Part 46 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
Back to Part 45 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
Part 47 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
Back to HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
8. Eighthly, I answer, That it is possible that the sadness, sorrow, and grief of those particular saints that you have your eye upon may arise from the natural temper and constitution of their bodies. [The cure of melancholy belongs rather to the physician than to the divine, to Galen than to Paul.] Many saints are often cast into a melancholy mold; for though grace changes the disposition of the soul—yet it alters not the constitution of the body. Now there is no greater enemy to holy joy and gladness than melancholy, for this pestilent humor will raise such strange passions and imaginations, it will raise such groundless griefs, and fears, and frights, and such senseless surmises and jealousies, as will easily damp a Christian's joy, and mightily vex, perplex, trouble, and turmoil, daunt, and discourage a Christian's spirit. A melancholy constitution is Satan's anvil, upon which he forms many black, dark, and dismal temptations, which do exceedingly tend to the keeping down of divine consolation from rising high in the soul. This black, dark, dusky humor disturbs both soul and body; it tempts Satan to tempt the soul, and it disables the soul to resist the temptation; yes, it prepares the soul to hearken to the temptation, and to close and fall in with the temptation, as the experiences of all melancholy Christians can testify.
Look! as colored glass makes the very beams of the sun seem to be all of the same color with itself—if the glass is blue, the beams of the sun seems to be blue; if the glass is red, the beams of the sun seem to be red; or if the glass be green, the beams of the sun seem to be green—so this black melancholy humor represents all things to the eye of the soul as duskish and dark, and as full of horror and terror, yes, many times it represents the bright beams of divine love, and the shinings of the Sun of righteousness, and the gracious whispers of the blessed Spirit—as delusions, and as sleights of Satan, to delude the soul.
I have read of a foolish melancholy bird which stands always but upon one leg, for fear her own weight, though she is very small, should sink her into the center of the earth, and holding her other leg over her head, lest the heavens should fall upon her and crush her. I shall not dispute the credibleness of the relation; but certainly there is nothing that fills a Christian so full of fears and frights as a melancholy humor does. There are no greater adversaries to joy and gladness, than such fears and frights. Now how absurd and unreasonable is it to father that upon holiness, or upon all holy people—which proceeds from the special constitution of some particular saints! And yet this is the trade that unsanctified souls drive. And let thus much suffice for answer to this grand objection; and oh that this objection may never have a resurrection in any of your hearts more But,
Objection 4. Some may object, and say, We see that no people on earth are exposed to such troubles, dangers, afflictions, and persecutions, as those are exposed to who mind holiness, who follow after holiness. These are days wherein men labor to frown holiness out of the world, and to scorn and kick holiness out of the world; and do you think that we are foolish enough to pursue after holiness? Now to this great and sore objection, I shall give these following answers