Corel. To ascribe affections propeidy to God is to make him weak, imperfect, dependent, changeable, and impotent.
Secondly, Let a short view be taken of the particulars, some or all of them, that Mr B. chooseth to instance in, " Anger, fury, wrath, zeal" (the same in kind, only differing in degree and circumstances),
1 Isa. xiv. 24 ; Eph. i. 11; Rom. xi. 33-36 ; Isa. xl. 13, 14.
' T/ av aVsfjijtta f^ilXiv y'tvwro tov u'Vo'Ka.fii.Sa.vtiv to KTrfTTOv rp(TiTh:i ; — PiUlo.
OF THE ATTRIBUTION OF PASSIONS, ETC., TO GOD. Ill
are the first he instances in ; and the places produced to make good this attribution to God are, Num. xxv. 3, 4; Ezek. v. 13; Exod. xxxii. 11, 12; Rom. i. 18.
1. That mention is made of the anger, wrath, and fury of God in the Scripture is not questioned. Num. xxv. 4, Deut. xiii. 17, Josh, vii. 26, Ps. Ixxviii. 31, Isa. xiii. 9, Deut. xxix. 24, Judges ii. 14, Ps, Ixxiv. 1, Ixix. 24, Isa. xxx. 30, Lam. ii. 6, Ezek, v. 15, Ps. Ixxviii. 4'9, Isa. xxxiv. 2, 2 Chron. xxviii. 11, Ezra x. 14, Hab. iii. 8, 12, are farther testimonies thereof. The words also in the original, in all the places mentioned, express or intimate perturbation of mind, commotion of spirit, corporeal mutation of the parts of the body, and the like distempers of men acting under the power of that passion. The whole difference is about the intendment of the Holy Ghost in these attributions, and whether they are properly spoken of God, asserting this passion to be in him in the proper significancy of the words, or whether these things be not taken dvdpco'jo'raOSig, and to be understood '^novpiirui;, in such a sense as may answer the meaning of the figurative expression, assigning them their truth to the utmost, and yet to be interpreted in a suitableness to divine per- fection and blessedness.
2. The anger, then, which in the Scripture is assigned to God, we say denotes two things : —
(1.) His vindictive justice, or constant and immutable will of ren- dering vengeance for sin.^ So God's purpose of the demonstration of his justice is called his being " willing to show his wrath" or anger, Rom. ix. 22; so God's anger and his judgments are placed together, Ps. vii. 6; and in that anger he judgeth, verse 8. And in this sense is the "wrath of God" said to be "revealed from heaven," Rom. i. 18; that is, the vindictive justice of God against sin to be manifested in the effects of it, or the judgments sent and punishments inflicted on and throughout the world.
(2.) By anger, wrath, zeal, fury, the effects of anger are denoted : Rom. iii. 5, " Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance ?" The words are, o licKpipoiv Tr,v opyrjv, — " who inflictethor bringeth anger on man ;" that is, sore punishments, such as proceed from anger ; that is, God's vindictive justice. And Eph. v. 6, " For these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." Is it the pas- sion or affection of anger in God that Mr B. talks of, that comes upon the children of disobedience? or is it indeed the effect of his justice for this sin ? ^ Thus the day of judgment is called the " day of wrath" and of " anger," because it is the day of the " revelation of the righteous judgment of God :" Rom. ii. 5, " After thy hardness,''
' Vid. Andr. Eivetum in Ps. ii. p. 11, et in Exod. iv. p. 14, et Aquinat. 1, part. q. 3, art. 2, ad secundum. " Ira dicitur dc Deo secundum similitudinem effcctus, quia pro- prium est irati punire, ejus ira punitio metaphorice vocatur."
' " 'H epyh TcZ es^y, Divina ultio, Rom. i. 18, Col. iii. 6." — Grotius in locum.
112 VINDICI^ EVANGELICiE.
etc. In the place of Ezekiel (chap. v. 13) mentioned by Mr B., the Lord tells them he will " cause his fury to rest upon them," and "ac- complish it upon them." I ask whether he intends this of auy passion in him (and if so, how a passion in God can rest upon a man), or the judgments which for their iniquities he did inflict ? We say, then, anger is not properly ascribed to God, but metaphorically, denoting partly his vindictive justice, whence all punishments flow, partly the effects of it in the punishments themselves, either threatened or inflicted, in their terror and bitterness, upon the account of what is analogous therein to our proceeding under the power of that passion ; and so is to be taken in all the places mentioned by Mr B. For, — S. Properly, in the sense by him pointed to, anger, wrath, etc., are not in God. Anger is defined by the philosopher to be, o(>e^ig /j,s-a XuTjjg ri/xujpiag pa/vo/zsvjj;, dia (paivo/jLsvyjv oXiycoplav, — " desire joined with grief of that which appears to be revenge, for an appearing ne- glect or contempt." To this grief, he tells you, there is a kind of pleasure annexed, arising from the vehement fancy which an angry person hath of the revenge he apprehends as future,^ — which, saith he, " is like the fancy of them that dream,"^ — and he ascribes this pas- sion mostly to weak, impotent persons. Ascribe this to God, and you leave him nothing else. There is not one property of his nature wherewith it is consistent. If he be properly and literally angry, and furious, and wrathful, he is moved, troubled, perplexed, desires revenge, and is neither blessed nor perfect. But of these things in our general reasons against the propriety of these attributions after- ward.