The Physic of the Soul
The source for this document is https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A06989.0001.001
Project Note
This is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND. This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
The source of this document is the Early English Books Online (EEBO-TCP) website. Those books were transcribed in a character for character manner and can be very cumbersome to read since there was no standard spelling during that time. Many spelling variations such as "unlesse", "vnlesse", and "vnles" regularly appear.
This project was conceived to clean up those books as much as possible and make them more accessible to the interested reader, leading to the creation of a massive list of variant spellings and their corrections. This was used to clean up the text, but is of course only as complete as the list itself. Because of the nature of the original transcription, some words have missing characters or places where the original language (e.g., Greek) was not transcribed. This effort does not change that. Be aware that the original transcription can also be faulty and in some cases entire sentences may be missing.
Although this is no substitute for a properly compared, proofed, and scholarly edition, I believe that the result is a document which is far more accessible, particularly for searching for terms using standard spelling. The document has been cleaned and presented in what I hope is a pleasing and useful format for the vast majority of Christian brothers and sisters who just want access to read these spiritually nourishing works.
However, a word of warning: The Puritans were a very diverse group of people and their age was characterized with godliness, but also much upheaval, disputation and strife. They disagreed on many doctrines and some of these works contain less orthodox or Scriptural views than others. The reader is strongly advised to read with discernment, particularly if it is unknown whether author is trustworthy.
This project took a huge amount of time and skill to bring to fruition. I would particularly like to thank David Jonescue for the initial list of Puritans he found on EEBO and the concept behind this project as well as the continuous, unceasing efforts toward seeing this complete. Without his labor, this would not be available. Alex Sarrouf was invaluable in providing the initial list of over 7,000 spelling variations he had identified and corrected, as well as continuing to review more than 16,000 additions to that list for any typos.
Logan West
(with David Jonescue and Alex Sarrouf)
www.puritansearch.org
The Physyke of the soul, wherein thou shalt find many Godly emplastures & comfortable salves against all spiritual diseases very necessary to be red of the true Christians in these last and perilous days. Set forth by Thomas Becon.
Math. xi.
Come unto me all ye that are sick & dyseased, and I shall release you of your pains.
Imprinted at london the tenth day of Iulii. • nno Domini. M.D.xlix. And are to be sold by William hill remainig at the Sygne of the Hyll in Paul's Church Yarde.
Benedic Anima mea Domino.
The Physyke Of the soul.
T he diseases whe • w t out bodies are troubled, & y e death which our b • dies ilyke manner must of necessity suffer, do very greatelye vex & disquiete our minds, yea and that with no small fear and trembling: insomuche y t many times, even at the namīge of thē • or whē any menciō of th • m is made a • all, we shake and tremble for f • are. Certes, the nature of mā, which had rather not to be, thē to be evil at ease or dysquyeted, when these euylles are at hand, can noue otherwise, then wax pale and be sorrowful, but yet can there not chance to man a more fearse or more horrible, or cruel misfortune, thē y e dysease of y e soul & y e death of y • same. But for as much as every man doth drede and flee with all haste p • ssyble the punishments troubles dyseases, sicknesses, and this death of the body: verily we ought much more to avoid and eschew the causes of these euelles: I mean, sin and ungodliness, and to fear the heavy dyspleasure of God which throw our innumerable offenses we pro • oke so many times against us. When we be diseased • n our body, we run streght way • s unto a Phisycian, we spare no cost in this behalf. Nothyng is to dear for the health of our life. We lashe out our monie plenteously in biynge remedyes & salves, that this earthly vessel and sheal, which notwithstanding, shall shortly after decay, may be recovered and amended. Why do we not likewise with a • much study and care, covet and seek after remedyes against the diseases of the Soul? seeing • they be much more grievous, and beyond all measure more peryllous.
What should it profit a man, if he had all the riches of the world, lived an whole thousand years, and enjoyed also all the most denty and fine Pelasures of this Lyfe, and were troubled with no pains of syknes dysease or any other myserye, if yet for all y t his soul in the mean season were infecte with the dāpnable wickedness and poison of sin, and being oppr • ssed with the tyranny of sathā had the displeasure of God, & after the departure of this life be dāpned forever? therefore Christ monisheth us saying, watch, for ye know not the day nor the hour, whan the Son of Man will come. And becau • e we should not follow light Tryf • lynge and Vyle things: and despyce things which are much 〈7 words〉 the most nigh, certain and suer way to come unto teue felicitee▪ wealth joy or pleasure, whē he saith: seek▪ first the kingdom of god and y e ryghtteousnes of it and all things shall be • ast to you.
