Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 4:26

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

26. Be ye angry, and sin not ] Another inference from co-membership in the Lord. Anger, as the mere expression of wounded personality, is sinful; for it means that self is in command. Anger, as the pure expression of repugnance to wrong in loyalty to God, is sinless, where there is true occasion for it. The Apostle practically says, let anger, when you feel it, be never from the former motive, always from the latter. “Ebullitions of temper,” alike the greatest and smallest, the seen and unseen, are wholly forbidden here.

The words are verbatim the LXX. version of Psa 4:4. The lit. Hebrew there is, “tremble, and sin not.” And the verb rendered “tremble” may denote the tremor of grief, awe, or anger indifferently. The question of interpretation thus becomes one of context, and it has been suggested (by Dr Kay) that the reference is to the temptation to David’s followers, during Absalom’s rebellion, to give way to unholy wrath against the rebels. Dean Perowne, though saying that the LXX. Gr. is “certainly a possible rendering,” refers the words to the tremor of awe before God. And he remarks that St Paul here gives the Gr. version “not in the way of direct citation.” This last remark is important. The N.T. does not necessarily endorse a certain version of the O.T. by adopting its wording for a special purpose, without the decisive formula “it is written,” or the like. Still, the suggestion of Dr Kay is noteworthy in itself, and its adoption would give a peculiar point and force to the words here.

let not the sun go down ] Wetstein quotes a curious parallel from Plutarch, ( De Fraterno Amore, p. 488 b.), who says of the Pythagoreans that it was their rule, if betrayed into angry reviling, to shake hands before the sun set. It is possible that we have Psalms 4 still in view here; “commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.” As if to say, “if you have sinned in the way here forbidden, see that at least the sin is reversed and renounced before night calls you to bid your brother farewell and to meet your God in solitude.”

your wrath ] Better, perhaps, your provocation, as R.V. margin. The Gr. denotes an occasion of anger, rather than the feeling. See further on the cognate verb, Eph 6:4. The reasons, as well as the acts, of quarrel were to be done with by set of sun. The Gr. word is one often used by the LXX. of the provocation of God by His unfaithful people.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Be ye angry and sin not – It has been remarked that the direction here is conformable to the usage of the Pythagoreans, who were bound, when there were any differences among them, to furnish some token of reconciliation before the sun set. Burder, in Ros. Alt. u. neu. Morgenland, in loc. It is implied here:

(1) That there may be anger without sin; and,

(2) That there is special danger in all cases where there is anger that it will be accompanied with sin. Anger is a passion too common to need any description. It is an excitement or agitation of mind, of more or less violence, produced by the reception of a real or supposed injury, and attended commonly with a desire or purpose of revenge. The desire of revenge, however, is not essential to the existence of the passion, though it is probably always attended with a disposition to express displeasure, to chide, rebuke, or punish; compare Mar 3:5. To a great extent the sudden excitement on the reception of an injury is involuntary, and consequently innocent. Anger is excited when a horse kicks us; when a serpent hisses; when we dash our foot against a stone – and so when a man raises his hand to strike us. The object or final cause of implanting this passion in the mind of man is, to rouse him to an immediate defense of himself when suddenly attacked, and before his reason would, have time to suggest the proper means of defense. It prompts at once to self-protection; and when that is done its proper office ceases. If persevered in; it becomes sinful malignity. or revenge – always wrong. Anger may be excited against a thing as well as a person; as well against an act as a man. We are suddenly excited by a wrong thing, without any malignancy against the man; we may wish to rebuke or chide that, without injuring him. Anger is sinful in the following circumstances:

(1) When it is excited without any sufficient cause – when we are in no danger, and do not need it for a protection. We should be safe without it.

(2) When it transcends the cause, if any cause really exists. All that is beyond the necessity of immediate self-protection, is apart from its design, and is wrong.

(3) When it is against the person rather than the offence. The object is not to injure another; it is to protect ourselves.

(4) When it is attended with the desire of revenge. That is always wrong; Rom 12:17, Rom 12:19.

(5) When it is cherished and heightened by reflection. And,

(6) When there is an unforgiving spirit; a determination to exact the utmost satisfaction for the injury which has been done. If people were perfectly holy, that sudden arousing of the mind in danger, or on the reception of an injury; which would serve to prompt us to save ourselves from danger, would exist, and would be an important principle of our nature. As it is now, it is violent; excessive; incontrollable; persevered in – and is almost always wrong. If people were holy, this excitement of the mind would obey the first injunctions of reasons, and be wholly under its control; as it is now, it seldom obeys reason at all – and is wholly wrong. Moreover, if all people were holy; if there were none disposed to do an injury, it would exist only in the form of a sudden arousing of the mind against immediate danger – which would all be right. Now, it is excited not only in view of physical dangers, but in view of the wrongs done by others – and hence it terminates on the person and not the thing, and becomes often wholly evil.

Let not the sun go down – Do not cherish anger. Do not sleep upon it. Do not harbor a purpose of revenge; do not cherish ill-will against another. When the sun sets on a mans anger, he may be sure it is wrong. The meaning of the whole of this verse then is, If you be angry, which may be the case, and which may be unavoidable, see that the sudden excitement does not become sin. Do not let it overleap its proper bounds; do not cherish it; do not let it remain in your bosom even to the setting of the sun. Though the sun be sinking in the west, let not the passion linger in the bosom, but let his last rays find you always peaceful and calm.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Eph 4:26

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

Dissuasive from anger

I. A general principle. It must keep clear of sin be ye angry, and sin not.

1. Unjust anger is clearly wrong.

2. Excessive anger comes under the same condemnation.

3. Personal anger is scarcely ever without sin; yet this is the character of the greater number of cases. We are angry with the person, rather than with his misconduct.

4. Selfish anger may always be suspected of sin.

II. A special rule. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

III. An awful motive. Neither give place to the devil. There are two characters which the devil sustains towards us: he is our accuser, and our tempter. In both these characters he gains an advantage over us by means of sinful anger.

1. It furnishes him with a charge against us. Dream not that angry words are mere idle breath: By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

2. It assists his temptations of us. Everyone must know what a pitiable creature he is, who gives way to unbridled anger. Only work on his passion, and you may make him believe anything–say anything–do anything. And the man unconsciously gives place to his enemy. While proudly resolving not to give way to a fellow creature, whose ill-will could do him little injury, and might have been disarmed by gentleness or yielding: he throws himself into the arms of one who seizes the occasion for promoting the destruction of both body and soul in hell. (J. Jowett, M. A.)

Anger not to be sinfully indulged

I. Anger kept within its due bounds. I shall consider this as in holy anger. And there is in it–

1. A commotion of the spirit, which ariseth from the apprehension of a real injury; for if it be only imaginary it is sinful. This is necessary to stir up a mans desire to see the wrong rectified.

2. There is hatred in it, not at the persons but at their sins, whether they be our own sins or others. In this respect it is called indignation (2Co 7:11). This is most desirable, when it is kept purely on this object. That is not the part where we are in hazard of excess, seeing we are commanded to abhor that which is evil.

3. There is grief in it (Mar 3:5). This naturally follows on hatred of the thing, which likewise ariseth from a just apprehension of the evil of it in a gracious soul. And from both ariseth–

4. A desire of the vindication of the right and honour of the party injured.

II. Sinful anger condemned. We are to consider it in its rise, and the passion transgressing due bounds, which makes it sinful, however short, while it lasts. Now, for clearing of what this sinful anger is, we must consider the due boundary of holy and just anger, and what is beyond these is sinful.

1. The grounds of holy anger are just and weighty, such as Gods dishonour by our own sins, and the sins of others (2Co 7:11; Exo 22:9). It must, then, be sinful anger, when it is without a just ground.

2. The degree of holy anger is proportioned to the fault. When the anger, then, in respect of degrees, exceeds the measure of the offence, and men are carried so far beside themselves, as to turn about the cart wheel on the cummin that might be beat out with the rod, then it is sinful anger.

3. The end of holy anger which it is directed, is the glory of God and the good of our neighbour (Pro 13:24; Joh 2:16-17). Sinful, then, it must be, when it is a fire lighting on others, to make them sacrifices to cursed self, to satisfy the desires of a proud heart (Pro 27:25), which will never think it gets enough from others.

4. The effects of holy anger, directly and indirectly, are just and good, for the man has rule over his own spirit, and no holy affection is inconsistent with another. It fits him for his duty to God and men, as may be seen in the case of Moses praying for the people (Exodus

3. The anger, then, must be sinful when its effects are hellish, as when it breaks out in clamour and evil speaking (Eph 4:31).

III. The reason why the sinful passion is condemned. Neither give place to the devil. That is, and give not place to the devil. It refers–

1. To the rise of sinful anger. To give place to it is to admit the devil.

2. It refers to the progress and continuance of it. The more it is harboured, the devil is the farther admitted. He loves to fish in muddy water. When he has got the fire kindled, he employs his bellows to blow it up, and always to make the flame greater and greater, to the destruction of ourselves and others.

Doctrine

I. Men not only may, but ought to be angry where there is just ground for it. We know no just ground for anger but the things which are sinful. Reasons.

1. Because in that case, the love and respect which we owe to God, who is dishonoured, require it.

2. The love which we owe to ourselves or others who are injured, requires it.

Doctrine

II. Men should beware that the fire of sinful auger kindle not in their breasts. Reasons.

1. Because it is evil in itself, and dishonourable to God; being the vomit of a proud heart and an unmeekened spirit.

2. Because it is not only evil, but a mother of evil; and is not only an inlet to many mischiefs to ourselves and others, put drives men to them to act with vigour. An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

Doctrine

III. If sinful anger do enter our breasts, we must endeavour to extinguish it quickly, and beware of nourishing it.

Doctrine

IV. That the admitting and lodging of sinful anger in our hearts is a giving place to the devil. For remedies–

1. Let us consider our own vileness and unworthiness, and how often we are provoking the Lord, and so turn our anger against ourselves.

2. Let us consider these things with which we are so ready to be hurried away, are the trials of our patience, and we are on our trial for heaven.

3. Let us propose to ourselves the example of the meek and lowly Jesus. He suffered, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. Lastly–Out of a sense of our utter inability to resist the least temptation, look to Jesus for strength, and by faith draw strength from Him. (T. Boston, D. D.)

