryfafome faith , It is a foolifh thingin a dog to runafter the (tone that is call at him , and tobite that , leaving him that threw it ; or whenone is foundly beatenvvith a alit', . to demand that, to break it, andnot turn uponhimthat gave the blow : and it is lure that wicked men are nothingelk,but the Devils [tonesand ¡laves : our part therefore is to oppofe the Devil, andwe cannot fcourge him worfe, thanby this vertue of paaience; for this is one of thofe bona opera, good vvorks , which as we laid before, areflagella De- moment, whips for the Devil. Thus much for reprefiingthe inward motion of this pailìon , either by keeping it from riling, or after it hath rifen, to keep it from breaking out. Now for the outward a& vvhich confifts in Revenge, whereby vve think to do toour Adverfary as he bath done to us, we mull labour to re[lrain it, by confi- d'eting our Savioursexample, who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he 1 peGYez3 fu erect be threat not but committed it to him that judgeth ri hteou ; anti eut.32."sï Íf > > 1 g. % lq.Y Ro01.1z.1! lookto God that Vengeance is mine, and I will repay: We mull be fo far from affuming this to our felves , that we mull not rejoyce whenour enemy falleth, prov.24.19, nor muff our heart be gladwhen heftumbleth, left the Lord fee it, and it diffrleafe him, 18 and he turn his wrathfrom him to us. yob gives us a pattern for this , He rejoyced Job.31.29 not at thedeftruaion of him that hatedhim. But the moll arc here like the king of lfrael, who when the Syrians were brought into Samaria by the Prophet, fo that he had them at an advantage ; he asks the Prophet, My Father fhall 12 Rings6,22 (mite them ? Sc; if we have an advantage of our enemy, we are . ready tp fmite them. But David: ppraftice was better , which we fhould the rather follow, when he had Saul at an advantage in the Cave , fo that he might have r Stm-.24 fmitren him yet he did it not , but only -cut off the lapp of his Garment ; whereas if Tome had had him in this cafe , they would havecut his skirts fo near , that ( it is CbrJf¡tomes faying) effndiffent é renibur Ott fanguinem they would have let out the bell blood in his body. This fhould,be far from us, for we may obferve that this delire of revenge is moll incident to the weakeft Creatures : we fee the leafs are föoneft angry, Ire p.:14 earsvw, habet &mufcafple- nem, there is the Ants anger, and the Fliesanger , and women more angry then men, and among men, thole that are old, lick, and weak, & quo infirmiores eo ma- gi; iracondi ; the weaker , the more angry ever , but he that is magnarrám virium, H h h the
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