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AND so as without horrible profanity these things cannot be understood
literally of Him who is declared by the authority of Holy Scripture to be
invisible, ineffable, incomprehensible, inestimable, simple, and
uncompounded, so neither can the passion of anger and wrath be attributed
to that unchangeable nature without fearful blasphemy. For we ought to see
that the limbs signify the divine powers and boundless operations of God,
which can only be represented to us by the familiar expression of limbs: by
the mouth we should understand that His utterances are meant, which are of
His mercy continually poured into the secret senses of the soul, or which
He spoke among our fathers and the prophets: by the eyes we can understand
the boundless character of His sight with which He sees and looks through
all things, and so nothing is hidden from Him of what is done or can be
done by us, or even thought. By the expression "hands," we understand His
providence and work, by which He is the creator and author of all things;
the arms are the emblems of His might and government, with which He
upholds, rules and controls all things. And not to speak of other things,
what else does the hoary hair of His head signify but the eternity and
perpetuity of Deity, through which He is without any beginning, and before
all times, and excels all creatures? So then also when we read of the anger
or fury of the Lord, we should take it not anthrwpopathw^s; i.e., according
to an unworthy meaning of human passion, but in a sense worthy of God,
who is free from all passion; so that by this we should understand that He
is the judge and avenger of all the unjust things which are done in this
world; and by reason of these terms and their meaning we should dread Him
as the terrible rewarder of our deeds, and fear to do anything against His
will. For human nature is wont to fear those whom it knows to be indignant,
and is afraid of offending: as in the case of some most just judges,
avenging wrath is usually feared by those who are tormented by some
accusation of their conscience; not indeed that this passion exists in the
minds of those who are going to judge with perfect equity, but that, while
they so fear, the disposition of the judge towards them is that which is
the precursor of a just and impartial execution of the law. And this, with
whatever kindness and gentleness it may be conducted, is deemed by those
who are justly to be punished to be the most savage wrath and vehement
anger. It would be tedious and outside the scope of the present work were
we to explain all the things which are spoken metaphorically of God in Holy
Scripture, with human figures. Let it be enough for our present purpose,
which is aimed against the sin of wrath, to have said this that no one may
through ignorance draw down upon himself a cause of this evil and of
eternal death, out of those Scriptures in which he should seek for
saintliness and immortality as the remedies to bring life and salvation.
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