[Some there are of a low, nervous, hypochondriac tempe- rament both of mind and body, and who, whether they were religious or not, would of necessity be of a melancholy dispo- sition; that being their constitutional tendency, just as cheer- fulness or confidence are the tendencies of others. Persons of this class view every thing in a dark unfavourable light : they forbode nothing but evil : and, if religion occupies their minds, they write bitter things against themselves, and conclude that they never can be saved. They love gloomy thoughts, and brood over them day and night ; and greatly injure both their minds and bodies by ruminating on subjects that are too deep for them. They perplex themselves about the divine decrees, and thus give occasion to many to represent religion as distracting their minds. But the truth is, that they seek for nothing but poison : they have no appetite for wholesome food : and religion is no more answerable for their distraction, than a fertilizing stream is for the death of a maniac who drowns himself in it.
Some there are who are brought into this state by long and complicated troubles. The mind of man, unless supported in a miraculous way, cannot endure a pressure beyond certain limits. Even Job himself, notwithstanding his extraordinary patience, seemed at times to sink under the accumulated load of his afflictions, and to be transported beyond the bounds of sense or reason. And the dejection of many, however it appear to originate in matters connected with religion, must in reality be traced to this source : their mind is enfeebled by a complication of bodily diseases, and of worldly sorrows, and then becomes an easy prey to any discouragements which may engross its attention.
Some are broken down by means of some great transgression, which, either before, or after, their religious course, they have committed, and which has destroyed all hope of respect from man, or comfort in their own minds. To such, life is become a burthen : they cannot bear even the sight of those whose esteem they have forfeited : they affect solitude, which yet is irksome to them ; and they long for death, as a relief from the torments of a self-condemning conscience. It is no wonder if such, though truly penitent before God, yield to desponding fears, and anticipate nothing but misery in the eternal world.
Some are in a more extraordinary degree than others exposed to the assaults of Satan. That powerful adversary seems, as it were, to take possession of their minds, as formerly he pos- sessed the bodies of men : and by his fiery darts he inflicts the deadliest wounds upon their souls. He is well called, " The accuser of the brethren ;" for he accuses them to God, as he did Job of old ; and accuses them also at the bar of their own consciences, to prove them hypocrites and self- deceivers. Is it to be wondered at, if that roaring lion prevail over a weak