Trial of the Charge of High Treason, Letters
Another of Maſter Loves to his Wife.
More dear to me than ever,
IT adds to my rejoycing, that I have ſo good and gracious a wiſe to part with for the Lord Jeſus: In thy grief, I have been grieved; but in thy joy, I have been comforted. Surely, nature could never help thee to bear ſo heavy a ſtroke, with ſo much ſilence and ſubmiſſion to the hand of God! O deareſt, every line thou writeſt, gladdeth my heart. I dare not think that there is ſuch a creature as Ma…y Love in the world; for Kit, and Mall, I can think of them without trouble, leaving them to ſo good a God, and ſo good a Mother. Be comforted concerning thy Husband, who may more honour God in his death than in his life; the will of the Lord be done, he is fully ſatisfied with the hand of God. Though there be but little between him and death, he knows, there is but little between him and heaven; and that raviſheth his heart. The Lord bleſs and require thee for thy wiſe and good counſel; thou haſt prevented me, the very things I thought to have written to thee, thou haſt written to me: I have had more comfort from thy gracious letter, than from all the counſel I have had from any elſe in the world; well, be aſſured, we ſhall meet in heaven. I reſt, till I reſt in heaven.
From the Tower, the Lords Day. Thy dying, but comforted Friend, CHRISTOPHER LOVE.
Another of Maſter Loves to his Wife.
My deareſt delight on Earth,
I Was faſt aſleep when thy Note came. I bleſs God, I break not an hours ſleep for all my ſufferings; I know they work for me a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. I ſlept this night from ten at night, till ſeven in the morning, and never waked. My Dear, I am ſo comforted in the gracious ſupports God gives thee, that my burdens are the lighter on my ſhoulders becauſe they are not ſo heavy on thine; or if they be heavy, yet that God helps thee to hear them. The Lord keep it in the purpoſe of our hearts for ever, to ſubmit to the good pleaſure of God. I bleſs God I do find my heart in as quiet and compoſed a temper as ever I did in all my life. I am till I dye,
From the Tower, Auguſt 18. 1651. Thy tender hearted Husband, CHRISTOPHER LOVE.
Maſter Loves laſt Letter to his Wife, on the day he ſuffered.
My moſt gracious Beloved,
I Am now going from a Priſon to a Palace; I have finiſhed my work, I am now to receive my wages; I am going to heaven, where are two of my children, and leaving thee on the earth where are three of my babes; thoſe two above need not my care, but the three below need thine. It comforts me to think two of my children are in the boſome of Abraham, and three of them will be in the arms and care of ſo tender and godly a Mother: I know thou art a woman of a ſorrowfull ſpirit, yet be comforted: though thy ſorrow be great for thy Husbands going out of the world; yet thy pains ſhall be the leſs in bringing thy child into the world; thou ſhalt be a joyfull Mother, though thou beeſt a ſad Widdow. God hath many mercies in ſtore for thee; the prayers of a dying Husband for thee will not be loſt. To my ſhame I ſpeak it, I never pray'd ſo much for thee at liberty, as I have done in priſon. I cannot write more, but I have a few practical counſels to leave with thee, viz.
1. Keep under a found, orthodox, and ſoul-ſearching Miniſtry; Oh there are many deceivers gone out into the world, but Chriſts ſheep know his voice, and a ſtranger will they not follow. Attend on that Miniſtry that teaches the way of God in truth, and follow Solomons advice, Prov. 19.27. Ceaſe to bear inſtruction that cauſes to erre from the ways of knowledg.
2. Bring up thy children in the knowledg and admonition of the Lord: the mother ought to be a teacher in the fathers abſence, Prov. 19.27. The words which his mother taught him: and Timothy was inſtructed by his Grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice, 2 Tim. 1.5.
3. Pray in thy family daily, that thy dwelling may be in the number of the families that do call on God.
4. Labour for a meek and quiet ſpirit, which is in the ſight of God of great price, 1 Pet. 3.4.
5. Pore not on the comforts thou wanteſt, but on the mercies thou haſt.
6. Look rather at Gods end in afflicting, than at the meaſure and degree of thy afflictions.
7. Labour to clear up thy evidences for heaven, when God takes from thee the comforts of earth, that as thy ſufferings do abound, ſo thy conſolations in Chriſt may abound much more, 2 Cor. 1.4.
8. Though it is good to maintain a holy jealouſie of the deceitfulneſs of thy heart, yet it is evill for thee to cheriſh fears and doubts, about the truth of thy graces; If ever I had confidence touching the grace of another, I have confidence of grace in thee; I can ſay of thee as Peter did of Silvanus, I am perſwaded that this is the grace of God wherein thou ſtandeſt, 1 Pet. 5.12. Oh my dear ſoul, wherefore doſt thou doubt, whoſe heart hath been upright, whoſe walkings have been holy, &c. I could venture my ſoul in thy ſouls ſtead, ſuch a confidence have I of thee.
9. When thou findeſt thy heart ſecure, preſumptuous and proud, then pore upon corruption, more than upon grace; but when thou findeſt thy heart doubting and unbelieving, then look on thy graces, not on thy infirmities.
10. Study the covenant of grace and merits of Chriſt, and then be troubled if thou canſt. Thou art intereſted in ſuch a covenant that accepts purpoſes for performances, deſires for deeds, ſincerity for perfection, the righteouſneſs of another, viz. that of Jeſus Chriſt, as if it were thine own. Oh my Love! reſt, reſt then in the love of God, in the boſome of Chriſt.
11. Swallow up thy will in the will of God; it is a bitter cup we are to drink, but it is the cup our Father hath put into our hands, When Paul was to go to ſuffer at Jeruſalem, the Chriſtians could ſay, The will of the Lord be done; Oh, ſay thou, when I go to Tower-hill, The will of the Lord be done.
12. Rejoyce in my joy; to mourn for me inordinately, argues that either thou envieſt, or ſuſpecteſt my happineſs. The joy of the Lord is my ſtrength, oh let it be thine alſo. Dear wife, farewell; I will call thee wife no more, I ſhall ſee thy face no more: yet I am not much troubled, for now I am going to meet the Bridegroome the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, to whom I ſhall be eternally marryed.
From the tower of London, 22th Auguſt, 1651. The day of my glorification. Thy Dying, yet moſt Affectionate Friend till death, CHRISTOPHER LOVE.
FINIS.
End of the text · Christopher Love, Trial of the Charge of High Treason (1660)