Sacred Therapy, Book 1 · Chapter 10
CHAP. X.
Concerning them that are like to despair.
VVE have spoken of the first sort of them who do hinder their own regeneration by abhorring, declining, delaying and shifting off of the examination of their consciences. The second sort or rank of those who hinder their own conversion, is of such as after the wakening of their own consciences, whether voluntary or by compulsion, do despair of all remedy offered unto them in the Gospel of grace in Christ, and renouncing the counsell of God, do follow the counsell of Sathan and their own heart.
2. We distinguish a volountary examination of the conscience from a compelled and inforced examination thereof, as was hinted at in the former Section; for, it is one thing to say of a man, he hath voluntarily examined himself and found out his dittey and deserved judgment, and to say of him, he is forced to examine himself and in himself to receive sentence according as his wayes have been: for, there are many who will not judge themselves, yet after are forced unto it against their will: These are said to judge themselves voluntarily, who, by a free act of their will, do enter themselves to be judged of their own conscience, and do go about the work either slightly and per…unctoriously, or …ictly and exactly according to their knowledge of the …ule: But a compelled examination is ever more exact and strict and joyned with the chastisement of the sinner for neglecting or slighting or delaying of examination, Psal, 50. 21. This distinction is holden forth to as by the Apostle, 1 Cor. 11. 31, 32. If we would judge … selves, we should not be judged: But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Both these sorts of examination have a blessing following upon them when Christ is … unto after examination: but if Christ be not fled unto, then desperation may follow upon both slight and serious examination, both upon voluntary and enforced examination.
3. We do not take desperation here for every dissidence of Gods performing of promises, or of Gods making good of his gracious offers, but for diffidence to obtain reconciliation with God, or to find mercy through Christ the Mediatour. Neither do we call by the name of desperation every diffidence to obtain mercy and reconciliation, cast in mans mind by the tempter Sathan, and yielded unto for a time under the sense of Gods wrath; for, at some sits, the diffidence will be found in renewed Saints, as in Ionab, chap. 2. 4. Heman the Ezrait. Psal. 88. 16. David, Psal. 116. 11. who seemed to themselves for the time to be cast off, but but did swim out of this deep by faith. Neither do we take desperation for every short or long ecclipse of hope, wherein a distressed soul seems to its self to despair, yea, and may possibly utter and profess they do despair, and in the mean time will not renounce the use of the means, whereby they do get, or recover hope: Such was the condition of Heman the Ezraite, Psal. 88. 14, 15, 16. Lord why casts thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up, while I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted. He thought he was cast off, yet for all that he went on daily praying for the sense of mercy and found it, and was directed by God to acquaint the Church unto all generations with his long and sad exercise. But we take desperation for a prevalent impression made by Sathan upon the spirit of a man, that God will not shew him mercy, and so fixed in him, as the man resolveth not to deal with God any more for mercy.
4. Of this properly called desperation, there are two sorts, one which we may call carelesse and secute desperation, another which we may call anxious and tormenting desperation. Cains desperation in his last resolution, was of the first sort, and Iudas desperation was of the other sort. We call that a carelesse secure desperation, when a sinner, being convinced of his grosse and many sins, either believeth not Gods Word or conceiveth God implacable and irreconciliable, and to have destinate him to destruction according to the sentence of the law, pronounced against such sinners as he knoweth himself to be, and so doth harden and obdure himself against all threatenings, and goeth on in his own wayes, resolved to take ease and pleasure in the world, so long as he liveth, and not to make himself miserable before the time; Such was the desperation of carnall Israelits, Isa, 22. 13. who, hearing the threatenings of the Prophets concerning the just Judgments of God to come upon them, when they should have humbled themselves in prayer and fasting, in sackcloth and ashes, and sought mercy from God, they did set themselves to make good cheer, and to feast one another, saying, Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we shall die. Of this sort were also these in Ezekiels time, chap. 33. 10. Thus ye speak, saying, If our sins and transgressions be upon us, and we pine away in them, how shall we then live? They do not deny that they are loadened with iniquity, they doubt nothing of the righteousnesse of the threatned Judgment; but, comparing the justice of Gods Judgment with their sins, and laying aside all thought of a remedy from Gods mercy, they flatly despair, as if there had been no remedy provided in the Word of God for them, or as if the threatenings had been pronounced, as sentences pronounced absolutely, without exception of their repentance.