A dissuasive from violent passion

I. Some rules to distinguish the nature and the degree of anger when it becomes criminal.

1. Man having been created susceptible of anger, to enable him to repel with courage the evil which encompasses, or to surmount with activity the calamity which threatens him, it is evident that whoever unnecessarily provokes him is to a certain degree culpable.

2. Since every impulse should be proportionate to the power of the motives which produce it, it is no less evident that all anger, and every emotion carried to excess–that is, which exceed the bounds prescribed by reason, are criminal.

3. It will also be hateful in the sight of God, when through indulgence it degenerates into hatred or malice, into resentment or a desire of revenge.

4. Anger becomes a sin of more aggravated nature, when by continual indulgence it resumes, as it were, a constitutional property.

5. Anger is always criminal, when, either in its nature or attendant circumstances, it, in any manner, is injurious to reason and religion, or involves, in its consequences, either ourselves or other men in trouble.

II. I now proceed, under the second head, to propose some considerations to engage you to regulate this passion.

1. Nothing is more indecent, disgraceful, and contemptible than the character of a passionate and violent man. Rage always supposes weakness; hence children, sick people, and women, are the most subject to it.

2. blot only is the anger of which I am speaking contemptible, odious, and criminal in itself, but it is also melancholy and criminal in its effects and consequences. A man, by frequent transports of rage, impairs his health. Add to this, that a man who is master of himself has, in all circumstances of life, an infinite advantage over a violent person. At every turn he gives some advantage to his adversary.

3. Besides, a man of an outrageous temper is almost always unhappy; he is always exposed to chagrin, occasioned by his own irritability. Rage is to the soul what fever is to the body: as a fever throws the whole animal economy into disorder, rage, in like manner, so agitates the soul as to bereave it of peace. (P. Bertrand.)

Godlike anger

I. What is the sort of anger here allowed or enjoined? Evidently it must be anger of such a sort as shall be in keeping and in harmony with the sphere in which it works, viz., the sphere of the truth as it is in Jesus, in contrast to the deceit or lie of which the devil is the father. The anger of the new man is, in one word, sympathy with God; intelligent, confiding, loving sympathy with God.

II. What are the conditions annexed to the allowance or injunction?

1. It must be sinless. Remember that anger too readily allies itself to that self-love in you which is the real root and ground, the source and spring, of the anger of the old man, which is altogether sinful, and of whatever is sinful in the anger of the new man. Gods anger, on the contrary, is absolutely holy. For He is never angry on His own account, or for injury done to Him. What makes Him angry, however it may be opposed to His nature and will, does not really touch His essential glory and blessedness.

2. It must be short. If a moment suffice for the anger of God, surely a day may be more than enough for yours. If His righteous and holy wrath endureth but for a moment, yours may well subside ere sundown. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)

The warning against anger

We ought to mind this warning against anger, because if we give way to angry feelings, it will have a bad effect upon us in three ways.

I. If we give way to anger, it will interfere with our comfort. An angry man can never feel comfortable. Anger in our hearts or minds is just like a storm at sea. That storm, while it lasts, disturbs everything. As long as that storm continues it interferes, most seriously, with the comfort of all on board the vessel, which is exposed to it. Most of the passengers will be made seasick, and be obliged to go to bed, and their comfort will be wonderfully interfered with while that storm lasts. And just as a storm at sea acts on a vessel that is exposed to it, so anger acts on the soul where its influence is felt. It upsets and disturbs all our thoughts and feelings, and interferes entirely with our comfort.

II. The second reason for minding this warning against anger is because it will interfere with our duty. Suppose I should wake up some morning, and on looking at my watch to see what time it was, should find that it had stopped, and was keeping time no longer. The mainspring is not broken. It was not run down, for I wound it up last night before I went to bed. But still the watch has stopped. It will not keep time. I cannot tell what is the matter with it. After breakfast I take it to the watchmaker, and ask him to examine it, and find out what the trouble is. He opens the watch, and putting on one of his magnifying glasses, he looks carefully into it. Presently he lays it down, and says, I see what the trouble is. A little grain of sand has got in among the works, some how or other, and that interferes with the working of the watch and makes it stop. Then he goes to work and removes that grain of sand, and after this is done the watch goes on keeping time as usual. Now, our souls are like watches in some respects. Our thoughts, and feelings, and desires are very much like the wheels, or works of a watch. While our feelings and tempers are all right, the wheels will go on, and the watch will keep good time. But, if we give way to a wrong feeling or temper, like anger, it will be like the grain of sand in the works of the watch. It will stop them from going on, and the watch will not be able to keep time. When George IV was King of England he desired one day to receive the sacrament of the Lords Supper, and he sent for the Bishop of Winchester to come and administer it to him. The messenger who was sent on this errand was very slow in his movements, and loitered along the way. This caused a long delay before the arrival of the bishop, and the king got very impatient about it. When the bishop came he stated that he started immediately on getting the message, but that the servant had been very slow in coming to him. This made the king angry. He rang the bell and called for the messenger. When he entered the room the king reproved him very sharply, dismissed him from his service, and told him to leave the palace at once. As soon as he was gone the king turned to the bishop, and said, Now, my lord, we will go on with our service. But the bishop, with great mildness, and yet very firmly, said, Please your majesty, I cannot do that. The temper just displayed is not a fit preparation for this solemn service. The king saw that he had done wrong, and made a suitable apology to the bishop. Then he sent for his servant, asked his pardon for speaking so angrily to him, and told him, in the pleasantest possible way, that he should keep his position in the kings employ.

III. And the third reason for minding this warning against anger is, that it will interfere with our safety. If we do what we know is wrong; if we let the sun go down upon our wrath, and give way to anger, then we are doing that which will interfere with our safety. Our shield and armour will be taken away, and we shall be exposed to all sorts of dangers. (Dr. Newton.)

The damager of anger

The angry man is compared to a ship sent into the sea, which hath the devil for its pilot. (T. Adams.)

Description of anger

Anger sets the house on fire, and all the spirits are busy upon trouble, and intend propulsion and defence, displeasure and revenge; it is a short madness, and an eternal enemy to discourse, and sober counsels, and fair conversation; it is a fever in the heart, and a calenture in the head, and a fire in the face, and a sword in the hand, and a fury all over. It hath in it the trouble of sorrow, and the heats of lust, and the disease of revenge, and the bodings of a fever, and the rashness of precipitancy, and the disturbance of persecution. If it proceed from a great cause, it turns to fury; if from a small cause, it is peevishness; and so it is always terrible or ridiculous. It makes a mans body deformed and contemptible, the voice horrid, the eyes cruel, the face pale or fiery, the gait fierce. It is neither manly nor ingenuous, and is a passion fitter for flies and wasps than for persons professing nobleness and bounty. It is a confluence of all the irregular passions. There is in it envy and scorn, fear and sorrow, pride and prejudice, rashness and inconsideration, rejoicing in evil, and a desire to inflict it. (Bp. Jeremy Taylor.)

Foolishness of anger

To be angry is to revenge the fault of others upon ourselves. (Pope.)

To be angry about trifles is mean and childish; to rage and be furious is brutish; and to maintain perpetual wrath is akin to the practice and temper of devils; but to prevent and suppress rising resentment is wise and glorious, is manly and Divine. (Dr. Watts.)

Short continuance of anger

The English, by command of William the Conqueror, always raked up their fires and put out their candles when the curfew bell was rung; some part of which laudable custom of those times remaineth yet, in the ringing of our eight or nine oclock bell. Let it then mind us thus much, that the sun go not down upon our wrath; let it not carry news to the antipodes in another world of our revengeful nature, but rather quench all sparks of anger, rake up all heat of passion that may arise within us. (Spencer.)

Anger–without sin

One of the late Dr. Spencers parishioners in Brooklyn, New York, met him hurriedly urging his way down the street one day; his lip was set, and there was something strange in that gray eye. How are you today, doctor? he said, pleasantly. He waked as from a dream, and replied, soberly, I am mad! It was a new word for a mild, true-hearted Christian; but he waited, and with a deep, earnest voice went on. I found a widow standing by her goods thrown in the street; she could not pay the months rent; the landlord turned her out; and one of her children is going to die; and that man is a member of the Church! I told her to take her things back again. I am on my way to see him!

Be angry and sin not

The easiest charge under the hardest condition that can be. He that will be angry and not sin, let him be angry at nothing but sin. (J. Trapp.)

Anger must be brief

Plutarch writeth that it was the custom of Pythagoras scholars, however they had been jarring and jangling in their disputations, yet, before the sun set, to kiss and shake hands before they departed out of the school. Leontias Patricius was one day extremely and unreasonably angry with John, Patriarch of Alexandria. At evening the patriarch sent a servant to him with this message: Sir, the sun is set, upon which Patricius reflecting, and the grace of God making the impression deep, he threw away his anger, and became wholly subject to the counsel of the patriarch. (J. Trapp.)

Anger hinders religious duties

My grandfather, who was a very affectionate, but a passionate man, one Friday fell out with his brother, and both went home in a rage. Toward evening (the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath), his wife made her preparations for keeping holy time, but noticed that he did not light the customary lamp. She addressed him, but he paced the room in silence and evident distress of mind. See, said my grandmother at length, the stars are already in the Lords firmament, and our Sabbath lamp is still dark. My grandfather then took his hat and staff, and with visible perturbation hurried out of the house; but in a few minutes he returned with tears of joy in his eyes. Now, my beloved Rebecca, cries he, now I am ready. He offered up the prayer, and with evident feelings of delight kindled the lamp. He afterwards made known his dispute in the morning, adding, it was not possible for me to offer up the prayer and light the lamp before I was reconciled with Isaac (that was his brothers name). But how came it to pass that you returned so quickly? Why, said he, Isaac, like me, could not rear–it was with him as it was with me–he also could not enter upon the Sabbath without being reconciled. We met each other in the street–he was coming to me, I was going to him–we fell into each others arms, weeping. (Dr. Capadose.)

Anger to be speedily got rid of

If we have eaten poison, we seek forthwith to vomit it up again with all speed; and if we be fallen into any disease, we use the means we can to provide a remedy; so, likewise, when we feel any unruly motions of anger, and the fiery flames thereof be once kindled in our hearts, we must be careful to repress them, as we would be to quench the fire in our houses. (Cawdray.)

