Tried With Fire

An accomplished and well-behaved young woman is an amiable object in the sight of her fellow-creatures. She may be sensible and obliging; she may dress and dance genteelly; she may play well upon the harpsichord; she may have much finer work to show than the coats and garments which Dorcas made; and, by her vivacity and good humor, she may become the idol of all her acquaintances; but, if she does not know her state as a sinner; if she admires herself, and is pleased with the admiration of others, while her heart is cold to the love and glory of God our Savior—if she has no taste for prayer or praise; if her mind is engrossed by the pleasures and prospects of this poor world—she is dead while she lives! In the sight of God her Maker, she is insensible and ungrateful, she is poor, blind, and miserable! When you were a child, I could observe in you, not only the sprightliness common to children—but indications of sense and mental powers above the common standard. Your character, I supp...

This high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, before whom the angels veil their faces—condescends to hold communion with those whom men despise. He passes by the kings and the princes, to manifest Himself to an humble soul in a mud-walled cottage! He comforts them when in trouble, strengthens them when weak, makes their beds in sickness, revives them when fainting, upholds them when falling, and so seasonably and effectually manages for them, that, though they are persecuted and tempted, though their enemies are many and mighty—nothing is able to separate them from His love! And all this he does alone. All the abilities, powers, and instincts, which are found among creatures, are emanations from his fullness. All changes, successes, disappointments—all that is memorable in the annals of history, all the rising and falls of empires, all the turns in human life—take place according to his plan. In vain men contrive and combine to accomplish their own counsels, unless they are parts o...

The other day I was at the harbor, and saw a ship launched—she slipped easily into the water; the people on board shouted; the ship looked clean and mirthful, she was freshly painted, and her colors flying. But I looked at her with a sort of pity, "Poor ship!" I thought, "you are now in port and in safety; but before long you must go to sea. Who can tell what storms you may meet with hereafter, and to what hazards you may be exposed; how weather-beaten you may be before you return to port again, or perhaps you may return at all!" Then my thoughts turned from the ship to my dear child. It seemed to be an emblem of your present state—you are now, as it were, in a safe harbor; but by and by you must launch out into the world, which may well be compared to a tempestuous sea. I could even now almost weep at the resemblance. But I take courage, as my hopes are greater than my fears. I know there is an infallible Pilot, who has the winds and the waves at his command. There...

Excerpt from the letter to Earlston, younger ~ Aberdeen, 1637 O that we could breathe out new hope, and new submission every day, into Christ's lap! For certainly, a weight of glory well weighed, yea, increasing to a far more exceeding and eternal weight, shall recompense both weight and length of light and short-dated crosses. Our waters are but ebb, and come neither to our chin, nor to the stopping of our breath. I may see (if I would borrow eyes from Christ) dry land, and that near; why then should we not laugh at adversity, and scorn our short-born and soon-dying temptations! I rejoice in the hope of the glory to be revealed; for it is no uncertain glory we look for. Our hope is not hung upon an untwisted thread as, 'I imagine so,' or 'It is likely'; but the cable, the strong tow of our fastened anchor, is the oath and promise of Him who is eternal verity. Our salvation is fastened with God's own hand and with Christ's own strength to the strong stoup of...

To Lady Kenmure Anworth, 26, June 1630 Madam, Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied upon you. I received your Ladyship's letter, in the which I perceive your case in this world savoureth of worship and communion with the Son of God, in his sufferings. You cannot, you must not have a more pleasant or more easy condition here, than he had, who 'through afflictions was made perfect ' [Heb 2.10]. We may indeed think, Cannot God bring us to heaven with ease and prosperity? Who doubteth but he can? But his infinite wisdom thinketh and decreeth the contrary; and though we cannot see a reason for it, yet he hath a most just reason. We never with our eyes saw our own soul, yet we have a soul; we see many rivers, but we know not their first spring and original fountain, yet they have a beginning. Madam, when you are come to the other side of the water and have set your foot on the shore of glorious eternity and look back again to the waters and to your wearisome journey, and shal...