{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_64050/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_64050","id":"gutenberg_64050","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64050","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - British","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Chapbooks, Scottish","English literature -- 18th century","Popular literature -- Scotland"],"text":"TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTE\n\n  This book is a collection of twenty separate \u2018Chap-books\u2019.\n\n  There is only one Footnote, which has been placed at the end of its\n  Chap-book.\n\n  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.\n\n  Many minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.\n\n\n\n\n  John Cheap\n\n  The Chapman\u2019s Library:\n\n  THE\n\n  _SCOTTISH CHAP LITERATURE_\n\n  OF LAST CENTURY CLASSIFIED\n\n\n  RELIGIOUS AND SCRIPTURAL.\n\n\n  _GLASGOW_:\n  ROBERT LINDSAY, QUEEN STREET.\n  1877.\n\n\n\n\n_CONTENTS._\n\n  The Life of John Knox.\n  The Life of John Welch.\n  The Life and Prophecies of Alexander Peden.\n  The Life and Prophecies of Donald Cargill.\n  The Battles of Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge.\n  The Laird of Lag\u2019s Elegy.\n  A Wedding King for the Finger.\n  The Pilgrim\u2019s Progress.\n  Watt\u2019s Divine Songs.\n  The Plant of Renown.\n  Honey from the Rock of Christ.\n  Sins and Sorrows before God.\n  A Token for Mourners.\n  Prayers for Families and Private Persons.\n  The New Pictorial Bible.\n  Lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\n  The History of Moses.\n  History of Joseph and his Brethren.\n  The Life and Death of Judas Iscariot.\n  The Wife of Beith. (_Verse._)\n\n\n\n\n  THE LIFE\n\n  AND\n\n  MERITORIOUS TRANSACTIONS,\n\n  OF\n\n  JOHN KNOX,\n\n  THE GREAT SCOTTISH\n\n  _REFORMER_.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nLIFE OF\n\nJOHN KNOX.\n\n\nAt the Reformation one half of the lands of Scotland were the\nproperty of the church. David I. had made over almost the whole of\nthose belonging to the crown, and his example was imitated, not\nonly by many of his successors, but by all orders of men, with whom\nthe founding a monastery, or endowing a church, was thought to\nbe a sufficient atonement for the breach of every command in the\ndecalogue.\n\nBesides the influence derived from the nature and extent of their\nproperty, generally let on lease, on easy terms, to the younger\nsons and dependants of great families, the weight the clergy had\nin Parliament was very considerable. The number of temporal barons\nbeing extremely limited, and the lesser barons and representatives\nof boroughs looking upon it as a hardship to attend, combined with\nthe mode of choosing the Lords of the Articles. Its proceedings in\na great measure were left under their direction and control.\n\nThe Lords of the Articles were a Committee whose business it was\nto prepare and digest all matters that were to be laid before\nParliament. Every motion for a new law was made in this committee,\nand approved or rejected by the members of it; what they approved\nwas formed into a bill, and presented to Parliament; what they\nrejected could not be introduced into the house. This committee\nowed the extraordinary powers vested in it to the military genius\nof the ancient nobles, and in this way not only directed all the\nproceedings of Parliament, but possessed a negative before debate.\nIt consisted of eight temporal and eight spiritual lords, of eight\nrepresentatives of boroughs, and of eight great officers of the\ncrown, and when its composition is considered, it will easily be\nseen how much influence it would add to the already too great power\nof the clergy.\n\nTheir character also was held sacred; neither were they subject\nto the same laws, nor tried by the same judges as the laity, a\nremarkable instance of which occurred on the trial of the murderers\nof Cardinal Beaton, one of whom was a priest. He was claimed by a\ndelegate from the clerical courts, and exempted from the judgement\nof Parliament on that account.\n\nBy their reputation for learning, they almost wholly engrossed\nthe high offices of emolument and trust in the civil government;\nbut even this was not for acting in their capacity of confessors,\nthey made use of all these motives which operate so powerfully on\nthe human mind, to promote the interest of the church, so that\nfew were allowed to leave the world without bestowing on her some\nmarks of their liberality, and where credulity failed to produce\nthis effect, they called in the aid of law. (When a person died\nintestate, by the 22d Statute of William the Lion, the disposal\nof his effects was vested in the bishop of the diocese, after\npaying his funeral charges and debts, and distributing among his\nkindred the sums to which they were respectively entitled, it being\npresumed that no Christian could have chosen to leave the world\nwithout destining some of his substance to pious purposes.) Their\ncourts had likewise the cognisance of all testamentary deeds and\nmatrimonial contracts, and to these engines of power, and often\nin their hands of oppression, they super-added the sentence of\nexcommunication, which besides depriving the unhappy victim on\nwhom it fell of all Christian privileges, cut him off from every\nright as a man or citizen. To these, and other causes of a similar\nnature, may be ascribed the power of the Popish church; and to\nthese, also, combined with the celibacy to which by the rule of\ntheir church they were restricted, may be attributed the dissolute\nand licentious lives of the clergy, which in the end destroyed that\nreputation for sanctity, the people had been accustomed to attach\nto their character.\n\nAccording to the accounts of the reformers, confirmed by several\npopish writers, the manners of the Scottish clergy were indecent in\nthe extreme. Cardinal Beaton celebrated the marriage of his eldest\ndaughter with the son of the Earl of Crawford, with an almost regal\nmagnificence, and maintained a criminal correspondence with her\nmother to the end of his days. The other prelates were not more\nexemplary than their primate, and the contrast between their lives,\nand those of the reformers, failed not to make a considerable\nimpression on the minds of the people. Instead of disguising their\nvices the Popish clergy affected to despise censure; instead of\nendeavouring to colour over the absurdity of the established\ndoctrines, or found them on Scripture, they left them to the\nauthority of the church and decrees of the councils; the only\napology they have ever been able, even to the present day, to\noffer for the monstrous absurdity of their system. The duty of\npreaching was left to the lowest and most illiterate of the monks.\n\nThe following anecdote will give a lively idea of their mode of\npreaching:--The prior of the Black Friars at Newcastle, in a sermon\nat St Andrews, asserted that the Paternoster should be said to God\nonly, and not the saints. This doctrine not meeting the approbation\nof the learned of that city, they appointed a Gray Friar to refute\nit, who choose for his text, \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit,\u201d\nwhich he illustrated in this manner. Seeing we say, good day,\nfather, to any old man in the street, we may call a saint pater,\nwho is older than any alive; and seeing they are in heaven, we\nmay say to any of them, \u201cOur father who art in heaven;\u201d seeing\nthey are holy, we may say, \u201challowed be thy name;\u201d and, since\nthey are in the kingdom of heaven, may add, \u201cthy kingdom come;\u201d\nand as their will is God\u2019s will, \u201cthy will be done;\u201d but when he\ncome to \u201cgive us this day our daily bread;\u201d he was much at a loss\nconfessing it was not in the power of the saints to give us our\ndaily bread; \u201cyet they may pray to God for us,\u201d he said, \u201cthat he\nmay give us our daily bread.\u201d The rest of his commentary being not\nmore satisfactory, set his audience a laughing and the children on\nthe streets calling after him, Friar Paternoster, he was so much\nashamed that he left the city.\n\nThe only device by which they attempted to bring back the people\nto their allegiance was equally unfortunate and imprudent; they\nhad recourse to false miracles, which the vigilance of the\nreformers detected and exposed to ridicule. The bare-faced\nimpositions that were practised by the monks on the credulous,\nare almost inconceivable.--Among other customs of those times, it\nwas common for them to travel to Rome and come home laden with\nrelics, blessed by his holiness, dispensations for sin, by which\nthey wheedled the credulous out of their money. One of these, on\na holiday, endeavouring to vend his wares to the country people,\namong other things shewed them a bell with a rent in it, possessing\nthe virtue of discovering the truth or fallacy of an oath; for, as\nhe pretended, if any one swore truly, with his hand on the bell,\nhe could easily remove it, without any change; but if the oath\nwas false, his hand would stick to it, and the bell rent asunder.\nA farmer, rather more shrewd than the rest of his auditors,\nsuspecting the truth of this assertion, asked liberty to take an\noath in the presence of those assembled, about an affair which\nnearly concerned him. The monk could not refuse; and the farmer\naddressing the crowd, said, \u201cFriends, before I swear, you see the\nrent, how large it is, and that I have nothing on my fingers to\nmake them stick to the bell.\u201d Then laying his hand on it, he took\nthis oath.--\u201cI swear, in the presence of the living God, and before\nthese good people, that the pope of Rome is Antichrist, and that\nall the rabble of his clergy, cardinals, archbishops, bishops,\npriests, monks, with all the rest of the crew, are locust, come\nfrom hell, to delude the people, and to withdraw them from God;\nmoreover, I promise they will all return to hell;\u201d and lifting his\nhand he added. \u201cSee, friends, I have lifted my hand freely from the\nbell, and the rent is no larger, this sheweth that I have sworn\nthe truth.\u201d\n\nThe cause of reformed religion, was powerfully supported by the\nambition of the Queen-dowager. (Mary of Guise) After the death of\nJames V. her husband, the Earl of Arran, was appointed Regent of\nthe kingdom during the minority of her daughter; and from that\nsituation she wished to exclude him, that she might enjoy the first\nhonours of the state alone, and promote the designs of her brothers\nupon Scotland. For this purpose she applied to the favourers of the\nReformation, as being the most numerous of the Regent\u2019s enemies,\nand forming a respectable body in the state; and although her\npromises of protection were insincere, they, in a very considerable\ndegree, abated the fury of persecution.\n\nJohn Knox, who contributed so much, both by precept and example,\nto work out the Reformation from Popery; was the descendant of an\nancient family, and born at Gifford, near Haddington, in 1505. On\nfinishing his education at the grammar school, he was removed to\nSt. Andrew\u2019s, to complete his studies under the celebrated John\nMair, by whose instructions he made such progress that he received\norders before the time prescribed by the rules of the church. After\nthis, he quitted scholastic learning, so much in reputation at\nthat period, and applied himself with diligence to the reading of\nthe fathers of the church, particularly St Angustine, from which,\nattending the preaching of one Thomas Enillam, a Black Friar, and\nthe conversation of Mr George Wishart, a celebrated reformer, who\ncame from England in 1545 with the commissioners sent by Henry\nVIII. to conclude a treaty with the Earl of Arran, after the death\nof James V. he attained a more than ordinary degree of scriptural\nknowledge, and entirely renounced the Roman Catholic religion.\n\nOn leaving St Andrew\u2019s, Mr Knox acted as tutor to the sons of\nDouglas of Longniddry, and Cockburn of Ormiston, whom, besides the\ndifferent branches of common education, he carefully instructed\nin the principles of the reformed religion, having composed a\ncatechism for their use, besides reading lectures to them on\nvarious portions of the scriptures. In this practice he continued\ntill Easter 1547, when werried out by the repeated persecutions\nof Cardinal Beaton, he left Longniddry for St. Andrew\u2019s, resolved\nto visit Germany, the state of England proving unfavourable to\nhis views. Against taking this step, however, he was persuaded\nby the gentlemen whose children he had the charge, to remain in\nSt. Andrews, the castle of that place being in the hands of the\nreformers.\n\nHere he continued to teach his pupils in the usual manner, but his\nlectures were now attended by a number of people belonging to the\ntown, who earnestly intreated him to preach in public. This task he\nat first declined, but afterwards accepted a call from the pulpit,\nand in his very first sermon discovered such zeal, learning, and\nintrepidity, as evinced the prudence of their choice, and how\neminently qualified he was for the discharge of those duties.\nThis success caused such alarm among the Popish clergy, that a\nletter was sent to the sub-prior by the abbot of Paisley, natural\nbrother of the Regent, who had been nominated to the archbishopric\nreproving him for his negligence, in allowing such doctrines to\nbe taught without opposition. A meeting of the clergy was held in\nconsequence, and every scheme they could devise put in practice to\nhurt Mr Knox\u2019s usefulness; but, in a public disputation, he replied\nto all their arguments with so much acuteness as completely to\nsilence them, and gained many proselytes, who made prefession of\ntheir faith by partaking of the communion openly, which he was the\nfirst to administer in the manner practised at present.\n\nThis success was not of long duration, for a body of French troops\nwas sent to besiege the castle, and it was compelled to surrender\non the 23d July, when he, along with the garrison, was sent\nprisoner to France, and confined in the gallies till the year 1549.\nOn obtaining his liberty he retired to England, where he preached\nsometime at Berwick, afterwards at Newcastle and London, and was at\nlast chosen one of the itinerants appointed by Edward VI. to preach\nthe Protestant doctrine through England. Upon the death of that\nprince, on the 6th July, 1553, he went to Geneva, where he resided\nwhen he was chosen by the English church at Frankfort, on the 24th\nSeptember, 1554, to be their pastor, a situation he accepted by\nthe advice of the celebrated John Calvin, but which he did not\nlong enjoy, for having opposed the introduction of the English\nliturgy, and refused to celebrate the communion according to the\nforms prescribed by it, he was deprived of his office; and, such\nwas the malice of his enemies, that, taking advantage of a passage\nin his \u201cAdmonition to England,\u201d wherein he compares the Emperor\nto Nero, and the Queen of England to Jezebel, they accused him to\nthe magistrates of treason. These gentlemen perceiving the spirit\nby which his accusers were actuated, found means to apprise him\nof his danger; and on the 26th march, 1555, he left Frankfort for\nGeneva, from whence he proceeded to Dieppe, and shortly afterwards\nto Scotland, where he arrived in the month of August.\n\nOn his arrival he found the reformers much increased in number,\nand after assisting them to rectify some errors which had crept\ninto their practice, accompanied John Erskine of Dun to his seat in\nthe Mearns, where he continued a month, preaching to the principle\npeople in that country. He afterwards resided at Calder-house,\nthe residence of Sir James Sandilands, where he was attended by a\nnumber of personages of the first rank; and, among others, by the\nprior of St Andrew\u2019s afterwards earl of Moray. During the winter\nhe visited Edinburgh; preached in many places of Ayrshire; and in\nthe beginning of 1556, at the request of the earl of Glencairn,\nadministered the sacrament of the Lord\u2019s Supper to his lordship\u2019s\nfamily, and a number of friends, at his seat of Finlayston.\n\nIn this way did Mr Knox continue preaching, sometimes in one\nplace, and sometimes in another, when his success excited so much\nattention that the Popish clergy summoned him to appear before\nthem, on the 15th of May, in the church of the Black Friars\nin Edinburgh. He did appear, but attended by such a number of\nfollowers that the clergy deemed it prudent to desist from their\nintended prosecution; and that same day he addressed a much\ngreater audience than ever he had done on any prior occasion, and\ncontinued to do so for ten days.\n\nThe earl of Glencairn, one of his firmest friends, prevailed on\nthe earl Marshal, and Mr Henry Drummond, to attend one of Mr\nKnox\u2019s sermons, they were so highly gratified with it that they\npersuaded him to address a letter to the Queen, in the hope she\nalso might be induced to hear the doctrine of the reformers. In\nthis letter, contending for the truth of what he taught, he says,\n\u201cAlbeit, Madam, that the messengers of God are not sent this day\nwith visible miracles, because they teach no other doctrine than\nthat which is confirmed with miracles from the beginning of the\nworld, yet will not he (who hath promised to take charge over his\npoor and little flock to the end) suffer the contempt of their\nambassage to escape punishment and vengeance, for the truth itself\nhath said, \u2018he that heareth you heareth one, and he that contemneth\nyou contemneth one.\u2019 I do not speak unto you, Madam, as Pasquillus\ndoth to the Pope and his carnal cardinals, in the behalf of such as\ndare not utter their names, but I come in the name of Christ Jesus;\naffirming, that the religion ye maintain is damnable idolatry,\nwhich I offer myself to prove, by the most evident testimony of\nGod\u2019s Scriptures; and in this quarrel I present myself against all\nthe Papists in the realm, desiring no other armour but God\u2019s holy\nword, and the liberty of my tongue.\u201d It was delivered to the Queen\nby the earl of Glencairn, and by her to the bishop of Glasgow,\n(nephew of Cardinal Beaton) with this observation, \u201cPlease you, my\nlord, to read a pasquil,\u201d which coming to the ears of Mr Knox, was\nthe occasion of his making a number of additions when the letter\nwas printed afterwards at Geneva.\n\nAt this time he received letters from the English church at Geneva,\nwhich had separated from the one at Frankfort, commanding him, \u201cin\nGod\u2019s name, as he was their chosen pastor, to repair to them for\ntheir comfort.\u201d Having preached in almost every congregation he had\nformerly visited, and sent his wife and mother-in-law before him to\nDieppe, he sailed from Scotland in the month of July for Geneva.\nNo sooner had he left the kingdom than the bishops summoned him\nto answer a charge of heresy; and, on his non-appearance, burnt\nhim in effigy at the cross of Edinburgh. Against this sentence, in\n1558, he published his \u201cAppellation,\u201d addressed to the \u201cNobility\nand Estates of Scotland.\u201d In this composition, which has been much\nadmired, after appealing \u201cto a lawful and general council,\u201d and\nrequiring of them that defence which, as princes of the people,\nthey were bound to give him, he adds, \u201cthese things I require of\nyour honours to be granted unto me, viz. that the doctrine which\nour adversaries condemn for heresy may be tried by the plain and\nsimple word of God; that the just defences be admitted to us that\nsustain the battle against this pestilent battle of Antichrist;\nand that they be removed from judgment in our cause, seeing that\nour accusation is not intended against any one particular person,\nbut against that whole kingdom which we doubt not to prove to be a\npower usurped against God, against his commandments, and against\nthe ordinance of Christ Jesus, established in his church by his\nchief apostles; yea, we doubt not to prove the kingdom of the Pope\nto be the kingdom and power of Antichrist, and therefore, my lords,\nI cannot cease, in the name of Christ Jesus, to require of you that\nthe matter may come to examination, and that ye, the estates of the\nrealm, by your authority, compel such as will be called bishops,\nnot only to desist from their cruel murdering of such as do study\nto promote God\u2019s glory, in detecting and disclosing the damnable\nimpiety of that man of sin the Roman Antichrist; but, also, that\nye compel them to answer to such crimes as shall be laid to their\ncharge, for not righteously instructing the flock committed to\ntheir care.\u201d\n\nIn March, 1557, sensible of his importance, a letter, subscribed\nGlencairn, Erskine, Lorn, and James Stuart, was transmitted to Mr\nKnox at Geneva, entreating him to return home. Having communicated\nits contents to his congregation, for which he provided another\nminister, and taking the advice of John Calvin, and other\nministers, he set out for Scotland.\n\nAddressing himself to the lords who had invited his return, Mr\nKnox expostulates with them on their rash conduct, as having a\ntendency to cause both them and him to be evil spoken of.--\u201cFor\neither,\u201d said he, \u201cit shall appear that I was marvellous vain,\nbeing so solicited, where no necessity required, or else that such\nas were my movers thereto lacked the ripeness of judgment in their\nfirst vocation.\u201d Along with this letter he sent one to the whole\nnobility, and others to particular gentlemen, advising them in what\nmanner they ought to proceed. On their receipt a new consultation\nwas held, and a bond subscribed at Edinburgh on the 13th December,\n1557, whereby they agreed to \u201cforsake and renounce the congregation\nof Satan, with all the superstitious abominations and idolatry\nthereof.\u201d From this period those subscribing, and their adherents,\nwere known by the title of the Congregation. Previous to this\nagreement, however, a number of letters were sent off to Mr Knox,\nand to John Calvin, that he might use his influence in persuading\nhim to return.\n\nThis year (1558,) the Queen Regent, through the concurrence of\nthe Protestant party in Parliament, obtained an act to be passed,\nconferring the matrimonial crown on the Dauphin, the husband of\nher daughter, the unfortunate Mary. They had been induced to\nforward her views in this favourite scheme, that they might obtain\nfrom her an exemption from that tyranny with which the ancient\nlaws armed the ecclesiastics against them, and enjoy the free\nexercise of their religion. No sooner, however, had she obtained\nthe gratification of her wishes, than the accomplishment of a new\nscheme, the placing her daughter on the throne of England, and to\nwhich she had been prompted by the ambition of her brothers, the\nprinces of the house of Lorraine, at that time in the plenitude\nof their power at the Court of France, rendered an union with the\nCatholics necessary. It was vain to expect the assistance of the\nScots Protestants to dethrone Elizabeth, whom all Europe considered\nas the most powerful defender of the Reformed faith. She therefore\nbegan to treat them with coldness and contempt, and not only\napproved the decrees of a convocation of the Popish clergy, in\nwhich the principles of the Reformation were condemned, but at the\nsame time issued a proclamation enjoining the observance of Easter\naccording to the ritual of the Romish church.\n\nAlarmed at these proceedings, and still more at an order summoning\nall the Reformed clergy in the kingdom, to attend a court of\njustice at Stirling, on the 10th May, 1559, the earl of Glencairn,\nand Hugh Campbell of Louden, were deputed to wait on her and\nintercede in their behalf. On urging their peaceable demeanour,\nand the purity of their doctrine, she said, \u201cIn despite of you,\nand your ministers both, they shall be banished out of Scotland,\nalbeit they preached as true as ever did St. Paul.\u201d And on pleading\nher former promises of protection, she replied, \u201cThe promises\nof princes ought not to be too carefully remembered, nor the\nperformance of them exacted unless it suits their convenience.\u201d\n\nPerth, in the meantime, having embraced the Reformed religion,\nadded to the rage which agitated the Queen against the Protestants,\nand she commanded the provost (Patrick Ruthven,) to suppress all\ntheir assemblies. The answer of this gentleman deserves to be\nrecorded for its manly freedom. \u201cI have power over their bodies\nand estates,\u201d said he, \u201cand these I will take care shall do no\nhurt; but have no dominion over their consciences.\u201d The day of\ntrial now approached, and the town of Dundee, and the gentlemen of\nAngus and Mearns, in comformity of an old custom which prevailed\nin Scotland, resolved to accompany their pastors to the place of\ntrial. Intimidated by their numbers, though unarmed, she prevailed\non John Erskine of Dun, a person of great influence among them,\nto stop them from advancing nearer to Stirling, while she, on her\npart, promised to take no further steps towards the intended trial.\nThis proposition was listened to with pleasure, the preachers and\nsome of the leaders remained at Perth, and the multitude quietly\ndispersed to their respective homes.\n\nNotwithstanding this promise, on the 10th May, the queen proceeded\nto the trial of the persons summoned; and, on their failing to\nappear, sentence of outlawry was pronounced upon them. This open\nand avowed breach of faith added greatly to the public irritation,\nand the Protestants boldly prepared for their defence. Mr Erskine\nhaving joined his associates at Perth, his representation of the\nQueen\u2019s irreconcilable hatred so inflamed the people, that scarcely\nthe authority of the magistrates, or the exhortations of their\npreachers, could prevent them from proceeding to acts of violence.\n\nAt this juncture, Mr Knox landed in Scotland from France, and,\nafter residing two days in Edinburgh, joined his brethren in Perth,\nthat he might aid them in their cause, and give his confession\nalong with theirs. On the 11th, the day after the sentence of\noutlawry was pronounced, he made a vehement discourse against\nidolatry, and while the minds of the people were yet in a state\nof agitation, from the impression made upon them by his sermon,\na priest prepared to celebrate mass, which made a youth observe,\n\u201cThis is intolerable, that when God in his word hath plainly\ncondemned idolatry we shall stand and see it used in despite.\u201d\nThe irritated priest struck him a blow on the ear, and the youth\nin revenge threw a stone at him, which broke an image of one of\nthe saints. This was the signal of tumult, and ere two days had\nelapsed, all the churches and convents about Perth were destroyed.\nSuch was the anger of the Queen on receiving this intelligence,\nthat she avowed to reduce Perth to ashes, and ordered M. D\u2019Ossal,\nthe commander of a corps of French auxiliaries, at that time in the\nservice of Scotland, instantly to march, and carry her threats into\nexecution. Both parties, however, were desirous of accommodation,\nand a treaty was concluded, in which it was stipulated that the\ntwo armies should be disbanded, the gates of Perth set open to\nthe queen, but that none of her French soldiers should approach\nwithin three miles of that city, and that a Parliament should be\nimmediately held to settle the remaining differences.\n\nNo sooner were the Protestant forces disbanded, than the Queen\nviolated every article of the treaty. In consequence of which the\nearl of Argyle, and the prior of St Andrew\u2019s, who had been her\ncommissioners for settling the peace, with some other gentlemen,\nopenly left her. Having warned the confederates of her intention\nto destroy St Andrew\u2019s and Cupar, a considerable army was soon\nassembled, which assaulted Crail, broke down the altars and\nimages, and proceeded thence to St Andrew\u2019s, where they levelled\nthe Franciscan and Dominican monasteries to the ground. The Queen\nimmediately gave orders to occupy Cupar, with the intention of\nattacking them at St Andrew\u2019s, but in this she was anticipated, an\narmy equal to her own having occupied the place two days before.\nFinding herself too weak to encounter them in the field, she had\nagain recourse to negotiation; but mindful of her former duplicity,\nthe Protestants would only agree to a truce for eight days, by\nwhich the Duke of Chatelherault and D\u2019Ossal became bound to\ntransport all the French soldiers to the other side of the Frith,\nand send commissioners to St Andrew\u2019s with full powers to conclude\na formal treaty of peace.\n\nSeveral days elapsed without any person appearing on the part\nof the queen, and suspecting some new plan to entrap them, the\nProtestants, after concerting measures to expel the French garrison\nfrom Perth, wrote to her Majesty, complaining that the terms of the\nfirst treaty were still unfulfilled, and begging her to withdraw\nher troops from that city in conformity with its stipulations.\nTheir letters remaining unnoticed, they laid siege to Perth, which\nsurrendered, after a feeble resistance, on the 26th June, 1559.\n\nBeing informed that the Queen resolved to seize Stirling, and\ncut off the communication between the reformers on the opposite\nsides of the Frith, by a rapid march they frustrated her plans,\nand in three days, after they had made themselves masters of\nPerth, the victorious reformers entered Edinburgh. The Queen on\ntheir approach retired to Dunbar,--where she amused them with\nhopes of an accommodation, in the expectation of being joined\nwith reinforcements from France. Intelligence, in the meantime,\nwas received of the death of the French king, which, while it was\nfavourable to the cause of the reformers, rendered their leaders\nmore negligent and secure. Numbers of them left the city on their\nprivate affairs, their followers were obliged to disperse for\nwant of money, and those who did remain were without discipline\nor restraint. The Queen receiving advice of this, by means of her\nspies, marched with all the forces she could muster directly to\nEdinburgh, and possessed herself, on the 25th of July, of Leith.\nShe consented, however, to a truce, to continue till the 5th\nJanuary, 1560, by which liberty of conscience was secured; Popery\nwas not to be established again where it had been suppressed, the\nreformers were not to be hindered from preaching wherever they\nmight happen to be, and no garrison was to be stationed within the\ncity. These terms were preserved till she received the expected\nreinforcements, when she fortified Leith, from which all the\nefforts of the reformers were unable to dislodge her troops. A\nmutiny also breaking out among their soldiers for want of pay, and\nhaving been defeated in two skirmishes with the French troops,\nit was resolved, by a majority of the lords of the congregation,\nto retire to Stirling. This rash step was productive of great\nterror and confusion, and contrary to the advice of Knox; who,\nnotwithstanding, followed the fortunes of his friends, animating\nand reviving them by his discourses, and exhorting them to\nconstancy in the good cause.\n\nAt a meeting held shortly after their arrival at Stirling, it was\nresolved, to despatch William Maitland, who had lately deserted\nthe Queen\u2019s party to England, to implore the assistance of Queen\nElizabeth, and a treaty was at last concluded, by which a body of\ntroops was sent to their assistance. These being joined by most of\nthe Scottish nobility, a peace was established on the 8th July,\n1560, by which the reformed religion was fully established in\nScotland.\n\nOn the abolition of Popery, the form of church goverment\nestablishment in Scotland was, upon the model of the church at\nGeneva, warmly recommended to his countrymen by Knox, as being\nfarthest removed from all similarity to the Romish church; and\nat his suggestion, likewise, the country was divided into twelve\ndistricts, for the more effectually propagating the doctrines of\nthe Reformation, of which Edinburgh was assigned to his care. Knox,\nassisted by his brethren afterwards composed a confession of Faith,\nand compiled the first books of discipline for the government of\nthe church. These were ratified by a convention of Estates, held\nin the beginning of the following year (1571), and an act passed\nprohibiting mass and abolishing the authority of the Pope.\n\nOn the return of Mary, daughter of Mary of Guise, from France, and\nso well known afterwards throughout all Europe for her beauty,\nher accomplishments, and her misfortunes, after the death of\nher husband Francis II. the celebration of mass in the chapel\nroyal excited a great tumult, many crying out, \u201cThe idolatrous\npapist shall die the death, according to God\u2019s law;\u201d and John\nKnox, in a sermon preached the Sunday following after showing the\njudgments inflicted on nations for idolatry, added, \u201cone mass\nis more fearful to me than if ten thousand armed enemies were\nlanded in any part of the realm, of purpose to suppress the whole\nreligion.\u201d In consequence of this language he was sent for by the\nqueen, who accused him of endeavouring to excite her subjects to\nrebellion, of having written against her lawful authority, and\nof being the cause of great sedition. To this he answered, among\nother things, \u201cthat if to teach the word of God in sincerity, if\nto rebute idolatry, and to will a people to worship God according\nto his word, be to raise subjects against their princes, then\ncannot I be excused; for it hath pleased God in his mercy to make\nme one amongst many to disclose unto this realm the vanity of the\npapistical religion.--And touching that book, that seemeth so\nhighly to offend your majesty, it is most certain that if I wrote\nit I am content that all the learned of the land should judge of\nit. My hope is, that, so long as ye defile not your hands with the\nblood of the saints of God, that neither I nor that book shall\neither hurt you or your authority; for, in very deed, Madam, that\nbook was written most especially against that wicked Mary of\nEngland.\u201d To a question by the Queen, if subjects, having power,\nmay resist their princes? He boldly answered they might, \u201cif\nprinces do exceed their bounds.\u201d The following part of the dialogue\nwill give a good idea of the character of Knox, and the freedom\nof his speech: Speaking of the church, the Queen observed, \u201cbut\nye are not the church of Rome, for I think it is the true church\nof God.\u201d \u201cYour will, Madam,\u201d said he, \u201cis no reason; neither doth\nyour thought make that Roman harlot to be the immaculate spouse of\nJesus Christ. And wonder not, Madam, that I call Rome an harlot,\nfor that church is altogether polluted with all kinds of spiritual\nfornication, as well in doctrine as in matters.\u201d He had afterwards\ntwo other conferences with the queen, at the last of which she\nburst into tears, crying out, \u201cNever prince was used as I am.\u201d\n\nKnox\u2019s situation became very critical in April, 1571, when Kircaldy\nreceived the Hamiltons, with their forces, into the castle. Their\ninveteracy against him was so great, that his friends were obliged\nto watch his house during the night. They proposed forming a\nguard for the protection of his person when he went abroad; but\nthe governor of the castle forbade this, as implying a suspicion\nof him, and offered to send Melvil, one of his officers, to\nconduct him to and from church. \u201cHe wold gif the woulf the wedder\nto keip,\u201d says Bannatyne. Induced by the importunity of the\ncitizens, Kircaldy applied to the Duke and his party for a special\nprotection to Knox; but they refused to pledge their word for his\nsafety, because \u201cthere were many rascals and others among them who\nloved him not, that might do him harm without their knowledge.\u201d\nIntimations were often given him of threatenings against his\nlife; and one evening, a musket ball was fired in at his window,\nand lodged in the roof of the apartment in which he was sitting.\nIt happened that he sat at the time in a different part of the\nroom from that in which he had been accustomed to take his seat,\notherwise the ball, from its direction, must have struck him.\nAlarmed by these circumstances, a deputation of the citizens,\naccompanied by his colleague, waited upon him, and renewed a\nrequest which they had formerly made, that he would remove from\nEdinburgh, to a place where his life would be in greater safety,\nuntil the Queen\u2019s party should evacuate the town. But he refused to\nyield to them, apprehending that his enemies wished to intimidate\nhim into flight, that they might carry on their designs more\nquietly, and then accuse him of cowardice. Being unable to persuade\nhim by any other means, they at last had recourse to an argument\nwhich prevailed. Upon this he consented, \u201csore against his will,\u201d\nto remove from the city.\n\nIn May, 1571, at the desire of his friends, and for greater\nsecurity, he left that city for St Andrew\u2019s, where he remained\nuntil the August following. The cause that forced him to change\nhis residence having ceased to operate, at the express desire of\nhis congregation he again returned, but could not long continue\nto preside over it, on account of the exhausted state of his\nhealth; and on the 9th November, abmitted Mr James Lawson, formerly\nprofessor of philosophy at Aberdeen, to be his successor.\n\nFrom this time till the 24th of the same month, when he expired,\nabout eleven o\u2019clock at night, in the 67th year of his age; his\nprincipal employment was reading the Scriptures and conversing\nwith his friends; and over his remains, which were accompanied to\nthe churchyard by the Earl of Morton, the Regent, and a number of\nother noblemen, and people of all ranks, his lordship pronounced\nthe following eulogium: \u201cHere lies a man, who in his life never\nfeared the face of man; who hath been often threatened with dag and\ndagger, but yet hath ended his days in peace and honour.