Page:Works of Thomas Carlyle - Volume 06.djvu/351

Rh our fears, and want of faith had prompted us, the year before, to entertain with the King and his Party. And at this time, and on this occasion, did the then Major Goffe (as I remember was his title) make use of that good Word, Proverbs First and Twenty-third, Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Which, we having found out our sin, he urged as our duty from those words. And the Lord so accompanied by His Spirit, that it had a kindly effect, like a word of His, upon most of our hearts that were then present: which begot in us a great sense, a shame and loathing of ourselves for our iniquities, and a justifying of the Lord as righteous in His proceedings against us.

‘And in this path the Lord led us, not only to see our sin, but also our duty; and this so unanimously set with weight upon each heart, that none was able hardly to speak a word to each other for bitter weeping,’—does the modern reader mark it; this weeping, and who they are that weep? Weeping ‘partly in the sense and shame of our iniquities; of our unbelief, base fear of men, and carnal consultations (as the fruit thereof) with our own wisdoms; and not with the Word of the Lord,—which only is a way of wisdom, strength and safety, and all besides it are ways of snares. And yet we were also helped, with fear and trembling, to rejoice in the Lord; whose faithfulness and loving-kindness, we were made to see, yet failed us not;—who remembered us still, even in our low estate, because His mercy endures for ever. Who no sooner brought us to His feet, acknowledging Him in that way of His (viz. searching for, being ashamed of, and willing to turn from, our iniquities), but He did direct our steps; and presently we were led and helped to a clear agreement amongst ourselves, not any dissenting, That it was the duty of our day, with the forces we had, to go out and fight against those potent enemies, which that year in all places appeared against us.’ Courage! ‘With an humble confidence, in the name of the Lord only, that we should destroy them. And we were also enabled then, after serious seeking