Trouble of the Mind and the Disease of Melancholy, Discourse · Part 1 · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII.
Shewing what is the Duty of thoſe Perſons whom God hath delivered from Melancholly, and from the anguiſh of their Conſciences, under a ſenſe of his Wrath, As alſo, what a wonderful Act of Providence it is, that ſuffers a very ſinful World to be in ſo great Peace! and what cauſe there is for all people to pray againſt ſuch Diſeaſes, whereof the Devil ſerves himſelf to their great torment and vexation. And as the Concluſion of this Firſt Part, What is to be thought of thoſe that are diſtracted with trouble for their ſins; and of thoſe that dye in great darkneſs as to their ſpiritual ſtate.
I Should now proceed to ſhew how thoſe Perſons that have been long under a ſenſe of God's diſpleaſure, and who are now come to ſome good hope through Grace, ought to behave themſelves after ſo terrible a viſitation: But my Diſcourſes on the former Verſes of this Pſalm, and which I have publiſhed ſome time ago, where I mentioned what it is that we are to do after recovery from ſickneſs, hath in a great meaſure prevented my farther inſiſting on this Subject, as alſo thoſe ends that I have now mentioned, which God aims at in theſe diſpenſations; and if we make it our great care to comply with them, we anſwer his deſigns; and even thoſe ſore afflictions will be a very great mercy to us. And what I judge further neceſſary to be ſaid, I ſhall compriſe in theſe following particulars:
I. That we in all the following part of our Lives, value this World very little; our unmortified affections were the bryers and the thorns that pierced us, and multiplied our ſorrows. Let us look upon this World and it's moſt admired Glories, as a poor contemptible, empty thing; for ſo it is indeed: The World by the cares and variety of thoughts to which it naturally carries us, eaſily diſquiets and throws us down, but it cannot with all its charms raiſe us up again; all its Riches cannot buy an hours Peace and Comfort; all its Honours cannot ſave us from the Contempt of God; all its pleaſures cannot ſweeten our Cup, nor all its ſmiles chear us when he frowns: The more we are elevated above all earthly things, the more ſhall we be freed from ſtorm and tempeſt; and it may be true that ſome tell us, That the tops of thoſe Mountains that are above the middle Region, are ſo quiet, that the lighteſt things there, lye ſtill and are not moved: This World has been formerly, and will be ſtill a place of vanity and vexation of ſpirit; we have found it to be ſo; always have we met with trouble. When we loved any thing there with an exceſſive love, alas! it was able to do nothing for us in our ſore affliction; when our Conſciences were in a flame, there was nothing in it that could quench our thirſt; let us eſteem at a low rate ſuch an empty World as this, its Comforts are doubtful, but its Miſeries are certain; its Griefs are long-lived, but its pleaſures are very ſhort.
II. When the ſenſe of the wrath of God is removed, we muſt, by the remembrance of it, be fortified againſt the tentations of Satan; when we are tempted to diſtruſt, we muſt ſay, I will not entertain any more hard thoughts of a God whom I have found to be faithful; when we are tempted to impatience, under ſome new returning croſs, we muſt anſwer and ſay, I will not fret nor murmur any more againſt my Gracious and my Loving God, that will, I am ſure, remember me ſtill in my low eſtate, as he did heretofore; when Satan would perſuade us that we are no Sons of God, becauſe we are afflicted, or becauſe we are long ſo, we muſt quench this dart alſo, by remembring our dear Redeemer, who was never more beloved, than when he was moſt ſorely tried: There is nothing that will ſo preſerve us, as the remembrance of the kindneſs and the mercy of God: His peace that paſſes underſtanding will keep our hearts.
