THE

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS

OF

TRUE BELIEVERS.

IV. IN RELATION TO THEIR MEEKNESS, AS AN EVIDENCE OF GREAT UNDERSTANDING, AND THE FOLLY OF PASSIONATENESS.

*

PROVERBS xiv. 29.

He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit, exalteth folly.

THERE is a great affinity betwixt sinful anger, and cursing, swearing, profanation of the name of God. It is the mother, and they are the daughters ordinarily; though in all it does not bring them forth, yet they are hardly to be found with a meek and quiet spirit.

The scope of these words is to beat down sinful anger, a common evil, producing much mischief. And in them,

1. There is the excellency of meekness. Meekness is the bridle of anger or wrath; the meek man is slow to [Heb. of] wrath. He is one that does not soon take offence, and keeps such a command over his passion, that it does not unreasonably and violently break out, breaking up as it were the doors of his soul and flying forth and raging. The excellency of this is, that such a one is an understanding man, of great understanding. Worldly men, whose pride and passion is to them instead of law and reason, count such a one a poor mean-spirited, silly man, that does not understand himself; for that when he receives an injury, he does not presently take fire and resent it but as the understanding, so the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God; and the world's fool is God's wise man.

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2. The mischief of passionateness, and the evil thereof. The passionate man is hasty of spirit; his passion runs before his reason. The original calls him short, or cutted of spirit. He is so far from being slow to wrath, that his spirit finds a short way to it. His fiery spirit is as tinder to every spark of provocation, and at one

This subject was handled at Ettrick in October, 1724.

step is forward in the midst of wrath or sinful anger. The ill of this is that he exalts, or lifts up his own folly like a standard, making it visible to all about him. He thinks by that means to proclaim his worth, and make others stand in awe of him but in very deed he proclaims his folly, that is, his sinfulness, corruption, naughtiness, and wickedness.

So here anger is held forth as a passion dangerous and difficult to manage, which the wise will therefore be loath to venture into, and when they are in, will labour to keep a bridle upon; but fools rashly venture on, and let loose the bridle to it, and in it.

The text gives a foundation for the following doctrines.

DocT. I. The man that is slow of wrath or anger, shews great wisdom and understanding in his meek and peaceable disposition and deportment.

DocT. II. The passionate man proclaims his folly and naughtiness in his unbridled passion and sinful anger.

I shall handle each doctrine in order.

DocT. I. The man that is slow of wrath or anger, shews great wisdom and understanding in his meek and peaceable disposition and deportment.

In discoursing from this doctrine, I shall,

I. Consider the nature of wrath or anger in general.

II. Shew what it is to be slow of wrath.

III. In what respects he that is slow of wrath is of great understanding.

IV. Make some improvement.

I. I am to consider the nature of wrath or anger in general. Anger or wrath is a passion which is not of itself sinful, but is either good or ill as it is regulated: and so it differs from fretting, murmuring, and envy, which can never be good or allowable in any case. This is evident from the scripture's attributing anger or wrath to God. We find it in Christ, Mark iii. 5. He looked round about him with anger. So that without question there is an allowable and holy anger. Such was that of Moses, of whom it is said, that, on his descent from the mountain, when he saw the calf and the dancing, his anger waxed hot, Exod. xxiii. 26. And this is our duty, Eph. iv. 26. Be ye angry, and sin not. But such is the corruption of man's nature, that when this passion riseth in his breast, it is exceedingly hard to keep it within bounds, and rarely is it that it overflows not the banks. Therefore the apostle exhorts, that all wrath and anger be put away, Eph. iv. 31.

Anger is like a fire, that is a good servant, but an ill master. It is a servant to the meek, but a master to the passionate. The passion of anger is like wind to the ship: so is it to the soul called to steer its course to Immanuel's land.

1. If there be a dead calm, and the winds blow not at all, or very weakly, the ship does not make way. And if men be so stupid, indolent, and unconcerned, that their spirits will not stir in them, whatever dishonour they see done to God, these are standing still in the way to heaven. And many such there be, who are all fire in their own matters, but in those of God, their hearts are dead like a stone. And if their hearts on such occasions stir in them, but very weakly, they are making but little progress. Such was the case of Eli: His sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not, 1 Sam. iii. 13. It was not so with Paul: for his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city [Athens] wholly given to idolatry, Acts xvii. 16.

2. If the wind is brisk enough but yet is contrary, the ship will at best have much ado with it, and may be driven into a shore which the crew desired not to see. So if men's anger be in itself sinful, if their anger burn against what is good and just, against their own mercy, their duty, such things or persons as are for their real good, as the Jews' wrath was against Christ, his apostles, and their doctrine; such anger cannot fail of an unhappy event, driving the soul into much sin, and driving at length into destruction, if that wind do not turn, and they change their course. This was the case of the Jews, of whom the apostle says, 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16, "Who hath killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway; for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."

