CHAP. VII.

ANGER.

BE ye angry and fin not" therefore all

anger is not finful: I fuppofe, because some degree of it, and upon fome occafions, is inevitable.

It becomes finful, or contradicts however the rule of scripture, when it is conceived upon flight and inadequate provocations, and when it continues long.

1. When it is conceived upon flight provo cations; for " charity fuffereth long, is not "eafily provoked." "Let every man be flow "to anger." Peace, long fuffering, gentleness, meekness, are enumerated among the fruits of the Spirit, Gal. v. 22, and compose the true Christian temper, as to this article of duty.

2. When it continues long; for "let not the “fun go down upon your wrath."

These precepts, and all reasoning indeed upon the subject, suppose the paffion of anger to be within our power: and this power confists not so

much

much in any faculty we poffefs of appeasing our wrath at the time (for we are paffive under the fmart which an injury or affront occafions, and all we can then do is to prevent its breaking out into action), as in fo mollifying our minds by habits of juft reflection, as to be lefs irritated by impressions of injury, and to be sooner pacified.

Reflections proper for this purpose, and which may be called the fedatives of anger, are the following: the poffibility of mistaking the motives from which the conduct that offends us proceeded; how often our offences have been the effect of inadvertency, when they were conftrued into indications of malice; the inducement which prompted our adversary to act as he did, and how powerfully the fame inducement has, at one time or other, operated upon ourselves; that he is fuffering perhaps under a contrition, which he is afhamed, or wants opportunity, to confefs; and how ungenerous it is to triumph by coldness or infult over a spirit already humbled in fecret; that the returns of kindness are sweet, and that there is neither honour, nor virtue, nor use in refifting them-for fome perfons think themselves bound to cherish and keep alive their indignation, when they

find it dying away of itself. We
may remem-
ber that others have their paffions, their pre-
judices, their favourite aims, their fears, their
cautions, their interefts, their fudden impulfes,
their varieties of apprehenfion, as well as
we: we may recollect what hath fometimes
paffed in our own minds, when we have got
on the wrong fide of a quarrel, and imagine the
fame to be paffing in our adverfary's mind now;
when we became fenfible of our mifbehaviour,
what palliations we perceived in it, and expect-
ed others to perceive; how we were affected by
the kindness, and felt the fuperiority of a gene-
rous reception and ready forgiveness; how per-
fecution revived our spirits with our enmity, and
feemed to justify the conduct in ourselves, which
we before blamed. Add to this, the indecency
of extravagant anger; how it renders us, whilst
it lafts, the scorn and fport of all about us, of
which it leaves us, when it ceafes, fenfible and
ashamed; the inconveniences, and irretrievable
misconduct into, which our irafcibility has fome-
times betrayed us; the friendships it has loft us;
the diftreffes and embarraffments in which we
have been involved by it; and the fore repent
ance which on one account or other it always
cofts us.

But the reflection calculated above all others to allay the haughtiness of temper which is ever finding out provocations, and which renders anger fo impetuous, is that which the gospel proposes; namely, that we ourselves are, or fhortly shall be, fuppliants for mercy and pardon at the judgment feat of God. Imagine our fecret fins disclosed and brought to light; imagine us thus humbled and exposed; trembling under the hand of God; cafting ourselves on his compaffion; crying out for mercy-imagine fuch a creature to talk of fatisfaction and revenge; refusing to be entreated, difdaining to forgive; extreme to mark and to refent what is done amifs; imagine I say this, and you can hardly feign to yourself an instance of more impious and unnatural arrogance.

The point is to habituate ourselves to these reflections, till they rife up of their own accord when they are wanted, that is, inftantly upon the receipt of an injury or affront, and with fuch force and colouring, as both to mitigate the paroxyfms of our anger at the time, and at length to produce an alteration in the temper and difpofition itself.

CHAP.

СНАР, VIII,

REVENG E.

A

LL pain occafioned to another in confequence of an offence, or injury received from him, farther than what is calculated to procure reparation, or promote the juft ends of punishment, is fo much revenge.

There can be no difficulty in knowing when we occafion pain to another; nor much in diftinguishing whether we do so, with a view only to the ends of punishment, or from revenge; for in the one cafe we proceed with reluctance, in the other with pleasure.

? 1

It is highly probable from the light of nature, that a paffion, which feeks its gratification imme diately and expressly in giving pain, is disagreeable to the benevolent will and counfels of the Creator. Other paffions and pleasures may, and often do, produce pain to fome one; but then pain is not, as it is here, the object of the paffion,

and