\u201d\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  HISTORY\n\n  OF THE LIFE & SUFFERINGS\n\n  OF THE\n\n  REV. JOHN WELCH,\n\n  SOMETIME MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT AYR.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nLIFE OF JOHN WELCH.\n\n\nMr. John Welch was born a gentleman, his father being laird of\nColieston, (an estate rather competent, than large, in the shire\nof Nithsdale) about the year 1570, the dawning of our reformation\nbeing then but dark. He was a rich example of grace and mercy, but\nthe night went before the day, being a most hopeless extravagant\nboy: it was not enough to him, frequently when he was a young\nstripling to run away from the school and play the truant; but\nafter he had passed his grammar, and was come to be a youth, he\nleft the school, and his father\u2019s house, and went and joined\nhimself to the thieves on the English border, who lived by robbing\nthe two nations, and amongst them he stayed till he spent a suit of\nclothes. Then he was clothed only with rags, the prodigal\u2019s misery\nbrought him to the prodigal\u2019s resolution, so he resolved to return\nto his father\u2019s house, but durst not adventure, till he should\ninterpose a reconciler. So in his return homeward, he took Dumfries\nin his way where he had an aunt, one Agnes Forsyth, and with her\nhe diverted some days, earnestly entreating her to reconcile him\nto his father. While he lurked in her house, his father came\nprovidentially to the house to salute his cousin, Mrs. Forsyth;\nand after they had talked a while, she asked him, whether he had\never heard any news of his son John; to her he replied with great\ngrief, O cruel woman, how can you name his name to me? The first\nnews I expect to hear of him, is, that he is hanged for a thief.\nShe answered, many a profligate boy had become a virtuous man,\nand comforted him. He insisted upon his sad complaint, but asked\nwhether she knew his lost son was yet alive. She answered, Yes, he\nwas, and she hoped he should prove a better man than he was a boy,\nand with that she called upon him to come to his father. He came\nweeping and kneeled, beseeching his father, for Christ\u2019s sake, to\npardon his misbehaviour, and deeply engaged to be a new man. His\nfather reproached him and threatened him. Yet, at length, by the\nboy\u2019s tears, and Mrs. Forsyth\u2019s importunities, he was persuaded to\na reconciliation. The boy entreated his father to send him to the\ncollege, and there to try his behaviour, and if ever thereafter\nhe should break, he said he should be content his father should\ndisclaim him for ever: so his father carried him home, and put\nhim to the college, and there he became a diligent student, of\ngreat expectation, and shewed himself a sincere convert, and so he\nproceeded to the ministry.\n\nHis first post in the ministry was at Selkirk, while he was yet\nvery young, and the country rude; while he was there, his ministry\nwas rather admired by some, than received by many; for he was\nalways attended by the prophet\u2019s shadow, the hatred of the wicked;\nyea, even the ministers of the country, were more ready to pick\na quarrel with his person, than to follow his doctrine, as may\nappear to this day in their synodical records, where we find he\nhad many to censure him, and only some to defend him; yet it was\nthought his ministry in that place was not without fruit, though\nhe stayed but a short time there. Being a young man unmarried, he\nlodged himself in the house of one Mitchelhill, and took a young\nboy of his to be his bed-fellow, who to his dying day retained both\na respect to Mr. Welch and his ministry, from the impressions Mr.\nWelch\u2019s behaviour made upon his mind though but a child.\n\nThe special cause of his leaving Selkirk, was a profane gentleman\nin the country (one Scot of Headschaw, whose family is now extinct)\nbut because Mr. Welch had either reproved him, or merely from\nhatred, Mr. Welch was most unworthily abused by the unhappy man,\namongst the rest of the injuries he did him, this was one, Mr.\nWelch kept always two good horses for his use, and the wicked\ngentleman when he could do no more, either with his own hand, or\nhis servants, cut off the rumps of the two innocent beasts, upon\nwhich followed such effusion of blood, that they both died, which\nMr. Welch did much resent, and such base usage as this persuaded\nhim to listen to a call to the ministry at Kirkcudbright, which was\nhis next post.\n\nBut when he was about to leave Selkirk, he could not find a man in\nall the town to transport his furniture, except one Ewart, who was\nat that time a poor young man, but master of two horses, with which\nhe transported Mr. Welch\u2019s goods, and so left him, but as he took\nhis leave, Mr. Welch gave him his blessing, and a piece of gold for\na token, exhorting him to fear God, and promised he should never\nwant, which promise, providence made good through the whole course\nof his life, as was observed by all his neighbours.\n\nAt Kirkcudbright he stayed not long; but there he reaped a harvest\nof converts, which subsisted long after his departure, and were\na part of Mr. Samuel Rutherfoord\u2019s flock, though not his parish,\nwhile he was minister at Anwith: yet when his call to Ayr came to\nhim, the people of the parish of Kirkcudbright never offered to\ndetain him, so his transportation to Ayr was the more easy.\n\nMr. Welch was transported to Ayr in the year 1590, and there he\ncontinued till he was banished, there he had a very hard beginning,\nbut a good ending; for when he came first to the town, the country\nwas so wicked, and the hatred of godliness so great, that there\ncould not be found one in all the town, that would let him a house\nto dwell in, so he was constrained to accommodate himself in the\nbest he might, in a part of a gentleman\u2019s house for a time, the\ngentleman\u2019s name was John Stewart, he was an eminent Christian, and\na great assistant of Mr. Welch.\n\nAnd when he had first taken up his residence in that town, the\nplace was so divided into factions, and filled with bloody\nconflicts, a man could hardly walk the streets with safety;\nwherefore Mr. Welch made it his first undertaking to remove the\nbloody quarrelings, but he found it a very difficult work; yet such\nwas his earnestness to pursue his design, that many times he would\nrush betwixt two parties of men fighting, even in the midst of\nblood and wounds.\n\nHis manner was, after he had ended a skirmish amongst his\nneighbours, and reconciled these bitter enemies, to cause them\nto cover a table upon the street, and there brought the enemies\ntogether, and begining with prayer he persuaded them to protest\nthemselves friends, and then to eat and drink together, then last\nof all, he ended the work with singing a psalm: after the rude\npeople began to observe his example, and listen to his heavenly\ndoctrine, he came quickly to that respect amongst them that he\nbecame not only a necessary counsellor, without whose counsel they\nwould do nothing, but an example to imitate, and so he buried the\nbloody quarrels.\n\nHe gave himself wholly to ministerial exercises, he preached once\nevery day, he prayed the third part of his time, was unwearied\nin his studies, and for a proof of this, it was found among his\npapers, that he had abridged Suarez\u2019s metaphysics, when they came\nfirst to his hand, even when he was well stricken in years. By\nall which, it appears, that he has not only been a man of great\ndiligence but also of a strong and robust natural constitution,\notherwise he had never endured the fatigue.\n\nBut if his diligence was great, so it is doubted whether his sowing\nin painfulness, or his harvest in his success was greatest; for\nif either his spiritual experiences in seeking the Lord, or his\nfruitfulness in converting souls be considered, they will be found\nunparalleled in Scotland: and many years after Mr. Welch\u2019s death,\nMr. David Dickson, at that time a flourishing minister at Irvine,\nwas frequently heard to say, when people talked to him of the\nsuccess of his ministry, that the grape gleanings in Ayr, in Mr.\nWelch\u2019s time, were far above the vintage of Irvine, in his own. Mr.\nWelch, in his preaching, was spiritual and searching, his utterance\ntender and moving; he did not much insist upon scholastic purposes,\nhe made no shew of his learning. I once heard one of his hearers\nsay, That no man could hear him and forbear weeping, his conveyance\nwas so affecting. There is a large volume of his sermons, now in\nScotland, wherein he makes it appear, his learning was not behind\nhis other virtues: this also appears in another piece, called Dr.\nWelch\u2019s Armagaddon, printed, I suppose, in France, wherein he\ngives his meditation upon the enemies of the church, and their\ndestruction; but the piece itself is rarely to be found.\n\nSometimes before he went to sermon, he would send for his elders,\nand tell them, he was afraid to go to pulpit because he found\nhimself sore deserted; and thereafter desire one or more to pray,\nand then he would venture to pulpit. But, it was observed, this\nhumbling exercise used ordinarily to be followed, with a flame\nof extraordinary assistance: so near neighbours are many times\ncontrary dispositions and frames. He would many times retire to\nthe church of Ayr, which was at some distance from the town, and\nthere spend the whole night in prayer: for he used to allow his\naffections full expression, and prayed not only with audible, but\nsometimes, loud voice, nor did he irk, in that solitude, all the\nnight over, which hath, it may be, occasioned the contemptible\nslander of some malicious enemies, who were so bold as to call him\nno less than a witch.\n\nThere was in Ayr, before he came to it, an aged man a minister\nof the town, called Porterfield, the man was judged no bad man,\nfor his personal inclinations, but so easy a disposition, that he\nused many times to go too great a length with his neighbours in\nmany dangerous practices; and amongst the rest, he used to go to\nthe bow-butts and archery, on Sabbath afternoon, to Mr. Welch\u2019s\ngreat dissatisfaction. But the way he used to reclaim him, was not\nbitter severity, but this gentle policy; Mr. Welch together with\nJohn Stewart, and Hugh Kennedy, his two intimate friends, used to\nspend the Sabbath afternoon in religious conference and prayer, and\nto this exercise they invited Mr. Porterfield, which he could not\nrefuse, by which means he was not only diverted from his former\nsinful practice, but likewise brought to a more watchful, and\nedifying behaviour in his course of life.\n\nHe married Elizabeth Knox, daughter to the famous Mr. John Knox,\nminister at Edinburgh, the apostle of Scotland, and she lived with\nhim from his youth till his death. By her I have heard he had three\nsons: the first was called Dr. Welch, a doctor of medicine, who\nwas killed in the low countries, and of him I never heard more.\nAnother son he had most lamentably lost at sea, for when the ship\nin which he was embarked was sunk, he swam to a rock in the sea,\nbut starved there for want of necessary food and refreshment, and\nwhen sometime afterward his body was found upon the rock, they\nfound him dead in a praying posture upon his bended knees, with\nhis hands stretched out, and this was all the satisfaction his\nfriends and the world had upon his lamentable death, so bitter\nto his friends. Another he had who was heir to his father\u2019s\ngrace and blessings, and this was Mr. Josias Welch, minister at\nTemple-Patrick in the north of Ireland, commonly called the Cock\nof the Conscience by the people of that country, because of his\nextraordinary wakening and rousing gift: he was one of that blest\nsociety of ministers, which wrought that unparalleled work in the\nnorth of Ireland, about the year 1636, but was himself a man most\nsadly exercised with doubts about his own salvation all his time,\nand would ordinarily say, That ministers was much to be pitied,\nwho was called to comfort weak saints and had no comfort himself.\nHe died in his youth, and left for his successor, Mr. John Welch\nminister at Iron-Gray in Galloway, the place of his grandfather\u2019s\nnativity. What business this made in Scotland, in the time of the\nlate Episcopal persecution, for the space of twenty years, is known\nto all Scotland. He maintained his dangerous post of preaching\nthe gospel upon the mountains of Scotland, notwithstanding of the\nthreatnings of the state, the hatred of the bishops, the price set\nupon his head, and all the fierce industry of his cruel enemies.\nIt is well known that bloody Claverhouse upon secret information\nfrom his spies, that Mr. John Welch was to be found at some lurking\nplace at forty miles distance, would make all that long journey\nin one winter\u2019s night, that he might catch him, but when he came\nhe always missed his prey. I never heard of a man that endured\nmore toil, adventured upon more hazards, escaped so much hazard,\nnot in the world. He used to tell his friends who counselled him\nto be more cautious, and not to hazard himself so much, That he\nfirmly believed dangerous undertakings would be his security, and\nwhen ever he should give over that course and retire himself, his\nministry should come to an end; which accordingly came to pass, for\nwhen after Bothwell bridge, he retired to London, the Lord called\nhim by death, and there he was honourably buried, not far from the\nking\u2019s palace.\n\nBut to return to our old Mr. Welch; as the duty wherein he abounded\nand excelled most was prayer, so his greatest attainments fell that\nway. He used to say, He wondered how a Christian could lie in bed\nall night, and not rise to pray, and many times he watched. One\nnight he rose from his wife, and went into the next room, where\nhe stayed so long at secret prayer, that his wife fearing he\nmight catch cold, was constrained to rise and follow him, and as\nshe hearkened, she heard him speak as by interrupted sentences,\nLord wilt thou not grant me Scotland, and after a pause, Enough,\nLord, enough, and so she returned to her bed, and he following\nher, not knowing she had heard him, but when he was by her, she\nasked him what he meant by saying, Enough, Lord, enough. He shewed\nhimself dissatisfied with her curiosity, but told her, he had been\nwrestling with the Lord for Scotland, and found there was a sad\ntime at hand, but that the Lord would be gracious to a remnant.\nThis was about the time when bishops first overspread the land,\nand corrupted the church. This was more wonderful I am to relate,\nI heard once an honest minister, who was a parishioner of Mr.\nWelch many a day, say, \u2018That one night as he watched in his garden\nvery late, and some friends waiting upon him in his house and\nwearying because of his long stay, one of them chanced to open a\nwindow toward the place where he walked, and saw clearly a strange\nlight surrounding him, and heard him speak strange words about his\nspiritual joy,\u2019 I do neither add nor alter, I am the more induced\nto believe this that I have heard from as good a hand as any in\nScotland, that a very godly man, though not a minister, after he\nhad spent a whole night in a country house, in the muir, declared\nconfidently, he saw such an extraordinary light as this himself,\nwhich was to him both matter of wonder and astonishment. But though\nMr. Welch had upon the account of his holiness, abilities, and\nsuccess, acquired among his subdued people, a very great respect,\nyet was he never in such admiration, as after the great plague\nwhich raged in Scotland in his time.\n\nAnd one cause was this: The magistrates of Ayr, forasmuch as this\ntown alone was free, and the country about infected, thought\nfit to guard the ports with sentinels, and watchmen; and one\nday two travelling merchants, each with a pack of cloth upon a\nhorse, came to the town desiring entrance that they might sell\ntheir goods producing a pass from the magistrates of the town\nwhence they came which was at that time sound and free; yet not\nwithstanding all this the sentinels stopt them till the magistrates\nwere called; and when they came, they would do nothing without\ntheir minister\u2019s advice: so Mr. Welch was called, and his opinion\nasked; he demurred, and putting off his hat with his eyes toward\nheaven for a pretty space, though he uttered no audible words,\nyet continued in a praying gesture: and after a little space told\nthe magistrates they would do well to discharge these travellers\ntheir town, affirming with great asseveration, the plague was in\ntheir packs, so the magistrates commanded them to be gone, and\nthey went to Cumnock, a town some twenty miles distant, and there\nsold their goods, which kindled such an infection in that place,\nthat the living were hardly able to bury their dead. This made the\npeople begin to think Mr. Welch as an oracle. Yet as he walked\nwith God, and kept close with him, so he forgot not man, for he\nused frequently to dine abroad with such of his friends, as he\nthought were persons with whom he might maintain the communion of\nthe saints; and once in the year he used always to invite all his\nfamiliars in the town to a treat in his house, where there was a\nbanquet of holiness and sobriety.\n\nAnd now the scene of his life begins for to alter; but before his\nblessed sufferings, he had this strange warning.\n\nOne night he rose from his wife, and went into garden, as his\ncustom was, but stayed longer than ordinary, which troubled his\nwife, who, when he returned, expostulated with him very hard, for\nhis staying so long to wrong his health; he bid her be quiet, for\nit should be well with them. But he knew well, he should never\npreach more at Ayr; and accordingly before the next Sabbath, he was\ncarried prisoner to Blackness castle. After that, he, with many\nothers were brought before the council of Scotland, at Edinburgh,\nto answer for their rebellion and contempt, in holding a general\nassembly, not authorised by the king. And because they declined the\nsecret council, as judges competent in causes purely spiritual,\nsuch as the nature and constitution of a general assembly is,\nthey were first remitted to the prison at Blackness, and other\nplaces. And thereafter, six of the most considerable of them,\nwere brought under night from Blackness to Linlithgow before the\ncriminal judges, to answer an accusation of high treason, at the\ninstance of Sir Thomas Hamilton, king\u2019s advocate, for declining,\nas he alledged, the king\u2019s lawful authority, in refusing to admit\nthe council judges competent in the cause of the nature of church\njudicatories; and after their accusation, and answer was read, by\nthe verdict of a jury of very considerable gentlemen, condemned as\nguilty of high treason, the punishment continued till the king\u2019s\npleasure should be known, and thereafter their punishment was made\nbanishment, that the cruel sentence might someway seem to soften\ntheir severe punishment as the king had contrived it.\n\nBut before he left Scotland, some remarkable passages in his\nbehaviour are to be remembered. And first when the dispute about\nchurch-government began to warm; as he was walking upon the street\nof Edinburgh, betwixt two honest citizens, he told them, they had\nin their town two great ministers, who were no great friends to\nChrist\u2019s cause, presently in controversy, but it should be seen,\nthe world should never hear of their repentance. The two men were\nMr. Patrick Galloway, and Mr. John Hall; and accordingly it came to\npass, for Mr. Patrick Galloway died easing himself upon his stool;\nand Mr. John Hall, being at that time in Leith, and his servant\nwoman having left him alone in his house while she went to the\nmarket, he was found dead all alone at her return.\n\nHe was sometime prisoner in Edinburgh castle before he went into\nexile, where one night sitting at supper with the lord Ochiltry,\nwho was an uncle to Mr. Welch\u2019s wife, as his manner was, he\nentertained the company with godly and edifying discourse, which\nwas well received by all the company save only one debauched popish\nyoung gentleman, who sometimes laughed, and sometimes mocked and\nmade faces; whereupon Mr. Welch brake out into a sad abrupt charge\nupon all the company to be silent, and observe the work of the Lord\nupon that prophane mocker, which they should presently behold;\nupon which immediately the prophane wretch sunk down and died\nbeneath the table, but never returned to life again, to the great\nastonishment of all the company.\n\nAnother wonderful story they tell of him at the same time; the lord\nOchiltry the captain, being both sons to the good lord Ochiltry,\nand Mr. Welch\u2019s uncle in law, was indeed very civil to Mr. Welch,\nbut being for a long time, through the multitude of affairs, kept\nfrom visiting Mr. Welch in his chamber, as he was one day walking\nin the court, and espying Mr. Welch at his chamber window asked\nhim kindly how he did, and if in any thing he could serve him.\nMr. Welch answered him, He would earnestly entreat his lordship,\nbeing at that time to go to court, to petition king James in his\nname, that he might have liberty to preach the gospel; which my\nlord promised to do. Mr. Welch answered, my lord, both because you\nare my kinsman, and other reasons, I would earnestly entreat, and\nobtest you not to promise except you faithfully perform. My lord\nanswered, He would faithfully perform his promise; and so went for\nLondon. But though at his first arrival he was really purposed to\npresent the petition to the king, but when he found the king in\nsuch a rage against the godly ministers, that he durst not at that\ntime present it, so he thought fit to delay it, and thereafter\nfully forgot it.\n\nThe first time that Mr. Welch saw his face after his return from\ncourt, he asked him what he had done with his petition. My lord\nanswered he, had presented it to the king, but that the king was\nin so great a rage against the ministers at that time, he believed\nit had been forgotten, for he had gotten no answer. Nay said Mr.\nWelch to him, My lord you should not lye to God, and to me, for I\nknow you never delivered it, though I warned you to take heed not\nto undertake it, except you would perform it; but because you have\ndealt so unfaithfully, remember God shall take from you both estate\nand honours, and give them to your neighbour in your own time:\nwhich accordingly came to pass, both his estate and honours were in\nhis own time transmitted to James Stewart son to captain James,\nwho was indeed a cadet, but not the lineal heir of the family.\n\nWhile he was detained prisoner in Edinburgh castle, his wife used\nfor the most part to stay in his company, but upon a time fell into\na longing to see her family in Ayr, to which with some difficulty\nhe yielded; but when she was to take her journey, he strictly\ncharged her not to take the ordinary way to her own house, when\nshe came to Ayr, nor to pass by the bridge through the town, but\nto pass the river above the bridge, and so get the way to her own\nhouse, and not to come into the town, for, said he, before you\ncome thither, you shall find the plague broken out in Ayr, which\naccordingly came to pass.\n\nThe plague was at that time very terrible, and he being necessarily\nseparate from his people, it was to him the more grievous; but when\nthe people of Ayr came to him to bemoan themselves, his answer was,\nthat Hugh Kennedy, a godly gentleman in their town, should pray\nfor them, and God should hear him. This counsel they accepted, and\nthe gentleman convening a number of the honest citizens, prayed\nfervently for the town, as he was a mighty wrestler with God, and\naccordingly after that the plague decreased.\n\nNow the time is come he must leave Scotland, and never to see it\nagain, so upon the seventh of November 1606 in the morning, he\nwith his neighbours took ship at Leith, and though it was but two\no\u2019clock in the morning, many were waiting on with their afflicted\nfamilies, to bid them farewell. After prayer, they sung the xxiii\npsalm, and so set sail for the south of France, and landed in the\nriver of Bourdeaux. Within fourteen weeks after his arrival, such\nwas the Lord\u2019s blessing upon his diligence, he was able to preach\nin French, and accordingly was speedily called to the ministry,\nfirst in one village, then in another; one of them was Nerac, and\nthereafter settled in Saint Jean d\u2019 Angely, a considerable walled\ntown, and there he continued the rest of the time he sojourned in\nFrance, which was about sixteen years. When he began to preach, it\nwas observed by some of his hearers, that while he continued in the\ndoctrinal part of his sermon, he spoke very correct French, but\nwhen he came to his application and when his affections kindled,\nhis fervour made him sometimes neglect the accuracy of the French\nconstruction: but there were godly young men who admonished him of\nthis, which he took in very good part, so for preventing mistakes\nof that kind, he desired the young gentlemen, when they perceived\nhim beginning to decline, to give him a sign, and the sign was,\nthat they were both to stand up upon their feet, and thereafter\nhe was more exact in his expression through his whole sermon; so\ndesirous was he, not only to deliver good matter, but to recommend\nit in the neat expression.\n\nThere were many times persons of great quality in his auditory,\nbefore whom he was just as bold as ever he had been in a Scots\nvillage; which moved Mr. Boyd of Trochrig once to ask him, (after\nhe had preached before the university of Samure with such boldness\nand authority, as if he had been before the meanest congregation)\nhow he could be so confident among strangers, and persons of such\nquality! to which he answered, That he was so filled with the dread\nof God, he had no apprehension from man at all; and this answer,\nsaid Mr. Boyd, did not remove my admiration, but rather increased\nit.\n\nThere was in his house amongst many others, who tabled with him for\ngood education, a young gentleman of great quality, and suitable\nexpectations, and this was the heir of the lord Ochiltry, who was\ncaptain of the castle of Edinburgh. This young nobleman, after he\nhad gained very much upon Mr. Welch\u2019s affections, fell sick of\na grievous sickness, and after he had been long wasted with it,\nclosed his eyes, and expired as dying men used to do, so to the\napprehension and sense of all spectators, he was no more but a\ncarcase, and was therefore taken out of his bed, and laid upon a\npallat on the floor, that his body might be the more conveniently\ndressed, as dead bodies used to be. This was to Mr. Welch a very\ngreat grief, and therefore he stayed with the young man\u2019s dead\nbody full three hours, lamenting over him with great tenderness.\nAfter twelve hours, the friends brought in a coffin, whereunto\nthey desired the corps to be put, as the custom is: but Mr. Welch\ndesired, that for the satisfaction of his affections, they would\nforbear the youth for a time, which they granted, and returned not\ntill twenty four hours, after his death, were expired; then they\nreturned, with great importunity the corps might be coffined, that\nit might be speedily buried, the weather being extremely hot; yet\nhe persisted in his request, earnestly begging them to excuse him\nfor once more; so they left the youth upon his pallat for full\nthirty six hours: but even after all that, though he was urged, not\nonly with great earnestness, but displeasure, they were constrained\nto forbear for twelve hours yet more; and after forty eight hours\nwere past, Mr. Welch was still where he was, and then his friends\nperceived that he believed the young man was not really dead, but\nunder some apoplectic fit, and therefore proponed to him for his\nsatisfaction, that trial should be made upon his body by doctors\nand chirurgeons, if possibly any spark of life might be found in\nhim, and with this he was content: so the physicians are set on\nwork, who pinched him with pincers in the fleshy parts of his body,\nand twisted a bow string about his head with great force, but no\nsign of life appearing in him, so the physicians pronounced him\nstark dead, and then there was no more delay to be desired; yet Mr.\nWelch begged of them once more, that they would but step into the\nnext room for an hour or two, and leave him with the dead youth,\nand this they granted: Then Mr. Welch fell down before the pallat,\nand cried to the Lord with all his might, for the last time and\nsometimes looked upon the dead body, continuing in wrestling with\nthe Lord till at length the dead youth opened his eyes, and cried\nout to Mr. Welch whom he distinctly knew, O Sir, I am all whole,\nbut my head and legs: and these were the places they had sore hurt,\nwith their pinching.\n\nWhen Mr. Welch perceived this, he called upon his friends, and\nshewed them the dead young man restored to life again, to their\ngreat astonishment. And this young nobleman, though he lost the\nestate of Ochiltry, lived to acquire a great estate in Ireland, and\nwas lord Castlestewart, and a man of such excellent parts, that he\nwas courted by the earl of Stafford to be a counsellor in Ireland,\nwhich he refused to be, and then he engaged, and continued for all\nhis life, not only in honour and power, but in the profession and\npractice of godliness, to the great comfort of the country where\nhe lived. This story the nobleman communicated to his friends in\nIreland, and from them I had it.\n\nWhile Mr. Welch was minister in one of these French villages, upon\nan evening a certain popish friar travelling through the country,\nbecause he could not find lodging in the whole village, addressed\nhimself to Mr. Welch\u2019s house for one night. The servants acquainted\ntheir master and he was content to receive this guest. The family\nhad supped before he came, and so the servants convoyed the friar\nto his chamber, and after they had made his supper, they left him\nto his rest. There was but a timber partition betwixt him and\nMr. Welch, and after the friar had slept his first sleep, he was\nsurprized with the hearing of a silent, but constant whispering\nnoise, at which he wondered very much, and was not a little\ntroubled with it.\n\nThe next morning he walked in the fields, where he chanced to meet\nwith a country man, who saluting him because of his habit, asked\nhim where he lodged that night? The friar answered he had lodged\nwith the hugenot minister. Then the country man asked him what\nentertainment he had? The friar answered, Very bad; for, said he,\nI always held there were devils haunting these ministers houses,\nand I am persuaded there was one with me this night, for I heard a\ncontinual whisper all the night over, which I believe was no other\nthing, than the minister and the devil conversing together. The\ncountry man told him, he was much mistaken, and that it was nothing\nelse, but the minister at his night prayer. O, said the friar, does\nthe minister pray any? Yes, more than any man in France, answered\nthe country man, and if you please to stay another night with him\nyou may be satisfied. The friar got home to Mr. Welch\u2019s house, and\npretending indisposition, entreated another night\u2019s lodging, which\nwas granted him.\n\nBefore dinner, Mr. Welch come from his chamber, and made his family\nexercise, according to his custom. And first he sung a psalm, then\nread a portion of scripture, and discoursed upon it, thereafter\nhe prayed with great fervour, as his custom was, to all which the\nfriar was an astonished witness. After the exercise they went to\ndinner, where the friar was very civilly entertained, Mr. Welch,\nforbearing all questions and dispute with him for the time; when\nthe evening came, Mr. Welch made his exercise as he had done in\nthe morning, which occasioned yet more wondering in the friar, and\nafter supper to bed they all went; but the friar longed much to\nknow what the night whisper was, and in that he was soon satisfied,\nfor after Mr. Welch\u2019s first sleep, the noise began, and then the\nfriar resolved to be sure what it was, so he crept silently to\nMr. Welch\u2019s chamber-door, and there he heard not only the sound,\nbut the words distinctly, and communications betwixt man and God,\nand such as he knew not had been in the world. Upon the next\nmorning, as soon as Mr. Welch was ready, the friar went to him,\nand told him, that he had been bred in ignorance, and lived in\ndarkness all his time, but now he was resolved to adventure his\nsoul with Mr. Welch, and thereupon declared himself Protestant:\nMr. Welch welcomed him and encouraged him, and he continued a\nconstant protestant to his dying day. This story I had from a godly\nminister, who was bred in Mr. Welch\u2019s house, when in France.\n\nWhen Lewis XIII. king of France, made war upon the Protestants\nthere, because of their religion, the city of St. Jean d\u2019 Angely,\nwas by him and his royal army besieged, and brought into extreme\ndanger, Mr. Welch was minister in the town, and mightily\nencouraged the citizens to hold out, assuring them, God should\ndeliver them. In the time of the siege a cannon ball pierced\nthe bed where he was lying, upon which he got up, but would not\nleave the room, till he had by solemn prayer acknowledged his\ndeliverance. During the siege, the townsmen made stout defence,\nuntil one of the king\u2019s gunners planted a great gun so conveniently\nupon a rising ground, that therewith he could command the whole\nwall, upon which the townsmen made their greatest defence. Upon\nthis they were constrained to forsake the whole wall in great\nterror, and though they had several guns planted upon the wall,\nno man durst undertake to manage them. This being told Mr. Welch\nwith great affrightment, he notwithstanding encouraged them still\nto hold out, and running to the wall himself, found the cannonier,\nwho was a Burgundian, near the wall, him he entreated to mount the\nwall, promising to assist him in person, so to the wall they got.\nThe cannonier told Mr. Welch, that either they behoved to dismount\nthe gun upon the rising ground, or else they were surely lost; Mr.\nWelch desired him to aim well, and he should serve him, and God\nwould help him; so the gunner falls a scouring his piece, and Mr.\nWelch runs to the powder to fetch him a charge; but as soon as he\nwas returning, the king\u2019s gunner fired his piece, which carried\nboth the powder and ladle out of Mr. Welch\u2019s hands, which yet did\nnot discourage him, for having left the ladle, he filled his hat\nwith powder, wherewith the gunner loaded his piece, and dismounted\nthe king\u2019s gun at the first shot, so the citizens returned to their\npost of defence.\n\nThis discouraged the king so, that he sent to the citizens to offer\nthem fair conditions, which were, That they should enjoy the\nliberty of their religion, their civil privileges, and their walls\nshould not be demolished: only the king desired for his honours\nthat he might enter the city with his servants in a friendly\nmanner. This the city thought fit to grant, and the king with a few\nmore entered the city for a short time.\n\nBut within a short time thereafter the war was renewed, and then\nMr. Welch told the inhabitants of the city, that now their cup was\nfull, and they should no more escape; which accordingly came to\npass, for the king took the town, and as soon as ever it fell into\nhis hand, he commanded Vitry, the captain of his guard, to enter\nthe town, and preserve his minister from all danger; and then were\nhorses and waggons provided for Mr. Welch, to remove him and his\nfamily for Rochel, where he remained till he obtained liberty to\ncome to England, and his friends made hard suit, that he might be\npermitted to return to Scotland; because the physicians declared\nthere was no other way to preserve his life, but by the freedom he\nmight have in his native air. But to this king James would never\nyield, protesting he should never be able to establish his beloved\nbishops in Scotland, if Mr. Welch were permitted to return thither;\nso he languished at London a considerable time, his disease was\njudged by some to have a tendency to a sort of leprosy; physicians\nsay he had been poisoned; a langour he had, together with a great\nweakness in his knees, caused by his continual kneeling at prayer:\nby which it came to pass, that though he was able to move his\nknees, and to walk, yet he was wholly insensible in them, and the\nflesh became hard like a sort of horn. But when in the time of\nhis weakness, he was desired to remit somewhat of his excessive\npainfulness, his answer was, He had his life of God, and therefore\nit should be spent for him.\n\nHis friends importuned king James very much, that if he might not\nreturn to Scotland, at least he might have liberty to preach at\nLondon, which king James would never grant, till he heard all hopes\nof life were past, and then he allowed him liberty to preach, not\nfearing his activity.\n\nThen as soon as ever he heard he might preach, he greedily embraced\nthis liberty, and having access to a lecturer\u2019s pulpit, he went and\npreached both long and fervently: which was the last performance\nof his life; for after he had ended his sermon, he returned to his\nchamber, and within two hours quietly and without pain, he resigned\nhis spirit into his Maker\u2019s hands, and was buried near Mr. Deering,\nthe famous English divine, after he had lived little more than\nfifty-two years.\n\n\nFINIS\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  LIFE\n\n  AND\n\n  PROPHECIES,\n\n  OF\n\n  ALEXANDER PEDEN\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW;\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nLIFE AND PROPHECIES\n\nOF\n\nALEXANDER PEDEN.