LETTER LVI.

To Mr. THOMAS CARVEN. Reverend and Dear Brother,

up his wares, and the infinite plies and windings and corners of his souldelighting love; and let me see it, GRACE, mercy, and peace be to you. backside and foreside; and give me I am sorry that what joy and sorrow leave but to stand beside it, like an drew from my imprisoned pen, in my hungry man beside meat, to get my love-fits, hath made you and many of fill of wondering, as a preface to my God's children believe, that there is fill of enjoying! But verily, I think something in a broken reed the like my foul eyes would defile his fair of me; except that Christ's grace hath love to look to it; either my hunger bought such a sold body, I know is over humble, if that may be said, not what else any may think of me, or else I consider not what honour or expect from me. My stock is less it is to get leave to love Christ. O (my Lord knoweth I speak truth) that he would pity a prisoner, and than many believe; my empty sounds let out a flood upon the dry ground! have promised too much: I would be It is nothing to him to fill the like of glad to lye under Christ's feet, and me; one of his looks would do me keep and receive the off-fallings, or meikle world's good, and him no ill. the old pieces of any grace, that I know I am not at a point yet with fall from his sweet fingers to forlorn Christ's love, I am not yet fitted for sinners. I lye often uncouth-like, so much as I would have of it; my looking in at the King's windows; hope sitteth neighbour with meikle surely I am unworthy of a seat in the black hunger; and certainly Í dow King's hall-floor: I but often look not but think, there is more of that afar off, both feared and framed-like, love ordained for me than I yet comto that fairest face, fearing he bid prehend, and I know not the weight me look away from him; my guilti- of the pension the king will give me ; ness riseth up upon me, and I have I shall be glad if my hungry bill get no answer for it. I offered my tongue leave to lye beside Christ, waiting on to Christ, and my pains in his house; an answer. Now I would be full and and what know I what it meaneth, rejoice if I got a poor man's alms of when Christ will not receive my poor that sweetest love; but I confidently propine? When love will not take, believe there is a bed made for Christ we expone, it will neither take nor and me, and that we shall take our give, borrow nor lend. Yet Christ fill of love in it; and I often think hath another sea-compass he saileth when my joy is run out, and at the by, than my short and raw thoughts: lowest ebb, that I would seek no I leave this part of it to himself. I more, but my rights past the King's dare not expound his dealing, as great seal, and that these eyes of sorrow and misbelief often dictateth mine could see Christ's hand at the to me: I look often with my bleared pen. If your Lord call you to sufand blind eyes to my Lord's cross; fering be not dismayed; there shall and when I look to the wrong side be a new allowance of the King for of his cross, I know I miss a step you when ye come to it: one of the and slide: surely I see I have not softest pillows Christ hath is laid unlegs of my own for carrying me to der his witnesses' head, though often heaven; I must go in at heaven's they must set down their bare feet gates, borrowing strength from among thorns. He hath brought Christ. I am often thinking, O if my poor soul to desire and wish, O he would but give me leave to love that iny ashes, and the powder I shall him, and if Christ would but open be dissolved into, had well tuned

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tongues to praise him. Thus in men call them; nay, I think patience haste, desiring your prayers and should make Christ's water good praises, I recommend you to my wine, and his dross good metal; and sweet, sweet master, my honourable Lord, of whom I hold all. Grace be with you.

Your own in his sweet Lord Jesus, Aberdeen, 1637.

Mistress,

LETTER LVII.

To JANE BROWN.

