153. To MARGARET FULLERTON. Miftrefs, GRace, mercy and peace be to you: I am glad that ever ye did : day upon him. O if I had a river of love, a fea of love, that would never go dry, to bestow upon him! But alas the pity! Christ hath beauty for me, but I have not love for him. O what pain is it, to fee Chrift in his beauty, and then to want a heart and love for him! but I fee, want we muft, till Chrift lend us, never to be paid again. O that he would empty these vaults and lower houses of thefe poor fouls, of these baftard and bafe lovers, which we follow! and verily, I fee no object in heaven or in earth, that I could ware this much of love upon, that I have, but upon Chrift. Alas! that clay, and time, and shadows run away with our love, which is ill spent upon any but upon Chrift: each fool at the day of judgment shall seek back his love from the creatures, when he fhall fee them all in a fair fire; but they fhall prove irresponsal debtors and therefore it is beft here, we look ere we leap, and look ere we love. I find now under his cross, that I would fain give him more than I have to give him, if giving were in my power: but I rather with him my heart than give him it ; except he take it, and put himself in poffeffion of it, (for I hope he hath a market right to me, fince he hath ranfomed me) I fee not how Christ can have me. O that he would be pleased to be more homely with my foul's love, and to come in to my foul, and take his own! But when he goeth away and hideth himself, all is to me that I had of Christ, as if it had fallen in the fea-bottom. Oh that I should be fo fickle in my love, as to love Christ only by the eyes and the nose! that is, to love him only in as far as fond and foolish fenfe carrieth me, and no more. And when I fee not, and smell not, and touch not, then I have all to feek. I cannot love parquier, nor rejoice parquier but this is our weakness, till we be at home, and shall have aged men's ftomachs to bear Chrift's love. Pray for me, that our Lord would bring me back to you, with a new bleffing of the gospel of Chrift. I forget not you. Grace, grace be with E are heartily welcome to that honour, that Chrift hath made common to us both, which is to fuffer for his name. Veri YE ly Epift. 154. ly, I think it my garland and crown; and if the Lord fhould afk of me my blood and life for this cause, I would gladly, in his ftrength, pay due debt to Christ's honour and glory in that kind. Acquaint yourself with Chrift's love, and ye fhall not mifs to find new golden mines and treafures in Chrift: nay truly, we but ftand befide Chrift, we go not in to him, to take our fill of him. But if he fhould do two things, 1. Draw the curtains, and make bare his holy face; and then, 2. Clear our dim and bleired eyes, to fee his beauty and glory; he should find many lovers. I would feek no more happiness, but a fight of him fo near hand, as to see, hear, fmell, and touch, and embrace him: but oh, clofed doors, and vails, and curtains, and thick clouds hold me in pain, while I find the fweet burning of his love, that many waters cannot quench! O what fad hours have I, when I think, that the love of Chrift fcarreth at me, and bloweth by me! if my Lord Jefus would come to bargaining for his love, I think, he should make price himself; I fhould not refuse ten thousand years in hell, to have a wide foul enlarged and made wider, that I might be exceedingly (even to the running over) filled with his love. O what am I to love fuch an One, or to be loved by that high and lofty One! I think the angels may blush to look upon him; and what am I to file fuch infinite brightness with my finful eyes! O that Chrift would come near, and stand still and give me leave to look upon him! For to look feemeth the poor man's privilege, fince he may, for nothing, and without hire, behold the fun. I should have a king's life, if I had no other thing to do, but for evermore to behold and eye my fair Lord Jefus: nay, fuppofe I were holden out at heaven's fair entry, I should be happy for evermore to look through an hole in the door, and fee my deareft and faireft Lord's face. O great King, why standeft thou aloof? why remaineft thou beyond the mountains? O Well-beloved, why doft thou pain a poor foul with delays? A long time out of thy glorious prefence is two deaths and two hells to me; we must meet, I must see him, I dow