III. Let our eſcape from ſuch long and ſore afflictions, quicken us to Duty: I do not mean by that, only to Prayer, but the performance of all thoſe Acts of Religion, whereby we may glorify God, and do good to Men. Let our Prayers be more fervent, our Meditations of him more ſweet; and our Thoughts of him more conſtant and abiding. Let us take heed of all formality and unaffectedneſs of ſpirit in all our attendance upon God; Let us beware of inward and ſpiritual decays, and ſtifle and reſiſt the firſt abatements and declinings of our love to God, ſeeing he has withdrawn his hand from us, and his dread docs not make us afraid, Job 9.13, 14. Let us draw near to him, and ſeek his face, and do it now with more delight; for as the Earth (as one obſerves; is ſhut and bound up by froſt and cold, and putteth not forth her fruits till the warmth and heat of the Summer call them out; ſo the heart, under the cold affections of fear and guilt, under the dark apprehenſions of wrath and judgement, is ſo contracted, that it knows not how to draw near to God; but when his love is ſhed abroad in it, then it is enlarged to the performance of its duty; and the ſenſe of mercy, and the hope of it, gives us great encouragement ſo pray; for Prayer is the child of Faith. Let the Love of God towards us, quicken us to watchfulneſs, and a dayly care of our own hearts that are ſo treacherous and deceitful. It once was night, a doleful night with us; but ſeeing the day is begun to dawn, let us ſet upon our work with a greater diligence.
IV. Our deliverance from ſuch ſad and terrible Apprehenſions of God's Wrath, and from long and ſore Tryals, ſhould teach us to walk humbly with him. We have ſeen him in the terribleneſs of his Majeſty, we have ſeen the Lord of Hoſts in his Glory, and ſuch a ſight cannot but make us know, that we are unclean, Iſaiah 6.5. What have we wherein to pride our ſelves? The Archers have ſorely ſhot at us; and we could not make our Bow abide in ſtrength; God has bruiſed, tried, and laid us low, to ſhew us what was in our Hearts; and alas, we ſaw nothing there, but what was very bad. Such a ſight as may cauſe us to wonder at his Patience, and his healing-grace, and to abhor and loath our ſelves for ever. The time of our darkneſs, was a time of Provocation; when we were in the Wilderneſs, we murmured; and what a Mercy is it, that our Carkaſſes are not fallen, and our Souls ruined; but that the God whom we ſo provoked, hath given us the proſpect, and the hope of Canaan after all this! Thoſe that ſhould have told us, when we were in Health and Peace, that we ſhould have ſpoke ſo hardly of God when we were in our diſtreſs, that we ſhould cenſure his Diſpenſations, and Sin ſo very much when his Rod, and his Stroke was upon us, we ſhould have thought them very cenſorious and uncharitable People; but there is no man knows how bad his heart is, till it be tried by long and ſore Afflictions. Our Anguiſh, and our Sorrow, and our deſpairing Fears, cauſed us to do a thouſand things which we ſhould at another ſeaſon tremble at. And ſuch Fools are we, that even when we are beaten in the Mortar, our folly does not depart from us. Tho God have forgiven us, yet we ought to remember our Murmuring, our Unbelief, and the like Sins, with a great Self-abhorrence all our days. Iſa. 38.15. What ſhall I ſay? he hath both ſpoken unto me, and himſelf hath done it: I ſhall go ſoftly all my years, in the bitterneſs of my Soul. We have, cauſed many to be diſcouraged, many to faint, many to reflect upon Religion, becauſe of our ſadneſs; and the diſhonour that may hereby have come to God, ſhould be matter of great Humiliation to us, tho there is in the ſpiritual Affections of the Religious, ſomething that is very tremendous to the Wicked; 'tis as a Judgment to harden them, and for the falling of many, that by this means they are more fixed in their prejudices against all Religion; and by ſeeing thoſe that have long pretended to embrace it, very ſorrowful, they are tempted to believe there is nothing real in it, and ſo they go on and ſin and dye. We have great cauſe to be humbled, not to glory in our ſrength, for we have found it to decay; not to glory in our Knowledg, for we have, known ſuch Diſtempers as have caſt a Cloud upon our Understanding. We have been buffered by Satan to teach us, that we have need of more help to preſerve us than our own. Oh! what is Man, when left of God? Nothing but weakneſs and vanity. He withdraws man from his purpoſe, that he may hide pride from man, Job 33.17.
