Letters in Two Parts, Part 1 · LETTER 72 – LETTER 73
To Mr GEORGE DUMBAR. (72)
Reverend & Dearly beloved in the Lord.
GRace, mercy & peace be to you: Because your words have strengthened many, I was silent expecting some lines from you in my bonds, & this is the cause why I wrote not to you: but now I am forced to break off and speak. I never beleeved till now, that there was so much to be found in Christ in this side of death and of heaven. O the ravishments of heavenly joy that may be had here, in the small gleanings of comforts that fall from Christ! what fools are we who know not and consider not the weight and the telling that is in the very earnest-penny & the first fruits of our hoped for harvest! How sweet, how sweet is our infeftment? O what then must personal possession be? I finde that my Lord Jesus hath not miscooked or spilt this sweet cross, he hath an eye on the fire and the melting gold, to separate the mettall and the dross. O how much time would it take me, to read my obligations to Jesus my Lord, who will neither have the faith of his own to be burnt to ashes; nor yet will have a poor beleever in the fire to be half raw, like Ephraim's unturned cake… this is the wisdom of him who hath his fi…el… Zion and his fur…ace in Jerusa…em. I need not either bud or flatter temptations, cr…sses, nor strive to buy the Devil or this malicious world by, or r…deem their kindness with half a han-breadth of truth: He who is sur…ty for his servant for good doeth power fully over-rule all that. I s…e my prison hath neither lock nor door; I am free in my bonds, and my chains are made of rotten straw, they shall not bide one pull of faith. I am sure they are in hell who would exchange their torments with our crosses, suppose they should nev…r be delivered, & give twenty thousand years torment to boot, to be in our bonds for ever: & therefore we wrong Christ who si…h & fear & doubt & despond in them. Our suff…ings are washen in Christ's blood as well as our souls; for Christ's merits bought a blessing to the crosses of the sons of God; and Jesus hath a backbond of all our temptations, that the free warders shall come out by law and justice, in respect of the infinite and great summe that the Redeemer paid. Our troubles ow us a free passage through them: devils and men and crosses are our debters, and death and all storms are our debters, to blow our poor tossed bark over the water fraught-fr…e, & to set the travellers in their own known ground: Therefore we shall die & yet live: we are over the water [some way] already; we are married, & our tocher-good is payed; we are already more then conquerours: If the devil and the world knew how the court with our Lord shall goe, I am sure they would hire death to take us off their hand; our sufferings are the onelyonly w…ack & ruine of the black Kingdom: and yet a little & the Antichrist must play himself with the bones & slain bodies of the Lamb's followers; but withall we stand with the hundred fourty & four thousand who are with the Lamb upon the top of …ount Sion: Antichrist & his followers are down in the valley ground, we have the advantage of the hill: our temptation are alwayes beneath, our waters are beneath our breath; as dying and behold we live: I never heard before of a living death, or a quick death, but ours: our death i… not like the common death; Christ's skill, his handy work & a new cast of Christ's admirable art may be seen in our quick death. I bless the Lord that all our troubles come through Christ's singers, & that he casteth sugar among them, and casteth in, some ounce weights of heaven and of the spirit of glory [that resteth on suffering beleevers] in our cup in which there is no taste of hell. My dear Brother, ye know all these better then I: I send water to the sea, to speak of these things to you: But it easeth me to desire you to help me to pay tribute of praise to Jesus. O what praises I ow him! I would I were in my free heritage, that I might begin to pay my debts to Jesus. I entreat for your prayers & praises: I forget not you.
Aberd. Sept. 17. 1637 Your brother and fellow sufferer in and for Christ. S. R.
To Mr DAVID DICKSON. (73)
Reverend and welbeloved brother in the Lord.
I Bless the Lord who hath so wonderfully stopped the on-going of that lawless process against you. The Lord reigneth, & hath a saving eye upon you & your ministery, & therefore fear not what men can doe. I bless the Lord that the Irish ministers finde employment, & the professors comfort of their ministery: Beleeve me, I durst not, as I am now disposed, hold an honest brother out of the pulpit: I trust, the Lord shall guard you & hide you in the shadow of his hand: I am not pleased with any that are against you in that. I see this, in prosperity mens conscience will not start at small sins: But if some had been where I have been since I came from you, a little more would have caused their eye water & troubled their peace. O how ready are we to incline to the world's-hand? Our arguments being well examined are often drawn from our skin: the whole skin & a peaceable tabernacle is a topick maxime in great request in our Logick. I finde a little breirding of God's seed in this town, for the which the Doctors have told me their minde, that they cannot bear with it, and have examined and threatned the people that haunt my company: I fear I get not leave to winter here, and whether I goe, I know not; I am ready at the Lord's call. I would I could make acquaintance with Christ's cross, for I finde, comforts lie to, & follow upon the cross. I suffer in my name by them: I take it as a part of the crucifying of the old man: Let them cut the throat of my credit & doe as they like best with it, when the wind of their calumnies hath blown away my good name from me in the way to heaven, I know Christ will take my name out of the mire & wash it & restore it to me again. I would have a minde (if the Lord would be pleased to give me it] to be a fool for Christ's sake. Sometimes while I have Christ in my arms, I fall asleep with the sweetness of his presence, & he in my sleep stealeth away out of my arms, & when I awake I mis… him. I am much comforted with my Lady Pi…sligo, a good woman & acquainted with God's wayes. Grace be with you.
Aberd. Sept. 11. 1637. Yours in his sweet Lord. Iesus, S. R.