By what Rules are we to Govern our selves, that the Follies of ƲNGO­VERNED ANGER may be a­voided?

[Page 9] There was a Caution once given; Judg. XVIII. 25. Let not thy Voice be heard among us, lest Angry Folks run upon thee. But I don't use to be afraid of the Fools. It is now Especially to Angry Folks, that my Voice is to be directed. But the whole Auditory is deeply con­cern'd. Let every Person in it, be flow to wrath, and receive with Meek­ness, the Word, which, Oh! how well would it be for us, if it might be Engrafted into our Souls!

I. 'Tis the Grace of MEEKNESS, which is to deliver us from the Follies of UNGOVERNED AN­GER; A Grace how much to be wished for, to be studied for, to be laboured for! — The meekness of Wisdom. An Ornament often and highly Commended in the Oracles of GOD! — Glorious Things are spoken of thee, O thou Ornament of Christianity!

The meekness to be desired is, that whereof we read; Gal. V. 22, [Page 10]23, The Fruit of the Spirit, is meek­ness. And it being a Grace which is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit, it is peculiar to them, whom the Holy Spirit has Renewed and Quickened; and who have begun to live unto GOD. It is the meekness, which is put on by the Elect of GOD, who are become Holy and Beloved. My Friend, Until a Principle of PIETY have animated thy Soul, it will be a Stranger to the True, Right, Genuine Meekness; UNGOVER­NED ANGER will be one of thy unhealed Maladies.

There is a Meekness of Complexi­on, wherewith some are advantaged. They are of a more stayed, a more settled, a more composed Humour than other Men; and so Phlegmatick is their Complexion, that they be not soon Enraged. There is also a Meekness of Morality, wherewith some are Beautified. Rational Con­templations of pure Philosophy, have mightily composed their Souls; and the Lessons of Morality have [Page 11]sweetly tempered them. Yea, But the Meekness after which we are to aspire, should be of an Higher elevation in Christianity; It should be nothing short of that; Jam. III. 17. The Wisdom that is from above, which is Peaceable, Gentle, Easy to be Entreated.

I will give one Remarable Dif­ference, between the Meekness of meer Nature; and that more Spi­ritual Meekness which a Mind Rec­tified by the Holy Spirit of GOD arrives unto. The Meekness of meer Nature is equally Insensible under all sorts of Provocations. But the Meekness of a Sanctified Mind is not so. In the former Meekness Men are as unconcerned about A­buses offered unto GOD, as they are about Abuses offered unto them­selves. But in the latter Meekness it is not so. We are to be Easy, when Abuses are offered unto our selves. And this from a Principle of Obedience and Submission unto GOD. At the same Time, when [Page 12]Abuses are offered unto our glori­ous GOD, Now a Certain Com­motion of Zeal should-be raised in us. Now we should be Zealous, be Troubled, be grieved. Now with an Holy Anger we should let it be seen, Things are not, as we should have them to be! A Meek Man should say, In aliis Mansuetus ero; at in Injuriis contra Christum non ita. No Injuries but what are offered unto GOD, shall make any Impressions on my Mansuetude.

Briefly. 'Tis praescribed, Eph. IV. 26. Be Angry, but do not Sin. The Rule for this would be, Be Angry at nothing but Sin. I humbly con­ceive, That this may be fairly main­tained, as the Golden Rule of Meck­ness. If you would not Sin in your Anger, let nothing but Sin be the Object of your Anger. If Anger begin to boil, Examine, Is there any Sin against GOD committed, in what I am going to be Angry at? If there be None, it will be Meekness of Wisdom to throw away no Anger [Page 13]upon it. That so a Gracious Meek­ness may adorn us;