Silent anger

If anger arises in thy breast, instantly seal up thy lips, and let it not go forth; for, like fire when it wants vent, it will suppress itself. It is good in a fever to have a tender and smooth tongue; but it is better that it be in anger; for if it be rough and distempered, there it is an ill sign, but here it is an ill cause. Angry passion is a fire, and angry words like breath to fan them together; they are like steel and flint, sending out fire by mutual collision. (Bp. Jeremy Taylor.)

Anger kept too long

Anger in itself is no sin, but it has a tendency to become so rapidly if it be harboured too long. Like the manna, it corrupts and breeds worms if kept over night in the close chamber of the heart. Then it will appear in the morbid shapes of spite, malice, revenge. The Christian rule is to throw it all away before the fermentation commences. (Dean Goulburn.)

The folly of anger

The choleric man is like one that dwells in a thatched house, who, being rich in the morning, by a sudden fire is a beggar before night. How foolish is the bee that loses her life and her sting together. She puts another to a little pain, but how dearly does she pay for it. (T. Adams.)

The folly of meeting anger with anger

Like as if a man join fire to fire, he maketh the flame the greater; even so, if a man think to suppress another mans anger by being angry himself, he shall both lose his labour, and rather increase the other mans anger. (Cawdray.)

A mad dog that bites another makes him as mad as himself; so, usually the injuries and reproaches of others foster up our revenge, and then there is no difference between us. (T. Manton, D. D.)

Forgiveness before sundown

Forgiveness before sundown! He who never feels the throb of indignation is imbecile. He who can walk among the injustices of the world inflicted upon himself and others, without flush of cheek, or flash of eye, or agitation of nature, is either in sympathy with wrong or semi-idiotic. It all depends on what you are angry at, and how long the feeling lasts, whether anger is right or wrong. Life is full of exasperations. Saul after David, Succoth after Gideon, Korah after Moses, the Pasquins after Augustus, the Pharisees after Christ, and everyone has had his pursuers, and we are swindled, or belied, or misrepresented, or persecuted, or in some way wronged, and the danger is that healthful indignation shall become baleful spite, and that our feelings settle down into a prolonged outpouring of temper displeasing to God and ruinous to ourselves, and hence the important injunction of the text, Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. No, no; I think of five reasons why we should not let the sun set before our temper sets.

1. Because twelve hours is long enough to be cross about any wrong inflicted upon us. Nothing is so exhausting to physical health or mental faculty as a protracted indulgence of ill-humour. It racks the nervous system. It hurts the digestion. It heats the blood in brain and heart until the whole body is first overheated and then depressed. Besides that, it sours the disposition, turns one aside from his legitimate work, expends energies that ought to be better employed, and does us more harm than it does our antagonist. Paul gives us good, wide allowance of time for legitimate denunciation, from six oclock to six oclock, but says: Stop there! Watch the descending orb of day, and when it reaches the horizon, take a reef in your disposition. Unloose your collar and cool off. Change the subject to something delightfully pleasant. Aye, you will not postpone till sundown forgiveness of enemies if you can realize that their behaviour towards you may be put into the catalogue of the all things that work together for good to those that love God. Suppose, instead of waiting until this evening, when the sun will set, you transact this glorious work of forgiveness before meridian.

2. We ought not to let the sun go down on our wrath, because we will sleep better if we are at peace with everybody. Insomnia is getting to be one of the most prevalent of disorders. To relieve this disorder all narcotics, and sedatives, and chloral, and bromide of potassium, and cocaine and intoxicants are used, but nothing is more important than a quiet spirit if we would win somnolence. How is a man going to sleep when he is in mind pursuing an enemy? Why not put a boundary to your animosity? Why let your foes come into the sanctities of your dormitory? Why let those slanderers who have already torn your reputation to pieces or injured your business, bend over your midnight pillow and drive from you one of the greatest blessings that God can offer–sweet, refreshing, all-invigorating sleep. Why not fence out your enemies by the golden bars of the sunset?

3. We ought not to allow the sun to set before forgiveness takes place, because we might not live to see another day. The majority of people depart this life in the night. Between eleven oclock p.m. and three oclock a.m. there is something in the atmosphere which relaxes the grip which the body has on the soul, and most people enter the next world through the shadows of this world. Perhaps God may have arranged it in that way, so as to make the contrast the more glorious. I have seen sunshiny days in this world that must have been almost like the radiance of heaven. Shall we then leap over the roseate bank of sunset into the favourite hunting ground of disease and death, carrying our animosities with us?

4. We ought not to allow the passage of the sunset hour before the dismissal of all our affronts, because we may associate the sublimest action of the soul with the sublimest spectacle in nature. It is a most delightful thing to have our personal experiences allied with certain subjects. There is a tree or river bank where God first answered your prayer. Some of you have pleasant memories connected with the evening star, or the moon in its first quarter, or with the sunrise. Because you saw it just as you were arriving at harbour after a tempestuous voyage. Forever and forever. Oh, hearer, associate the sunset with your magnanimous, out-and-out, unlimited renunciation of all hatreds and forgiveness of all foes. I admit it; is the most difficult of all graces to practise, and at the start you may make a complete failure; but keep on in the attempt to practise it. Shakespeare wrote ten dramas before he reached Hamlet, and seventeen before he reached the Merchant of Venice, and twenty-eight before he reached Macbeth. And gradually you will come from the easier graces to the most difficult. Besides that, it is not a matter of personal determination so much as the laying hold of the Almighty arm of God, who will help us to do anything we ought to do. Remember that in all personal controversies the one least to blame will have to take the first step at pacification, if it is ever effective. The contest between AEschines and his rival resounds through history, but his rival, who was least to blame, went to AEschines and said: Shall we not agree to be friends before we make ourselves the laughing stock of the whole country? And AEschines said: Thou art a far better man than I, for I began the quarrel, but thou hast been the first in healing the breach, and they were always friends afterwards. So let the one of you that is least to blame take the first step towards conciliation. The one most in the wrong will never take it. We talk about the Italian sunsets, and sunset amid the Apennines, and sunset amid the Cordilleras, but I will tell you how you may see a grander sunset than any mere lover of nature ever beheld; that is, by flinging into it all your hatreds and animosities, and let the horses of fire trample them, and the chariots of fire roll over them, and the spearmen of fire stab them, and the beach of fire consume them, and the billows of fire overwhelm them.

5. We should not let the sun go down on our wrath, because it is of little importance what the world says of you or does to you when you have the affluent God of the sunset as your provider and defender. People talk as though it were a fixed spectacle of nature and always the same. But no one ever saw two sunsets alike, and if the world has existed six thousand years, there have been about two million one hundred and ninety thousand sunsets, each of them as distinct from all the other pictures in the gallery of the sky as Titians Last Supper, Rubens Descent from the Cross, Raphaels Transfiguration, and Michael Angelos Last Judgment are distinct from each other. If that God of such infinite resources that He can put on the wall of the sky each night more than the Louvre and the Luxembourg galleries all in one, is my God and your God, our Provider and Protector, what is the use of our worrying about any human antagonism? If we are misinterpreted, the God of the many coloured sunset can put the right colour on our action. (Dr. Talmage.)

Sundown

There was a very holy patriarch of Alexandria, called John. The Governor of Alexandria had imposed a tax on the city which fell with peculiar severity on the poor, whilst the rich got off with comparative ease. The patriarch went to the Governor, whose name was Nicetas, and remonstrated with him. Nicetas was furious. He stormed against the bishop, and pursued him to his own house and inner chamber, using fierce abuse. He had completely lost control over himself, so great was his anger at the prelates interference. John was much agitated and distressed. He waited all the afternoon, praying for a reconciliation, but not another word had he with the Governor. As the evening drew on, he became still more uneasy. He felt he could not sleep with bitterness subsisting between them. So he wrote on a slip of parchment the words, The sun is setting, and sent it to Nicetas, who, recalling the maxim of St. Paul, was moved to regret his violence, and he hasted to the patriarchs residence, asked his pardon, and their broken friendship was restored. (S. Baring Gould, M. A.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 26. Be ye angry, and sin not] , here, is the same as , IF YE be angry, do not sin. We can never suppose that the apostle delivers this as a precept, if we take the words as they stand in our version. Perhaps the sense is, Take heed that ye be not angry, lest ye sin; for it would be very difficult, even for an apostle himself, to be angry and not sin. If we consider anger as implying displeasure simply, then there are a multitude of cases in which a man may be innocently, yea, laudably angry; for he should be displeased with every thing which is not for the glory of God, and the good of mankind. But, in any other sense, I do not see how the words can be safely taken.

Let not the sun go down upon your wrath] That is: If you do get angry with any one, see that the fire be cast with the utmost speed out of your bosom. Do not go to sleep with any unkind or unbrotherly feeling; anger, continued in, may produce malice and revenge. No temper of this kind can consist with peace of conscience, and the approbation of God’s Spirit in the soul.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Be ye angry and sin not: by way of concession, rather than by way of command: q.d. If the case be such that ye must be angry, yet see it be without sin.

Let not the sun go down upon your wrath; if your anger is excessive, (for so this word signifies, being different from the former), yet let it not be lasting; be reconciled ere the sun go down.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

26. Be ye angry, and sin notSothe Septuagint, Ps 4:4.Should circumstances arise to call for anger on your part, let it beas Christ’s “anger” (Mr3:5), without sin. Our natural feelings are not wrong whendirected to their legitimate object, and when not exceeding duebounds. As in the future literal, so in the present spiritual,resurrection, no essential constituent is annihilated, but all thatis a perversion of the original design is removed. Thus indignationat dishonor done to God, and wrong to man, is justifiable anger.Passion is sinful (derived from “passio,“suffering: implying that amidst seeming energy, a man isreally passive, the slave of his anger, instead of ruling it).

let not the sun go down uponyour wrath“wrath” is absolutely forbidden; “anger”not so, though, like poison sometimes used as medicine, it is to beused with extreme caution. The sense is not, Your anger shallnot be imputed to you if you put it away before nightfall; but “letno wrath (that is, as the Greek, personal ‘irritation’or ‘exasperation’) mingle with your ‘anger,’ even though, the latterbe righteous, [TRENCH,Greek Synonyms of the New Testament]. “Put it away beforesunset” (when the Jewish day began), is proverbial for putit away at once before another day begin (De24:15); also before you part with your brother for the night,perhaps never in this world to meet again. So JONA,”Let not night and anger against anyone sleep with you, but goand conciliate the other party, though he have been the first tocommit the offense.” Let not your “anger” at another’swickedness verge into hatred, or contempt, or revenge [VATABLUS].

