Turn, if you would, please, back to 1 Corinthians 13. And as you're turning to 1 Corinthians 13, I want to recount an episode that happened this afternoon as I was taking the longs back to their house. Some of you may know that Mrs. Long has recently begun a job and she works half a day, Monday to Friday. And so they were asking me if I could bring them some food for her lunch, her lunches. And we did that last week, bought some few items that she can make sandwiches and have a banana and some chips. And so I said, well, we'll come tomorrow, Monday, and do so, at least potentially. And he asked if it was possible if we could do so now. Now, this is about two o'clock or so, and I'm driving them home. And being the Lord's Day, normally we wouldn't go shopping, obviously. But factoring it all in, I thought, well, he said, is it any way possible, being the fact that she needs food for tomorrow? So I thought, well, it seemed like an appropriate thing to do. We'll go over to Save-A-Lot and get them just a few items that she can have for her lunches. Two loaves of bread, some bologna, some cheese, chips, and bananas. Well, when we get there, you might know the Save-A-Lot we go to is, I guess you could say, frequented by interesting people. And And so when we get there, I told them to stay in the van as I go inside to get their items very quickly. And as I'm walking in, a gentleman approaches me and being the fact that I had a nice white shirt on, I thought he was going to ask me for some money or something. So I'm about ready to work through the whole controversy that we had at our dinner table and in our devotion time in our house today. about showing kindness to people, and love seeking not its own, and forgoing its comforts, and the whole issue of showing benevolence, and the difficulties that surround that. Well, he didn't ask for money, he asked if I could give him a job. I asked him if he had the cables, and he did. To be honest, he looked a little rough, he had long dreads, And his eyes were bloodshot. So I thought, well, I looked in the van and there was another young man sitting there. So I thought, well, maybe they're setting me up and they're going to rob me. But I thought, well, I'm going to bring the car around, the van around and risk it, but be cautious. So I brought it around. He jumped it, was exceedingly thankful, very polite, very courteous and drove off. And I thought, wow, what a wonderful example of the fact that here I am. I didn't really want to go to the store, being the Lord's dead. I wanted to get back home. Now I have to stop, get out, help this man with his vehicle and all that. It really was, in a very small way, the principle that love seeks not its own, namely it seeks not its own comfort. So I go inside. get the items, checking out. The police officers inside these stores retain officers on weekends and evenings. And the lady that was checking me out said, we watched you help the gentleman get a jump. And I was thinking in my mind that that's a very good thing, that the officer was watching. In case this guy jumped me, he could have came out and rescued me. And she said, what a good thing. You come to get a few items of grocery, grocery items, and you help somebody get their car started. And I said to her, well, you know, the preacher in our church this morning said that love seeks not its own, and that means it doesn't seek its own comfort. And she said to me, that's right. So it just was a little illustration about how That principle works itself out. Well, a text this evening is found in First Corinthians 13 and it's found in verse 5. Love. Is not easily provoked. Love is not easily angered. This Greek word rendered easily provoked literally means to sharpen. It refers to a sharpness of spirit, or an easily angered or irritated spirit, or a person who is quickly and easily angered. That's the theme for this evening, brethren. So let us pray and ask that God would help us. Our Father, we do give thanks for Jesus Christ. who had that love in full that seeks not its own. And, O Father, we do give thanks also for the fact that our Savior had that love that was not easily angered and that our righteousness is found in Him. But, Father, we pray that you would not only help us to see that afresh but then to imitate him and to have that selfless love, that love that's not easily or quickly angered. We ask it would be so for Jesus' sake. Amen. I want to do three things tonight, brethren. First of all, ask the question and then answer the question, what is righteous anger? Or perhaps another way to put it is, is all anger contrary to love? And I want to answer and show you, no. All right, so first of all, what is righteous anger? Secondly, what is sinful anger? Or what is the anger contrary to love? And then thirdly, why isn't love easily angered? Those would be the three heads this evening. Notice, first of all, what is righteous anger or we want to address the issue that all anger is not opposed to love. All anger is not opposed to love or there is in the scripture a righteous anger, a righteous anger and anger compatible with love. And I want to prove that to you by three things. Three considerations. First, notice God is angry. And God is love. And if God is love and God is angry. Then all anger is not contrary to love. Psalm 7 verse 11 God is angry with the wicked every day. That is, God is angry with the wicked as long as they remain wicked, which is all day. God is angry with the wicked. But this text