worfhipping him in your family. Whilft your hand is in this world, let your heart be in heaven: O lay up for yourself a treasure there. What is the world! feek things above. If we be not fure of Chrift, what are we fure of? If young ones die, how long have we to live?-O ftrive to enter in at the ftraight gate. Search and try your ways confider in the Lord's fear, wherefore he hath thus contended with you. Repent of every fin your confcience fets before you : confefs fin, and earneftly plead the blood of Chrift. Now the Lord hath a controverfy with you, humble yourfelf under his mighty hand. Cry for the blood of fprinkling: never reft till your pardon be fealed through the blood of Chrift. Our kind refpects from hence to you and your wife. The Lord pity you in your great afflictions, and every way blefs you. I am your loving friend,

JOHN MASON.

LETTER XIII.

My Reconciled and dear Friend,

ΤΗ

HESE are to thank you for your pious and kind letter; and to affure you of my hearty affection to you and yours. For why? Had you been a perfect ftranger to me, if I had but heard that there was fuch a one as loved Chrift in fincerity, and earneftly defired more communion with him, a deeper fense of his love, and larger communication of his graces, I fhould be very unworthy to deny my love and respect to fuch a worthy object. But fince I have had the fpiritual benefit and comfort of your acquaintance for divers years together (wherein we took

fweet counfel together, and walked to the houfe of God as good friends, where we were mutually refreshed with the word and bread of life, eating of the fame fpiritual meat, and drinking of the fame fpiritual drink,and receiving fweet pledges of our eternal communion with God) God forbid I fhould be wanting in any office of Chriftian love toward you and yours. Nor do I efteem your jealoufy to be any other than the fruit of your abundant love, which is not utterly loft, though I confefs with fhame, I fall fhort of that neceffary gospel duty of brotherly kindness, as I do of all others, which I befeech God to cover with his mercy in Chrift. The Lord enable me to run with diligence and patience the race which he hath fet before me-God be merciful to Little Lynford, which is left'as fheep without a fhepherd. But if they hunger and thirst after the word of righteoufnefs they shall be filled. I hope when I have leifure and opportunity I fhall not be wanting to them. The Lord comfort their hearts. I and my wife remember our hearty refpects to you and yours. God hath been infinitely merciful to us, and hath given us a daughter (now called Martha.) I hope he will perfect his mercy towards us. We are full of his mercies. O that we were full of his praises !-My prayers are for you and yours whom God blefs, preferve and keep. O that all his ways might be mercy and truth towards you! Caft not away your confidence, which hath fo great recompence of reward. The life of fenfe is a troublefome, difquieting life for what doth fenfe difcover but vanity and mifery? But the life of faith is a comfortable life. For faith makes glorious discoveries

of God and Chrift, faints and angels, reft and peace, and life forever. Nothing troubles you when you are above.-Keep where you are well. I remain

Your truly loving Friend,

JOHN MASON.

LETTER XIV.

Dear Friend,

THO

HOUGH providence hath feparated us, yet it refrelheth me to think upon you,and that I am interested in your prayers as you are in mine. Well, if we are met in Chrift, we fhall meet upon the bench in the great day of affize, and before a throne of glory in our Father's kingdom. In the mean while, our God is with us both whilft we are with him. In his prefence is fulness of joy. It is not fo much the change of place, as the prefence of God, which makes heaven. There is heaven where God fhines and inanifefts him felf. When a foul can fay, I would not go to heaven, if it were to meet God there; and if I fhould be caft into the flames of hell, I could not find in mine heart to blafpheme God; the exercife of fuch a meditation will mightily help her against temptations.

Many a good foul doth not know how much The loves God; but when fhe feels that affection ftirring within her.-O then, fhe is in a new ferene, comfortable frame! Satan flies. Perfect love cafts our fear. fear. Love God, and praife God, and all is at peace. Nay, admit the foul hath not got full affurance of her pardon; yet if fhe fets down this refolution-Let God be glorified whatever becomes of me. Let the Angels praife

him; let the faints praife him; let the Jews and Gentiles be called in to praife him; and if it may pleafe his divine majesty, let my poor unworthy Joul praife him, and be a praife to his grace forever and ever: If it can fay this, it must be happy with it. That muft needs be a happy foul that breathes forth the praises of God, afcribes all glory to God, and can fing

The Glory of my Glory fill fhall be,

To give all Glory and myfelf to thee.

The Lord put and keep your heart in a prai. fing frame. O how well doth this angelical and evangelical difpofition befit and become thofe who of finners are made faints; of enemies, children; of flaves, heirs; of burning brands, fhining ftars! When we confider seriously what we have been, and what we might have been, nay, what we must have been, if infinite mercy had not prevented; (as the Lord was feen in the Mount, when Ifaac lay bound upon the altar, mercy came in between the knife and the facrifice) inftead of being fcourged, how nobly pardoned and promoted! raised from devils to angels company; from the loweft depth to the greateft heighth; this (I fay) if we confider it, is matter of admiration, not of expreffion. If we had as many tongues as we have veins or drops of blood, they could never utter a thousandth part of the due praises of divine grace, Let us now

magnify the Lord, and exalt his name together.O the height, and breadth, and depth, and length of the Father's love! O the infinite and unfearchable riches of free grace! O! the tremendous mystery, and invaluable mercy of the nation of the Son of God! O the ftu

pendous humiliation and condefcenfion of eternal glory and omnipotency! O the unparallelled love of a dying Saviour! O the fweet heavenly communion of the bleffed comforter!-Lord, what do these things mean ?-Lord, what are we? or what is our father's houfe, that thou haft brought us hitherto? That thou fhouldeft make thy felf glorious in our glory, who had made ourfelves vile in difhonoring thy name ?-O, let us give him our whole fouls, who hath redeemed them by his blood! For it is fit he fhould have the utmost of fo dear a purchase. Farewell, my dearest friend in the Lord, in whom I Your true friend,

am

Stanton, Oct. 19, 1672.

JOHN MASON.

LETTER XV.

My Dear Friend,

THOU

HOUGH we be parted on earth, I hope we fhall meet in heaven; tho' our work fhould not lie together in the Lord's vineyard, yet I hope we shall fup together with Chrift; though we do not fojourn together, yet I hope we fhall dwell together to all eternity; if we fhould never feaft together any more upon the word and facraments, yet I hope we fhall eat that bread and drink that wine which is for ever new in our Father's kingdom. Be of good comfort, fifter it is but yet a very little while, and he that fhall come, will come, and will not tarry.We fhall be welcome at home however it fares with us in our journey. Remember the apoftle Paul had no certain dwelling-place; nay, our bleffed Saviour had not where to lay his head.

I