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Be ye angry, and sin not,…. There is anger which is not sinful; for anger is fouled in God himself, in Jesus Christ, in the holy angels, and in God’s people; and a man may be said to be angry and not sin, when his anger arises from a true zeal for God and religion; when it is kindled not against persons, but sins; when a man is displeased with his own sins, and with the sins of others: with vice and immorality of every kind; with idolatry and idolatrous worship, and with all false doctrine; and also when it is carried on to answer good ends, as the good of those with whom we are angry, the glory of God, and the promoting of the interest of Christ: and there is an anger which is sinful; as when it is without a cause; when it exceeds due bounds; when it is not directed to a good end; when it is productive of bad effects, either in words or actions; and when it is soon raised, or long continues: the Jews have a like distinction of anger; they say e,

“there is an anger and an anger; there is an anger which is blessed above and below, and it is called blessed, as it is said Ge 14:19 and there is an anger which is cursed above and below, as it is said Ge 3:14”

And these two sorts are compared to “Ebal” and “Gerizzim”, from the one of which proceeded blessing, and from the other cursing: anger for the most part is not only sinful, but it tends to sin, and issues in it; hence that saying of the Jews, , “be not angry, and thou wilt not sin” f: the spring of it is a corrupt heart, it is stirred up by Satan, encouraged by pride, and increased by grievous words and reproachful language:

let not the sun go down upon your wrath; there is an allusion to

De 24:10 it seems to be a proverbial expression; and the design of it is to show, that anger should not be continued; that it should not last at furthest more than a day; that when the heat of the day is over, the heat of anger should be over likewise; and that we should not sleep with it, lest it should be cherished and increased upon our pillows; and besides, the time of the going down of the sun, is the time of evening prayer, which may be greatly interrupted and hindered by anger. R. Jonah g has an expression or two like to this;

“let not the indignation of anyone abide upon thee; and let not a night sleep with thee, and anger be against any one:”

it should be considered, that as God is slow to anger, so he does not retain it for ever; and that to retain anger, is to gratify the devil; wherefore it follows,

e Zohar in Gen. fol. 104. 1. f T. Bab. Beracot fol. 80. 3. g Apud Capell. in Matt. v. 23.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Be ye angry and sin not ( ). Permissive imperative, not a command to be angry. Prohibition against sinning as the peril in anger. Quotation from Ps 4:4.

Let not the sun go down upon your wrath ( ). Danger in settled mood of anger. (provocation), from , to exasperate to anger, occurs only in LXX and here in N.T.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Be ye angry and sin not [ ] . Cited from Psa 4:5, after the Septuagint. Hebrew, stand in awe and sin not. Righteous anger is commanded, not merely permitted.

Wrath [] Irritation, exasperation; something not so enduring as ojrgh anger, which denotes a deep – seated sentiment. See on Joh 3:36.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Be Ye angry, and sin not” (orgizesthai kai me arnartonete) “Be ye wrathful and sin not, or do not miss the level of holiness or righteousness in your wrathful state,” even if the wrathful state be incited because of wrong. Two wrongs do not make for right, truth or holiness. Anger at sin is a holy virtue, best if one is angry or trembling in anger. The injunction is — sin not. A righteous anger or wrath was expressed by our Lord, yet Without sin, Mar 3:5; Mar 10:14.

2) “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (ho helios me epidueto epi parorgism humon) “Do not permit the sun to set or go down upon your provocation.” Get rid of your anger, provocation, and emotional wrath, ere darkness falls; by putting it away, laying it aside as soiled garments of stench, by praying for the objects of your provocation ere, you lie down to rest This is God’s charge for Christian church members. Be quickly reconciled! How important this is in the Christian home life for husbands and wives, parents and children, Pro 19:11; Pro 16:32; Jas 1:19.

THE SUN IS ALMOST DOWN

Two good men on some occasion had a warm dispute, and remembering the exhortation of the Apostle, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath,” just before sunset one of them went to the other; and knocking at the door, his offended friend came and opened it, and seeing who it was, started back in astonishment and surprise; the other, at the same time, cried out, “The sun is almost down.” This unexpected salutation softened the heart of his friend into affection, and he returned for answer, “Come in, brother, come in.” What a happy method of conciliating matters, of redressing grievances, and of reconciling brethren.

__G ray-Adams Commentary

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

26. Be ye angry, and sin not. Whether or not the apostle had in his eye a part of the fourth Psalm is uncertain. The words used by him ( ᾿Οργίζεσθε καὶ υὴ ἁμαρτάνετε) occur in the Greek translation, though the word ὀργίζεσθε, which is translated, be ye angry, is considered by some to mean tremble. (150) The Hebrew verb רגז ( ragaz) signifies either to be agitated by anger, or, to tremble. As to the passage of the Psalm, the idea of trembling will be quite appropriate. “Do not choose to resemble madmen, who rush fearlessly in any direction, but let the dread of being accounted foolhardy keep you in awe.” The word sometimes signifies to strive or quarrel, as, in that instance, (Gen 45:24,) “See that ye fall not out by the way;” and accordingly, the Psalmist adds, “Commune with your own heart, and be still,” — abstain from furious encounters.

In my opinion, Paul merely alludes to the passage with the following view. There are three faults by which we offend God in being angry. The first is, when our anger arises from slight causes, and often from no cause whatever, or at least from private injuries or offenses. The second is, when we go beyond the proper bounds, and are hurried into intemperate excesses. The third is, when our anger, which ought to have been directed against ourselves or against sins, is turned against our brethren. Most appropriately, therefore, did Paul, when he wished to describe the proper limitation of anger, employ the well-known passage, Be ye angry, and sin not. We comply with this injunction, if the objects of our anger are sought, not in others, but in ourselves, — if we pour out our indignation against our own faults. With respect to others, we ought to be angry, not at their persons, but at their faults; nor ought we to be excited to anger by private offenses, but by zeal for the glory of the Lord. Lastly, our anger, after a reasonable time, ought to be allowed to subside, without mixing itself with the violence of carnal passions.

Let not the sun go down. It is scarcely possible, however, but that we shall sometimes give way to improper and sinful passion, — so strong is the tendency of the human mind to what is evil. Paul therefore suggests a second remedy, that we shall quickly suppress our anger, and not suffer it to gather strength by continuance. The first remedy was, Be ye angry, and sin not; but, as the great weakness of human nature renders this exceedingly difficult, the next is — not to cherish wrath too long in our minds, or allow it sufficient time to become strong. He enjoins accordingly, let not the sun go down upon your wrath. If at any time we happen to be angry, let us endeavor to be appeased before the sun has set.

(150) “Stand in awe,” Psa 4:4. (English Version)

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(26) Be ye angry, and sin not.A quotation from the LXX. version of Psa. 4:4. Anger itself is not sin, for our Lord Himself felt it (Mar. 3:5) at the hardness of mens hearts; and it is again and again attributed to God Himself, in language no doubt of human accommodation, but, of course, accommodation to what is sinless in humanity. In the form of resentment, and above all of the resentment of righteous indignation, it performs (as Butler has shown in his sermon on Resentment) a stimulating and inspiring function in the strife against evil. But it is a dangerous and exceptional weapon: and hence the exhortation sin not, and the practical enforcement of that exhortation in the next clause.

Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.In this command (for which a Pythagorean parallel may be found) St. Paul gives a two-fold safeguard against abuse of even righteous anger. (1) It is not to be prolonged beyond the sunsetbeyond the sleep which ends the old day and leads in the freshness of the new, and which by any godly man must be prepared for in commendation of himself to God, and in prayer for His forgiveness, as we forgive those who trespass against us. (2) It is not to be brooded over and stimulated; for the word wrath is properly self-exasperation, being similar to the contention of Act. 15:30, described as alien to the spirit of love in 1Co. 13:5. It is that nursing of wrath to keep it warm, which can be checked even by those who cannot control the first outburst, and which constantly corrupts righteous indignation into selfish personal anger, if not into malignity.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

26. Be angry sin not And if there be no sinless anger, this forbids all anger. They are welcome to any anger which violates not this proviso. And no doubt there is a sinless anger. For anger is all adverse emotion in view of any wrong done to ourself or against any law of right, and often suggesting the due punishment of the wrongdoer. The emotion is, in itself, right; is consistent with uninterrupted love; may be proportioned to the object; and it may not break the clear self-possession or Christian serenity of the man. If this be not the case there is reason to suspect sin. If there be a fierce flash of the eye, a loud and forcible utterance, and an unfitting violence of words, very likely the sin not problem has not been well worked out.

Sun wrath Let the tranquillizing shades of evening compose the excitement of the emotion, even though it be your duty to see that the wrong be righted. When the excitement and the sun have gone down, you will have time to revise and settle if there be not some mistake; and your decisions in view of the fact that you desire to commit yourself into the hands of God in slumber, will be passionless and pure in the sight of God.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your angry mood. Neither give place to the Devil.’

The first phrase is taken from the LXX of Psa 4:5. It recognises that anger in itself is not necessarily wrong. Indeed it tells us that we need to be angry if the cause is good. But it is a command that when we are angry we ensure it is short lasting and does not make us do wrong. The man who is too angry is least likely to make the right decisions.

At times anger against sin and wrongdoing is justified, and must be approved of, but not if it results in our behaving wrongly and failing to reveal the love of Christ. Nor if it festers in our hearts and minds. What we call ‘righteous anger’ is often extremely unrighteous and self-defensive, and can reveal that the old man is still very much alive. As Paul says, we must be very careful, for wrongful anger gives a foothold to the Devil. We must bolt the door against him, for, as a Spanish proverb says, ‘from the fast-bolted door the Devil turns away’.

