not find myself difpofed to leave myself, and go wholly in to Christ: alas that there should be one bit of me out of him, and that we leave too much liberty and latitude for ourselves, and our own cafe, and credit, and pleasures, and fo little room for all love-worthy Christ! O what pains and charges it cofteth Christ ere he get us! and when all is done we are not worth the having: it is a wonder, that he should seek the like of us: but love overlooketh blacknefs and fecklefuefs; for if it had not been fo, Chrift would never have made fo fair and bleffed a bargain with us, as the covenant of grace is. I find, that in all our sufferings, Chrift is but ridding marches, that every one of us may fay, mine and thine, and that men may know by their croffes, how weak a bottom nature is to stand upon in a trial; that then which our Lord intendeth, in all our fufferings, is to bring grace in court and request amongst us : I would fuccumb and come short of heaven, if I had no more but my own ftrength to fupport me; and if Christ should say to me, either do or die, it were eafy to determine, what should become of me: the choice were eafy, for I behoved to die, if Christ should pass by with ftraitened bowels; and who then would take us up in our straits? I know, we may fay, that Chrift is kindest in his love, when we are at our weakeit; and that if Christ had not been to the fore, in our fad days, the waters had gone over our foul. His mercy hath a fet period and appointed a place, how far, and no further the fea of affliction fhall flow, and where the waves thereof shall be stayed: he prefcribeth how much pain and forrow,both for weight and measure, we must have; ye have then good caufe to recal your love from all lovers, and give it to Chrift: he who is afflicted in all your afflictions, looketh not on you, in your fad hours, with an infenfible heart or dry eyes. All the Lord's faints may fee, that it is loft love, which is beftowed upon this perifhing world: death and judgment will make men lament, that ever their mifcarrying hearts carried them to lay and lavish out their love, upon falfe appearances and night-dreams. Alas! that Chrift should fare the worse, because of his own goodness, in making peace and the gofpel to ride together; and that we have never yet weighed the worth of Chrift in his ordinances; and that now we are like to be deprived of the well, ere we have tafted the sweetness of the water it may be with watery eyes, and a wet face, and wearied feet, we seek Christ, and shall not find him. Oh that this land were humbled in time, and by prayers, cries and humiliation would bring Chrift in at the church door again, now when his back is turned towards us, and he is gone to the threshold, and his one foot (as it were) is out of the door! I am fure Mis departure is our deferving, we have bought it with our iniquities; for even the Lord's own children are fallen afleep: and alas! profeffors are made all of fhews and fashions, and are not at pains to recover themselves again. Every one hath his fet measure of faith and holiness, and contenteth himself with a stinted measure of godliness, as if that were enough to bring them to heaven: we forget that as our gifts and light grow, fo God's gain and the intereft of his talents fhould grow alfo; and that we cannot pay God with the old ufe and wont (as we use to speak) which we gave him seven years ago; for this were to mock the Lord, and to make price with him as we lift. O what difficulty is there in our Christian journey! and how often come we short of many thousand things that are Christ's due! and we confider not how far our dear Lord is behind with us. Mistress, I cannot render you thanks, as I would, for your kindness to my brother, an oppreffed ftranger; but I remember you unto the Lord, as I am able: I entreat you, think upon me, his prifoner, and pray that the Lord would be pleased to give me room to speak to his people in his name. Grace, grace be with you. Aberd. 