not want him. Hunger and longing for Chrift, hath brought on fuch a neceffity, of enjoying Chrift, that, coft me what it will, I cannot but affure Chrift, I will not, I dow not want him: for I cannot master or command Chrift's love; nay, hell (as I now think) and all the pains in it laid on me alone, would not put me from loving: yea, fuppofe my Lord Jefus would not love me, it is above my strength or power to keep back or imprison the weak love I have, but it must be out to Chrift: I would set heaven's joy afide, and live upon Chrift's love its alone; let me have no joy, but the warmnefs and fire of God's love, I feek no other, God knoweth; if this love be taken from me, the bottom is fallen out of all my happiness and joy; and therefore I believe Christ will never do me that much harm, as to bereave a poor prifoner of his love; it were cruelty to take take it from me: and he who is kindness itself, cannot be cruel. Dear brother, weary not of my fweet Master's chains; we are fo much the fibber to Chrift, that we fuffer: lodge not a hard thought of my royal King; rejoice in his crofs. Your deliverance fleepeth not, He that will come is not flack of his promife: wait on for God's timeous falvation; ask not when, or how long? I hope he shall lofe nothing of you in the furnace, but drofs: commit your cause in meeknefs (forgiving your oppreffors) to God, and your fentence hall come back from him laughing. Our Bridegroom's day is posting faft on; and this world, that feemeth to go. with a long and a fhort foot, fhall be put in two ranks: wait till your ten days be ended, and hope for the crown, Christ will not give you a blind in the end. Commend me to your wife and father, and to Bailey M. A. and fend this letter to him. The prayers of Chrift's prifoner be upon you, and the Lord's prefence accompany you. Aberdeen, July 6. 1637. Yours in his fweet Lord Jefus, S. R. 155. To ROBERT LENNOX of Difdove. "Dear brother, G Race, mercy and peace be to you: I beseech you in the Lord efus, make faft and fure work of life eternal: fow not rotten seed; every man's work will speak for itself, what his feed hath been. O how many fee I, who fow to the flesh! Alas, what a crop will that be, when the Lord fhall put in his hook to reap this world, that is ripe and white for judgment? I recommend to you holiness and fanctification, and that you keep yourself clean from this present evil world. We delight to tell our own dreams, and to flatter our own flesh with the hope we have: it were wifdom for us to be free, plain, honeft and fharp with our own fouls, and to charge them to brew better, that they may drink well, and fare well, when time is melted away like fnow in a hot fummer. O how hard a thing is it, to get the foul to give up with all things on this fide of death and doomfday! We fay, we are removing and going from this world; but our heart ftirreth not one foot off its feat. Alas! I fee few heavenly minded fouls, that have nothing upon the earth, but their body of clay going up and down this earth, because their foul and the powers of it are up in heaven, and there their hearts live, defire, enjoy, rejoice. Oh! mens fouls have no wings, and therefore night and day they keep their neft, and are not acquaint with Chrift. Sir, take you to your one thing, to Chrift, that ye may be acquainted with the tafte of his sweetness and excellency, and charge your love not to dote upon this world; for it will not do your bufinefs in that day, when nothing will come Epift. 156. in good stead to you, but God's favour: build upon Christ some good, choice and faft work; for when your foul for many years hath taken the play, and hath posted, and wandered through the creatures, ye will come home again with the wind: they are not good, at least not the foul's good; it is the infinite God-head that muft allay the sharpness of your hunger after happiness; otherwise there fhall ftill be a want of fatisfaction to your defires: and if he would caft in ten worlds in your defires, all shall fall through, and your foul shall still cry, red hunger, black hunger but I am fure there is fufficient for you in Christ, if ye had seven fouls and feven defires in you. Oh if I could make my Lord Jefus market-fweet, lovely, desirable, and fair to all the world, both to Jew and Gentile! O let my part of heaven go for it, fo being he would take my tongue to be