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GL old broken boards of his tabernacle, and pin them, and nail them together: but bilis and fupplications are up in heaven, Christ hath coffers full of them; there is mercy on the other fide of this ' his crofs; a good answer to all our bills is agreed upon. I must tell you what lovely Jefus, fair Jefus, King Jefus hath done to my foul: fometimes he fendeth me out a standing drink, and whispereth a word through the wall; and I am well content of kindness at the fecond hand; his bode is ever welcome to me, be what it will; but at other times he will be meffenger himself, and I get the cup of falvation out of his own hand, (he drinking to me) and we cannot reft till we be in others arms; and O how fweet is a fresh kifs from his holy mouth! his breathing that goeth before a kifs upon my poor foul, is fweet, and hath no fault, but that it is 100 fhort; I am careless, and stand not much on this, howbeit loins, and back, and shoulders, and head rive in pieces, in ftepping up to my Father's houfe. I know my Lord can make long, and broad, and high, and deep glory to his name, out of this bit feckless body; for Chrift looketh not what stuff he mak eth glory out of. My dearly beloved, ye have often refreshed me, but that is put up in my Mafter's accompts; ye have him debtor for me: but if ye will do any thing for me, (as I know ye will) now in my extremity, tell all my dear friends, that a prisoner is fettered and chain'd in Chrift's love; Lord never loose the fetters; and

ye and they together take my heartieft commendations to my Lord Jefus, and thank him for a poor friend. I defire your husband to read this letter; I fend him a prifoner's bleffing; I will be obliged to him, if he will be willing to fuffer for my dear Master; fuffering is the profeffor's golden garment; there fhall be no loffes on Chrift's fide of it. Ye have been witneffes of much joy betwixt Christ and me at communion-feafts, the remembrance whereof (howbeit I be feafted in fecret) holdeth my heart; for I am put from the board head, and the King's first mess to his by board, and his broken meat is sweet unto me. I thank my Lord for bor. rowed crumbs, no less than when I was feasted at the communiontable in Anworth and Kirkcudbright. Pray that I may get one day of Chrift in public, as I have had long fince before my eyes be closed. Oh that my Mafter would take up house again, and lend me the keys of his wine cellar again, and God fend me borrowed drink till then! Remember my love to Christ's kinsmen with you. I pray for Chrift's Father's bleffing to them all. Grace be with you; a prifoner's bleffing be with you: I write it, and I bide by it, God fhall be glorious in Marion M'Naught, when this ftormy blaft fhall be over. O woman beloved of God, believe, rejoice, be strong in the Lord! Grace is thy portion. Your brother in his fweet Lord Jefus, S. R.

Aberdeen, June 15,

1637+

36. To JOHN GORDON at Rifco in Galloway.

My worthy and dear brother,

Mfpend not your short fand-glafs, which runneth very faft:

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feek your Lord in time. Let me obtain of you a letter under your hand, for a promife to God, by his grace, to take a new course of walking with God: heaven is not at the next door; I find it hard to be a Chriftian; there is no little thrufting and thronging to thrust in at heaven's gates; it is a caftle taken by force: Many fhall strive to enter in, and shall not be able. I befeech and obteft you in the Lord make confcience of rash and paffionate oaths, of raging and fudden avenging anger, of nightdrinking, of needlefs companionry, of fabbath-breaking, of hurting any under you by word or deed, of hating your very enemies. Except ye receive the kingdom of God as a little child, (and be as meek and fober-minded as a babe) ye cannot enter into the kingdom of God:' that is a word which should touch you near, and make you stoop and caft yourself down, and make your great fpirit fall. I know this will not be easily done; but I recommend it to you, as you tender your part of the kingdom of heaven. Brother, I may, from new experience, fpeak of Christ to you. Oh if ye faw in him what I fee! A river of God's unfeen joys have flowed from bank to brae over my foul fince I parted with you: I wish I wanted part, fo being ye might have; that your foul might be fick of love for Chrift, or rather fatiate with him: this clay-idol, the world, would seem to you then not worth a fig; time will eat you out of poffeffion of it: when the eye ftrings break, and the breath groweth cold, and the imprifoned foul look. eth out at the windows of the clay: houfe, ready to leap out into eternity, what would ye then give for a lamp full of oil? O feek it now. I defire you to correct and curb banning, fwearing, lying, drinking, fabbath breaking, and idle spending of the Lord's day in abfence from the kirk, as far as your authority reacheth in that parish. I hear a man is to be thrust into that place, to the which I have God's right; I know ye fhould have a voice by God's word in that, Acts i. 15, 16. to the end, and Acts vi. 3, 5. Ye would be loth that any prelate should put you out of your poffeffion earthly, and this is your right. I write to your wife. Grace be with you,