First. We are to make our Sup­plications and Resignations, unto the Holy SPIRIT of GOD our SA­VIOUR; to obtain the Grace of Meekness from Him. It was En­joyned of old, Seek ye the Lord, All ye Meek of the Earth. 'Tis now to be the Injunction laid upon us all, Seek ye the Lord, That ye may be made the Meek of the Earth Yea, Seek Meekness, is the Thing Ex­presly directed to. When Meek­ness is called for, there is that Di­rection given for the obtaining of it; Jam. 1.5. If any of you lack Wis­dom, let him ask of GOD, and it shall be given him;—The Wisdom to steer clear of UNGOVERNED ANGER, with a Spirit of Meekness. My Angry Brother, Carry that Fro­ward Heart of thine unto the Ho­ly SPIRIT of GOD thy SAVIOUR, and plead, O my GOD, I have the Heart of a fierce Tyger in me, but thou canst change my Heart, and make [Page 14]me as meek as a Lamb. I put my Heart into thy Hand; O do Thou take possession of it, and keep down and put out those Hellish Fires, that are too Easily kindled there! When Eli­phaz imagined, that Job was too fretful, he told him, I doubt, Thou Restrainest Prayer. Certainly, If our Fretting don't kill our Praying, our Praying will do much to Cure our Fretting. We are bidden, to List up Holy Hands without Wrath. Let us do it Against Wrath, and anon we shall not only Pray without Wrath, but also Live without it. But if a Man have a Cholerick Devil obstinately infesting of him;—it may be, The Kind will not go out with­out Fasting and Prayer. Certainly, That Extraordinary Method, may be worth taking, rather than have such a Devil resting in our Bosom.

Secondly. Having so sought Meek­ness, let us now proceed unto the Exercises of it.

You are aware; That Meekness does not propose to Destroy our [Page 15] Anger, but only to Govern it. It may sometimes be not only Lawful, but also Needful, to be Angry. That most Consummate Pattern and Fountain of all Goodness, our SAVI­OUR Himself, when he had some Sinful People about Him, we read, Mar. III. 5. He looked round about on them with Anger. Goodness it self may have Anger in it; Meekness it self may be Angry. But then, First; Meekness must Govern our Anger, as to the Reasons of it. You must be well-advised by Meekness, a­gainst that Weakness, of being, An­gry without a Cause; Lest you be pleased no otherwise than,—you know how! Particularly; Be sure, To be Angry at a Good Thing; This cannot be Good. When the words of GOD in Sound Doctrines, or in Just Reproofs are brought un­to us, 'tis a Wicked Thing to be Angry at them. A Wickedness exemplified by the Hearers of our [...]; Act. VII. 54. When they heard these thing, they gnashed on [Page 16]him with their Teeth. Nor is it any Better to be Angry at the Works of GOD, either in our own Adversity, or in the Prosperity of others, or suppose, the Accidents of the Wea­ther disappointing of us. Jonah has the leaves of his Alcherva failing him; And now, Dost thou well to be Angry, Jonah? Hush; Do not say, Thou Dost! But then, I will go on with my Limitations, Take these Two; Be not Angry for No­thing; and, Be not Angry for Every Thing. Both of these are Exor­bitances. Your Anger should not be for Nothing. If you are Angry you should be Able to give a suf­ficient, and a significant Account, why you are so! Not fret and fume for you know not what your selves: Nor upon a meer mistake, a meer Fancy, and ungrounded suspicion; some wrong Information. Over all your Anger, and all that you do or speak in your Anger be able to say with him; I Sam. XVII. 29. Is there not a Cause? Nor should [Page 17] Anger be for Every Thing. What? For the Landing of every little Skiff, to set the Becons on Fire? By no means. To be Angry, for every Trifle: Upon the breaking of a Glass, the spilling of a Cup, every little Blunder of a Servant, some small Disrespect shown to our Character, presently an uprore to be made in our Souls! By no means. About your Anger take that Ad­vice; Jam. I. 19. Let every Man be slow to speak, slow to wrath.

Secondly. Meekness must Govern our Anger as to the Seasons of it. If you are Angry out of Time, Ve­rily, your Spirit is out of Tune. You make wretched Jars, if you don't keep Time in your Anger. There are Two Cautions to be ten­dred you.

One Caution is this; You must not be Angry too Soon. What a Reprimand have our short-winded, hasty, huffy People, given to them! In Prov. XIV. 17. He that is soon Angry, dealeth foolishly. Syrs, My [Page 18]proposal is worth hearkening to; Never be Angry without first Pausing a little, and Thinking, Will my Anger be proper here? There was an Heathen Emperor, who would not permit his Anger to break forth at any thing, until he had made such a pause, as to recite the Let­ters of the Alphabet. There was a Christian Emperor, who would not permit the Indignations of An­ger at any thing to boil within him, until he had made such a pause as to recite, The Lords Prayer. Thus the Brave Men, that had Rule over other Men, in this gave a Demonstration that they could [...] themselves also. A Glorious Domi­nion, and that without which, Be it known to you, O Men of Quality, No Dominion will be Glorious. A Delay of Anger, until the fittest minute for the working of it; How Profitable, how Serviceable, would it be; what Praecipitations would it save us from! The Discretion of a Man, is never more Conspicuous, [Page 19]than when he Deferreth his Anger. I question, Whether any Man ever found himself a Loser by doing so. This I am sure of; He that is slow to Anger is better than the mighty.