We take thought & turmoyle oureselues day and night to get us a living, & to make suer our riches and such other vain and transytory things, which lytyl help us yea, which many times also are y • cause of most grievous miseries, and horrible sines: but in seeking and▪ prouidīg for heavenly goods? how sluggysh are we? how negligent? how vncircūspect? how dastardelyke what more horrible blindness and madness can there be / I beseech you? whyl we lyu • wealthly & make frolycke chere we never remember the life that is to come, nor yet the death that we 〈…〉 we 〈…〉 & red • to die, and whā we should go to y • battle and fight valiantly, then a • the last we b • gynne to think of gettyng ar • ours and wepons against Satan and of amendyng our life. Thes t • inges show evidently, y t we be very weak and slender in faith, & but a litel exercised in the christen warfare. God have marcy on us. AMEN. And although it be so y e every age is apt to repent and amend & y t no repentance is to late so that it be done before the departure of this life, yet I counsel & monysh all men even from the very heart, y t no man do prolonge and differ the act of repentance unto this last and most bitter agony. For they also do very • ardly s • onde and remain▪ which all the time of there life / enioyyng prosperous health, have en • rmed and Prepared them selves unto this howr of departure, and yet defend them selves with great labor and Busynes from the Assaultes, graftes, gulles and subt • ltes of that most cruel and crafti enemy. What shall become than of them, which without all fear of God have led a stinckyng, dissolut and vnthryfty life, yea and that without any reap̄taunce? how, I pray you shall they strive? hou shall the • resyste?
• ut seeing there is in every place a gret multitude of men, & for as much as the ministers of y • Gospel are not alway in presence, nether can they give there dyligence to all men at all times: I being greatly desirous to help all men, have written this manner, way & form of confortyng, o • deryng and monyshīg y e sick, gathered out of gods word especyally for them, which as yet are rude and not perfectly instructed with the sentences of the holy Scripture unto such chaunces, y • they either redyng thes things▪ or hearing thes things red before them, may conceive hope and sure and true comfort, that they despair not and perish in that most bitter agony and conflicte of death.
A man therefore liyng on his bed thorough the grievous disease wh •• with he is vex • d, and being i • i • operdye of his Lyfe, is assailed and overwhelmed with divers and grievous temtacions, wherewith he must fight valeauntly. But above all, this is the most bitter and most grievous tentacyon / whan y e moste heavy, displeasaunt & lothesō Image of death is prese • t before owre eyes, and whan we see or consider the most cherful light of this life, & all ower kynnesfolkes or friends, howe we must forsake them and go away from them, yea, and not 〈…〉 in this world, which be most dere and pleasant to us. Besydes this the sins also which we have committed against y • will of god & his cōm • ūdement, come straight ways into our mind, & brasting in w t gret vyolēce, are renewed & wax fresh, and seme manymo, yea & more heinous & abominable, thē they ever appeted before▪ & do by this means torment, vex trouble & disquie • the conscience woēderf • lly. For after y • consideratyō of the • himges afore said, death, y e judgment of god hell, dāpnaciō, fear & • remblīg, cō • lockīg together as it w • t a swarm of bees, and vex our old man w t most violent & t • oublous storms of most grievous sorrows & feats and w t most sharp and bitter engynes of sorrow & heuynes • hey shake and assayle our breasts.
In thes agonies except our breast be strengthened and made sure w t great and constant faith, it shall be • eopard{us}, lest we being made weary & dashed out of coūtenaūce thorough thes grievous and mighty tētacyons / do fall unto desperacyō. For those things which come unto our remembrance when we be sick, seme unto us most horrible and moste heinous, yea and that for none other cause, than that our faith is weak and slēder, and not as yet grown unto such perfection, that trustīg ō gods word, is able to lay hand on those exceadīg and ī • stymable treasures and riches of the sons of god, I mean / remyssyō of all our sins thorough christ, the resurrectiō of our flesh, y t felouship of all y e elec • , so gretely to be desired & lōged for: to conclude, everlasting life, and y t all these things are freely 〈…〉 for Christ's sake. In these articles of our faith should we exercise our selves daily & after that we have dyligently weied thē & earnestly pondered them, repose thē ī our mind. We ought also often times to come unto the cōmuniō and that holy table of the Lord, yet so y e we first prove and Examine our selves dyligētly, lest we vn • euerētly handle so holy a thing: and though it be convenient at all other times to eat y • supper of y e lord, for our comfort: yet is it now moste necessary & we have in the time of our sykenes an urgēt cause to do it. Truly, it is a pytyfull thing and a thing worthy to be lamented / that now many years this sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus Christ hath ben both unworthily and vnreuerntly handled, yea of very many most extremely despited How horrible and heinous a sin 〈…〉 punished nowadays do abūdātly testify: and S. Paul spake of it before. i Cor. xi. God have mercy on us and light̄ the • ies of our mind that we leaving so ā unseemly & horrible error, may ones repent and a • end We shall therefore of • ē times come unto this table with high study of godliness and deuocyō, that our minds being recreated, chered & comforted w t that heavenly m • ate of y e soul, faith & charity may be • ncreased and made strong in us. Moreover we ought always dilygentlye to remember all the articles • f our • atholyke faith, but in the agonies of death four are nerest of all, with great • iligence to be weied & pōdred of us, y t is to say, y • articles of y e church or congregatiō of saints of remyssyon of sines by Christ's blood, of the resurrecciō of y e flesh, and of everlasting life.
