To Margaret Reid — Letter 49
My very dear and worthy sister,
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you. You are truly blessed of the Lord, however a dark world may frown upon you, if you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel. It is good; there is a heaven, and it is not a night dream or a fancy. It is a wonder that men do not deny there is a heaven as they deny there is a way to it — but of men's own making. You have learned of Christ that there is a heaven; contend for it and contend for Christ. Bear well and submissively the hard cross of this stepmother world, which God will not have to be yours. I confess it is hard, and I wish I were able to ease you of your burden. But believe me, this world — which the Lord will not have to be yours — is but the dross, the refuse and scum of God's creation, the portion of the Lord's poor hired servants; the movables, not the heritage. It is a hard bone cast to the dogs, excluded from the new Jerusalem, upon which they rather break their teeth than satisfy their appetite. It is your Father's blessing and Christ's birthright that our Lord is keeping for you. And I persuade you, your children also shall inherit the earth, if that be good for them, for that is promised to them, and God's bond is as good — and better — than if men would give each of them a bond for thousands upon thousands. Before you were born, crosses in number, measure, and weight were written for you, and your Lord will lead you through them. Make Christ sure, and the blessings of the earth shall follow in Christ's train. I see many professors following along for appearance, but they are professors of glass; I believe a little blow of persecution would shatter them into twenty pieces, and so the world would laugh at the shards. Therefore do solid work; see that Christ lay the foundation stone of your profession, for wind and rain and floods will not wash away his building — his works have no shorter date than to stand forevermore. I should twenty times have perished in my affliction if I had not leaned my weak back and laid my pressing burden both upon the stone, the foundation stone, the cornerstone laid in Zion. And I desire never to rise off this stone. Now, the very God of peace confirm and establish you to the day of the blessed appearing of Christ Jesus. God be with you.
Aberdeen. Yours in his dearest Lord Jesus, S. R.