doesn't merely say that God is angry with the deeds of the wicked, but he is angry with the wicked. And he is angry with the wicked every day. Thus, brethren, we have to be very clear that all anger is not sinful, because God is love and He is angry. Secondly, Christ was angry. Mark 3 and verse 5, He, that is Jesus, looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts. He was angry at the Pharisees. He was angry at the Pharisees, and in particular, because of the hardness of their hearts. In other words, we find here not only the fact that Jesus was angry, but the reason. Hard-hearted rebels angered him. They opposed him. And he was angry with them. He was also grieved concerning the hardness of their hearts. It grieved him. But brethren, it also angered him. And Jesus was without sin. Right. Jesus had no sin. He was flawless. He was perfect. And yet he was angry. And yet, furthermore, the anger of Christ is evidence in him cleansing out the temple. Do you remember that account? Look at it just quickly with me. John chapter two and notice verse fourteen. John two and fourteen. And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business When he had made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep, oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And he said to those who sowed doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of merchandise. Then his disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house has eaten me up. Now, admittedly, this text doesn't expressly say that Jesus was angry, but brethren, I have a hard time envisioning him smiling when he drove out these wicked people. He was angry and he was angry for a good reason. What was the reason? Because he was jealous for his father's house. zeal for your house, he says of his father, has eaten me up. It's consumed me. And because he was consumed with the glory of his father's house, he drove out those wicked money changers. Thus, again, we find, brethren, that all anger is not sinful because our Savior is, again, sinless. He was and is sinless. The lamb without spot. God is angry. Christ was angry. And thirdly, saints are to be angry. That is, the scriptures command the Christian both to hate and be angry. Now, because that statement might seem radical, I want to take a few minutes and expand upon it. The Scriptures command that Christians hate and be angry. For two reasons. One, it's anger that results from love to God. For example, Psalm 97 10. You who love the Lord hate evil. Why do we hate evil? But because we love the Lord, brethren, it's impossible. To love something without hating something. In fact, I would go further to say to the degree that we love God, we will hate evil. The more we love God, the more we hate evil. The more we love God, the more we hate all that seeks to detract from His glory, that would attempt to rob Him of His honor. Perhaps I can put it like this. The reason a person doesn't hate evil is because he doesn't love God. Far from being incompatible with love, this hatred is intimately related to it. In fact, we could even say it's necessary. To the degree we love God is the degree we will hate evil, or to the degree that we hate evil, rightly so, will be the degree we love God. Thus when Paul says that love is not easily angered, We mustn't be confused or misled to think that all anger is contrary to love. OK? Because God is love and is angry. Jesus was loving and he was angry. Christians love God and they hate and they're angry with sin. Why, brethren, do we possess so little holy hatred of evil and sin, but because we possess so little love for God? David said in Psalm 119, 113, I hate the double minded, but I love your law. Watch how these texts all put together hate and love. Verse 128, all your precepts I consider to be right. Thus, I hate every false way. Someone's or verse 163, I hate and abhor lying, but I love your law. See, we hate evil, we hate sin because we love God and we love his law, and thus we hate all that's. Contrary to it. Why do we hate evil? Because it seeks to rival God. It seeks to steal from God His glory. Why did Jesus, why was Jesus angry at the money changers? Why did He drive them out? Because He loved His Father. And He loved His Father's house. And because He loved His Father and His Father's house, He hated all that defiled it. Brethren, we have to get it settled in our minds. and rinse out any error that's been deposited there. All hatred, all anger is not sinful. And I want to show you this from a text very quickly. Look at Acts 17 verse 16. Acts 17 and verse 16. Now, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Now, this word translated provoked is the exact same word translated easily provoked or easily angered in 1st Corinthians 13 5. We could translate it and very rightly so. His spirit was angered. His spirit was angered. He was angry. And so the very same prophet or the very same apostle who tells us in our text that love isn't easily angered was angry. But why was he angry? He was angry when he saw that the city was given over to idols. An idol is something that seeks to detract or rival God's glory. And he hated, he hated the fact. Now brethren, there is a sense in which we ought to have our hearts aroused with this righteous anger when we see anything that would detract from or rival God's glory. If we would be like Paul, that holy and righteous and loving man, if we would be like Jesus, if we would be like our Father, we ought to have a holy, righteous anger