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to him. I must conclude, wishing you every bleffing of the better covenant, and that you may ever have much of the prefence of the Lord with you. So prays

Yours, in fincere affection,

The King's Dale.

PHILOMELA.

LETTER XV.

To PHILOMELA, in the King's Dale.

My dear fifter's epiftle is arrived,

with all its good tidings, and the reflections of good news from a far country. The night is not only far spent, but gone, with thee; and nothing but the day-spring from on high vifits thee. The wilderness fprings, and the defert bloffoms as the rofe. Nothing now but honey from the comb, wine from the clufter, and milk from the breaft. The old man is crucified with Chrift, yea, dead, buried, and the body of fins deftroyed; and there is an end of him. Satan, who had the power of death, is deftroyed alfo, for Chrift hath tri

F 2

umphed

umphed over him upon the cross; so that no evil is expected from that quarter. Self-denial, a daily cross, the furnace of affliction, and the fiery trial of faith, are all out of fight, and out of mind, and neither defired nor expected.

You inform me that you should like to continue in that mount. But I must confess it is a mystery to me that thou art not down from it before now. Faith must be tried with fire before it shall be found unto praise, and glory, and honour, at the appearing of Jefus Chrift. Can you glory in your infirmities? Can you take pleasure in reproaches, in neceffities, in perfecutions, in diftreffes, for Chrift's fake? To be fure the most ufeful foldiers in an army must be the young recruits, who are engaged in spending their bounty; and the most useful children in a family must be those who are hanging at the breaft. Such foldiers ferve to fill the mufter-roll; and fuch children ferve to increase the number of a family; and that is all the use they are of. God hath set the day of profperity and the day of adverfity one against the other. But your evil days come not. The reafon of my long filence is your long profperity. I may be a fellow-helper of your joy; but to comfort them that mourn is a greater act of charity. It is not my peculiar province to tune the loveftrings of an heart that is always filled with melody. Befides, you have very few, in that part of the world, to fing to but thofe of heavy hearts;

and

and much mufic to these may provoke them to jealoufy, and they may envy your happiness, and be led, by the devil and unbelief, to curse their hard fate, unless you can mingle a little wisdom with it; that is, conceal it, when need requires, and become weak to the weak, and as bound to them that are under the law.

I once knew a young man who continued in his comforts for three or four years, and who seemed to have nothing elfe but joy and happiness; and at that time I had feldom any thing elfe but temptations, bondage, perfecution, hunger, cold, and nakedness; and I have often envied his happiness, longed to be indulged like him, and cursed my hard fate and evil days. But he turned out an awful apoftate, and, when he had filled his measure, came to his end in the midst of his days. I am watching to fee what fort of a fuckling thou wilt turn out to be; whether one of them who always need milk, being unfkilful in the word of righteousness; or one of full age, who, by reafon of use, have their fenfes exercised to difcern both good and evil, and fo live upon ftrong meat. When it pleased God to reveal his Son in me, with all his faving benefits, when pardon, juftification, and adoption, all came in at once, and perfect liberty was proclaimed, I looked at him whom I had pierced, and mourned; not for him, for I had got him; but over him, to think of his dreadful fufferings for fuch a worthlefs wretch as me. F 3

His

His dying love melted me; his comforts filled my foul with holy grief; I rejoiced in his falvation, but wept all the day long over my fuffering Saviour. My unworthinefs made me coyly put away his tender mercy from me, and I cringed from him to fhun the light. But he preffed his love upon me, and purfued me, and compelled me to use freedom and familiarity with him. This glorious vifion, and the bleffed effects of it, continued, excepting a few intervals, for near twelve months; and every evil of my heart was entirely hid from me; at which time the promises came into my foul fwarming like bees; and, as they came into my heart, fo they difcharged their rich and bleffed contents, and that with power, love, and comfort; when at the fame time the Spirit explained their meaning to my understanding, and applied their bleffings to my heart; and I fucked the breafts of these confolations; I milked out, and was fatisfied and delighted with the abundance of Zion's glory. I was dandled on the knee, and borne upon the fide; and, as one whom his mother comforteth, fo did my God and Saviour comfort me; and I was comforted in Jerufalem; for I had an open vifion of that myftical city for fome hours together, and that in the day-time. This open vifion enlarged my mind, and extended my views, and my inward confolations abounded; infomuch that my foul melted with love, gratitude, meeknefs, humiliation, con

trition,

trition, and godly forrow, all the day long. I loathed myself in duft and ashes, and thought I could never be enough avenged on myself for my former folly, nor ever appear little enough in my own eyes, nor be enough grateful to the King of kings and Lord of lords. This continued, as before obferved, well nigh a whole year, without much variation; and in these frames I was wonderfully secure, and expected daily to be ripening for glory, and that I fhould foon be called to the upper world; and I longed for it. Little did I think that these comforts would ever be exchanged for spiritual desertions, the piercing frowns and flights of Heaven, and the dreadful affaults of Satan. I had, in my unfpeakable joy, defied both the devil and fin. The fucking child had played on the hole of the afp; but it is the weaned child that fhall put his hand on the cockatrice den. I had, in my profperity, faid, " Surely I fhall never be moved; for thou, Lord, of thy goodness, hast made my hill fo ftrong." After the expiration of the above term I found the corruptions of my heart begin to ftir, and appear in fight. Jolin could not be more terrified at the appearance of the beast with feven heads and ten horns than I was at the appearance of these. I cried mightily to God, and down they all went, and out of fight. Soon after they appeared again; and I prayed, and all these little foxes, that fpoiled the vines, fculked into their holes. But foon they appeared

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