intollerable burthen Rom. 7.24 O then remember that sweet Invitation of thy Saviour Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Matth. 11.28 Apply to thy soul the Soveraign Blood of Christ which cleanseth from all Sin 1 Joh. 1.7 which pacifieth the Conscience and purgeth it from dead works Heb. 9.14 which speaks better things than the Blood of Abel Heb. 12.24 Cast the burthen of thy sins thy guilt thy punishment on Christ on whom God made to meet the Iniquities of us all and by whose Stripes we are healed Isa 53.5 6. His soul was sad and sorrowful to the death that thy soul might rejoyce the Spirit of the Lord God was upon him and he was sent by God to bind up the broaken-hearted to give them that mourn in Sion Beauty for Ashes the oyle of Joy for Mourning and the garment of Praise for the spirit of heaviness Isa 61.1 2 3. Thirdly Doth the Lord hide his Face from thee so that thou beholdest not the light of His Countenance as formerly Think with thyself notwithstanding that God's Love is Unchangable and Everlasting He changeth not as Man doth Mal. 3.6 Though he seem to hide his Face and forsake thee for a small moment yet with Everlasting kindness will I embrace thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer Isa 54.7 8. He retaineth not his Anger for ever He will turn again He will have Compassion upon us Micah 7.18 19. If thou prayest to God in Faith He will be favourable to thee and thou shalt see his Face with joy Job 33.26 Who is among you that feareth the Lord that walketh in darkness and hath no light let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God Isa 50.10 Though the tender Mother go sometimes where the Child doth not see her yet still her Bowels are towards the Child God when he seems to with-draw from his people yet still his Love and Compassion are towards them Christ upon the Cross cryed out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me that we might not be forsaken of God Fourthly Doest thou yet apprehend some tokens of God's wrath and displeasure which fills thy heart with fear and amazement Remember that Christ our Sponsor and Surety hath born the whole VVrath of God the whole Curse of the Law for all those that come to him and believe on him He hath Redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us Gal. 3.13 He it was that trode the Wine-press of the fierceness of the Wrath of God and there was none to help him Isa 63.5 6. Rev. 19.15 By this Jesus we are delivered from the wrath to come 1 Thes 1.10 The Lord is merciful and gracious He will not always Chide neither will he keep his Anger for ever As a Father pittyeth his Children so the Lord pittyeth them that fear Him for he knoweth our frame He remembreth that we are but dust Psal 103.8 9 13 14. He will not contend for ever neither will He be always Wrath lest the Spirit should fail before him He will restore Comforts to him that Mourns and will Create the fruit of the lips Peace Peace Isaiah 57.16 19. Fifthly Doth Satanical Injections and violent Temptations to the most horrid Evils and Blasphemies haunt and hurry thee day and night Consider poor soul that they are thy Tryals not thy Sins if thou dost not yield thereunto but abhor and resist them thou art like the modest Virgin that 's forcibly Ravished by a wicked Man without her consent 'T is his Sin not hers though a great Affliction to her Oh flye to the Throne of Grace and Mercy for help and succor in this time of Need rest thy self on God's free promise and word of Grace He is Faithful and will not suffer you to be Tempted above that you are able but will with the Temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it 1 Cor. 10.13 The Lord is Faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from Evil 2 Thes 3.3 The Lord shall preserve thee from all Evil He shall preserve thy soul Psal 121.7 Thou shalt be kept by the power of God through Faith to Salvation 1 Pet. 1.5 Let thy soul take Sanctuary in the free Promise of Grace Sixthly Doth the fear of Death and Eternity cause sad thoughts of heart in thee O learn to look at Death in the comfortable Glass of the Gospel of Christ and not in the dreadful glass of the Law Death to a Believer is swallowed up in Victory the Sting of this Serpent is taken away by Christ O Death saith he I will be thy Death O Grave I will be thy Victory Christ hath conquer'd Death perfum'd the Grave and opened a way for poor Sinners to Everlasting Glory The Sting of Death is Sin and the Strength of Sin is the Law But Thanks be to God which giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15.56 57. Forasmuch as the Children are Partakers of Flesh and Blood Christ Himself took part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the Power of Death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of Death were all their Life-time subject to Bondage Heb. 2.14 15. Here