has done me infinite violence and
injustice; am I to suffer it? I have a just cause and shall not
recline my head in ease until he is repaid! By such talk it loses its
case before both God and men; as the saying goes: He that strikes
back has the most unjust cause.

28. Both divine and human justice forbids that a man be judge in his
own case. For this very reason God has established governmental and
judicial authority, in his stead to punish transgressions,
which--when properly administered--is not man's but God's judgment.
He therefore that invades such judgment, invades the authority of God
himself; he commits a double wrong and merits double condemnation. If
you desire to seek and obtain redress in the courts, you are at
liberty to do so, provided you proceed in the proper way, at the
proper place and with those to whom God has entrusted authority. To
these authorities you may appeal for redress. If you obtain it
according to law, well and good; if not, you must suffer wrong and
commit your case to God, as we have explained more fully elsewhere.

29. In short, we find in this unique passage a statement to the
effect that he who curbs not his wrath but retains it longer than a
day, or over night, cannot be a Christian. Where then do they stand
who entertain wrath and hatred indefinitely, for one, two, three,
seven, ten years? Such is no longer human wrath but fiendish wrath
from hell; it will not be satisfied nor extinguished, but when it
once takes possession of a man he would, if able, destroy everything
in a moment with his hellish fire. Even so the arch-fiend is not
satisfied with having cast the whole human race into sin and death,
but will not rest content unless he can drag all human beings into
eternal damnation.

30. A Christian therefore has ample cause to carefully guard against
this vice. God may have patience with you when wrath wells up in your
heart--although that, too, is sinful--but take heed that wrath does
not overcome you and cause you to fall. Rather take serious counsel
with yourself and extinguish and expel your anger by applying
passages of Holy Writ and calling upon your faith. When alone or
about to retire, repeat the Lord's Prayer, ask for forgiveness and
confess that God daily forgives you much oftener than your neighbor
sins against you.

"Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more:
but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is
good, that