for anything that would detract from or rival God's glory. Brethren, when we drive to church on the Lord's Day, our hearts ought to be saddened and maddened at the idolatry around us. When we hear liars teaching lies in Jesus' name, leading the sheep away, robbing God of His glory, our hearts ought to be Angered. If we would be like Paul, if we would be like Jesus, if we would be like God. Angered because God's glory is being rivaled. Because man is bowing at idols. He came into Athens and saw literal temples constructed to worship idols. We see them, though perhaps not literal temples, but we see them on our left and right. And when we see them, brethren, our hearts are to be grieved. And our hearts are to be angered. A holy, righteous anger. ought to consume our hearts. Not self-righteous anger, but holy anger. A holy, righteous anger. An anger that's not incompatible with love, but actually, but actually is the result of it. Why was he so angry, brethren, when he entered Athens and saw those idol worshippers? But because he loved God and he knew that only God deserved to be worshipped. And nothing, nothing, nothing deserved to be worshipped but God. And when he saw that idolatry, his heart was kindled within him with a holy, righteous anger. Why? Because he loved God. The psalmist tells us if we love God, you who love God, you who love God hate evil. And so I submit to you that the scriptures do teach us to hate evil. And to hate sin. And to be angry at evil and to be angry at sin, first of all, because it's against God. Or to have an anger against sin because it's against God. Secondly, this righteous anger that results from love is kindled within us because we have a love for sinners. First of all, because we have a love for God and his glory, but we also hate sin. We also hate evil because we have a love for sinners. Brethren, I find it hard to think how it can be that we can move about in this world, a world filled with evil and wickedness, and become so dull and to become so indifferent that we're no longer angered at the wickedness of this nation. Just think, for example, of some particular sins. How about abortion? Brethren, we're so used to it that it no longer breathes within our breast a sense of holy indignation. Can you even begin to fathom what goes on inside those buildings that you and I pass to come to church? Doesn't that anger you? Doesn't it anger you that to some degree and on some level, you and I even fund those places? Doesn't that anger you? Doesn't that fill you with many things, sorrow, sadness, confusion, but also a holy and righteous anger? And many other sins, brethren, that characterize this country and this nation ought to, ought to elicit within us this holy and righteous anger. Or just watch the news, brethren, for 30 seconds or for a few minutes and see the horrendous crimes that take place within this nation, within this state every day. Moms murdering, murdering their children. Wicked, wicked, wicked activities. Brethren, it always, yes, should be tempered with a humility and a sadness and a sorrow and a grief like Jesus' anger was. He was grieved, but he was also angered. I think what happens is that we just get used to it, right? We hear about it. We see it's all around us and it no longer shocks us. But if we were thinking more like Paul, if we were thinking more like Jesus, if we were more like God, brethren, it would anger us. Let me illustrate it. Look to the second to the last book of our Bible, Jude. And notice verse 22. Jude 1, verse 22. And on some have compassion, making a distinction, but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating evil, even the garment defiled by the flesh. We sometimes hear the phrase love the sinner, hate the sin. Well, it has some biblical warrant. And this is largely what Jude here is referring to. We are to save them with fear, that is, with fear for them, knowing what their sin will ultimately bring. We are to save them with fear, pulling them, snatching them out of the fire, that is, the fires of unending hell. That's what it means. In other words, brethren, we're to know very consciously that their sin is leading them to hell. You want to know one reason why you and I have so little righteous wrath, anger or indignation over sin? It's because we fail to remind ourselves that that sin is leading sinners to hell. It might sound morbid, brethren, but one positive way, one beneficial way to strengthen this love, which results in hate. Is to go on occasion to the edge of the abyss and look within through the pages of scripture. Go to hell. And look at it. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? And brethren, if you and I had that awareness increased in our hearts, I assure you, we would hate even the garments defiled by the flesh. We would deal with those who are openly profane sinners in such a way that we would save them with fear. That is, a fearfulness of their certain doom and a fearfulness of that sin that would lead them to hell, lest it defile us. In other words, Jude is speaking about a hatred of sin so intense that we hate not only sin, but anything defiled by it. The imagery is debated, but it's evident that what Jude is doing is speaking rather graphic here, brethren. The imagery is very, very graphic. He's talking about any garment that happens to be just in any way defiled by this wickedness. Perhaps it would be prudent to use An illustration that perhaps dumbs down what Jude is here teaching us. If a little child