Is it slanders or reproach that men afflict you with? Let it be so; that toucheth not the heart. Is it poverty, crosses, or losses, that God afflicteth you with? Let it be so: that toucheth not the heart neither. Is it loss of children, or friends; or is it pain and sickness? I confess these are sore; but yet they do not touch the heart. If they come thither it is your doing; and (though thither they should come moderately) if they are immoderate, it is your own sinful doing. It is you that grieve; and make the heart ache. God and man did but make the flesh ache. If others hurt your bodies, will you therefore vex your minds? Will you pierce through your hearts, because they touch your name or goods? If so, remember which part of your sorrow is of their making, and which is of your own: and can you for shame go beg of God or man to ease the grief which you yourselves are causing, and wilfully continue it while you pray against it? And why lament you that which you cause and choose? It is a shame to be wilfully your own tormentors.

Direct. XIV. 'Abhor all that tendeth to take down the power and government of reason (that is, all feebleness and cowardice of mind, and a melancholy, a peevish, passionate disposition); and labour to keep up the authority of reason, and to keep all your passions subject to your wills; which must be done by Christian faith and fortitude.' If you come once to that childish or distracted pass, as to grieve and say, I cannot help it: I know it is sinful and immoderate, but I cannot choose, if you say true, you are out of the reach of counsel, advice, or comfort. You are not to be preached to, nor talked to, nor to be written for: we do not write directions to teach men how to touch the stars, or explain the asperities or inequalities of the moon, or the opacous parts of Saturn, or to govern the orbs, or rule the chariot of the sun. If it be become a natural impossibility to you, doctrine can give you no remedy: but if the impossibility be but moral in the weakness of reason, and want of consideration, it may be doctrine, consideration, and resolution be overcome.

than you think you can.

You can do more if you will How come you to lose the com

mand of your passions? Did not God make you a rational

9 See Mr. Fenner's book of Wilful Impenitency.

creature, that hath an understanding and will to rule all passions? How come you to have lost the ruling power of reason and will? You would take it for a disparagement to be told that you have lost the use of your reason: and is it not a principal use of it to rule the passions, and all other inferior subject powers? You say you cannot choose but grieve! But if one could give you that creature which you want or desire, then you could choose: you could rejoice, if one could restore you that child, that friend, that estate which you have lost. But God, and Christ, and heaven, it seems, are not enough to cure you if you must have but them you cannot choose but grieve! And what hearts have you then that are thus affected? Should not those hearts be rather grieved for? God will sometime make you see, that you had more power than you used.

Direct. xv. Observe the mischiefs of excessive sorrow that you may feel what reason you have to avoid it.' While you know not what hurt is in it, you will be the more remiss in your resisting it: I shall briefly name you some of its unhappy fruits.

1. It is a continual pain and sickness of the mind. (This you know by feeling.) 2. It is a destroyer of bodily health and life. For "worldly sorrow worketh death'. “A merry heart doth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones"." 3. It putteth the soul out of relish with its mercies, and so causeth us to undervalue them, and consequently to be unthankful for them, and not to improve them. 4. It destroyeth the sense of the love of God, and lamentably undisposeth the soul to love him: and therefore should be abhorred by us were it but for that one effect. 5. It destroyeth the joy of the Holy Ghost, and unfitteth us to obey that command of God, rejoice continually.' 6. It contradicteth a heavenly mind and conversation, and hindereth us from all foretastes of the everlasting joys. 7. It undisposeth us to the excellent work of praise: who can ascend in the praises of God, while grief doth oppress and captivate the soul? 8. It destroyeth the sweetness of all

• Prov. xvii. 22.

r 2 Cor. vii, 10. Even Anaxagoras, a philosopher, could say to one that asked him, 'Nullane tibi patriæ cura est? Mihi vero patriæ cura, et quidem summa est, digitum in cœlum intendens.' Diog. Laert. lib. ii. sect. 7. p. 83.

