Letters in Two Parts, Part 2 · LETTER 37
To my Lady BOYD. (37)
MADAM.
GRace, mercy & peace be to you: Impute it not to a disrespective forgetfulness of your La: who ministred to me in my bonds, that I write not to you: I wish I could speak or write what might doe good to your La: especially now, when I think ye cannot but have deep thoughts of the deep & bottomless wayes of our Lord, in taking away, with a sudden & wonderfull stroke your brethren & friends. Ye may know, all that die for sin, die not in sin, & that none can teach the Almighty knowledge, he answereth none of our Courts, & no man can say, What doest thou? It's true, your brethren saw not many summers; but adore & fear the soveraignty of the great Potter, who maketh & marreth his clay-vessels when & how it pleaseth him. This under-garden is absolutely his own & all that groweth in it, his absolute liberty is law-biding, the flowers are his own, if some be but summer-apples he may pluck them down before others. O what wisdom is it to beleeve & not to dispute, to subject the thoughts to his Court & not to repine at any act of his justice! He hath done it, all flesh be silent: it is impossible to be submissive & religiously patient if ye stay your thoughts down among the confused rollings & wheels of second causes, as, Oh the place! Oh the time! Oh if this had been, this had not followed! Oh the linking of this accident with this time & place! Look up to the Master-motion & the first wheel, see & read the decree of heaven & the Creator of men, who breweth death to his children & the manner of it: & they see far in a mill-stone, & have eyes that make a hole to see through the one side of a mountain to the other, who can take up his wayes: How unsearchable are his judgements, & his wayes past finding out! His Providence halteth not, but goeth with even & equal legs: yet are they not the greatest sinners, upon whom tower of Siloam fell: was not time's lease expired, & the sand of heaven's sand-glass set by our Lord, run out? Is not he an unjust debter who payeth due debt with chiding? I beleeve, Christian Lady, your faith leaveth that much charity to our Lord's judgements, as to beleeve, how beit ye be in blood sib to that cross, that yet ye are exempted & freed from the gall & wrath that is in it. I dare not deny but (Iob. 18: 15.) the King of terrors dwelleth in the wicked man's tabernacle: brimstone shall be scattered on his habitation: yet, Madam, it is safe for you to live upon the faith of his love, whose arrows are over-watered & pointed with love & mercy to his own, & who knoweth how to take you & yours out of the roll & book of the dead. Our Lord hath not the eyes of flesh in distributing wrath to the thousand generation without exception. Seeing ye are not under the Law, but under Grace & married to another husband: Wrath is not the Court that ye are liable to. As I would not wish, neither doe I beleeve, your La: doeth despise; so neither faint: read & spell aright all the words & syllabes in the visitation, & miscall neither letter nor syllabe in it. Come along with the Lord, & see, & lay no more weight upon the Law then your Christ hath laid upon it: If the Law's bill get an answer from Christ, the curses of it can doe no more: And I hope ye have resolved that if he should grind you to powder, your dust & powder shall beleeve his salvation: And who can tell what thoughts of love & peace our Lord hath to your children? I trust he shall make them famous in excuting the written judgements upon the enemies of the Lord, this honour have all his saints, Psal. 149: 9. & that they shall bear stones on their shoulders, for building that city that is called, Ezek. 46: 35. The Lord is there: & happy shall they be who have a hand in the sacking of Babel, & come out in the year of vengeance for the controversy of Zion, against the land of graven images. Therefore, Madam, let the Lord make out of your father's house any work, even of judgement, that he pleaseth: What i… wrath to others, is mercy to you & your house. It is Faith's work to claim and challenge loving kindness out of all the roughest strokes of God. Doe that for the Lord, which ye will doe for time; time will calme your heart at that which God hath done, & let our Lord have it now. What love ye did bear to friends now dead, seeing they stand now in no need of it, let it fall as just legacy to Christ. O how sweet to put out many strange lovers, & to put in Christ! It is much for our half-slain affections to part with that which we beleeve we have right unto; but the servant's will should be our will, & he is the best servant who retaineth least of his own will & most of his Master's. That much wisdom must be ascribed to our Lord, that he knoweth how to lead his own in-through and outthrough the little time-hells and the pieces of time-during wraths in this life, & yet keep safe his love without any blurre upon the old & great seal of free Election: And seeing his mountains of brass, the mighty & strong decrees of free grace in Christ, stand sure, & the Covenant standeth fast for ever as the dayes of heaven, let him strike & nurture, his striking must be a very act of saving; seeing strokes upon his secret ones, come from the soft & heavenly hand of the Mediatour, & his rods are steeped & watered in that flood & river of love that cometh from the God-man's heart of our soul-loving & soul-redeeming JESUS. I hope ye are content to frist the Cautioner of mankinde his own conquest, heaven, till he pay it you & bring you to a state of glory, where he shall never crook a finger upon, nor lift a hand to you again: And be content, & withall greedily covetous of Grace, the interest & pledge of Glory. If I did not beleeve your crop to be on the ground, & your part of that heaven of the saints heaven, white & ruddy, fair, fair & beautifull Jesus, were come to the bloom & the flower, & near your hook I would not write this; but seeing time' threed is short, & ye are upon the entry of heaven's harvest, & Christ the field of heaven's glory is white & ripe-like, the losses that I write of to your La: are but summer-showers that will onelyonly wet your garments for an hour or two, and the Sun of the new Ierusalem shall quickly dry the wet coat; especially seeing rains of Affliction cannot stain the image of God or cause Grace cast the colour: And since ye will not alter upon him, who will not change upon you, I durst in weakness think my self no spiritual Seer, if I should not prophesie, that day-light is neer when such a morning-darkness is upon you & that this trial of your Christian minde towards him whom ye dare not leave howbeit he should slay you, shall close with a doubled mercy. It is time for faith to hold fast as much of Christ as ever ye had & to make the grip stronger & to cleave closer to him, seeing Christ loveth to be beleeved in & trusted to: The glory of laying strength upon one that is mighty to save, is more then we can think: That piece of service of beleeving in a smiting Redeemer is a precious part of obedience. O what glory to him to lay over the burden of our heaven upon him that purchased for us an eternal Kingdom! O blessed soul who can adore & kiss his lovely, free Grace. The rich grace of Christ be with your spirit.
St. Andrews. Octob. 15. 1640. Yours at all obedience in Christ Iesus, S. R.