wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame. Eph. iv. 31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking be put away from you, with all malice." Give fire a vent, and it will burn while it has matter; but if it have no vent at all, it will die out. So it will be in this case.

7. Study a charitable disposition, and beware of a suspicious, curious, and credulous temper. This would be an excellent antidote against the attempts of passion, 1 Cor. xiii. 7. Charity will put the best construction on the actions of others that rationally they can bear, and so eases men of many supposed injuries, and many real ones too. Suspicion serves to gather in fuel from all quarters to the fire of passion, and would find it in plenty there, where charity would see none at all. Curiosity and credulity are passion's handmaids. He that is curious to know what others think and say of him, and credulous to believe every report, will not want enough to make him uneasy.

8. Remove the occasions of your passion, as people use to keep lint far from the fire, because the fire easily seizes on it. It is said of Augustus, that he did for this reason break some curious glasses of purpose. And it is said of turpentine, that it will draw fire to it. No fire is so easily drawn as that of passion. And therefore it is good to remove those things that draw it to them.

9. Lastly, Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; and if at any time ye are catched, haste out of the snare. Dallying with temptation is the fair way to entangle you further: therefore fly from it as from a serpent, lest ye be stung to death thereby.

THE

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS

OF

TRUE BELIEVER S.

V. IN RELATION TO THEIR FORGIVING INJURIES, IN OPPOSITION TO

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

As in sinful anger there is a desire of revenge, so revenge is the hellish sacrifice to sinful anger, wherewith it is satisfied, and wherein it is fully accomplished. Therefore it is necessary to add a little concerning this. In the words there is,

1. A dehortation from revenge, which is proposed pathetically, 1st, With an endearing compellation, Dearly beloved. He knew how prone corrupt nature is to revenge, how hard it is to sinful men to be denied the satisfaction of it, when once their passion is up: therefore he interposes as it were with the angry man, and with softest words begs him to forbear.

2dly, Both negatively and positively, telling what is not to be done, and what is to be done.

(1.) Ye are not to avenge yourselves. All revenge is not sinful, nor here forbidden. For it is competent to God, as saith the text; and to the magistrate, chap. xiii. 4. "He is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil." But it is private and personal revenge, namely, where one as a private man revenges himself on another, over whom he has no authority and power given him for that effect. Avenge not yourselves.

This subject was discussed in two short discourses, preached at Ettrick, Nov. 7, and 8, 1724.

(2.) Ye are to give place to wrath; i. e. to the wrath of your adversary who does you the injury. Decline it as David did Saul's javelin thrown at him, rather than give him as good as he brings. Rather suffer injuries, than revenge yourselves at your own hand. It is just what our Saviour teaches, Matth. v. 39. "Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." As if he had said, Take a second blow, rather than revenge the first.

2. A reason of the dehortation, which is taken from Deut. xxxii. 35. To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense.

1st, Revenge belongs to God; he pleads it as his own right, and he has put in his claim to it, as his sole privilege before the world, in the word, that none who hear the Bible can pretend ignorance. Therefore it belongs not to us, and we must not invade his right. 2dly, He will certainly see to the execution of it. are not allowed to revenge injuries, then they will and many wrongs we get will never be righted. right all wrongs; none of them shall go unseen to. He has given his word for it.

The doctrine arising from the text is,

Say not, If we go unpunished, No; God will

DocT. One's revenging himself at his own hand on such as have wronged him, is deeply sinful and dishonouring to God, whose province alone vengeance is.

In treating this doctrine, I shall shew,

I. What this revenge is that is so deeply sinful and dishonouring to God.

II. What is the sinfulness and dishonour to God in it.

III. Make application.

I. I am to shew what this revenge is that is so deeply sinful and dishonouring to God, whose province alone vengeance is.

Revenge is twofold, public and authoritative, private and personal. 1. There is a public and authoritative revenge, which is taken on those that wrong others by such as are invested with a lawful power and authority for that purpose. This is so far from being sinful, that it is a necessary piece of justice and charity, and is done in the name and by the authority of God. Thus the magistrate has a power to revenge wrongs in the state, Rom. xiii. 4, forecited. So also have church-rulers power to revenge or censure scandals in the church, 2 Cor. x. 6, where the apostle speaks of a readiness to revenge all disobedience. And thus masters of families have a power to revenge wrongs in their families, as Abraham did in the case of Hagar,

Gen. xvi. 6. And it is of equal latitude with rightful government, in whatever lawful society. And persons wronged seeking redress from those to whom the public revenge belongs, is a lawful thing, and men are invested with authority that they may be so applied to, as the importunate widow did to the unjust judge, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary, Luke xviii. 3. And applying to them for it, they apply to God for it, since they act in his name.