five or six special Helps and Directions when ye are troubled and perplexed with sad Thoughts and much Darkness upon your Spirits DIRECTION I. Call to Remembrance what hath formerly pass'd betwixt God and your Soul what Love-tokens ye have received from him though you be now under a Cloud As when the Title of your Land is questioned you search old Records and Evidences so ye should do in this Case Thus David when his Soul had before refused to be Comforted and his Spirit was in a manner overwhelmed yet now he would consider the Dayes of Old the Years of Antient Times and call to Remembrance his Songs in the Night c. Psal 77.2 3 5 6. And Job when the Wrath of God seemed to be kindled against him and God counted him as one of his Enemies and his Reines were consumed within him yet still saith he Job 19.11 27 28. The Root of the Matter is found in me He acknowledged that he had the Root of true Faith in him and knew that his Redeemer liveth Though the Exercise of his Faith was at present suspended as to the comfortable Effects of it yet he had an evidence of his good Estate from his former Experience As in the Winter-Season though the Plant seems to wither yet the root of it still remaines in the Earth and when the Spring comes and the Sun shines upon it with a powerful Influence it will appear DIRECTION II. Plead and expostulate Humbly with thy God when he seems to hide his Face from thee make use of Arguments in thy Prayers taken from the Infinitness of God's Mercy and the Greatness of thy Misery Thy Saviour in His great Soul-Agony and
Principles by the Engine of his Temptations Secondly These sad thoughts are Caused by a deep sense of sin and the desert of it this worketh terror dejection and despondency of spirit when God represents and sets before a Man the greatness of his sins Thus David himself sadly complains Mine Iniquities are gone over mine head as a heavy burthen they are too heavy for me Psal 38.4 Thirdly They are caused by spiritual desertion or God's hiding his Face from the Soul Thou did'st hide thy Face saith David and I was troubled Psal 30.7 And Sion said The Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me Isa 49.14 Wherefore hidest thou thy Face saith Job and holdest me for thine Enemy Wilt thou break a Leaf driven to and fro and wilt thou pursue the dry Stubble For thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the Iniquities of my Youth Job 13.24 25. Fourthly From the apprehension of Divine wrath and displeasure Though God be Reconciled to Believers in Christ yet they often apprehend God's Frowns rather than his Smiles his Chidings rather than his Kisses and these make sad impressions upon them Thus Job complains The Arrowes of the Almighty are within me the Poyson whereof drinketh up my Spirit the Terrors of God do sett themselves in array against me Job 6.4 and verse 8 9. He wanted words to express the greatness of his misery and sorrow wherewith his spirit was even over-whelmed Such sad apprehensions Heman also had Whilst I suffer thy terrors saith he I am distracted thy fierce wrath goeth over me thy terrors have cut me off Psal 88.15 16. Fifthly These sad thoughts and cogitations are sometimes caused by violent temptations and suggestions to the most horrid evils as to Self-murther final Despair Blasphemy cursed Atheisme the Soul is so terrified therewith that it is ready to chuse a sudden violent death rather than life Thou scarest me with Dreams saith Job cap. 7. v. 14 15. and terrifiest me through Visions so that my soul chuseth strangling and death rather than my life Such horrid Blasphemous suggestions and injections from Satan some poor Christians have sad experience of which fill their souls with terror and amazement and make them even weary of their lives Sixthly Sad Thoughts are caused by looking at Death in the Chastly Glass of the Law of God and not in the Comfortable Glass of the Gospel and so Death appears to be the King of Terrors and of all Terrible things the most Terrible Oh! What will become of me thinks the poor Trembling Soul when I dye How shall I be able to shoot that great and vast Gulph of Eternity and to endure the Bitterness and Terrors of Death I that cannot bear with Patience a little Pain of the Tooth-ake Stone Strangury How shall I look upon that Pale-Horse and his Rider whose Name is Death Rev 6.8 Saints themselves have many times sad Thoughts and Apprehensions touching Death when the Soul shall be stript naked of the Body and all worldly Comforts and brought into the Immediate Presence of God The Conscience here in this Life being not perfectly and wholly purged and pacifyed there remaines still some Defilement some Guilt which causeth some Doubts and Fears even in true Believers You have heard the Causes now let us come to the Remedies of these sad Thoughts First then If Melancholy be the Cause use the means which God has appointed for the Cure of it Three Things I commend to you 1. Ye should with Dependence on God the Supreme Cause and Being use the most proper Physick moderate Exercise good Diet. As for Bodily Distempers they are ordinarily cured by Corporal Medicines and not by Spiritual Means I say with Dependance on God for Success ye must use Physick for except the Lord build the House they Labour but in vain that build it Psal 127.1 And King Asa is blamed because in his Disease he sought not to the Lord but to the Physitians 2 Chron. 