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is certainly damned. Felix Plater hath store of instances of such as thought themselves damned, forsaken of God, &c. One amongst the rest, that durst not go to church, or come near the Rhine, for feare to make away himselfe, because then he was most especially tempted. These and such like symptomes, are intended and remitted, as the malady itselfe is more or less; some will hear good counsel, some will not; some desire helpe, some reject all, and will not be eased.

SUBSECT. V.

Prognostiques of Despair, atheism, blasphemy, violent death, &c.

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MOST part these kinde of persons make away themselves, some are mad, blaspheme, curse, deny God: but most offer violence to their own persons, and sometimes to others. A wounded spirit who can bear? Prov. 18. 14. As Cain, Saul, Achitophel, Judas, blasphemed and died. Bede saith, Pilate died desperate eight yeers after Christ. Felix Plater hath collected many examples. A merchants wife that was long troubled with such temptations, in the night rose from her bed, and out of the windowe broke her neck into the street: another drowned himselfe, desperate as he was, in the Rhine; some cut their throats, many hang themselves. But this needs no illustration. It is controverted by some, whether a man so offering violence to himselfe, dying desperate, may be saved aye or no? If they dye so obstinately and suddenly, that they cannot so much as wish for mercy, the worst is to be suspected, because they dye impenitent. If their death had been a little more lingring, wherein they might have some leasure in their hearts to cry for mercy, charity may judge the best; divers have been recovered out of the very act of hanging and drowning themselves, and so brought ad sanam mentem, they have been very penitent, much abhorred their former fact, confessed that they have repented in an instant, and cryed for mercy in their hearts. If a man put desperate hands upon himself, by occasion of madness or melancholy, if he have given testimony before of his regeneration, in regard he doth this not so much

1 Alios conquerentes audivi se esse ex damnatorum numero, Deo non esse curæ, aliaque infinita quæ proferre non audebant, vel abhorrebant. 2 Musculus, Partritus, ad vim sibi inferendam cogit homines. 33 De mentis alienat. observ. lib. 1. 4 Uxor mercatoris, diu vexationibus tentata, &c.

out of his will, as ex ri morbi, we must make the best construction of it, as 'Turkes doe, that thinke all fools and mad men go directly to heaven.

SUBSECT. VI.

Cure of Despair by physicke, good counsell, comforts, &c.

EXPERIENCE teacheth us, that though many dye obstinate, and wilful in this malady, yet multitudes again are able to resist and overcome, seek for helpe and finde comfort; are taken e faucibus Erebi, from the chops of hell, and out of the divels pawes, though they have by' obligation given themselves to him. Some out of their owne strength, and Gods assistance; though he kill me (saith Job) yet will I trust in him; some out of good counsell, advice, and physicke. Bellovacus cured a monke by altering his habit and course of life: Plater many by physicke alone. But for the most part they must concur: and they take a wrong course that thinke to overcome this ferall passion by sole physicke: and they are as much out, that thinke to worke this effect by good advice alone; though both be forcible in themselves, yet vis unita fortior, they must go hand in hand to this disease:

-alterius sic altera poscit opem.

For physicke, the like course is to be taken with this as in other melancholy: diet, ayr, exercise, all those passions and perturbations of the minde, &c. are to be rectified by the same meanes. They must not be left solitary, or to themselves, never idle, never out of company. Counsell, good comfort is to be applyed, as they shall see the parties inclined; or to the causes, whether it be loss, feare, griefe, discontent, or some such ferall accident, a guilty conscience, or otherwise by frequent meditation, too grievous an apprehension, and consideration of his former life: by hearing, reading of scriptures, good divines, good advice and conference, applying Gods word to their distressed soules, it must be corrected and counter-poysed. Many excellent exhortations, parænetical discourses are extant to this pose, for such as are any way troubled in minde: Perkins, Greenham, Hayward, Bright, Abernethy, Bolton, Culmannus,

1 Busbequius.

pur

John Major vitis patrum. Quidam negavit Christum, 3 Trincavelius lib. 3. consil. 46.

per chirographum post restitutus.