Another Caution is this; You must not be Angry too Long. It is the Apostolical Charge; Eph. IV. 26. Let not the Sun go down in your Wrath. I hope, you would not have the Sun carry such a story of you, to the People of the other Haemisphaere, That you are Implacable. Our Anger, like the Manna of old, will stink, if it be kept until the next Morning: But in this thing otherwise than the Manna, That it Stinks worst of all, when kept un­til the Sabbath. We should not give such an Evil Spirit leave to stay a Night under the Roof with us. The Apostle in this passage, may allude unto the Law; If a Man have Committed a Sin worthy of Death, and he be put to Death, and they hang him on a Tree, his Body shall not re­main all night upon the Tree; thou [Page 20]must bury him in any wise that very Day. Even so; If a Man have Committed a Sin worthy of thy Wrath, yet thy Angry Resentment thereof, must not remain all night; Thou shalt bury it in any wise, that very Day. Yea, There is a Cursed Carcase hanging in thy Soul, as long as Anger is discomposing of thee. Syrs, I have another proposal, which will be worth hearkening to; going to Rest, every Night, make it a Rest indeed, by being able to say, There is no body in the World, but what my mind is in an Easy Frame unto! This I will affirm Constantly. An Immortal Anger very ill becomes Mortal People.

Thirdly. Meekness must Govern our Anger, as to the Measures of it. If we must be Angry, yet, why Raving? Why Frantick? Why like a slated House on Flame, so vio­lent that there shall be no coming anear you! If Angry, yet what need of being Transported into a Fury? and Flinging Things to and fro, [Page 21]as if you were mad? Fy, for shame! Why must you fall to Railing, why to Revenge, on the Person whom your Anger is pointed at? I'l show you a picture of this Anger! 'Tis in I Sam. XX. 30. Then Sauls Anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou Son of the Perverse, Rebellious Woman! What a madman is here? He calls his own Son, A Whores-bird?— The Anger is unbounded, when it breaks forth into Reproaching, into Reviling, into Taunts and unman­nerly Expressions. But what, when into Blows, from a Fist of Wicked­ness? Blows; and it may be a poor Beast must feel them too. Brutish, Anger, and such as degrades the Man down into the very Class that he quarrels with! So Balaam; his Anger was Kindled, and he Smote the Ass with a Staff! An Anger that will spend it self in outrages upon an Horse, upon a Dog, upon a Tool that fails us; how worse than C [...]dish is it! I may say, Cursed [Page 22]is their Anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! One thing more is to be spoken. Be­ware of making any Vows, in your Anger; Vows dictated by Anger; The worst Counsellor in the World! Vows, wherein the Third Com­mandment is horribly Violated ! And, Oh! Beware of all Angry Imprecations; All Wishes that carry Curses in them: All Wishes of any Damage to your selves or others. An Elias himself had need keep a Watch over himself, when Anger shall indispose him. Especially, let provoked Parents [...] such Ebullitions. Parents, [...] un­dutiful Children give you any Pro­vocations? Take heed that your An­ger do not throw out any impreca­tions upon them. 'Tis a Thousand to One, that a Righteous GOD will say, Amen, unto them; and you may see Things done, that when you are cool, you would have great­ly deprecated.

The Grace of Meekness, Oh! [Page 23]What a Golden Curb, would it keep upon us?

II. There are some Wise Conside­rations, with which we are to check the Follies of UNGOVERNED AN­GER; Things which Well-Considered would lay the Easy Yoke of Meek­ness upon us. The Truth is, Angry People, are always Inconsiderate. Anger would be mavellously allay'd, if People would but Consider a little more. But there are some Consi­derations, which are special Anger-Quellers; They are Specificks for the Cure of the Maladie; Singular, Adapted, Potent Febrifuges.

