Skip to content

A26687:337

Christian letters full of spiritual instructions tending to the promoting of the power of…

Christian letters full of spiritual instructions tending to the promoting of the power of godliness, both in person and families.

Joseph Alleine 1634–1668London : Printed for and sold by Nevil Simmons and Dorman Newman, 1673

150 p. · 57k words · Wing A966 · ESTC R10598

Title page: Internet Archive scan of the Early English Books microfilm (opens the Internet Archive in a new tab)

CHRISTIAN LETTERS, Full of SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTIONS, Tending To the P… › Letter 37: LETTER XXXVII. [God is a satisfying Portion.]

Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.

[ Earlier:334–349 of 419

:334p. 123

Had not my right hand long since forgot her cunning, and the Almighty shook the Pen out of my hand. I should long ere this have been writing to thee: but it is a wonder of Divine Power and goodness that my soul had not before this time dwelt in silence, and that death had not put the long period to all my writing and converse.

HAd not my right hand long since forgot her cunning, and the Almighty shook the Pen out of my hand. I should long ere this have been writing to thee: but it is a wonder of Divine Power and goodness that my soul had not before this time dwelt in silence, and that death had not put the long period to all my writing and converse.

:335p. 123

O my Pylades, what shall I say unto thee now I begin to write, where shall I begin, when shall I end? methinks I am as a full Bottle quite inverted, where the forward pressing of the overhasty liquor makes the evacuation more flow, and my thoughts are like a thronging crowd sticking in the door.

O my Pylades, what shall I say unto thee now I begin to write, where shall I begin, when shall I end? methinks I am as a full Bottle quite inverted, where the forward pressing of the overhasty liquor makes the evacuatin more flow, and my thoughts are like a thronging croud sticking in the door.

:336p. 123–124

Long is the song of love that I have to tell thee, I rejoice in the constancy of thy love, that the waters of so long a silence, and so great a distance have not yet quenched it, but thy desires are towards me, and thy heart is with me, though providence hath hindered me from thy much desired company. I will assure thee it hath been a pleasure to my heart a good part of this summer to hope that I should come one half of the way to give thee a meeting; but such is my weakness hitherto, that I am forced to put off those hopes till the Spring, when, if God give me strength to ride, I intend to see thee before mine own Home. I thank thee for all the dear expressions of thy fervent love: Methinks I see it, and feel how it runs through all the veins of every etter, nay,

[ Earlier passages Later passages ]

Position

Cited: :337
On this page: :334–349
Section: :332–342
Whole work: 419 passages

Cite

Joseph Alleine, Christian letters full of spiritual instructions tending to the promoting of the power of… (London, 1673), letter 37, pp. 124–125. EEBO-TCP A26687.

Or select words in any passage to make an image of them.

The book

Title as printed: Christian letters full of spiritual instructions tending to the promoting of the power of godliness, both in person and families.
Author: Joseph Alleine 1634–1668
Place: London
Year: 1673
Imprint: London : Printed for and sold by Nevil Simmons and Dorman Newman, 1673.
Size: 150 p.
Words: 56,564
Catalogue: Wing A966 · ESTC R10598
Text: EEBO-TCP A26687

Passages: 419
Sections: 52

The author

Joseph Alleine 1634–1668

PuritansEngland

Minister at Taunton; author of An Alarme to Unconverted Sinners.

Transcription key

•: an illegible letter

Long is the song of love that I have to tell thee, I rejoice in the constancie of thy love, that the waters of so long a silence, and so great a distance have not yet quenched it, but thy desires are towards me, and thy heart is with me, though providence hath hindred me from thy much desired company. I will assure thee it hath been a pleasure to my heart a good part of this summer to hope that I should come one half of the way to give thee a meeting; but such is my weakness hitherto, that I am forced to put off those hopes till the Spring, when, if God give me strength to ride, I intend to see thee before mine own Home. I thank thee for all the dear expressions of thy fervent love: Methinks I see it, and feel how it runs through all the veins of every •etter, nay, ⟨p. 124⟩every Line? I needed not so chargeable a Testomony as thy golden Token, with which I was somthing displeased, because I thought thou needest more than my self: but the love thereby expressed is most dearly welcome to me. What thou talkest of Retribution, and of Justice, doth not so well relish with me, because the Phrases seem improper to the love profest between us, I never lookt for any return from thee but love, which is the paying of all thy Debts: my expences have indeed been vast and almost incredible; but surely goodness, and mercy hath followed me, and do follow me in every place, and in every change of my condition; so that as to temporals I have lack of nothing, and as for spirituals I abound and superabound, and the streams of my comforts have been full and running over; the joy of the Lord hath been my strength at weakest, and in the multitude of my thoughts within me, his comforts have refresh'd my Soul, I have found God a satisfying portion to me, and have sat down under his shadow with full delights, and his fruit is most sweet to my taste: he is my strength and my Song, for I will talke of him, and write of him with perpetual pleasure. Through grace, I can say, methinks I am now in my Element, since I have begun to make mention of him, I am rich in him, and happy in him, and my soul saith unto him with Divid, Thou hast made me most Blessed for evermore, and happy is the hour that ever I was born to be made partaker of so blisful a Treasure, so endless a felicity, so Angelical Prerogatives, as I have in him; O sweet are his converses, how delightful it is to Triumph in his Love!