V. We muſt beware of a Relapſe, as we muſt be careful to avoid all thoſe things which may bring upon us the ſame bodily Diſeaſes, from which we are delivered; ſo we ought to be as careful to prevent every thing that may bring a new Indiſpoſition and Terror on our Souls, when we are newly come out of the Furnace. Let us beware, that we do not fall again into ſuch hot and fiery Tryals as thoſe are, which we have felt. Let us for ever be very cautious to avoid every thing that has the appearance, or the ſhew of Sin. And let us for ever be jealous of our own hearts, and watchful over their moſt ſecret motions, ſeeing they have often, alas too often, betrayed us. Let us for ever abſolutely deny all the moſt pleaſing Temptations of the Devil, as remembring that he is the Enemy of God; and remembring withal with what Cruelty and Pride that Enemy of our Salvation inſulted over us when it pleaſed God to leave us for a ſeaſon. Let us remember how he ſuggeſted dreadful and amazing Apprehenſions to us; and let us no more come near the Den of Lyons, nor play upon the hole of Aſps. We have felt the Arrows of the Almighty, let us not provoke him again to bend his Bow, and to ſet us up for a Marke of his Diſpleaſure. It is not long ſince his Waves, and his Billows went over us; oh! let us not plunge our ſelves again into the deep Waters, nor cauſe him to frown, whoſe Frowns we have found to be ſo very terrible. Pſalm 85.8. God the Lord will ſpeak peace unto his People, and to his Saints: but let them not turn again to folly. It was indeed our folly to provoke ſo gracious a God; it was our folly to be indifferent and careleſs in our holy Duties. Let the Rod that hath made us ſmart, for ever drive away that folly which was once bound up in our hearts. Doleful Experience, and Anguiſh, and Tribulation, has told us what a dreadful thing it is to ſin. By the Judgments that we have groaned under, let us learn righteouſneſs. VVe are come off the Rack with broken Bones, and with many Wounds, which our good Phyſician has been pleaſed to ſet and heal again. Let us not rebel againſt his Laws, leſt we be put to the Rack again. 'Tis not indeed the Corruptions that are within us, that will bring us to it, unleſs we cheriſh and approve them when they entice us to what is Evil. Tho they war, if it be againſt the allowance of our mind, they will not interrupt our Peace with God. Let us not be ſecure; tho the Devil have left us, it may be only for a ſeaſon, and he may return again with greater fury. Let us, during the comfortable quiet that we now enjoy, be preparing our ſelves to reſiſt and oppoſe all his Aſſaults for the time to come. Let us, tho we triumph through the Grace of God, remember that our Enemies are not yet fully overthrown; they are not aſhamed of one defeat, but will rally their diſperſed Forces, and come again: What did we think of Sin, when it had cauſed the Son of Righteouſneſs to be covered with Clouds, that we could not ſee him, nor feel his vital quickning Beams for many days? What did we think of it, when it had ſet us on fire round about, and brought us to the very Gates of Hell; when it ſunk, and overwhelmed, and terrified us every moment. Let us never henceforth begin to parley with an Enemy that has uſed us after ſuch a barbarous and cruel manner.
VI. After we are delivered from the dreadful Apprehenſions of the Wrath of God, it is our duty to be publickly thankful. Pſal. 66.16. Come, and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell what he hath done for my ſoul. 'Tis for the glory of our Healer, to tell the miſerable Wounds that once pained us; and to ſpeak of that kind hand that ſaved us when we were brought very low. 'Tis for the glory of our Pilot, to tell of the Rocks, and of the Sands; the many Dangers, and threatning Calamities, that he by his wiſe Conduct made us to eſcape; and to ſee us on the ſafe Shore, may cauſe others that are yet afflicted, and toſt with Tempeſts, to look to him for help; for he is able, and ready, to ſave them as well as us. We muſt, like Soldiers, when a tedious War is over, relate our Combats, our Fears, our Dangers, with delight; and make known our Experiences to doubting, troubled Chriſtians; and to thoſe that have not yet been under ſuch long and ſevere Tryals as we have been.