We can compare incidents in the life of Moses. He had every right to be angry with the constant failure and unbelief of the children of Israel, but he had no right to break the tablets written on by the finger of God (Exo 32:19) and even less right to strike the rock twice in anger. The first was forgiven but the second blighted his future (Num 20:11-12).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Eph 4:26. Be ye angry, and sin not: It is evident that this is not a command to be angry, but a concession only, with a caution to beware of sinning in it. Comp. Isa 8:9-10. Nah 3:14-15. Some would read this interrogatively,Are ye angry, yet sin not? The next is a Hebrew expression,used to intimate that a thing necessary to be done, should not be prolonged or delayed;and an allusion to Deu 21:23 to this effect: “If thepunishments inflicted by the law were not to be extended to the going down of the sun, much less should private resentments be extended longer.” This was agreeable to the practice of the Pythagoreans, who used always, if the members of their sect had any difference with each other, to give tokens of reconciliation before the sun went down.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Eph 4:26-27 . See Zyro in the Stud. u. Krit. 1841, p. 681 ff.

] a precept expressed literally after the LXX. Psa 4:5 , as to which it must be left undetermined whether Paul understood the original text [244] as the LXX. did, or chose this form only in recollection of the LXX., without attending to the original text. To the right understanding of the sense (which Paul would have expressed by , or something similar, if that definite form of expression in the LXX. had not presented itself to him) the observation of Bengel guides us: “Saepe vis modi cadit super partem duntaxat sermonis, Jer 10:24 ” (comp. also Isa 12:1 ; Mat 11:25 ; and see Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 249 f. [E. T. 290]). Here, namely, the vis modi lies upon the second imperative (comp. passages like Joh 1:47 ; Joh 7:52 ): be angry and sin not , i.e. in anger do not fall into transgression ; so that Paul forbids the combination of the with the . Comp. Matthies: “In the being angry let it not come to sin;” Harless: “Be angry in the right way, without your sinning.” [245] Paul, therefore, does not forbid the in itself, and could not forbid it, because there is (see Wuttke, Sittenl . II. 243) a holy anger, [246] which is “ calcar virtutis ” (Seneca, de ira , iii. 3), as there is also a divine anger; the , however; is not to take place, but, on the contrary, the is to be without sin, consequently an . As regards the substantial sense, the same result is brought out with the usual explanation, but it is usually believed (and already in the Constitutt. Apost. ii. 53. 2, the passage of the Psalm is so taken) that the imperative may be resolved conditionaliter in accordance with Hebrew usage: if ye are angry, do not sin (Isa 8:9 f.; Amo 5:4 ; Amo 5:6 , al. ). So also Koppe, Flatt, Rckert, Holzhausen, Meier, Olshausen, Zyro, Baumgarten-Crusius, Bleek. But the combination of two imperatives connected by and , like: do this, and live , Gen 42:18 , comp. Isa 8:9 , and similar passages, a combination, moreover, which is not a Hebraism, but a general idiom of language (comp. divide et impera ), is not at all in point here, because it would lead to the in this case absurd analysis: “if ye are angry, ye shall not sin.” Winer, p. 279 [E. T. 391 f.], allows the taking of the first imperative in a permissive sense; comp. Krger, 54, 4. 2. In this way we should obtain as result: “ be angry (I cannot hinder it), but only do not sin .” So also de Wette. No doubt a permission of anger, because subsequently . follows, would not be in conflict with Eph 4:31 , where manifestly all hostile anger is forbidden; but the mere is only logically correct when both imperatives are thought of in the same sense, not the former as permitting and the latter as enjoining, in which case the combination becomes exceptive (“only, however”), which would be expressed by , , or . [247] Beza, Piscator, Grotius, and others take . interrogatively: “ irascimini? et ne peccate .” Against this we cannot urge the objection usually taken since the time of Wolf the , which often in rapid emotion strikes in with some summons (Hartung, Partikell . I. p. 148); but we may urge the fact that Paul reproduces a passage of the LXX . (which, it is true, is quite arbitrarily denied by Beza and Koppe) in which . is imperative , and that such an abrupt and impassioned question and answer would not be in keeping with the whole calm and sober tone of the discourse.

] forbids every kind of sinning, to which anger may lead. Zyro, after Neander, would limit it to the hostile relation towards others , which, however, is purely a supplied thought ( , or the like).

] not included as belonging to the words of the Psalm, states in what way the given precept is to be carried out; namely, (1) the irritation must be laid aside on the same day, and (2) no scope may therein be given to the devil.

. . .] Comp. Deu 24:13 ; Deu 24:15 ; Jer 15:9 ; Philo, de Legg. Spec. II. p. 324. On the citation of these words in Polyc. Phil . 12, see Introd. 3. The is to be taken: go down over your irritation. Comp. also Hom. Il. ii. 413, and Faesi in loc. (Ngelsbach in loc. takes another view). That the night is here conceived of as the nurse of wrath (Fathers in Suicer, I. p. 1323; Bengel, and others), or that the eventide of prayer is thought of (Baumgarten), is arbitrarily assumed. Jerome and Augustine interpreted it even of Christ , the Sun of Righteousness, and Lombard of the sun of reason! The meaning of these words, to be taken quite literally (comp. the custom of the Pythagoreans: , , Plut. de am. frat . p. 488 B), is no other than: before evening let your irritation be over , by which the very speedy, undelayed abandoning of anger is concretely represented.

is the arousing of wrath, exacerbatio , from which , as a lasting mood, is different. Comp. LXX. 1Ki 15:30 , al. In the Greek writers the word does not occur. We may add that Zanchius and Holzhausen are mistaken in holding the in the word to indicate unrighteous irritation. See, on the other hand, e.g. Rom 10:19 ; Eze 32:9 . It denotes the excitement brought upon us .

] nor yet , for the annexation of a new clause falling to be added. See Hartung, Partikell . I. p. 210. The Recepta would so place the two prohibitions side by side, that they ought properly to be connected by neither nor ( ), but that Paul had not yet thought of this in the first clause, but had written the simple , and had only at the second clause changed the conception into such a form as if he had previously written (comp. our: not nor ). This usage is met with (in opposition to Elmsley) also in classical writers, although more rarely (see Klotz, ad Devar. p. 709; Bornemann, ad Xen. Anab. iv. 8. 3, p. 303, Lips.; Maetzn. ad Antiph. p. 195 f.), but not elsewhere in Paul, and hence is not probable here.

] i.e. give scope, opportunity for being active . See on Rom 12:19 .

] to the devil ; for he is denoted by in all passages of the N.T., where it is not an adjective (1Ti 3:11-12 ; 2Ti 3:3 ; Tit 2:3 ), even in 1Ti 3:6 ; Joh 6:70 . Hence Erasmus (not in the Paraphr .), Luther, Erasmus Schmid, Michaelis, Zachariae, Moras, Stolz, Flatt, and others (Koppe is undecided) are in error in holding that is here equivalent to calumniator ; in which view Erasmus thought of the heathen slandering the Christians, to whom they were to furnish no material; and most expositors thought of the tale-bearers nursing disputes, to whom they were not to lend an ear. In an irritated frame of mind passion easily gains the ascendancy over sobriety and watchfulness, and that physical condition is favourable to the devil for his work of seducing into everything that is opposed to God. Comp. 1Pe 5:8 ; 2Co 2:11 ; Eph 6:11 ff. Harless refers the danger on the part of the devil to the corruption of the church-life (comp. Erasmus, Paraphr .), the fellowship of which, in the absence of placability, is rent by the devil. But this, as not implied in the context, must have been said by an addition ( , or the like, after ).

The name does not occur elsewhere in the undoubtedly genuine Epistles of the apostle; but this, considering the equally general currency of the two names devil and Satan, may be accidental Comp. also Act 13:10 . We may add that the citation of the Clementines ( Hom. xix. 2): , has nothing to do with our passage (in opposition to Schwegler, l.c. p. 394 f.).

[244] The words of the original, , mean: tremble, and err not (Ewald), with which David calls upon his enemies to tremble on account of their iniquities towards him, the favourite of God, and not further to sin. Comp. also Hupfeld in loc. Yet other recent scholars, including Hitzig, have translated, in harmony with the LXX.: Be angry, but offend not.

[245] When, however, Harless would assign to our passage a place “not under the head of anger, but under that of placability,” he overlooks the fact that in anger one may commit sin otherwise than by implacability; and that the following . . . brings into prominence only a single precept falling under the .

[246] That this, however, is not meant in ver. 31, see on that verse.

[247] This is no “philological theorizing,” but is based on logical necessity. No instance can be adduced in which, of two imperatives coupled by , the former is to be taken as concessive and the second as preceptive, in contrast to the former. To refer to Jer 10:24 as a parallel, as Winer does, is erroneous, for the very reason that in that passage which, however, in general is very different from ours

, not , is used.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Ver. 26. Be angry and sin not ] The easiest charge under the hardest condition that can be. Anger is a tender virtue, and must be warily managed. He that will be angry and not sin, let him be angry at nothing but sin.

Let not the sun go down ] If ye have overshot in passion, let it not rest or roost in you, lest it become malice. Plutarch writeth that it was the custom of Pythagoras’ scholars, however they had been at odds, jarring and jangling in their disputations, yet before the sun set to kiss and shake hands as they departed out of the school. a How many are there that professing themselves the scholars of Christ, do yet nevertheless not only let the sun go down, but go round his whole course, and can find no time from one end of the year to the other to compose and lay aside their discords! How should this fire be raked up when the curfew bell rings! William the Conqueror commanded that cover-few (curfew) bell. It were well that some were admonished every night to cover the fire of their passions, that their wrath might not be memor ira, unforgetable wrath, as Virgil hath it, and , as that of the Athenians, who hated all barbarians, for the Persians’ sake, and forbade them their sacrifices, as they used to do murderers. (Rous’s Arch. Attic.) Leontius Patritius was one day extremely and unreasonably angry with John, Patriarch of Alexandria: at evening, the patriarch sent a servant to him with this message; “Sir, the sun is set;” upon which Patritius reflecting, and the grace of God making the impression deep, he threw away his anger, and became wholly subject to the counsel of the patriarch. (Taylor’s Life and Death of Christ.)

a Plut. lib. .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

26 .] Be ye angry and sin not (citation: see ref. Psa.: and that from the LXX, not from the Hebrew, which (see Hupfeld on the Psalms in loc.) means ‘ tremble (‘stand in awe,’ E. V.) and sin not.’ The first imperative, although jussive, is so in a weaker degree than the other: it is rather assumptive, than permissive.

