326. CCCXXVII.—To the EARL OF BALCARRAS

CCCXXVII.—To the EARL OF BALCARRAS

[ALEXANDER LINDSAY, second Lord Balcarras, and first Earl of Balcarras, to whom this letter is addressed, was a man of superior talents, and espoused the cause of the Covenant. He commanded a troop of horse in the Covenanters’ army at the battle of Alford, 2nd July 1645, when General Baillie was defeated by Montrose. He was one of the Commissioners despatched by the Parliament of Scotland, 19th December 1646, to King Charles I., with their last proposals, which his Majesty rejected; upon which the Scottish army surrendered him to the English Parliament, and retired from England. When, in 1648, troops were raised with the design of rescuing the King from the English Parliament, and restoring him to liberty and power, without requiring from him any concessions to his subjects, which was called "The Engagement," Balcarras took an active part in this enterprise, for which Rutherford, by the way, tenders to him a reproof. On the arrival of Charles II. in Scotland, 1650, he repaired to his Majesty, by whom he was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Balcarras. He was High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland which met at St. Andrews, 16th July 1651. In 1652 he settled with his family at St. Andrews, keeping up a correspondence with his exiled sovereign; and in 1653 again took arms, and joined in an ineffectual attempt to uphold the Royal cause against Cromwell. His estate, after this, being sequestrated, he withdrew to the Continent. His Lordship did not live to see the Restoration of Charles, having died of consumption in the prime of life, at Breda, on the 30th of August 1659. His mortal remains were brought over to Scotland, and interred at Balcarras. (Douglas’ "Peerage of Scotland.") This letter is given from the original, among the Balcarras Papers, vol. ix., No. 135, Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh. Balcarras House is three miles from Largo. A tower on the crag above it marks it out from a distance. The old mansion has been nearly superseded, but you see carved on the walls the old motto, "Astra, castra, lumen, Numen." In old books it is written "Balcarrs."] (REGARDING SOME MISUNDERSTANDING.) MY VERY HONOURABLE LORD,—I am sorry that your Lordship should be offended at any sinistrous misinformation concerning your supposed discountenancing of ministers. For the general I can say nothing, being utterly ignorant thereof. I hope your Lordship will make the best use of it may be. For myself, I owe no thanks to any that have named me as the object of any discountenancing; for, truly, I value not any of these when, as the conscience of my innocence showeth me (and, for aught known to me, truly) that I offended no nobleman in the kingdom, far less my Lord Balcarras, whose public deservings have been such as I esteem him to have been most instrumental in this work of God. I hope, my Lord, you will pardon me to make a little exception in the matter of the late sinful engagement. And therefore, my Lord, I entreat you to forget that business; for since your Lordship said of me, in your letter to Mr. David Forret, more than I deserve, I shall be satisfied with it as an expiation, more than any discountenancing of me can amount unto by millions of degrees. And therefore entreat your Lordship to accept of this for anything that any could say to your Lordship of that business. If I had thought so much of myself as the discountenancing of me had been a sinful neglect (whereas I know there is little ground for the contrary), I should have spoken to your Lordship myself. So trusting your Lordship will rest satisfied, I am, your Lordship’s, at power in the Lord, S. R.

ST. ANDREWS, Dec. 24, 1649.

CCCXXVIII.—To the worthy and much honoured COLONEL GILBERT KER

[COLONEL GILBERT KER was a leading man among the Covenanters. He was one of the officers of the west country army, and adhered with great zeal to the Western Remonstrance, sent by that army to the Committee of Estates, which, among other things, condemned the treaty with the King, accused many of the Committee of Estates of covetousness and oppression, and opposed the invasion of England, or forcing a king upon that kingdom. In the year 1655 he was named Justice of Peace for Roxburghshire, but declined to accept; stating as his reasons, that he considered the employment sinful, not allowed by the word of God, contrary to the Solemn League and Covenant, and an encroachment on the liberty of Christ’s church. At the restoration of Charles II., when those concerned in the Western Remonstrance were particularly marked out for the vengenance of the Government, he left the country, but was allowed by the Privy Council to return in the beginning of the year 1671. He must have died previous to October 5, 1677; for at that date Mr. James Row, merchant in Edinburgh, his son-in-law, presents a petition to the Privy Council, praying that he might obtain the remission of a fine of five hundred merks, imposed on the deceased Colonel Gilbert Ker upon account of a conventicle, and for the payment of which the petitioner had become cautioner. This fine was remitted. ("Register of Acts of Privy Council.")] (SINGLENESS OF AIM—JUDGMENT IN REGARD TO ADVERSARIES.)

MUCH HONOURED AND TRULY WORTHY,—I hope I shall not need to show you that ye are in greater hazard from yourself, and your own spirit (which should be watched over, that your actings for God may be clean, spiritual, purely for God, for the Prince of the kings of the earth), than ye can be in danger from your enemies. Oh how hard is it to get the intentions so cut off from and raised above the creature, as to be without mixture of creature and carnal interest, and to have the soul, in heavenly actings, only, only eyeing Himself, and acting from love to God, revealed to us in Jesus Christ! Ye will find yourself, your delights, your solid glory (far above the air and breathings of mouths, and the thin, short, poor applauses of men), before you in God. All the creatures, all the swords, all the hosts in Britain, and in this poor globe of the habitable world, are but under Him single cyphers making no number; the product being nothing but painted men, and painted swords in a brod, without influence from Him. And oh what of God is in Gideon’s sword, when it is "The sword of the Lord!"

I wish a sword from heaven to you, and orders from heaven to you to go out; and as much peremptoriness of a heavenly will as to say, and abide by it, "I will not, I shall not go out, unless Thou goest with me." I desire not to be rash in judging; but I am a stranger to the mind of Christ, if our adversaries, who have unjustly invaded us, be not now in the camp of those that make war with the Lamb. But the Lamb shall overcome them at length; for He is the Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they who are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And though ye and I see but the dark side of God’s dispensations this day towards Britain, yet the fair, beautiful, and desirable close of it must be the confederacy of the nations of the world with Britain’s Lord of armies. And let me die in the comforts of the faith of this, that a throne shall be set up for Christ in this island of Britain (which is, and shall be, a garden more fruitful of trees of righteousness, and which payeth and shall pay more thousands to the Lord of the vineyard than is paid in thrice the bounds of Great Britain upon earth), and there can be neither Papist, Prelate, Malignant, nor Sectary, who dare draw a sword against Him that sitteth upon the throne.

Sir, I shall wish a clean army, so far as may be, that the shout of a King who hath many crowns may be among you; and that ye may fight in faith, and prevail with God first. Think it your glory to have a sword to act, and suffer, and die (if it please Him), so being ye may add anything to the declarative glory of Christ, the Plant of Renown, Immanuel, God with us. Happy and thrice blessed are they by whose actings, or blood, or pain, or loss, the diadems and rubies of His highest and most glorious crown (whose ye are) shall glister and shine in this quarter of the habitable world. Though He need not Gilbert Ker, nor his sword, yet this honour have ye with His redeemed soldiers, to call Christ High Lord-General, of whom ye hope for pay and all arrears well told. Go on, worthy Sir, in the courage of faith, following the Lamb. Make not haste unbelievingly; but in hope and silence keep the watch-tower, and look out. He will come in His own time; His salvation shall not tarry. He will place salvation in Britain’s Zion for Israel’s glory. His good-will who dwelt in The Bush and it burned not, be yours, and with you.

I am yours, in his sweet Lord Jesus,

S. R.

ST. ANDREWS, Aug. 10, 1650.