why. In these blank spaces the conjectural sense, which I distinguish here as usual by commas, is occasionally somewhat questionable.
FOR THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD WHARTON: THESE
My Lord,—You know how untoward I am at this business of writing; yet a word. I beseech the Lord make us sensible of this great mercy here, which surely was much more than “the sense of it” the House expresseth[1]. I trust “to have, through” the goodness of our God, time and opportunity to speak of it to you face to face. When we think of our God, what are we’ Oh, His mercy to the whole society of saints,—despised, jeered saints! Let them mock on. Would we were all saints! The best of us are, God knows, poor weak saints;—yet saints; if not sheep, yet lambs; and must be fed. We have daily bread[2], and shall have it, in despite of all enemies. There’s enough in our Father’s house, and He dispenseth it.[3] I think, through these outward mercies, as we call them, Faith, Patience, Love, Hope are exercised and perfected,—yea Christ med, and grows to a perfect man within us. I know not well how to distinguish: the difference is only in the subject, “not in the object”; to a worldly man they are outward, to a saint Christian;—but I dispute not.
My Lord, I rejoice in your particular mercy. I hope that it is so to you. If so, it shall not hurt you; not make you plot or shift for the young Baron to make him great. You
- ↑ The House calls it a wonderful great mercy and success,‘ this Preston victory (Commons Journals, v. 680);—and then passes on to other matters, not quite adequately conscious that its life had been saved hereby! What fire was blazing, and how high, in Wales, and then in Lancashire, is known only in perfection to those that trampled it out.
- ↑ Spiritual food, encouragemeut of merciful Providence, from day to day.
- ↑ There follows here in the Birch edition: As our eyes’ [seven stars] ‘behinde, then wee can’ [seven stars] we for him’: words totally unintelligible; and not worth guessing at, the original not being here, but only Birch’s questionable reading of it.
