of himself, his words were esteemed oracles ; and to liave his wise counsel rejected, he was not ahle to bear it, 2 Sam. xvii. 23., " He ])ut his household in order, and hang- ed himself." — 2. From poverty. Poverty is a sore temptation, Prov. xxx. 8., " Give me not poverty." Many by their sin have brought themselves to poverty : and when u groat estate is boiled away to nothing, then they are discontented, and think bet- ter to die quickly, than languish in misery : hereupon the devil helps them to dispatch themselves. — 3. From covetousness. Ava- rice is a dry drunkenness, an horse-leech that is never satisfied. The covetous man is like Behemoth, Job xl. 23., " Behold he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not." The covetous miser hoards up corn ; and if he hears the price of corn begins to fall, then he is troubled, and there is no cure for his dis- content but an halter. — 4. From horror of mind. A man hath sinned a great sin, he hath swallowed down some pills of temp- tation the devil hath given him, and these pills begin to work in his conscience, and the horror is so great, that he chooseth strangling. Judas having betrayed inno- cent blood, he was in that agony, that he hanged himself to quiet his conscience ; as if one should, to avoid the stinging of a gnat, endure the biting of a serpent. This self-murder, is an high breach of this com- mandment ; it is an execrable sin. I can see no ground of hope for such as make away themselves ; for they die in the very act of sin and cannot have time to repent.
2. Here is forbidden hurting one's own soul, " thou shalt not kill." Many who are free from other murders, yet are guilty here ; they go about to murder their own souls ; they are wilfully set to damn them- selves, and throw themselves into hell.
Quest. JVho are they that go about des- perately w murder their own souls.
Ans. 1. Such wilfully go about to mur- der their souls, who have no sense of God, or the other world ; they are " past feel- ing," Eph. iv. 19. Tell them of God's lio- liness and justice, they are not at all aflFect- ed, Zech. vii. 12., " They made their hearts like an adamant." The adamant saith Pli- ny is insuperable, the hammer cannot con- quer it. Sinners have adamantine hearts.
The altar of stone, when the prophet spake to it, ' rent asunder,' 1 Kings xiii. 5. ; but sinners' hearts are so hardened in sin, that nothing wUl work upon them, — neither or- dinances nor judgments; they do not be- lieve a Deity; they laugh at hell; these go about to murder their own souls, they are throwing themselves as fast as they can into hell.
A. 2. Such as are set wilfully to murder their own souls, are they who are resolved upon their lusts, let what will come of it The soul may cry out, " I am killing ! 1 am murdering !" Eph. iv. 19., " They have given themselves over to work all unclean- ness with greediness." Let ministers speak to them about their sins, — let conscience speak, — let affliction speak, — yet they will have their lusts, though they go to hell for them. Are not these resolved to murder their souls ? As Agrippina, mother to Nero said, occidat modo iwperet^ — ' let my son kill mo, so he may reign ; so many say in their hearts, let our sins damn us, so they may but please us. Herod will have his incestuous lust, though it cost him his soul ; men will, for a drop of ])leasure, drink a sea of wrath. Are not these about to massacre and damn their own souls.
A. 3. They murder their souls, who a- void all means of saving their souls. They will go to plays, to drunken meetings, hut will not set their foot witliin God's house, or come near the sound of the gospel-trum- pet ; as if one that is diseased should shun the bath, for foar of being healed. These do wilfully damn their souls, and are as great murderers of themsolves, as ho, who having means of cure offered him, chooseth death rather than physic.
A. 4. They do voluntarily murder their souls, who suck in false prejudices against religion ; as if religion were so strict and severe, that they who espouse holiness, must live a melancholy life, like hermits and anchorites, and drown all their joy in tears. This is a slander wliich the devil hath east upon religion : for there is no true joy but in believing, Rcjm. xv. 13. No honey so sweet as that which drops from a promise. Some men have foolishly taken up a prejudice against roligion ; they are resolved rather never to go to hejiven.
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than to go thither through the strait gate. I may say of prejudice, as Paul to Ely mas, Acts xiii. 10., " O full of suhtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou ene- my of all righteousness," how many souls hast thou damned ! .
A. 5. They are wilfully set to murder their own souls, who will neither be good themselves, nor suffer others to be so. Mat. xxiii. 13., " Ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering, to