\n\n\nThat most excellent minister of the gospel, and faithful defender\nof the Presbyterian Religion, MR. ALEXANDER PEDEN, was born in the\nparish of Sorn, near Ayr. After his course at the College, he was\nsometime school-master, precentor, and session-clerk to Mr. John\nGuthrie, minister of the gospel at Tarbolton. When he was about to\nenter on the ministry, a young woman fell with child, in adultery,\nto a servant in the house where she stayed; when she found herself\nto be so, she told the father thereof, who said, I\u2019ll run for it,\nand go to Ireland, father it upon Mr. Peden, he has more to help\nyou to bring it up (he having a small heritage) than I have. The\nsame day that he was to get his licence, she came in before the\nPresbytery and said, I hear you are to licence Mr. Peden, to be\na minister; but do it not, for I am with child to him. He being\nwithout at the time, was called in by the moderator; and being\nquestioned about it, he said, I am utterly surprised, I cannot\nspeak; but let none entertain an ill thought of me, for I am\nutterly free of it, and God will vindicate me in his own time and\nway. He went home, and walked at a water-side upwards of 24 hours,\nand would neither eat nor drink, but said, I have got what I was\nseeking, and I will be vindicated, and that poor unhappy lass will\npay dear for it in her life, and will make a dismal end; and for\nthis surfeit of grief that she hath given me, there shall never one\nof her sex come into my bosom; and, accordingly he never married.\nThere are various reports of the way that he was vindicated; some\nsay, the time she was in child-birth, Mr. Guthrie charged her to\ngive account who was the father of that child, and discharged the\nwomen to be helpful to her, until she did it: some say, that she\nconfessed: others, that she remained obstinate. Some of the people\nwhen I made enquiry about it in that country-side, affirmed, that\nthe Presbytery had been at all pains about it, and could get no\nsatisfaction, they appointed Mr. Guthrie to give a full relation of\nthe whole before the congregation, which he did; and the same day\nthe father of the child being present, when he heard Mr. Guthrie\nbegin to speak, he stood up, and desired him to halt, and said, I\nam the father of that child, and I desired her to father it on\nMr. Peden, which has been a great trouble of conscience to me; and\nI could not get rest till I came home to declare it. However it\nis certain, that after she was married, every thing went cross to\nthem; and they went from place to place, and were reduced to great\npoverty. At last she came to that same spot of ground where he\nstayed upwards of 24 hours, and made away with herself!\n\n2. After this he was three years settled minister at New Glenluce\nin Galloway; and when he was obliged, by the violence and tyranny\nof that time, to leave that parish, he lectured upon Acts xx. 17.\nto the end, and preached upon the 31st. verse in the forenoon,\n\u2018Therefore watch, and remember that for the space of three years I\nceased not to warn every one, night and day, with tears:\u2019 Asserting\nthat he had declared the whole counsel of God, and had kept nothing\nback and protested that he was free of the blood of all souls. And,\nin the afternoon he preached on the 32d verse, \u2018And now, brethren,\nI commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able\nto build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them that\nare sanctified.\u2019 Which was a weeping day in that kirk; the greatest\npart could not contain themselves. He many times requested them to\nbe silent; but they sorrowed most of all when he told them that\nthey should never see his face in that pulpit again. He continued\nuntil night; and when he closed the pulpit-door he knocked hard\nupon it three times with his Bible, saying three times over, I\narrest in my Master\u2019s name, that never one enter there, but such\nas come in by the door, as I did. Accordingly, neither curate\nnor indulged minister ever entered that pulpit, until after the\nrevolution, that a Presbyterian minister opened it.\n\n3. After this he joined with that honest and zealous handful in the\nyear 1666, that was broken at Pentland-hills, and came the length\nof Clyde with them, where he had a melancholy view of their end,\nand parted with them there. James Cubison, of Paluchbeaties, my\ninformer, to whom he told this, he said to him, \u2018Sir, you did well\nthat parted with them, seeing you was persuaded they would fall and\nflee before the enemy.--Glory glory to God, that he sent me not\nto hell immediately! for I should have stayed with them though I\nshould have been cut all in pieces.\u2019\n\n4. That night the Lord\u2019s people fell, and fled before the enemy at\nPentland-hills, he was in a friend\u2019s house in Carrick, sixty miles\nfrom Edinburgh; his landlord seeing him mightily troubled enquired\nhow it was with him; he said, \u2018To-morrow I will speak with you,\u2019\nand desired some candle. That night he went to bed. The next\nmorning calling early to his landlord, said, \u2018I have sad news to\ntell you, our friends that were together in arms, appearing for\nChrist\u2019s interest, are now broken, killed, taken, and fled every\nman.\u2019--the truth of which was fully verified in about 48 hours\nthereafter.\n\n5. After this, in June 1673, he was taken by Major Cockburn, in the\nhouse of Hugh Ferguson, of Knockdow, in Carrick, who constrained\nhim to tarry all night. Mr. Peden told him that it would be a dear\nnight to them both. Accordingly they were both carried prisoners\nto Edinburgh, Hugh Ferguson was fined in a thousand merks, for\nresetting, harbouring, and conversing with him. The Council ordered\nfifty pounds sterling to be paid to the Major out of the fines,\nand ordained him to divide twenty-five pounds sterling among the\nparty that apprehended him. Some time after examination he was sent\nprisoner to the Bass, where, and at Edinburgh, he remained until\nDecember, 1668, that he was banished.\n\n6. While prisoner in the Bass, one Sabbath-morning being about\nthe public worship of God, a young lass, about 13 or 14 years of\nage, came to the chamber-door mocking with loud laughter: He said,\n\u2018Poor thing, thou mocks and laughs at the worship of God, but ere\nlong God shall write such a sudden, surprising judgment on thee,\nthat shall stay thy laughing, and thou shalt not escape it.\u2019 Very\nshortly after, she was walking upon the rock, and there came a\nblast of wind and sweeped her into the sea, where she perished.\nWhile prisoner there, one day walking upon the rock, some soldiers\npassing by him, one of them said, Devil take him. He said, \u2018Fy,\nfy, poor man, thou knowest not what thou art saying; but thou wilt\nrepent that.\u2019--At which word the soldier stood astonished, and\nwent to the guard distracted, crying aloud for Mr. Peden, saying,\nthe devil would immediately take him away. He came to him again,\nand found him in his right mind under deep convictions of great\nguilt. The guard being to change, they desired him to go to his\narms; he refused, and said, he would lift no arms against Jesus\nChrist his cause, and persecute his people, he had done that too\nlong. The governor threatened him with death, to-morrow about ten\nof the clock; he confidently said, three times, though he should\ntear all his body in pieces, he should never lift arms that way.\nAbout three days after, the governor put him out of the garrison,\nsetting him ashore. He having a wife and children, took a house in\nEast Lothian, where he became a singular Christian. Mr. Peden told\nthese astonishing passages to the foresaid John Cubison and others,\nwho informed me.\n\n7. When brought from the Bass to Edinburgh and sentence of\nbanishment passed upon him, in Dec. 1678. and sixty more\nfellow-prisoners, for the same cause, to go to America, never to\nbe seen in Scotland again, under the pain of death; after this\nsentence was past, he several times said, that the ship was not\nyet built that should take him and these prisoners to Virginia; or\nany other of the English plantations in America.--One James Kay, a\nsolid and grave Christian, being one of them, who lives in or about\nthe Water of Leith, told me, that Mr. Peden said to him, \u2018James,\nwhen your wife comes in, let me see her;\u2019 which he did.--After some\ndiscourse, he called for a drink, and when he sought a blessing, he\nsaid. \u2018Good Lord, let not James Kay\u2019s wife miss her husband, till\nthou return him to her in peace and safety; which we are sure will\nbe sooner than either he or she is looking for.\u2019 Accordingly, the\nsame day-month that he parted with her at Leith, he came home to\nher at the Water of Leith.\n\n8. When they were on shipboard at the Water of Leith, there was a\nreport that the enemies were to send down thumbkins to keep them\nfrom rebelling; at the report of this, they were discouraged:\nMr. Peden came above the deck and said, \u2018Why are ye discouraged?\nYou need not fear, there will neither thumbkins nor bootkins\ncome here: lift up your hearts and heads, for the day of your\nredemption draweth near; if we were once at London, we will be set\nat liberty.\u2019--And when sailing on the voyage, praying publicly,\nhe said, \u2018Lord, such is the enemies hatred at thee and malice\nat us for thy sake, that they will not let us stay in thy land\nof Scotland, to serve thee, though some of us have nothing but\nthe canopy of thy heavens above us, and the earth to tread upon;\nbut, Lord, we bless thy name, that will cut short our voyage, and\nfrustrate thy enemies of their wicked design, that they will not\nget us where they intend; and some of us shall go richer home than\nwe came from home.\u2019 James Pride, who lived in Fife, an honest man,\nbeing one of them, he said many times, he could assert the truth of\nthis, for he came safely home; and beside other things, he bought\ntwo cows: and before that, he never had one. I had these accounts\nboth from the foresaid James Kay and Robert Punton, a known public\nman, worthy of all credit, who was also under the same sentence,\nand lived in the parish of Dalmeny, near Queensferry.\n\n9. When they arrived at London, the skipper who received them\nat Leith, was to carry them no further. The skipper who was to\nreceive them there, and carry them to Virginia, came to see them,\nthey being represented to him as thieves, robbers, and evil-doers;\nbut when he found they were all grave Christian men, banished for\nPresbyterian principles, he said he would sail the sea with none\nsuch. In this confusion: that the one skipper would not receive\nthem, and the other would keep them no longer, being expensive to\nmaintain them they were all set at liberty. Some reported that both\nskippers got compliments from friends at London; however, it is\ncertain they were all set free without any imposition of bonds or\noaths; and friends at London, and on their way homewards, through\nEngland shewed much kindness unto them.\n\n10. That dismal day, June 22d. 1679, at Bothwel-bridge, that the\nLord\u2019s people fell, and fled before the enemy, he was forty miles\ndistant, near the border, and kept himself retired until the middle\nof the day, that some friends said to him, \u2018Sir, the people are\nwaiting for sermon.\u2019 He said, \u2018Let the people go to their prayers;\nfor me, I neither can nor will preach any this day; for our friends\nare fallen, and fled before the enemy at Hamilton; and they are\nhanging and hashing them down, and their blood is running like\nwater!\u2019\n\n11. After this, he was preaching in Galloway: in the forenoon he\nprayed earnestly for the prisoners taken at and about Bothwel;\nbut in the afternoon, when he began to pray for them, he halted\nand said, \u2018Our friends at Edinburgh, the prisoners, have done\nsomething to save their lives that shall not do with them, for the\nsea-billows shall be many of their winding-sheets; and the few of\nthem that escape, shall not be useful to God in their generation.\u2019\nWhich was sadly verified thereafter. That which the greatest part\nof these prisoners did, was the taking of that bond, commonly\ncalled the Black Bond, after Bothwel, wherein they acknowledged\ntheir appearance in arms, for the defence of the gospel and their\nown lives, to be rebellion; and engaged themselves never to make\nany more opposition: upon the doing of which, these perfidious\nenemies promised them life and liberty. This with the cursed and\nsubtile arguments and advices of ministers, who went into the New\nYard, where they were prisoners, particularly Mr. Hugh Kennedy, Mr.\nWilliam Crighton, Mr. Edward Jamieson, and Mr. George Johnston;\nthese took their turn in the yard where the prisoners were,\ntogether with a letter that was sent from that Erastian meeting\nof ministers, met at Edinburgh in August 1679, for the acceptance\nof a third indulgence, with a cautionary bond. Notwithstanding\nof the enemies\u2019 promise, and the unhappy advice of ministers\nnot indulged, after they were ensnared in this foul compliance,\nthey banished 255, whereof 205 perished in the Orkney-sea. This\nfoul step, as some of them told, both in their life, and when\ndying, lay heavy upon them all their days; and that these unhappy\narguments and advices of ministers, prevailed more with them than\nthe enemies\u2019 promise of life and liberty. In August 1679, fifteen\nof the Bothwel-prisoners got indictments of death. Mr. Edward\nJamieson, a worthy Presbyterian minister, as Mr. Woodrow calls him,\nwas sent from that Erastian meeting of ministers into the Tolbooth\nto these fifteen, who urged the lawfulness of taken the bond to\nsave their lives; and the refusal of it would be a reflection to\nreligion, and the cause they had appeared for, and a throwing away\ntheir lives, for which their friends would not be able to vindicate\nthem. He prevailed with thirteen of them, which soured in the\nstomachs of some of those thirteen, and lay heavy upon them both\nin their life and death. The prisoners taken at and about the time\nof Bothwel, were reckoned about fifteen hundred. The faithful Mr.\nJohn Blackader did write to these prisoners, dissuading them from\nthat foul compliance; and some worthy persons of these prisoners,\nwhom he wrote to, said to me with tears, that they slighted his\nadvice, and swallowed the unhappy advices of these ministers who\nwere making peace with the enemies of God, and followed their foul\nsteps, for which they would go mourning to their graves. I heard\nthe same Mr. Blackader preach his last public sermon before falling\ninto the enemies\u2019 hands in the night-time in the fields, in the\nparish of Livingstone, upon the side of the Muir, at New-house,\non the 23d. of March, after Bothwel, where he lectured upon Micah\niv. from the 9th. verse, where he asserted, That the nearer the\ndelivery, our pains and showers would come thicker and sorer upon\nus; and that we had been long in the fields, but ere we were\ndelivered, we would go down to Babylon; that either Popery would\noverspread this land, or be at the breaking in upon us like on\ninundation of water. And preached upon that text, \u2018Let no man be\nmoved with these afflictions, for ye yourselves know, that ye are\nappointed thereunto.\u2019 Where he insisted on what moving and shaking\ndispensations the Lord had exercised his people with in former\nages, especially that man of God, that went to Jeroboam at Bethel,\nand delivered his commission faithfully, and yet was turned out\nof the way by an old lying prophet; how moving and stumbling the\nmanner of his death was to all Israel! And earnestly requested us\nto take good heed to what ministers we heard, and what advice we\nfollowed. When he prayed, he blessed the Lord that he was free of\nboth band and rope: and that he was as clearly willing to hold up\nthe public blest standard of the gospel as ever: And said, The Lord\nrebuke, give repentance and forgiveness to these ministers that\npersuaded these prisoners to take that bond. For their perishing by\nsea was more moving and shocking to him, than if some thousands of\nthem had been slain in the field. He was thereafter taken, the 6th.\nof April, by Major Johnston, in Edinburgh, and detained prisoner\nin the Bass, where he died. As the interest of Christ lay near his\nheart through his life, amongst his last words he said, The Lord\nwill defend his own cause.\n\n17. Shortly after that sad strode at Bothwel, he went to Ireland,\nbut did not stay long at that time. In his travels through\nGalloway, he came to a house, and looking in the goodman\u2019s face,\nhe said, \u2018They call you an honest man, but if you be so, you look\nnot like it, you will not long keep that name, but will discover\nyourself to be what you are.\u2019 And shortly after, he was made to\nflee for sheep-stealing. In that short time he was in Ireland,\nthe Governor required of all Presbyterian ministers that were in\nIreland, that they should give it under their hand, that they had\nno accession to the late rebellion at Bothwel-bridge, in Scotland,\nand that they did not approve of it; which the most part did; and\nsent Mr. Thomas Gowans, a Scotsman, and one Mr. Paton, from the\nnorth of Ireland to Dublin, to present it to the Lord Lieutenant:\nthe which when Mr. Peden heard, he said, Mr. Gowans and his brother\nMr. Paton are sent and gone the devil\u2019s errand but God will arrest\nthem by the gate. And accordingly, Mr. Gowans, by the way, was\nstruck with a sore sickness, and Mr. Paton fell from his horse, and\nbroke or crushed his leg; and both of them were detained beyond\nexpectation. I had this account from some worthy Christians when I\nwas in Ireland.\n\n18. In the year 1682. he married John Brown in Kyle, at his own\nhouse in Priesthall, that singular Christian, upon Marion Weir.\nAfter marriage; he said to the bride, Marion, you have got a good\nman to be your husband, but you will not enjoy him long: prize his\ncompany, and keep linen by you for his winding-sheet, for you will\nneed it when you are not looking for it, and it will be a bloody\none. This came sadly to pass in the beginning of May, 1685, as\nafterwards shall appear.\n\n19. After this, in the year 1682, he went to Ireland again, and\ncame to the house of William Steel, in Glenwharry, in the county\nof Antrim; he enquired at Mrs. Steel if she wanted a servant for\nthreshing victual? She said they did, and enquired what his wages\nwere a-day, or a-week. He said, the common rate was a common\nrule; to which she assented.--At night he was put to bed, in the\nbarn, with the servant-lad; and that night he spent in prayer and\ngroaning, up and down the barn. On the morrow he threshed victual\nwith the lad, and the next night he spent the same way. The second\nday, in the morning, the lad said to his mistress, this man sleeps\nnone, but groans and prays all night; I get no sleep for him: he\nthreshes very well, and is not sparing of himself, tho\u2019 I think he\nhas not been used with it, for he can do nothing to the botteling\nand ordering of the barn; and when I put the barn in order, he\ngoes to such a place, and there he prays for the afflicted Church\nof Scotland, and names so many in the furnace.--He wrought the\nsecond day, and his mistress watched and overheard him praying, as\nthe lad had said.--At night she desired her husband to enquire if\nhe was a minister, which he did, and desired him to be free with\nhim, and he should not only be no enemy to him, but a friend. Mr.\nPeden said, he was not ashamed of his office; and gave an account\nof his circumstances. He was no more set to work, nor to lie with\nthe lad; and he staid a considerable time in that place, and was\na blessed instrument in the conversion of some, and civilizing of\nothers, though that place was noted for a wild rude people, and the\nfruit of his labour appears unto this day. There was a servant-lass\nin that house, that he could not look upon but with frowns: and\nsometimes, when at family-worship, he said, pointing to her with\na frowning countenance. You come from the barn and from the byre\nreeking in your lusts, and sits down among us; we do not want you,\nnor none such. At last he said to William Steel and his wife, Put\nthat unhappy lass from your house, for she will be a stain to your\nfamily, for she is with child, and will murder it, and will be\npunished for the same. Which accordingly came to pass, and she was\nburnt at Carrickfergus, which is the punishment of murderers of\nchildren there. I had this account from John Muirhead, who staid\nmuch in that house, and other Christian people, when in Ireland.\n\n20. After this, he longed to be out of Ireland, through the\nfearful apprehensions of that dismal day of rebellion in Ireland,\nthat came upon it four years thereafter, and that he might take\npart with the sufferers in Scotland. He came near the coast one\nmorning: John Muirhead came to him; lying within a hedge: he said,\nHave you any news, John? John said, There is great fear of the\nIrish rising. He said, no, no, John, the time of their arising is\nnot yet; but they will rise, and dreadful will it be at last. He\nwas long detained waiting for a bark, not daring to go to public\nparts, but to some remote creek of the sea. Alexander Gordon of\nKinstuir, in Galloway, had agreed with one, but Mr. Peden would\nnot sail the sea with him, having some foresight of what he\ndid prove afterwards.--In the beginning of August before this,\nKinstuir was relieved at Enterken-path, going from Dumfries to\nEdinburgh prisoner; when the news of it came to Ireland, our Scots\nsufferers, their acquaintance, were glad of the news, especially\nthat Kinstuir had escaped. Mr. Peden said, What means all this\nKinstuiring?--There is some of them relieved there, that one of\nthem is worth many of him; for ye will be ashamed of him ere all be\ndone. Being in this strait, he said to Robert Wark, an old worthy\nChristian, worthy of credit, Robert, go and take such a man with\nyou and the first Bark ye can find, compel them, for they will be\nlike the dogs in Egypt, not one of them will move their tongue\nagainst you. Accordingly Robert and his comrade found it so and\nbrought her to that secret place where he was. When Robert and his\ncomrade came and told him, he was glad and very kind and free; but\nhe seemed under a cloud at that time. He said lads, I have lost\nmy prospect wherewith I was wont to look over to the bloody land,\nand tell you and others what enemies and friends were doing; the\ndevil and I puddles and rides time-about upon one another: but\nif I were uppermost again, I shall ride hard, and spurgaw well.\nI have been praying for a swift passage over to the sinful land,\ncome of us what will: and now Alexander Gordon is away with my\nprayer-wind; but it were good for the remnant in Scotland he never\nsaw it; for as the Lord lives, he shall wound that interest ere he\ngo off the stage.--This sadly came to pass in his life, and was\na reproach to it at his death. A little before they came off, he\nbaptised a child to John Maxwell, a Glasgow man, who was fled ever\nfrom the persecution: in his discourse before baptism, he burst\nout into a rapture, foretelling that black day that was to come\nupon Ireland, and sad days to Scotland, and after all there was to\ncome good days. Mrs. Maxwell, or Mary Elphingston, the mother of\nthe child, yet alive in Glasgow, told me this, That in the time\nhe was asserting these things, she was thinking and wondering what\nground of assurance he had for them, when he cried aloud shaking\nhis hand at her, woman, thou art thinking and wondering within\nthyself, whether I be speaking these things out of the visions\nof my own head, or if I be taught by the Spirit of God; I tell\nthee, woman, thou shalt live and see that I am not mistaken. She\ntold me, that she was very lately delivered, and out of her great\ndesire to have her child baptised before he came off, that she\ntook travail too soon; and being weak, and so surprised with his\ntelling her the thoughts of her heart, that she was in danger of\nfalling off the chair. At this exercise also he told them, that\nhe could not win off till he got this done, and this was all the\ndrink-money, he had left in Ireland, and to the family (pointing\nto the landlord) for all the kindness he had met with from them.\nAfter baptism they got breakfast; there was plenty of bread upon\nthe table, seeking a blessing, he put his hand beneath the bread,\nand holding it up with much affection and tears, said, \u201cLord there\nis a well covered table, and plenty of bread: but what comes of the\npoor young, kindly, honest hearted lad Renwick, that shames us all,\nin starving and holding up his fainting mother\u2019s head, when of all\nthe children she has brought forth, there is none will avowedly\ntake her by the hand: and the poor, cold, hungry lads on the hills?\nFor honour of thine own cause, let them not starve: thou caused a\nravenous bird, greedy of flesh itself, to feed Elijah: and thou fed\nthy people in the wilderness with angel\u2019s food: and blessed a few\nloaves and small fishes, and made them sufficient for many; and had\nexperience of want, weariness cold and hunger, and enemies daily\nhunting for thy life, while in the world; look to them, and provide\nfor them.\u201d The Waiters being advertised of the bark being in that\nplace, they and other people came upon them, which obliged them\nthat were to come off, to secure the Waiters and people altogether,\nfor fear of the garrison of Carrickfergus apprehending them, being\nnear to it, which obliged them to come off immediately, twenty-six\nof our Scots sufferers came aboard, he stood upon the deck and\nprayed, there being not the least wind, where he made a rehearsal\nof times and places, when and where the Lord had heard and answered\nthem in the days of their distress and how they were in a great\nstrait.--Waving his hand to the west, from whence he desired the\nwind, he said, \u2018Lord give a loof-full of wind: fill the sails Lord\nand give us a fresh gale, and let us have a swift passage over to\nthe bloody land, come of us what will.\u2019--John Muirhead, Robert\nWark, and others who were present, told me, that when he began to\npray, the sails were all hanging straight down, but ere he ended,\nthey were all like blown bladders. They put out the Waiters and\nother people and got a very swift and safe passage.--The twenty-six\nScots sufferers that were with him, having provided themselves\nwith arms, and being designed to return to Scotland, there being\nthen such a noise of killing; and the report was no greater than\nthe deed, it being then in the heat of killing time, in the end of\nFebuary 1685. when at exercise in the bark, he said, \u2018Lord thou\nknowest these lads are hot spirited, lay an arrest upon them, that\nthey may not appear; their time is not yet; though Monmouth and\nArgyle be coming, they will work no deliverance.\u2019 At that time\nthere was no report of their coming, for they came not for ten\nweeks thereafter.--In the morning after they landed, he lectured\nbefore they parted, sitting upon a brae-side, where he had fearful\nthreatenings against Scotland saying, the time was coming that\nthey might travel many miles in Galloway and Nithsdale, Ayr and\nClydesdale, and not see a reeking house, nor hear a cock crow.\n\n28. When the day of his death drew near, and not being able to\ntravel, he came to his brother\u2019s house, in the parish of Sorn,\nwhere he was born. He caused dig a cave with a saughen bush\ncovering the mouth of it, near to his brother\u2019s house and the\nenemies came and searched the house narrowly many times. In the\ntime that he was in this cave, he said to some friends, 1. That\nGod shall make Scotland a desolation. 2. There shall be a remnant\nin the land, whom God should spare and hide. 3. They should lie\nin holes and caves of the earth, and be supplied with meat and\ndrink: And when they come out of their holes, they shall not have\nfreedom to walk, for stumbling on the dead corpses. 4. A stone\ncut of a mountain, should come down, and God shall be avenged on\nthe great ones of the earth, and the inhabitants of the land, for\ntheir wickedness, and then the church should come forth with a\nbonny bairn-time of young ones at her back. He wished that the\nLord\u2019s people might lie hid in their caves, as if they were not in\nthe world, for nothing would do it, until God appeared with his\njudgments, and they that wan through the bitter and sharp, short\nstorm, by the sword of the Frenches, and a set of unhappy men,\ntaking part with them, then there would be a spring-tide day of\nthe plenty, purity and power of the gospel: Giving them that for a\nsign, If he were but once buried, they might be in doubts; but if\nhe were oftener buried than once, they might be persuaded that all\nhe had said would come to pass: And earnestly desired them to take\nhis corpse out to Airdsmoss, and bury them beside Richy (meaning\nMr. Cameron) that he might get rest in his grave, for he had gotten\nlittle through his life; but he said he knew they would not do it.\n\n29. Within forty-eight hours he died, January 28th. 1686, being\npast sixty years; and was buried in the Laird of Afflect\u2019s Isle.\nThe enemies got notice of his death and burial, and sent a troop of\ndragoons, and lifted his corpse and carried him to Cumnock-gallows\nfoot, and buried him there (after being forty days in the grave)\nbeside others. His friends thereafter laid a grave-stone above him,\nwith this inscription:\n\n  HERE LIES\n  MR. ALEXANDER PEDEN,\n  A Faithful Minister of the Gospel,\n  at Glenluce,\n  Who departed this life January 28, 1686,\n  And was raised after six weeks\n  Out of his Grave,\n  And buried here out of contempt.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  THE LIFE\n\n  AND\n\n  WONDERFUL PROPHECIES\n\n  OF\n\n  DONALD CARGILL.\n\n  Who was Executed at the Cross\n  of Edinburgh, on the 26th July, 1680.\n  For his adherence to the Covenant,\n  and Work of\n  REFORMATION\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nLIFE OF\n\nMR DONALD CARGILL.\n\n\nMr Cargill seems to have been born some time about the year 1610.\nHe was eldest son of a most respected family in the parish of\nRattray. After he had been some time in the schools of Aberdeen,\nhe went to St Andrew\u2019s, where having perfected his course of\nphilosophy, his father pressed upon him much to study divinity,\nin order for the ministry; but he thought the work was too great\nfor his weak shoulders, and requested to command him to any other\nemployment he pleased. But his father still continuing to urge\nhim, he resolved to set apart a day of private fasting, to seek\nthe Lord\u2019s mind therein. And after much wrestling with the Lord by\nprayer, the third chapter of Ezekiel, and chiefly these words in\nthe first verse, \u201cSon of man, eat this roll and go speak unto the\nhouse of Israel\u201d, made a strong impression on his mind, so that he\ndurst no longer refuse his father\u2019s desire, but dedicated himself\nwholly unto that office.\n\nAfter this, he got a call to the Barony Church of Glasgow, It\nwas so ordered by Divine providence, that the very first text\nthe presbytery ordered him to preach upon, was these words in\nthe third of Ezekiel, already mentioned, by which he was more\nconfirmed, that he had God\u2019s call to this parish. This parish had\nbeen long vacant, by reason that two ministers of the Resolution\nparty, viz. Messrs Young and Blair, and still opposed the\nsettlement of such godly men as had been called by the people. But\nin reference to Mr Cargill\u2019s call, they were in God\u2019s providence,\nmuch bound up from their wonted opposition. Here Mr Cargill,\nperceiving the lightness and unconcerned behaviour of the people\nunder the word, was much discouraged thereat, so that he resolved\nto return home, and not accept the call, which, when he was urged\nby some godly ministers not to do, and his reason asked, he\nanswered they are a rebellious people. The ministers solicited him\nto stay, but in vain. But when the horse was drawn, and he just\ngoing to begin his journey, being in the house of Mr Durham, when\nhe had saluted several of his Christian friends that came to see\nhim take horse, as he was taking farewell of a certain godly woman,\nshe said to him, \u201cSir, you have promised to preach on Thursday,\nand have you appointed a meal for poor starving people, and will\nyou go away and not give it? If you do, the curse of God will go\nwith you.\u201d This so moved him, that he durst not go away as he\nintended; but sitting down, desired her and others to pray for him.\nSo he remained and was settled in that parish, where he continued\nto exercise his ministry with great success, to the unspeakable\nsatisfaction both of his own parish, and all the godly that heard\nand knew him, until that, by the unhappy Restoration of Charles\nII. Prelacy was again restored.\n\nUpon the 26th of May following, the day consecrated in\ncommemoration of the said Restoration, he had occasion to preach in\nhis own church, it being his ordinary week-day\u2019s preaching, when\nhe saw an unusual throng of people come to hear him, thinking he\nhad preached in compliance with that solemnity. Upon entering the\npulpit, he said, \u2018We are not come here to keep this day upon the\naccount for which others keep it. We thought once to have blessed\nthe day, wherein the King came home again, but now we think we\nshall have reason to curse it; and if any of you come here in\norder to the solemnizing of this day, we desire you to remove.\u2019\nAnd enlarging upon these words in the 9th of Hosea, Rejoice not, O\nIsrael, &c. he said, \u2018This is the first step of our going a-whoring\nfrom God; and whoever of the Lord\u2019s people this day are rejoicing,\ntheir joy will be like the crackling of thorns under a pot, it\nwill soon be turned to mourning; he (meaning the king) will be\nthe wofullest sight ever the poor church of Scotland saw; wo,\nwo, wo unto him, his name shall stink while the world stands for\ntreachery, tyranny, and lechery.\u2019\n\nThis did exceedingly enrage the malignant party against him, so\nthat being hotly pursued, he was obliged to abscond, remaining\nsometimes in private houses, and sometimes lying all night without,\namong broom near the city, yet never omitting any proper occasion\nof private preaching, catechising, and visiting of families, and\nother ministerial duties, but at length, when the churches were\nall vacated of Presbyterians by an act of Council, 1662, Middleton\nsent a band of soldiers to apprehend him, who, coming to the\nchurch, found him not, he having providentially just stepped out of\nthe one door a minute before they came in at the other; whereupon\nthey took the keys of the church door with them, and departed.--In\nthe mean while the Council passed an act of confinement banishing\nhim to the north side of the Tay, under penalty of being\nimprisoned, and prosecuted as a seditious person.--But this\nsentence he no ways regarded.\n\nDuring this time, partly by grief for the ruin of God\u2019s work in the\nland, and partly by the toils and inconveniences of his labours\nand accommodation, his voice became so broken, that he could not\nbe heard by many together, which was a sore exercise to him, and\ndiscouragement to preach in the fields; but one day Mr Blackatter\ncoming to preach near Glasgow, he essayed to preach with him, and\nstanding on a chair, as his custom was, he lectured on Is. xliv.\n3. \u201cI will pour water on him that is thirsty, &c.\u201d The people were\nmuch discouraged, knowing his voice to be sore broken, lest they\nshould not have heard by reason of the great confluence. But it\npleased the Lord to loose his tongue, and to restore his voice to\nsuch a distinct clearness, that none could easily exceed him; and\nnot only his voice, but his spirit was so enlarged, and such a door\nof utterance given him, that Mr Blackatter, succeeding him, said to\nthe people, \u2018Ye that have such preaching, have no need to invite\nstrangers to preach to you; make good use of your mercy.\u2019 After\nthis he continued to preach without the city, a great multitude\nattending and profiting by his ministry, being wonderfully\npreserved in the midst of dangers, the enemy several times sending\nout to watch him, and catch something from his mouth whereof they\nmight accuse him, &c.\n\nIn October 1665, they made a public search for him in the city.\nBut he, being informed, took horse, and rode out of town, and at\na narrow pass of the way, he met a good number of musqueteers. As\nhe passed them, turning to another way on the right-hand, one of\nthem asked him, Sir, what o\u2019clock is it? he answered, It is six.\nAnother of them knowing his voice, said, There is the man we are\nseeking.--Upon hearing this, he put spurs to his horse, and so\nescaped.\n\nFor about three years he usually resided in the house of one\nMargaret Craig, a very godly woman, where he lectured morning\nand evening to such as came to hear him. And tho\u2019 they searched\nstrictly for him here, yet providence so ordered it, that he\nwas either casually or purposely absent, for the Lord was often\nso gracious to him, that he left him not without some notice of\napproaching hazard. Thus, one Sabbath, as he was going to Woodside\nto preach, as he was about to mount his horse, having one foot in\nthe stirrup, he turned about to his man, and said, I must not go\nyonder to-day.--And in a little a party of the enemy came there in\nquest of him; but missing the mark they aimed at, they fell upon\nthe people, by apprehending and imprisoning several of them.\n\nAnother of his remarkable escapes was at a march made for him in\nthe city, where they came to his chamber, and found him not, being\nprovidentially in another house, that night.--But what is most\nremarkable, being one day preaching privately in the house of one\nMr Callander, they came and beset the house; the people put him and\nanother into a window, closing the window up with books. The search\nwas so strict, that they searched the very ceiling of the house,\nuntil one of them fell through the lower loft.