16.12 2. Converse frequently with wise compassionate experienced Christians such as have been exercised with Melancholy Distempers themselves and are not ignorant of Sathan's Methods otherwise ye speak to them and they to you in an unknown Tongue 3. Consider That though the Cure of Melancholy be a torture to the most Learned Physitians in the World yet God the Soveraign Physitian can easily rebuke it If He speak the word Be thou healed then thou shalt be sound and whole The Lord knows our frame how frail and weak we are what advantage Satan takes against us from these melancholy Distempers and how they disable and dis-spirit us for Religious Services and render our Lives burthensome and uncomfortable to us and therefore he will pitty us as an indulgent Father pittieth his Children And though the Distemper should not wholly be removed yet we may well hope that he will so abate it for his own Names sake that it shall not over-whelm us no nor hinder our Spiritual Good but be a means to humble us and keep us low in our own Eyes Secondly If your sad disconsolate Thoughts be caused by Spiritual Distempers as Unbelief carnal Reason Doubts and Fears something is to be done in the general and then more particularly 1. In general Endeavour in the Strength of God to comfort these sad Thoughts by applying Spiritual Consolations suâ—table to your Distemper so you find in the Text In the multitude of my Thoughts i. e. sad Thoughts within me Thy Comforts delight my soul Psal 94.9 Let not the Consolations of God â—â—em small to thee neither do thou indulge any secret Sin Job 15.11 2. You should often chide your selves keenly and rationally for these sad unbelieving thoughts Why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my Countenance and my God Psal 42.5 11. This sadness and dejectedness in Saints is very unreasonable and of ill consequence for it drinks up their spirits disables and dispirits them for the Service of God and Men But I will speak more particularly to this matter First Does Satan work upon and by those Innate Principles of Darkness Unbelief carnal Reason which are in thy heart and nature and likewise on thy Bodily distempers especially Melancholy O then take to thee the whole Armour of God especially the Shield of Faith that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil and to quench all his fiery Darts Ephes 6.11 16. Pray earnestly that God would rebuke Satan and remember that Christ prays for you And the Lord said unto Satan The Lord Rebuke thee O Satan Is not this a Brand pluckt out of the fire Zach. 3.2 Greater is Christ that is in you and for you than Satan that is against you Secondly Do thy sins make thee sad and disconsolate Do they press thee down with a great weight and doest thou groan under the body of Sin as an
Distress prayed often and earnestly Luk. 22.44 Is any among you Afflicted saith the Apostle Jam. 5.13 let him Pray This Direction may be drawn out and improved in five Particulars 1. Suppose thy Case be as sad as Jobs was Cap. 10. v. 15 16 17. thou art full of Distraction and Confusion the Lord hunts thee as a fierce Lyon and increaseth his Indignation upon thee contending still with thee as if he were thy greatest Enemy Yet now fall down and Prostrate thy self humbly at his Feet as a poor silly helpless Lamb and if thou must needs dye and perish yet dye at His Feet mourning and bleeding out thy-Heart in Sighs and Tears Take heed of a fretting murmuring Spirit which is exceeding offensive to God Be still and quiet not a word put thy Mouth in the Dust It is good that a Man should hope and quietly wait on God Lam. 3.26 29. I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him saith the Church Mic. 7.9 Kiss the Rod as a submissive Child and acknowledge that it is of the Lord's Mercy that thou art not consumed 2. When God seems to pursue thee hard and to bend his Bow and shoot his Arrows against thee desire him humbly to Remember the Thoughts of Love and Peace which he had to poor Sinners from Eternity These Thoughts he delights in they are more than can be numbered Psal 40.5 and what Are they restrained in Him Hath God forgotten to be Gratious Hath He for ever shut up his tender Mercies Surely He hath not Psal 77.9 Put him in mind of that infinite All-sufficient Righteousness and Merit which is in Christ whereof