VII. The fears that we have had of God, and of his Wrath, muſt teach us not inordinately to fear any of thoſe Evils that are of a lower nature. Others that have been all their days in eaſe and quiet; that have had no trouble of Conſcience, or none for a long while together, may be afraid of temporal Evils, and inconveniences; but to us who have for a long time been afraid of God himſelf, how flight a thing ſhould the Wrath of Man appear! When we have been under his Diſpleaſure that can kill the Soul, whit little cauſe have we to fear them that can only kill the Body? Others may be afraid of a ſmall diſtreſs, of a little ill weather; but it does not become us to fear, who have been in ſo many ſeveral Storms for many months together: when we have been afraid of Hell, there is nothing upon Earth that looks with an aſpect ſo formidable: And if God have delivered us from the greateſt Dangers, we ought to believe that he will ſave us from the leſſer Troubles of our Life. Our Experience of ſo many terrible things, ſhould fortify our minds againſt all future Afflictions that are not of the ſame kind. I ſhall cloſe this part of the Verſe with theſe two Advices.
1. If the Servants of God are obnoxious to ſuch ſad apprehenſions of his Wrath; Then you have great cauſe to admire the Peace that is in the World: Many an one among his People is crying, The Lord hath forſaken me; His Wrath lieth hard upon me; and if all his People, if all whoſe Sins deſerve his Wrath, ſhould be all ſo ſenſible of it, and complaining and crying out in the like manner; oh! what a doleful Cry would that be! like the Cry that was in Sodom, when it rained Fire and Brimſtone; like the Cry that was in Egypt, when they found all their Firſtborn ſlain! Oh what a change would appear in the World, if God ſhould let out the ſenſe of his diſpleaſure upon all that have deſerved it! this World would be like Hell it ſelf; all Commerce and Buſineſs would immediately fail; for what heart would men have to trade, to buy, or ſell, if they did not know, but the very next moment they might be in Hell! It is one of the mighty Acts of Providence that maintains ſo great a Calmneſs in a very ſining-World. For if he were not infinitely patient, if he ſhould open the eyes of all men to ſee his unſpeakable Majeſty, Holineſs, Glory; and their Offences, and their Deſerts, and their nearneſs to Deſtruction, and then ſuffer them, as he juſtly might, to be tortured with their guilty Thoughts, to be tempted, and overcome, and to ſink into deſpair, oh what Lyons and Tygers would men be … they would tear themſelves, and one another. All, the Stilneſs of this Earth would be turned into Rage; all its Joys would be turned into gloomy Sorrows; and all its Laughters into Weeping and Wailing, and gnaſhing of Teeth; and all the Inhabitants thereof would be in Anguiſh, and; curſe their God and King. The moſt are for the preſent under inſenſibility; they do not ſee whither they are a going, nor feel the horrors that they are capable of: they are treaſuring up wrath, and it is his goodneſs that it does not immediately fall upon their heads in burning drops: there is but a thin Partition between this World, that has in it ſo many ſeveral pleaſant Objects, and that World of flaming Torture, where all is diſmal and uncomfortable; and if the Curtain were drawn aſide, and men could look into that fiery Furnace, and the Wicked did apprehend that they were going thither, oh what conſternation, what amazement, what paleneſs would be ſeen on every Forehead that is now moſt proud and liſted up ….