3. Though the wind be not contrary, yet if it be too impetuous and violent, it may dash the ship on rocks, and split it. So though men's anger may have a just ground, yet if it prove excessive and boisterous, it may run men headlong into great mischiefs, to the dishonour of God, and ruin of themselves and others. And therefore Jacob thus censures that of Simeon and Levi, Gen. xlix. 7. "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel." Oft-times reason lets in anger into one's breast; but then anger turns out reason to the door, and carries on all precipitantly without reason or discretion like one that brings in a coal to his hearth, because of the cold, but unwarily lets it fall on tow, which sets the house on fire.

The ingredients of anger are these following.

1. A commotion or trouble of the spirit, which ariseth from an apprehension of an injury. The injury apprehended strikes on men's spirit, and disturbs its repose. And many times the sinfulness of it riseth here, that there is an injury apprehended where there is none, or it is apprehended to be greater than it really is. In both cases it is rash anger; hence our Lord says, Matth. v. 22. "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." But however it is, as to the cause of it, it is according to its name an anger, vexation or trouble of spirit, in its nature, which a wise man will be loath to admit without a good cause, 2 Pet. ii. 7.

2. Hatred, which is bent against the injury apprehended, that they cannot think on it but with detestation. And in respect of this anger is called indignation. And if the injury be real, and consequently a sinful thing, and the hatred and indignation be confined to it, the anger in that case is laudable, so that it keep due proportion with the offence, 2 Cor. vi. 11. But here again the sinfulness of anger riseth, while like a flood-water it does not only fill the channel, but overflows the banks; the hatred being not only directed against our neighbour's sin and offence, but his person, whom we are obliged to love as ourselves, notwithstanding of his real or apprehended injuries to us, Matth. v. 44.

3. Grief, for whosoever is angry is grieved too, Mark iii. 5. And this ariseth from the conceived injury too which is hated. But the grief is on the account of the party, or parties injured; and in lawful anger it is impartial, and goes as broad as the injury goes: as in our Lord's anger, he was "grieved for the hardness of their hearts." He was grieved for it as an injury to his Father, to himself, and to their own souls. And here is another joint, at which our anger is often distorted, and becomes sinful. The grief the angry man has, often looks only to himself as slighted, despised, and wronged; upon that his anger feeds but he has no regard to the dishonour of God, nor to the wrong done to the injurer's own soul, by the injury to us.

4. A desire of the vindication of the right and honour of the injured. And from this appetite or desire it hath one of its names in the New Testament, ORGE. And this desire is allowable as far as it seeks what only in a way of justice and equity is necessary to vindicate the right and honour of the injured, and withal seeks it in an orderly and allowable way. The meek desire that in their anger; but they commit it to God to whom it belongs. But here again our

nger usually becomes sinful; partly, while that desire respects only their own right and honour, and we have no concern for the vindication of the honour of God and our neighbour; partly, while men are bent on revenge, which is measured not by the rule of moderation, justice, and equity, but by the satisfying of an exorbitant passion; and partly, while men are by it carried to avenge themselves, while yet they have no lawful power, Rom. xii. 19. whence come scoldings, quarrelings, beatings, and fightings.

Thus ye may see that anger is a passion uneasy to one's self, compounded of bitter ingredients and uneasy passions; in which one walks on slippery ground, where he is apt to fall headlong.

II. I come now to shew what it is to be slow of wrath. It imports these three things.

1. Being slow to take up anger in one's own cause. The wise man is not soon angry, Prov. xiv. 17. It is wisdom indeed to be very tender of God's honour, but to be more indifferent about our own personal interests, as Moses was. But the world's way is the reverse of this; they are lions in their own cause, but lambs in the matters of God. However, in all cases the wise are not rash with their anger; they consider matters duly, put a charitable construction on actions that will bear one, and put up many offences, covering them with a mantle of love.

2. Managing it warily when it is taken up, being guided by the light of reason, and not by the fire of passion. This is to possess themselves, and not to be turned out of the possession of themselves by their passion, Luke xxi. 19. They find themselves on slippery ground, and therefore are slow to their motions: they see their danger, and therefore do the rather watch, lest they be precipitated into what will afterward bring them nothing but remorse.

3. Being easy to lay it down, Eph. iv. 26, 27; easy to forgive and forget injuries, Matth. xviii. 22. The more slow that anger burns, it is the easier to quench, it doth the easier die out. Thus he who has the rule over his own spirit, as he manageth his anger regularly while there is need for it, he shuts it out when there is no more use for it.

III. I proceed to shew in what respects he that is slow of wrath is of great understanding. Such a one thereby shews, that he does well understand,

1. His duty to God his sovereign Lord, Eccl. v. 2. If men understood that, they would not be so ready to take fire on every temptation. If they considered that God is the Judge of all and their Judge, to whom belongs vengeance; that he has by his command enjoined them patience, long-suffering, and forbearance; and