--Had they removed\nbut one of the books, they would certainly have found him. But the\nLord so ordered that they did it not; for as one of the soldiers\nwas about to take up one of them, the maid cried to the commander,\nthat he was going to take her master\u2019s books, and he was ordered to\nlet them be. Thus narrowly he escaped this danger.\n\nThus he continued until the 23d of November 1667, that the Council,\nupon information of a breach of his confinement, cited him to\nappear before them on the 11th of January thereafter. But when he\nwas apprehended, and compeared before the Council and strictly\nexamined, wherein he was most singularly strengthened to bear\nfaithful testimony to his Master\u2019s honour, and his persecuted cause\nand truths; yet by the interposition of some persons of quality,\nhis own friends, and his wife\u2019s relations, he was dismissed,\nand presently returned to Glasgow, and there performed all the\nministerial duties.\n\nSome time before Bothwell, notwithstanding all the searches\nthat were made for him by the enemy, which were both strict and\nfrequent, he preached publicly for eighteen Sabbath-days to\nmultitudes, consisting of several thousands, within a little more\nthan a quarter of a mile of the city of Glasgow; yea, so near it,\nthat the psalms, when singing, were heard through several parts, of\nit; and yet all this time uninterrupted.\n\nAt Bothwell, being taken by the enemy, and struck down to the\nground with a sword, seeing nothing but present death for him\nhaving received several dangerous wounds in the head, one of the\nsoldiers asked his name; he told him it was Donald Cargill; another\nasked him, if he was a minister? He answered, he was; whereupon\nthey let him go. When his wounds were examined, he feared to ask if\nthey were mortal, desiring, in admission to God, to live, judging\nthat the Lord had yet further work for him to accomplish.\n\nSome time after the battle at Bothwell, he was pursued from his\nown chamber out of town, and forced to go through several thorn\nhedges. But he was no sooner out, than he saw a troop of dragoons\njust opposite to him; back he could not go, soldiers being posted\nevery where to catch him; upon which he went forward, near by\nthe troop, who looked to him, and he to them, until he got past.\nBut coming to the place of the water at which he intended to go\nover, he saw another troop standing on the other side, who called\nto him but he made them no answer. And going about a mile up the\nwater, he escaped, and preached at Langside next Sabbath, without\ninterruption. At another time, being in a house beset with\nsoldiers, he went through the midst of them, they thinking it was\nthe goodman of the house and escaped.\n\nAfter Bothwell, he fell into a deep exercise anent his call to the\nministry; but, by the grace and goodness of God, he soon emerged\nout of that, and also got much light anent the duty of the day,\nbeing a faithful contender against the enemy\u2019s usurped power,\nand against the sinful compliance of ministers, in accepting\nthe indulgence, with indemnities, oaths, bonds, and all other\ncorruptions.\n\nThere was a certain woman in Rutherglen, about two miles from\nGlasgow, who, by the instigation of some, both ministers and\nprofessors, was persuaded to advice her husband to go but once to\nhear the curate, to prevent the family being reduced; which she\nprevailed with him to do. But going the next day after to milk her\ncows, two or three of them dropt down dead at her feet, and Satan,\nas she conceived, appeared unto her; which cast her under sad and\nsore exercises and desertion; so that she was brought to question\nher interest in Christ, and all that had formerly passed betwixt\nGod and her soul, and was often tempted to destroy herself, and\nsundry times attempted it: Being before known to be an eminent\nChristian, she was visited by many Christians; but without success:\nstill crying out she was undone; she had denied Christ, and he had\ndenied her. After continuing a long time in this exercise, she\ncried for Mr Cargill, who came to her, but found her distemper\nso strong, that for several visits he was obliged to leave her\nas he found her to his no small grief. However, after setting\nsome days apart on her behalf, he at last came again to her; but\nfinding her no better, still rejecting all comfort, still crying\nout, that she had no interest in the mercy of God, or merits of\nChrist, but had sinned the unpardonable sin; he, looking in her\nface for a considerable time, took out his Bible, and naming her,\nsaid, \u201cI have this day a commission from my Lord and Master, to\nrenew the marriage contract betwixt you and him; and if ye will\nnot consent, I am to require your subscription on this Bible, that\nyou are willing to quit all right, interest in, or pretence unto\nhim:\u201d and then he offered her pen and ink for that purpose. She was\nsilent for some time; but at last cried out, \u201cO! salvation is come\nunto this house. I take him; I take him on his own terms, as he is\noffered unto me by his faithful ambassador.\u201d From that time her\nbands were loosed.\n\nOne time Mr Cargill, Mr Walter Smith, and some other Christian\nfriends, being met in a friend\u2019s house in Edinburgh, one of the\ncompany told him of the general bonding of the Western gentlemen\nfor suppressing field meetings, and putting all out of their\ngrounds who frequented them. After sitting silent for some time, he\nanswered, with several heavy sighs and groans, \u201cThe enemy have been\nlong filling up the cup; and ministers and professors must have\ntime to fill up their\u2019s also; and it shall not be full till enemies\nand they be clasped in one another\u2019s arms; and then, as the Lord\nlives, he will bring the wheel of his wrath and justice over them\naltogether.\u201d\n\nSome time after the beginning of the year 1680, he retired toward\nthe Frith of Forth, where he continued until that scuffle at\nQueensferry, where worthy Haugh-head was killed, and he sorely\nwounded. But escaping, a certain woman found him in a private\nplace, to the south of the town, and tying up his wounds with her\nhead-cloths, conducted him to the house of one Robert Runtens, in\nCarlowrie, where a surgeon dressed his wounds and Mrs Puntens gave\nhim some warm milk, and he lay in their barn all night. From thence\nhe went to the south, and next Sabbath preached at Cairnhill,\nsomewhere adjacent to Loudon, in his blood and wounds; for no\ndanger could stop him from going about doing good. His text was in\nHeb. xi. 32. And what shall I more say, for time would fail me to\ntell of Gideon, &c. At night, some persons said to him, We think,\nSir, preaching and praying go best with you when your danger and\ndistress are greatest. He said, it had been so, and he hoped it\nwould be so, the more that enemies and others did thurst at him\nthat he might fall, the more sensibly the Lord had helped him; and\nthen (as it had been to himself) he repeated these words, The Lord\nis my strength and song, and has become my salvation, in the 118th\nPsalm, which was the psalm he sung upon the scaffold.\n\nAfter this, he and Mr Richard Cameron met and preached together in\nDermeid-muir, and other places, until that Mr Cameron was slain\nat Airs-moss, and then he went north, where, in the month of\nSeptember following, he had a most numerous meeting at the Torwood,\nnear Stirling, where he pronounced the sentence of excommunication,\nagainst some of the most violent persecutors of that day, as\nformally as the present state of things could then permit. Some\ntime before this, it is said, he was very remote, and spoke very\nlittle in company; only to some he said, he had atout to give with\nthe trumpet that the Lord had put in his hand, that would sound in\nthe ears of many in Britain, and other places in Europe also. It is\nsaid, that no body knew what he was to do that morning, except Mr\nWalter Smith, to whom he imparted the thoughts of his heart. When\nhe began, some friends feared he would be shot. His landlord, in\nwhose house he had been that night, cast his coat and ran for it.\nIn the forenoon, he lectured on Ezek. xxi. 25. &c. and preached\non 1 Cor. v. 13. and then discoursed some time on the nature of\nexcommunication, and then proceeded to the sentence: after which,\nin the afternoon, he preached from Lam. iii. 31, 32. For the Lord\nwill not cast off for ever.\n\nThe next Lord\u2019s day, he preached at Fallowhill, in the parish\nof Livingstone. In the preface, he said, \u201cI know I am and will\nbe condemned by many, for excommunicating those wicked men, but\ncondemn me who will, I know I am approven of by God, and am\npersuaded, that what I have done on earth, is ratified in heaven;\nfor, if ever I knew the mind of God, and was clear in my call to\nany piece of my generation-work, it was that. And I shall give you\ntwo signs, that ye may know I am in no delusion; (1.) If some of\nthese men do not find that sentence binding upon them, ere they go\noff the stage, and be obliged to confess it, &c. (2.) If these men\ndie the ordinary death of men, then God hath not spoken by me.\u201d\n\nAbout the 22d of October following, a long and severe proclamation\nwas issued out against him and his followers, wherein a reward\nof 5000 merks was offered for apprehending him, &c.--Next month,\nGovernor Middleton, having been frustrated in his design upon Mr\nCargill at Queensferry, laid another plot for him, by consulting\none James Henderson in Ferry, who, by forging and signing letters,\nin the name of Bailie Adam in Culross, and some other serious\nChristians in Fife, for Mr Cargill to come over, and preach to them\nat the hill of Beith. Accordingly, Henderson went to Edinburgh\nwith the letters, and, after a most diligent search, found him\nin the West Bow. Mr Cargill being willing to answer the call,\nHenderson proposed to go before, and have a boat, ready at the\nFerry when they came; and that he might know them, he desired to\nsee Mr Cargill\u2019s cloth, Mr Skeen and Mr Boig being in the same\nroom. In the mean time, he had Middleton\u2019s soldiers lying at the\nMutton-hole, about three miles from Edinburgh. Mr Skeen, Archibald\nStuart, Mrs Muir, and Marion Hervey, took the way before, on foot:\nMr Cargill and Mr Boig being to follow on horseback. Whenever they\ncame to the place, the soldiers spied them; but Mrs Muir escaped\nand went and stopped Mr Cargill and Mr Boig, who fled back to\nEdinburgh.\n\nAfter this remarkable escape, Mr Cargill, seeing nothing but the\nviolent flames of treachery and tyranny against him, above all\nothers, retired for about three months to England, where the Lord\nblessed his labours to the conviction and edification of many. In\nthe time of his absence that delusion of the Gibbites arose, from\none John Gib sailor In Borrow-stounness, who, with other three\nmen, and twenty six women, vented and maintained the most strange\ndelusions. Some time after, Mr Cargill returned from England, and\nwas at no small pains to reclaim them, but with little success.\nAfter his last conference with them, at Darngavel, in Cambusnethen\nparish, he came next Sabbath, and preached at the Underbank wood,\nbelow Lanark, and from thence to Loudon-hill, where he preached\nupon a fast day, being the 5th of May. Here he intended only to\nhave preached once, and to have baptized some children. His text\nwas, \u2018No man that hath followed me in the regeneration, &c.\u2019 When\nsermon was over, and the children baptized, more children came up;\nwhereupon friends pressed him to preach in the afternoon; which he\ndid, from these words, \u2018Weep not for me,\u2019 &c. In the mean while the\nenemy at Glasgow getting notice of this meeting, seized all the\nhorses in and about the town, that they could come by, and mounted\nin quest of him; yea, such was their haste and fury, that one of\nthe soldiers, who happened to be behind the rest, riding furiously\ndown the street called the Stockwell, at mid-day, rode over a\nchild, and killed her on the spot. Just as Mr Cargill was praying\nat the close, a lad alarmed them of the enemy\u2019s approach. They\nhaving no sentinels that day which was not their ordinary, were\nsurprised, so that some of them who had been at Pentland, Bothwell,\nAirs-moss, and other dangers, were never so seized with fear, some\nof the women, throwing their children from them. In this confusion\nMr Cargill was running straight on the enemy; but Gavin Wotherspoon\nand others haled him to the moss, unto which the people fled. The\ndragoons fired hard upon them, but there were none either killed or\ntaken that day.\n\nAbout this time, some spoke to Mr Cargill of his preaching and\npraying short. They said, \u201cO Sir, it is long betwixt meals, and we\nare in a starving condition; all is good, sweet, and wholesome,\nthat you deliver, but why do you so straiten us?\u201d He said, \u201cEver\nsince I bowed a knee in good earnest to pray, I never durst preach,\nand pray with my gift; and when my heart is not affected, and comes\nnot up with my mouth, I always think it time to quit it. What comes\nnot from the heart, I have little hope it will go to the hearts of\nothers:\u201d Then he repeated these words in the 51st psalm, \u201cThen will\nI teach transgressors thy way, &c.\u201d\n\nFrom Loudon hill he took a tour through Ayrshire to Carrick and\nGalloway, preaching, baptizing, and marrying some people; but staid\nnot long until he returned to Clydesdale. He designed, after his\nreturn, to have preached one day at Tinto-hill, but the Lady of\nSt John\u2019s Kirk gave it out to be at Home Common. He being in the\nhouse of John Liddel, near Tinto, went out to spend the Sabbath\nmorning by himself; and seeing the people all passing by, he\ninquired the reason; which being told, he rose and followed them\nfive miles. The morning being warm, (about the 1st of June,) and\nthe heights steep, he was very much fatigued before he got to the\nplace, where a man gave him a drink of water out of his bonnet,\nand another between sermons; this being the best entertainment\nhe got that day, for he had tasted nothing in the morning. Here\nhe lectured on the 6th of Isaiah, and preached on these words,\n\u201cBe not high minded, but fear, &c.\u201d From thence he went to Fyfe,\nand baptised many children, and preached one day at Daven common,\nand then returned to the Benry-bridge in Cambusnethan, where\nhe received a call from the hands of two men, to come back to\nGalloway, but got it not answered.\n\nMr Cargill in that short time, had run very fast towards his end,\nwhich now hastens apace. Having left the Benry-bridge, he preached\none day at Auchingilloch, and then came to preach his last sermon\non Dunsyre common, between Clydesdale and Lothian, upon the text\nIs. xxvi. 20. \u201cCome my people and enter into your chambers, &c.\u201d\n\nSome time that night, through the persuasion of Mr Smith and Mr\nBoig, he went with the Lady of St. John\u2019s Kirk, as far as Covington\nmill, to the house of one Andrew Fisher. In the mean time, James\nIrvine of Bonshaw, having got a general commission, marched with a\nparty of dragoons from Kilbride, and next morning, by sun-rising,\ncame to St John\u2019s Kirk, and having searched it, he searched also\nthe house of one Thomson, and then came to Covington-mill, and\nthere apprehended him, Mr Smith, and Mr Boig. Bonshaw, when he\nfound them, cried out, O blessed Bonshaw! and blessed day that ever\nI was born! that has found such a prize! a prize of 5000 merks for\napprehending him this morning! They marched hard to Lanark and put\nthem in jail, until they got some refreshment and then brought\nthem out in haste, got horses and set the prisoners on their bare\nbacks. Bonshaw tied Mr Cargill\u2019s feet below the horse\u2019s belly, with\nhis own hand, very hard; at which this man looked down to him, and\nsaid, \u201cWhy do you tie me so hard, your wickedness is great. You\nwill not long escape the just judgement of God; and, if I be not\nmistaken it will seize you in this very place.\u201d Which accordingly\nnext year came to pass: for having got this price of blood, one of\nhis comrades, in a rage ran him through with a sword at Lanark:\nand his last words were, \u201cG--d d----n my soul eternally, for I am\ngone.\u201d Mischief shall hunt the violent man.\n\nThey came to Glasgow in haste, fearing a rescue of the prisoners:\nand while waiting at the tolbooth, till the magistrates came to\nreceive them, one John Nisbet, the Archbishop\u2019s factor, said to Mr\nCargill in ridicule, three times over, Will you give us one word\nmore? (alluding to an expression he used sometimes when preaching);\nto whom Mr Cargill said with regret, \u201cMock not, lest your lands be\nmade strong. The day is coming, when you shall not have one word\nto say though you would.\u201d This also came quickly to pass; for,\nnot many days after, he fell suddenly ill, and for three days his\ntongue swelled, and though he was most earnest to speak, yet he\ncould not command one word, and died in great torment, and seeming\nterror.\n\nFrom Glasgow they were taken to Edinburgh, and, July 15th, were\nbrought before the Council. Chancellor Rothes (being one of those\nwhom he excommunicated at Torwood) raged against him, threatening\nhim with torture and a violent death. To whom he said, \u201cMy Lord\nRothes, forbear to threaten me, for die what death I will, your\neyes shall not see it.\u201d--Which accordingly came to pass; for he\ndied the morning of that day, in the afternoon of which Mr Cargill\nwas executed.\n\nWhen before the Council, he was asked, if he acknowledged the\nKing\u2019s authority, &c. he answered as the magistrate\u2019s authority is\nnow established by act of parliament, and explanatory act, that\nhe denied the same. Being also examined anent the excommunication\nat Torwood, he declined to answer, as being an ecclesiastical\nmatter, and they a civil judicatory. He owned the lawfulness of\ndefensive arms, in cases of necessity, and denied that those that\nrose at Bothwell, &c. were rebels: and being interrogated anent the\nSanquhar declaration, he declined to give his judgment until he had\nmore time to consider the contents thereof. He further declared, he\ncould not give his sense of the killing of the Bishop; but that\nthe scriptures say, upon the Lord\u2019s giving a call to a private man\nto kill, he might do it lawfully; and gave the instances of Jael\nand Phinehas. These were the most material points on which he was\nexamined.\n\nWhile he was in prison, a gentlewoman who came to visit him, told\nhim, weeping, \u201cThat these Heaven daring enemies were contriving a\nmost violent death for him; some, a barrel with pikes to roll him\nin; others an iron-chair, red-hot, to roll him in,\u201d &c. But he\nsaid, \u201cLet you nor none of the Lord\u2019s people be troubled for these\nthings, for all that they will get liberty to do to me, will be to\nknit me up, cut me down, and chop off my old head, and then fare\nthem well; they have done with me, and with them for ever.\u201d\n\nHe was again before the Council on the 19th, but refusing to\nanswer their questions, except anent the excommunication. There\nwas some motion made to spare him, as he was an old man, and send\nhim prisoner to the Bass during life; which motion being put to a\nvote, was, by the casting vote of the Earl of Rothes, rejected; who\ndoomed him to the gallows, there to die like a traitor.\n\nUpon the 26th he was brought before the justiciary, and indicted in\ncommon form. His confession being produced in evidence against him,\nhe was brought in guilty of high treason, and condemned, with the\nrest, to be hanged at the cross of Edinburgh, and his head placed\non the Nether Bow. When they came to these words in his indictment,\nviz. having cast off all fear of God, &c. he caused the clerk to\nstop, and, pointing to the Advocate, Sir George M\u2019Kenzie, said,\n\u201cThe man that hath caused that paper to be drawn up hath done it\ncontrary to the light of his own conscience, for he knoweth that I\nhave been a fearer of God from mine infancy; but that man, I say,\nwho took the Holy Bible in his hand, and said, It would never be\nwell with the land, until that book was destroyed, &c. I say, he is\nthe man that hath cast off all fear of God.\u201d The Advocate stormed\nat this, but could not deny the truth thereof.\n\nWhen they got their sentence announced by sound of trumpet he said,\n\u201cThat is a weary sound, but the sound of the last trumpet will be a\njoyful sound to me, and all that will be found having on Christ\u2019s\nrighteousness.\u201d\n\nBeing come to the scaffold, he stood with his back to the ladder,\nand desired the attention of the numerous spectators; and after\nsinging from the 16th verse of the 118th psalm, he began to speak\nto three sorts of people; but being interrupted by the drum, he\nsaid, with a smiling countenance, \u201cYe see we have no liberty to\nspeak what we would, but God knoweth our hearts.\u201d As he proceeded,\nhe was again interrupted. Then, after a little pause or silence, he\nbegan to exhort the people; and to show his own comfort in laying\ndown his life, in the assurance of a blessed eternity, expressing\nhimself in these words: \u201cNow, I am as sure of my interest in\nChrist, and peace with God, as all within this Bible and the Spirit\nof God can make me; and I am fully persuaded, that this is the very\nway for which I suffer, and that he will return gloriously to\nScotland; but it will be terrifying to many; therefore, I entreat\nyou, be not discouraged at the way of Christ and the cause for\nwhich I am to lay down my life, and step into eternity, where my\nsoul shall be as full of him as it can desire to be; and now this\nis the sweetest and most glorious day that ever mine eyes did see.\nEnemies are now enraged against the way and people of God, but\nere long they shall be enraged one against another, to their own\nconfusion.\u201d Here the drums did beat a third time. Then setting his\nfoot on the ladder, he said, \u201cThe Lord knows I go on this ladder\nwith less fear, and perturbation of mind, than ever I entered the\npulpit to preach.\u201d--When up, he sat down, and said, \u201cNow I am near\nthe getting of the crown, which shall be sure, for which I bless\nthe Lord, and desire all of you to bless him, that he hath brought\nme here, and made me triumph over devils, men, and sin. They shall\nwound me no more. I forgive all men the wrongs they have done me;\nand I pray the sufferers may be kept from sin, and helped to know\ntheir duty.\u201d Then having prayed a little within himself, he lifted\nup the napkin, and said, \u201cFarewell all relations and friends in\nChrist; farewell acquaintances and earthly enjoyments; farewell\nreading and preaching, praying and believing, wanderings, reproach,\nand sufferings. Welcome Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; into thy hands\nI commit my spirit.\u201d Then he prayed a little, and the executioner\nturned him over as he was praying; and so he finished his course,\nand the ministry that he had received of the Lord.\n\nTake his character from Sir Robert Hamilton of Preston, who was his\ncontemporary. He was affectionate, affable, and tender-hearted, to\nall such as he thought had any thing of the image of God in them;\nsober and temperate in his diet, saying commonly, It was well won\nthat was won off the flesh; generous, liberal and most charitable\nto the poor; a great hater of covetousness; a frequent visitor of\nthe sick; much alone, loving to be retired; but when about his\nMaster\u2019s public work, laying hold of every opportunity to edify;\nin conversation, still dropping what might minister grace to the\nhearers: his countenance was edifying to beholders; often sighing\nwith deep groans: preaching in season, and out of season, upon all\nhazards; ever the same in judgment and practice. From his youth,\nhe was much given to the duty of secret prayer, for whole nights\ntogether; wherein it was observed, that, both in secret and in\nfamilies, he always sat straight upon his knees, with his hands\nlifted up; and in this posture (as some took notice) he died with\nthe rope about his neck.\n\nBesides his last speech and testimony, and several other religious\nletters, with the lecture, sermon, and sentence of excommunication\nat Torwood, which, are all published, there are also several other\nsermons, and notes of sermons, interspersed among some peoples\nhands, in print and manuscript, some of which have been published.\nYet if we may believe Walker, in his remarkable passages, &c. who\nheard severals of them preached, they are nothing to what they\nwere when delivered; and however pathetical, yet doubtless far\ninferior to what they would have been, had they been corrected and\npublished by the worthy author himself.\n\n\nAN ACROSTIC ON HIS NAME.\n\n      Most sweet and savoury is thy fame,\n      And more renowned is thy name,\n      Surely than any can record,\n      Thou highly favoured of the Lord.\n      Exalted thou on earth didst live;\n      Rich grace to thee the Lord did give.\n\n      During the time thou dwelt below,\n      On in a course to heaven didst go.\n      Not casten down with doubts and fears,\n      Assur\u2019d of heaven near thirty years.\n      Labour thou didst in Christ\u2019s vineyard;\n      Diligent wast, no time thou spar\u2019d.\n\n      Christ\u2019s standard thou didst bear alone,\n      After others from it were gone.\n      Right zeal for truth was found in thee,\n      Great sinners censurd\u2019st faithfully.\n      In holding truth didst constant prove,\n      Laidst down thy life out of true love.\n        June 21, 1741.               W. W.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  NARRATIVE\n\n  OF THE BATTLES\n\n  OF\n\n  DRUMCLOG,\n\n  AND\n\n  BOTHWELL BRIDGE.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nBATTLE OF DRUMCLOG.\n\n  The following Account of the Battles of Drumclog and Bothwell\n  Bridge, is taken from an American Newspaper, entitled the\n  \u2018National Gazette.\u2019 It is written by the Laird of Torfoot, an\n  officer in the Presbyterian army, whose estate is at this day in\n  the possession of his lineal descendants of the fifth generation.\n\n\n\u201cIt was a fair Sabbath morning, 1st June 1679, that an assembly of\nthe Covenanters sat down on the heathy mountains of Drumclog. We\nhad assembled not to fight, but to worship the God of our fathers.\nWe were far from the tumult of cities.--The long dark heath waved\naround us; and we disturbed no living creatures, saving the\npees-weep and the heather-cock. As usual, we had come armed. It was\nfor self-defence. For desperate and ferocious bands made bloody\nraids through the country, and, pretending to put down treason,\nthey waged war against religion and morals. They spread ruin and\nhavoc over the face of bleeding Scotland.\n\nThe venerable Douglas had commenced the solemnities of the day.\nHe was expatiating on the execrable evils of tyranny. Our souls\nwere on fire at the rememberance of our country\u2019s sufferings and\nthe wrongs of the church. In this moment of intense feeling, our\nwatchman posted on the neighbouring heights fired his carabine and\nran towards the congregation. He announced the approach of the\nenemy. We raised our eyes to the minister. \u201cI have done,\u201d said\nDouglas with his usual firmness--\u201cYou have got the theory,--now for\nthe practice; you know your duty; self-defence is always lawful.\nBut the enemy approaches.\u201d He raised his eyes to heaven and uttered\na prayer--brief and emphatic--like the prayer of Richard Cameron,\n\u201cLord, spare the green, and take the ripe.\u201d\n\nThe officers collected their men, and placed themselves each at\nthe head of those of his own district. Sir Robert Hamilton placed\nthe foot in the centre, in three ranks. A company of horse, well\narmed and mounted, was placed on the left; and a small squadron\nalso on the left. These were drawn back, and they occupied the more\nsolid ground; as well with a view to have a more solid footing, as\nto arrest any flanking party that might take them on the wings. A\ndeep morass lay between us and the ground of the enemy. Our aged\nmen, our females and children retired; but they retired slowly.\nThey had the hearts and the courage of the female and children in\nthose days of intense religious feeling and of suffering. They\nmanefested more concern for the fate of relatives, for the fate\nof the church than for their own personal safety. As Claverhouse\ndescended the opposite mountain, they retired to the rising ground\nin the rear of our host. The aged men walked with their bonnets\nin hand. Their long grey hairs waving to the breeze. They sang a\ncheering psalm. The music was that of the well-known tune of \u201cThe\nMartyrs;\u201d and the sentiment breathed defiance.--The music floated\ndown on the wind,--our men gave them three cheers as they fell into\ntheir ranks. Never did I witness such animation in the looks of\nmen. For me, my spouse and my little children were in the rear. My\nnative plains, and the hills of my father, far below, in the dale\nof Aven, were in full view from the heights which we occupied. My\ncountry seemed to raise her voice--the bleeding church seemed to\nwail aloud. \u2018And these,\u2019 I said, as, Clavers and his troops winded\nslowly down the dark mountain\u2019s side, \u2018these are the unworthy\nslaves, and bloody executioners, by which the tyrant completes our\nmiseries.\u2019\n\nHamilton here displayed the hero. His portly figure was seen\nhastening from rank to rank. He inspired courage into our raw and\nundisciplined troops. The brave Hackstone, and Hall of Haughhead,\nstood at the head of the foot, and re-echoed the sentiments of\ntheir Chief. Burley and Cleland had inflamed the minds of the\nhorsemen on the left to a noble enthusiasm. My small troop on the\nright needed no exhortation; we were a band of brothers, resolved\nto conquer or fall.\n\nThe trumpet of Clavers sounded a loud note of defiance--the\nkettle drum mixed its tumultuous roll--they halted--they made a\nlong pause. We could see an officer with four file, conducting\n15 persons from the ranks, to a knoll on their left. I could\nperceive one in black: it was my friend King, the Chaplain at Lord\nCardross, who had been taken by Clavers at Hamilton. \u2018Let them be\nshot through the head,\u2019 said Clavers, in his usual dry way, \u2018if\nthey should offer to run away.\u2019 We could see him view our position\nwith great care. His officers came around him. We soon learned\nthat he wished to treat with us. He never betrayed symptoms of\nmercy or of justice, nor offered terms of reconciliation, unless\nwhen he dreaded that he had met his match; and, even then, it was\nonly a man\u0153uvre to gain time or to deceive. His flag approached\nthe edge of the bog. Sir Robert held a flag sacred; had it been\nborne by Clavers himself he had honoured it. He demanded the\npurpose for which he came. \u2018I come,\u2019 said he, \u2018in the name of his\nsacred Majesty, and of Colonel Graham, to offer you a pardon,\non condition that you lay down your arms, and deliver up your\nringleaders.\u2019--\u2018Tell your officer,\u2019 said Sir Robert, \u2018that we\nare fully aware of the deception he practices. He is not clothed\nwith any powers to treat, nor was he sent out to treat with us,\nand attempt reconciliation. The Government against whom we have\nrisen, refuses to redress our grievances, or to restore to us our\nliberties. Had the tyrant wished to render us justice, he had not\nsent by the hand of such a ferocious assassin as Claverhouse. Let\nhim, however, show his powers, and we refuse not to treat; and we\nshall lay down our arms to treat, provided that he also lay down\nhis. Thou hast my answer.\u2019--\u2018It is a perfectly hopeless case,\u2019 said\nBurley, while he called after the flag-bearer.--\u2018Let me add one\nword by your leave, General. Get thee up to that bloody dragoon,\nClavers, and tell him, that we will spare his life, and the lives\nof his troops, on condition that he, your Clavers, lay down his\narms, and the arms of these troops. We will do more, as we have\nno prisoners on these wild mountains, we will even let him go on\nhis parole, on condition that he swear never to lift arms against\nthe religion and the liberties of his country.\u2019 A loud burst of\napplause re-echoed from the ranks; and after a long pause in deep\nsilence, the army sung the following verses of a psalm:--\n\n      \u2018The arrows of the bow he brake:\n        The shield, the sword, the war.\n      More glorious thou than hills of prey,\n        More excellent art far.\n\n      Those that were stout of heart are spoil\u2019d,\n        They sleep their sleep outright;\n      And none of these their hands did find,\n        That were the men of might.\u2019\n\nWhen the report was made to Claverhouse, he gave word with a savage\nferocity, \u2018Their blood be on their own heads. Be--_no quarter_--the\nword this day.\u2019 His fierce dragoons raised a yell, and \u2018No quarter\u2019\nre-echoed from rank to rank, while they galloped down the mountain\nside. It is stated, that Burleigh was heard to say, \u2018Then be it so,\neven let there be \u2018no quarter\u2019--at least in my wing of the host. So\nGod send me a meeting,\u2019 cried he aloud, \u2018with that chief under the\nwhite plume.--My country would bless my memory, could my sword give\nhis villainous carcase to the crows.\u2019\n\nOur raw troops beheld with firmness the approach of the foemen; and\nat the moment when the enemy halted to fire, the whole of our foot\ndropped on the heath. Not a man was seen down when the order was\ngiven to rise, and return the fire. The first flank fired, then\nkneeling down while the second fired. They made each bullet tell.\nAs often as the lazy rolling smoke was carried over the enemy\u2019s\nhead, a shower of bullets fell on his ranks. Many a gallant man\ntumbled on the heath. The fire was incessant. It resembled one\nblazing sheet of flame, for several minutes, along the line of the\nCovenanters. Clavers attempted to cross the morass, and break our\ncentre. \u2018Spearmen! to the front,\u2019--I could hear the deep-toned\nvoice of Hamilton say, \u2018Kneel, and place your spears to receive the\nenemy\u2019s cavalry; and you, my gallant fellows fire--_God and our\ncountry_ is our word.\u2019--Our officers flew from rank to rank. Not a\npeasant gave way that day. As the smoke rolled off, we could see\nClavers urging on his men with the violence of despair. His troops\nfell in heaps around him, and still the gaps were filled up. A\ngalled trooper would occasionally flinch; but ere he could turn or\nflee, the sword of Clavers was waving over his head. I could see\nhim in his fury, strike both man and horse. In the fearful carnage\nhe himself sometimes reeled. He would stop short in the midst of\na movement, then contradict his own orders, and strike the man,\nbecause he could not comprehend his meaning.\n\nHe ordered the flanking parties to take us on our right and left.\n\u201cIn the name of God,\u201d cried he, \u201ccross the bog, and charge them on\nthe flanks till we get over the morass. If this fail we are lost.\u201d\n\nIt now fell to my lot to come into action.--Hitherto we had fired\nonly some distant shot. A gallant officer led his band down to the\nborders of the swamp, in search of a proper place to cross. We\nthrew ourselves before him, a severe firing commenced. My gallant\nmen fired with great steadiness. We could see many tumbling from\ntheir saddles. Not content with repelling the foemen, we found an\nopportunity to cross, and attack sword in hand. The Captain, whose\nname I afterwards ascertained to be Arrol, threw himself into my\npath. In the first shock, I discharged my pistols. His sudden\nstart in the saddle, told me that one of them had taken effect.\nWith one of the tremendous oaths of Charles II. he closed with\nme. He fired his steel pistol. I was in front of him;--my sword\nglanced on the weapon, and gave a direction to the bullet, which\nsaved my life. By this time my men had driven the enemy before\nthem, and had left the ground clear for the single combat. As he\nmade a lounge at my breast, I turned his sword aside, by one of\nthose sweeping blows, which are rather the dictate of a kind of\ninstinct of self-defence, than a movement of art.--As our strokes\nredoubled, my antagonist\u2019s dark features put on a look of deep\nand settled ferocity. No man who has not encountered the steel of\nhis enemy, in the field of battle, can conceive the looks and the\nmanner of the warrior, in the moments of his intense feelings. May\nI never witness them again! We fought in silence. My stroke fell\non his left shoulder; it cut the belt of his carabine, which fell\nto the ground. His blow cut me to the rib, glanced along the bone,\nand rid me also of the weight of my carabine. He had now advanced\ntoo near me to be struck with the sword. I grasped him by the\ncollar. I pushed him backwards; and, with an entangled blow of my\nFerrara, I struck him across his throat. It cut only the strap of\nhis head-piece, and it fell off. With a sudden spring, he seized\nme by the sword belt. Our horses reared, and we both came to the\nground. We rolled on the heath in deadly conflict. It was in this\nsituation of matters, that my brave fellows had returned from the\nrout of the flanking party, to look after their commander. One of\nthem was actually rushing on my antagonist, when I called on him to\nretire. We started to our feet. Each grasped his sword. We closed\nin conflict again. After parrying strokes of mine enemy, which\nindicated a hellish ferocity, I told him, my object was to take him\nprisoner; that sooner than kill him, I should order my men to seize\nhim. \u201cSooner let my soul be brandered on my ribs in hell,\u201d said he,\n\u201cthan be captured by a Whigmore. \u2018_No quarter_\u2019 is the word of my\nColonel, and my word. Have at the Whig--I dare the whole of you to\nthe combat.