A sermon, occasioned

Infor. 2. Hence, Those Things which have a tendency to, and a degree of Murder in them, must needs be evil. e. g. Rash sinful Anger is an evil thing, Murder begins there. 'Twas said of those Brethren in Iniquity, Simeon & Levi, That Instruments of Cruelty were in their habitations, for in their Anger they slew a man, cursed be their ⟨p. 16⟩wrath for it was cruel. Gen. 49. 5. 6. And ou• Lord Jesus Christ in His Exposition of the Sixth Commandment, shows, that rash Anger is a degree of Murder, Mat. 5. 21, 22. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Ye shall not kill, and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the Judgement, but I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment. There is Man's Judgment-seat, and GOD's Judgment-seat: Murder makes a man be in danger of the former, sinful Anger exposes him to the latter. Not that all Anger is sinful▪ there is an anger that is good; when a man is angry in God's cause, moved with zeal & indignation because God is dishonoured; that's very good▪ and a man may sometimes be angry in his own cause too and yet not sin. Be angry and sin not. But when men are angry without a just cause, that's Evil. When they are angry more than they have cause for, that they are all in a flame for a mere trifle, when (as one well expresses it) a man shall suffer the ^(g)Become of his soul to be sit all on •ire at the landing of every small Boat, that's a foolish and evil thing; or when men shall be angry longer than they ought to be; an implacable spirit, is a vile murderous spirit. Anger rests in the bosom of sols. Sinful Anger is poys••, which as soon as ever a man has taken it into his mouth, he shall spit it ⟨p. 17⟩out again. And when Anger shall break out into Curses and wicked Imprecations, that's wicked Anger. This condemned man, that stands here, confesses, that he was wont in his passion to curse all near him. He murdered many a man with his bloody tongue, before he was left of God to murder any with his hand. His mouth was full of Cursing & Bitterness, before he shed blood. And when men in their Rage imprecate & curse themselves, its a very evil thing: there are some that will say, They wish they might be hanged, if such a thing be so, and many times the righteous Judgment of God brings that very evil upon 'em