his inftrument, to fet out Chrift in his whole braveries of love, virtue, grace, fweetnefs and matchless glory, to the eyes and hearts of Jews and Gentiles! But who is fufficient for these things! O for the help of angels tongues, to make Chrift eye fweet and amiable to many thousands! O how little doth this world fee of him, and how far are they from the love of him, feeing there is fo much loveliness, beauty and sweetness in Chrift, that no created eye did ever yet fee! I would that all men knew his glory, and that I could put many in at the Bridegroom's chamber-door; to fee his beauty, and to be partakers of his high, and deep, and broad, and boundlefs love. O let all the world come nigh and fee Chrift, and they fhall then fee more than I can fay of him! O if I had a pledge or pawn to lay down for a fea-full of his love! that I could come by fo much of Chrift, as would fatisfy greening and longing for him, or rather increase it, till I were in full poffeffion! I know, we fhall meet; and therein I rejoice. Sir, ftand faft in the truth of Chrift, that ye have received: yield to no winds, but ride out, and let Chrift be your Anchor, and the only He, whom ye shall look to fee in peace. Pray for me his prifoner that the Lord would fend me among you to feed his people. Grace, grace be with you. Aberd. 1637. Yours in his fweet Lord 156. TO JOHN FLEMING, Baily of Leith. Worthy Sir, Race, mercy and peace be to you. The Lord hath brought me fafe to this ftrange town; bleffed be his holy name, I find his cross eafy and light, and I hope he fhall be with his poor fold Jofeph, who is feparated from his brethren: his comforts have abounded towards me, as if Chrift thought shame (if I may speak so) to be in the common of fuch a poor man as I am, and would not have me lose any thing in his errands. My enemies have, befide their intention, made me more bleffed, and have put me in a sweeter poffeffion of Chrift than ever I had before: only the memory of the fair days I had with my Well-beloved, amongst the flock intrufted to me, keepeth me low, and foureth my unseen joy; but it must be fo, and he is wife, who tutoreth me this way: for that which my brethren have, and I want, and others of this world have, I am content, my faith will frift God my happiness: no fon offend. eth, that his father give him not hire twice a-year; for he is to abide in the house, when the inheritance is to be divided: it is better God's children live upon hope, than upon hire. Thus, remembering my love to your worthy and kind wife; I bless you and her, and all yours, in the Lord's name. Aberd. Sept. 20. 1637. Yours in his only, only Lord Jefus, S. R. 157. To WILLIAM GLEDINNING, Worthy Sir, Race, mercy, and peace be to you: I am well, honour be to God! and as well as a rejoycing prifoner of Chrift can be, hoping that one day he, for whom I now fuffer, fhall enlarge me, and put me above the threatenings of men, I am fometimes fad, heavy and caften down, at the memory of the fair days I had with Chrift, in Anwoth, Kircudbright, &c. The remembrance of a feaft encreaseth hunger in a hungry man; but who knoweth, but our Lord will yet cover a table in the wilderness to his hungry bairns, and build the old wafte places in Scotland, and bring home Zion's captives? I defire to fee no more glorious fight, till I fee the Lamb on his throne, than to fee mount Zion all green with grafs, and the dew lying upon the tops of the grafs, and the crown put upon Chrift's head in Scotland again: and I believe it shall be so, and that Chrift shall mow down his enemies, and fill the pits with their dead bodies. I find people here dry and uncouth; a man pointed at for fuffering dare not be countenanced; fo that I am like to fit mine alone upon the ground: but my Lord payeth me well home again; for I have neither tongue, nor pen, nor heart to express the fweetness and excellency of the love of Chrift. Chrift's honeycombs drop honey, and floods of confolation upon my foul; my chains are gold: Chrift's crofs is all overgilded and perfumed; his prifon is the garden and orchard of my delights: I would go through burning-quick to my lovely Chrift; I fleep in his arms all the night, and my head betwixt his breafts; my Well-beloved is altogether lovely: this is all nothing, to that which my foul hath felt. Let no man, for my caufe, fcar at Chrift's cross: if my ftiGg 2 pend, |