‘Be angry (if it must be so):’ as if he had said, 1Co 7:31 , (for that must be), . As Chr., , . Thus Tholuck’s question, Bergpred., p. 186, is answered: “If Paul speaks of culpable anger, how can he distinguish sinning from being angry? If of allowable anger, how can he expect not to retain it over the night?” the answer being, that he speaks of anger which is an infirmity, but by being cherished, may become a sin): let the sun not set upon (so Thuc. has, ) your irritation (i.e. set to your wrath with a brother (in every case: the omission of the art. gives the sense ‘ upon any ’) a speedy limit, and indeed that one which nature prescribes the solemn season when you part from that brother to meet again perhaps in eternity. The Commentators quote from Plut. de am. frat., p. 488 B, a custom of the Pythagoreans, , , . .

is a late word, apparently not found beyond the N. T. and LXX: the verb – occurs ch. Eph 6:4 , where see note. The – implies, irritation on occasion given , as in , ),

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Eph 4:26 . : be ye angry, and sin not . The words are taken from Psa 4:4 , and follow the LXX rendering. The original Hebrew, , is rendered by some “Tremble and sin not” (Ewald; AV, “Stand in awe and sin not”), i.e. , = “let wholesome fear keep you from this sinful course”; by others, as the LXX gives it (Hitz., Del., etc.). As used by Paul here the words recognise the fact that anger has its rightful place and may be a duty, while they indicate also how easily it may pass into the sinful. Great difficulty has been felt with this, and in various ways it has been sought to empty the injunction of its obvious meaning. Some take the first imperative conditionally , as if = “if ye are angry, do not sin” (Olsh., Bleek, etc.); others, in a way utterly at variance with the quotation, take as an interrogative (Beza, Grot.); others declare it impossible to take the first command as direct (Buttm., Gram. of N. T. Greek , p. 290), or deal with the first imper. as permissive , and with the second as jussive (Winer, De Wette, etc.), as if = “be ye angry if it must be so, but only do not sin”. Such a construction might be allowable if the first imper. were followed by or some similar disjunctive: but with the simple it is inadmissible. Both impers. are real jussives, the only difference between them being in the which also throws some emphasis on the second. The has here the rhetorical sense which is found also in atque , adding something that seems not quite consistent with the preceding or that qualifies it, = “and yet” ( cf. Mat 3:14 ; Mat 6:26 ; Mat 10:29 , etc.). Nor is the difficulty in admitting to be a real injunction of anger anything more than a self-made difficulty. Moralists of different schools, the Stoics excepted. have recognised the place of anger in a moral nature; cf., e.g. , Plato’s ; Butler’s statement of the function of anger in a moral system as “a balance to the weakness of pity” and a “counterpoise to possible excess in another part of our nature,” Sermons , Carmichael’s ed., pp. 126, 128. A righteous wrath is acknowledged in Scripture as something that not only may be but ought to be, and is seen in Christ Himself (Mar 3:5 ). So Paul speaks here of an anger that is approvable and to be enjoined, while in the he forbids only a particular form or measure of anger. As the following clause suggests, even a righteous wrath by over-indulgence may pass all too easily into sin. : let not the sun go down upon your provocation . For the expression cf. Deu 24:13 ; Deu 24:15 ; Jer 15:9 ; also Hom., Il. , ii., 413, and Plutarch’s statement of the Pythagorean custom , ( De Am. frat. , p. 488 B). , inserted by the TR, is supported by [454] [455] [456] [457] [458] 3 , etc.; it is omitted by the best critics (LTTrWHRV) on the authority of [459] [460] 1 [461] , etc. The noun occurs only here in the NT; never, as it would appear, in non-biblical Greek; but occasionally in the LXX ( 1Ki 15:30 ; 2Ki 23:26 ; Neh 9:18 ). It differs from in denoting not the disposition of anger or anger as a lasting mood, but provocation, exasperation , sudden, violent anger. Such anger cannot be indulged long, but must be checked and surrendered without delay. To suppose any allusion here to sunset as the time for prayer or to night as increasing wrath by giving opportunity of brooding, is to import something entirely foreign to the simplicity of the words as a statement of limitation .

[454] Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[455] Codex Augiensis (sc. ix.), a Grco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almost identical with that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.

[456] Codex Mosquensis (sc. ix.), edited by Matthi in 1782.

[457] Codex Angelicus (sc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[458] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[459] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[460] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[461] Codex Alexandrinus (sc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

angry. Greek. orgizo, imperative. Positive command, the context showing that “righteous indignation” is referred to.

and = yet.

sin not. Literally be not sinning. Compare 1Jn 2:1. Greek. hamartano. App-128. The anger is to be transitory. The quotation is from Psa 4:4 (Septuagint), where Hebrew reads, “tremble, and sin not”, the meaning of which is shown by the use here, for it is as easy to tremble from anger as from other powerful emotions.

go down. Greek. epiduo. Only here.

upon. App-104.

wrath. Greek. parorgismos. Only here. The verb occurs Eph 6:4, and compare Rom 10:19, the only other occ

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

26.] Be ye angry and sin not (citation: see ref. Psa.: and that from the LXX, not from the Hebrew, which (see Hupfeld on the Psalms in loc.) means tremble (stand in awe, E. V.) and sin not. The first imperative, although jussive, is so in a weaker degree than the other: it is rather assumptive, than permissive.

Be angry (if it must be so): as if he had said, 1Co 7:31, (for that must be), . As Chr., , . Thus Tholucks question, Bergpred., p. 186, is answered:-If Paul speaks of culpable anger, how can he distinguish sinning from being angry? If of allowable anger, how can he expect not to retain it over the night?-the answer being, that he speaks of anger which is an infirmity, but by being cherished, may become a sin): let the sun not set upon (so Thuc. has, ) your irritation (i.e. set to your wrath with a brother (in every case: the omission of the art. gives the sense upon any ) a speedy limit, and indeed that one which nature prescribes-the solemn season when you part from that brother to meet again perhaps in eternity. The Commentators quote from Plut. de am. frat., p. 488 B, a custom of the Pythagoreans, , , . .

is a late word, apparently not found beyond the N. T. and LXX: the verb – occurs ch. Eph 6:4, where see note. The – implies, irritation on occasion given, as in , ),

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Eph 4:26. , be angry and sin not) So the LXX, Psa 4:5. Anger is neither commanded, nor quite prohibited; but this is commanded, not to permit sin to enter into anger: it is like poison, which is sometimes used as medicine, but must be managed with the utmost caution. Often the force of the mood [the Imperative mood] falls only upon a part of what is said, Jer 10:24.[71]- , the sun) The feeling kept up during the night is deeply seated.- , let-not go down) Deu 24:15, , the sun shall not go down upon it.- , upon your wrath[72]) Not only should wrath cease, but a brother should be put right without delay, and reconciliation take place, especially with a neighbour whom you will not see afterwards in this life,[73] or whom you have seen for the first time in the street, at an entertainment, or in the market-place.

[71] O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not in thine anger. Where the force falls on the imperat. correct, not in its full extent, but with the limitations, with judgment, and not in thine anger: in fact, the main force rests on these limitations.-ED.

[72] is not = . The former is absolutely forbidden: the latter not so. See Mar 3:5, where is applied to the sinless Jesus. The sense is not. Your anger shall not be imputed to you if you put it away before nightfall; but let no , irritation or exasperation, mingle with your anger, even though your anger be righteous. Trench, Syn. Gr. Test. Engl. V. loses this point by translating wrath. However, I think there is also included the notion, that even righteous anger, if kept up too long, is likely in us to degenerate into irritation.-ED.

[73] Beng. seems by this to take the sun going down as also figurative, for life coming to a close without a reconciliation.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Eph 4:26

Eph 4:26

Be ye angry, and sin not:-This is not an exhortation to be angry, neither is it a prohibition to be angry. Anger is not necessarily sinful. God is angry with the wicked every day. Christ at times had his heart stirred to its very depths with indignation and anger (Mar 3:5), being grieved and angered at the hardness of heart of the people. Oftentimes the Christian is brought face to face with sin, corruption, and crime so iniquitous that it would be a sin not to manifest deep indignation-a holy indignation. But when he becomes so aroused there is great danger of sinning, of rashly doing a wrong that cannot be corrected, he must be doubly guarded lest he sin. There is oftentimes more true heroism in the Christian, unseen by man, choking back the rising passion and refusing to give expression to the angry feelings when he has been so provoked and annoyed by those he loves than in performing deeds of great danger that the world calls great. But a feeling of angry indignation that in its first arousing is harmless, or even praiseworthy, by being harbored and kept alive, soon degenerates into malice and hatred which is always exceedingly sinful. There is possibly no more cause of sin and the difficulty in a church than being ignorant of the Lords instructions as to how to control wrath after it is aroused.

let not the sun go down upon your wrath:-Let your wrath subside quickly. Wrath cherished soon develops into malice. He who cherishes angry, bitter, or vindictive feelings in his heart toward another will soon come to feel a hatred that will destroy all the pure and holy influences of the soul, and destroy the peace of the bosom in which it dwells, and the happiness of all around.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

sin

Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

ye: Eph 4:31, Eph 4:32, Exo 11:8, Exo 32:21, Exo 32:22, Num 20:10-13, Num 20:24, Num 25:7-11, Neh 5:6-13, Psa 4:4, Psa 37:8, Psa 106:30-33, Pro 14:29, Pro 19:11, Pro 25:23, Ecc 7:9, Mat 5:22, Mar 3:5, Mar 10:14, Rom 12:19-21, Jam 1:19

let: Deu 24:15

Reciprocal: Gen 27:41 – then Gen 30:2 – anger Gen 31:36 – was wroth Exo 16:20 – and Moses Exo 32:19 – anger Lev 10:16 – angry Num 16:15 – very wroth Num 31:14 – wroth Deu 24:13 – the sun 1Sa 11:6 – his anger 1Sa 20:34 – in fierce 1Sa 25:21 – Surely 2Sa 13:22 – hated Job 32:2 – kindled Amo 1:11 – kept Mat 18:22 – but Mar 6:19 – a quarrel 2Co 7:11 – indignation Col 3:8 – anger 1Jo 2:1 – that

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

USES OF ANGER

Doest thou well to be angry? Be ye angry, and sin not.

Jon 4:4 (with Eph 4:26).