First. There are some Considerati­on purely Reasonable, which would be of some use to Allay the Irre­gular Heats of our Anger. Indeed, Anger is frequently an Ʋnreasonable Thing. [...], Furor brevis est. If Reason could be restored, unto its Exercise, the Anger would be over. But let us hear what Reason says.

An Angry Man may do well to [Page 24] Consider this; Rarely is any thing done so well in Anger, but what would have been done much Better out of it. If a Man would have any Thing done, it will sooner be done by Fair Words, for the most part, than by Fierce Ones. 'Tis said, The Words of Wise Men are heard in Quiet; Go Quietly to Work, and your Words will be heard; your Business will be most Comfortably and Effectually accom­plished. The Best Thing will not be swallowed, where Anger has made a scalding potion of it. Calmness will fit a Man, for every Thing he has to do. A Soft Tongue, will manage a Man of Bone; a Man as hard and stiff as a Bone.

I would Especially enter this Caveat, against the Infliction of a Punishment upon Faulty Children and Servants, while the Fit of Anger is yet burning in the Hearts of their Superiours. I would Entreat you, O Superiours offended at a Fault; Stay a little; Stop a little; Don't Punish till the Chafe of your Anger [Page 25]is a little over. He was a Prudent Man, though a Pagan, who said unto his Man that Vexed him; I would strike thee now, but only that I am angry with thee. Some will say, But if I put off the Execution of my Discipline, till the Heat of my Anger is over, I can't find! in my Heart then at all to Execute it. Then I say, Thou art a Fool; And it is the Wrath of Heaven against thy poor Children and Servants, that has put them into the Hands of such a Fool! I do particularly move it for the School, as well as for the House. Because the Strokes ought not furious­ly to be thrown away; They should be reserved, either for Greater Faults, or for Obstinacy in Lesser Ones. But the Strokes ought always to be ac­companied with a serious Discourse unto the Sufferer, showing him, the Word of GOD, that has been sinn'd against; Showing him the Sin that is now suffered for.

There is a Word, which Oh! That it were more thought upon! [Page 26]That word; Jam. 1.20. The Wrath of Men Works not the Righteousness of GOD! Things done Wrathfully, how seldom are they done Righ­teously! How seldom done, as GOD would have them to be?

Again; An Angry Man will do well to Consider this; What are they that have incurred, my Anger; and what was it they intended, when they did it? Upon the Quality of them, with whom we are Angry, methinks the Reflections of Seneca, have some­thing in them, ‘Is it a Good Man that has Injured thee? Don't rea­dily believe it. Is it a Bad Man? Don't at all Wonder at it. For to strive with thy Equals; This is Doubtful: with thy Superiors; it will be madness; with thy Inferiors; it will be Sordid. He that has Anger'd thee, is either a Stronger than thou, or a Weaker; If a Stronger, spare thy self; If a Wea­ker spare him.’ O Celebrated Stoick, Thou arguest incomparably. And thus we may carry on the [Page 27]Argument. The Person against whom your Anger is Enkindled; either he had no Design to Anger you; and then you wrong him in being Angry at him; or else he had a Design to Anger you; and then 'tis a silly Thing in you to gratify him so far as to be Angry at him.

There is a weight in such Consi­derations. But after all, Very Nota­ble was the Complaint of the most Learned Roman; That the Pre­cepts of their Philosophy were very Fine Things; and yet whatever the matter were, he knew not; when they came to be Practised, they still fail'd of procuring what they pretended for.

We must then betake our selves unto Christianity, for higher Consi­derations to suppress the Rebellion, which UNGOVERNED ANGER will fall into.

Secondly. Let us then Repair to Religious Considerations, which also are of all, the most Reasonable; and by them let the Ʋnholy Fire of [Page 28] Anger be Extinguished. RELIGI­ON is the Engine, that must be brought and wrought, for the put­ting out of the Fire, which threa­tens unknown Confusion unto us.