Fyrst / as death is the pain of sine, so likewise are diseases many times sent us of God for our sins, as it is manifest in divers places of the scripture. we ar punished also oftentimes to prove and try our faith / for then is it p • rc • aued, how dearly we love god how greatly we trust unto him, whē we be oppressed & troubled with any heavy cross. Therfor loke y t here before all things, thou tur • est all thine hert all thy mind / and all thy senses unto God, and that thou doest truly reap̄t and that thou doest lament and confess thy sins before God, for the which all we have deserved, eve • n y e most righteous wrath of God and most grievous p • yne. Notwithsta • dyng, the most plēteous comfort or absolucion, as they cal it, or remyssion of sins, which chryst ordained in the church, thou shall require of y e Gospel of John. Thys exceeding great treasure is daily opened and offered to thee. Take ye, saith Christ • the holy goost. Whose sins ye fo • give, ar forgiven them, and whose sins ye retain, are retained. Note, after that we have prayed and obtained the forgiveness of sins, without doubt the pain & disease & the trouble that is laid upon us, shall cease and leave us, or else according to the singular good will of God, it shall turn unto the salvation of the diseased. For believe this for an undoubted truth, that their pain or cross • (seme it never so grievous a yoke and bur • hē to the flesh) is a very fa • herly rod or chastisement, wherewith god calleth thee, being his son unto him, and withdrawethe and allureth thee away from synninge. Certes, God loveth us most tenderly. He favoreth us, even from the very har • e, & he doth all things for this purpose even that he may amende us and do us good. For whom he loveth, he cor • ecteth and chasteneth and seourgeth him in this vale, that he may not be tormented after this life with y e everlasting punishment of hell fire. Neither shalt thou doubt, but most certainly persuade thyself, that G • d is thy most loving father, and m •• t entierly desireth thee / although he pretendeth never so greatly to be angry with thee▪ Thys is not y e anger of a Tiraunt, nor of a butcher, but of a father that most de • elye louethe us, which would not that we should be destroyed, but that we should correct our manners, amend and obt • ine health and Saluacion. Thys is as sure as God is in heaven / if we had faith to believe it. Therefore first of all, ask forgiveness & remission of all thy sins, But in Chrstis name: But with an heart that truly repenteth / that thou mayst be at a point with God, and that thou mayst have him good, favorable and merciful to thee. After y t also mayst y u desire god, that he will deliver there frō the affliccion & disease / that is laid upon thee. So teacheth us Jesus y • Son of S •• ach, Son, saith he • espyse not thyself in thy sykenes But pray unto the Lord and he shall heal thee. So prayeth David likewise: rem • ber not our old wickednesses: but let thy mercies soon overtake us. help us O God ower Savior O y u lord god of pou • rs turn us. how long will thou be angry▪ Sh • w us thy countenaūce, & we shall be safe. First he desireth remissiō of sins, y • he ma • e be iustyfi • d by y e grace of god: afterward he prayeth god, to turn awy his wrath And whē y u prayest to be delivered & eased of the cross which do burden thee, thou shalt always add this unto it: let thy most holy & good will be don▪ O heavenly father, for we shall not better provide for our selves thē that moste trusty father will do which is of infinyt power, • ysoō & immeasurable goodness, which ī no place turneth away his eyes frō us which taketh great care for us / which hath the hears of ower head numbered, which maketh alive, quickeneth, norisheth, couerethe, cherisheth, saveth and defendeth all things which aforeseeth and provideth for all things much more & better / then the creatures can wish.
There are three things, which in the agony of death do most grievously dysquiet us and trouble our minds with great fear that is to say Synne, Death hell or Dampnatiō.
