Epift. 63: to him, and clofing with him. Sixth affertion, Reprobates are not formally guilty of contempt of God, and misbelief, because they apply not Chrift and the promises of the gospel to themselves in particular; for fo they should be guilty because they believe not a lie, which God never obliged them to believe. Seventh affertion, Justice hath a right to punish reprobates, because out of pride of heart, confiding in their own righteousness, they rely not upon Chrift, as a Saviour of all them that come to him: this God may justly oblige them unto; because in Adam they had perfect ability to do; and men are guilty, because they love their own inability, and rest upon themselves, and refuse to deny their own righteousness, and to take them to Chrift, in whom there is righteoufnefs for wearied finners. Eighth affertion, It is one thing to rely, lean, and reft upon Christ, in humility and wearinefs of fpirit, and denying our own righteousness, believing him to be the only righteousness of wearied finners; and it is another thing to believe Chrift died for me, John, Thomas, Anna, upon an intention and decree to fave us by name. For, 1ft, The first goeth first, the latter is always after in due order. 2dly, The first is faith, the fecond is a fruit of faith, and 3d. The first obligeth reprobates and all men in the visible kirk, the latter obligeth only the weary and laden, and fo only the elect and effectually called of God. Ninth affertion, It is a vain order, I know not if Chrift died for me, John, Thomas, Anna by name; and therefore I dare not rely on him. The reafon is, because it is not faith, to believe, God's intention and decree of election at the first, ere ye be wearied: look first to your own intention and foul, if ye find fin a burden, and can reft under it upon Chrift; if this be once, now come and believe in particular, or apply by fenfe (for in my judgment it is a fruit of belief, not belief) and feeling the good-will, intention, and gracious purpose of God anent your falvation: hence, because there is malice in reprobates, and contempt of Chrift, guilty they are, and justice hath law against them: and, which is the mystery, they cannot come up to Chrift, because he died not for them; but their fin is, that they love their inability to come to Chrift; and he who loveth his chains, deferveth chains: and thus, in fhort, remember my bonds.

Aberdeen. 1637.

Yours in his fweet Lord Jefus, S. R.

63. To the Earl of CASSILS.

My very honourable and noble Lord.

G

Race, mercy and peace be to your Lordship. Pardon me to express my earnest defire to your Lordship for Zion's fake,

fer

107 whom we should not hold our peace. I know your Lordship will take my pleading on his behalf in the better part, because the neceffity of a falling and weak church is urgent. I believe your Lordship is one of Zion's friends, and that by obligation; for when the Lord fhall count and write up the people, it shall be written, This man was born there. Therefore because your Lordship is a born fon of the house, I hope your defire is, that the beauty and glory of the Lord may dwell in the midst of the city, whereof your Lordship is a fon. It must be, without all doubt, the greatest honour of your place and house, to kiss the Son of God, and for his fake to be kind to his oppreffed and wronged Bride, who, now in the day of her defolation, beggeth help of you, that are the shields of the earth. I am fure many kings, princes and nobles, in the day of Chrift's fecond coming, would be glad to run errands for Chrift, even bare-footed through fire and water; but in that day he will have none of their fervice. Now he is afking, if your Lordship will help him against the mighty of the carth, when men are fetting their shoulders to Chrift's fair and beautiful tent in this land, to loofe its ftakes, and break it down? and certainly fuch as are not with Chrift, are against him: and bleffed fhall your Lordship be of the Lord, blessed shall your house and feed be, and bleffed fhall your honour be, if ye empawned, and lay in Chrift's hand, the earldom of Caffils (and it is but a fhadow in comparison of the city made without hands) and lay it even at the ftake, rather than Christ, and born down truth want a witnefs of you, against the apostasy of this land. Ye hold your lands of Chrift, your charters are under his feal, and he who hath many crowns on his head, dealeth, sutteth, and carveth pieces of this clay heritage to men at his pleasure. It is little your Lordship hath to give him; he will not fleep long in your common, but fhall furely pay home your loffes for his caufe. It is but our bleared eyes that look through a falfe glafs to this idol-god of clay, and think something of it: they who are past with their last fentence to heaven or hell, and have made their reckoning, and departed out of this fmoky inn, have now no other conceit of this world, but as a piece of beguiling well-luftered clay; and how faft doth time (like a flood in motion) carry your Lordship out of it? and is not eternity coming with wings! court goeth not in heaven as it doth here. Our Lord (who hath all you, the nobles, lying in the fhell of his balance) efteemeth you accordingly as ye are the Bridegroom's friends or foes: your honourable ancestors, with the hazard of their lives, brought Chrift to our hands; and it fhall be cruelty to the pofterity, if ye lofe him to them. One of our tribes, Levi's fon, the watchmen, are fallen from the Lord, and have fold their mother and their father alfo, and the Lord's truth, for