Accordingly; First; It may check our Anger, if we will Consider this; Whose Eye is upon me when I am Angry, and upon all the motions of my Anger! Syrs, Are you not always in a Presence which you owe a Respect unto? I'l propound this. The An­gels of our GOD; These have their Eye upon us; They Rejoyce, when they see us behave our selves, as becomes the Heirs of Salvation; They do not so, when we misbe­have our selves. It was urged a­gainst Rashness; Eccl. V. 6. Nei­ther say thou before the Angel, it was an Error. It may be urged against Anger, which very seldom is with­out some Rashness in it; Why should an Angel see thee in an Error? When an Angel stood in the way of the Angry Prophet, he would rush no [Page 29]further in his Anger. My Friend, In thy Anger thou art rushing out of the way. But, what if there should be an Angel standing by thee, with a Flaming Sword in his hand? Oh! put up the Sword of the Flam­ing Wrath, and be n't so Angry lest he take notice of it. But there is a more considerable thing than this; and a thing so certain, that there is no room for a What if? upon it. Ah, Vexed Parence, Wilt thou not Endure, seeing Him that is Invisible? Syrs, Remember, The Eye of the great GOD Himself is upon you; A Presence, which Certainly you owe Respect unto! 'Tis very Ill manners to Chide, and Scold, and Brawl, and much more to Smite with Anger, in the Company of Stran­gers, and much more of our Bet­ters; 'Tis an Affront unto the Company. When you are Angry, then call to mind, I am in the Pre­sence of the glorious GOD; The glo­rious GOD looks upon me! Surely, This will bring you to some Deco­rum. [Page 30]If a Magistrate, or but a Constable, or indeed any Person of Gravity comes in, with a, What's to do here?—it uses to quiet unruly Fellows. And will it not quiet our unruly Angers, for the Almighty GOD Himself to come in upon them! It was said; Jer. V. 22. Fear ye not me? Saith the Lord: Will not ye Tremble at my Presence? Which have placed the Sand for the Bound of the Sea; that though the waves thereof toss themselves, they cannot prevail; though they rore, yet they cannot pass over it. Oh! could we set our selves as in the Presence of the Lord, One would think, This might set a Bound unto the foaming Sea of our Anger! To Strike in the Presence of the King; How Intolerable! How Inexcusa­ble! A whole People once, were in such a Temper of Anger, that they were going to stone the best Friends they had in the World; The Rage reached up to Heaven! But we read, The Glory of the Lord appear'd,— [Page 31]And then all the murmur of the Raging waves of the Sea — stop'd at once. Truly, When we are Angry, may the glorious Lord appear unto us, it would Calm us won­derfully!

Secondly. It may check our An­ger, if we will Consider this; Who is it that makes me Angry, and from whose Hand come the Accidents, on which I place my Anger? 'Tis very probable, There may be the Hand of Joab in all this; I mean, That there may be an Hand of Satan in Contriving to make you Angry; For he knows, That when you are Angry, he has you, at wondrous Disadvantages, to drive you into some Snare that he has been laying for you. When we are Angry, let us call to mind; It may be, that I am now put into this Agitation, by Satan sisting of me! But now let me not Hamour Satan, by discovering abundance of Bran in the sifting. What says the Proverb of Israel? [Page 32]He that hath no Rule over his own Spirit, is like a City that is broken down, and without Walls? We are besieged by the Devil, in the As­saults, that alarm our Anger. If now we are like a City that is broken down, and without Walls, what, what will become of us? There was a Wicked Man among the Corinthians, by whom our Apostle was buffeted, as Micajah had formerly been, af­ter a most Intimate Communion with the Heavenly World. But the Man of GOD says of him; 2 Cor. XII. 7. There was given me a Messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be Exalted above measure. Syrs, The Cause why you are so Angry, is Because that somebody Buffets you. Now think; It may be, that Satan sets them on! And he may set them on for this very purpose; To throw you into the Disorders of Anger.

Oh! Be not Ignorant of his Devi­ces! —But I am certain, There is a more Considerable Hand than Sa­tans, [Page 33]without which no Trouble­some Occurrent whatsoever could accost you. Whatever the Man be that offends you he is but an Instrument in the Hand of GOD; The great GOD is the Eternal, Sovereign, First Cause of all; and you may say unto that Man, Thou couldest have no Power against me, except it were given thee from Above. Oh! That our Anger might learn that Language; Psal. XXXIX. 9. I'm Dumb, I open not my mouth; For tis what thou hast done, O Lord. A Job will not be Intemperately Angry at a Caldaean, when he Re­members, 'Tis the Lord, who has taken away. A David will not be Intemperately Angry at a Shimei, when he Remembers, The Lord has bidden him. Child of GOD, I hope, thou canst say, I can take any thing well at my Fathers Hands!

