The Anatomy of Melancholy

As a father, says David in Psalm 103:13, has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. And he will receive them again as the prodigal son was welcomed, Luke 15, if they come with tears in their eyes and a penitent heart. Let the sinner acknowledge his fault; God forgives.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and great in kindness, Psalm 103:8. He will not always rebuke, nor keep his anger forever. Verse 9. As high as heaven is above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. Verse 11. As far as east is from west, so far has he removed our sins from us. Verse 12.

Though Cain cries out in the anguish of his soul, my punishment is greater than I can bear, it is not so. You lie, Cain, says Augustine; God’s mercy is greater than your sins. His mercy is above all his works, Psalm 145:9, able to make satisfaction for everyone’s sins, a ransom in exchange, 1 Timothy 2:6.

His mercy is a cure-all, a balm for an afflicted soul, a sovereign medicine, an antidote to all sin, a charm against the devil. His mercy was great toward Solomon, Manasseh and Peter, great toward all offenders; and whoever you are, it may be so toward you.

For why should God tell us to pray, as Augustine reasons, Deliver us from all evil, unless he himself remained merciful, if he did not intend to help us? Therefore anyone who doubts the forgiveness of his sins denies God’s mercy and does him an injustice, says Augustine.

Yes, but you reply, I am a notorious sinner; my offences are not merely great but infinite. Hear Fulgentius: God’s invincible goodness cannot be overcome by sin; his infinite mercy cannot be bounded by anything. The abundance of his mercy equals his greatness.

Hear Chrysostom: Your wickedness may be measured, but God’s mercy cannot be bounded; your wickedness has limits, his mercies are infinite. As a drop of water is to the sea, so are your misdeeds to his mercy. Indeed, even that proportion cannot be assigned: although the sea is great, it can be measured, but God’s mercy cannot be bounded.

Whatever your sins may be, then, in quantity or quality, number or magnitude, do not fear them or lose trust. I do not say this, says Chrysostom, to make you complacent and negligent, but to encourage you.

Yes, but you insist again, I take little comfort from what has been said; it does not concern me. Repentance is empty when subsequent wrongdoing defiles it. It is pointless for me to repent and then do worse than ever before, persist in sin and return to my lusts like a dog to its vomit or a sow to the mud. What is the point of asking forgiveness for my sins while sinning again and again each day, doing evil from habit?

Every day and hour I offend in thought, word and deed, relapsing through my own weakness and wilfulness. My good guardian spirit, my good protecting angel, is gone. I have fallen from what I was, or wished to be, growing worse and worse; my latter end is worse than my beginning. If you sin daily, repent daily, says Chrysostom. If you offend daily, repent daily: if twice, three times, a hundred, a hundred thousand times, repent twice, three times, a hundred thousand times.