Among the sins you and I both have wrestled with is the sin of unjust anger. When faced with injury or injustice—whether real or perceived, whether against our person, someone else, or some group of people—we have been moved to respond in retaliatory rage. Who has not expressed anger at a driver who has cut them off in traffic, or felt frustrated at the political viewpoint of a coworker, or stewed over the stubbornness of a family member? “There are no people, whether young or old, wise or foolish, or male or female, who do not carry this fire in their heart” (34–35). Thus, the topic of John Downame’s book, The Cure for Unjust Anger, is of considerable relevance for everyone.
Downame gets right to his purpose at the outset of his introduction. Unjust anger, he says, is a particularly pernicious and pervasive problem of the fallen human condition. Not only is it pervasive, but it is also invasive, spreading throughout the human soul like a disease, so that this violent affection operates like a deadly infection. Keeping with the medical analogy, Downame seeks to diagnose unjust anger and prescribe remedies from the Word of God, with the hope that the reader will either be preserved from fits of anger or calmed if they have already fallen into unjust (sinful) anger. He accomplishes this purpose in typical Puritan fashion, itemizing in great detail the various aspects of unjust anger before providing many practical remedies to cure this sickness in ourselves and in others.
The foundational text from Scripture undergirding Downame’s work is Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (KJV). He prefaces his first chapter with this text to give him grounds for acknowledging the existence and goodness of righteous anger, which he then considers in greater detail in his second chapter. In order for anger to be considered righteous, it must be occasioned by “a just cause,” expressed in “a godly manner,” fixed on “the proper object,” enduring for “the appropriate time,” and directed toward “holy ends” (15).
The balance of the book deals with unjust anger. It is introduced in the third chapter and diagnosed in chapters four through eight. The remedies are prescribed in chapters nine through twelve. His diagnosis begins with the internal and external causes of unjust anger: self-love, pride, covetousness, fastidiousness, vain curiosity, talebearing, and lack of meditation on human infirmities (internal); virtuous actions, imaginary offenses, and small offenses (external). Having considered these causes, Downame moves to consider its properties, noting that unjust anger contains a lack of moderation, is directed toward persons rather than sins, and endures for too long. He points out that unjust anger can be hidden or open, and angry people can either be hasty to anger but quickly appeased, slow to anger but hard to pacify, or quick to anger but slow to reconcile. Of the three, this last kind is undoubtedly most dangerous and destructive, and draws comparison to the devil himself. Downame does not hold back in outlining the evil effects that unjust anger has on the whole person, both body and soul, as well as on other people and society at large. This great evil can be remedied, however, by removing its causes, and subduing it through godly considerations, meditations, and abstinence of that which would encourage it.
Downame does well to hone in on Ephesians 4:26 from the outset, providing strong exegesis of the passage to bolster his defense of righteous anger. Although the smaller part of his work, since the focus is on the sin of unjust anger, the first two chapters stand out for their helpfulness in a number of contexts. First, church members and officers will benefit from the description of a just cause for anger rooted in a desire to glorify God and gain the sinner, since a show of displeasure may be the means God uses to reclaim the sinner “by working into his heart a consideration of the offense for which he is reproved” (22). Second, parents and children will be helped by the shrewd observation that behavior should befit a person’s place and calling, such that a father ought to show not only “mild admonition” to his son, but also “discreet correction,” whereas a son ought to be careful to show “honor and respect” to his father, even if he were to “hate his father’s sin” (26). The abiding relevance of Downame’s work is on full display when he bemoans the worldly practice that equates befriending a person with befriending that person’s sins as well (28).
His clear and multi-faceted consideration of both diagnosis and cure alike will prove practically helpful to the reader struggling with unjust anger. The last two chapters, in particular, provide needed guidance to remedy unjust anger in ourselves and others. When it comes to the unjust anger that we display, Downame warns against feeding the fire and advises withdrawal from the company of others, restraint from angry outbursts, stopping and thinking about your anger, and praying for the Spirit’s help. When addressing unjust anger in others, he counsels his reader to be silent, answer softly, and admonish gently. Straightforward, one might say, but we need to hear it nonetheless.
Hearing these practical reminders is one thing, but putting them into practice is another. Amid all the wisdom and exhortation, the reader needs to hear the gospel. Downame does speak frequently of Christ, but could have given more explicit attention to Christ’s accomplishment on our behalf as the righteous one who only displayed just, and never unjust, anger, and who makes us able to increasingly show just anger ourselves while avoiding all unjust anger. Mostly, Christ is referenced as an example, with one notable and happy exception found on pages 100-101. And yet Downame does refer to him as “Christ our Savior,” and there is good emphasis throughout on our need for the Holy Spirit’s help.
This book would be a welcome addition to a family library, as it is an accessible treatment of a topic in need of attention. Small groups could use it to study and reflect on the issue, and brothers and sisters in Christ could use it with profit when sharpening one another on the question of their anger. It is a bite-sized book that is easy to digest intellectually, if not always spiritually as it confronts the sin of our unjust anger. But this is a good confrontation; just as medicine can taste awful but have a good effect, so it is with this treatment. Only let it be sweetened with the gospel of Jesus Christ. A cure founded only in practical strategies will frustrate, due to the ongoing weakness of our flesh. Our ultimate problem is a lack of love, and so our ultimate remedy is found in love as well. We love because he first loved us. Since Christ loved us sacrificially and the Father loves us as his children, we can walk in love, putting away all unjust anger.
©Jason Vander Horst. All Rights Reserved.
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Jason Vander Horst
Jason grew up in southern BC, Canada, just over the border from Washington State. After teaching high school for four years, he responded to God’s calling and enrolled at Westminster Seminary California. After three thrilling years of training there, he graduated and was ordained and installed as the pastor of Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC, Canada. After serving there for 6 years (2018-2024), he accepted the call to be the pastor at Bellingham United Reformed Church in northwest Washington. He is married to Ardis and they have three beautiful boys.
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