ring God exercises towards him, how gentle and patient he is,
after so many provocations, how Jesus Christ doth still forgive infinite
numbers of infinite wrongs done to his grace, how slow he is to wrath, and
easy to be entreated, surely such a man would abate much of his severity
towards others, he would pursue peace with all men, and esteem little of
wrongs done unto him, and not think them worthy of remembrance, he would
not be easily provoked, but he would be easily pacified. In a word, he
could not but exercise something of that gentleness and meekness in
forbearing and forgiving, as Christ also forgave him and truly there is no
ornament of a man like that of a meek and quiet spirit, 1 Pet. iii. 4. It
is both comely and precious, it is of great price in God's sight. It is a
spirit all composed and settled, all peace and harmony within. It is like
the heavens in a clear day, all serene and beautiful, whereas an unmeek
spirit is for the most part like the troubled sea, tossed with tempests,
winds, and dashed with rains, even at the best, it is but troubled with
itself. When there is no external provocation, it hath an inward unrest
in its bosom, and casts out mire and dirt. Meekness is so beseeming every
man, that it is even humanity itself. It is the very nature of a man
restored, and these brutish, wild and savage dispositions put off.
Meekness is a man in the true likeness of God. But passion, and the evils
which accompany it, is a man metamorphosed and transformed into the nature
of a beast, and that of a wild beast too. It hath been always reckoned
that anger is nothing different from madness, but in the continuance of
it. It is a short madness. But what is wanting in the continuance is made
up in the frequency. When spirits are inclined to it, there is a habitual
fury and madness in such spirits. It is no wonder then, these are
conjoined, meekness and wisdom, for truly they are inseparable. Meekness
dwells in the bosom of wisdom. It is nothing else but wisdom, reason, and
religion ruling all within, and composing all the distempered lusts and
affections, but anger rests in the bosoms of fools, it cannot get rest but
in a fool's bosom, for where it enters, wisdom and reason must go out,
Eccles. vii. 9. "A fool's wrath is presently known," Prov. xii. 16. For if
there were so much true and solid wisdom as to examine the matter first,
and to consider before we suffer ourselves to be provoked, we would
certainl