\u201d--\u201cLeave the mad man to me--leave the field instantly,\u201d\nsaid I to my party, whom I could hardly restrain. My sword fell on\nhis left shoulder.--His sword dropped from his hand.--I lowered\nmy sword, and offered him his life. \u2018_No quarter_,\u2019 said he, with\na shriek of despair. He snatched his sword, which I held in my\nhand, and made a lounge at my breast. I parried his blows till he\nwas nearly exhausted; but, gathering up his huge limbs, he put\nforth all his energy in a thrust at my heart.--My Andro Ferrara\nreceived it, so as to weaken its deadly force; but it made a deep\ncut. Though I was faint with loss of blood, I left him no time for\nanother blow. My sword glanced on his shoulder, cut through his\nbuff coat, and skin, and flesh; swept through his jaw, and laid\nopen his throat from ear to ear. The fire of his ferocious eye\nwas quenched in a moment. He reeled, and falling with a terrible\nclash, he poured out his soul with a torrent of blood on the heath.\nI sunk down, insensible for a moment. My faithful men, who never\nlost sight of me, raised me up. In the fierce combat, the soldier\nsuffers most from thirst. I stooped down to fill my helmet with the\nwater which oozed through the morass. It was deeply tinged with\nhuman blood, which flowed in the conflict above me. I started back\nwith horror; and Gawn Witherspoon bringing up my steed, we set\nforward in the tumult of the battle.\n\nAll this while, the storm of war had raged on our left. Cleland\nand the fierce Burley had charged the strong company sent to flank\nthem. These officers permitted me to cross the swamp, then, charged\nthem with a terrible shout. \u2018_No quarter_,\u2019 cried the dragoons.\n\n\u2018Be _no quarter_ to you, then, ye murderous loons,\u2019 cried Burley;\nand at one blow he cut their leader through the steel cap, and\nscattered his brains on his followers. His every blow overthrew a\nfoeman. Their whole forces were now brought up, and they drove the\ndragoons of Clavers into the swamp. They rolled over each other.\nAll stuck fast. The Covenanters dismounted, and fought on foot.\nThey left not one man to bear the tidings to their Colonel.\n\nThe firing of the platoons had long ago ceased, and the dreadful\nwork of death was carried on by the sword. At this moment, a\ntrumpet was heard in the rear of our army. There was an awful\npause, all looked up. It was only the gallant Captain Nesbit, and\nhis guide, Woodburn of Mains; he had no reinforcements for us, but\nhimself was a host. With a loud huzza, and flourish of his sword,\nhe placed himself by the side of Burley, and cried, \u2018jump the\nditch, and charge the enemy.\u2019 He and Burley struggled through the\nmarsh. The men followed as they could. They formed and marched on\nthe enemy\u2019s right flank.\n\nAt this instant, Hamilton and Hackstone brought forward the whole\nline of infantry in front. \u2018_God and our Country_\u2019 re-echoed\nfrom all the ranks--\u2018_No quarters_\u2019 said the fierce squadrons of\nClavers.--Here commenced a bloody scene.\n\nI seized the opportunity this moment offered to me of making a\nmovement to the left of the enemy to save my friend King and the\nother prisoners.--We came in time to save them. Our sword speedily\nsevered the ropes which tyranny had bound on the arms of the men.\nThe weapons of the fallen foe supplied what was lacking of arms;\nand with great vigour we moved forward to charge the enemy on\nthe left flank. Claverhouse formed a hollow square--himself in\nthe centre; his men fought gallantly; they did all that soldiers\ncould do in their situation. Wherever a gap was made, Clavers\nthrust the men forward, and speedily filled it up. Three times he\nrolled headlong on the heath as he hastened from rank to rank,\nand as often he remounted. My little band thinned his ranks. He\npaid us a visit. Here I distinctly saw the features and shape\nof this far-famed man. He was small of stature, and not well\nformed. His arms were long in proportion to his legs; he had a\ncomplexion unusually dark; his features were not lighted up with\nsprightliness, as some fabulously reported; they seemed gloomy as\nhell: his cheeks were lank and deeply furrowed; his eye-brows were\ndrawn down and gathered into a kind of knot at their junctions,\nand thrown up at their extremeties; they had, in short, the strong\nexpression given by our painters to those on the face of Judas\nIscariot, his eyes were hollow, they had not the lustre of genius\nnor the fire of vivacity; they were lighted up by that dark fire\nof wrath which is kindled and fanned by an internal anxiety, and\nconciousness of criminal deeds; his irregular and large teeth\nwere presented through a smile, which was very unnatural on his\nset of features; his mouth seemed to be unusually large from\nthe extremeties being drawn backward and downward--as if in the\nintense application to something cruel and disgusting; in short,\nhis upper teeth projected over his under lip, and on the whole,\npresented to my view the mouth on the image of the Emperor Julian\nthe Apostate.--In one of his rapid courses past us, my sword could\nonly shear off his white plumb and a fragment of his buff coat.\nIn a moment he was at the other side of the square. Our officers\neagerly sought a meeting with him. \u2018He has the proof of lead,\u2019\ncried some of our men.--\u2018Take the cold steel or a piece of silver.\u2019\n\u2018No,\u2019 cried Burley, \u2018It is his rapid movement on that fine charger\nthat bids defiance to any thing like an aim in the tumult of the\nbloody fray. I could sooner shoot ten heather cocks on the wing,\nthan one flying Clavers.\u2019 At that moment Burley, whose eye watched\nhis antagonist, pushed into the hollow square. But Burley was too\nimpatient. His blow was levelled at him before he came within its\nreach. His heavy sword descended on the head of Clavers\u2019 horse\nand felled him to the ground.--Burley\u2019s men rushed pell-mell on\nthe fallen Clavers, but his faithful dragoons threw themselves\nupon them, and by their overpowering force drove Burley back,\nClavers was in an instant on a fresh steed. His bugleman recalled\nthe party who were driving back the flanking party of Burley. He\ncollected his whole troops to make his last and desperate attack.\nHe charged our infantry with such force, that they began to reel.\nIt was only for a moment. The gallant Hamilton snatched the white\nflag of the Covenant, and placed himself in the fore front of the\nbattle. Our men shouted \u2018_God and our country_,\u2019 and rallied under\nthe flag. They fought like heroes. Clavers fought no less bravely.\nHis blows were aimed at our officers. His steel fell on the helmet\nof Hackstone, whose sword was entangled in the body of a fierce\ndragoon, who had just wounded him. He was borne by his men into the\nrear. I directed my men on Clavers. \u2018Victory or death,\u2019 was their\nreply to me. Clavers received us. He struck a desperate blow at me\nas he raised himself, with all his force, in the saddle. My steel\ncap resisted it. The second stroke I received on my Ferrara and his\nsteel was shivered to pieces. We rushed headlong on each other. His\npistol missed fire--it had been soaked in blood. Mine took effect.\nBut the wound was not deadly. Our horses reared. We rolled on the\nground. In vain we sought to grasp each other. In the _m\u00eal\u00e9e_, men\nand horse tumbled on us. We were for a few moments buried under our\nmen, whose eagerness to save the respective officers brought them\nin multitudes down upon us. By the aid of my faithful man Gawn, I\nhad extricated myself from my fallen horse; and we were rushing\non the bloody Clavers, when we were again literally buried under\na mass of men; for Hamilton had by this time brought up his whole\nline, and he had planted his standard where we and Clavers were\nrolling on the heath. Our men gave three cheers and drove in the\ntroops of Clavers. Here I was borne along with the moving mass of\nmen; and, almost suffocated and faint with the loss of blood, I\nknew nothing more till I opened my eye on my faithful attendant. He\nhad dragged me from the very grasp of the enemy, and had borne me\ninto the rear, and was bathing my temples with water. We speedily\nregained our friends; and what a spectacle presented itself!--It\nseemed that I beheld an immense moving mass heaped up together\nin the greatest confusion.--Some shrieking, some groaning, some\nshouted, horses neighed and pranced, swords rung on the steel\nhelmets. I placed around me a few of my hardy men, and we rushed\ninto the thickest of the enemy in search of Clavers, but it was\nin vain. At that instant, his trumpet sounded the loud notes of\nretreat; and we saw on a knoll Clavers borne away by his men.\nHe threw himself on a horse, and without sword, without helmet,\nhe fled in the first ranks of their retreating host. His troops\ngalloped up the hill in the utmost confusion. My little line closed\nwith that of Burley\u2019s, and took a number of prisoners. Our main\nbody pursued the enemy two miles, and strewed the ground with men\nand horses. I could see the bare-headed Clavers in front of his\nmen, kicking and struggling up the steep sides of Calder hill. He\nhalted only a moment on the top to look behind him, then plunged\nhis rowels into his horse, and darted forward; nor did he recover\nfrom his panic till he found himself in the city of Glasgow.\n\n\u2018And, my children,\u2019 the Laird would say, after he had told the\nadventures of this bloody day, \u2018I visited the field of battle next\nday; I shall never forget the sight. Men and horses lay in their\ngory beds. I turned away from the horrible spectacle. I passed by\nthe spot where God saved my life in the single combat, and where\nthe unhappy Captain Arrol fell, I observed that, in the subsequent\nfray, the body had been trampled on by a horse, and his bowels were\npoured out. Thus, my children, the defence of our lives, and the\nregaining of our liberty and religion, has subjected us to severe\ntrials. And how great must be the love of liberty, when it carries\nmen forward, under the impulse of self-defence, to witness the most\ndisgusting spectacles, and to encounter the most cruel hardships of\nwar!\u2019\n\n\nBATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE.\n\n\u201cHeu! victa jacet pietas.\u201d\n\n* * * After the ranks of the patriotic Whigs were broken by\noverwhelming forces, and while Dalzell and Clavers swept the south\nand west of Scotland like the blast of the desert, breathing\npestilence and death--the individual wanderers betook themselves to\nthe caves and fastnesses of their rugged country. This was their\nsituation chiefly from A. D. 1680, to the Revolution. The Laird\nspent his days in seclusion; but still he fearlessly attended\nthe weekly assemblies in the fields, for the worship of Almighty\nGod. What had he to fear?--His estate had been confiscated. His\nwife and babes stript by the life guards of the last remnant of\nearthly comfort which they could take away; and himself doomed as\nan outlaw, to be executed by the military assassins when taken. He\nbecame reckless of the world.\n\n\u2018I have lived,\u2019 said he in anguish, \u2018to see a Prince, twice of his\nown choice, take the oath of the covenants to support religion,\nand the fundamental laws of the land. I have lived to see that\nPrince turn traitor to his country, and, with unblushing impiety\norder these covenants to be burned by the hands of the executioner.\nI have seen him subvert the liberty of my country, both civil\nand religious.--I have seen him erect a bloody inquisition. The\npriest imposed on us by tyranny, instead of wooing us over by the\nloveliness of religion, have thrown off the bowels of mercy. They\noccupy seats in the bloody Council. They stimulate the cruelties\nof Lauderdale, M\u2019Kenzie and York. Their hands are dipt in blood to\nthe wrests. This Council will not permit us to live in peace. Our\nproperty they confiscate. Our houses, they convert into barracks.\nThey drag free men into chains. They bring no witnesses of our\nguilt.--They invent new tortures to convert us. They employ the\nthumb-screws and bootkins. If we are silent they condemn us. If we\nconfess our Christian creed, they doom us to the gibbet. Not only\nour sentence, but the manner of our execution is fixed before our\ntrial. Clavers is our judge; his dragoons are our executioners;\nand these savages do still continue to employ even the sagacity\nof blood hounds to hunt us down.--My soul turns away from these\nloathsome spectacles.\u2019\n\nAt this moment his brother John entered, with looks which betrayed\nunusual anxiety. \u2018My brother,\u2019 said he, \u2018a trooper advances at\nfull speed, and he is followed by a dark column. We have not even\ntime to fly.\u2019--The mind of the laird like those of the rest of the\nwanderers, always brightened up at the approach of danger. \u2018Let us\nreconnoiter,\u2019 said he, \u2018what do I see, but one trooper. And that\nmotely crowd is but a rabble--not a troop. That trooper is not of\nClavers\u2019 band; nor does he belong to Douglas--nor to Ingles--nor\nto Strachan\u2019s dragoons. He waves a small flag. I can discover the\nscarlet and blue colour of the Covenanters flag. Ha! welcome you,\nJohn Howie of Lochgoin.--But what news?--Lives our country? Lives\nthe good old cause?\u2019--\u2018Glorious news,\u2019 exclaimed Howie, \u2018Scotland\nfor ever! She is free. The tyrant James has abdicated. The Stuarts\nare banished by an indignant nation, Orange triumphs, our wounds\nare binding up.--Huzza! Scotland, and King William and the Covenant\nfor ever!\u2019\n\nThe Laird made no reply. He laid his steel cap on the ground, and\nthrew himself on his knees; he uttered a brief prayer, in which\nthis was the close: \u2018My bleeding country, and thy wailing kirk,\nand my brethren in the furnace, have come in remembrance before\nthee. For ever lauded be thy name.\u2019--\u2018Hasten to the meeting at\nLesmahagow. Our friends behind me, you see, have already set out,\u2019\nsaid Howie. And he set out with enthusiastic ardour to spread the\nnews.\n\n\u2018These news,\u2019 said the Laird, after a long pause while his eyes\nfollowed the courser over the plains of Aven--\u2018these news are to\nme as life from the dead. I have a mind to meet my old friends at\nLesmahagow. And then, when serious business is despatched, we can\ntake Bothwell field in our return. It will yield me at least a\nmelancholy pleasure to visit the spot where we fought, I trust, our\nlast battle against the enemies of our country, and of the good old\ncause.\u2019\n\nSerious matters of church and state having been discussed at the\npublic meeting, the brothers found themselves, on the fourth day,\non the battle ground of Bothwell.\n\n\u2018On that moor,\u2019 said the Laird, after a long silence--and without\nbeing conscious of it, he had, by a kind of instinct, natural\nenough to a soldier, drawn his sword, and was pointing with it--\u2018On\nthat moor the enemy first formed under Monmouth. There, on the\nright, Clavers led on the life-guards, breathing fury, and resolute\nto wipe off the disgrace of the affair of Drumclog. Dalzell formed\nhis men on that knoll. Lord Livingstone led the van of the foemen.\nWe had taken care to have Bothwell Bridge strongly secured by a\nbarricade, and our little battery of cannon was planted on the spot\nbelow us, in order to sweep the bridge. And we did rake it. The\nfoemen\u2019s blood streamed there. Again and again the troops of the\ntyrant marched on, and our cannon annihilated their columns. Sir\nRobert Hamilton was our Commander-in-Chief.--The gallant general\nHackston stood on that spot with his brave men. Along the river,\nand above the bridge, Burley\u2019s foot and Captain Nisbet\u2019s dragoons\nwere stationed. For one hour we kept the enemy in check; they were\ndefeated in every attempt to cross the Clyde. Livingstone sent\nanother strong column to storm the bridge. I shall never forget\nthe effect of one fire from our battery, where my men stood. We\nsaw the line of the foe advance in all the military glory of\nbrave and beautiful men, the horses pranced--the armour gleamed.\nIn one moment nothing was seen but a shocking mass of mortality.\nHuman limbs, and the bodies and limbs of horses were mingled\nin one huge heap, or blown to a great distance. Another column\nattempted to cross above the bridge. Some threw themselves into\nthe current. One well-directed fire from Burley\u2019s troops threw\nthem into disorder, and drove them back. Meantime, while we were\nthus warmly engaged, Hamilton was labouring to bring down the\ndifferent divisions of our main body into action; but in vain he\ncalled on Colonel Cleland\u2019s troop--in vain he ordered Henderson\u2019s\nto fall in--in vain he called on Colonel Fleming\u2019s. Hackstone flew\nfrom troop to troop--all was confusion; in vain he besought, he\nintreated, he threatened. Our disputes and fiery misguided zeal,\nmy brother, contracted a deep and deadly guilt that day. The Whig\nturned his arm in fierce heat that day against his own vitals.\nOur Chaplains, Cargil and King, and Kid, and Douglas, interposed\nagain and again, Cargil mounted the pulpit; he preached concord;\nhe called aloud for mutual forbearance. \u2018Behold the banners of\nthe enemy,\u2019 cried he, \u2018hear ye not the fire of the foe, and of\nour brethren? Our brothers and fathers are fallen beneath their\nsword. Hasten to their aid. See the flag of the Covenant. See the\nmotto in letters of gold--\u201cChrist\u2019s Crown and the Covenant.\u201d Hear\nthe wailings of the bleeding Kirk. Banish discord. And let us, as\na band of brothers present a bold front to the foeman--Follow me\nall ye who love your country and the Covenant. I go to die in the\nfore-front of the battle.\u2019 All the ministers and officers followed\nhim, amidst a flourish of trumpets; but the great body remained to\nlisten to the harangues of the factious.--We sent again and again\nfor ammunition. My men were at the last round. Treachery, or a\nfatal error, had sent a barrel of raisins instead of powder. My\nheart sunk within me while I beheld the despair on the faces of my\nbrave fellows, as I struck out the head of the vessel. Hackstone\ncalled his officers to him. We threw ourselves around him.--\u2018What\nmust be done?\u2019 said he in an agony of despair. \u2018Conquer or die,\u2019\nwe said, as if with one voice. \u2018We have our swords yet. Lead back\nthe men to their places and let the ensign bear down the blue and\nscarlet colours. Our God and our country be the word.\u2019 Hackstone\nrushed forward. We ran to our respective corps--we cheered our\nmen but they were languid and disspirited. Their ammunition was\nnearly expended, and they seemed anxious to husband what remained.\nThey fought only with their carabines. The cannons could no more\nbe loaded. The enemy soon perceived this. We saw a troop of horse\napproach the bridge. It was that of the life-guards. I recognised\nthe plume of Clavers. They approached in rapid march. A solid\ncolumn of infantry followed. I sent a request to Captain Nesbit to\njoin his troop to mine. He was in an instant with me.--We charged\nthe life-guards. Our swords rung on their steel caps.--Many of our\nbrave lads fell on all sides of me. But we hewed down the foe. They\nbegan to reel.--The whole column was kept stationary on the bridge.\nClavers\u2019 dreadful voice was heard--more like the yell of a savage,\nthan the commanding voice of a soldier. He pushed forward his men,\nand again we hewed them down. A third mass was pushed up. Our\nexhausted dragoon fled.--Unsupported, I found myself by the brave\nNesbit, and Paton, and Hackstone. We looked for a moment\u2019s space\nin silence on each other. We galloped in front of our retreating\nmen. We rallied them. We pointed to the General almost alone. We\npointed to the white and to the scarlet colours floating near him.\nWe cried, \u2018God and our Country.\u2019 They faced about. We charged\nClavers once more.--\u2018Torfoot,\u2019 cried Nesbit, \u2018I dare you to the\nfore-front of the battle.\u2019 We rushed up at full gallop. Our men\nseeing this followed also at full speed.--We broke down the enemy\u2019s\nline, bearing down those files which we encountered. We cut our\nway through their ranks. But they had now lengthened their front.\nSuperior numbers drove us in. They had gained entire possession\nof the bridge. Livingstone and Dalzell were actually taking us\non the flank.--A band had got between us and Burley\u2019s infantry.\n\u2018My friends,\u2019 said Hackstone to his officers, \u2018we are last on the\nfield. We can do no more.--We must retreat.--Let us attempt, at\nleast, to bring aid to the deluded men behind us. They have brought\nruin on themselves and on us. Not Monmouth, but our own divisions\nhave scattered us.\u2019\n\nAt this moment one of the life-guards aimed a blow at\nHackstone.--My sword received it--and a stroke from Nesbit laid\nthe foeman\u2019s hand and sword in the dust. He fainted and tumbled\nfrom the saddle. We reined our horses, and galloped to our main\nbody. But what a scene presented itself here! These misguided men\nhad their eyes now fully opened on their fatal errors. The enemy\nwere bringing up their whole force against them. I was not long\na near spectator of it; for a ball grazed my courser. He plunged\nand reared--then shot off like an arrow. Several of our officers\ndrew to the same place. On the knoll we faced about--the battle\nraged below us. We beheld our commander doing every thing that a\nbrave soldier could do with factious men against an overpowering\nfoe. Burley and his troops were in close conflict with Clavers\u2019\ndragoons. We saw him dismount three troopers with his own hand.\nHe could not turn the tide of battle, but he was covering the\nretreat of these misguided men. Before we could rejoin him, a party\nthrew themselves in our way. Kennoway, one of Clavers\u2019 officers\nled them on. \u2018Would to God that this was Grahame himself,\u2019 some\nof my comrades ejaculated aloud. \u2018He falls to my share,\u2019 said I,\n\u2018whoever the officer be.\u2019--I advanced--he met me, I parried several\nthrusts, he received a cut on the left arm; and the sword by the\nsame stroke, shore off one of his horse\u2019s ears; it plunged and\nreared. We closed again. I received a stroke on the left shoulder.\nMy blow fell on his sword arm. He reined his horse around,\nretreated a few paces, then returned at full gallop. My courser\nreared instinctively as he approached; I received his stroke on the\nback of my ferrara, and by a back stroke, I gave him a deep cut on\nthe cheek. And before he could recover a position of defence, my\nsword fell with a terrible blow on his steel cap. Stunned by the\nblow, he bent himself forward--and, grasping the mane, he tumbled\nfrom his saddle, and his steed galloped over the field. I did not\nrepeat the blow. His left hand presented his sword; his right arm\nwas disabled; his life was given to him. My companions having\ndisposed of their antagonists, (and some of them had two a-piece,)\nwe paused to see the fate of the battle. Dalzell and Livingstone\nwere riding over the field like furies, cutting down all in their\nway. Monmouth was galloping from rank to rank, and calling on his\nmen to give quarter. Clavers, to wipe off the disgrace of Drumclog,\nwas committing dreadful havoc. \u2018Can we not find Clavers,\u2019 said\nHalhead, \u2018no,\u2019 said Captain Paton, \u2018the gallant Colonel takes care\nto have a solid guard of his rogues about him. I have sought him\nover the field; but I found him, as I now perceive him, with a mass\nof his guards about him.\u2019 At this instant we saw our General, at\nsome distance, disentangling himself from the men who had tumbled\nover him in the _m\u00eal\u00e9e_. His face, his hands, and clothes, were\ncovered with gore. He had been dismounted, and was fighting on\nfoot. We rushed to the spot, and cheered him. Our party drove back\nthe scattered bands of Dalzell. \u2018My friends\u2019 said Sir Robert, as\nwe mounted him on a stray horse, \u2018the day is lost! But--you Paton;\nyou Brownlee of Torfoot, and you Halhead; let not that flag fall\ninto the hands of these incarnate devils. We have lost the battle,\nbut by the grace of God, neither Dalzell, nor Clavers shall say\nthat he took our colours. My ensign has done his duty. He is down.\nThis sword has saved it twice. I leave it to your care. You see its\nperilous situation.\u2019 He pointed with his sword to the spot.--We\ncollected some of our scattered troops, and flew to the place. The\nstandard bearer was down, but he was borne upright by the mass of\nmen who had thrown themselves in fierce contest around it. Its well\nknown blue and scarlet colours, and its motto, \u2018CHRIST\u2019S CROWN AND\nCOVENANT,\u2019 in brilliant gold letters, inspired us with a sacred\nenthusiasm. We gave a loud cheer to the wounded ensign, and rushed\ninto the combat. The redemption of that flag cost the foe many a\ngallant man. They fell beneath our broad swords; and, with horrible\nexecrations dying on their lips, they gave up their souls to their\nJudge.\n\nHere I met in front that ferocious dragoon of Clavers, named Tam\nHalliday, who had more than once, in his raids, plundered my halls;\nand had snatched the bread from my weeping babes. He had just\nseized the white staff of the flag. But his tremenduous oath of\nexultation, (we of the covenant never swear)--his oath had scarcely\npassed its polluted threshold, when this Andrew Ferrara fell on\nthe guard of his steel and shivered it to pieces. \u2018Recreant loon!\u2019\nsaid I, \u2018thou shalt this day remember thy evil deeds.\u2019 Another blow\non his helmet laid him at his huge length, and made him bite the\ndust. In the _m\u00eal\u00e9e_ that followed, I lost sight of him. We fought\nlike lions--but with the hearts of Christians. While my gallant\ncompanions stemmed the tide of battle, the standard, rent to\ntatters, fell across my breast. I tore it from the staff, and wrapt\nit round my body. We cut our way through the enemy, and carried our\nGeneral off the field.\n\nHaving gained a small knoll, we beheld once more the dreadful\nspectacle below. Thick volumes of smoke and dust rolled in a\nhazy cloud over the dark bands mingled in deadly fray. It was no\nlonger a battle, but a massacre. In the struggle of my feelings\nI turned my eyes on the General and Paton. I saw, in the face\nof the latter, an indiscribable conflict of passions. His long\nand shaggy eye-brows were drawn over his eyes. His hand grasped\nhis sword. \u2018I cannot yet leave the field\u2019 said the undaunted\nPaton--\u2018With the General\u2019s permission, I shall try to save some\nof our wretched men beset by those hell-hounds. Who will go?\u2019--At\nKilsyth I saw service. When deserted by my troops, I cut my way\nthrough Montrose\u2019s men, and reached the spot where Colonels Halket\nand Strachan were. We left the field together. Fifteen dragoons\nattacked us. We cut down thirteen, and two fled. Thirteen next\nassailed us. We left ten on the field, and three fled. Eleven\nHighlanders next met us. We paused and cheered each other: \u2018Now,\nJohnny,\u2019 cried Halket to me, \u2018put forth your metal, else we\nare gone,\u2019 nine others we sent after their comrades, and two\nfled--\u2018Now, who will join this raid!\u2019[A] \u2018I will be your leader,\u2019\nsaid Sir Robert, as we fell into the ranks.\n\nWe marched on the enemy\u2019s flank. \u2018Yonder is Clavers,\u2019 said Paton,\nwhile he directed his courser on him. The bloody man was, at that\nmoment, nearly alone, hacking to pieces some poor fellows already\non their knees disarmed, and imploring him by the common feelings\nof humanity to spare their lives. He had just finished his usual\noath against their \u2018feelings of humanity,\u2019 when Paton presented\nhimself. He instantly let go his prey and slunk back into the midst\nof his troopers. Having formed them, he advanced.--We formed,\nand made a furious onset. At our first charge his troop reeled.\nClavers was dismounted.--But at that moment Dalzell assailed us on\nthe flank and rear.--Our men fell around us like grass before the\nmower. The buglemen sounded a retreat. Once more in the _m\u00eal\u00e9e_ I\nfell in with the General and Paton, we were covered with wounds.\nWe directed our flight in the rear of our broken troops. By the\ndirection of the General I had unfurled the standard. It was borne\noff the field flying at the sword\u2019s point. But that honour cost\nme much. I was assailed by three fierce dragoons; five followed\nclose in the rear. I called to Paton,--in a moment he was by my\nside. I threw the standard to the General, and we rushed on the\nfoe. They fell beneath our swords; but my faithful steed, which\nhad carried me through all my dangers was mortally wounded. He\nfell. I was thrown in among the fallen enemy. I fainted. I opened\nmy eyes on misery. I found myself in the presence of Monmouth--a\nprisoner--with other wretched creatures, awaiting, in awful\nsuspense, their ultimate destiny. * * * *\n\n  W. C. B.\n\n\nLONG CREDIT.\n\nSoon after the battle of Preston, two Highlanders, in roaming\nthrough the south of Mid-Lothian, entered the farm-house of\nSwanston, near the Pentland Hills, where they found no one at home\nbut an old woman. They immediately proceeded to search the house,\nand soon finding a web of coarse home-spun cloth, made no scruple\nto unroll and cut off as much as they thought would make a coat to\neach. The woman was exceedingly incenced at their rapacity, roared\nand cried, and even had the hardihood to invoke divine vengeance\nupon their heads. \u201cYe villains!\u201d she cried, \u201cye\u2019ll ha\u2019e to account\nfor this yet!\u201d--\u201cAnd when will we pe account for\u2019t?\u201d asked one of\nthe Highlanders.--\u201cAt the last day, ye blackguards!\u201d exclaimed\nthe woman. \u201cTa last tay!\u201d replied the Highlander: \u201cTat pe cood\nlong credit--we\u2019ll e\u2019en pe tak a waistcoat too!\u201d at the same time\ncutting off a few additional yards of the cloth.\n\n\nDEATH OF A WATCH.\n\nAfter the battle of Falkirk, in 1746, a Highlandman was observed\nextracting a gold watch from the fob of an English officer who had\nbeen killed. His comrade viewed him with a greedy eye; which the\nman taking notice of, said to him \u201cTamn you gapin\u2019 creedy bitch,\ngang an\u2019 shoot a shentleman for hersel\u2019, an no envie me o\u2019 my pit\nwatch.\u201d Next morning finding his watch motionless, and meeting his\ncomrade, says to him, \u201cOch! she no be care muckle about a watch,\nan\u2019 you be like mine what will you gie me for her?\u201d The other\nreplied, \u201cI be venture a kinny.\u201d--\u201cWeel then,\u201d said the other,\n\u201cShust tak her, an\u2019 welcome, for she be die yester night.\u201d\n\n\nCAPTAIN SILK.\n\nIn a party of ladies, on it being reported that a Captain Silk had\narrived in town, they exclaimed, with one exception, \u2018What a name\nfor a soldier!\u2019 \u2018The fittest name in the world,\u2019 replied a witty\nfemale, \u2018for Silk never can be Worsted!\u2019\n\n\n[Illustration: FINIS.]\n\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[A] This chivalrous defence is recorded, I find, in the life of\nCaptain Paton, in the \u2018Scots Worthies,\u2019 Edin. edit. of A. D. 1812.\nThis celebrated Officer was trained up to warfare in the army of\nCharles Gustavus, King of Sweden. This is a specimen of these\nheroic Whigs, who brought about the Revolution of A. D. 1688.\n\n\n\n\n  AN ELEGY\n\n  IN MEMORY\n\n  OF THAT VALIANT CHAMPION,\n\n  SIR R. GRIERSON,\n\n  LATE LAIRD OF LAG,\n\n  Who died Dec. 23d, 1733.\n\n  WHEREIN\n\n  THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS\n\n  Commends many of his best friends, who were\n\n  THE CHIEF MANAGERS,\n\n  of the late Persecution.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nAN\n\nELEGY\n\nIN MEMORY OF\n\nSIR ROBERT GRIERSON,\n\n_OF LAG_.\n\n\n      What fatal news is this I hear?\n      On earth who shall my standard bear?\n      For Lag who was my champion brave,\n      Is dead and now laid in his grave,\n      The want of him is a great grief,\n      He was as my manager and chief,\n      Who fought my kingdom to promove,\n      And to my laws he had great love,\n      Could such a furious fiend as I,\n      Shed tears, my cheeks could never dry;\n      But I could mourn both night and day,\n      \u2019Cause Lag from earth is ta\u2019en away.\n      It is no wonder I am sad,\n      A better friend I never had,\n      Through all the large tract of his time,\n      He never did my ways decline:\n      He was my trusty constant liege,\n      Who at all times did me oblige;\n      But now what shall I think or say?\n      By death at last he\u2019s ta\u2019en away.\n      He was a man of meikle zeal,\n      Who in my service did not fail;\n      He was no coward to relent;\n      No man dare say he did repent,\n      Of the good service done to me,\n      For as he liv\u2019d so did he die,\n      He bore my image on his brow,\n      My service he did still avow,\n      He had no other deity,\n      But this world, the flesh, and me;\n      Unto us he did homage pay,\n      And did us worship every day.\n      The thing that he delighted in,\n      Was that which pious folk call sin,\n      Adultery, whoredom, and such vice,\n      Such pleasures were his paradise.\n      To curse, to swear, and to blaspheme,\n      He gloried in and thought no shame;\n      To excess he drank beer and wine,\n      Till he was drunken like a swine.\n      No Sabbath day regarded he,\n      But spent it in profanity;\n      \u2019Mongst other vices, as some say,\n      He ravish\u2019d virgins on that day;\n      But that which rais\u2019d his fame so high,\n      Was the good service done to me,\n      In bearing of a deadly feud,\n      \u2019Gainst people who did pray and read,\n      And sought my kingdom to impair,\n      These were the folk he did not spare,\n      Any who reads the scriptures through,\n      I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll find but very few\n      Of my best friends that\u2019s mentioned there,\n      That could with Grier of Lag compare;\n        Though Cain was a bloody man,\n      He to Lag\u2019s latches never came,\n      In shedding of the blood of those,\n      Who did my laws and ways oppose.\n      Like Saul, who David did pursue,\n      He rais\u2019d on them the cry and hue,\n      And cruelly he did oppress,\n      Such as religion did profess.\n        Doeg the Edomite did slay,\n      Fourscore and five priests in one day;\n      But if you\u2019ll take the will for deed,\n      Brave Lag did Doeg far exceed.\n      He of the blood royal was come,\n      Of Ahab he was a true son;\n      For he did sell himself to me,\n      To work sin and iniquity.\n        Herod for me had great zeal,\n      Though his main purpose far did fail,\n      He many slew by a decree,\n      But did not toil so much for me,\n      As Lag, who in his person went,\n      To every place where he was sent,\n      To persecute both man and wife,\n      Who he knew led a pious life.\n        Brave Clavers flourish\u2019d in his day;\n      And many lives did take away,\n      He to Rome\u2019s cause most firmly stood,\n      And drunken was with the saint\u2019s blood,\n      Which in abundance he did shed,\n      Of those who from his presence fled,\n      In moss and mountain, cleugh and glen,\n      Were slaughter\u2019d by his Highlandmen.\n      That where he came none might remain,\n      Who in the least did me defame,\n      He rifled houses, and did plunder,\n      In moor and dale many a hunder:\n      He all the shires in south and west,\n      When blood and rapine sore opprest.\n      He to his utmost did contrive,\n      How he might make my kingdom thrive,\n      And how he might bring down all those,\n      That did my government oppose.\n      His mischief never prosper\u2019d ill\n      Except one time near Lowdon hill,\n      Where shamefully he did retreat,\n      Before a few, who did him beat,\n      Till more assistance I did give.\n      And then brave Clavers did revive;\n      With fury then and hellish rage,\n      He did these wanderers engage,\n      And sought their utter overthrow,\n      In every place where he did go.\n      He was made Viscount of Dundee,\n      For venturing his all for me.\n      This honour he enjoy\u2019d not long,\n      Soon after this he was ta\u2019en home;\n      By sudden fate at last he fell,\n      At Killicrankie, near Dunkel.\n      No longer he could serve me here;\n      But Lag survived for many a year,\n      And constantly stood to his post,\n      When many a champion brave was lost.\n        Brave Charles Stewart of renown,\n      The best that ever wore a crown,\n      For whoredom and adultery,\n      For incest and profanity,\n      For drunkness and for perjury,\n      He neither word nor oath regarded;\n      With gibbets he his friend rewarded\n      When opposition he did meet.\n      He then did play the hypocrite,\n      And feign\u2019d himself for reformation,\n      When he intended deformation.\n      At Spey and Scoon within a year.\n      The covenants he twice did swear;\n      And at Dunfermline did profess\n      Great sorrow for his naughtiness\n      But that was all to get the crown,\n      That he the better might throw down,\n      That covenanted Presbytery,\n      That was so opposite to me;\n      For afterwards he did rescind,\n      These covenants no more to bind;\n      And solemnly he gave command,\n      To burn them by the hangman\u2019s hand.\n      He caus\u2019d the nations to abjure,\n      What they call\u2019d reformation pure.\n      Brave prelacy he did restore,\n      As it in Scotland was before.\n      And to this Dagon he caus\u2019d bow,\n      Scotsman contrary to their vow.\n      He many a conscience did desire,\n      Which made me on his count to smile;\n      Malignants he advanced high.