1. Meekness is opposed to hastiness of spirit, Eccles. 7.9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. When the heart boils in passion, and anger (as Seneca saith) sparkles forth in the eye, this is far from meekness; anger rests in the bosom of fools. Anger may be in a wise man, but it rests in a fool. The angry man is like flax, or Gunpowder, no sooner do you touch him but he is all on fire. Saint Basil calls anger drunkenness; and Hierom saith there are more drunken with passion, than with wine. Seneca calls anger brevis insania, a short fit of madness; sometimes it suspends the use of reason; in the best things we are cool enough; in Religion we are all ice, in contention all fire. How unbeseeming is rash anger, how doth it disguise and disfigure! Homer saith of Agamemnon, that when he did moderate his passion, he resembled the gods, he was like Jupiter in feature, like Pallas in wisdom; but when he was in his fury, he was a very Tiger, nothing of Jupiter did appear in him; as Plato counselled the great Revellers and drinkers of his time, that they should view themselves in a glass when they were in their drunken humour, and they would appear loathsome to themselves: So let a man disguised with passion view himself in the glass, and sure he would ever after be out of love with himself. Ora tument ira, nigrescunt sanguine venae. Ephes. 4.26, 27. Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the Devil; Oh saith one, he hath wronged me, and I will never give place to him: but, better give place to him than to the Devil: an hasty spirit is not a meek spirit. Caution. 1Not but that we may in some cases be angry. There is an holy anger; that anger is without sin, which is against sin; meekness and zeal may ⟨p. 134⟩stand together; in matters of Religion a Christian must be clothed with the spirit of Elijah, and be full of the fury of the Lord, Jer. 6.11. Christ was meek, Mat. 11.29. yet zealous, John 2.14, 15. The zeal of Gods house did eat him up.
1. Meeknesse is opposed to hastinesse of spirit, Eccles. 7.9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosome of fools. When the heart boyls in passion, and anger (as Seneca saith) sparkles forth in the eye, this is far from meeknesse; anger rests in the bosome of fools. Anger may be in a wise man, but it rests in a foole. The angry man is like flax, or Gunpowder, no sooner do you touch him but he is all on fire. Saint Basil calls anger drunkennesse; and Hierom saith there are more drunken with passion, than with wine. Seneca calls anger brevis insania, a short fit of madnesse; sometimes it suspends the use of reason; in the best things we are coole enough; in Religion we are all yce, in contention all fire. How unbeseeming is rash anger, how doth it disguise and disfigure! Homer saith of Agamemnon, that when he did moderate his passion, he resembled the gods, he was like Jupiter in feature, like Pallas in wisdom; but when he was in his fury, he was a very Tyger, nothing of Jupiter did appear in him; as Plato counselled the great Revellers and drinkers of his time, that they should view themselves in a glasse when they were in their drunken humour, and they would appear loathsome to themselves: So let a man disguised with passion view himself in the glasse, and sure he would ever after be out of love with himself. Ora tument ira, nigrescunt sanguine venae. Ephes. 4.26, 27. Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the Divel; Oh saith one, he hath wrong'd me, and I will never give place to him: but, better give place to him than to the Divel: an hasty spirit is not a meek spirit. Caution. 1Not but that we may in some cases be angry. There is an holy anger; that anger is without sin, which is against sin; meeknesse and zeal may ⟨p. 134⟩stand together; in matters of Religion a Christian must be cloathed with the spirit of Eliah, and be full of the fury of the Lord, Jer. 6.11. Christ was meek, Mat. 11.29. yet zealous, John 2.14, 15. The zeal of Gods house did eat him up.
- 1Caution.
