A choice Bed of Spices. 73 Relations,and makes (port for theDevil.There are 5 forts of.I perfons that theDevil makes his Afs to ride in triumph upon,; viz,. the ignorant perfon, the unbelieving perfon, the proud perfon, the hypocritical perfon, and the Melancholy perfon. Melancholy is a difeafe that works flrange- patrions, firange imaginations, and ftrange conclufions. It unmans a man, it makes a man call good evil, and evil good, fweet bitter, and bitter tweet, light darknels, and ciarknefs' light, The diftemper of the body oftentimes caufeth diflemper of foul, for the Soul followeth the temper of the body. A Melan- choly fpirit is a dumb fpirit, rol. f get nothing out of him, and a deaf .fpirit, you can get nothing into him. Now of all' the evil fpirits we read of in the Golpel the dumb and the deaf were the wora ; &rinds, fadnefs, folitarinefs, _heavi ' - nefs mourning, &c. are the only tweet defirable and de.: 13ghtful companions of melancholy perfons. Melancholy makes every'fweet bitter,and every bitter feven times more bitter : the melancholy perfon is marvelloully prone to bid fle,ep:finviel, and joy fgeiwAlkandmeat,farnveliand,"*ds farewel, and Ordinances farewell and duties farewel, and P`rornifes farewel, and Minifters farewel, and his Calling farewel, and tis well ifhe be not even ready_ to bid God farewel too. Melancholy perfons are like Idols that have eyes but fee not, and; tongues but fpeak not,and ears but hear not. Melancholy turns truths into Fables, and fables into truths; it turns fancies into realities, =arid realities into fan- cies. Melancholy is a fire that burns inwards, and is hard to quench. Now ifs Chriftian be under the power of natu- ral or accidental Melancholy, his work is not now to be a trying his eliate, or a caging up of his accounts to fee what he is worth -for another world, but to ufe all filch wayes and means as Cod h prepared in a natural way for the cure melancholy; for as the Soul is not cured. by natural Caufes, fo the body is not cured by fpiritual Remedies. Now in the feven cafes lall mentioned, a Chriflians work lyes rather in mourning, felf-judging, felf-loathing, felf-abhorring,and in repenting and reforming, and in frefh and frequent ex- ercifes of Faith on the: Lord jefus,on on. his Pro-i m ifes, Mat, 9.28, 29. It is no more wonder to fee a Melancholy man doubt and quefti- on his fpiritual condition, than it, is to fee a child cry when he is beaten, or to hear a lick man groan, or to hear a drowning man call out for a boat. You may filence a Me,laneholy man, when you. are not able to comfort him. Whileft Nebtt' hadncV,r was under the power of a deep Melancholy, he could not tell whe.ther he was a man or aTeait. Melancholy is the mother of fears, doubrs,difputes, and difcomforts.
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