The former text implies that there is an anger which is sinful; and the latter text implies that there is an anger which is not sinful. The difference lies not so much in the character, or even in the degree of the emotion; but rather in the motive which rouses it, and the object towards which it is directed.

I. There is a feeling to which we give the name of moral indignation; by way of distinguishing it from other kinds of anger, more or less selfish and self-asserting; moral indignation is characterised chiefly by thisthat it is quite unselfish. It is the feeling which rises in the breast of a man when he reads of or looks upon the ill-treatment of an animal, or the deception of a child, or the insulting of a woman. To stand by and see these things without remonstrance or without interference, is not forbearance; it is a cowardice, it is an unmanliness, it is a sin.

II. There is a place, again, and room for anger, not only in the contemplation of wrong, but in the personal experience of temptation.There is an indignation, there is even a resentment, there is even a rage and fury, which may be employed, without offence to the Gospel, in repelling such an assault. Nor is that anger necessarily misplaced, because the lips of friendship or love are those which play the seducer. The tempter, like the bully, is a coward; the very eye undimmed by sinning will scare him off, like the rising sun of the Psalmist, to lay him down in his den.

III. Be angry with yourself, and sin not; let the time of this ignorance and folly and fatuity go at last and bury itself; awake to righteousness, and sin not; see if a moral indignation, powerful against others, may not beneficially be tried against yourself.

Dean Vaughan.

Illustration

Jonah is so sullenly disappointed that he considers life not worth living. This extravagant and almost ridiculous situation of the prophet, chiding and disappointed in God for being too loving and patient, is designed by the writer to bring vividly before the Jewish people the absurdity of their limitation of Gods love to themselves alone. It was a lesson they had not learned in the time of our Lords life on earth, and one of their chief objections to Him was that His mercy transgressed their ceremonial laws, and His love was too gracious to sinners.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

(Eph 4:26.) -Be ye angry and sin not. This language is the same as the Septuagint translation of Psa 4:4. The verb bear such a sense, as Hengstenberg maintains,-Pro 29:9; Isa 28:21; Eze 16:43,-though Gesenius, Hupfeld, Ewald, and Phillips maintain that the meaning is tremble, or stand in awe, as in the English version. Delitzsch also renders Bebet-quake, Tholuck, Erzittert, and J. Olshausen, Zittert. The Hebrew verb is of the same stock with the Greek and the Saxon rage, and denotes strong emotion. The peculiar idiom has been variously understood: 1. Some understand it thus-If ye should be angry, see that ye do not sin. Such is the view of Chrysostom, Theophylact, OEcumenius, Piscator, Wolf, Koppe, Flatt, Rckert, Olshausen, Holzhausen, Meier, and Bishop Butler; while Harless supposes the meaning to be-zrnet in der rechten Weise-be angry in the right way. Hitzig renders it grollet, aber verfehlt euch nicht. 2. Beza, Grotius, Clarius, and Zeltner take the first verb in an interrogative sense-Are ye angry? It is plain that the simple construction of the second clause forbids such a supposition. The opinion of the Greek fathers has been defended by a reference to Hebrew syntax, in which, when two imperatives are joined, the first expresses a condition, and the second a result. Gesenius, 127, 2; Nordheimer, 1008. This clause does not, however, come under such a category, for its fair interpretation under such a law would be-Be angry, and so ye shall not sin, or, as in the common phrase-divide et impera-divide, and thou shalt conquer. The second imperative does not express result, but contemporaneous feeling. 3. Nor do we see any go od grounds for adopting the notion of a permissive imperative, as is argued for by Winer, 43, 2-Be angry-(I cannot prevent it). 1Co 7:13. As Meyer has remarked, there is no reason why the one imperative should be permissive and the other jussive, when both are connected by the simple . 4. The phrase is idiomatic-Be angry-(when occasion requires), but sin not; the main force being on the second imperative with . It is objected to this view by Olshausen and others, that anger is forbidden in the 31st verse. But the anger there reprobated is associated with dark malevolence, and regarded as the offspring of it. Anger is not wholly forbidden, as Olshausen imagines it is. It is an instinctive principle-a species of thorny hedge encircling our birthright. But in the indulgence of it, men are very apt to sin, and therefore they are cautioned against it. If a mere trifle put them into a storm of fury-if they are so excitable as to fall into frequent fits of ungovernable passion, and lose control of speech or action-if urged by an irascible temper they are ever resenting fancied affronts and injuries, then do they sin. Mat 5:21-22. But specially do they sin, and herein lies the danger, if they indulge anger for an improper length of time:-

-let not the sun go down upon your indignation. Similar phraseology occurs in Deu 24:15; in Philo, and in Plutarch. See Wetstein, in loc. , a term peculiar to biblical Greek, is a fit of indignation or exasperation; -referring to the cause or occasion; while the , to be put away from Christians, is the habitual indulgence of anger. 1Ki 15:30; 2Ki 23:26; Neh 9:18. is not in this clause absolutely forbidden, as Trench wrongly supposes (Synon. p. 141), but it is to cease by sunset. The day of anger should be the day of reconciliation. It is to be but a brief emotion, slowly excited and very soon dismissed. If it be allowed to lie in the mind, it degenerates into enmity, hatred, or revenge, all of which are positively and in all circumstances sinful. To harbour ill-will; to feed a grudge, and keep it rankling in the bosom; or to wait a fitting opportunity for successful retaliation, is inconsistent with Christian discipleship-Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Augustine understands by sun, the Sun of righteousness (on Psalms 25; Op. vol. iv. p. 15, ed. Paris), and Anselm the sun of reason. Theodoret well says- . The Pythagorean disciple was to be placated, and to shake hands with his foe- . Plutarch, de Am. Frat. 488, b.

Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians

Eph 4:26. The mere fact of being angry does not constitute sin, for Jesus looked upon the people with anger (Mar 3:5), and God is angry with the wicked every day (Psa 7:11). The sin consists in what one allows his anger to lead him into doing. That is why the apostle adds the warning not to let the sun go down upon one’s wrath. That is, do not harbor the angry thoughts, but banish them before the day comes to a close, lest they finally tempt us into committing some sin.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Eph 4:26. Be angry and sin not Psa 4:5 is here cited. Both verbs are imperative, not the first conditional. Wrath, for this is the proper force, is not only allowable, but in certain cases commanded, yet in no case should sin be joined with it. This throws the emphasis on the second member of the sentence, so that the first becomes more of an assumption than a command: Be angry (for this must be so) and do not sin. There is no necessity for supposing that all wrath is sinful. Sinless wrath is like the wrath of God, and needs no excuse; but our wrath is rarely like Gods.

Let not the sun go down upon your irritations. The article is omitted by some of the most ancient authorities. If retained it points to the irritation in consequence of being angry. Even allowable anger should not continue. If the article be omitted, the precept is more general, forbidding the continuance of any irritation, This term occurs only here, and means a condition of aroused wrath. The reference to the going down of the sun is a reminiscence of Deu 25:13-15, according to which the poor man should receive his cloak, given in pledge, and wages should be paid before sun-down (Braune). The limit need not be applied too literally, but night is a good season for the growth of the forbidden feeling. The verse teaches that anger may be right, but is far more likely to be wrong; that it certainly is if it lasts long, and becomes worse by giving entrance to Satan.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Some understand these words only as a cautionary direction, and sense them thus: If ye be angry at any time, take heed that ye sin not, by exceeding due bounds; and if at any time it doth so, suppress it speedily, before the sun go down. This was a practice even amongst the heathen; before the sun went down, they would shake hands and embrace one another; to the shame of Christians, who gave place to the devil, according to the known proverb, Contubernalem habet diabolum, qui lectum petit iratus. “He that goes angry to bed, has the devil for his chamber-fellow;” yea, for his bed-fellow! nay, he lies not only in his bed, but in his bosom.

Others understand the words as a precept and command: Be angry, but take heed of sinful anger. Now the way to be angry and not sin, is to be angry at nothing but at sin; it is our duty to be angry when we see others depart from their duty. Meek Moses, who was cool enough in his own cause, was not so in God’s; he has no zeal for God, that is not moved when he sees or hears God dishonoured.

Learn hence, 1. That anger being an affection implanted by God in the human nature, is not in itself evil or sinful, but in some cases a necessary duty.

Learn hence, 2. That there is an easy and ready passage from what is lawful to what is sinful, Be angry, and sin not; implying, that it is a very easy matter to sin in our anger, and no easy matter to be angry and not to sin.

Learn, 3. That it is very difficult, if not impossible, to avoid sin in our anger, if we let anger hang upon our spirits, and continue with us; anger may pass through the heart of a wise man, but rests in the bosom of fools: anger against sin must continue, but continuance in anger will be sinful.

To prevent the sin of immoderate anger, these rules will be useful:

1. Desire not to hear what others say of thee, lest you want patience to bear what you hear; many tear themselves with anger, when they hear themselves torn with slander; we had better be in the dark concerning our own wrongs, than by knowing of them wrong ourselves by passion or desire of revenge.

2. What you do hear said of you, interpret always in the most favourable sense; call it an infirmity, and distinguish between what is spoken and the intent of the speaker.

3. In and under all provocations, cast your eye upward, look up to God; and cast your eye inward, and see what you have deserved; though not at your neighbour’s hand, yet at God’s hand. Shimel gave David provocation to boil up his anger to the height of fury, 2Sa 16:5,but by eyeing God, how calm and meek was his spirit! Thus, be angry, and sin not.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

ARGUMENT 21

PRACTICAL HOLINESS

26. Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down on your provocation. The Greek word translated angry, is the same we have in Luke, who says our Savior looked on them with anger, being grieved on account of the hardness of their hearts, revealing our Saviors holy grief as the definition of orgidzoo, anger.

Hence, we see that if you get angry, and sin not i.e., have no sin in it there will be nothing indulged but holy grief in contemplation of wrong; i.e., you will simply be angry in the sense in which God is angry. God sees all the evil in the world, and is infinitely grieved over it. The more holy we become, the more acutely we discern, disapprove, and grieve over all evil; i.e., we are angry, but sin not; i.e., there is no sin in our anger. The sun is going down every moment on some meridian of the earth.