Aberdeen, March 14, 1637.

Your loving paftor,

S. R.

37. To the Lady HALHILL.

Dear and Chriftian Lady,

GR

Race, mercy and peace be to you. I longed much to write to your Ladyship; but now, the Lord offering a fit occa fon, I would not omit to do it. I cannot but acquaint your Ladyfhip with the kind dealing of Chrift to my foul, in this house of my pilgrimage, that your Ladyfhip may know Chrift is as good as he is called for at my first entry into this trial, (being caften down, and troubled with challenges and jealoufies of his love, whose name and testimony I now bear in my bonds) I feared nothing more than that I was caften over the dike of the vineyard, as a dry tree; but, blessed be his great name, the dry tree was in the fire, and was not burnt, his dew came down and quickened the root of a withered plant; and now he is come again with joy, and hath been pleased to feast his exiled and afflicted prifoner with the joy of his confolations: now I weep, but am not fad; I am chaftened, but I die not; I have lofs, but I want nothing: this water cannot drown me, this fire cannot burn me, because of the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush. The worst things of Chrift, his reproaches, his crofs, is better than Egypt's treasures. He hath opened his door, and taken into his houfe of wine a poor Anner, and hath left me fo fick of love for my Lord Jefus, that if heaven were at my difpofing, I would give it for Christ, and would not be content to go to heaven, except I were, perfuaded Chrift were there: I would not give nor exchange my bonds for the P. velvets; nor my prison for their coaches; nor my fighs for all the world's laughter; this clay idol, the world, hath no great Court in my foul: Chrift hath come and run away to heaven with my heart and my love, fọ that neither heart nor love is mine; I pray God Chrift may keep both without reverfion. In my eftimation, as I am now difpofed, if my part of this world's clay were rouped and fold, I would think it dear of a drink of water. I fee Chrift's love is fo kingly, that it will not abide a marrow; it must have a throne all alone in the foul; and I fee apples beguile bairns, howbeit they be worm eaten; the moth-eaten pleasures of this present world make bairns believe ten is a hundred, and yet all that are here are but shadows; if they would draw by the curtain that is hanged betwixt them and Chrift, they should think themselves fools who have fo long miskenned the Son of God. feek no more, next to heaven, but that he may be glorified in a prifoner of Chrift; and that in my behalf many would praife his high and glorious name, who heareth the fighing of the prifoner. Remember my service to the Laird your husband, and to your Son my acquaintance: I with Chrift had his young love, and that in

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the morning he would start to the gate, to feek that which this world knoweth not, and therefore doth not feek it. The grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift be with you,

Aberdeen, March 14,

1637.

Yours in his fweet Lord

Jefus, S. R.