4

Epift. Oz their new velvet world,, and their fattin church. If ye, the no bles, play Christ a slip, now when his back is at the wall, (if I may fo fpeak) then may we fay, that the Lord hath caften water upon Scotland's fmoaking coal; but we hope better things of you. I is no wisdom, however it be the ftate wifdom now in request to be. filent, when they are cafting lots for a better thing than Chrift's. coat, All this land, and every man's part of the play for Chrift, and tears of poor and friendless Zion, (now going dool-like in fackcloth) are up in heaven before our Lord; and there is no question, but our King and Lord fhall be mafter of the fields at length and we would all be glad to divide the spoil with Chrift, and to ride in triumph with him; bue Oh how few will take a cold bed of straw in the camp with him! How fain would men have a well-thatched house above their heads, all the way to hea ven! And many now would go to heaven the land way (for they love not to be fea-fick) riding up to Chrift upon foot-mantles, and rattling coaches, and rubbing their velvet with the princes of the land in the highest feats. If this be the way Chrift called ftrait and narrow, I quit all skill of the way to falvation. Are they not now rouping Chrift and the gospel? Have they not put our Lord Jefus to the market, and he who out-biddeth his fellow fhall ger him? O my dear and noble Lord, go on (howbeit the wind be in your face) to back our princely Captain; be couragious for him fear not these who have no fubfcribed leafe of days; the worms shall eat kings: let the Lord Jehovah be your fear; and then, as the Lord liveth, the victory is yours. It is true many are ftriking up a new way to heaven; but my foul for theirs, if they find it; and if this be not the only way, whofe end is Chrift's Fa ther's houfe: and my weak experience, fince the day I was first in bonds, hath confirmed me in the truth and affurance of this: let doctors and learned men cry the contrair, I am perfuaded this is the way. The bottom hath fallen out of both their wit and confcience at once; their book hath beguiled them, for we have fallen upon the true Chrift, I dare hazard, if I alone had ten fouls, my falvation upon this ftone, that many now break their bones upon. Let them take this fat world, Oh poor and hungry is their paradife! Therefore let me intreat your Lordthip, by your compearance before Chrift, now while this piece of the afternoon of your day is before you, (for ye know not when your fun will turn and eternity fhall benight you) let your glory, honour, and might worldly be for our Lord Jefus and to his rich grace, and tender mercy, and to the never-dying comforts of his gracious Spirit, I recommend your Lordship and noble house,

Aberdeen, Sept. 9
1637.

Your Lordship's at all

obedience, S. R.