:337p. 124–125

Suffer me to be free with thee, where should I pour out my Soul, if not into thy bosom? did the poor woman call upon her friends and neighbours to rejoice together with her at the finding of a lost Groat? and shall not I tell to thee the keeper of the Secrets of my Soul, & the friend of my inmost Bosom, what a friend is the Lord to me, though an unworthy sinner, shall not I run and tell thee what a treasure I have found. And here methinks the story of the Lepers comes not unaptly to thy mind, who said one to another when they had eat and drunk, a•d carried away silver and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it, We do not well, this day is a day of good tidings and we hold our peace. It is sit that I should be clothed ⟨p. 125⟩with shame; I acknowledge before God, who trieth the hearts, I am unworthy, everlastingly unworthy, but it is not fit that he should lose his praise, nay rather, let him be the more adored, and magnified, and admired for ever and ever, and let my Secrets say, Amen. Bless the Lord, O my Soul bless the Lord, O my Friend, let us exalt his Name together, he is my solace in my solitude, he is my standing comforter, my tried friend, my sure refuge, my safe retreat, he is my Paradise, he is my Heaven; and my heart is at rest in him: and I will sit and sing under his shadow, as a Bird among the Branches; and whither should I go but unto him? Shall I leave the fatness of the Olive, and sweetness of the Fig-tree, and of the Vine, and go and put my trust under the shadow of the Bramble? No, I have made my everlasting choice: this is my rest for ever, he is my well Beloved in whom I am well pleased. Suffer me to boast a little here, I may Glory without Vanity, and I can praise him without end or measure, but I have nothing to say of my self: I find thou dost overvalue me, and magnify me above my measure; set the Crown upon the head of Christ, let nothing be great with thee but him, give him the glory: but thy love pleaseth me, only I have this exception, that thou art in love with thine own Idol, as Austin somewhere speaks to a friend of his that did too much magnify him, and magnifiest a Creature of thine own fancy, and not thy poor Orestes:

Suffer me to be free with thee, where should I pour out my Soul, if not into thy bosom? did the poor woman call upon her friends and neighbours to rejoyce together with her at the finding of a lost Groat? and shall not I tell to thee the keeper of the Secrets of my Soul, & the friend of my inmost Bosom, what a friend is the Lord to me, though an unworthy sinner, shall not I run and tell thee what a treasure I have found. And here methinks the story of the Lepers comes not unaptly to thy mind, who said one to another when they had eat and drunk, a•d carried away silver and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it, We do not well, this day is a day of good tydings and we hold our peace. It is sit that I should be cloathed ⟨p. 125⟩with shame; I acknowledge before God, who trieth the hearts, I am unworthy, everlastingly unworthy, but it is not fit that he should lose his praise, nay rather, let him be the more ador'd, and magnifi'd, and admir'd for ever and ever, and let my Secrets say, Amen. Bless the Lord, O my Soul bless the Lord, O my Friend, let us exhalt his Name together, he is my solace in my solitude, he is my standing comforter, my tried friend, my sure refuge, my safe retreat, he is my Paradise, he is my Heaven; and my heart is at rest in him: and I will sit and sing under his shadow, as a Bird among the Branches; and whither should I go but unto him? Shall I leave the fa•ness of the Olive, and sweetness of the Fig-tree, and of the Vine, and go and put my trust under the shadow of the Bramble? No, I have made my everlasting choice: this is my rest for ever, he is my well Beloved in whom I am well pleased. Suffer me to boast a little here, I may Glory without Vanity, and I can praise him without end or measure, but I have nothing to say of my self: I find thou dost overvalue me, and magnifie me above my measure; set the Crown upon the head of Christ, let nothing be great with thee but him, give him the glory: but thy love pleaseth me, only I have this exception, that thou art in love with thine own Idol, as Austin somewhere speaks to a friend of his that did too much magnifie him, and magnifiest a Creature of thine own fancie, and not thy poor Orestes:

:345p. 127–128

Many charges have passed over both you and my self, since my last Writing to you, but I am glad to hear that in that great change of your condition, you have made so wise and happy a choice. Mine unfeigned desire to God is for your Temporal and Spiritual prosperity; and that the blessings of both Worlds may be heaped up upon you. Yet I should desire you not to expect too much here, nor to count it a strange thing, if you meet with disappointments. Is it enough if you have the Lord for your portion, and Heaven for your Inheritance; though the World should not answer your expectations. I doubt not but you will be likely, as well as we, to meet with manifold temptations: the Lord make you, when you have done all to stand. Hold out a while in faith, patience, and self-denial, and you shall be as sure as God can make you of the Crown. Now arise and shine, and hold forth the power of holiness in all your converse. We have lived in times when Religion was the way to credit and esteem, and then it was more difficult to discern sincerity of ones profession, because men might be drawn to it upon worldly ends. But now is the time when God will prove us, if we will appear for him, and own his ways, when they are the common scorn of the World. Oh Sir, think it not hard if God do call you forth to own him in such a time as this, when few of your rank and quality will bear you company: but look upon it as a special advantage to prove your sincerity, and your fidelity to the Lord your Maker. The holy and blessed life of that noble Marquess Galeacius, I should much commend to your reading and imitation. Court not the World nor its preferments, Moses his self-denying choice. which the World would have branded for unparalleled folly, when he voluntarily left all the Court-preferments and pleasures, the wisest Judge commends for the great• wisdom. If Religion will make you vile, resolve with tha• •yal Worthy, ⟨p. 128⟩that you will be yet more vile. Remember who accounted the reproaches of Christ greater riches, than the Treasures of Egypt. Verily it is a greater honour to you to be vilified for Christ, than to be •ignified with the highest Titles that the greatest on Earth can confer:

MAny charges have passed over both you and my self, since my last Writing to you, but I am glad to hear that in that great change of your condition, you have made so wise and happy a choice. Mine unfeigned desire to God is for your Temporal and Spiritual prosperity; and that the blessings of both Worlds may be heaped up upon you. Yet I should desire you not to expect too much here, nor to count it a strange thing, if you meet with disappointments. Is it enough if you have the Lord for your portion, and Heaven for your Inheritance; though the World should not answer your expectations. I doubt not but you will be likely, as well as we, to meet with manifold temptations: the Lord make you, when you have done all to stand. Hold out a while in faith, patience, and self-denial, and you shall be as sure as God can make you of the Crown. Now arise and shine, and hold forth the power of holiness in all your converse. We have lived in times when Religion was the way to credit and esteem, and then it was more difficult to discern sincerity of ones profession, because men might be drawn to it upon worldly ends. But now is the time when God will prove us, if we will appear for him, and own his ways, when they are the common scorn of the World. Oh Sir, think it not hard if God do call you forth to own him in such a time as this, when few of your rank and quality will bear you company: but look upon it as a special advantage to prove your sincerity, and your fidelity to the Lord your Maker. The holy and blessed life of that noble Marquess Galeacius, I should much commend to your reading and imitation. Court not the World nor its preserments, Moses his self-denying choice. which the World would have branded for unparalled folly, when he voluntarily left all the Court-preferments and pleasures, the wisest Judge commends for the great• wisdom. If Religion will make you vile, resolve with tha• •yal Worthy, ⟨p. 128⟩that you will be yet more vile. Remember who accounted the reproaches of Christ greater riches, than the Treasures of Egypt. Verily it is a greater honour to you to be vilified for Christ, than to be •ignified with the highest Titles that the greatest on Earth can conser:

:346p. 128

and to be called Puritan or Fanatic, for the bold and constant owning of the power of Christianity, than to have whole Pages filled up with the honourable offices and marks of Dignity, that Earthly Princes can bestow. Now then is your time to get the true honour. Few of your places and dignity, will take this way to get it: But he that can but use the prospective of Faith, and look as far as the approaching Judgement, will easily see the vanity of the worlds riches and flattering preferments, and the everlasting glory and honour wherewith the despised Saints shall surely be Crowned. Fix your eyes and Meditations here, and that will set you above the worlds temptations, when by its offers or threatenings it would make you to warp, and to let go your hold-fast of Eternal life. Now is the time for you to make Heaven sure, and when that is done, you are prepared for the worst that can come. I desire you to accept of my service and respects, and my Wives, which I do hereby present unto you, and to your most deserving yoke-fellow, whom I unfeignedly honour though I never saw her, not so much for her noble blood, which yet calls for great respects, as for her far more noble qualifications, and privileges of her second birth. Pardon my boldness with you, in troubling you so long, I am Sir,

and to be call'd Puritan or Phanatique, for the bold and constant owning of the power of Christianity, than to have whole Pages filled up with the honourable offices and marks of Dignity, that Earthly Princes can bestow. Now then is your time to get the true honour. Few of your places and dignity, will take this way to get it: But he that can but use the prospective os Faith, and look as far as the approaching Judgement, will easily see the vanity of the worlds riches and flattering preferments, and the everlasting glory and honour wherewith the dispised Saints shall surely be Crowned. Fix your eyes and Meditations here, and that will set you above the worlds temptations, when by its offers or threatnings it would make you to warp, and to let go your hold-fast of Eternal life. Now is the time for you to make Heaven sure, and when that is done, you are prepared for the worst that can come. I desire you to accept of my service and respects, and my Wives, which I do hereby present unto you, and to your most deserving yoak-fellow, whom I unfeignedly honour though I never saw her, not so much for her noble blood, which yet calls sor great respects, as for her far more noble qualifications, and priviledges of her second birth. Pardon my boldness with you, in troubling you so long, I am Sir,