\n      \u2019Cause they good subjects were to me.\n      He tolerated heresy,\n      All error and profanity:\n      A blasphemous supremacy,\n      Over the church usurped he;\n      And granted an indulgency.\n      Thereby to ruin Presbytry.\n      My sceptre he did bravely sway,\n      And punish\u2019d those that did gainsay,\n      By tortures that were most severe,\n      By prisoning and loss of gear;\n      And cruel murders many a way,\n      Because they from my laws did stray:\n      But kindness he did ever bear,\n      No Pope in Rome did ever dwell,\n      That could this noble prince excell,\n      For in a word he did advance,\n      My kingdom more than Rome or France:\n      Neither Spain nor Germany,\n      Had so much true zeal for me.\n      He reigned long but at the last,\n      His brother York gave him a cast.\n      He poison\u2019d him and made him die,\n      And sent him home to my country;\n      To Tophet that\u2019s both wide and large,\n      Which he chus\u2019d for his heritage,\n        Great Middleton, that man of might,\n      My service he did never slight:\n      To work he furiously did go,\n      The covenants to overthrow;\n      He like Nehustan did them treat,\n      Like almanacks that\u2019s out of date,\n      He did rescind their force and power,\n      And solemly did them abjure,\n      He nullified all acts and laws,\n      That favoured the scripture cause;\n      And ruin\u2019d many a family,\n      For nought but non-conformity,\n      If hirelings they would not hear,\n      Their purse he punish\u2019d most severe;\n      He made the south of Scotland feel,\n      His griping claws were made of steel,\n      They were so crooked, hard, and sharp,\n      They pierc\u2019d men\u2019s substance to the heart,\n      The king\u2019s commission while he did bear,\n      Men lost their conscience, life, and gear,\n      But Charles too soon him discarded,\n      Yet I his kindness well rewarded;\n      And this I hope he\u2019ll not deny,\n      Since now he lives as well as I.\n        Fletcher, my friend, he was the first\n      Advocate who did insist\n      Against the Whigs in the king\u2019s name,\n      To bring them to an open shame;\n      Charles my son did him instal,\n      To bring these rebels under thral,\n      Who still for covenants were pleading,\n      To justify their old proceeding.\n      He laboured very earnestly\n      To please his sovereign and me,\n      By rooting out brave Presbytery,\n      And planting noble Prelacy;\n      By shutting up in prison strong\n      These men who did my interest wrong,\n      And thristing for the blood of them\n      Who did my government contemn;\n      His malice was so set on fire\n      That nothing could quench his desire,\n      Until Argyle, mine enemy,\n      Was brought condignly for to die;\n      And Guthrie, who did me oppose,\n      By hanging he his days did close;\n      And Warriston, the worst of all,\n      By my friend Fletcher he did fall:\n      Thus wonderfully he did please me,\n      When of these rebels he did ease me;\n      For which good service he doth sit\n      Among the princes of my pit.\n      And my dear cousin, Provost Mill,\n      Burnt covenants, yet thought no ill,\n      At Lithgow cross, with more disgrace\n      Than ever was at any place.\n      He burnt Lex Rex, and other books,\n      Which sourly on my interest looks;\n      And many acts of kirk and state,\n      Which he knew well that I did hate,\n      \u2019Cause they advanc\u2019d a reformation,\n      That shook my kingdom thro\u2019 the nation.\n      He burnt old brechems, roakes, and reels,\n      Also the picture of the De\u2019il;\n      I mean myself, \u2019cause he did think\n      My effigies would make all stink,\n      That he burnt on that solemn day,\n      Upon the twenty-ninth of May.\n      But my dear cousin was mista\u2019en,\n      The covenants remained in fame,\n      By some that did love them so well,\n      That with their blood they did them seal.\n      Himself he did to me surrender,\n      And for a time liv\u2019d in great splendour\n      Beloved well of all my friends.\n      Till at the last he lost his means,\n      And left in want and poverty\n      Which made him to the Abbey fly;\n      He who the covenants did burn,\n      A cheating bankrupt did become,\n      He lost his senses turn\u2019d demented;\n      And none but me his case lamented;\n      And at the end of all did die,\n      Bemoaned by no man but me.\n      I did him visit in distress\n      Where he is now you\u2019ll eas\u2019ly guess.\n      Turner did Galloway invade\n      And took from many what they had,\n      He spared neither old nor young\n      But plundered all where he did come,\n      Most savagely he did them treat.\n      And without mercy some did beat.\n      He spoil\u2019d that country cruelly,\n      And acted like a man for me.\n      A very hellish life he led\n      As in my cave he had been bred.\n      Carsphairn can well testify,\n      The cursing and profanity,\n      The outrages committed there,\n      (The half of which might file the air)\n      By Turner and his company.\n      Which wonderfully pleased me\n      Dalziel who fought at Pentland hill,\n      And many of my foes did kill;\n      And others prisoners did lead,\n      Who after quarters were hang\u2019d dead;\n      A downright atheist he did turn\n      And ruin\u2019d all where he did come,\n      That wanted the mark of the beast,\n      He did not spare them in the least;\n      In serving me he made his boast.\n      He was so valiant in my cause,\n      And so observant of my laws\n      That to commend him there\u2019s no need.\n      His works have prais\u2019d him.--Since he\u2019s dead.\n      Nisbet of Dalstown in his stead.\n      In open court against Whigs did plead:\n      And to the gallows did pursue\n      The Pentland men who did renew\n      The covenants at Lanark town.\n      Till they on gibbets were brought down;\n      And by his rigorous pursuing\n      He many other Whigs did ruin,\n      His great exploits pleas\u2019d me so well,\n      That I his name cannot conceal\n      But think fit that his deeds be told,\n      That so his name may be enrol\u2019d\n      \u2019Mongst other worthies on record\n      Who serv\u2019d me as their sovereign Lord.\n      M\u2019Kenzie after did succeed,\n      As advocate for me to plead.\n      He turned to apostacy.\n      And spent his time in blasphemy;\n      He pled that persons might go free\n      For murder and for sorcery;\n      But brought them in guilty of treason,\n      Who were religious out of season,\n      By keeping Presbytery in fame\n      Which king and council did disclaim:\n      Who of their conscience were so tender\n      Religion they would not surrender\n      To please his Majesty and court,\n      And turn as changes came about:\n      To scripture they so firmly stood,\n      On them I did spue out a flood\n      Of mischief and calamity,\n      M\u2019Kenzie acted well for me:\n      Scripture religion at that time,\n      He made it such a heinous crime,\n      That for it nought could satisfy,\n      But guilty persons they must die.\n      He many a saint pursu\u2019d to death,\n      He feared neither hell nor wrath.\n      His conscience was so cauteriz\u2019d,\n      He refus\u2019d nothing that I pleas\u2019d;\n      For which he\u2019s had my kindness still,\n      Since he his labour did fulfil.\n      Rothes like a sow in mire,\n      Who of his whoredom did not tire,\n      But wallow\u2019d in adultery,\n      In cursing and profanity,\n      And did allot the Sabbath-day,\n      To spend it in his game and play;\n      Perjur\u2019d himself in Mitchell\u2019s case,\n      To bring that rebel to disgrace,\n      He did contrive that engine,\n      That did make Hackston dree great pain,\n      To rip his breast at my desire,\n      And burn his heart quick in the fire,\n      Mangled his hands and took them off,\n      That they might be the people\u2019s scoff,\n      And afterwards struck off his pow,\n      And set it on the Netherbow;\n      And cut his body all asunder,\n      And plac\u2019d it for a world\u2019s wonder.\n      Thus he shook off humanity,\n      For the respect he had to me.\n      At last in horror he did die,\n      And went to Tophet dolefully.\n      Monmouth did me a noble turn,\n      When he to Bothwell-bridge did come,\n      With armed force, with power and might,\n      He slew and put the Whigs to flight.\n      Although it was the Sabbath-day,\n      He would not grant them a delay,\n      But instantly did hash them down,\n      And took them captives to the town.\n      They prisoners were in the Grey friar,\n      Until a false oath they did swear;\n      Or in the dungeons were shut close,\n      Where they their lives were like to lose,\n      Some got the gallows some the sea,\n      Some hang\u2019d, some drown\u2019d--that pleased me;\n      Earishal who serv\u2019d me many a year,\n      And for my interest did appear;\n      He serv\u2019d his \u2019prentiship below,\n      Then to the mountains he did go,\n      The Cameronians to defeat,\n      People whom I do greatly hate,\n      At Aird\u2019s moss he surpris\u2019d that crew,\n      Cameron their champion he slew,\n      And desperately cut off his head,\n      Also his hands and made him bleed.\n      Then in great triumph he did go,\n      To Edinburgh with a great shew,\n      Much boasting that he had supprest\n      The Cameronians in the west\n      He did produce the hands and head\n      Of Cameron whom he killed dead;\n      For which the council did him pay\n      A large reward without delay:\n      And I myself on him did smile\n      For that great action done in Kyle;\n      Because that he avenged me\n      Upon my stated enemy.\n      His kindness shall not be forgot\n      As long as my furnace is hot.\n      York, who great Charles did succeed,\n      He was my constant friend indeed\n      He was bred with me all his days,\n      And never from my laws did stray;\n      For he black Popery did profess,\n      In Scotland he set up the mass.\n      A toleration he did give\n      That mystery Babylon might revive,\n      He took to him absolute power,\n      For to advance the Romish whore.\n      He stopped all the penal laws,\n      Were made for weakening of my cause,\n      And gave a golden liberty\n      For all sorts of idolatry.\n      It criminal was in his day\n      To own the covenanted way;\n      For he intended in a short time,\n      To make Popery through Scotland shine,\n      That from the greatest to the least\n      All men might serve the Romish beast.\n      He deeply sworn was to Rome,\n      To seek all Presbyterians doom,\n      To abolish the memory\n      Of all that opps\u2019d Popery,\n      All protestants he did despise,\n      And many slew without assize;\n      He ordered that they should be shot,\n      Where they were found in every spot.\n      By hellish soldiers my drudges,\n      Whom he empower\u2019d in place of judges,\n      Suspected persons for to try,\n      And at their pleasure make them die,\n      Without allowing liberty,\n      To fit them for eternity.\n      He framed all mischief by a law,\n      To make Scotland an aceldema,\n      Threatened to make a hunting field,\n      Of shires that would not fully yield,\n      He all the venom of the pit\n      Against piety did spit,\n      He hated all maliciously.\n      Had any sovereign but me;\n      Disdained common honesty,\n      Lov\u2019d nothing but impiety.\n      He in my service posted fast,\n      Until his projects got a blast.\n      When Orange did come o\u2019er the sea,\n      Like a base coward he did flee.\n      Then he did abdicate the crown,\n      And after liv\u2019d a vagabond;\n      Till at St. Bermains he did die,\n      And then he did come home to me.\n      I need not speak of Queensberry.\n      No man was loyaler than he:\n      He serv\u2019d me well with all his might,\n      Against the Whigs with great despight,\n      While York\u2019s commission he did bear,\n      Upon that he was most severe.\n      By him the parliament was led;\n      Saints blood like water then he shed.\n      He confidently did declare\n      They should not have time to prepare\n      For heaven because he said that hell\n      Was too good a place for Whigs to dwell.\n      By that he acted to his power,\n      Both soul and body to devour;\n      Which was the only thing I sought,\n      Although to pass it was not brought;\n      Yet thanks be unto Queensberry,\n      For his good will in serving me.\n      I Milton Maxwell must commend,\n      Ten Whigs at once he did condemn,\n      And after that he did devote\n      Himself my kingdom to promote.\n      M\u2019Cartney he did apprehend,\n      Brought him to an untimous end.\n      He plagued the presbyterians sore,\n      That dwelt on the water of Orr,\n      For Corsack\u2019s house he rifled bare,\n      And neither nurse nor bairn did spare,\n      But thurst them out from house and hold,\n      To hunger them exposed and cold;\n      He did leave nothing in that house\n      That was to him of any use;\n      The horse, the colt, the corn, the sheep,\n      He every thing away did sweep.\n      He rang\u2019d through like a greedy thief,\n      Took butter, cheese, mutton, and beef;\n      The puddings he did scarcely spare,\n      For every thing away he bear.\n      Of cloth and clothes silver and gold,\n      He took far more than can be told:\n      The blackest sight that country saw,\n      Worse than Pate Barley or John Faw.\n      All his zeal was mixt with self,\n      He very greedy was of pelf.\n      Yet all he took but short time lasted,\n      The Whigs did say that it was blasted,\n      For all his offspring that remain\n      Have none of his well gotten gain.\n      When I perceiv\u2019d that it was gone,\n      I out of pity brought him home,\n      Now Whigs may sleep in a sound skin,\n      They\u2019ll never get mair skaith of him.\n      My friends that were of lower note,\n      In justice should not be forgot,\n      As Allison, who here did dree\n      A hell on earth for pleasing me.\n      Bonshaw more fierce than I can tell,\n      Who bade some send the Whigs to hell;\n      And my beloved Kennaway\n      Who plagu\u2019d the hill men every day.\n      \u2019Bove twenty journeys in one year\n      This varlet willingly did go,\n      To hasten the fanatic\u2019s woe\n      Strahan Murray and Annandale.\n      Who in my cause had great zeal,\n      Drummond, Stretton and bloody Reid,\n      Who shot my foes till they were dead,\n      Buchan, Inglis, and Westerhall,\n      Balfour and others great and small.\n      Stenhouse, Maitland and Bollochmiln,\n      Culzean and Windrum, men of skill.\n      Crichton, Lauder, and many more,\n      Who sought the hill-men\u2019s overthrow.\n      Halton, who did himself perjure,\n      To bring Mitchel to an ill hour.\n      Lowrie of Maxwelton also.\n      Unto these wild men was a foe.\n      And so was Carick of Stewarton,\n      Bailie, and these gave Smith his doom.\n      And all the bishops in the land,\n      Were ready still at my command,\n      My statutes for to execute,\n      On all whom I did persecute.\n      Dumbarton, Bruce, and Rob Dalziel,\n      And other worthies I could tell,\n      As Ezekiel Montgomery.\n      The bloodiest monster that could be,\n      And that vile wretch call\u2019d sheriff Hume,\n      That was right worthy of his room;\n      And old tree-legged Duncan Grant,\n      Who of his wickedness did vaunt.\n      Eglinton, Ironcaple and lord Ross,\n      Who did the Whigs murder and toss,\n      From sixty to the revolution,\n      Imbrewed their hands in persecution\n      They murder\u2019d and did stigmatise,\n      Such as my service did not please:\n      They banished them to foreign nations,\n      And sold them to the new plantations,\n      With rigour great they took their gear,\n      Because they my livery would not wear,\n      None forwarder among them all,\n      Than noble Grierson of Lag-hall,\n      Whose worthy actions make him fit\n      In the great chair now to sit,\n      \u2019Bove Korah and his company,\n      For all his friendship done to me.\n      This honour he doth well deserve,\n      For he unweariedly did serve\n      Me to his utmost every way,\n      To keep my kingdom from decay.\n      I must remember bishop Sharp,\n      For the good service I did get\n      Of him, when he was here away;\n      He did the Scottish kirk betray,\n      And all its privileges sold\n      For pleasure here and love of gold;\n      He fill\u2019d the land with perjury,\n      And all sorts of iniquity;\n      And did the force of Scotland lead\n      To persecute the woman\u2019s seed.\n      Judas who did his master sell,\n      And afterwards went down to hell,\n      Had no more mischief in his mind,\n      Than Sharp this noble friend of mine.\n      A paction past twixt him and me\n      That I from skaith should keep him free:\n      I gave him sorcery, gainst lead\n      That shooting should not be his dead,\n      And yet this did not him secure,\n      He lost, his life on Magus-muir;\n      There some stout-hearted men in Fyfe,\n      With swords of steel did take his life;\n      And very justly did him kill\n      \u2019Cause he their brethren\u2019s blood did spill.\n      So to this place he did descend,\n      But after him Lag did contend\n      For my kingdom many a day:\n      But now, alas! he\u2019s ta\u2019en away.\n      What shall I say? for time would fail,\n      To tell you of brave Lauderdale.\n      A great apostate he did prove,\n      Because with Balaam he did love\n      The wages of iniquity.\n      To keep him in prosperity;\n      That his beastly belly might\n      Have Epicurean delight;\n      To spend his time in carnal pleasure,\n      Which he esteem\u2019d above all treasure.\n      He was a member among those\n      Who strictest models did compose,\n      Upon the Presbyterian side\n      But quickly he from them did slide.\n      These covenants which once he swore,\n      Most solemnly he did abjure,\n      All tenderness he did cast off,\n      On scripture he did droll and scoff.\n      To prelate Sharp be thought no shame\n      Above Rabshakeh to blaspheme.\n      By habit he did curse and swear,\n      He harlot\u2019s company did bear.\n      He did counsel and assist\n      The king who after blood did thirst,\n      To bring all to a final end\n      For covenants that did contend.\n      All public mischiefs in the land\n      Were done at Lauderdale\u2019s command.\n      In Mitchel\u2019s case he did perjure\n      Himself most wrongfully he swore;\n      For conscience he regarded not,\n      Himself he wholly did devote\n      To serve king Charles and myself,\n      And to advance his wordly pelf\n      Persisting in these courses still,\n      Did grieve and anger one Cargil;\n      So Charles, York, Monmouth and he,\n      Were all deliver\u2019d o\u2019er to me;\n      Rothes, M\u2019Kenzie and Dalziel,\n      Unto my lot each man they fell,\n      A company of as brave men,\n      As ever minister did send\n      By such a sentence unto me;\n      Whom I embrac\u2019d most willingly,\n      \u2019Cause formerly I did commend\n      In many things these worthy men.\n      Now those brave heroes I must leave,\n      And some few instances I\u2019ll give\n      Of these brave actions which Lag did,\n      That ought no longer to be hid.\n      In Galloway he was well known\n      His great exploits in it were shewn.\n      He was my general in that place,\n      He did the Presbyterians chase,\n      Through moss and muir, and many a bog,\n      They were pursu\u2019d by my friend Lag.\n      Saint\u2019s monuments that\u2019s here and there,\n      If any will to them repair,\n      \u2019Mongst others there you\u2019ll read his name,\n      And know he was a man of fame.\n      On many there he forc\u2019d the test,\n      By perjury them sore opprest.\n      And when he brought them to disgrace,\n      He mocked them unto their face.\n      From others he did take their gear,\n      He neither mercy had nor fear,\n      Yet this did not his wrath allay,\n      For others he did seek to slay\n      Cubine and Gordon, near Hallhill,\n      He took their life their blood to spill,\n      And left them hanging on a tree,\n      For disobedience to me.\n      John Bell of Whiteside he did slay,\n      And would not give him time to pray\n      And other four in that same hour\n      He shot upon Kirkconnel Muir.\n      Mayfield, Clement, and Irlingtown,\n      Macrabet he brought also down;\n      And made them all a sacrifice,\n      His hellish fury to appease.\n      Two men in Twingham some did find,\n      And with hair tethers did them bind.\n      Like sheep for slaughter there they lay,\n      George Short and David Halliday;\n      Till Lag came up and gave command\n      To kill them quickly out of hand.\n      Against them he had such despite,\n      He would not let them live one night,\n      So in that posture they were shot\n      Most cruelly upon the spot.\n      Lachlane and Wilson in the sea\n      He drown\u2019d cause they obey\u2019d not me,\n      Though they were of the weaker sex,\n      No favour they of him did get:\n      And cruelly he took the life\n      Both of a young maid and a wife.\n      The kirk by excommunication\n      Did banish him out of their region;\n      Because he would not satisfy,\n      Them for his vile adultery:\n      For he knew well that I could thole\n      His vices all, without controul,\n      That he should have both peace and ease,\n      In doing things that I do please,\n      He clave as close unto my law\n      As any man I ever saw.\n      In atheism his days did spend\n      Until his time drew near an end.\n      Then for the fashion he did say,\n      That he was of the Popish way;\n      Because a priest made him believe,\n      That he to him would pardon give,\n      And would from purgatory bring\n      Him to a place where he would sing;\n      But that was but a forged lie.\n      For Lag lives hot and bien with me,\n      It was in spite he money gave\n      Unto the priest that greedy slave,\n      For he had neither pith nor power\n      To keep my friend from me an hour;\n      For when I heard that he was dead,\n      A legion of my den did lead\n      Him to my place of residence,\n      Where still he\u2019ll stay, and not go hence:\n      For purgatory I must tell,\n      It is the lowest place in hell:\n      Well plenish\u2019d with the Romish sort,\n      Where thousands of them do resort.\n      There many a prince and pope doth dwell,\n      Fast fetter\u2019d in that lower cell,\n      And from that place they ne\u2019er win free,\n      Though greedy priests for gain do lie.\n      In making ignorants conceive,\n      They\u2019ll bring them from the infernal cave,\n      Such as do bribe them well with gold\n      As heaven with pelf were bought and sold.\n      Sure that is but a vain deceit\n      Contriv\u2019d by Antichrist of late;\n      To keep the worshippers of the Whore\n      Senseless in sin, blind and secure;\n      And to make priest look fat and fine,\n      Who nought but carnal things do mind.\n      For this is what I truly know,\n      They come not back from whence they go,\n      They who take their abode with me,\n      From that place they are never free.\n      This Lag will know and all the rest,\n      Who of my lodging are possest.\n      On earth no more they can serve me,\n      But still I have their company:\n      With this I must my grief allay,\n      So I no more of Lag will say.\n\n\nFINIS\n\n\n\n\n  A\n\n  WEDDING-RING,\n\n  FIT FOR THE FINGER:\n\n  LAID OPEN IN A SERMON,\n\n  PREACHED AT A WEDDING IN ST. EDMOND\u2019S.\n\n  BY WILLIAM SECKER,\n\n  LATE PREACHER OF THE GOSPEL.\n\n  GENESIS ii. 18.\n\n  And the LORD GOD said, It is not good that the man should be\n  alone; I will make him an help-meet for him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nA\n\nWEDDING-RING,\n\nFIT FOR THE FINGER.\n\nA SERMON ON GENESIS ii. 18.\n\n  _And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be\n  alone; I will make him a help-meet for him._\n\n\nHuman misery is to divine mercy, as a black soil to a sparkling\ndiamond; or as a sable cloud to the sun-beams, Psalm viii.\n4.--_Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him?_\n\nMan is, in his creation, angelical; in his corruption, diabolical;\nin his renovation, theological; in his translation, majestical.\n\nThere were four silver channels in which the chrystal streams of\nGod\u2019s affection ran to man in his creation.\n\n1. In his preparation. 2. In his Assimilation. 3. In his\ncoronation. 4. In his Association.\n\n1. In his preparation. Other creatures received the character of\ntheir beings by a simple fiat; but there was a consultation at\nhis forming; not for the difficulty, but for the dignity of the\nwork. The painter is most studious about that which he intends to\nmake his master-piece. The four elements were taken out of their\nelements to make up the perfection of man\u2019s complexion: the fire\nwas purified, the earth was refined. When man was moulded, heaven\nand earth was married; a body from the one was espoused to a soul\nfrom the other.\n\n2. In his assimilation. Other creatures were made like themselves,\nbut man was made like God, as the wax hath the impression of the\nseal upon it. It is admirable to behold so fair a picture in such\ncoarse canvas, and so bright a character in so brown paper.\n\n3. In his coronation. He that made man, and all the rest, made man\nover all the rest; he was a little lord of a great lordship: this\nking was crowned in his craddle.\n\n4. In his association. Society is the solace of humanity; the world\nwould be a desert, without a comfort.\n\nMost of man\u2019s parts are made in pairs; now he that was double in\nhis perfection, must not be single in his condition.\n\n_And the Lord said, &c._ These words are like the iron gate that\nopened to Peter of its own accord, dividing themselves into three\nparts:--\n\n1. An Introduction: _And the Lord God said_. 2. An Assertion: _It\nis not good that man should be alone_. 3. A Determination: _I will\nmake an help-meet for him_.\n\nIn the first there is a majesty proposed. In the second there is a\nmalady presented. In the third there is a remedy provided.\n\nOnce more let me put these grapes into the press.\n\n1. The sovereignness of the expression: _And the Lord God said_. 2.\nThe solitaryness of the condition: _It is not good, &c._ 3. The\nsuitableness of the provision; _I will make, &c._\n\nIn the first there is the worth of veracity. In the second,\nthere is the want of society. In the third, there is the work of\ndivinity. Of these in their order. And first of the first.\n\n1. The sovereignness of the expression: _And the Lord God said, &c._\n\nLuke i. 70. \u201cAs he spoke by the mouths of his prophets.\u201d In other\nscriptures he used their mouths, but in this instance he makes\nuse of his own; they were the organs, and he the breath; they\nthe streams, and he the fountain. How he spake, it is hard to\ndetermine: whether eternally, internally, or externally. We are not\nto inquire into the manner of speaking, but into the matter that\nis spoken; which leads me, like a directing star, from the suburbs\nto the city, from the porch to the palace, from the founder of the\nmine, to the treasure that is in it: _It is not good, &c._\n\nIn which we have two things:--\n\n1. The Subject. 2. The Predicate.\n\nThe subject, _Man alone_. The predicate, _It is not good, &c._ 1.\nThe subject, _Man alone_. Take this in two branches.\n\n1. As it is limited to one man.\n\n2. As it is lengthened to all men.\n\nFIRST, As it is limited to one man: And so it is taken\nparticularly: Man, for the first man. When all other creatures\nhad their mates, Adam wanted his; though he was the emperor of\nthe earth, and the admiral of the seas, yet in Paradise without a\ncompanion; though he was truly happy, yet he was not fully happy;\nthough he had enough for his board, yet he had not enough for his\nbed; though he had many creatures to serve him, yet he wanted a\ncreature to solace him; when he was compounded in creation, he must\nbe completed by conjunction; when he had no sin to hurt him, then\nhe must have a wife to help him: _It is not good that man should be\nalone_.\n\nSECONDLY, As it is lengthened to all men: And so it is taken\nuniversally, Heb. xiii. 4. _Marriage is honourable unto all_.\nIt is not only warrantable, but honourable. The whole trinity\nhath conspired together to set a crown of glory upon the head of\nmatrimony.\n\n1. God the Father. Marriage was a tree planted within the walls of\nParadise; the flower first grew in God\u2019s garden.\n\n2. The Son. Marriage is a crystal glass, wherein Christ and the\nsaints do see each other\u2019s faces.\n\n3. The Holy Ghost, by his overshadowing of the blessed virgin. Well\nmight the world when it saw her pregnancy, suspect her virginity;\nbut her matremonial condition was a grave to that suspicion:\nwithout this, her innocency had not prevented her infamy; she\nneeded a shield to defend that chastity abroad which was kept\ninviolable at home.\n\nToo many that have not worth enough to preserve their virginity,\nhave yet will enough to cover their unchastity; turning the\nmedicine of frailty into the mantle of filthiness. Certainly she is\nmad that cuts off her leg to get her a crutch; or that venoms her\nface to wear a mask.\n\nPaul makes it one of the characters of those that should cherish\nthe faith, 1 Tim. iv. 3. _not to forbear marriage_; which is not\nonly lawful but also honourable; to forbid which, is damnably\nsinful, and only taught by the influence of devils. One of the\nPopes of Rome sprinkles this unholy and impure drop upon it,\n_Carnis pollutionem et immundiliem_.\n\nIt is strange that should be a pollution which was instituted\nbefore corruption; or that impurity which was ordained in the state\nof innocency; or that they should make that to be a sin, which they\nmake to be a sacrament; strange stupidity!--But a bastard may be\nlaid at the door of chastity, and a leaden crown set upon a golden\nhead. Bellarmine (that mighty atlas of the Papal power) blows his\nstinking breath upon it: \u201cBetter were it for a priest to defile\nhimself with many harlots, than to be married to one wife.\u201d--These\nchildren of the purple whore prefer monasteries before marriages,\na concubine before a companion.--They use too many women for their\nlusts, to choose any for their love.--Their tables are so largely\nspread that they cannot feed upon one dish. As for their exalting\nof a virgin-state, it is like him that commanded fasting, when he\nhad filled his belly. Who knows not, that virginity is a pearl\nof a sparkling lustre? but the one cannot be set up, without the\nother be thrown down: No oblation will pacify the former, but the\ndemolishing of the latter. Though we find many enemies to the\nchoice of marriage, yet it is rare to find any enemies to the use\nof marriage. They would pick the lock that wants the key, and pluck\nthe fruit that do not plant the tree. The Hebrews have a saying,\n\u201cthat he is not a man that hath not a wife.\u201d Though they climb too\nhigh a bough, yet it is to be feared that such flesh is full of\nimperfection, that is, not tending to propogation: though man alone\nmay be good, yet, _It is not good that man should be alone_. Which\nleads me from the subject to the predicate, _It is not good_.\n\nNow, it is not good that man should be in a single condition on a\nthreefold consideration.\n\n1. In respect of sin, which would not else be prevented: Marriage\nis like water, to quench the sparks of lust\u2019s fire, 1 Cor. vii. 2.\n_Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own\nwife, &c._ Man needed no such physic when he was in perfect health.\nTemptations may break nature\u2019s best sense, and lay its Paradise\nwaste; but a single life is a prison of unruly desires, which is\ndaily attempted to be broken open. Some, indeed force themselves to\na single life, merely to avoid the charges of a married state; they\nchoose rather to live in their own sensuality, than to extinguish\nthose flames with an allowed remedy: _It is better to marry than to\nburn_:--to be lawfully coupled, than to be lustfully scorched. It\nis best to feed these flames with ordinate fuel.\n\n2. It is not good in respect of mankind, which then would not\nbe propagated. The Roman historian, relating the ravishing of\nthe Sabine women, excused them thus, \u2018Without them mankind would\nfall from the earth, and perish.\u2019 Marriages do turn mutability\ninto the image of eternity: it springs up new buds when the old\nare withered. It is a great honour for a man to be the father of\none son, than to be the master of many servants. Without a wife,\nchildren cannot be had lawfully; without a good wife, children\ncannot be had comfortably. Man and woman, as the flock and the\nscion, being grafted in marriage, are trees bearing fruit to the\nworld. Augustine says, \u2018They are the first link of human society,\nto which all the rest are joined.\u2019 Mankind had long ago decayed,\nand been like a taper fallen into the socket, if those breaches\nwhich are made by mortality were not repaired by matrimony.\n\n3. It is not good in regard of the church, which could not then\nhave been expatiated. Where there is no generation, there can be\nno regeneration. Nature makes us creatures before grace makes us\nChristians. If the loins of men had been less fruitful, the death\nof Christ would have been less successful. It was a witty question\nthat one put to him that said, \u201cMarriage fills the earth, but\nvirginity fills the heavens:\u201d How can the heavens be full if the\nearth be empty? Had Adam lived in innocency without matrimony,\nthere would have been no servants of God in the church militant,\nnor no saints with God in the church triumphant. But I will not\nsink this vessel by the over-burthen of it, nor press this truth to\ndeath by laying too great a load upon its shoulders. There is one\nknot which I must untie, before I make a farther progress, _viz._\n\n1 Cor. vii. 1. _It is good for a man not to touch a woman._ Do all\nthe scriptures proceed out of the same mouth; and do they not all\nspeak the same truth? The God of unity will not indite discord;\nand the God of verity cannot assert falsehood. If good and evil\nbe contraries, how contrary then are these two scriptures? Either\nMoses mistakes God, or Paul mistakes Moses, about the point of\nmarriage. To which I shall give a double answer.\n\n1. There is a public and a private good. In respect of one man, it\nmay be good not to touch a woman; but in respect of all men, _It is\nnot good that man should be alone_.\n\n2. Moses speaks of the state of man created; Paul of the state\nof man corrupted: Now, that which by institution was a mercy, by\ncorruption may become a misery; as pure water is tainted by running\nthrough a miry channel, or as the sun-beams receive a tincture by\nshining through a coloured glass. There is no print of evil in the\nworld, but sin was the stamp that made it. They that seek nothing\nbut weal in its commission, will find nothing but woe in the\nconclusion. Which leads me from the solitariness of the condition,\n_Man alone_, to the suitableness of the provision, _I will make an\nhelp-meet for him_.\n\nIn which we have two parts, 1. The Agent, _I will make_. 2. The\nObject, _An help_.\n\n1. The Agent, _I will make_. We cannot build a house without tools,\nbut the Trinity is at liberty. To God\u2019s omniscience there is\nnothing impossible. We work by hands, without; but he works without\nhands. He that made man meet for help, makes a meet-help for man.\nMarriages are consented above, but consumated below, Prov. xviii.\n22. Though man wants supply, yet man cannot supply his wants, James\ni. 17. _Every good and perfect gift comes from above, &c._ A wife,\nthough she be not a perfect gift, yet she is a good gift. These\nbeams are darted from the Son of Righteousness. Hast thou a soft\nheart? It is of God\u2019s breaking. Hast thou a sweet wife? She is of\nGod\u2019s making. Let me draw up this with double application.\n\n1. When thou layest out for such a good on earth, look up to the\nGod of heaven; let him make thy choice for thee, who made his\nchoice of thee. Look above you, before you, about you; nothing\nmakes up the happiness of a married condition, like the holiness of\na mortified disposition: account not those the most worthy, that\nare the most wealthy. Art thou matched to the Lord? Match in the\nLord. How happy are such marriages where Christ is at the wedding!\nLet none but those who have found favour in God\u2019s eyes, find favour\nin yours.\n\n2. Give God the tribute of your gratulation for your good\ncompanions. Take head of paying your rent to a wrong landlord:\nwhen you taste of the stream, reflect upon the spring that feeds\nit. Now thou hast four eyes for thy speculation, four hands for\nthy operation, four feet for thy abulation, and four shoulders\nfor thy sustentation. What the sin against the Holy Ghost is, in\npoint of divinity, that is unthankfulness, in point of morality, an\noffence unpardonable. Pity it is, but that moon should be ever in\nan eclipse, that will not acknowledge her beams to be borrowed from\nthe sun. He that praises not the giver, prizes not the gift. And so\nI pass from the Agent to the Object, _A help_.