Hence, the going down of the sun signifies the daily current events of life, involving the idea that we are to receive no provocation at any time, lest the sun go down onit. Wicked men and devils are constantly offering us provocation. But entire sanctification is the investiture of true wisdom, incessantly fortifying us against the reception of evil, though ever so alluringly and importunately enforced on us by human and demoniacal agencies. An insult is a filthy, loathing stench in the nostrils of purity. Shall I be gumpish enough to receive it? God forbid!

28. The man who cheats or defrauds in any way, or endeavors to acquire ill-gotten gains, is a thief in the sight of God. If you cheat a man out of a dollar, God condemns you for stealing the dollar. The little rogues steal in the night,, and expiate their crimes in the penitentiary.

The big rogues steal while looking you in the face. Then you honor them with a place on the judicial bench, where they condemn the little thieves. If a man can steal enough to become very rich, you will promote him to high offices of honor in Church and State. We see from this Scripture that a man is not justifiable for idleness because he is rich. It is his duty to labor with his own hands, that he may have to give to the needy.

29. Your mouth belongs to God. Hence, you can not let the devil use it for obscene, vain, trifling, or foolish utterances with impunity.

30. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you have been sealed unto the day of redemption. In regeneration, the Holy Spirit writes you up, and sends you into the world Gods letter, to be read by all men. (2 Corinthians 3) In sanctification, the letter is sealed by the Holy Ghost, securing the contents against robbery. If this is not done, Satan will steal away your letter, leaving you the old, empty envelope to meet the Judge of all the earth. Redemption is the glorious transfiguration of your body,. when this mortal shall put on immortality, and death shall be swallowed up of life. The day of redemption is the great day of all days when our glorious Lord shall return and call his saints to meet him in the air. The sealing of the Holy Ghost i.e. entire sanctification is the qualification for the momentous ordeal of meeting our descending Lord. Has the Holy Ghost written you into a letter of God to the world, and sealed you against all the intrigues of the devil?

31. Here we have a black catalogue of ugly things, which forever depart with the exit of sin and the ingress of the Holy Ghost. Lord, help us all to verify this commandment!

32. The saints of God are exceptions in the world for their goodness, kindness, and philanthropy, delighted with opportunities freely to forgive, and joyfully to confer benefactions. While Christ sitteth on the mediatorial throne, hidden beyond the glittering stars, his loving bride, exhibiting his image and likeness, still walks the earth, reflecting the loving kindness, tender mercies, and heavenly benefactions of her Divine Spouse.

1,2. Like our ascended Lord, we are to be a perpetual sacrifice on Gods altar, emitting the sweet savor of holiness to the Lord.

3. Here we see covetousness, the crying sin of the popular Churches of this day, and so magnetic as to escape exposition and condemnation from the pulpit, here catalogued with fornication and impurity, and interdicted so much as a mention among the saints.

4. And scandal or foolish talking or indecent jesting, which are unbecoming, but rather the giving of thanks. For many years a secular paper has not been permitted to enter my house, from the simple fact that they carry Satans carrion. You can not mention scandal with impunity. If you tamper with it, you will get polluted. You can not indulge in foolish talk, or even listen to it, without grieving the Holy Spirit; while indecent jesting is simply abominable in the sight of God and all good people. During the Confederate War, while General Grant was in his headquarters, surrounded by his military magnates, a Federal officer rushes in a great glee, looking around, says: I believe there are no ladies present. I have something wonderfully good to tell. At that moment the old General bluntly interjected, But I will let you know there are gentlemen present. The man took the hint, and never told the joke.

At that time General Grant did not profess Christianity, but his manly decorum revolted at the thought of hearing anything too obscene for repetition in the presence of ladies. It is scandalous, diabolical, and barbaric for men to indulge in conversation incompatible with the presence of women. This verse ought to be written up in a motto, and rendered conspicuous in every home, church, and business circle. Scandal, foolish talking, and indecent jesting among the laity, and even the ministry, cause wholesale backsliding, as it is impossible to indulge in these vices and frivolities without grieving the Holy Spirit. Inadvertent participation in these vanities will grieve away the Holy Spirit, and superinduce backsliding before you are aware. Thousands fall in this way, and wake up to find the Heavenly Dove mournfully absent, and wonder why he ever retreated away. Thomas a Kempis, the Roman Catholic confessor of entire sanctification, has written clearly and beautifully on this subject, especially warning the preachers.

5. Here again the Holy Ghost not only catalogues the covetous man right along with the fornicator and the debaucher, but he denominates him an idolater, certifying that he has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. This argument will bear the most logical scrutiny, as the covetous man piling up his hoarded self does not need it for sustenance, it follows, as a legitimate sequence, that he worships the sordid gold, and is therefore as base an idolater as ever bowed at the shrine of Jupiter.

6. Let no one deceive you with empty discourses; for through these things the wrath of God cometh on the sons of disobedience. The sad verification of this warning everywhere nowadays proclaims the awful apostasy of the latter days. The gospel has well-nigh gone out of the popular Churches. Paul defines the gospel as (Rom 1:16), the dynamite of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Hence, every discourse which is not charged with Gods dynamite to blow sin out of the heart, is empty and degospelized. Songs, prayers, testimonies, and sermons without the Holy Ghost are all empty, illusory, and susceptible of utilization by the devil, as greased planks on which to slide people into hell. No wonder our Savior forbade his own apostles to preach the gospel till after they received the Holy Ghost.

What a pity that every preacher does not lie prostrate before God till he fills him with the Holy Ghost, before he assumes the awful responsibility of standing between the living and the dead.

7-9. God is original light, perfectly free from darkness. Satan has not a solitary ray to cheer the black midnight of his hapless soul.

10,11. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather convict them. Convict is the verb form of elegchos, which is the verdict of the criminal judge against the accused, condemning him to his merited retribution. We are all custodians and exponents of Gods law, revealed in the Bible. Therefore, it is our province, like the criminal judge, to know no favorites, giving the gospel trumpet no uncertain sound, lifting high the glittering sword, cutting right and left without distinction or mercy, never softening what God has made hard, nor smoothing what God has made rough; but ringing out the truth fearlessly of men and devils, though it condemn the priest, the prophet, the king, and the potentate.

12-14. As the sun illuminates the material world, investing every substance with his light, which is reflected indiscriminately, thus rendering visible the material world; so the great Sun of righteousness transmits his light to all of his saints, which by them is reflected throughout the spiritual world. Hence, we are all walking luminaries in the providence of God, sent forth to irradiate the globe. Therefore, he says, awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon thee. Regeneration is the glorious resurrection of the human soul from the dead, rising out of Satans dreary kingdom, where black darkness and death eternally reign; the soul sweeps into the kingdom of God, opening his eyes to contemplate the glorious light pouring on him from the effulgent Christ, revealing to him the splendors, mysteries, and beauties of the spiritual world, which he never saw before.

15. This verse, in harmony with the Bible, denominates the people walking straight into hell foolish, and those who travel the heavenly highway as wise.

16. Buying in the opportunity, because the days are evil. When bright den went into eclipse, Satans reign of darkness, sin, and death sadly supervened. It has swept along like a desolating avalanche, nearly six thousand years, during which the saved are few; only here and there a traveler on the Kings highway, while the pell-mell multitudes rush at racehorse speed into hell. Therefore, it stands us in hand wisely to snatch every fleeting moment, thus buying in the opportunity to rescue the perishing.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Verse 26

Be ye angry, &c.; never let the feeling of displeasure at sin or injustice become unholy anger.–Let not the sun, &c.; be always ready to pass over and forgive offences, instead of harboring lasting resentment.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Ahhhhhhhh one of my favorite verses. Paul tells us to be angry, just don’t let the sun set on your anger. Isn’t that refreshing? NOT! Read that as a rhetorical question, “Be ye angry?” If so, sin not and take care of it before sundown.

There are two points to the matter of the anger. First it is a passive meaning that the anger is coming as a result of outside forces. Secondly, the word for angry used here is usually related to something that is from the inward or the cause of anger. In short this is anger that is generated because of something external that has happened. It is anger that your spouse causes in you because of something they said or did. It is anger that your congregant caused to well up within you. It is the anger that your pastor caused to be stirred within you.

If you have this sort of anger, deal with it before sundown. That would cure a heap of problems. Since this is the context of the church body, I wonder how much more peaceful churches might be if sundown was the extent of any anger/problem. Normally in churches we put up with this anger and it just dwells within and consumes our thoughts, our emotions and our time. Days often go by until the anger wells up and comes out at someone unrelated to the problem. Often we just bottle up this anger and never deal with it thus hindering ourselves and our usefulness within a church body.

Note that to be angry doesn’t seem to be the sin, but the not dealing with the anger is the sin. If this is in the context of the pastor irritating you, it is you that sins, it is you that will be suffering, and it is you that must correct the problem. Often these “church” problems are one sided. The offending party seldom knows that there is a problem.

“Exasperation” is another meaning of the word translated wrath, so it may not be just anger, it could simply be that you are really upset or up tight about a situation.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

4:26 {15} Be {k} ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down {l} upon your wrath:

(15) He teaches us how to bridle our anger in such a way that, even though our anger is fierce, yet it does not break out, and that it is without delay quenched before we sleep. And this is so that Satan may not take occasion to give us evil counsel through the wicked counsellor, and destroy us.

(k) If it so happens that you are angry, yet do not sin, that is, bridle your anger, and do not wickedly do that which you have wickedly conceived.

(l) Let not the night come upon you in your anger, that is, make atonement quickly, for all matters.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The second exhortation is to avoid sinning when angry and to deal with sin quickly if it does accompany anger (cf. Psa 4:4). Anger is not sinful in itself (cf. Joh 2:13-16). There is such a thing as righteous indignation (cf. Eph 5:6; Mar 3:5). [Note: See Daniel B. Wallace, "Orgizesthe in Eph 4:26 : Command or Condition?" Criswell Theological Review 3 (1989):352-72.] Still it is easy to lose control of our anger, to let it control us instead of controlling it. Anger becomes sinful when it is inappropriate. The way to deal with sinful anger is to confess it as sin (1Jn 1:9). If apologies to other people are necessary, we should offer them quickly as well. Letting the sun go down on one’s wrath is a figure of speech that emphasizes the need to deal with sin soon (cf. Deu 24:13-15). That we need not take it literally should be clear since the sun does not literally set on one’s anger since anger is not a physical object.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)