2. Pray to God that you may not fall into ſuch Diſeaſes, whereof Satan is apt to make very great advantage: and alſo pray that Satan may not be ſuffered to bring ſuch ſickneſs upon you as will indiſpoſe you for the Service of your Maker. It is of long and ſevere Afflictions that the Devil makes great uſe; and they do in their own nature lead to impatience, and murmuring, and hard thoughts of God; and therefore they may be earneſtly, but always with ſubmiſſion, prayed againſt: And tho, if you be naturally melancholly, all the Prayers in the World will not change your: Temper; yet by them that black Humour may be kept from tyrannizing over you, as it hath done over many thouſands: pray againſt all ſuch Diſeaſes as are not common to Men; and which being unknown cannot be relieved; and which by affecting your natural Spirits, may cauſe you continually to think, and with tormented anxious thoughts, ſo that you ſhall be a terror to your ſelves, unable to follow your Calling; and yet by not affecting you ſo viſibly as other Diſeaſes do, expoſe you to the uncharitable Cenſures of your Friends, and to the Reproach of thers: as alſo may we pray againſt ſuch Afflictions as do diſturb our Reaſon, that we cannot think, nor exerciſe our Faculties as we uſed to do; as it is lawful to pray for the removal of Afflictions; Job 20.22. So alſo to deſire, That his ſtroaks may not be over-heavy upon us; and that he would remember our frame, and how we are but duſt. If we have been in Diſeaſes that have overwhelmed us, it is our duty to pray, and to uſe all imaginable care, that we do not fall into the like again; and to pray for others, that they may never fall into any ſuch; for of all other Diſtempers, there is none ſo inſupportable, and ſo terrible. When we beg new Favours of God for our ſelves, we muſt remember others, and wiſh that they may never feel what we have felt. Beggars (as one obſerves) when they crave an Alms, frequently uſe this for a Motive; That the Perſon of whom they beg, may be preſerved from that miſery whereof they themſelves have had woful Experience. If they be blind, they ſay, God bleſs your. Eye-ſight: If Lame, God bleſs your Limbs: if undone by caſual burning, God bleſs you and yours from Fire. So we may ſay to our Redeemer; Lord, mayſt thou never be put to freſh Agonies by the deep Diſtreſſes and Agonies of thy poor bleeding Servants: And to you that are good, we may ſay, The Lord preſerve your peace; The Lord bleſs you, and make his face to ſhine upon you; the Joy of your Lord be your ſtrength; the Lord give you the ſweet hopes and foretaſte of Heaven; and we wiſh that you may never drink ſo much Wormwood and Gall as we have drunk; that you may never ſee, and know, and feel ſuch Terrors, and ſo much of Hell as we have felt. It is our duty, as I have ſaid, to pray againſt ſuch Diſeaſes which have an influence for the moſt part upon the mind: though it would be a thought very Atheiſtical, to imagine, that all inward horror of Conſcience comes from bodily diſtreſs; for God, to whom all things are naked and open, can make immediate impreſſions of his Wrath upon the Soul, that ſhall fill it with ſudden amazement and trouble; yet I verily believe, that of all the Chriſtians that are under dreadful fears of Wrath, and in long Terror, there is not one in twenty but whoſe inward trouble comes either from a Melancholly Temper, or from a multiplication of ſharp and ſevere outward Afflictions; and from theſe the Devil takes an opportunity to throw his fiery Darts, and to put them all into a flame. Thoſe that know how great Temptations attend long-continued Afflictions, will heartily pray againſt them; to which I ſhall only add two Queſtions, and ſo conclude this Firſt Part.
Queſt. If the Anger of God be but for a moment, what ſhall we think of thoſe with whom he is angry to their dying day, and who dye in apprehenſion of his diſpleaſure?
Anſw. It is very true, his Servants may dye in theſe Circumſtances: And it is to their poor Souls a very uncomfortable Paſſage; it is very ſad to the Servants of God, for of ſuch I ſpeak, to go to Heaven, ſpeaking in one ſenſe the Language of Hell: 'Tis a myſterious, and a very deep tranſaction of Providence, that is wiſe and good, though it be not underſtood; but many a Believer, even at laſt, in his dejected apprehenſions, thinks himſelf an Heir of the Curſe, that finds himſelf to be an Heir of Glory. Many a time, as one ſaid once by a Perſon dying in trouble, the Sun ſets in a Cloud, and yet ariſes in a marvellous Light: or as Mr. Dod ſaid once to a Miniſter that ask'd him what he could ſay to one going out of the World, and had no Comfort; What, anſwered he, will you ſay to the Son of God himſelf, who, when he was dying, complained he was forſaken? It is, as I mentioned before, ſad to the Perſon himſelf, and ſad to his Relations, whom he takes his leave of in ſuch doleful Expreſſions: His ſorrowful departure may bring ſome of them alſo down to the grave in ſorrow; but yet they may, after all their mourning, meet with joy in the great day; and their mutual ſorrows at their parting may encreaſe their joy when they meet again: many an one dyes with a dreadful ſound in his ears, as if he were a Reprobate, and a Caſt-away, whom God will bleſs; and who, immediately after his diſſolution, ſhall hear a comfortable Sentence: many an one does Satan purſue, and hunt like a Bird upon the Mountains, who ſhall arrive ſafely at his Eternal Home; where neither his Malice, nor his Spite, ſhall ever enter. Many an one wanders about here, like Noah's Dove, finding no reſt, whom God will take into his Ark: And though he ſeem to be fallen into the very Belly of Hell, yet ſhall riſe again in a bleſſed Immortality: And thoſe Eyes which were cloſed with tears, ſhall in peace ſee the Lord: We muſt not judg ſuch Perſons, whoſe Troubles continue to the laſt moment of their Lives; for if they have been holy in their Converſation, they ſhall enter into reſt; tho by a way that is very dark and frightful: Moſes by the Diſpleaſure of God againſt him for his Provocation, dyed, and came ſhort of that Canaan which he very much deſired to poſſeſs; but when he was in Heaven, he was fully ſatisfied; and in his God he met with all that he before could deſire.