Thirdly. Excellent Examples of a WELL-GOVERNED ANGER well considered with us, may be of [Page 34]use to save us from the Follies of UNGOVERNED A [...]EP. B [...]ight Examples of Meekness have been set before us; Let us observe the Examples, till we can Follow them. Shall I tell you of a famous Divine, who while an Insolent Man, had struck out some of his Teeth, only and calmly said unto him, I could bear you to strike out all the rest, if I might be so Happy as to do your Soul any Good! Shall I tell you, of another famous Divine, who having a Stone by a Base Woman thrown at him, as he was ignominiously carried through the City, took no notice of it, but only and calmly said, The Good GOD forgive thee! Shall I tell you of a Calvin, who is famous for that Speech of his; Though Luther should call me a De­vil, I will call him no other than an Eminent Servant of the Lord! Or, will you be told of a Renowned Moses, who in Meekness out-shone all of these, and who was made Great by the Gentleness of GOD?

[Page 35] But after all, I will rather say Run with Patience, looking off unto JE­SƲS,; A JESUS, Fairer than the Children of Men! An Eminent Per­son wrote on the Walls of his Stu­dy, those words of our Incompara­ble SAVIOUR; LEARN OF ME, FOR I AM MEEK AND LOW­LY IN HEART. I have read of some, that when the Rage of An­ger was upon them, they would set before them a Lamb, which would bring all to rights. But this is the Thing, that is now pressed for; O Angry People, Set before your selves the JESUS, who is the Lamb of GOD, and who was always as Meek as a Lamb; and who when he was oppressed, and was afflicted, yet opened not his mouth; as a Sheep before the Shearers is dumb, so he opened not His mouth. We are so instructed, 1 Pet. II. 21, 23. CHRIST Suffered for us, leaving us an Example, that ye should follow His Steps; Who, when He was Reviled, Reviled not again. Truly, Never, [Page 36]Never was there such a Pattern of Meekness, as our most amiable and admirable JESUS. I beseech you, let us have that Pattern al­ways before us, and set the Lord always before us! Church-History mentions a Man of Great Figure who had been a very Passionate Man, and a Man of such violent Anger, that he made himself un­easy to all the World: But all the World at length took notice, that he became one of the Meekest Men upon Earth: and when some asked him, what it was that had produced this change upon him; he replied, I am come to this, by keeping my Thoughts very much on the Meekness of my Lovely SAVIOƲR. Syrs, when you feel the Fiery Ser­pent of Anger fastning on you, fix your Eye on your Lovely SAVI­OUR. 'Twill have a Transfor­ming Efficacy.

Our SAVIOUR who is God-Man, anon carries us up into the [Page 37]Infinite GOD; A GOD in whom, Oh! what an Example of Long-Suffering have we to be amazed at! A GOD, in whom these Two Things are celebrated; Psam. GIII. 8, 9. He is slow to Anger, and He will not always chide. Alas, How many Millions of Indigni­ties are put upon the Omnipotent GOD, and this every Day! The Psalmist says, He is provoked every Day. We may wonder that He has not Long ago made this whole World an entire Sodom, and laid it in Ashes! A World, that is sill'd with His Adversaries. 'Twere an easy Thing, and no unjust one, for Him to dart hot Thunderbolts down upon the Heads of all His Adversaries. But He Suffers their Manners. He bestows—Thousands of Mercies and Comforts on them from Day to Day. A Patient GOD now says to an Angry Man, Dost thou well to be what thou art? Oh! Let us Imitate the Long-Suffering of our Heavenly Father. Especially, [Page 38]when we think, what Experience of His Long-Suffering, we our selves have had, in His Dealings with us!

Fourthly. Will this do nothing to Govern our Anger? Impartially Consiter, What our Anger is; and What we are in our Anger; and What we do by our Anger?

If you take a View of Excessive Anger, will it not appear an Odious, an Unhandsome, a Deformed sort of a Thing? Some of the Ancients advised an Angry Man, to take a View of his own Face in a Glass. Look in a Glass, my Friend, and see, and say, How it looks to have so much of Cain in the Counte­nance! Methinks, The View may turn the Anger into Blushing, and make thee more Angry at thy self, than at any One else. Turpis As­pectus; Quid Animus? If Anger in the Face be so ugly, what is it in the Soul? 'Tis a very Good Rule in Conversation; For a Man to Mind how his own Indecencies look, when [Page 39]he sees them in other Men. Why, That Outrageous Anger, in which thou dost indulge thy self, how dost thou like it in other Men, when thou seest them storming with such Outrages?