38. To the Right Honourable my Lord LINDSAY. Right honourable and my very good Lord,

G

Race, mercy and peace, be to your Lordship; pardon my boldness to express myfelf to your Lordship, at this fo needful a time, when your wearied and friendless mother-kirk is looking round about her, to fee if any of her fons doth really bemone her defolation: therefore, my dear and worthy Lord, I beseech you in the bowels of Chrift, pity that widowlike fifter and spouse of Chrift. I know, her husband is not dead, but he feemeth to be in another country, and feeth well, and beholdeth who are his true and tender hearted friends, who dare venture under the water to bring out to dry-land finking truth, and who of the nobles will caft up their arm, to ward a blow off the crowned-head of our royal Lawgiver who reigneth in Zion, who will plead and contend for Jacob, in the day of his controverfy. It is now time, my worthy and noble Lord, for you who are the little nurse-fa thers (under our fovereign Prince) to put on courage for the Lord Jefus, and to take up a fallen orphan, speaking out of the duft, and to embrace in your arms Christ's bride : he hath no more in Scotland that is the delight of his eyes, but that one little fifter, whose breaft's were once well-fashioned; the once ra vished her Well beloved with her eyes and overcame him with her beauty; 'fhe looked forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the fun, terrible as an army with banners: her ftaturę was like the palm-tree, and her breasts like clusters of grapes, and fhe held the king in his galleries,' Cant. iv. 9. and vi. 10. and vii. 5. 7. But now the crown is fallen from her head, and her gold waxed dim, and our white Nazarites are become black as the coal. Bleffed are they who will come out and help Chrift against the mighty: the fhields of the earth and the nobles are debtors to Chrift for their honour, and should bring their glory and honour to the new Jerufalem; Rev. xxi. 24. Alas that great men should be fo far from subjecting themselves to the fweet yoke of Christ, that they burst his bonds afunder, and think, they do not go on foot when Chrift is on horfeback, and that every nod of Chrift, commanding as a king, is a load like a mountain of iand therefore they fay, This man fhall not reign over us, we must have another king than Chrift in his own houfe. Therefore kneel to Chrift, and kifs his Son, and let him have your Lord

ron;

fhip's vote, as your alone law-giver. I am fure, when you leave this old wafte inns of this perishing life, and fhall reckon with your hoft, and depart hence, and take fhipping, and make over for eternity, which is the yonder fide of time, and a fandglafs of threefcore fhort years is running cut to look over your fhoulder then, to that which ye have done, fpoken, and suffered for Chrift, (his dear bride that he ranfomed with that blood, which is more precious than gold) and for truth, and the freedom of Chrift's kingdom; your acounts fhall more fweetly fmile and laugh upon you, than if you had two worlds of gold to leave to your pofterity. O my dear Lord, confider that our master, eternity, and judgment, and the laft reckoning, will be upon us in the twinkling of an eye: the blaft of the last trumpet, now hard at hand, will cry down all acts of parliament, all the determinations of pretended affemblies, against Christ our law-giver: there will be thortly a proclamation by one ftanding in the clouds, that time shall be no more, and that court with kings of clay fhall be no more; and prifons, confinements, forfeitures of nobles, wrath of kings, hazard of lands, houfes and name for Chrift fhall be no more. This world's fpan length of time is drawn now to lefs than half an inch, and to he point of the evening of the day of this old and gray-hair'd world: and there. fore be fixed and fast for Chrift and his truth for a time; and fear not him, whofe life goeth out at his noftrils, who fhall die as a man. I am perfuaded Chrift is refponfal, and law-biding, to make recompence for any thing that is hazarded or given out for him: loffes for Christ are but our goods given out in bank in Chrift's hand. Kings earthly are well favoured little clay gods, time's idols; but a fight of our invifible king fhall decry and darken all the glory of this world. At the day of Christ, truth fhall be truth, and not treason: alas! it is pitiful, that filence, when the thatch of our Lord's house hath taken fire, is now the flower and the bloom of court and state-wisdom; and to cast a covering over a good profeffion, (as if it blushed at light) is tho't a canny and fure way through this life: but the fafeft way, Iam perfwaded, is to tine and win with Chrift, and to hazard fairly for him; for heaven is but a company of noble venturers for Chrift. I dare hazard my foul, Christ shall grow green and bloffom as the rofe of Sharon yet in Scotland; howbeit now his leaf feemeth to wither, and his root to dry up. Your noble ancestors have been inrolled amongst the worthies of this nation, as the fure friends of the Bridegroom, and valiant for Chrift: I hope ye will follow on to come to the streets for the fame Lord. The world is ftill at yea and nay with Chrift. It fhall be your glory, and the fure foundation of your house, (now when houses are tumbling down, and birds building their nefts, and thorns and briers Ι

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