S. R.

we have cause to wait on; for, ere it be long, our Master will be at us and bring this whole world out before the sun and day-light, in their blacks and whites. Happy are they who are found watching; our sandglass is not so long as we need to weary; time will eat away and root out our woes and sorrow; our heaven is in the bud, and growing up to an harvest; why then should we not follow on, seeing our span-length of time will come to an inch? Therefore I commend Christ to you as your last living, and longest living husband, and the staff of your old age; let him now have the rest of days; and think not much of a storm upon the ship that Christ saileth in; there shall no passenger fall over

GRACE, mercy, and peace be to you. I am glad that ye go on at Christ's back, in this dark and cloudy time; it were good to sell other things for him; for when all these days are over, we shall find it our advantage, that we have taken part with Christ. I confidently believe, his enemies shall be his footstool, and that he shall make green flowers dead with-board, but the crazed ship and the ered hay, when the honour and glory shall fall off them, like the bloom or flower of a green herb slaken with the wind. It were not wisdom for us to think that Christ and the gospel will come and sit down at our fire-side; nay, but we must go out of our warm houses, and seek Christ and his gospel it is not the sunny side of Christ that we must look to, and we must not forsake him for want of that; but must set our face against what may befal us, in following on till he and we be through the briars and bushes on the dry ground. Our soft nature would be borne through the troubles of this miserable life, in Christ's arms; and it is his wisdom, who knoweth our mould, that his children go wet-shod and coldfooted to heaven. O how sweet a thing were it for us to learn to make our burdens light, by framing our hearts to the burden, and making our Lord's will a law! I find Christ and his cross not so ill to please, nor yet such troublesome guests as

sea-sick passengers shall come to
land safe. I am in as sweet com-
munion with Christ as a poor sinner
can be; and am only pained that he
hath much beauty and fairness, and
I little love; he great power and
mercy, and I little faith; he much
light, and I bleared eyes. Oh that
I saw him in the sweetness of his
love, and in his marriage-clothes,
and were over head and ears in love
with that princely one, Christ Jesus
my Lord! Alas, my riven dish, and
running-out vessel can hold little of
Christ Jesus. I have joy in this,
that I would not refuse death, be
fore I put Christ's lawful heritage in
men's trysting; and what know I, if
they would have pleased both Christ
and me? Alas, that this land hath
put Christ to open rouping, and to
an, any man more bids! Blessed
are they who would hold the crown
on his head, and buy Christ's hon-
our with their own losses. I rejoice
to hear your son John is coming to
visit Christ, and taste of his love.

I hope he shall not lose his pains, or cannot forget you. Grace be with rue of that choice. I had always you,

(as I said often to you) a great love

Your loving Pastor,

LETTER LIX.

To the Lady BUSBIE.

to dear Mr. John Brown, because I Aberdeen, 1637.
thought I saw Christ in him more
than in his brethren; fain would I
write to him, to stand by my sweet
Master; and I wish ye would let him
read my letter, and the joy I have,
if he will appear for, and side with
my Lord Jesus. Grace be with you.
Your's in his sweet Lord Jesus,
Aberdeen, March 13th, 1637.

LETTER LVIII.
To JANE MACMILLAN.

S. R.

Mistress,

S. R.

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GRACE, mercy and peace be to you. I am glad to hear that Christ and ye are one, and that ye have made him your one thing; where many are painful, toiled in seeking many things, and their many things are nothing. It is only best, ye set yourself apart as a thing laid up and out of the gait, for Christ alone; for ye Loving Sister, are good for no other thing but GRACE, mercy and peace be to you. Christ; and he's been going about I cannot come to you, to give you you these many years, by afflictions, my counsel; and howbeit I would to engage you to himself; it were a come, I cannot stay with you: but pity and a loss to say him nay. VeI beseech you to keep Christ, for I rily I could wish that I could swim did what I could to put you within through hell, and all the ill weather grips of him; I told you Christ's in the world, and Christ in my arms; testament and latter will plainly, and but it is my evil and folly, that exI kept nothing back that my Lord cept Christ come unsent for, I do gave me; and I gave Christ to you not go to seek him: when he and I with good will: I pray you make fall in reckoning, we are both behim your own, and go not from that hind, he in payment, and I in counttruth I taught you in one hair-ing; and so marches lye still unrid, breadth; that truth shall save you and counts uncleared betwixt us. O if ye follow it. Salvation is not an that he would take his own blood for easy thing and soon gotten; I often counts and miscounts, that I might told you few are saved and many be a free man, and none had any damned I pray you make your claim to me but only, only Jesus. I poor soul sure of salvation, and make will think it no bondage to be roupthe seeking of heaven your daily ed, comprised and possessed by task. If ye never had a sick night Christ, as his bondman. Think well and a pained soul for sin, ye have of the visitations of your Lord: for not yet lighted upon Christ; look to I find one thing, I saw not well bethe right marks of having closed with fore, that when the saints are under Christ; if ye love him better than trials, and well humbled, little sins the world, and would quit all the raise great cries and war shouts in world for him, then that saith the the conscience; and in prosperity work is sound. O if ye saw the conscience is a Pope, to give dispenbeauty of Jesus, and felt the smell sations, and let out and in, and give of his love, you would run through latitude and elbow-room to our heart. fire and water to be at him! God O how little care we for pardon at send you him, Pray for me, for I Christ's hand, when we make diş