But more than so; O UNGO­VERNED ANGER, From thee we suffer great Disquietments, and very Hurtful Things are done un­to us, by thy Praecipitancies!

This Anger; Alas, it unfits a Man for every Thing in the World. It mingles a strange Fire with our Sacrifices. Our Devotions are all Spoilt, if they be not with­out VVrath. If we cannot Bear much, we shall never be Pillars in the House of GOD, nor be very use­ful in any Society 'Tis a Blemish unto a Man; it lays him low, in the esteem of the Neighbourhood. An Angry Man may keep the Neighbours in some Awe; But little doth the think, their Secret A­version for him; and how much [Page 40]they bear in mind, his Abusive usage of them. Such Anger, it makes a Man unfit for any Rela­tion. Art thou a Froward and a Furious Man? The Bible forbids us to enter into a Close Friendship with such a Man. If thou art not so much as fit for a Friend, what else canst thou be good for? Such a Man is a meer Nabal, to all that are about him.

Yea, Anger may cause a Man to fall under Anger. Thy Anger, O Man, may lay thee open to the Anger of GOD. When Moses was Angry, he broke both of the Two Tables, on which the Law was written by the Finger of GOD. In­deed, an Angry Man will soon break both Tables of the Law; Yea, He will Abound in Transgression. And GOD will Distribute Sorrows in His Anger, to the Transgressor. Some­times the Anger of People, will boil out in such VVishes,—as the Anger of GOD will bring about, in [Page 41]astonishing Mischiefs upon them. Whether it be so or no; our glo­rious JUDGE, has given us an awful Intimation, That our Anger has nothing less than Murder in it! — O Dreadful; — Nothing less than Murder in it! He says, Mar. 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. An­ger Conceived is like the Crimes, which fell under the Cognizance of the middle Judicatory of the Twenty three Judges among the Jews. Anger Ʋttered, is like the Crimes of which the Highest Judi­catory of the Sanhedrim and Se­venty among them took the Cog­nizance 'Tis like a Capital Crime; The Commandment which forbids Murder is that which has forbid­den it. Anger soon gets on to Hatred; Hatred what is it but Mur­der? [Page 42]And verily, 'Tis to be won­dred at, that Angry People com­mit no more actual Murders than they do! There is much of Hell in it; and Hell will be the Punish­ment. This is very sure; By this Anger of ours, we shall grieve the Dove-like Spirit of our SAVIOUR, Exceedingly. Those Two Things are joined; Eph. IV. 30, 31. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of GOD; let all Bitterness, and Wrath, and Anger, and Clamour, be put away from you. But, will you Grieve that Spirit of Goodness? Oh! How Evil, How E­vil, will be the Consequences! Christian, 'Tis thy Glory to be a Temple of GOD. When thou per­ceivest Anger glowing in thy Soul, now think; What? shall I set a Temple of GOD on Fire? Should a Temple of GOD, have such a Fire preying upon it!

And now, What shall be the Issue of all the Meditations.

May we from this Time, One [Page 43]and all, Study that Meekness, which is a Thing of great Price in the sight of GOD! Oh! may the Ef­fect of our Meditations and Sup­plications be this; That we shall be the Meek, whom the Gospel has pronounced the Blessed Ones, and of whom it is promised, That they shall be Beautified with the Salvation of GOD. Concerning a Continual Study to suppress UN­GOVERNED ANGER, I will say unto you, what was of old spoken to one who was disswaded from it; 1 Sam. XXV. 31. This shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of Heart; It will not be Repented of! I speak this, the more Sollicitously, because the Time is coming on for the Accomplishment of that Prophecy, The Nations were Angry. The Anger of People against one ano­ther, is like to make fearful Tra­gedies. At this Time, O seek Meek­ness, that ye may be hid in the Day of the Anger of the Lord; And that ye may admit no Wrath, but [Page 44]what shall praise the Lord, and the Remainder of the Wrath, you may still Restrain.