Q. 2. But ſuppoſe a perſon be diſtracted with the terrors of the Lord, and dye in that woful condition, the Anger of God towards ſuch an one ſeems to be very great; And how is it conſiſtent with his Promiſe, That all things ſhall work together for good to them that love him? A diſtracted perſon can exerciſe no Grace, cannot think of God aright, cannot commit himſelf to Jeſus Chriſt, nor put his ſoul into any fit poſture, by Faith and Patience, for his Lord's coming.
Anſw. This has a relation to the former Queſtion; and what I then ſaid, may give ſome anſwer to this; and indeed, all terror long continued in a ſenſe of God's diſpleaſure, is attended with diſtraction. What Man can have his eyes opened to ſee God againſt him as he thinks, and to ſee Hell, as he thinks, preparing for him, and yet have calm and quiet thoughts! It muſt needs fill him with horror and confuſion, it muſt needs eclipſe his Reaſon, and put all his Apprehenſions into an inexpreſſible ferment, to ſee himſelf ſo like to periſh; He can mind nothing elſe, nor think of nothing elſe but his danger and his miſery; this always returns, this always perplexes and overwhelms him. I have met but with one that ever handled this Queſtion, and becauſe of his Judgment, his Learning, and the good report that he has in the Churches of Chriſt, I will give you the ſubſtance of his Anſwer.
1. This may be for the good of others. Is there not many a leſſon that ſuch as are not ſo afflicted, may learn from ſo ſad a Providence? May not they learn more to admire the Goodneſs and the Mercy of God to them, that they are not in the like caſe? And it is ſo far good to the perſon himſelf, tho he diſcern it not, that he is uſed as an Inſtrument to promote the Glory of God.
2. It may (as he ſays) do him the ſame good as Death will; i. e. deliver him from the evil to come, from the beholding of ſuch Sorrows on the Church, or on his Friends, as would have been a daily torment to him, and on which being deprived of the uſe of his Reaſon, he cannot reflect with ſo great a grief as otherwiſe he would have done. Or,
3. By this means the Wiſe God may have prevented his falling into many ſuch Sins and Temptations as might have been very hurtful to others, and have more defiled his own Soul: And who knows but this may be the caſe of the diſtracted Perſon? See Mr. Richard Allen's Godly man's Portion, p. 62, 63.
Thus, Reader, we have been travelling as through a Wilderneſs of Fiery Serpents: You have, as I may ſo ſay, born me company, whilſt I have been ſhewing you how God leads his Children through a Deſart, and the Houſe of Bondage: And I hope it has not been without ſome profit to ſome poor Troubled Souls, for whoſe ſakes eſpecially I have ſo long inſiſted on this Subject. In the following Part ſhall, with God's Aſſiſtance, lead you to the brighter ſide of the Cloud; where you will not meet with things very Doleful, but very Pleaſant.
A DISCOURSE Concerning TROUBLE of MIND, AND THE DISEASE of MELANCHOLY. PART II.
PSAL. XXX. 5.
In his favour is Life.