\n\nShe must be so much, and no less; and so much, and no more. Our\nribs were not ordained to be our rulers. They are not made of the\nhead, to claim superiority; but out of the side, to be content\nwith equality. They desert the Author of nature, who invert the\norder of nature. The woman was made for the man\u2019s comfort, but\nthe man was not made for the woman\u2019s command. Those Shoulders\naspire too high, that content not themselves with a room below\ntheir heads. It is between a man and his wife in the house, as it\nis between the sun and the moon in the heavens, when the greater\nlight goes down the lesser light gets up; when the one ends in\nsetting, the other begins in shining. The wife may be a sovereign\nin her husband\u2019s absence, but she must be subject in her husband\u2019s\npresence. As Pharaoh said to Joseph, so should the husband say to\nhis wife, \u201cthou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word\nshall all my people be ruled, only on the throne will I be greater\nthan thou,\u201d Gen. xli. 40. The body of that household can never\nmake any good motion, whose bones are out of place. The woman\nmust be a help to the man in these four things:--1. To his piety.\n2. To his society. 3. To his progeny. 4. To his prosperity. To\nhis piety, by the ferventness of her excitation. To his society,\nby the fragrantness of her conversation. To his progeny, by the\nfruitfulness of her education. To his prosperity, by her faithful\npreservation.\n\n1. To his piety, by the ferventness of her excitation, 1 Pet. ii.\n7. Husband and wife should be as the two milch-kine, which were\ncoupled together to carry the ark of God; or as the two cherubims,\nthat looked one upon another, and both upon the mercy-seat; or as\nthe two tables of stone, on each of which were engraven the laws\nof God. In some families married persons are like Jeremiah\u2019s two\nbasket of figs, the one very good, the other very evil; or like\nfire and water, whilst the one is flaming in devotion, the other is\nfreezing in corruption. There is a two-fold hinderance of holiness:\n1. On the right side. 2. On the left. On the right side; when the\nwife would run in God\u2019s way, the husband will not let her go; when\nthe fore-horse in a team will not draw, he wrongs all the rest;\nwhen the general of an army forbids a march, all the soldiers stand\nstill. Sometimes on the left: How did Solomon\u2019s idolatrous wife\ndraw away his heart from heaven? A sinning wife was Satan\u2019s first\nladder, by which he scaled the wall of Paradise, and took away the\nfort-royal of Adam\u2019s heart from him. Thus she, that should have\nbeen the help of his flesh, was the hurt of his faith; his nature\u2019s\nunder-proper, became his grace\u2019s under-miner; and she that should\nbe a crown on the head, is a cross on the shoulders. The wife is\noften to the husband as the ivy is to the oak, which draws away his\nsap from him.\n\n2. A help to his society, by the fragrantness of her conversation.\nMan is an affectionate creature; now the woman\u2019s behaviour should\nbe such towards the man, as to requite his affection by increasing\nhis delectation; that the new-born love may not be ruined before\nit be rooted. A spouse should carry herself so to her husband, as\nnot to disturb his love by her contention, nor to destroy his love\nby her alienation. Husband and wife should be like two candles\nburning together, which makes the house more lightsome; or like\ntwo fragrant flowers bound up in one nosegay, that augments its\nsweetness; or like two well-tuned instruments, which sounding\ntogether, make the more melodious music. Husband and wife, what are\nthey but as two springs meeting, and so joining their streams, that\nthey make but one current? It is an unpleasing spectacle to view\nany contention in that conjunction.\n\n3. To his progeny, by the fruitfulness of her education; that so\nher children in the flesh may be God\u2019s children in the spirit, 1\nSam. i. 11. Hannah she vows, if the Lord will give her a son, she\nwould give him to the Lord, to serve him. A spouse should be more\ncareful of her children\u2019s breeding, than she should be fearful\nof her children\u2019s bearing. Take heed, lest these flowers grow in\nthe devil\u2019s garden.--Though you bring them out in corruption, yet\ndo not bring them up to damnation!--Those are not mothers but\nmonsters, that whilst they should be teaching their children the\nway to heaven with their lips, are leading them the way to hell\nwith their lives. Good education is the best livery you can give\nthem living; and it is the best legacy you can leave them dying.\nYou let out your cares to make them great, O lift up your prayers\nto make them good, that before you die from them, you may see\nChrist live in them. Whilst these twigs are green and tender, they\nshould be bowed towards God. Children and servants are in a family,\nas passengers in a boat; husband and wife, they are as a pair of\noars, to row them to their desired haven. Let these small pieces of\ntimber be hewed and squared for the celestial building. By putting\na sceptre of grace into their hands, you will set a crown of glory\nupon their heads.\n\n4. A help to his prosperity, by her faithful preservation, being\nnot a wanderer abroad, but a worker at home. One of the ancients\nspeaks excellently: She must not be a field-wife, like Dinah;\nnor a street-wife, like Thamar; nor a window-wife, like Jezabel.\nPhildeas, when he drew a woman, painted her under a snail-shell;\nthat she might imitate that little creature, that goes no further\nthan it can carry its house upon its head. How many women are\nthere, that are not labouring bees, but idle drones; that take up\na room in the hive, but bring no honey to it; that are moths to\ntheir husbands\u2019 estates, spending when they should be sparing. As\nthe man\u2019s part is, to provide industriously, so the woman\u2019s is, to\npreserve discreetly; the one must not be carelessly wanting, the\nother must not be causelessly wanting; the man must be seeking with\ndiligence, the woman must be saving with prudence. The cock and hen\nboth scrape together in the dust-heap, to pick up something for the\nlittle chickens. To wind up this on a short bottom.\n\n1. If the woman be a help to the man, then let not the man cast\ndirt on the woman.\n\nSecundus being asked his opinion of a woman, said, _Viri\nnaufragium, domus tempestas, quietus impedimentum_, &c. But surely\nhe was a monster and not a man; fitter for a tomb to bury him, than\na womb to bear him. Some have styled them to be like clouds in the\nsky; like motes in the sun; like snuffs in the candle; like weeds\nin the garden. But it is not good to play the butcher with that\nnaked sex, that hath no arms but for embraces. A preacher should\nnot be silent for those who are silent from preaching: because they\nare the weaker vessels, shall they be broken all to pieces? Thou\nthat sayest women are evil, it may be thy expression flows from thy\nexperience; but I shall never take that mariner for my pilot, that\nhath no better knowledge than the splitting of his own ship. Wilt\nthou condemn the frame of all, for the fault of one? As if it were\ntrue logic, because some are evil therefore none are good. He hath\nill eyes that disdains all objects. To blast thy helper is to blame\nthy Maker. In a word, we took our rise from their bowels, and may\ntake our rest in their bosoms.\n\n2. Is the woman to be a help to the man? Then let the man be a help\nto the woman. What makes some debtors to be such ill pay-masters,\nbut because they look at what is owing to them, but not at what\nis owing by them. If thou wouldst have thy wife\u2019s reverence, let\nher have thy respect. To force a tear from this relation, is that\nwhich neither benefits the husband\u2019s authority to enjoin, nor the\nwife\u2019s duty to perform. A wife must not be sharply driven, but\nsweetly drawn. Compassion may bend her, but compulsion will break\nher. Husband and wife should act towards each other with consent,\nnot by constraint. There are four things wherein the husband is a\nmeet-help to the wife.\n\n1. In his protection of her from injuries. It is well observed by\none, that the rib of which woman was made, was taken from under his\narm: As the use of the arm is to keep off blows from the body, so\nthe office of the husband is to ward off blows from the wife. The\nwife is the husband\u2019s treasury, and the husband the wife\u2019s armoury.\nIn darkness he should be her sun, for direction; in danger he\nshould be her shield for protection.\n\n2. In his providing for her necessities. The husband must\ncommunicate maintenance to the wife, as the head conveys influence\nto the members; thou must not be a drone, and she a drudge. A man\nin a married estate, is like a chamberlain in an inn, there is\nknocking for him in every room. Many persons in that condition,\nwaste that estate in luxury, which should supply their wife\u2019s\nnecessity. They have neither the faith of a Christian, nor the love\nof a husband! It is a sad spectacle to see a virgin sold with her\nown money unto slavery, when services are better than marriages;\nthe one receives wages, whilst the other buy their fetters.\n\n3. In his covering of her infirmities. Who would trample upon a\njewel, because it is fallen in the dirt, or throw away a heap of\nwheat for a little chaff, or despise a golden wedge, because it\nretains some dross? These roses have some prickles. Now husbands\nshould spread a mantle of charity over their wives\u2019 infirmities.\nThey be ill birds that defile their own nests. It is a great deal\nbetter you should fast than feast yourselves upon their failings.\nSome husbands are never well longer than they are holding their\nfingers in their wife\u2019s sores. Such are like crows, that fasten\nonly upon carrion. Do not put out the candle because of the snuff.\nHusbands and wives should provoke one-another to love; and they\nshould love one-another notwithstanding of provocation. Take heed\nof poisoning those springs from whence the streams of your pleasure\nflow.\n\n4. By his delighting in her society: a wife takes sanctuary not\nonly in her husband\u2019s house, but in his heart. The tree of love\nshould grow up in the family, as the tree of life grew up in the\ngarden of Eden. They that choose their love, should love their\nchoice. They that marry where they affect not, will affect where\nthey marry not. Two joined together without love, are but tied\ntogether to make one another miserable. And so I pass to the last\nstage of the text, _A help-meet_.\n\n\u2018A help,\u2019 there is her _fallness_; \u2018A meet-help,\u2019 there is her\n_fitness_. The angels were too much above him; the inferior\ncreatures too much below him; he could not step up to the former,\nnor could he stoop down to the latter; the one was out of his\nreach, the other was out of his race; but the woman is a parallel\nline drawn equal with him. Meet she must be in three things.\n\n1. In the harmony of her disposition. Husband and wife should be\nlike the image in a looking-glass, that answers in all properties\nto the face that stands before it; or like an echo, that returneth\nthe voice it receiveth. Many marriages are like putting new wine\ninto old bottles. An old man is not a meet-help for a young woman:\nHe that sets a grey head upon green shoulders, hath one foot in the\ngrave and another in the cradle: Yet, how many times do you see the\nspring of youth wedded to the winter of old age?--A young man is\nnot a meet-help for an old woman; raw flesh is but an ill plaister\nfor rotten bones. He that in his non-age marries another in her\ndotage, his lust hath one wife in possession, but his love another\nin reversion.\n\n2. In heraldry of her condition. Some of our European nations are\nso strict in their junctions, that it is against their laws for\nthe commonality to couple with the gentry. It was well said by\none, \u201cIf the wife be too much above her husband, she either ruins\nhim by her vast expenses, or reviles him with her base reproaches;\nif she be too much below her husband, either her former condition\nmakes her too generous, or her present mutation makes her too\nimperious.\u201d--Marriages are styled matches, yet amongst those many\nthat are married, how few are there that are matched! Husbands and\nwives are like locks and keys, that rather break than open, except\nthe wards be answerable.\n\n3. In the holiness of her religion. If adultery may seperate a\nmarriage contracted, idolatry may hinder a marriage not perfected.\nCattle of divers kinds were not to ingender. 2 Cor. vi. 14. _Be\nnot unequally yoked, &c._ It is dangerous taking her for a wife,\nwho will not take God for a husband. It is not meet that one flesh\nshould be of two spirits. Is there never a tree thou likest in the\ngarden but that which bears forbidden fruit? There are but two\nchannels in which the remaining streams shall run:--1. To those men\nthat want wives, how to choose them. 2. To those women who have\nhusbands, how to use them.\n\nMarriage is the tying of such a knot, that nothing but death can\nunloose. Common reason suggests so much, that we should be long\na-doing that which can but once be done. Where one design hath been\ngraveled in the sands of delay, thousands have been split on the\nrock of precipitance. Rash adventures yield gain. Opportunities are\nnot like tides, that when one is past, another returns; but yet\ntake heed of flying without your wings; you may breed such agues in\nyour bones, that may shake you to your graves. 1. Let me preserve\nyou from a bad choice. 2. Present you with a good one. To preserve\nyou from a bad choice, take that in three things: 1. Choose not for\nbeauty. 2. Choose not for dowry. 3. Choose not for dignity. He that\nloves to beauty, buys a picture; he that loves for dowry, makes a\npurchase; he that leaps for dignity, matches with a multitude at\nonce. The first of these is too blind to be directed; the second\ntoo base to be accepted; the third too bold to be respected. 1.\nChoose not by your eyes. 2. Choose not by your hands. 3. Choose not\nby your ears.\n\n1. Choose not by your eyes, looking at the beauty of the person.\nNot but this is lovely in a woman; but that this is not all for\nwhich a woman should be beloved. He that had the choice of many\nfaces stamps this character upon them all, _favour is deceitful\nand beauty is vain_. The sun is more bright in a clear sky, than\nwhen the horizon is clouded; but if a woman\u2019s flesh hath more of\nbeauty than her spirit hath of christianity, it is like poison in\nsweet-meats, most dangerous: \u201cThe sons of God saw the daughters of\nmen, that they were fair,\u201d Gen. vi. 2. One would have thought that\nthey should rather have looked for grace in the heart, than for\nbeauty in the face: take care of running at the fairest signs; the\nswan hath black flesh under her white feathers.\n\n2. Choose not by your hands, for the bounty of the portion. When\nCato\u2019s daughter was asked why she did not marry? she thus replied,\nshe could not find the man that loved her person above her portion.\nMen love curious pictures, but they would have them set in golden\nframes. Some are so degenerate as to think any good enough, who\nhave but goods enough. Take heed, for sometimes the bag and baggage\ngo together. The person should be a figure, and the portion a\ncypher, which added to her, advances the sum, but alone signifies\nnothing. When Themistocles was to marry his daughter, two suitors\ncourted her together, the one rich and a fool, the other wise but\npoor; and being asked which of the two he had rather his daughter\nshould have? he answered _Mallem virum fine pecuni_: \u2018I had rather\nshe should have a man without money, than money without a man.\u2019\n\n3. Choose not by your ears, for the dignity of her parentage. A\ngood old stock may nourish a fruitless branch. There are many\nchildren who are not the blessings, but the blemishes of their\nparents; they are nobly descended, but ignobly minded: Such was\nAurelius Antonious, of whom it was said, that he injured his\ncountry of nothing, but being the father of such a child. There\nare many low in their descents, that are high in their deserts;\nsuch as the cobler\u2019s son, who became a famous captain; when a great\nperson upbraided the meanness of his original, \u201cMy nobility,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cbegan with me, but thy nobility ends with thee.\u201d Piety is a\ngreater honour than parentage. She is the best gentlewoman that\nis heir of her own deserts, and not the degenerate offspring of\nanother\u2019s virtue. To present you with a good choice in three things.\n\n1. Choose such a one as will be a subject to your dominion. Take\nheed of yoking yourselves with untamed heifers.\n\n2. Choose such a one as may sympathize with you in your affliction.\nMarriage is just like a sea voyage, he that enters into this ship,\nmust look to meet with storms and tempests, 1 Cor. vii. 20. _They\nthat marry shall have trouble in the flesh_. Flesh and trouble are\nmarried together, whether we marry or no; now a bitter cup is too\nmuch to be drunk by one mouth. A heavy burthen is easily carried by\nassistance of other shoulders. Husband and wife should neither be\nproud flesh, nor dead flesh. You are fellow-members, therefore you\nshould have a fellow-feeling. While one stands safe on the shore,\npity should be shown to him that is tost on the sea. Sympathy in\nsuffering is like a dry house in a wet day.\n\n3. Choose such a one as may be serviceable to your salvation. A man\nmay think he hath a saint, when he hath a devil; but take heed of a\nharlot, that is false to thy bed; and of a hypocrite, that is false\nto thy God.\n\n2. To those women who have husbands, how to use them. In two things.\n\n1. Carry yourselves towards them with obedience. Let their power\ncommand you, that their praise may commend you. Though you may\nhave your husband\u2019s heart, yet you should love his will. Till the\nhusband leaves commanding, the wife must never leave obeying. As\nhis injunctions must be lawful, so her subjection must be loyal.\n\n2. With faithfulness. In creation, God made not woman for many men,\nor many women for one man. Every wife should be to her husband as\nEve was to Adam, a whole world of women; and every husband should\nbe to his wife as Adam was to Eve, a whole world of men. When a\nriver is divided into many channels, the main current starves.\n\nTo conclude, Good servants are a great blessing; good children a\ngreater blessing; but a good wife is the greatest blessing: And\nsuch a help let him seek for her that wants one, let him sigh for\nher that hath lost one, let him take pleasure in her that enjoys\none.\n\nWhere there is nothing but a picture of virtue, or a few shadowy\nqualities that may subsist without any real excellency, death\nwill hide them for ever in the night of despair. The blackness of\ndarkness will close upon the naked and wandering ghost; whilst its\nloathsome remains are consigned to oblivion and putrefaction in the\nprison of the grave, with the prospect of a worse doom hereafter.\nBut where there is a living image of true goodness begun in this\nstate, death will deliver it with safety into the finishing hand\nof eternity, to be produced with every mark of honour in the\nopen view of heaven; where its now mortal partner, rescued from\nthe dishonours of the dust, and brightened into the graces of\neternal youth, shall rejoin it in triumph, to suffer the pangs\nof separation no more. EVERLASTING JEHOVAH! what a crown of joy\nwill it confer on the preacher in that day, if this little service\nshall be rewarded with the reflection of having contributed to\nthe salvation or improvement of any of these young persons whom\nhe now addresses! If ever thine ear was open to my cry, hear me,\nO Lord! hear me in their behalf. What cannot thy spirit perform,\nperform by the weakest hand? May that spirit seal them to the day\nof redemption. At that glorious period, may I meet you all amongst\nthe redeemed of the Lord, happy to see you shining with immortal\nsplendour in the general assembly and church of the first born,\ntransported to think that I shall live with you for ever, and\njoining in the gratulations of your fellow-angels around the throne\nof God, when He shall, in the sight of all, clothe you with the\ngarment of salvation, and cover you with the robe of righteousness,\nas a bridegroom is decked with ornaments, and as a bride is adorned\nwith her Jewels. Amen.\n\n\nLADY FRETFUL,\n\nA SKETCH FROM REAL LIFE.\n\nHer general style of conversation runs on the inconveniences to be\nexpected from this or that circumstance, and no one is so ingenious\nin extracting unsuspected evil from plans of the fairest promise.\nIs the weather fine, and a walk mentioned--It is hot--it is\ndusty--the wind is in the east--there was rain in the morning--it\nwill be dirty--or it will rain before we reach home. Is she to go\nout in the carriage; one road is too long for the horses--another\nis unpleasant--another unsafe--and, in short, none are exactly\nright. Yet she goes on these proposed expeditions, after all\npossibility of pleasure has been reasoned and anticipated away.\nIf she is going out to dinner, she is sure the company will be\nunpleasant--the servants will get drunk--she shall be robbed, or\noverturned in coming home. If she is to have a party at home, she\nknows every thing will go wrong--nobody will be amusing--the time\nwill hang heavy--the people will go away, execrating the stupidity\nof the visit. If she sees any lady employed about a piece of work,\nshe prognosticates it will be unfashionable before it is finished,\nshe sees any one reading, she never new any good come of reading,\nbut to make young people unfit for conversation. If her husband is\ngoing a hunting, she hates hunting, it is so dangerous. If he goes\nfor a ride, she is surprised he can take pleasure in sitting on his\nhorse for hours together. If he is in his library, she never saw\nsuch a book-worm. If he sits in the parlour, she hates men always\nat their wive\u2019s apron strings. Thus does she sour every common\noccurance of life by the most ingenious optical delusion, looking\nat every thing in the worst point of view.\n\nWhat absurdity to imbitter one\u2019s alloted portion of happiness by\nso obstinately persisting to anticipate inconvenience! Why not be\ndisposed to think fair appearances promise fair conclusions? Why,\nif the sun shines in the morning, be unwilling to enjoy it then?\nAnd, if it rains, why not be always inclined to hope the weather\nwill brighten?\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  PILGRIM\u2019S PROGRESS,\n\n  FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW;\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe progress of the Pilgrim is here represented by Christian\nleaving the City of Destruction, in terror and alarm at its fate.\nHe is met by Evangelist, who, directed him to fly from the wrath to\ncome; and keep yonder shining light in his eye, where it should be\ntold him what to do.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian had not proceeded far, till he fell into the slough of\nDespond, and was relieved by one called Help, who set him on his\nway. He was afterwards beguiled by Worldly-wiseman; but was again\nput right way by Evangalist.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian at length arrived at the gate, upon which was inscribed\n\u201cknock and it shall be opened.\u201d He knocked and it was opened by one\nGoodwill, who let him in. Beelzebub as he entered gave him a pull\nbut Christian escaped.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian having fairly escaped Beelzebub and his emissaries;\nwas kindly welcomed by Goodwill, and shewed many rare sights by\nInterpreter: he passed the walls of salvation and came to a cross,\nwhere his bundle dropped off.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian now being rid of his burden, pushed on more lightly,\nand took the narrow path up the hill, and struggled hard till he\narrived at the arbour, prepared by the Lord of the place for weary\npilgrims, where he sat and refreshed himself.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhen Christian had got to the top of the hill he met two men\nrunning, named Timorous and Mistrust; who said they had been bound\nfor Mount Zion, but meeting with two Lions, they were afraid:\nChristian passed the Lions, who, being chained, could not hurt him.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhen Christian lift up his eyes, he beheld the Palace of Beautiful;\nand after a few interrogations, was admitted by a damsel called\nDiscretion, who with her two sisters, Piety and Prudence, he held a\nlong conversation.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAfter leaving these good damsels, Christian passed on his way; and\nin the middle of the valley of Humiliation, he met with Apollion,\nwith whom he had a bloody struggle; Apollion throwing darts as\nthick as hail: but at last Christian overcame.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNow at the end of this valley was another called the valley of\nthe shadow of death; in the midst of which he perceived the mouth\nof hell; from which flame and smoke issued out in such abundance,\nthat he was obliged to put up his sword and betake himself to\nAll-prayer.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nShortly after this he came up with Faithful; with whom he held\nsweet converse till they came to Vanity Fair. A merchant asking\nwhat they would buy, they said the truth; which he took amiss, and\nraised a hubbub; so that they were both taken up and put in a cage,\nfor public view.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian and Faithful were brought before Mr. Hategood, to stand\ntheir trial. Envy, Superstition, and Hypocrisy, were brought\nforward as evidences, who did not fail to tell a partial story;\nwhich a partial jury confirmed; and Faithful was condemned to die\nat the stake.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nFaithful was then brought out and suffered at the stake: Thus came\nhe to his end, but there stood behind the multitude a chariot, and\nhorses into which he was taken up and carried through the clouds.\nChristian escaping went on his way.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian soon fell in with Hopeful, another pilgrim, with whom\nhe journeyed; and they having slept in the policies of Doubting\nCastle, were taken prisoners, by Giant Despair, who treated them\nharshly: a key found in Christian\u2019s bosom, opened the doors, and\nthey made their escape.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHaving escaped from Giant Despair, they soon met with the Shepherds\nof the Delectable Mountains. Leaving this country, they came to\nthe enchanted ground, where they fell in with some of the shining\ninhabitants, of the City.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian and Hopeful drawing nigh to the Celistial City, beheld\nthe streets were paved with pure gold, but there was a very deep\nriver through which they must pass the Pilgrims were alarmed and\nbegun to sink; but rose again and were welcomed on the other side\nby two glorious persons.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nChristian\u2019s wife and children wept for him, until a heavenly\nmessenger gave her a letter to follow her husband, and live with\nhim for ever. At first she was overcome, but taking the road with\nall her children they fell in with Mercy, and went toward the\nwicket gate.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAfter they had got safely through the Slough of Despond, they\narrived at the gate, where they knocked a long time, till at length\nthe keeper called out \u201cWho\u2019s there,\u201d and opened the gate, and\ntaking Christiana by the hand welcomed them saying \u201cSuffer little\nchildren to come unto me.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWith some difficulty Mercy was admitted, and they safely arrived\nat Interpreter\u2019s house; supper being ready, and thanks given, they\npartook of a hearty repast; Interpreter asked how she became a\npilgrim, she said, it was by the loss of her husband, and a letter\nfrom the King of Zion.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIn the morning they were much refreshed. Greatheart was sent along\nwith them to guide them on their way. They passed the place where\nthe load fell from Christian\u2019s back; and came to the place where\nSimple, Sloth, and Presumption were hanging in chains.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThey soon arrived at the Hill of Difficulty; Greatheart shewed them\nthe spring where Christian drank; they then begun to ascend the\nhill, but Christiana began to pant and want rest; but Greatheart\nencouraged them, telling them they were near the Arbour, where they\nwould find rest.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBeing refreshed at the Arbour, and approaching Doubting Castle,\nGreatheart determined to level it with the ground. He and the\ngiant had a severe fight, but the giant was overcome. They then\ndemolished the Castle, and released many prisoners, where many\nstrange sights were seen.\n\nThey still persevered on in their journey by the straight way, and\nnarrow path of pilgrims; occasionally meeting with difficulties and\nencouragement, till they arrived at the land of Beulah, where the\nsun shines night and day; and here they betook themselves to rest.\n\nNow while they lay here there was a post came from the Celestial\nCity, with a letter to Christiana: the contents were \u201cHail good\nwoman! I bring thee good tidings that the master calleth for thee,\nand expecteth that thou shouldst stand in his presence within these\nten days.\u201d\n\nNow the day drew on that Christiana must be gone. So the road was\nfull of people to see her take her journey. So she came forth and\nentered the river with a beckon of farewell to those that follow\nher to the river side. The last words she was heard to say, were,\n\u201cI come, Lord, to be with thee, and bless thee.\u201d\n\nSo her children and friends returned to their place; for those that\nwaited for Christiana had carried her out of their sight. So she\nwent and called and entered in at the gate with all the ceremonies\nof Joy that Christian had done before her.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  DIVINE SONGS\n\n  FOR\n\n  THE USE OF CHILDREN.\n\n  BY I. WATTS, D.D.\n\n  \u201cRemember thy Creator in the days of thy youth.\u201d\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PUBLISHED BY FRANCIS ORR AND SONS.\n\n  1847.\n\n\n\n\nDIVINE SONGS.\n\n\nI.--_A General Song of Praise to God._\n\n      1 How glorious is our heavenly King,\n          who reigns above the sky!\n        How shall a child presume to sing\n          his dreadful Majesty?\n\n      2 How great his power is, none can tell,\n          Nor think how large his grace;\n        Not man below, nor saints that dwell\n          on high before his face:\n\n      3 Nor angels that stand round the Lord,\n          can search his secret will;\n        But they perform his heavenly word,\n          and sing his praises still.\n\n      4 Then let me join this holy train,\n          and my first off\u2019rings bring;\n        The eternal God will not disdain\n          to hear an infant sing.\n\n      5 My heart resolves, my tongue obeys,\n          and angels shall rejoice,\n        To hear their mighty Maker\u2019s praise\n          sound from a feeble voice.\n\n\nII.--_Praise for Creation and Providence._\n\n      1 I sing the Almighty power of God,\n          that made the mountains rise,\n        That spread the flowing seas abroad,\n          and built the lofty skies.\n\n      2 I sing the wisdom that ordain\u2019d\n          the sun to rule the day;\n        The moon shines full at his command,\n          and all the stars obey.\n\n      3 I sing the goodness of the Lord,\n          that filled the earth with food;\n        He formed the creatures with his word,\n          and then pronounc\u2019d them good.\n\n      4 Lord, how many wonders are display\u2019d\n          where\u2019er I turn mine eye!\n        If I survey the ground I tread,\n          or gaze upon the sky.\n\n      5 There\u2019s not a plant or flower below,\n          but makes thy glories known;\n        And clouds arise, and tempests blow,\n          by order from thy throne.\n\n      6 Creatures (as numerous as they be)\n          are subject to thy care;\n        There\u2019s not a place where we can flee,\n          but God is present there.\n\n      7 In heaven he shines with beams of love,\n          with wrath in hell beneath;\n        \u2019Tis on his earth I stand or move,\n          and \u2019tis his air I breath.\n\n      8 His hand is my perpetual guard,\n          he keeps me with his eye;\n        Why should I then forget the Lord,\n          who is for ever nigh?\n\n\nIII.--_Praise to God for our Redemption._\n\n      1 Blest be the wisdom and the power,\n          the justice and the grace,\n        That joined in counsel to restore\n          and save our ruin\u2019d race.\n\n      2 Our father ate forbidden fruit,\n          and from his glory fell;\n        And we, his children, thus were brought\n          to death, and near to hell.\n\n      3 Blest be the Lord that sent his Son\n          to take our flesh and blood;\n        He for our lives gave up his own,\n          to make our peace with God.\n\n      4 He honour\u2019d all his Father\u2019s laws,\n          which we have disobey\u2019d;\n        He bore our sins upon the cross,\n          and our full ransom paid.\n\n      5 Behold him rising from the grave;\n          behold him raised on high;\n        He pleads his merits there to save\n          transgressors doom\u2019d to die.\n\n      6 There on a glorious throne he reigns\n          and by his power divine,\n        Redeems us from the slavish chains\n          of Satan and of sin.\n\n      7 Then shall the Lord to judgment come,\n          and with a sovereign voice\n        Shall call and break up every tomb,\n          while waking saints rejoice.\n\n      8 O may I then with joy appear\n          before the Judge\u2019s face;\n        And with the blessed assembly there,\n          sing his redeeming grace!\n\n\nIV.--_Spiritual and Temporal Mercies._\n\n      1 Whene\u2019er I take my walks abroad,\n          how many poor I see!\n        What shall I render to my God\n          for all his gifts to me!\n\n      2 Not more than others I deserve,\n          yet God has given me more;\n        For I have food, while others starve,\n          or beg from door to door.\n\n      3 How many children in the street\n          half naked I behold!\n        While I am clothed from head to feet,\n          and covered from the cold!\n\n      4 While some poor wretches scarce can tell\n          where they may lay their head,\n        I have a house wherein to dwell,\n          and rest upon my bed.\n\n      5 While others early learn to swear,\n          and curse, and lie, and steal,\n        Lord, I am taught thy name to fear,\n          and do thy holy will.\n\n      6 Are these thy favours day by day,\n          to me above the rest?\n        Then let me love thee more than they\n          and try to serve thee best.\n\n\nV.--_Praise for Birth and Education in a Christian Land._\n\n      1 Great God! to thee my voice I raise,\n          to thee my youngest hours belong;\n        I would begin my hours with praise,\n          till growing years improve the song.\n\n      2 \u2019Tis to thy sov\u2019reign grace I owe\n          that I was born on British ground,\n        Where streams of heavenly mercy flow,\n          and words of sweet salvation sound.\n\n      3 I would not change my native land\n          for rich Peru, with all her gold:\n        A nobler prize lies in my hand\n          than East, or Western Indies hold.\n\n      4 How do I pity those that dwell\n          where ignorance and darkness reign;\n        They know no heaven they fear no hell,\n          the endless joy, the endless pain!\n\n      5 Thy glorious promises, O Lord!\n          kindle my hope and my desire:\n        While all the preachers of thy word\n          warn me to \u2019scape eternal fire.\n\n      6 Thy praise shall still employ my breath,\n          since thou hast mark\u2019d my way to heaven,\n        Nor will I run the road to death,\n          and waste the blessings thou hast given.\n\n\nVI.--_Praise for the Gospel._\n\n      1 Lord, I ascribe it to thy grace,\n          and not to chance, as others do,\n        That I was born of Christian race,\n          and not a Heathen or a Jew.\n\n      2 What would the ancient Jewish kings\n          and Jewish prophets once have given\n        Could they have heard those glorious things\n          which Christ reveal\u2019d and brought from heaven!\n\n      3 How glad the heathens would have been,\n          that worshipp\u2019d idols, wood, and stone,\n        If they the book of God had seen,\n          or Jesus and his gospel known!\n\n      4 Then if this gospel I refuse,\n          how shall I e\u2019er lift up mine eyes?\n        For all the Gentiles and the Jews\n          against me will in judgment rise.\n\n\nVII.--_The Excellency of the Bible._\n\n      1 Great God, with wonder and with praise\n          on all thy works I look;\n        But still thy wisdom, power, and grace,\n          shine brightest in thy book.\n\n      2 The stars, that in their courses roll,\n          have much instruction given;\n        But thy good word informs my soul\n          how I may climb to heaven.\n\n      3 The fields provide me food, and show\n          the goodness of the Lord;\n        But fruits of life and glory grow\n          in thy most holy Word.\n\n      4 Here are choicest treasures hid;\n          here my best comfort lies;\n        Here my desires are satisfied,\n          and hence my hopes arise.\n\n      5 Lord, make me understand thy law,\n          show what my faults have been;\n        And from thy gospel let me draw\n          pardon for all my sin.\n\n      6 Here would I learn how Christ has died\n          to save my soul from hell;\n        Not all the books on earth beside\n          such heavenly wonders tell.