Mistress, ye are looking thereaway, and this is your second or third thought; make forward, your guide waiteth on you. I cannot but bless you for your care and kindness to the saints. God give you to find mercy in that day of our Lord Jesus, to whose grace I recommend you,

pensations! and all is but childrens' men and death out of the way, and play, till a cross without beget an to rid the rough way betwixt us and heavier cross within, and then we him, that we may enjoy one another. play no longer with our idols. It is It is strange and wonderful, that he good still to be severe against our would think long in heaven without selves; for we but transform God's us, and that he would have the commercy into an idol, and an idol that pany of sinners to solace and delight hath a dispensation to give, for turn- himself withal in heaven; and now ing of the grace of God into wanton- the supper is abiding us; Christ the ness. Happy are they who take up Bridegroom, with desire, is waiting God, wrath, justice, and sin, as they on, till the bride, the Lamb's wife, are in themselves: for we have mis-be busked for the marriage, and the carrying light, that parteth with great hall be rid for the meeting of child, when we have good resolu- that joyful couple. O fools, what tions: but, God be thanked, that do we here? and why sit we still ? salvation is not rolled upon our why sleep we in the prison? were it wheels. O but Christ hath a saving not best to make us wings, to flee eye! Salvation is in his eye-lids; up to our blessed match, our marwhen he first looked on me, I was row, and our fellow friends? I think, saved; it cost him but a look to make hell quit of me: O merits, free merits, and the dear blood of God, was the best gait that ever we could have gotten out of hell! O what a sweet, O what a safe and sure way is it, to come out of hell leaning on a Saviour! That Christ and a sinner should be one, and have heaven betwixt them, and be halvers of salvation, is the wonder of salvation. What more humble could love be? and what an excellent smell doth Christ cast on his lower garden, where there grow but wild flowers, if we speak by way of comparison; but there is nothing but perfect garden flowers in heaven, and the best plenishing that is there is Christ. We are all obliged to love heaven for Christ's sake: he graceth heaven, and all his Father's house with his presence: hé is a Rose that beautifieth all the upper garden of God; a leaf of that Rose of God for smell is worth a world: O that he would blow his smell upon a withered and dead soul! let us then go on to meet with him, and to be filled with the sweetness of his love. Nothing will hold him from us; he hath decreed to put time, sin, hell, devils,

Your's in our Lord Jesus, S. R.

Aberdeen, 1657.

LETTER LX.

To WILLIAM RIGG of Athernie. Much honoured and worthy Sir, YOUR letter, full of complaints, bemoaning your guiltiness, hath humbled me; but give me leave to say, Ye seem to be too far upon the law's side, ye will not gain much to be the law's advocate; I thought ye had not been the law's, but grace's man; nevertheless, I am sure ye desire to take God's part against yourself; whatever your guiltiness be, yet when it falleth into the sea of God's mercy, it is but like a drop of blood fallen in the great ocean. There is nothing here to be done, but let Christ's doom light on the old man, and let him bear his condemnation, seeing in Christ he was condemned;