vomits it, and if you think this is grotesque, trust me, Jude is a couple stages higher than this. And the vomit gets everywhere. And the mom has to come and take everything out of the room because it splashes everywhere. So there's a big pile and then there's flashes, just a drop here and there. But this is the imagery, it's like sin is a big splash, a big pile, and it's grotesque, it's nasty. Stay away from it, Jude says, but not only stay away from the pile, but stay away from anything that even has a splash on it, even a drop on it. This is times that illustration by 15. And you began to get where Jude is at. It's gross. It's nasty. It's wicked. Stay away from it. Hate it. Hate it so much that you even hate the garment that has a spot on it, but even hate, even hate the curtains in the room that have the stench on them. This is what Jude is saying. Hate it that much. Why? But why? Why? Here's why. Because it's leading these sinners to hell, to fire. That's what he says. Snatch them out of the fire. Snatch them out of hell. Why? Because their sins, they're taking them down into the fire, into the flame. So, in other words, why is it, brethren, that we're to hate evil? Why is it that we're to hate sin? Because It's going to be the reason that a multitude of sinners suffer in hell forever. Now that sounds very gruesome, doesn't it? But brethren, that's just the reality of the scripture. And let me tell you very plainly, the reason why you and I lack this hatred is because we lack the consciousness of this reality. And we just don't want to think about it. But my friend, you and I better think of it. Sin will lead you, and it will lead everyone who has no Savior into hell. And when you see that, and you feel that, and you know that, you will hate it. And here's why. Because you love sinners. You see, brethren, this hatred is not only not at odds with this love, but they're perfectly compatible. And the more you have this love to God, you will hate evil that's against Him. And the more you have this love for sinners, you will hate sin that's dragging them into fire. But that brings me then to perhaps the more direct purpose of the text. And that is, what is sinful anger? What is sinful anger? In other words, there is an anger that's contrary and opposed and at odds with love. And let me, before I come to suggest a few descriptions of it, let me just give you two principles. overarching principles of this sinful anger. First, it comes in various degrees. That is, sinful anger can exist within our hearts in various or in varied levels, from mild irritation to open rage. Right? I mean, it could start as a mild irritation, and it's possible then to rise or progress into open rage. For example, Ephesians 4.31, get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger. Here we have three levels of sinful anger. Bitterness, rage, which is this anger more full grown, and then there's anger. We can put it in these stages. Bitterness, anger, and rage. Right? So there's various levels. of this sin, various degrees of it. But also, this sinful anger is often mixed with righteous anger. That is, sometimes it's possible to have a righteous anger that's mingled with or mixed with a sinful anger, and that's the difficulty, isn't it? In fact, I would think, probably, and I can only speak for myself, it's very rare to have a pure a pure righteous anger. It may start out right, it might be generally right, but it's usually, if not most, for me, brethren, I would say it's almost always certain to be mingled with some sinful anger. But nevertheless, I suggest to you that it doesn't necessarily have to, as we saw in God, in Christ, and in the Apostle. Well, let's come then to answer the question, what is sinful anger? Notice first, sinful anger is unfounded anger. That is, anger motivated by impure or improper causes or reasons. Perhaps I can put it plainly. Anger caused by actions that are not sinful. anger caused by actions of another that are not sinful, that anger by necessity is sinful. If you become irritated, angry or furious because of any other reason than sin, then certainly your irritation, anger or fury is sinful anger, right? That's a generic principle. That's true. Any anger caused by any other reason than sin is of necessity sinful anger. Matthew 5 verse 22, Jesus said, I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Here there's an anger without a cause that is without a just cause. It's anger without a just cause. And what is the just cause? We've already seen it. Sin and evil. Righteous anger is always. Because of sin and evil against God and that it robs God of his glory or that it brings harm on sinners. And so a righteous anger is always the results of sin or is caused because of sin. It's the result of sin, of perceiving sin, of seeing sin. But sinful anger, according to Jesus, is anger without a cause, that is, without a righteous cause. Or we can put it this way, it's anger caused by any reason except sin. Very plainly, brother. Think of that. Any time you're sinfully irritated, angry, or furious for any reason except sin, you're experiencing sinful anger. OK? So any time you and I are angry for any reason other than sin, it's anger without a cause or anger without a righteous cause. Sinful anger is unfounded anger. Secondly, sinful anger is disproportionate anger. That is, anger that is too severe for the crime. Successive anger is anger that's disproportionate to the sin or to the crime. For example, you tell a child to go to bed, and you've warned them not to get out until the morning. And they get out of bed. They've defied you. They've sinned. OK, that's sin. And yet you respond not with a righteous anger, but you blow the top. You get very furious. Well, your anger is sinful because it's disproportionate to the crime. To become so angry at such a small offense is sinful, right? It's sin. It's founded in that sense. It's anger because of sin, but it's disproportionate. It's not matched. It's excessive. It's over the top. Let me illustrate it, for example, with the text. Look at Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 26. Ephesians 4 26. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath or your anger. This text actually has three commands in it. It starts with two. The first is be angry. It's an imperative. It's a command. Be angry. Brethren, it's sinful sometimes not to be angry. Be angry. The second imperative or commandment is do not sin. In other words, you're to be angry, but not angry in such a way that you sin. In other words, you're to have a righteous anger and not a sinful anger. You are to be angry, be angry. That's an interesting text, isn't it? Can you imagine preaching a sermon entitled Be Angry? Be angry, be angry at sin, be angry at evil. Be angry at evil because it detracts from God's glory and it carries men down into hell. Be angry at sin, be angry at evil, but do not sin. And then notice where he says in the third imperative, do not let the sun go down on your anger or your wrath. That is, be sure one way, at least here, that to ensure that your anger be not sinful anger is that it be in proper moderation. Do not let your anger exceed its proper limitations. Be sure it's in proper proportion, both in degree And here, more directly, in duration. Don't let your anger be disproportionate to the crime. Either in degree or in duration. And so a second way in which our anger can be sinful is that it be disproportionate to the crime. Sinful anger is unfounded anger. Anger for any reason except sin. Secondly, it's anger that's disproportionate. It's excessive, either in degree or in duration. But thirdly, sinful anger is quick anger. You find it, for example, in Proverbs 15, 18. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger pacifies contention. So notice how the proverb contrasts these two people. The hot-tempered man and the slow to anger. The hot-tempered man. A man easily angered. A man easily irritated. A man who thus stirs up strife. In contrast, a man slow to anger pacifies contention. The man able to control himself and his temper pacifies contention. So what is sinful anger? Well, firstly, it's anger caused by any other reason than sin. Secondly, it's anger disproportionate to the crime. And thirdly, it's anger that's quick and hasty. It's easily kindled anger or wrath. Well, that brings me then thirdly, why is love easily, why isn't love easily angered? The text speaks about love that isn't easily provoked or easily angered. Why is it, brethren, that this love isn't easily angered? Well, let me suggest three reasons in closing. One, because it's God-like. Psalm 103.8, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. Brethren, when we think about God's love, we must be careful to remove from it what we know and experience when we're angry. Like I said, almost always, even when we're angry righteously, there's much sin in it. And I think most of us would confess that usually it's mostly sin in it, and that very few times are we righteously angry. And furthermore, we have to confess that more often than not, our anger is far excessive to what necessitated it. We're quick and we're hasty to fly off the hand to blow the top. We're often like that hot tempered man. Oftentimes we're angry for no reason, wrong reasons. And even when we're angry for right reasons, we're wrongly angry. We're excessively angry. We know that that's us normally, right? But that's not like God. That's not like God. This text I read, Psalm 103, verse 8. Listen to it again. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness. God is slow to anger. He's controlled in His anger. It's anger that's deserved. It's warranted. Just go back to the three things we said about sinful anger and compare them to God's. The first thing about sinful anger is that it was unwarranted. It's anger that's resulted from any other reason except sin that's unwarranted, that sinful anger. Well, God's anger is always, brethren, always warranted. Jesus said, if you're angry with your brother without a cause, you're in danger of the judgment. God is never angry without a cause. He's always righteously angry. His anger is always justifiable. It's always deserved. He's always angry with a cause. It's always proportionate to the crime. And it's slow, and it's controlled, and it's not quick and hasty like our anger. In other words, brethren, you almost have to gut from your thinking, when you think about God's anger, everything about your anger. And so, to be easily angered and sinfully angry is far, brethren, as far as the heaven is from the earth, from God's anger. But furthermore, even just go back to that text that I read, Psalm 1038, and look how his anger, even though it's slow, notice what's before it and after it. