Sir, ye may help me and pity me in this, and bow your knee, and blefs his name, and defire others to do it, that he hath been pleafed in my fufferings to make Atheists, Papifts, and enemies about me, fay, It is like, God is with this prifoner. Let hell and the powers of hell (I care not) be let loose against me to do their worst,fo beingChrift, and my Father and his Father be magnified in my fufferings. 6. Chrift's love hath pained me; for howbeit his prefence hath fhamed me, and drowned me in debt, yet he often goeth away when my love to him is burning; he feemeth to look like a proud wooer, who will not look upon a poor match, who is dying of love: I will not fay he is lordly; but I know he is wife, in hiding himself from a child and a fool, who maketh an idol and a god of one of Christ's kiffes, which is idolatry. I fear I adore his comforts more than himself, and that I love the apples of life better than the tree of life. Sir, write to me: mend me to your wife, mercy be her portion. Grace be with you. Aberdeen, 1637. com Yours in his dearest Lord Jefus, S. R. 53. To JOHN STEWART Provost of Air. Worthy and dearly beloved in our Lord, Gorted with your letter: what I wrote you Race, mercy and peace be to you: I was refreshed and comfor your comfort, I do not remember; but I believe, love will prophefy home-ward, as it would have it. I wish I could help you to praise his great and holy name, who keepeth the feet of his faints, and hath numbered all your goings. I know our dearest Lord will pardon and pass by our honest errors and mistakes, when we mind his honour; yet I know, none of you have seen the other half and the hidden fide of your wonderful return home to us again. I am confident ye fhall yet fay, That God's mercy blew your fails back to Ireland again. Worthy and dear Sir, I cannot but give you an account of my prefent eftate, that ye may go an errand for me to my high and royal Master, of whom I boast all the day. I am as proud of his love, (nay, I blefs myself, and boaft more of my prefent lot) as any poor man can be of an earthly king's court, or of a kingdom. First, I am very often turning both the fides of my crofs, especially my dumb and filent fabbaths; not because I defire to find a cross or defect in my Lord's love, but because love is fick with fancies, and fear: whether or not the Lord hath a procefs leading against my guiltinefs, that I have not yet well feen, I know not; my defire is to ride fair, and not to fpark dirt (if, with reverence to him, I may be permitted to make use of such a word) in the face of my M 2 only Epift. 53 only Well-beloved; but fear of guiltinefs is a tale-bearer betwixt me and Chrift, and is ftill whifpering ill tales of my Lord, to weaken my faith: I had rather a cloud went over my comforts by these meffages, than that my faith should be hurt; for, if my Lord get no wrong by me, verily I defire grace, not to care what become of me. I defire. to give no faith, nor credit to my forrow, that can make a lie of my friend Chrift; wo, wo be to them all, who fpeak ill of Chrift. Hence these thoughts awake with me in the morning, and go to bed with me; Oh what service can a dumb body do in Christ's house! Oh I think the word of God is imprifoned alfo! Oh I am a dry tree! Alas I can neither plant, nor water! Oh if my Lord would make but dung for me, to fatten and make fertile his own corn ridges in mount Zion! Oh if I might but speak to three or four herd-boys, of my worthy Master, I would be fatisfied to be the meanest and most obIcure of all the pastors in this land, and to live in any place, in any of Chrift's basest out-houses! but he faith, Sirra, I will not fend you, I have no errands for you there away: my defire to ferve him is fick of jealousy, left he be unwilling to employ me. Secondly, This is feconded with another; Oh, what I have done in Anwoth? the fair work that my Master began there, is like a bird dying in the fhell: and what will I then have to fhew of all my labour, in the day of my compearance before him, when the master of the vineyard calleth the labourers,and giveththemtheir hire? Thirdly, But truly, when Chrift's fweet wind is in the right airth, I repent, and I pray Christ to take law-burroughs of my quarrellous and unbelieving sadness and forrow, (Lord rebuke them that put ill betwixt a poor fervant like me, and his good mafter:) then I fay, whether the black cross will or