Mißtress,

G

64. To the Lady LARGIRIE

Race, mercy and peace be to you. I hope ye know what conditions paft betwixt Christ and you, at your first meeting: ye remember, he faid, your fummer days would have clouds, and your rofe, a prickly thorn befide it: Chrift is unmixt in hea ven, all fweetness and honey; here we gave him with his thorny and rough cross; yet I know no tree beareth fweeter fruit than Chrift's crofs, except I would raise a lying report on it. It is your part to take Chrift, as he is to be had in this life: fufferings are like a wood planted round about his house, over door and window: if we could hold fast our grips of him, the field were won. Yet a little while and Chrift shall triumph: give Chrift his own short time, to spin out these two long threads of heaven and hell to all mankind, for certainly the thread will not break; and when he hath accomplished his work in mount Zion, and hath refined his filver, he will bring new veffels out of the furnace, and ple nish his house, and take up house again. I counsel you to free yourself of clogging temptations, by overcoming fome, and con temning others, and watching over all: abide true and loyal to Chrift, for few now are faft to him; they give Chrift blank paper, for a bond of fervice and attendance now when Christ hath most ado: to waste a little blood with Christ, and to put our part of this droffy world in pawn over in his hand, as willing to quit it for him, is the safest cabinet to keep the world in: but these who would take the world and all their flitting on their back, and run away from Chrift, they will fall by the way, and leave their burden behind them, and be taken captive themselves. Well were my foul, to put all I have, life and foul, over in Chrift's hands; let it be forthcoming for all. If any afk how I do? Ianfwer, None can be but well that are in Christ: and if I were not fo, my fufferings had melted me away in afhes and fmoke; I thank my Lord, that he hath something in me that this fire cannot confume. Remember my love to your husband, and fhew him from me, I defire that he may fet afide all things, and make sure work of falvation, that it be not a feeking, when the fand glass is run out, and time and eternity shall tryft together: there is no errand fo weighty as this; O that he would take it to heart. Grace be with you, Aberdeen.

Yours in Chrift Jefus his Lord, S. R.

65. To the Lady DUNGUEIGH.

Miftrefs. Long to hear from you, and how you go on with Chrift: 1 am fure that Chrift and you once met: I pray you fasten your

grips; there is holding and drawing, and much fea-way to heaven, and we are often fea-fick; but the voyage is fo needful, that we must on any terms take shipping with Chrift. I believe it is a good country we are going to, and there is ill lodging in this fmoaky house of the world, in which we are yet living; Oh that we should love fmoke so well, and clay that holdeth out feet fast! It were our happiness to follow on after Christ, and to anchor ourfelves upon the rock, in the upper fide of the vail. Chrift and Satan are now drawing two parties; and they are blind who fee not Scotland divided in two camps, and Christ coming out with his white banner of love, and he hangeth that over the heads of his foldiers and the other captain, the dragon, is coming out with a great black flag, and crieth, The world, the world, eafe, honour, and a whole skin, and a foft couch; and there ly they, and leave Chrift to fend for himself. My counfel is, that ye come out and leave the multitude, and let Christ have your company; let them take clay and this prefent world, who love it: Chrift is a more worthy and noble portion; blessed are these who get him. It is good, ere the ftorm rife, to make ready all, and to be prepared to go to the camp with Chrift, feeing he will not keep the house, nor fit at the fire fide with couchers. A fhower for Chrift is little enough. Oh, I find all too little for him! Wo, wo, wo's me, that I have no propine for my Lord Jefus: my love is fo feckless, that it is a fhame to offer it to him. Oh if it were as broad as heaven, as deep as the fea, I would gladly bestow it upon him! 1 perfuade you, God is wringing grapes of red wine for Scotland, and this land fhall drink, and fpue, and fall. His enemies fhall drink the thick of it, and the grounds of it; but Scotland's withered tree shall bloffom again, and Chrift fhall make a fecond marriage with her, and take home his wife out of the furnace but if our eyes fhall fee it, he knoweth who hath created time, Grace be with you,

Aberd. 1637.

;

Yours in his fweet Lord Jefus, S. R.

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66. To JANET MACKULLOCH.

Loving fifter,

Grace, mercy and peace be to you. Hold on your course, for, may be, I will not foon fee you: venture through the

thick of all things after Chrift, and lofe not your mafter, Christ, in the throng of this great market. Let Chrift know how heavy, and how many a stone weight you and your cares, burdens, croffes, and fins are, let him bear all; make the heritage fure to yourfelf: get charters and writs paffed and through, and put on arms for the battle, and keep you faft by Chrift, and then let the wind blow out of what airth it will, your foul will not blow in the fea.