my tongue now, as then,) hath almost broken my faith into two halves: yet, in my deepest apprehensions of his anger, I see through a cloud that I am wrong; and he, in love to my soul, hath taken up the controversy betwixt faith and apprehension, and a judgment is passed on Christ's side of it, and I subscribe the judgment. The Lord is equal in his ways, but my guiltiness often overmastereth my believing. My guiltiness and the sins of my youth are come up against me, and they would fain mix in my sufferings, as deserving causes of God's justice; but I pray God, for Christ's sake, he give them not that place. Let hell, and the powers of hell, be let loose against me, to do their worst, I care not, so that Christ, and my Father, and his Father, be magnified in my sufferings. I fear I adore his comforts more than himself, and that I love the apples of life more than the tree of life.

Sir, write to me-commend me to your wifemercy be her portion. Grace be with you. Yours in his dearest Lord Jesus,

S. R.

Aberdeen, 1637.

To JOHN STEWART, Provost of Ayr, now in Ireland. (3.)

Worthy and dearly-beloved in our Lord,

I WAS refreshed and comforted by your letter: what I wrote to you for your comfort, I do not remember; but I believe love will prophesy homeward, as it would have it. I wish I could help you to

praise his great and holy name, who keepeth the feet of his saints, and hath numbered all your goings. I know our dearest Lord will pardon and pass by our honest errors and mistakes, when we mind his honour; yet I know, none of you have seen the other half, and the hidden side of your wonderful return home to us again. I am confident you shall yet say, that God's mercy blew your sails back to Ireland again. Worthy and dear Sir, I cannot but give you an account of my present state, that you may go an errand for me to my high and royal Master. First, I am very often turning both the sides of my cross, especially my silent sabbaths; not because I desire to find a defect in my Lord's love, but fear of guiltiness is a tale-bearer betwixt me and Christ, and is still whispering ill thoughts of my Lord, to weaken my faith-I would rather a cloud went over my comforts, than that my faith should be hurt. desire to give no faith, no credit to my sorrow when it suggests hard thoughts of Christ; yet these thoughts awake with me in the morning—Oh, what service can a silenced man do in Christ's house! am a dry tree! Alas! I can neither plant nor water! Oh, if I might but speak to three or four herd-boys of my Master, I would be satisfied to be the meanest and most obscure of all the pastors in this land. But he saith, "I will not send you-I have no errands for you:" my desire to serve him is sick of jealousy, lest he be unwilling to employ me. Secondly, this is seconded with another,—What have I done in Anwoth? The fair work that my Master began there, is like a bird dying in the shell; and

I

I

what then shall I have to show of all my labour, in the day of my appearance before him, when the Master of the vineyard calleth the labourers, and giveth them their hire? Yet, Thirdly, I truly repent, and pray Christ to pardon my querulous unbelieving sadness and sorrow. I rue from my heart, that I yielded so far to the Law, as to apprehend wrath in my Lord Jesus; for truly I am a debtor to his love-but I wish he would give me grace to learn to do without his comforts, and to give thanks and believe, when the sun is not in the firmament. Now, for any resolution to go to any other country, I dare not speak one word; my hopes of enlargement are cold; my hopes of re-entry into my Master's vineyard are far colder: I have no resting-place for my faith, but bare Omnipotency, and God's holy arm and good-will; here I desire to stay and winter, and ride at anchor, until God send fair weather again -but there will be sad days ere it comes to that. Remember my bonds.

Yours in our Lord Jesus,

Aberdeen, 1637.

S. R.

Loving Friend,

To NINIAN MURE.

I RECEIVED your letter: I entreat you now, in the morning of your life, seek the Lord and his face; beware of the folly of dangerous youth, a perilous time for your soul. Love not the world; keep

cold.

faith and truth with all men, in your covenants and bargains; walk with God, for he seeth you: do nothing but that which ye may and would do, if your eye-strings were breaking, and your breath growing You heard the truth of God from me; my dear heart, follow it, forsake it not; prize Christ and salvation above all the world. To live after the manner and course of the rest of the world, will not bring you to heaven; without faith in Christ, and repentance, ye cannot see God. Take pains for salvation; "press forward toward the mark of the prize of the high calling:" if you watch not night and day against evils that beset you, you will fall short: beware of lying, swearing, and the rest of the works of the flesh; "because for these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience"-how sweet soever they may seem for the present, yet the end of these courses is the eternal wrath of God, and utter darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Grace be with you. Your loving Pastor,

Aberdeen, 1637.

Mistress,

To JANE BROWN.

S. R.

GRACE, mercy, and peace be to you.

I am glad

that you go on to follow Christ in this dark and cloudy time: it were good to sell all other things for him; for when all these days are over, we shall find it our advantage that we have taken part with Christ.

Oh, how sweet a thing were it for us, to learn to make our burdens light, by framing our hearts to the burden, and making our Lord's will a law! and we have good cause to wait patiently, for ere it be long, our Master will be with us, and bring every thing to light. Happy are they that are found watching: our sand-glass is not so long as to weary us in doing so; time will eat away, and root out our woes and sorrow; our heaven is in the bud, and growing up to a harvest; why then should we not follow on, seeing our span-length of time will come to an inch? Therefore I commend Christ to you as the staff of let him have now the rest of your your old age: days, and think not much of a storm upon the sea, when Christ is in the ship. I rejoice to hear your son John is coming to know Christ, and taste of his love-he will not lose his pains or rue of that choice. I had always (as I often said to you) a great love to dear Mr. John B, because I thought I saw Christ in him more than in his brethren; and I wish you would let him read my letter, and the joy I have in his appearing on the side of the Lord Jesus.

Grace be with you,

I AM glad to hear that you and Christ are one, and that you have made him your one thing; where many are painfully toiled in seeking many things,