not, I must climb on hands and feet up to my Lord, I am now rueing from my heart, that I pleasured the law (my old dead husband)-fo far as to apprehend wrath in my fweet Lord Jefus ; I had far rather take an hire to plead for the grace of God, for I think myself Christ's fworn debtor. And the truth is, to fpeak of my Lord what I cannot deny, I am over head and ears drowned in many obligations to his love and mercy; he handleth me fometimes fo, that I am ashamed almoft to feek more for a four-hours, but to live content, till the marriage-fupper of the Lamb, with that which he giveth: but I know not how greedy, and how ill to pleafe love is; for either my Lord Jefus hath taught me ill manners, not to be content with feat, except my head ly in his bofom, and except I be fed with the fatnefs of his houfe; or elfe I am grown impatiently dainty, and ill to please, as if Chrift were obliged, under this cross, to do no other thing but bear me in his arms, and as if I had claim by his merit for my fuffering for him: but I wish he could give me grace to learn to go on my own feet, and to learn to want his com forts, forts, and to give thanks and believe, when the fun is not in my firmament, and when my Well-beloved is from home, and gone another errand. O what fweet peace have I, when I find Chrift holdeth and I draw, when I climb up and he shutteth me down, when I grip him and embrace him, and he feemeth to loose the grips, and flee away from me! I think there is even a sweet joy of faith and contentednefs and peace, in his very tempting unkindnefs, because my faith faith, Chrift is not in fad earnest with me, but trying if I can be kind to his mafk and cloud that covereth him, as well as to his fair face. I blefs his great name, that I love his vail that goeth over his face, while God fend better: for faith can kifs God's tempting reproaches when he nick-nameth a Ginner, a dog, not worthy to eat bread with the bairns. I think it an honour that Chrift mifcalleth me, and reproacheth me; I will take that well of him, howbeit I would not bear it well, if another would be that homely; but because I am his own (God be thanked) he may ufe me as he pleaseth: I must fay, the faints have a sweet life betwixt them and Chrift; there is much fweet folace of love betwixt him and them, when he 'feedeth among the lillies, and cometh into his garden, and maketh a feast of honey-combs, and drinketh his wine and his milk, and crieth, Eat, O friends, drink, be ye drunken, O Well beloved.' One hour of this labour is worth a fhip-full of world's drunken and muddy joy nay, even the gate of heaven is the funny fide of the brae, and the very garden of the world; for the men of this world have their own unchriftened and profane croffes: and wo be to them and their curled croffes both; for their ills are falted with God's vengeance, and our ills feasoned with our Father's bleffing: fo they are no fools who chufe Chrift, and fell all things for him; it is no bairns market, nor a blind block; we know well what we get and what we give. Now, for any refolution to go to any other kingdom, I dare not fpeak one word: my hopes of enlargement are cold, my hopes of re-entry to my master's ill-dreffed vineyard again are far colder: I have no feat for my faith to fit on but bare omnipotency, and God's holy arm and good will; here I defire to stay, and ride at anchor, and winter, while God fend fair weather again, and be pleafed to take home to his house my harlot mother: Oh if her husband would be that kind, as to go and fetch her out of the brothel house, and chase her lovers to the hills! but there will be fad days ere it come to that. Remem ber my bonds. Grace be with you, Aberd. 1637. Yours in our Lord Jefus, S. R.. Mistress, 54. To the Lady BUSBIE. A thought good to write unto you: howbeit my firft dif Lthough not acquaint, yet because we are Father's children, courfe and communing with you of Chrift, be in paper; yet I have cause fince I came hither, to have no paper thoughts of him; for in my fad days he is become the flower of my joys, and I but lie here living upon his love; but cannot get so much of it as fain I would have; not because Chrift's love is lordly, and looketh too high; but because I have a narrow vessel to receive his love, and I look too low: but I give under my own hand write to your teftimonial of Chrift and his crofs, that they are a fweet couple, and that Christ hath never yet been fet in his own due chair of honour amongst us all. Oh, I know not where to fet him! O for a high feat to that royal princely one! O that my poor withered foul had once a running-over flood of that love to put fap in my dry root, and that that flood would spring out to the tongue and pen, to útter great things to the high and due commendation of fuch a fair one! O holy, holy, holy one! Alas there are too many dumb tongues in the world, and dry hearts, feeing there is employment in Chrift for them all, and ten thoufand worlds of men and angels more, to fet on high, and exalt the greatest Prince of the kings of the earth. Woes me, that bits of living clay dare come out, to rufh hard-heads with him; and that my unkind mother, this harlot-kirk, hath given her fweet half-marrow fuch a meeting; for this land hath given up with Chrift, and the Lord is cutting Scotland in two halves, and fending the worst half, the harlot fifter, over to Rome's brothel-houfe, to get her fill of Egypt's love. I would my fufferings (nay, fuppofe I were burnt quick to ashes) might buy an agreement betwixt his fairest and fweetest love, and his gaudy lewd wife; fain would I give Chrift his welcome home to Scotland again, if he would return. This is a black day, a day of clouds and darkness; for the roof-tree of my Lord Jefus his fair temple is fallen, and Chrift's back is toward Scotland. O thrice bleffed are they who would hold Christ with their tears and prayers! I know ye will help to deal with him, for he fhall return again to this land: the next day fhall be Christ's, and there fhall be a fair green young garden for Christ in this land, and God's fummer-dew fhall ly on it all the night, and we shall fing again our new marriage-fong to our Bridegroom, concerning his vineyard: but who knoweth whether we shall live and fee it? I hear the Lord hath taken pains to afflict and drefs you, as a fruitful vine for himself, grow and be green, and caft out your branches, and bring forth fruit: fat and green and fruitful may ye be, in the true and fappy root. Grace, grace, free grace Remember my bonds with prayers and grace be your portion. Loving Friend, Yours in his fweet Lord Jefus, S. R. 55. To NINIAN MURE. Received your letter: I intreat you, now in the morning of your life, feek the Lord and his face: beware of the folly of dangerous youth, a perilous time for your foul: love not the world; keep faith and truth with all men, in your covenants and bargains; walk with God, for he feeth you: do nothing but that which ye may and would do, if your eye-ftrings were breaking, and your breath growing cold. Ye heard the truth of God from me; my dear heart, follow it, and forfake it not; prize Chrift and falvation above all the world: to live after the guife and course of the reft of the world, will not bring you to heaven; without faith in Chrift, and repentance, ye cannot fee God: take pains for falvation; prefs forward toward the mark for the prize of the high calling: if ye watch not against evils night and day, which befet you, ye will come behind: beware of lying, fwearing, uneleannefs, and the reft of the works of the flesh; becaufe for thefe things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience: how fweet foever they may seem for the present, yet the end of these courfes is the eternal wrath of God, and utter darknefs, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Grace be with you. Aberd. 1637. Your loving paftor, S. R. 56. To Mr. THOMAS CARVEN. Reverend and dear brother, GRace, mercy and peace be unto you. I am forry that what joy and forrow drew forth my imprisoned pen, in my lovefits, hath made you and many of God's children believe, that there is fomething in a broken reed the like of me; except that Chrift's grace hath bought fuch a fold body, I know not what elle any may think of me, or expect from me. My stock is less (my Lord knoweth I fpeak truth) than many believe; my empty founds have promised too much: I would be glad to ly under Chrift's feet, and keep and receive the off fallings, or any old pieces of any grace, that fall from his fweet fingers to forlorn fin ners. I ly often uncouth-like, looking in at the King's windows; furely I am unworthy of a feat in the King's hall-floor: I but often look afar off, both feared and framed-like, to that fairest face, fearing he bid me look away from him; my guiltinefs rifeth up upon |