2. There is a private and personal revenge, which is the requiting of a wrong with the like, or worse, for the satisfying of the passion of the injured, not supported by any authority from the God of vengeance. This is sinful revenge. The kinds of it are three.

1st, Revenge taken by those in authority, out of hatred and illwill to the person of him who does the wrong. For they are revengers to execute wrath, Rom. xiii. 4. not their own wrath against the person, but God's, in whose name they act. And the executing of justice must still be an act of love to their neighbour, which is the sum of the second table, but never of hatred. No man has any authority from God to that purpose. So the public revenge in that case becomes so far private, deeply sinful and dishonouring to God.

2dly, Revenge sought from those in authority, in cases wherein it is neither necessary for the public good, nor the amendment of the offender, nor the safety of the party hurt. This also is private revenge, deeply sinful, and dishonourable to God. For in such cases there is nothing obliging the man's conscience to seek it, and therefore he is obliged to forgive it wholly, Col. iii. 13. All then that is aimed at in such cases, is the satisfying of the man's own revengeful passion, getting his heart's sight on the party that has wronged him which is diametrically opposite to the royal law of love, and the spirit of Christianity, James ii. 8. Let such take heed to this, who fly to their law-pleaing on every trilling occasion, just to gratify their own passion. It is a horrid abuse of an ordinance of God; it is to make the law, the magistrate, and the authority of God which he is invested with, subservient to your revengeful passions, Matth. v. 40.

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3dly, Revenge taken by those not in authority empowering them to take it, taken by persons not acting in a public capacity, but at the command of their passion fleeing to take revenge at their own hand; which is most directly forbidden in the text. It is a common sin in the perverse generation wherein we live. And this revenge is taken three ways.

1st, By words. I speak not here of revenge in the heart, for that belongs to anger, of which I have spoke already. But the tongue is as real an instrument of revenge, as the hands, swords, or spears.

Therefore say not, I will recompense evil, Prov. xx. 22. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work," chap. xxiv. 29. And what are the scoldings and floutings among people, but the acting of revenge on them for the wrong alleged to be said or done to them? One's passion is fired against another, and then they pursue them with bitter words, lying, railing, and reviling speeches; so that many can no more speak good of those by whom they conceive themselves wronged, but on all occasions boil out their revenge that way. And the pas

sion of revenge is served by these speeches, as really as it would be by the blood of their offenders, though not to the same degree. 2dly, By deeds, Prov. xxvi. 29, above quoted. When men make one ill turn meet another, so that they come to be even with those that have wronged them, paying them home in their own coin or worse, which the Spirit of God directly forbids, Rom. xii. 17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Thus many lay up their resentments till a convenient season that it falls in their way, to do their neighbour an ill turn, because he did one to them; which will have a fearful end, Isa. xxix. 20. Of this is beating, fighting, and murdering; to which the revengeful passion natively leads.

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3dly, By omission of duty owing to the offending party, either in the way of justice, or charity, contrary to that, Rom, xii. 20. “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Many think that is enough if they do no ill to those who offend them. But as the revengeful passion natively leads to withholding the good that is due, contrary to Prov. iii. 27. it is evident, that the withholding of it is a sacrifice to revenge, as well as the positive doing of ill to them. Even as the besiegers may revenge themselves as effectually on the besieged, by starving them, as by storming their town.

II. I proceed to shew what is the sinfulness and dishonour to God in this revenge.

1. It is directly opposite to the love of our neighour, the fundamental law of the second table, Lev. xix. 18. “ Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; I am the Lord." This law had in Christ's days a great deal of rubbish laid over it; but he cleared it from all that kind, both by this doctrine and example. But alas! how has the practice of Christians so called, laid it under much rubbish again! Will men pretend to love those as themselves, whom they must at their own hand, without law or right be revenged on? Nay, revenge is hatred carried to a height.

2. It is unjust violence, as assuming and exercising a power and