1636. Yours in his fweet Lord and 194. To FULWOOD younger. Much honoured Sir, Grace, mercy and peace be to you. Upon the report of this worthy bearer concerning you, I thought good to speak a word to you: it is enough for acquaintance, that we are one in Chrift. My earnest defire to you is, that ye would, in the fear of God, compare your inch and hand-breadth of time with vaft eternity, and your thoughts of this now fair, blooming and green world, with the thoughts ye fhall have of it, when corruption and worms fhall make their houfes in your eye-holes, and fhall eat your flesh, and make that body dry-bones: if ye fo do, I know then, that your light of this world's vanity fhall be more clear, than now it is; and I am perfuaded, ye shall then think, that mens labours for this clay-idol are to be laughed at. Therefore come near, and take a view of that tranfparent beauty that is in Chrift, which would bufy the love of ten thousand millions of worlds and angels, and hold them all at work: furely I am grieved, that men will not spend their whole love upon that royal and princely Well-beloved, that high and lofty One; for it is curfed love that runneth another way than upon him. And for myfelf, if I had ten loves and ten fouls, O how glad would I be, if he would break in upon me, and take poffeffion of them all! Wo, wo is me, that he and I are so far afunder! I hope, we shall be in one country and one houfe together. Truly pain of love-ficknefs for Jefus, maketh me to think it long, long, long to the dawning of that day. Oh that he would cut fhort years and months and hours, and over-leap time, that we might meet! And for for this truth, Sir, that ye profess, I avow before the world of men and angels, that is the way, and the only way, to our country, the rest are by ways; and that what I fuffer for, is the apple of Chrift's eye, even his honour as Law-giver and King of his church. I think death too little ere I forfook it. Do not, Sir, I beseech you in the Lord, make Chrift's court thinner by drawing back from him; it is too thin already; for I dare pledge my heaven upon it, he fhall win this plea, and the fools that plea against him shall lofe the wager, which is their part of falvation, except they take better heed to their ways Sir, free grace that we give no hire for, is a jewel our Lord giveth to few. Stand fant in the hope ye are called unto: our Master will rend the clouds, and will be upon us quickly, and clear our cause, and bring us all out in our black and whites. Clean, clean garments in the Bridegroom's eye, are, of great worth: step over this hand-breadth of world's glory, in to our Lord's new world of grace, and ye will laugh at the feathers that children are chafing in the air. I verily judge, that these inns, men are building their neft in, are not worth a drink of cold water. It is a rainy and smoky house; best we come out, of it, left we be choked with the smoke thereof. O that my adverfaries knew how fweet my fighs for Christ are, and what it were for a finner to lay his head between Christ's breasts, and to be over head and ears in Chrift's love! Alas, I cannot cause paper fpeak the height and breadth and depth of it! I have not a balance to weigh my Lord Jefus's worth: heaven, ten heavens would not be the beam of a balance, to weigh him in. I muft give over praising of him; angels fee but little of him; O if that fair one would take off the mask off his fair face, that I might fee him: a kiss of him through his mask is half a heaven. O day, dawn! O time, run fast! O Bridegroom, post, poft faft, that we may meet! O heavens, cleave in two, that that bright face and head may fet itself through the clouds !' O that the corn were ripe, and this world prepared for his hook! Sir, be pleased to remember, a prisoner's bonds. Grace be with you. Aberdeen, July 10. 1637. Yours in his fweet Lord Jefus, S. R. 195. To Mr. HUGH MACKAIL. My very dear brother, Y E know, that men may take their fweet fill of the four law, in grace's ground; and betwixt the Mediator's breafts, and this is finners fafeft way; for there is a bed for wearied finners to reft them in, in the new covenant, though no bed of Chrift's making to fleep in. The law fhall never be my doomfter, by Chrift's grace, if I get no more good of it; I fhall find a fore e Na 2 nough Epift. 196. nough doom in the gospel, to humble and to cast me down: it is (I grant) a good rough friend, to follow a traitor to the bar, and to back him, till he come to Chrift. We may blame ourselves, who cause the law to crave well-paid debt, to scar us away from Jefus, and difpute about a righteoufnefs of our own, a world in the moon, a chimera, and a night dream, that pride is father and mother to there cannot be a more humble foul than a believer; it is no pride for a drowning man to catch hold of a rock, I rejoice, that the wheels of this confused world are rolled, and cogged, and driven, according as our Lord will. Out of what ever airth the wind blow, it will blow us on our Lord: no wind can blow our fails over board; because Christ's fkill, and the honour of his