5. The causes of this evil, are specially these three; the first, is grosse misbelief of Gods Word, contemning all threatenings, as but the words of an angry prophee stirred up to vent his passions against people. The second, is the perversenesse of corrupt nature, so hardened with the custom of sinning, that the conscience not being terrified with Gods threatenings, is nothing moved with inward accusations, which they know to be just; whereupon they resolve neither to seek for mercy, nor care for reconciliation with God, not to shed with their carnal pleasures and sinfull lusts, but will go on in their own wayes, and take their hazard. The third, is a false perswasion, that it is impossible they can be reconciled to God, arising partly, from the vileness of their former life and grosseness of their sins, partly, from the ignorance of the Gospel, and of the rich grace of God offered to the worst of sinners, who shall forsake their former wayes and flye unto Christ; and partly, arising from the ignorance of the scope and end of the law, which is appointed to be a pedagogue to lead and draw men unto Christ, after their conviction of sin by the law, how grievous soever their sins have been.
6. The remedy of this sort of secure desperation is very hard, and in some incurable, namely these, who do not believe the threatenings and go on still in unbelief; or, do believe the threatenings, but are so wedded to their lusts, that they will not change their course and maner of sinfull carriage, come what may come, but resolve to eat and drink and be merry while they live: Concerning whom the Prophet Isaias sayeth, chap. 22. 14. It was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hostes, surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you, till ye die, saith the Lord of hostes. The best ground of hope is of such, who, through ignorance of the end of the law and offer of the Gospel, have taken up a false perswasion of their desperat estate. Now because the Pastor hath no warrand to read the decree of any mans reprobation in particular, his care must be in private and publick, to waken epicures, and all besotted in their sins, out of their deadly sleep; laying before them, from Scripture, the unextinguishable fire of hell, and the torments of the damned to be endured for ever by the impenitent and unbelieving sinner on the one hand; and on the other hand, making offer of remission of sin and reconciliation to all who shall forsake their former vitions wayes, and be content to embrace Christ Jesus for their righteousnesse, sanctification and salvation. And to this end, let him certifie all his hearers, that threatenings are not intended of God to drive any man to desperation, but to lead all to repentance, that they may be saved, and that the exception of repentance and faith in the Redeemer, is to be understood in every threatening, for so the Lord hath made a plain commentary upon all his threatenings and all his promises also, that he be not for ever mistaken, which is this in summe, that by his threatenings he doth not intend to make any man to despair, but to repent and turn to God; and that by his promises he doth not intend, that any man should presume to sin, or turn his grace into wantonnesse, as is at large set down, Ezek. 33, from ver. 10. to ver. 21. and, chap. 18. from ver. 21. to the end.
Of anxious tormenting desperation.
ANxious and tormenting desperation is when a sinner, from the apprehension of his guiltinesse of irremissible sins, and fear of inextricable wofull misery, wherein he hath thrown himself, doth cast away all hope of relief to be had, and so is tortured and vexed within himself without rest. In this sort of desperation, the miserable man having wrestled a while, doth either turn himself to a carnal temporary consolation in this world, and maketh choyce of a carelesse and secure desparation, that he may be rid of present anxiety, or else he resolveth to dispatch himself by some sort of self-murder, counting it more easie to die by his own hand, than to live and endure the tormenting vexation of his own mind.
2. As for that sort of anxious desperation, which after the sore byteing of the conscience once wakned, falleth back again in carnal security, it is most perilous, and giveth very small hope to the Pastor, or faithfull friends who perceive the man after fearfull wakening of his conscience, to have fallen back to his old wayes, and turned carelesse of the means of salvation: for, such a man, is of set purpose and resolvedly wicked. Such was the desperation of Cain, who, after a whiles lamentation and houling for the curse pronounced upon him by God, plucked up his heart, departed from the society of the Church, where God giveth his presence, and goeth into the land of Nod, or voluntary banishment, and giveth himself over to building of Cities, Gen. 4. 13, 14. Such also was the desperation of Esau, who, when he saw he was excluded from the spiritual blessing of the birthright, laments a little, and then turned himself toward the earthly blessing, and sought all his consolation in it, Gen. 27. 34, 38. yet such men must be dealt with, if God possibly may bless the means.
3. As for the other sort of anxious desperation, except it be cured by Gods blessing of the means used, it draweth on voluntary and deliberat self-murther. We put a difference between brute self-murther, and voluntary or deliberat self-murther: for this beastly brute self-murther, may befall mad persons, furious, melancholious, distracted persons, or such as are beset by some evil spirit, in whom the faculty of reasoning is so impeded, that without the use of reason, or common sense, they are carried to destroy themselves some way. Such persons can hardly be called voluntary and deliberat self-murtherers, because they are neither able to observe and discern their own condition, nor their danger, wherein they are, nor any circumstances which might hinder them from the mischief; and therefore it cannot properly in this case be called desperation, because the miserable person is not so much capable of reason as to consider the grounds and motives of hope or despair.