Synne
The sins wherein we have 〈◊〉 〈…〉 • pent our life, wherewith also we have moste grievously offended both God and our neighbor, when we remember them lyeng upon our bed sick, we are stricken with a wonderful fear and sorrow as Paul saith, indignation & wrath • afflyction, & grefe of mind, • s against every soul of man that doth evil.
Death.
Oure old man and flesh are very loath to die. Therfor when death is at hand, the heart of man is troubled disquieted, & in a mane • overthrown with such sorrows & thought • akynge, as no tunge can express. For fearful nature, and our natural man feareth beyond all measure lest y • whē he is ones dead & laid in his grave, he should never return and live again: yea he thyncketh that he is past all hope and comfort.
Hell and damnation.
When these things come into his mind, mā is straight ways afraid lest he should utterly be cast away from y • face of god, and seeth none other thing then everlasting death. Here ought he to be on a good • onfort: here ought he to take heart unto him, that by no means he be fai • herted and so fall into desperacion. O most merciful god, O most favorable father, grant I beseech thee and help, that while we are yet in good health and lusty, we may learn to fear thee, we may regard and love thy word, we may set thee alway before us to be that scope and prick, where unto we may direct all our deeds / & that we always remembering this most bitter agony and grievous cōflicte, may arm and make our selves strong against it, that we giving our selves to godliness and to the true fear of thee, may appointe all that ever we do unto thy glory and enjoy everlasting life. AMEN
When thy sins do disquyet & trouble thy conscience, thē cal to remembrance, •• at the Son of God came down from heaven into this world, and that he being made man laid upon him all thy sins & the sins of all the world: and y • for thē he willingly suffered death on the cross, and made satisfaction for them all, yea and for our sakes sustained most grievous pains, to bring us out of death. This most precious blood of Christ was shed also for thy salvation. Of this death also art y u partaker if y u dost believe y • christ died as well for thee as for Peter & Paul. Neither oughtest y u to doubt, but y • he died as well for thy sake, as for Paul's. For y u art baptized into y e death of christ. This ought to comfort the: this ought to lif • up & stablish thy mind. For seeing y u art baptized 〈◊〉 y • death o • christ, the death of christ shall bring thee help & saluatiō, by y • death of christ y • shalt die to sin, by y • death of christe y u shalt receive perfect & full remissiō of all thy sines: to conclude by y e death of Christ y u shalt rise again into anew & everlasting life. For baptism is a bargain couenaun • e & sign of gods grace & favor in which y u art reconciled to god, y • throw it y u mayst have a merry and quyett conscience for y e re missiō of thy sins thorough y • resurrectiō of christ. Christ also speaketh unto thee w t out doubt ī the instituciō of his supper, where he professeth & evidently declareth, that his blood was shed for the remissyō of sins. Now therefore, although y u hast lived a life never so sinful and impure yet is there no cause y • y u shul • est despere, but rather y t w t out any tar • aūce y u shuldest w t out cesing cal vpō the name of y e lord y e y u mayest be saved, & pray after this manner.
O most merciful God, O father of all mercy the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, be merciful to me a sinner, have pytie on me, and quickly help me poor wretch for the most bitter, but yet the most precious passion and death of Jesus Christ thy only begotten son, and our only redeem • and savior. AMEN.
Entre not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord. Handle me not according to my deserts and Merits, neither reward me after mine iniquit • e, but for thine infinite and immeasurable bounty and exceeding great mercy, receive me. I miserable & weak creature am in thy hand / I am thy boundseruaunt and thy debtout. O most gentle god, O moste favorable father, forsake me not▪ cast me not away pore wretch y t . I am. I am thine w t all y t ever I cā make. No man is able to comfort me, no man is able to deliver me, no mā is able to help me, but thou alone. Thou art the true helper in adu •• sitie, thou art the most sure & •• esent comfort in all necessity, y u alone art our help, our bulworcke, our fortress and our most mighty and strongly defensed tower. Thou, O God, art our refuge / thou art our strength, y u art our help • in all our • ribulacions. In thee, O Lord / do I trust let me not be confounded. Let me never be put to shame, let me not be disceaued of my hope, but preserve me for thine own ryghtuousnes sake. Bow down thine ear unto me / make haste to deliver me. Be my defender, O God, and my strong hold that thou mayest save me. For y u art my strength & my refuge, yea y u art my God, and my destenyes are in thy hands. Lyghtē thy coūte •• ūce upon thy servant, save me for thy mercies sake, O Lord. &c.