Hemmingius, Cælius Secundus, Nicholas Laurentius, are copious in this subject: Azorius, Navarrus, Sayrus, &c. and such as have written cases of conscience amongst our pontificial writers. But because these mens workes are not to all parties at hand, so parable at all times, I will for the benefit and ease of such as are afflicted, at the request of some 'friends, recollect out of their voluminous treatises, some few such comfortable speeches, exhortations, arguments, advice, tending to this subject, and out of Gods word, knowing, as Culmannus saith upon the like occasion, how unavailable and vaine mens counsells are to comfort an afflicted conscience, except Gods word concur and be annexed, from which comes life, ease, repentance, &c. Presupposing first that which Beza, Greenham, Perkins, Bolton, give in charge, the parties to whom counsell is given be sufficiently prepared, humbled for their sins, fit for comfort, confessed, tryed how they are more or less afflicted, how they stand affected, or capable of good advice, before any remedies be applyed. To such therefore as are so throughly searched and examined, I address this following discourse.

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Two main antidotes, Hemmingius observes, are opposite to despair; good hope out of Gods word, is to be embraced; perverse security and presumption, from the divels treachery, are to be rejected; illa salus animæ, hæc pestis; one saves, the other kils, occidit animam, saith Austin, and doth as much harm as despair itself. Navarrus, the casuist, reckons up ten special cures out of Anton. 1. part. Tit. 3. cap. 10. 1. God. 2. Physicke. 3. Avoiding such objects as have caused it. 4. Submission of himselfe to other mens judgements. 5. Answer of all objections, &c. All which Cajetan, Gerson, lib. de vit. spirit. Sayrus, lib. 1. cas. cons. cap. 14. repeat and approve out of Emanuel Roderiques, cap. 51. & 52. Greenham prescribes six special rules; Culmannus seven. First, to acknowledge all helpe to come from God. 2. That the cause of their present misery is sin. 3. To repent, and be heartily sorry for their sins. 4. To pray carnestly to God they may be eased. 5. To expect and implore the prayers of the church, and good mens advice. 6. Physicke. 7. To commend themselves to God, and rely upon his mercy: others otherwise, but all to this effect. But forasmuch as most men, in this malady, are spiritually sicke, void of reason almost, over-born by their mise

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My brother George Burton; M. James Whitehall, rector of Checkly in Staffordshire, my quondam chamber fellow, and late fellow student in Christ Church, Oxon. 2 Scio quam vana sit et inefficax humanorum verborum penes afflictos consolatio, nisi verbum Dei audiatur, a quo vita, refrigeratio, solatium, pœnitentia. 3 Antid. adversus desperationem. 4 Tom. 2. c. 27. num. 282. sio cogitationis a re scrupulosâ, contraventio scrupulorum.

5 Aver.

ries, and too deep an apprehension of their sins, they cannot apply themselves to good counsell, pray, beleeve, repent; we must, as much as in us lies, occur and helpe their peculiar infirmities, according to their severall causes and symptomes, as we shall finde them distressed and complain.