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. He's gracious, he's merciful, he's slow to anger, and he's abounding in loving kindness. In other words, brethren, in the terms, the terminology of some of the older writers, we could say that God's wrath or anger is his strange work. That's how some of the old divines would put it. God's anger is his strange work. That is, in a sense, work done reluctantly. In other words, brethren, a person who's always angry, who's always characterized by anger, isn't acting like God. This, of course, in no way denies God's anger. I've already established that. But it is to say, God's overall disposition is one of benevolent kindness, even to his enemies. Is he angry with the wicked? Yes, brethren. As long as Psalm 711 is in our Bibles, yes. But in proportion to the rest of Scripture and the rest of revelation, we find that God's overall disposition is one of benevolent kindness. Again, just take this text as a specimen or as an example text, Nehemiah 9, 17. But you are God and listen to how he's described ready to pardon gracious, merciful, Slow to anger. Abundant in kindness. That's God. Ready to pardon. Gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger. Abundant in kindness. And so the first reason why love isn't easily angered is because it's God-like. God isn't easily angered. He's slow to anger. And his anger is always deserved. It's always proportionate. And it's always slow in coming. And it's always couched with these other attributes. And it's one attribute of many. And his overall disposition toward these rebels is one of benevolent kindness. So somebody who's always angry, brethren, who's always angry. To put it plainly, I don't even care why. Someone always angry isn't godly. Now don't forget what I've said. A person who knows nothing of this righteous anger and righteous hatred isn't godly either. But when we survey the whole of Scripture, brethren, we find that God's overall disposition is one of benevolent kindness. He's ready to pardon. He's ready to pardon that rebel. He's gracious. He's merciful. He's slow to anger and he's abundant in kindness. And so, first of all, love isn't easily angered because it's God-like, but secondly, it's humble. That is the predominant reason behind sinful anger is pride, a high view of ourselves. Why are we so often easily irritated? But because we forget who and what we are. We have an inflated self-image. Who are you to say that, to do that? Don't you know who I am? Or oftentimes, brethren, at least in my experience, I get easily irritated with the sins of others that are similar to the sins I commit. And I see it in you and it angers me and it frustrates me and it irritates me. Why? Because I'm proud and I don't want to be reminded of that sin. So when I see it in you, it irritates me, it angers me, it frustrates me. And brethren, the reason at the root of it is because I'm a proud creature. And that's why this particular description of love follows the other ones. Love isn't puffed up. A proud person, I assure you, is an angry person. You want to take the sin of anger and follow the roots down to its... or follow the strings down to its roots and you know what you'll find down there? Pride. An inflated view of oneself. And that's why love isn't easily angered because it isn't proud. It doesn't have this bloated image or estimation of itself. It knows what it is, a sinner saved by grace. How can I become irritated, easily agitated, and angered at your petty crimes in light of what I am and in light of the fact that God is so gracious and patient toward me? Brethren, an easily agitated, irritated, aggravated, angered person is a proud person, a person with too high of an estimation of himself, a person with too high a self-esteem, a self-estimation. A proud creature is an angry creature. But a third reason why love isn't so easily angered, it's God-like, it's humble, but thirdly, it's patient. That is, it endures the sins of others because it gives place, ultimately, to God's anger and God's wrath. And here I largely Refer to that anger that might be kindled against our enemies a sinful anger potentially kindled against our enemies against those who mistreat us We don't get angry at them. We don't hate them Because we give place to God's wrath And we understand that it's not my place to get angry It's not my wrath that he will ultimately face. But it's God's. Because, brethren, we understand that their sin isn't predominantly an offense against us. But it's an offense against God. And God is angry, brethren, with the wicked every day. And His wrath is coming. Paul said, Beloved, do not avenge yourselves. But give place to wrath, that is God's wrath. Give place to God's wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. God will repay. God will repay. And He will avenge His name and His glory. For brother, may God give us the grace to have this love, this love that doesn't seek its own and this love that isn't easily angered or provoked. Our Father, we do pray, first of all, straightway, we confess that we so easily become irritated with others and we so easily have in our hearts this sinful anger We pray, forgive us. And we pray, Father, that you would kindle in our hearts a greater and intensified love for you, a love that does show itself in hatred of evil, a hatred for sin. Because it detracts from your glory, it rivals you and your glory. And it leads poor sinners to hell. And Father, we pray that you would enable us to have that love that's like your love. That love that's humble. And that love that gives place to your wrath. So hear our humble petitions. Forgive us for our sins. and we ask it for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.