Himself hath no need no nor the Blessed Angels that never sinned But it is reserved for poor sinful Men and Women such as thou art If thou sayest Thou art unworthy yea but He loves freely Hos 14.4 If the greatness of thy Sins be objected against thee tell him That there is plenteous Redemption for thee in and with Christ Psal 130.7 Art thou ungodly and wicked in thy self the Scripture saith That he Justifies the ungodly Rom. 4.5 and that Christ received Gifts for Sinners yea for the Rebellious that the Lord God might dwell with them Psal 68.18 Art thou no better than a Dogg Yea but the Doggs they eat the Crumbs that fall from their Master's Table Christ hath reserved some Crumbs of Mercy and Comfort for thee Math. 15.27 3. If he still pursue thee in his Anger and set thee as a Mark to shoot at so that thou art a Burthen to thy self Job 7.20 Ask him humbly with Tears in thy Eyes What he aimes at Is it to have the Victory over thee that he might be justifyed in his Sayings and might over-come when he is Judged Rom. 3.4 Tell him freely Thou wilt yeild to him as a poor Captive and stand out with him in nothing and that he shall need no other Judge or Jury to condemn thee but thy self Thou art very willing to justifie him in all things and to sentence and condemn thy self only beseech him to consider what Victory what Honour it will be to so Great and Infinite a God as He is to pursue a little dry Stubble to break a poor Leaf that is bruis'd already and crumbles under his Fingers if he do but touch it Job 13.25 Say to Him Thou art Impar Congressus Thou art far from being an equal Match to Him and He is so Noble so Generous as not to set Himself against a Worm against a poor weak Leaf that yeilds and falls under His hand having said That He will not contend for ever lest the Spirit should utterly fail before him Isa 57.19 4. If it should be hinted to thee as if God would glorify Himself in thy Eternal Destruction and Condemnation tell him 'T is true he may But yet before he thrust his Sword in thee desire Him with Reverence and Submission to consider That he first sheathed it in the Blood of His Son and what profit will there be in thy Blood and Destruction If Satisfaction to Divine Justice be his end and designe He may have that in and from the Propitiatory-Sacrifice and Death of Christ and so be no loser And as for thy Salvation it will be more for his Glory than thy Condemnation If he require more Ojbedience of thee Alas this is not the way to perform it when thy poor Soul is distracted with his Terrors and thou art as a Man that hath no Strength numbred amongst the Dead as Heman speaks Psal 88.4 5 15. The more Spiritual Peace and Joy and Soul hath the more Service and Obedience it will be able to perform to God who loves a chearful Giver The Joy of the Lord is the Strength of the Soul Nehem. 8.10 If it be suggested to thee That if thou hadst more Assurance Joy and Inlargement thou wouldst abuse it and grow wanton Tell God humbly That he may also prevent that if He please by the Power of His Grace and by writing the Law of Love in thy Heart by his Spirit which will constraine thee to love Him and to live to Him 2 Cor. 5.14 And Love is as strong as Death Many Waters cannot quench it neither can the Floods drown it Cant. 8.6 7. And though thou hast a froward and stubborn Heart which thou canst not chuse but sadly complain of yet so had he whom the Prophet speaks of Isa 57.17 18. God hid his Face from him was wrath and smote him and he went on frowardly in the way of his Heart Yet for all this saith the Lord I have seen his wayes and will heal him and restore Comforts to him 5. If thy Temptation be so great and thy Condition so sad as if there were no other Remedy but God and thou must part yet labour notwithstanding to have good thoughts of God and to bless Him for those glorious Attributes and excellencies of Mercy Truth Wisdom Holiness that are in him Bless Him for his mercy and goodness to others and for enabling them to serve him with chearfulness and success Bless him for the good things which thou hast formerly received from Him and if thou hast done or suffered any thing for God in thy time wish with all thy soul it had been a thousand times more And confess thy self unworthy lesser than the least of those Mercies he hath bestowed on thee and that thou art infinitly ingaged to Him for what is past if He should cast thee off for time to come and never smile upon thee again Desire Him only that He would preserve and maintain in thee good and honourable thoughts of His Majesty that thou maist not in the least derogate from His Honour or Blaspheme his Holy Name however he is pleased to deal with thee as to Spiritual Peace and Comfort And who knows but whilst thou art thus bemoaning thy self as Ephraim did though the Lord at present seem to look Stern and to speak Angerly to thee yet