God's ordinances, hearing, reading, prayer, sacraments; we may force ourselves to use them, but shall have no delight in them. 9. It hindereth the exercise of faith, and raiseth distrust, and sinful doubts and fears, within us. 10. It causeth sinful discontents and murmurings at God and man. 11. It maketh us impatient, peevish, froward, angry, and hard to be pleased. 12. It weakeneth the soul to all that is good, and destroyeth its fortitude and strength: for it is the "joy of the Lord that is our strength"." 13. It hindereth us in the duties of our callings: who can do them as they should be done, under the clog of a disquiet mind? 14. It maketh us a grief and burden to our friends, and robs them of the comfort which they should have in and by us. 15. It maketh us unprofitable to others, and hindereth us from doing the good we might: when we should be instructing, exhorting, and praying for poor sinners, or minding the church of God, we are all taken up at home, about our own afflictions. 16. It maketh us a stumbling block and scandal to the ungodly, and hindereth their conversion, while the devil setteth us before the church doors, to keep away the ungodly from a holy life, as men set scarecrows in their fields and gardens, to frighten away the birds. 17. It dishonoureth religion, by making men believe that it is a melancholy, vexatious, self-tormenting life. 18. It obscureth the glory of the Gospel, and crosseth the work of Christ, his Spirit, and ministers, who all come upon a message of great joy to all nations; and proclaim glad tidings to the worst of sinners: much more to the sons of God, and heirs of life. 19. It misrepresenteth God himself, as if we would persuade men, that he is a hard and cruel master, that none can please, though they do all through a Mediator upon a covenant of grace; and that it is worse with us since we served him than before; and that he delighteth in our grief and misery, and is against our peace and joy; and as if there were no joy nor pleasure in his service. Such hideous doctrine do our lives preach of God, when those that profess to fear and seek him, do live in such immoderate grief and trouble. 20. And it too much pleaseth the devil, who is glad to torment us here, if he may not do it in hell; and especially to make ourselves

u Neh, viii. 10.

the executioners upon ourselves, when he is restrained; when he can boast and say, Though I may not vex thee, I will persuade thee to vex thyself.' These are the fruits of sinful sorrows.

Direct. XVI. 'Govern your thoughts, and suffer them not to muse and feed on those objects, which cause your grief.' No wonder if your sore be always smarting, when you are always rubbing on it in your thoughts. Of this I spake more fully even now.

Tit. 10. Directions against sinful Despair, (and Doubting.)

Despair is the contrary to hope. There is a despair that is a duty, and a despair that is a sin, and a despair that is indifferent, as being but of natural and not of moral kind. Despair is a duty, when it is contrary to the sinful hope before described: that is, 1. When we despair of any thing which God hath told us shall never come to pass: for we are bound to believe his word: as that all the world should be saved or converted, or that our bodies should not die and perish, and many such like. 2. It is a duty to despair of ever attaining a good end by means or upon terms, which God hath told us it shall never be attained by: and so it is a great duty for an unregenerate person to despair of ever being saved without regeneration, conversion and holiness and to despair of ever being pardoned or saved, if he live after the flesh and have not the spirit of Christ, and repent not unfeignedly of his sin, and be not a new creature, and crucify not the flesh with its affections and lusts. Such a despair is one of the first things necessary to the conversion of a sinner, because the false hopes of being pardoned and saved without regeneration, is the present hindrance to be removed.

Despair is a sin, when it is contrary to any hope which God commandeth us: (so it be not only a negative despair, or bare not hoping, which in sleep and other times may be innocent, but a positive despair which concludeth against hope). As, 1. Particular despair of the benefit of some particular promise (as if Israel had despaired of deliverance from Egypt, or Abraham of a Son). 2. General despair of > See more of the Cure of Doubting, Part. ii. Chap. xxv.

the fulfilling of some general promise; as if we despaired of the resurrection, or the kingdom of Christ in glory. 3. When by misapplication we despair of that pardon and salvation to ourselves, which yet we believe shall be to others.

Yea, despair is sinful sometimes when it is not contrary to any promise or commanded hope: for if God have not revealed his will one way or other, it is no duty to expect the thing, and yet it is a sin to conclude positively that it will not be for then we shall say more than we know, or than God hath revealed. If hope be taken for the comfort that ariseth in us from the apprehension of a mere possibility, then indeed it is a duty to hope for that good which is possible only: but if hope be taken for a confident expectation, then both such hope, and also the contrary despair would be a sin. We may (so) 'non-sperare' but not 'desperare.' Possibles must be taken but for possibles, yet still for such.

He that despaireth but of some common mercy which he should not despair of, ' ratione materiæ' committeth a sin of the smaller sort: he that despaireth of a great mercy to others (though not promised), committeth a greater sin 'ratione materiæ:' (as if you despair of the conversion of a bad child, or the continuance of the Gospel to the kingdom, &c.) But he that despaireth of his own pardon and salvation, sinneth more perilously ratione materiæ.'

The despairing of pardon and salvation upon a despair of the truth of the Gospel, or sufficiency of Christ, is damnable, and a certain mark of a wretched infidel, if it be predominant". But to believe all the Gospel to be true, and desire Christ and life as best, and yet to despair upon too bad thoughts of one's self, or through some other mistake, this is a sin of infirmity, consistent with grace, (unless the despair be so total and prevalent, as to make the sinner settledly cast off a godly life, and give up himself to a life of wickedness.) The Scripture speaketh little of this humble sort of despair, and no where threateneth it as it doth infidelity.

The commonest despair (like Spira's) which cometh im

▾ Judas perished not merely by despair; but he had no such repentance as renewed his soul, nor any love to God and holiness.