Letters in Two Parts, Part 1 · LETTER 24 – LETTER 26
To a Gentle Woman after the Death of her Husband. (24)
DEar & loving sister, I know ye are minding your sweet countrey & not taking your Innes [the place of your banishmet] for your home; this life is not worthy to be the thatch or outer wall of your Lord Jesus his paradise, that he did sweat for to you, & that he keepeth for you: Short, & silly, & sandblinde were our hope, if it could not look over the water to our best heritage, and if it stayed only at home about the doors of our clay-house. I marvel not my dear sister, that ye complain that ye come short of your old wrestlings you had for a blessing, and that now you finde it not so, bairns are but hired to learn their lesson when they first goe to school; and it is enough that these who run a race see the gold onelyonly at the starting place; and possibly they see little more of it, or nothing at all, till they win to the rink's-end and get the gold in the loof of their hand: Cur Lord maketh delicates and dainties of his sweet presence and love-visits to his own, but Christs love under a vaile is love, if ye get Christ, howbeit not the sweet and pleasant way you would have him, it is enough, for the wel-beloved cometh not our way, he must waile his own gate himself. For worldly things, seeing they are medows and fair flowers in your way to heaven, a smell in the by-going is sufficient: he that would reckon and tell all the stones in his way, in a journey of three or four hundred miles, and write up in his count book all the herbs, and flowers growing in his way, might come short of his journey, you cannot stay in your inch of time to lose your day (seeing you are in haste, and the night and your after-noon will not bide you) in setting your heart on this vain world, it were your wisdom to read your count book & to have in readin…s… your bussinesse against the time you come to deaths water-side: I know your lodging is taken, your forerunner Christ, hath not forgotten that, & therefore you must set your self to your one thing, which ye cannot well want. In that our Lord took your husband to himself, I know it was that he might make room for himself: he cuteth off your love to the creature, that ye might learn that God onelyonly is the right owner of your love, sorrow, losse, sadnesse, death, or the worst things that are, except sin: but Christ knoweth well what to make of them, & can put his own in the crosses common, that we shall be obliged to affliction, & thank God who learned us to make our acquaintance with such a rough companion, who can hale us to Christ: you must learn to make evils your great good, and to spin out comforts, peace, joy, communion with Christ, out of your troubls that are Christs wooers sent to speak for you to himself. It is easie to get good words, and a comfortable message from our Lord, even from such rough serjeants, as diverse temptations: Thanks to God for crosses, when we count and reckon our losses in seeking God, we finde godliness is great gain. Great partners of a shipfull of gold, are glad to see the ship come to the harbour: surely we and our Lord Jesus together, have a shipfull of gold coming home, and our gold is in that ship. Some are so in love (or rather in lust) with this life, that they sell their part of the ship, for a little thing; I would counsel you to buy hope, but sell it not, and give not away your crosses for nothing, the inside of Christs crosse is white and joyfull, and the far end of the black crosse is a fair and glorious heaven of ease: and seeing Christ hath fastned heaven to the far end of the crosse, & he will not loose the knot him self, & none else can, (for when Christ casteth a knot all the world cannot loose it) let us then count it exceeding joy when we fall into diverse temptations. Thus recommending you to the tender mercy, & grace of our Lord I rest.
Aberd. Your Loving Brother. S. R.
To JOHN GORDON Of Card nes Younger. (25)
Honoured & Dear Brother.
I Wrote of late to you: multitudes of letters burden me now. I am refreshed with your letter: I exhort you in the bowels of Christ, set to work for your soul, & let these bear weight with you, and ponder them seriously. 1. Weeping & gnas…ing of teeth in utter-darkness, or heaven's joy. 2. Think what ye would give for an hour when ye shall lie like dead, cold, blackned clay. 3. there is sand in your glass yet, & your sun is not gone down. 4. Consider what joy & peace is in Christs service. 5. Think what advantage it will be to have Angels, the world, life, & death, crosses, yea and devils, all for you, as the Kings serjeants, and servants, to doe your bussinesse. 6. To have mercy on your seed, & a blessing on your house. 7. To have true honour, & a name on earth: that casts a sweet smell. 8. How ye will rejoyce when Christ layeth down your head under his chinne, & betwixt his brests, & dryeth your face, & welcometh you to glory & happyness? 9. Imagine, what pain, & torture is a guilty conscience? What slavery to carry the Devils unhonest loads? 10. Sins joyes are but night-dreames, thoughts, vapours, imaginations and shadowes. 11. What dignity it is to be a son of God? 12. Dominion and mastery over tentations, over the world, and sin. 13. That your enemies should be the taile, and you the head. For your bairns now at their rest, I speak to you and your wife (and cause her read this.) 1. I am a witness of Barbara's glory in heaven. 2. For the rest, I write it under my hand, there are dayes coming on Scotland, when barren wombs & dry breasts, and childless parents, shall be pronounced blessed: they are then in the lee of the harbour, ere the storm come on. 3. They are not lost to you, that are laid up in Christs treasury in heaven. 4. At the Resurrection ye shall meet with them, there they are sent be…ore, but not sent away. 5. Your Lord loveth you, who is homely to take and give, borrow and lend. 6. Let not bairns be your Idols, for God will be jealouse, and take away the Idol, because he is greedy of your love wholly. I bless you, your wife and children. Grace for evermore be with you.
Aberd. Your Loving Pastor. S. R.
To JOHN GORDON, Of Cardoness elder. (26)
HOnourable & dearest in the Lord. Your Letter hath refreshed my soul. My joy is fulfilled, if Christ and ye be fast together: ye are my joy & my crown: ye know I have recommended his love to you. I defie the world, Satan, & sin, His love hath neither brim nor bottome in it. My dearest in Christ, I write my souls desire to you: heaven is not at the next door: I finde Christianity an hard task: set to it in your evening: we would all keep both Christ & our right eye, our right hand & foot; but it will not be with us. I beseech you, by the mercies of God; and your compearance before Christ, look Christs count book and your own together, and collation them: give the remnant of your time to your soul: this great Idol-god, the world, will be lying in white ashes, in the day of your compearance; & why should night-dreames, and day-shaddowes & water-froth, & May-flowers run away with your heart: when we win to the water-side, and black deaths river brinke, and put our foot in the boat, we shall laugh at our folly, Sir, I recommend you unto the thoughts of death, and how ye would wish your soul to be, when ye shall lie cold, blew, ill-smelling clay. For any hireling to be intruded, I being the Kings prisoner can not say much, but as Gods minister I desire you to read, Act. 2, 15, 16. to the end, & Act. 6. 2, 3, 4, 5. & ye shall finde God's people, should have a voice in chusing Church-rulers & teachers. I shall be sorry if willingly ye shall give way to his unlawful intrusion upon my labours: The onelyonly wise God direct you. God's grace be with you.
Aberd. Your loving Pastor, S. R.