The main matter which terrifies and torments most that are troubled in minde, is the enormity of their offences, the intolerable burthen of their sins, Gods heavie wrath and displeasure so deeply apprehended, that they account themselves reprobates, quite forsaken of God, already damned, past all hope of grace, uncapable of mercy, diaboli mancipia, slaves of sin, and their offences so great they cannot be forgiven. But these men must know there is no sin so hainous which is not pardonable in it selfe; no crime so great but by Gods mercy it may be forgiven. Where sin aboundeth, grace aboundeth much more, Rom. 5. 20. And what the Lord said unto Paul in his extremity, 2 Cor. 12. 9. My grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is made perfect through weakness, concernes every man in like case. His promises are made indefinite to all believers; generally spoken to all, touching remission of sins, that are truly penitent, grieved for their offences, and desire to be reconciled; Matth. 9. 12. 13. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, that is, such as are truly touched in conscience for their sins. Again, Matt. 11. 28. Come unto me all ye that are heavie laden, and I will ease you. Ezek. 18. 27. At what time soever a sinner shall repent him of his sins, from the bottom of his heart, I will blot out all his wickedness out of my remembrance, saith the Lord. Isay, 43. 25. I, even I am he that put away thine iniquity for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. As a father (saith David, Psal. 103. 13.) hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that feare him; and will receive them again as the prodigall son was entertained, Luke 15. if they shall so come with tears in their eys, and a penitent heart. Peccator agnoscat, Deus ignoscit. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slowe to anger, of great kindness, Psal. 103. 8. He will not alwayes chide, neither keepe his anger for ever. 9. As high as the heaven is above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that feare him. 11. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our sins from us. 12. Though Cain cry out in the anguish of his soule, My punishment is greater then I can bear, 'tis not so; Thou liest Cain (saith Austin); Gods mercy is greater then thy sins. His mercy is above all his workes, Psal. 145. 9. able to satisfie for all mens sins, antilutron, 1. Tim. 2. 6. His mercy is a panacea, a balsome for an afflicted soule, a soveraign medicine, an alexiphar

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macum for all sin, a charm for the divel; his mercy was great to Solomon, to Manasses, to Peter, great to all offenders, and whosoever thou art, it may be so to thee. For why should God bid us pray (as Austin infers) Deliver us from all evil, nisi ipse misericors perseveraret, if he did not intende to helpe us? He therefore that doubts of the remission of his sins, denies Gods mercy, and doth him injury, saith Austin. Yea, but thou replyest, I am a notorious sinner; mine offences are not so great as infinite. Hear Fulgentius, Hear Fulgentius, Gods invincible goodness cannot be overcome by sin: his infinite mercy cannot be terminated by any: the multitude of his mercy is equivalent to his magnitude. Hear Chrysostome, Thy malice may be measured, but Gods mercy cannot be defined; thy malice is circumscribed, his mercies infinite. As a drop of water is to the sea, so are thy misdeeds to his mercy; nay, there is no such proportion to be given: for the sea though great, yet may be measured, but Gods mercy cannot be circumscribed. Whatsoever thy sins be then, in quantity or quality, multitude or magnitude, feare them not, distrust not. I speak not this, saith Chrysostome, to make thee secure and negligent, but to cheer thee up. Yea, but thou urgest again, I have little comfort of this which is said, it concerns me not: Inanis pœnitentia quam sequens culpa coinquinat; 'tis to no purpose for me to repent and doe worse then ever I did before, to persevere in sin, and to return to my lusts as a dog to his vomit, or a swine to the mire: to what end is it to ask forgiveness of my sins, and yet daily to sin again and again, to do evil out of an habit? I daily and hourly offende in thought, worde, and deed; in a relapse by mine owne weakness and wilfulness; my bonus Genius, my good protecting angel is gone, I am faln from that I was, or would be, worse and worse, my latter end is worse then my beginning. Si quotidie peccas, quotidie, saith Chrysostome, pœnitentiam age, If thou daily offend, daily repent: if twice, thrice, an hundred, an hundred thousand times; twice, thrice, an hundred thousand times repent. As they doe by an old house that is out of repaire, still mend some part or other; so doe by thy soule, still reform some vice, repaire it by repentance; call to him for grace and thou shalt have it; for we are freely justified by grace, Rom. 3. 24. If thine enemy repent, as our Saviour

his

2 Bonitas

1 Magnam injuriam Deo facit, qui diffidit de ejus misericordiâ. invicti non vincitur; infiniti misericordia non finitur. 3 Hom. 3. de pœni. tentiâ. Tua quidem malitia mensuram habet: Dei autem misericordia mensuram non habet. Tua malitia circumscripta est, &c. Pelagus, etsi magnum, mensuram habet; Dei autem, &c. 4 Non ut desidiores vos faciam, sed ut alacriores reddam. 5 Pro peccatis veniam poscere, et mala de novo iterare. 6 Si bis, si ter, si centies, si centies millies, toties pœnitentiam age.