But voluntary self-murther, proceedeth from properly called desperation, because the wretch, after deliberation, how to escape from misery lying on and coming on, when all reason of hope seemeth to fail him, he casts away any further inquisition after the remedy; and out of apprehension, that he can be in no worse case after his death, then he presently feeleth, and that he can no other way be rid of his present torment then by death, wittingly and willingly putteth hand in himself: In this voluntary self-murther, sometime the sense of wrath for sin committed, doth predomine, as in Iudas the traitour, his desperation and self-murther: sometime the apprehension of more worldly misery, more bitter then death, doth predomine, as in King Saul, who choosed rather to fall on his own sword, then fall alive into the hands of the Philistines, 1 Sam. 31. 4. and in Achitophels hanging himself, when he foresaw what misery should come upon himself, when his counsel was not imbraced by Absalom, 2 Sam. 17. 23.
4. To speak of self-murther in general, requireth a Treatise larger then our purpose doth permit; it sufficeth us to speak a little to it, as the temptation thereunto, and desperation of finding Gods mercy is a hindrance of regeneration. To this end, where any fear or suspicion of any intention toward this fearfull sin, doth appear, all meeknesse should be used by all that have interest in the person suspected, that may serve to save the vexed party from such a mischief; God must be in-called and requested for relief unto the patient: Physicians should be called, and moe Pastors then one, if they can be had, the soul in danger must by friends, be watched and waited on, in a prudent maner night and day, that he never be alone. If the person be capable of reason, he must be dealt with freely to confesse his temptation and purpose toward this sin, the causes moving him must be inquired after; and if they be other then sense of sin and fear, or feeling of Gods wrath, then course must be taken to make the party sensible of sin and to fear Gods wrath, and to consider, that if they give way to that sin they are tempted unto, they do no lesse, in effect, then cast themselves in hell, where the justice and wrath of God shall lye upon them without hope of ease or ending of their everlasting torment, from which fearfull destruction, they may be preserved both in soul and body, if they shall acknowledge their sin, and flye to God in Christ offering grace and pardon of sin and delivery from hell, and right unto heaven, promised to all and every one who shall imbrace Jesus Christ for their redemption. And for these, whose vexation is mainly from the conscience of heinous sins, and felt wrath of God pursuing them, the grace offered in the Gospel must be cleared unto them and inculcated; if they can be moved to give reasons of their fear and to propone their doubts, who knoweth what blessing may follow on their free dealing, and from faithfull answers from Scripture returned unto them? Conferences of experimented Christians may with profit be made use of in the patients audience, whereby the party may receive both increase of knowledge and some beginnings of comfort. Among other means, godly persons, who have in their own exercise had experience of such temptations, and have gotten victory by flying unto Christ, may serve much by their conference to encourage them. In some of those tempted souls, tokens of good hope will shortly appear; in others, it may be, none can conjecture what shall be the event, till the time declare it, whether justice or mercy was intended of God; for, both in the elect, who are cured of this disease, and in the reprobat who perish in their sin, the same symptoms may appear; if the anxiety and expressions of the one and the other be compared. Therefore, care must be had of every one under such temptations, whatsoever the event may be and the Lords blessing waited for in the use of the means. Scripture sheweth us how hard exercises Gods dear children have been under. Beside many other Saints, we shall only name two witnesses, the one is Heman the Ezrait, that precious soul, not much inferiour to Solomon in wisdom, 1 King. 4. 31. of whom no man could say he was a weak brain and hypochondriack or melancholious person, whose sad exercise stands registrated (Ps. 88.) for many mans comfort. The other witnesse shall be Iob. whose perplexities we read in his dispute with his friends, and how he tasted of this bitter temptation also, Job 7. 13, 14, 15. When I say my bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint, then thou skarest me with dreams and terrifies me with visions, so that my soul chooseth strangling. Behold there is a very sad exercise of the most holy and righteous man on earth; there is a sore temptation even unto self-murther, but how is this temptation over-come? first, he doth not hide his temptation, but openeth it up in the worst shape: this giveth the temptation vent, he will not conceal it, nor be Sathans secretar in this; and this is one mean to weaken the temptation. Then he presenteth it before God, and poureth out his complaint unto the Lord, and this giveth him the victory. So let all souls tempted unto desperation do, and cleave to God in Christ, and they shall be victorious also.