Exposition of Proverbs 15-17, Biblical commentary · Chapter 16 · Verse 14
Verſe 14. The wrath of a King is as meſſengers of death: but a wiſe man will pacifie it.
THE wrath of a King] His indignation, iuſtly and vponupon due cauſe kindled againſt his ſeruants or ſubiects, [is as meſſengers of death] doth portend and threaten ſome great puniſhment, if not preſent death, to the parties with whom he is offended, if they fall into his hands: [but a wiſe man will pacifie it] hee will endeuour either by his owne meanes, fit opportunitie being taken; or by mediation of others, who ſhall bee better regarded, to aſſwage his anger.
Doct. It is very dangerous for any man to incurre the diſpleaſure of Princes and great Potentates.
True it is that Pharaoh was very much mooued againſt Moſes, and yet Moſes nothing feared Pharaohs fierceneſſe: and Nebuchadnezzar was full of rage againſt the three children, and yet could doe the three children no harme: And Ahab ſtormed at Elijah, and ſought to ſlay him, and yet had neuer power to preuaile againſt him, becauſe the diſpleaſure was without the deſert of thoſe Prophets. But the caſe ſtandeth otherwiſe with thoſe that exaſperate their Soueraignes with their rebellious behauiour, or any other miſdemeanures. To ſuch the feare of the King is like the roaring of a Lion. Prouer. 20. 2.Hee that prouoketh him to anger, ſinneth againſt his owne ſoule. Witneſſe for this purpoſe, Haman, who notwithſtanding all his former familiaritie with the King, felt yet what it was to Heſter 7.offend a King.
Reaſons. 1 Firſt, his might enableth him to doe as much as his anger perſwadeth him: if hee purpoſe ought, hee can eaſily hauehave it effected: if hee paſſe ſentence, who will denie execution? Where the word of the King is (ſaith Eccleſiaſtes) there is power: Eccleſ. 8. 4.and who ſhall ſay vntounto him, What doeſt thou?
Secondly, he is (as S. Paul teſtifieth) Gods Lieuetenant and Miniſter to take vengeance on him that doth euill: and therefore the Lords anger is to be trembled at in his indignation: and Rom. 13 4.he is many times made ſeuere in his iuſtice, and will not pardon malefactors, becauſe God is righteous in his iudgements, and will ſurely hauehave thoſe malefactors puniſhed.
Vſe 1 Inſtruction, to pleaſe our gouernours as much as we may, and that in moſt awfull and loyall manner, and with all due care beware how wee kindle their anger: for their iuſt wrath is a ſparke of Gods wrath: their menaces are his threatnings: their ſentences are his iudgements: their ſtripes are his ſtrokes: and thoſe doth hee plague, whom they doe puniſh. Let vsus bee farre then from thoſe practiſes which may giuegive them cauſe of prouocation againſt vsus, and keepe our ſelues from thoſe companions which may embolden vsus againſt them. My ſonne (ſaith the wiſdome of God) feare the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that are ſeditious.Prouer. 24. 21.
And this ſerueth alſo to admoniſh them who are alreadie fallen into the diſpleaſure of mighty and potent perſonages that rule ouer them, that they ſit not downe ſecurely while their danger is ſo great. The more eminent the perſon is againſt whom the offenſes are committed, the more imminent the perill is to the party that committeth the offenſes.
What is then to be done in ſuch a caſe, that the euill like to follow may be preuented? Our text telleth vsus, that a wiſe man will vſe his wiſdome in aſſwaging the anger, and reconciling the fauour of Kings and ſuperiours incenſed.
In the firſt place, ſeeke grace from God, (as Heſter did, and Mordecai, and all the godly Jewes) to turne away his indignation, and then is it eaſie for him to mitigate and appeaſe the Princes diſpleaſure.
And next, either ſollicit friends to intercede for thee, as Dauid did Jonathan, and Mordecai Heſter; or elſe deale ſo in thine owne cauſe, as whereby hee may bee moſt mooued to ſhew thee compaſſion. If thou be falſly accuſed, make cleere thine innocencie with humilitie: if iuſtly charged, acknowledge thy fault with ſubmiſſion: if remiſſion may conueniently be granted, beſeech thy Soueraigne to pardon thee: if ſo much cannot be obtained, yet intreat that at the leaſt hee would pitie thee.
Terrour for that ſinfull ſwarme of Ieſuites, Seminaries, and other treacherous Papiſts of eueryevery ſort, whoſe practiſe and profeſſion is to ſubuert the ſtate and maieſtie of the Prince. They do not only detract from him, and transfer to a forrainer, the mortall aduerſarie of Chriſt and Kings, that authority & ſoueraigntie which he hath in matters of greateſt moment, but denie him allegeance in ciuill cauſes, and refuſe to ſecure him from their force and violence againſt his perſon and dignitie. If this audacious obſtinacie; if this egregious contempt; If this moſt barbarous diſloialtie ſhould neither ſtirre vp the Lord, nor the Lords Vice-gerent, to puniſh them, what ſafety could there be in ruling, or danger in rebelling? But certaine it is, that God wil not paſſe by it, though man would; and his ſword is ſharper than mans is; and his hand will ſtrike ſtronglier than mans can; and therefore let them, and let all other ſorts of ſinfull creatures know, that if the Kings wrath be as a meſſenger of death, that Gods wrath will be a worker of their eternall deſtruction.