But Above others, it is the spe­cial Concern of Persons in Superiour Stations, to be on their Guard, lest UNGOVERNED ANGER get the upper hand of them; lest they who are to Govern others be themselves Geverned by the worst of Leaders. Truly, a Little of this Folly, will be an unknown Damage, to a Man of Reputation.

Syrs, If you are Men in Publick. Circumstances, and especially, if you are Men of Projection to Do Good in the World; You will have your Conduct often blamed with Vile Misrepresentations of it. You must meet with many Prodigies of In­gratitude, and People will heap Injuries upon you, at the very time when you are heaping of Kindnesses upon them. You shall perhaps encounter with unaccounta­ble [Page 45]Defamations, and in every cor­ner of the Country hear the Defa­ming of many in wretched Calum­nies, invented and fomented by them that Love and make a Lye.— But now,— Oh! Take heed unto your Spirit. Not a Word! Not so much as a Word, but what shall become a Meek Servant of GOD! Only say, Lord, Put not thy Servant away in Anger, and let me not have the mark of one put away, by Anger gain­ing upon me! Even a Moses himself, by Speaking unadvisedly with his Lips on such Provocations, may incur this; GOD shall be Wroth with him!— Oh! That Great Men were always Wise! But, alas. They are not so.

A Miserable Man here in the Chains of Death before you, Ear­nestly desires it of me, That all People may be warned against UN­GOVERNED ANGER, from the sad Experience of what he has him­self therein been left unto. Yea, The Holy GOD shews him unto [Page 46]the Congregation, and says unto us, Govern your Anger, or, little do you think, what it may bring you to!

Our Charitable desires at the same time, for this Miserable Man, what can they be?—But that a Gracious GOD would affect his Heart, with a sense, not only of the Follies he has by his UNGO­VERNED ANGER been so often betray'd into; Follies that have En­kindled against him the Anger of GOD; Especially that Crime of Killing one whom he ought to have Loved, for which he must now hasten to the Pit; but also make him truly sensible of all the Sin which hath so incensed Heaven, that hav­ing reached unto but about Three or Four and Thirty years of Age, he must be Cut off, and come to a fearful End: That all the Sin where­in he has denied the GOD that is Above, may appear unto him, as it is, the most Odious Evil in the World; That a CHRIST, the on­ly [Page 47]SAVIOUR from Sin, may ap­pear inexpressibly Precious unto him, and fulfil on him and for him, all the Good Pleasure of his Goodness; And, that having made the Flight of a lively Faith unto the Blood which cleanses from all Sin, he may feel his Heart at the same time filled with the Love of GOD and of His Neighbour, and a Concern to do all the Good that he can at his leaving of the World. Ah! Poor FEN­WICK, in pursuance of this Prae­paration for thy approaching Death, now the Sorrows of Death compass thee, and the Pains of Hell get hold on thee, 'tis high time for thee to call upon the Name of the Lord, and say, O Lord, I beseech thee, Deliver my Soul!

Oh! See to it, that the Work of Repentance, which now seems to be hopefully beginning upon you, prove a Sincere, and a Real, and a Thorough Work, and an Hope that will not make ashamed. The rather, [Page 48]Because a work of Repentance in Circumstances like to yours, will have many things to bring a sus­picion upon the Sincerity of it. They that never Seek to GOD, until they feel Him Slaying of them, do usually flatter Him with their mouth, and Lye to him with their Tongue.

The Chains of an [...] Mind, those hideous Chains of Darkness, are with much [...] Difficulty got­ten off, than the Chains of Iron, which you have now upon your Body. Oh! Cry to your SAVI­OUR, with a wonderful Agony, to take them off! If you do so, then, Ah! Poor FENWICK Re­turning to GOD, In the Words of the Prophet Jeremiah, there comes that Message from GOD unto thee; Jer. III. 12. Return, saith the Lord, and I will not Cause my Anger to fall upon you; For I am Merciful, saith the Lord, and I [...] not keep Anger for ever [...] [Page 49]a Sinner as Thou art, Repenting, —There will be Joy in Heaven over thee.

Surely, I have heard this Man bemoaning himself, That formerly instead of Repenting, when a Gra­cious GOD gave him a Space to Repent, he misapplied the Space, to add unto the Heap of his many Impieties. But, Oh! may he now Repent, and produce a Joy, not only in Heaven, but also among all the People of GOD, that are looking up to Heaven for him!