The Pulpit Commentary — Ephesians — Section 172

Let them not tolera~e li&rs in their society (Ps. ci. 7). 2. Mnrk how religion ten.de to :promote the well-being and comfurt of society. Truth is the cement of society. 8. l,emember that thti devil is the father of liars (John viii. 44), and that "whosoever i.,,erh and ma.keLh a lie" shall not enter the heavenly Jeruss.leru (Rev. :uil.16).-T. C. T'ers. 26, 27.-Restraints upon anger. The apostle teaches that we are not to allow the irritations or exasperations of life to become the occasion of sin, that we are not to cherish anger, and that we are not to give scope to Satan by temper which may open the heart to those passions of hatred and revenge that are identifid with his operations. 'Ihe passage teaches- - I. THAT THERE IS AN ANGER THAT IS NOT SINFUL. This affection is, indeed, implanted in o~ nature for righteous ends. It arms the passions quickly against evil, and operates with the force and effectiveness of an instinct. If it is mingled with malice, it becomes sinful; but if it is associated with a holy disposition, it is safe and good. Jesus regarded the conduct of the Jews" with anger" (Mark iii; 5). Anger is often attributed to God himself (Ps. vii. 11), but it can have no sinful elements in the Divine mind. It is, in fact, with anger as it is with hatred. It is a shallow prejudice to shrink from the name and the thing which it signifies, as if it were all and only evil Jesus bated as well as loved. The two emotions hang for their life upon each other. Love cannot be unless a hearty hate of evil lie beneath. They are but the two sides of one sublime emotion which turns life, so often insipid and dull, into a vivid, balanced, and joyful a.ctivity. So it is with anger. Under the inspiration of a holy nature, it may flash forth with a marvellous power &,,era.inst wickedness, nntruth, and dishonour. II. TnAT THERE IS AN EASY PASSAGE FBOll WHAT IS BIGHT TO WHAT IS WRONG m THE n-»ULGEKCB OF ANGER. "Be ye angry and sin not." This command implies that it is an ea.,,-y matter to sin in our anger, and a hard thing to be angry and not to sin. Tbe path of duty affords firm footing to those who keep it; but it is very narrow, and there are dangerous pitfalls on either side. Anger is, therefore, not an operation to be rashly or lightly performed, even when it is a very evil thing against which our dis- pleasure is directed. If it comes often and comes easily, you may suspect the danger that larks in it. Take care, above all things, that the zeal for righteousness may not plUDge you into hatred of your neighbonrs. "If a glass bottle be full of clean water, thongh it be stirred there ariseth no mud; but if mud arise when it is stirred, the water was foul in the bottom: so is the spirit of a man foul within that, being stirred, showeth distcc:mper." "Be angry and sin not." You cannot be angry and suffer not. Just as a cannon when discharged recoils heated and begrimed within by the fiery blast that issued from its mouth, the spirit of man is similarly affected even by thoso discharges of anger that are directed against the most wicked deeds. III. THAT IT 1B HARD TO AVOID SIN m OUR ANGER IF WE INDULGE IT POB AN UNDUE LENGTH OF TDIE. "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." Anger may flash suddenly out from the lip;; of a good man, but" it resteth in the bosom of fools" (Eccles. vii. 9). There is a limit even to righteous anger; not that we ~re not to hav~ a con- tinual &n,!!;eT a!rainst 6in • but we are not to carry oar anger agamst a brother rnto tho next day.' W~ are not t,o harbour resentment or keep it rankling in our bosom, lest it should change into downright hatred. or revenge. IV. THAT SATAR TAlU'.6 ADVANTAGE OF OUR ANGER TO DO us GBE.AT HURT, There is an old Latin proverb, "He who goes angry to bed has the devil for a bedfellow." Anger, if cherished. snpplies a motiy~ to yield to his evil sn_ggcstions. The devil is ~n foll eympathy with a resentfnl spmt. Yet, though he wields the resources of this world as its god; though he is incarnate in the lust of the flesh~ the lust_ of th~ eye, and ihe pride of life; he has no power to enter any heart except with the will of 1te owner. Let not Christians, then, allow that heart, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost, to be opened, in a moment of holy anger, to the intrusive suggestions of the evil one. The counsel of the apostle is well calculated to promote the comfort and the usefulness of life. Let Christians take care that their anger is not without cause, or without measure, or without justice, and that it should not be so inconsistent with love that we cannot pray for those against whom it is directed.-T. C. Ver. 28.- Warning against theft: a plea /<YI' honest work, It may seem strange OH. IV. 1-32.] THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 171