wifdom, are empawned, and laid down at the stake, for the fea-pasfengers, that he fhall put them fafe off his hand on the shore, in his Father's known bounds, our native home-ground. My dear brother, fcar not at the crofs of Chrift: it is not feen yet, what Chrift will do for you, when it cometh to the worft; he will keep his grace till ye be at a ftrait, and then bring forth the decreed birth for your falvation. Ye are an arrow of his own making, let him shoot you against a wall of brafs, your point fhall keep whole. I cannot, for multitude of letters, and distraction of friends, prepare what I would for the times: I have not one hour of spare time, fuppofe the day were forty hours long. Remember me prayer. Grace be with you. Aberd. Sept. 5.1637. I Yours in his fweet Lord Jefus, S. R. 196. To his reverend and dear brother, Mr. DAVID My reverend and dear brother, Fear have never known me well: if ye ye faw my inner-fide, it is poffible ye would pity me; but ye would hardly give me either love or refpect: men miftake me the whole length of the heavens; my fins prevail over me, and the terrors of their guiltinefs. I am put often to ask, if Christ and I did ever shake hands together in earneft; I mean not, that my feaft days are quite gone : but I am made of extremities. I pray God ye never have the woful and dreery experience of a closed mouth; for then ye fhall judge the fparrows, that may fing in the church of Irving, bleffed birds but my foul hath been refreshed and watered, when I hear of your courage and zeal for your never enough-praised, praised Master, in that ye put the men of God, chafed out of Ireland, to work. if I could confirm you! I dare fay in God's prefence, That this fhall never haften your fuffering, but shall be David Dickson's feast and fpeaking joy, that while he had time and leisure, he put many to work, to lift up Jesus his fweet Master, high in the skies.' O man man of God, go on, go on, be valiant for that Plant of renown, for that Chief among ten thoufands, for that Prince of the kings of the earth. It is but little that I know of God; yet this I dare write, Christ shall be glorified in David Dickfon, howbeit Scotland be not gathered, I am pained, pained, that I have not more to give my sweet Bridegroom: his comforts to me are not dealt with a niggard's hand, but I would fain learn not to idolize comfort, fenfe, joy, and sweet felt prefence; all these are but creatures, and nothing but the kingly robe, the gold ring, and the bracelets of the Bridegroom; the Bridegroom himself is better than all the ornaments that are about him. Now, I would not so much have these, as God himself, and to be fwallowed up of love to Christ. I fee in delighting in a communion with Chrift, we may make more gods than one; but however, all was but bairns-play between Christ and me, till now. If one would have fworn to me, I would not have believed, what may be found in Chrift. I hope, ye pity my pain that much, in my prison, as to help me yourself, and to cause others help me, a dyvour, a finful wretched dyvour, to pay fome of my debts of praife to my great King. Let my God be judge and witnefs, if my foul would not have fweet eafe and comfort, to have many hearts confirmed in Christ, and enlarged with his love, and many tongues fet on work to fet on high my royal and princely Well-beloved. O that my fufferings could pay tri bute to fuch a King! I have given over wondering at his love; for Chrift hath manifested a piece of art upon me, that I never revealed to any living: he hath gotten fair and rich employment, and fweet fale, and a goodly market for his honourable calling of fhewing mercy on me, the chief of finners. Every one knoweth not fo well as I do, my wofully often broken covenants, my fins against light, working in the very act of finning, hath been met with admirable mercy: but alas! he will get nothing back again, but wretched unthankfulness. I am fure, if Chrift pity any thing in me, next to my fin, it is pain of love for an arm full and foul-full of himself, in faith, love, and begun fruition: my forrow is, that I cannot get Chrift lifted off the duft in Scotland, and fet on high, above all the skies, and heaven of heavens. Aberdeen, May 1. 1637. Yours in his /weet Lord 197. To his reverend and dear brother, Mr. JOHN LIVINGSTON. My reverend and dear brother, Race, mercy and peace be to you: I long to hear from you, Gand, merry reded with the comforts of the bride from you, Jefus in Ireland. I fuffer with you in grief, for the dash that your defires |