\n\n      7 Then let me love my Bible more,\n          and take a fresh delight\n        By day to read thy wonders o\u2019er,\n          and meditate by night.\n\n\nVIII.--_Praise to God for learning to read._\n\n      1 The praises of my tongue\n          I offer to the Lord,\n        That I was taught and learn\u2019d so young\n          to read his holy word.\n\n      2 That I am brought to know\n          the danger I was in,\n        By nature, and by practice too,\n          a wedded slave to sin:\n\n      3 That I am led to see\n          I can do nothing well;\n        And whither shall a sinner flee\n          to save himself from hell?\n\n      4 Dear Lord! this book of thine\n          informs me where to go\n        For grace to pardon all my sin,\n          and make me holy too.\n\n      5 Here I can read and learn\n          how Christ, the Son of God,\n        Did undertake our great concern,--\n          our ransom cost his blood.\n\n      6 And now he reigns above,\n          he sends his Spirit down\n        To show the wonders of his love,\n          and make his gospel known.\n\n      7 O may that Spirit teach,\n          and make my heart receive\n        Those truths which all thy servants preach,\n          and all thy saints believe!\n\n      8 Then shall I praise the Lord\n          in a most cheerful strain,\n        That I was taught to read his Word,\n          and have not learned in vain.\n\n\nIX.--_The All-seeing God._\n\n      1 Almighty God, thy piercing eye\n          strikes through the shades of night,\n        And our most secret actions lie\n          all open to thy sight.\n\n      2 There\u2019s not a sin that we commit,\n          nor wicked word we say,\n        But in thy dreadful book \u2019tis writ\n          against the judgment day.\n\n      3 And must the crimes that I have done\n          be read and publish\u2019d there?\n        Be all exposed before thy Son,\n          while men and angels hear?\n\n      4 Lord, at thy feet asham\u2019d I lie,\n          upward I dare not look;\n        Pardon my sins before I die,\n          and blot them from thy book.\n\n      5 Remember all the dying pains\n          that my Redeemer felt,\n        And let his blood wash out my stains,\n          and answer for my guilt.\n\n      6 O may I now for ever fear\n          T\u2019 indulge a sinful thought,\n        Since the great God can see and hear\n          and writes down every fault.\n\n\nX.--_Solemn Thoughts of God and Death._\n\n      1 There is a God that reigns above,\n          lord of the heavens and earth and seas,\n        I fear his wrath, I ask his love,\n          and with my lips I sing his praise.\n\n      2 There is a law which he has writ,\n          to teach us all what we must do;\n        My soul, to his commands submit,\n          for they are holy, just and true.\n\n      3 There is a gospel of rich grace,\n          whence sinners all their comfort draw\n        Lord, I repent and seek thy face,\n          for I have often broke thy law.\n\n      4 There is an hour when I must die,\n          nor do I know how soon \u2019twill come;\n        A thousand children young as I\n          are called by death to hear their doom.\n\n      5 Let me improve the hours I have,\n          before the day of grace is fled;\n        There\u2019s no repentance in the grave,\n          nor pardon offered to the dead.\n\n      6 Just as a tree cut down, that fell\n          to north or southward, there it lies:\n        So man departs to heaven or hell,\n          fix\u2019d in the state wherein he dies.\n\n\nXI.--_Heaven and Hell._\n\n      1 There is beyond the sky,\n          a heaven of joy and love;\n        And holy children when they die,\n          go to that world above.\n\n      2 There is a dreadful hell,\n          and everlasting pains,\n        Where sinners must with devils dwell,\n          in darkness, fire, and chains.\n\n      3 Can such a wretch as I\n          escape this cursed end?\n        And may I hope whene\u2019er I die,\n          I shall to heaven ascend?\n\n      4 Then will I read and pray,\n          while I have life and breath,\n        Lest I should be cut off to-day,\n          and sent t\u2019 eternal death.\n\n\nXII.--_The advantages of early Religion._\n\n      1 Happy the child whose tender years\n          receive instruction well;\n        Who hates the sinner\u2019s path, and fears\n          the road that leads to hell.\n\n      2 When we devote our youth to God,\n          \u2019tis pleasing in his eyes;\n        A flower, when offer\u2019d in the bud,\n          is no vain sacrifice.\n\n      3 \u2019Tis easier work, if we begin\n          to fear the Lord betimes;\n        While sinners, who grow old in sin,\n          are hardened in their crimes.\n\n      4 \u2019Twill save us from a thousand snares,\n          to mind religion young;\n        Grace will preserve our following years,\n          and make our virtue strong.\n\n      5 To thee, Almighty God, to thee,\n          our childhood we resign;\n        \u2019Twill please us to look back and see\n          that our whole lives were thine.\n\n      6 Let the sweet work of prayer and praise\n          employ my youngest breath;\n        Thus I\u2019m prepared for longer days,\n          or fit for early death.\n\n\nXIII.--_The Danger of Delay._\n\n      1 Why should I say, \u201c\u2019Tis yet too soon\n          to seek for heaven, or think of death?\u201d\n        A flower may fade before \u2019tis noon,\n          and I this day may lose my breath.\n\n      2 If this rebellious heart of mine\n          Despise the gracious call of Heaven,\n        I may be hardened in my sin,\n          and never have repentance given.\n\n      3 What if the Lord grew wroth and swear,\n          while I refuse to read and pray,\n        That he\u2019ll refuse to lend an ear\n          to all my groans another day.\n\n      4 What if his dreadful anger burn\n          while I refuse his offer\u2019d grace,\n        And all his love to fury turn,\n          and strike me dead upon the place.\n\n      5 \u2019Tis dangerous to provoke our God!\n          his power and vengeance none can tell;\n        One stroke of his Almighty rod\n          shall send young sinners down to hell.\n\n      6 Then \u2019twill for ever be in vain\n          to cry for pardon and for grace,\n        To wish I had my time again,\n          or hope to see my Maker\u2019s face.\n\n\nXIV.--_Against Lying._\n\n      1 O \u2019tis a lovely thing for youth\n          to walk betimes in wisdom\u2019s way:\n        To fear a lie, to speak the truth,\n          that we may trust to all they say!\n\n      2 But liars we can never trust,\n          tho\u2019 they should speak the thing that\u2019s true;\n        And he that does one fault at first,\n          and lies to hide it, makes it two.\n\n      3 Have we not known, nor heard, nor read,\n          how God abhors deceit and wrong,\n        How Ananias was struck dead,\n          Caught with a lie upon his tongue?\n\n      4 So did his wife Sapphira die,\n          when she came in, and grew so bold,\n        As to confirm the wicked lie\n          that just before her husband told.\n\n      5 The Lord delights in them that speak\n          the words of truth; but every liar\n        Must have his portion in the lake\n          that burns with brimstone and with fire.\n\n      6 Then let me always watch my lips,\n          lest I be struck to death and hell,\n        Since God a book of reck\u2019ning keeps\n          for every lie that children tell.\n\n\nXV.--_Against Quarrelling and Fighting._\n\n      1 Let dogs delight to bark and bite\n          for God hath made them so;\n        Let bears and lions growl and fight,\n          for \u2019tis their nature too;\n\n      2 But children, you should never let\n          such angry passions rise;\n        Your little hands were never made\n          to tear each other\u2019s eyes.\n\n      3 Let love through all your actions run,\n          and all your words be mild;\n        Live like the blessed Virgin\u2019s Son,\n          that sweet and lovely Child.\n\n      4 His soul was gentle as a lamb;\n          and, as his stature grew,\n        He grew in favour both with man\n          and God his Father too.\n\n      5 Now Lord of all he reigns above;\n          and from his heavenly throne\n        He sees what children dwell in love,\n          and marks them for his own.\n\n\nXVI.--_Love between Brothers and Sisters_.\n\n      1 Whatever brawls disturb the street,\n          there should be peace at home;\n        Where sisters dwell and brothers meet\n          quarrels should never come.\n\n      2 Birds in their little nests agree,\n          and \u2019tis a shameful sight\n        When children of one family\n          fall out, and chide, and fight.\n\n      3 Hard names at first, & threat\u2019ning words,\n          that are but noisy breath,\n        May grow to clubs and naked swords,\n          to murder and to death.\n\n      4 The devil tempts one mother\u2019s son\n          to rage against another;\n        So wicked Cain was hurried on\n          till he had kill\u2019d his brother.\n\n      5 The wise will make their anger cool,\n          at least before \u2019tis night;\n        But in the bosom of a fool\n          it burns till morning light.\n\n      6 Pardon, O Lord, our childish rage,\n          our little brawls remove,\n        That, as we grow to riper age,\n          our hearts may all be love.\n\n\nXVII.--_Against Idleness and Mischief._\n\n      1 How doth the little busy bee\n          improve each shining hour,\n        And gather honey all the day\n          from every opening flower.\n\n      2 How skilfully she builds her cell!\n          how neat she spreads her wax!\n        And labours hard to store it well\n          with the sweet food she makes.\n\n      3 In works of labour, or of skill,\n          I would be busy too:\n        For Satan finds some mischief still\n          for idle hands to do.\n\n      4 In books, or works, or healthful play\n          let my first years be past,\n        That I may give for every day\n          some good account at last.\n\n\nXIII.--_Against Evil Company._\n\n      1 Why should I join with those in play\n          in whom I\u2019ve no delight,\n        Who curse and swear, but never pray\n          who call ill names, and fight?\n\n      2 I hate to hear a wanton song;\n          their words offend my ears;\n        I should not dare defile my tongue\n          with language such as theirs.\n\n      3 Away from fools I\u2019ll turn my eyes,\n          nor with the scoffers go;\n        I would be walking with the wise,\n          that wiser I may grow.\n\n      4 From one rude boy that\u2019s used to mock,\n          ten learn the wicked jest;\n        One sickly sheep infects the flock,\n          and poisons all the rest.\n\n      5 My God, I hate to walk or dwell\n          with sinful children here;\n        Then let me not be sent to hell,\n          where none but sinners are.\n\n\nXIX.--_Against Pride in Clothes._\n\n      1 Why should our garments, made to hide\n        Our parents\u2019 shame, provoke our pride?\n        The art of dress did ne\u2019er begin\n        Till Eve, our mother, learned to sin.\n\n      2 When first she put the covering on,\n        Her robe of innocence was gone;\n        And yet her children vainly boast\n        In the sad marks of glory lost.\n\n      3 How proud we are! how fond to show\n        Our clothes! and call them rich and new!\n        When the poor sheep and silkworms wore\n        That very clothing long before.\n\n      4 The tulip and the butterfly\n        Appear in gayer coats than I;\n        Let me be dress\u2019d fine as I will,\n        Flies, worms, and flowers excel me still.\n\n      5 Then will I set my heart to find\n        Inward adornings of the mind;\n        Knowledge and virtue, truth and grace,\n        These are the robes of richest dress.\n\n      6 No more shall worms with me compare;\n        This is the raiment angels wear;\n        The Son of God, when here below,\n        Put on this blest apparel too.\n\n      7 It never fades, it ne\u2019er grows old,\n        Nor fears the rain, nor moth, nor mould;\n        It takes no spot, but still refines;\n        The more it\u2019s worn, the more it shines.\n\n      8 In this on earth should I appear,\n        Then go to heav\u2019n and wear it there,\n        God will approve it in his sight;\n        \u2019Tis his own work, and his delight.\n\n\nXX.--_Obedience to Parents._\n\n      1 Let children that would fear the Lord\n          hear what their teachers say;\n        With reverence meet their parents\u2019 word,\n          and with delight obey.\n\n      2 Have we not heard what dreadful plagues\n          are threat\u2019ned by the Lord,\n        To him that breaks his father\u2019s law,\n          or mocks his mother\u2019s word?\n\n      3 What heavy guilt upon him lies!\n          how cursed is his name!\n        The ravens shall pick out his eyes,\n          and eagles eat the same.\n\n      4 But those who worship God, and give\n          their parents honour due,\n        Here on this earth they long shall live,\n          and live hereafter too.\n\n\nXXI.--_The Child\u2019s Complaint._\n\n      1 Why should I love my sports so well,\n          so constant at my play,\n        And lose the thoughts of heaven and hell,\n          and then forget to pray?\n\n      2 What do I read my Bible for,\n          but, Lord, to learn thy will?\n        And shall I learn to know thee more,\n          and less obey thee still?\n\n      3 How senseless is my heart and wild!\n          how vain are all my thoughts!\n        Pity the weakness of a child,\n          and pardon all my faults.\n\n      4 Make me thy heav\u2019nly voice to hear,\n          and let me love to pray,\n        Since God will lend a gracious ear\n          to what a child can say.\n\n\nXXII.--_A Morning Song._\n\n      1 My God, who makes the sun to know\n          his proper hour to rise,\n        And to give light to all below,\n          dost send him round the skies:\n\n      2 When from the chambers of the east\n          his morning race begins,\n        He never tires, nor stops to rest,\n          but round the world he shines;\n\n      3 So, like the sun, would I fulfil\n          the business of the day,\n        Begin my work betimes, and still\n          march on my heav\u2019nly way.\n\n      4 Give me, O Lord, thine early grace,\n          nor let my soul complain\n        That the young morning of my days\n          has all been spent in vain.\n\n\nXXIII.--_An Evening Song._\n\n      1 And now another day is gone,\n          I\u2019ll sing my Maker\u2019s praise;\n        My comforts every hour make known\n          his providence and grace.\n\n      2 But how my childhood runs to waste\n          my sins, how great their sum!\n        Lord, give me pardon for the past,\n          and strength for days to come.\n\n      3 I lay my body down to sleep;\n          let angels guard my head,\n        And through the hours of darkness keep\n          their watch around my bed.\n\n      4 With cheerful heart I close my eyes,\n          since thou wilt not remove;\n        And in the morning let me rise\n          rejoicing in thy love.\n\n\nXXIV.--_For the Lord\u2019s Day Morning._\n\n      1 This is the day when Christ arose\n          so early from the dead;\n        Why should I keep my eyelids close,\n          and waste my hours in bed?\n\n      2 This is the day when Jesus broke\n          the powers of death and hell;\n        And shall I still wear Satan\u2019s yoke,\n          and love my sins so well?\n\n      3 To-day with pleasure Christians meet,\n          to pray, and hear thy Word,\n        And I will go with cheerful feet\n          to learn thy will, O Lord.\n\n      4 I\u2019ll leave my sport to read and pray,\n          and so prepare for heaven:\n        O may I love this blessed day\n          the best of all the seven!\n\n\nXXV.--_For the Lord\u2019s Day Evening._\n\n      1 Lord, how delightful \u2019tis to see\n        A whole assembly worship thee!\n        At once they sing, at once they pray,\n        They hear of heaven and learn the way.\n\n      2 I have been there, and still would go,\n        \u2019Tis like a little heaven below;\n        Nor all my pleasures, nor my play,\n        Shall tempt me to forget that day.\n\n      3 O write upon my mem\u2019ry, Lord,\n        The test and doctrines of thy Word,\n        That I may break thy laws no more,\n        But love thee better than before.\n\n      4 With thoughts of Christ, and things divine\n        Fill up this foolish heart of mine;\n        That, hoping pardon through his blood,\n        I may lie down, and wake with God.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  PLANT OF RENOWN:\n\n  BEING\n\n  TWO SERMONS,\n\n  PREACHED BY THE\n\n  REV. EBENEZER ERSKINE,\n\n  LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN STIRLING.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE\n\nPLANT OF RENOWN.\n\n\nSERMON I.\n\nEZEKIEL, xxxiv. 29.\n\n_And I will raise up for them a Plant of Renown._\n\nIf we cast our eyes back upon the foregoing part of this chapter,\nwe shall find a very melancholy scene casting up; we shall find\nthe flock and heritage of God scattered, robbed and peeled by the\ncivil and ecclesiastical rulers that were in being in that day; a\nday much like to the day wherein we live: the ruin of the church\nof Christ in all ages and periods of the world, has been owing to\ncombinations betwixt corrupt churchmen, and corrupt statesmen; and\nso you will find it. In the preceding part of this chapter there\nis a high charge brought in against the Shepherds of Israel, and\na terrible and awful threatening denounced by the great and chief\nshepherd against them, for the bad treatment that the flock of\nChrist had met with in their hands: However the sheep of Christ\nmay be fleeced, and scattered, and spoiled, yet the Lord looks\non them; and many great and precious promises are made for their\nencouragement in that evil day; you may read them at your own\nleisure, for I must not stay upon them just now. But among all the\nrest of the promises that are made, Christ is the chief; Christ is\nthe To-look of the church, whatever trouble she be in. In the 7th\nchapter of Isaiah, the church had a trembling heart, God\u2019s Israel\nwas shaken as ever you saw the leaves of the wood shaken by the\nwind, by reason of two Kings combining against them: Well, the Lord\ntells them, \u201cA Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and call his\nname IMMANUEL.\u201d But, might not the church say, what is that to us?\nWhat encouragement doth this afford in the present distress? Why,\nthe Messiah is to come of the tribe of Judah and the family of\nDavid; and therefore that tribe and family must be preserved, in\norder to the accomplishment of that promise. Whatever distance of\ntime, suppose hundreds or thousands of years, may intervene before\nthe actual coming of the Messiah; yet the promise of his coming,\nas it is the ground of your faith for eternal salvation, so it\nis a security for the present, that the enemy shall not prevail,\nto the total ruin of Judah and the royal family of David. In all\nthe distresses of the church, Christ is always presented to her,\nin the promise, as the object of her faith, and the ground of her\nconsolation; and accordingly, \u201cThey looked to him,\u201d in the promise,\n\u201cand were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed.\u201d He is here\npromised under the notion of _God\u2019s Servant_; and, in the words of\nthe text, he is promised as a _Renowned Plant_, that was to rise in\nthe fulness of time. And, blessed be God, he has sprung up, and is\nin heaven already, and has overtopt all his enemies, and all his\nenemies shall be his foot-stool.\n\n_First_, Here then, you have a comfortable promise of the Messiah;\nwhere, again, you may notice the promiser: _I, I will raise up,\n&c._ It is a great _I_, indeed; it is JEHOVAH, in the person of\nthe FATHER: It was he that in a peculiar manner, sent him; \u201cGod so\nloved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever\nbelieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.--In\nthe fulness of time he sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made\nunder the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we\nmight receive the adoption of Sons.\u201d God promised to send him, and\naccordingly he has actually fulfilled his promise. Again,\n\n_Secondly_, We may notice the blessing promised, and that is, a\n_Plant of Renown_.--Christ gets a great many metaphorical names\nand descriptions in Scripture:--Sometimes he is called a Rose,\nsometimes he is called a Sun, and sometimes he is called a Door;\nsometimes he is called the Tree of Life; sometimes he is called one\nthing, and sometimes another; And he is content to be called any\nthing, to make himself known to us; and here he is called a Plant,\nand a _Renowned Plant_; but more of this afterwards. But then,\n\n_Thirdly_, We have the production of this Plant, _I will raise\nhim up_. Hell will endeavour to keep him down; the Devil and his\nAngels will endeavour to smother him, when he sets his head above\nground: So we find Satan sends Herod, and Herod sends the Bloody\nDragoons to murder him, when he came into the world: But let hell\ndo its utmost, as it hath done in all ages, and is doing this day,\nto smother that plant, up it will be; _I will raise him up_, and\ntherefore he shall prosper. But then again,\n\n_Fourthly_, We may notice here, for whom, or for what end, for\nwhose use and benefit it is: _I will raise up for them a Plant\nof Renown_. Who these are, you will see by casting your eye on\nthe former part of this chapter; it is for the Lord\u2019s flock, his\noppressed heritage, that are borne down by wicked rulers, civil and\necclesiastic: _I will raise up for them a Plant of Renown_, and he\nwill be their deliverer.\n\nThe doctrine that naturally arises from this first clause of the\nverse, is in short this, \u201cThat Christ is a Plant of Renown, of\nGod\u2019s raising up, for the benefit and advantage of his people,\nor for their comfort and relief in all their distresses; he is a\nRenowned Plant of God\u2019s raising up.\u201d\n\nNow, in discoursing this doctrine, if time and strength would\nallow, I might,\n\n_First_, Premise a few things concerning this blessed Plant.\n\n_Secondly_, I might enquire, why he is called a Plant of Renown?\n\n_Thirdly_, Speak a little to the raising up of this Plant.\n\n_Fourthly_, For whom he is raised up.\n\n_Fifthly_, For what end. And then,\n\n_Lastly_, Apply.\n\nAs to the first of these, namely,\n\n_First_, To premise a few things concerning this blessed Plant.\n\n_First_, I would have you to know what is here attributed and\nascribed to Christ: It is not to be understood absolutely of him\nas God, but officially as he is Mediator and Redeemer. Considering\nhim absolutely as God, this cannot be properly said of him, that\nhe was raised up: for he is God co-equal and co-essential with the\nFather; But viewing him as Mediator, he is a Plant, as it were of\nGod\u2019s training. You will see from the context, all that is said of\nChrist has a respect to him as a Mediator, that he was to be God\u2019s\nServant to do his work: In that consideration he is here called a\nPlant, and a _Plant of Renown_. Hence, Zacharias, when speaking of\nhim, has a phrase much to the same purpose; \u201cHe hath raised up a\nHorn of Salvation for us in the house of his servant David.\u201d Again,\n\n_Secondly_, Another thing I would have you to remark, is, That this\nPlant is but small and little in the eyes of a blind world. He was\nlittle looked upon when he sprung up in his Incarnation; and when\nhe was here in a state of humiliation, men looked upon him \u201cas a\nRoot sprung up out of a dry ground; they saw no comeliness in him\nwhy he should be desired.\u201d And to this day, though he be in a state\nof exaltation at the right hand of God, yet he is little thought\nof, and looked upon, by the generality of mankind, and the hearers\nof the gospel; _He is despised and rejected of men_. But then,\n\n_Thirdly_, Another thing I would have you to remark, is, That\nhowever contemptible this Plant of Renown is in the eyes of a blind\nworld, yet he is the tallest Plant in all God\u2019s Lebanon, there is\nnot the like of him in it, \u201cHe is fairer than the children of men;\u201d\nand, \u201cHe is as the apple-tree among the trees of the wood,\u201d If ever\nyou saw him, you will be ready to say so too, and with David, \u201cWhom\nhave I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon the earth that I\ndesire besides thee.\u201d Again,\n\n_Fourthly_, Another thing I remark, is, That this blessed Plant\nof Renown, he was cut down in his death, and sprung up gloriously\nin his resurrection; the sword of divine justice hewed down this\nPlant upon Mount Calvary, but within three days he sprung up again\nmore glorious and more beautiful and amiable than ever; and \u201cHe was\ndeclared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit\nof holiness, by his resurrection from the dead.\u201d\n\n_Lastly_, I would have you to remark, that all the little plants in\nthe garden are ingrafted in this Plant of Renown: \u201cI am the Vine,\nye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same\nbringeth forth much fruit: For without me ye can do nothing--I\nam a green fir tree, from me is thy fruit found.\u201d If you be not\ningrafted firs, in this Plant, you will never grow; and all the\ntrees that are not planted in him, they are all but weeds. There is\na time coming when all the weeds will be plucked up, and therefore\ntake heed that you be ingrafted in him by a faith of God\u2019s\noperation. So much for the first thing I proposed.\n\nThe second thing was to shew, that he is a Renowned Plant. He is\nrenowned in heaven, and he is renowned on earth, and will be so,\n_For his name shall endure for ever_, Psal. lxxii. 17. O he is\nrenowned!\n\nFor what, say you, is he renowned? I might here enter upon a very\nlarge field; I shall only tell you,\n\n1. That he is renowned in his Person. There was never the like of\nhim! The two natures, God and Man, are joined together in one, in\nhim: Did you ever see that? If you have not seen that, you have not\nseen the Mystery of Godliness: He is the most renowned person in\nheaven; but he is IMMANUEL, _God manifested in the flesh_.--Then he\nis,\n\n2. Renowned for his Pedigree: _Who can declare his Generation?_\nConsidering him as God, his eternal generation from the Father\ncannot be told. We can tell you he is the only begotten of the\nFather, but we cannot tell you the manner of his generation; it is\na secret that God has drawn a vail upon, and it is dangerous to\nventure into a search of it; and they that have attempted it, have\ncommonly been boged into Arian, Arminian, and Sabellian errors.\nConsidering him as man, he is sprung of a race of ancient Kings,\na famous catalogue of them you read of in first of Matthew.--And\nwho can declare his generation even as man? For he was born of a\nVirgin, and conceived by the overshadowing power of the Highest.\nThen,\n\n3. He is renowned for his name.--\u201cHe hath a Name above every name\nthat can be named, whether in this world or that which is to come.\u201d\n\n4. He is renowned for his Wisdom.--For, \u201cAll the treasures of\nwisdom and knowledge are in him.\u201d\n\n5. He is renowned for his Power.--For he is not only _the Wisdom of\nGod_, but _the Power of God_. He is \u201cthe Man of God\u2019s right hand,\neven the Son of Man, whom he hath made strong for himself.\u201d\n\n6. He is renowned for his Veracity and Fidelity. For, \u201cFaithfulness\nis the girdle of his loins.\u201d Have you got a word from him? Depend\nupon it, it is a sicker word, it does not fail: _The word of the\nLord endures for ever_, when heaven and earth shall pass away.\n\n7. He is renowned for his Righteousness. For, \u201cHe hath brought\nin an everlasting Righteousness, whereby the Law is magnified\nand made honourable;\u201d and by the imputation of which, the guilty\ntransgressors are acquitted: \u201cHe was made sin for us, who knew no\nsin, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him:\u201d That\nis His name, _The Lord our Righteousness_.\n\n8. He is renowned for his fulness.--For, \u201cAll the fulness of the\nGodhead dwells bodily in him:\u201d He is _full of grace and truth_;\nfull of all created and uncreated excellencies.\n\n9. He is renowned for his Love.--What but love brought him out of\nthe bosom of the Father to this lower world? What but love made him\nlay down his life for his people?\n\n10. He is renowned for his Liberality. He has a full hand and\na free heart, as we use to say; he gives without money, and he\ninvites all to come and share of his fulness.\n\n11. He is renowned for his Constancy. He is \u201cJesus Christ, the same\nto-day, yesterday and for ever.\u201d The best of men, will fail us when\nwe trust them; they will run like splinters into our hands, when we\nlean upon them: But, sirs, you will find Christ always the same,\nto-day, yesterday and for ever. And then,\n\n12. He is renowned for his Authority and Dominion. It is great,\nand extends far and wide, whether in heaven above, or in the earth\nbeneath: And his dominion reaches \u201cfrom sea to sea, and from the\nriver unto the ends of the earth:\u201d And all the kings of the earth\nare but his vassals.\n\nThus, I say, Christ in every respect is renowned.\n\nBut here, to keep by the phraseology of the text, He is a renowned\nPlant: Wherein is he renowned?\n\n_First_, I say he is renowned for his Antiquity: \u201cI was set up from\neverlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was,\u201d &c. All\nthe plants in the higher and lower gardens of God, they are but\njust upstarts in comparison of him: Angels and Arch-angels, and the\ngreatest Seraphims are but of yesterday, in comparison of this\nPlant. He is renowned for his Antiquity, for he is, \u201cThe Ancient of\ndays, and the Everlasting Father,\u201d Isaiah, 9th chapter.\n\n\n  _N.B.--Here he was desired to conclude his Discourse, in respect\n  the Work in the Church was over, and that he might give way to\n  another Minister that was to preach the Evening Sermon._\n\n\nSERMON II.\n\nEZEKIEL, xxxiv. 29.\n\n_And I will raise up for them a Plant of Renown._\n\nI had occasion, upon a solemnity of this nature, not long ago, to\nenter upon these words, but had not time to go far into the import\nof them. After I had traced the connection of the words a little, I\ntook them up in the few following particulars.\n\n1. We have here a great blessing promised unto the church; and that\nis none other than Christ, under the notion of a Prince, and _A\nPlant of Renown_.\n\n2. We have the Party by whom this promise is made, in the pronoun\n_I_,--I JEHOVAH, the Eternal GOD, _I will raise up for them a Plant\nof Renown_.\n\n3. We have the way how this _Plant of Renown_ is raised; _And I\nwill raise him up_. I that am the great Husbandman of the vineyard,\n_I will raise up for them_, &c. Then,\n\n4. I noticed the persons to whom the promise is made, _I will raise\nup for them_; that is, for his Church, for his people that are\nbrought into a very low condition; as you will see by reading the\npreceding part of the chapter. The flock of Christ were scattered\nby the shepherds of Israel; they were torn, they were devoured, and\nunder manifold trials; Well, what will the Lord do for his flock\nin that condition? He says, _I will raise up for them a Plant of\nRenown, and they shall hunger no more_.\n\nThe observation is much the same with the words themselves, namely,\n\u201cthat our Lord Jesus Christ is a Plant of Renown of his Father\u2019s\nupbringing:\u201d _I will raise up for them a Plant of Renown_. In\nprosecution of this doctrine, I proposed to observe the order and\nmethod following.\n\n_First_, To premise a few things concerning this blessed Plant.\n\n_Secondly_, To shew that indeed he is a _Plant of Renown_. And then,\n\n_Thirdly_, To speak a little concerning the raising up of this\nPlant.\n\n_Fourthly_, For whom he is raised up.\n\n_Fifthly_, For what good, or for what benefit and advantage he is\nraised up. And,\n\n_Lastly_, To apply the whole.\n\nAs to the first, I spoke to it, and premised a few things\nconcerning this blessed Plant; therefore I shall not stay to resume\nwhat was said on that Head. I likewise entered upon the second, and\nshewed that Christ is _A Plant of Renown_ in several respects: I\nmentioned eleven or twelve particulars wherein Christ is renowned,\nbut I shall not resume these neither: I shall only tell you a few\nthings wherein this blessed Plant is renowned.\n\n1. In the first place, this blessed Plant, he is renowned for his\nantiquity. There are many other plants in God\u2019s garden, as angels,\nseraphims, cherubims, saints militant and triumphant, they are all\nbut upstarts in comparison of him; for he was set up before ever\nthe earth was. You will see that one name of this Plant of Renown\nis, _The Everlasting Father_, or, \u201cThe Father of Eternity,\u201d as it\nmay be rendered.\n\n2. As he is renowned for his antiquity, so for his Beauty: he is\nthe most beautiful Plant in all the garden of God; \u201cI am the Rose\nof Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys.--He is the apple-tree among\nthe trees of the wood.\u201d He is renowned I say, for his beauty and\nhis glory; for the glory of a God is in him. Is there any glory\nin his eternal Father? Why, that glory shines in our IMMANUEL, in\nthe very brightness of it, Heb. i. 3. \u201cHe is the brightness of the\nFather\u2019s glory, and the express image of his person.\u201d Now, sirs,\nif ever your eyes were opened by the Spirit of God, to take up the\nglory of this Plant, his glory has just dazzled your very eyes! You\nthat never saw any glory in him, you never saw him to this very\nday: Pray that the light of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus\nChrist, may yet shine into your hearts. It would make a heartsome\nSacrament, if this Plant were displayed in his glory among us.\nSirs, have you come to see him in his glory? O give God no rest\ntill he make a discovery of himself to your souls. Then,\n\n3. He is renowned for his verdure, for his perpetual greenness.\nOther plants are fading; you and I are fading plants; \u201cAll flesh\nis grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of\nthe field:\u201d He is a Tree ever green, he never fades, summer nor\nwinter, and shall be ever a green Plant to the Saints as it were\nto eternity! When millions of ages, yea, myriads of ages are past\nin heaven, he will be as fresh and green to the believer, as when\nhe first saw him, or the first moment the saint entered glory:\ntherefore it is, that the songs of the redeemed in glory are always\nnew; and throughout eternity, will be new, because they will\nconstantly see matter of a new song; and the more they see, they\nwill wonder the more at him throughout eternity! Again,\n\n4. This Plant is renowned not only for his verdure, but for his\nvirtue. We read, Rev. xxii. \u201cThat the leaves of the Tree of Life\nwere for the healing of the nations.\u201d That Tree of Life is the very\nsame with this Plant of Renown; the leaves of this Plant are for\nthe healing of the nations; and we that are ministers are come this\nday to scatter the leaves of this Tree of Life, of this _Plant of\nRenown_; try if you can get a leaf of it applied and set home upon\nyour souls. Depend upon it, there is virtue in every word of his.\nSirs, mingle faith with a word, and you will find that it will\nhave the same efficacy with you as it had with the poor woman with\nthe bloody issue, that was healed with a touch of the hem of his\ngarment, who had spent all her living on doctors. O see if you can\nfind him! I assure you he is here; he is behind the door of every\nman\u2019s heart: \u201cBehold I stand (says he,) at the door and knock! If\nany man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him,\nand sup with him, and he with me.\u201d And O let him in! there is\nvirtue in him for curing you all, though there were ten thousand\nmillions of you more than there are; there is virtue in him for\nhealing every one of you. But then,\n\n5. This blessed Plant is not only renowned for his virtue, but\nlikewise for his fertility. He is not a barren Plant; he would\nnot be renowned if he were barren: He brings forth all manner of\nfruit every month; yea, I may add, every day, every moment. You\nread in Rev. xxii. of the Tree of Life that brings forth twelve\nmanner of fruits every month; that is to say, he brings forth all\nfruit that is necessary for a poor soul: whatever thy soul stands\nin need of, is to be found in him; see then and gather, see if you\ncan gather some of it. There is the fruit of his incarnation; there\nis the fruit of his death; there is the fruit of his resurrection;\nthere is the fruit of his ascension; there is the fruit of his\nintercession, and sitting at the right hand of God; there is the\nfruit of his prophetic office; there is the fruit of his priestly\noffice; there is the fruit of his kingly office; there is the fruit\nof his appearing within the vail; there is the fruit of what he did\nwithout the vail, and without the camp. O what fruit is here! Here\nis wisdom for fools; here is justification for the condemned soul;\nhere is sanctification for the polluted soul, and clothing for the\nnaked; riches for the poor, bread for the hungry, drink for the\nthirsty. All manner of fruit is here, and we are trying, sirs, to\nshake the Tree of Life among you; and blessed be God, they may be\ngathered: O sirs! they are dropping among you; O gather, gather,\nfor salvation is in every word that drops from him; for his words\nare the words of eternal life. But, in the\n\n6. Place, this blessed Plant is renowned for his scent and pleasant\nsavour. O sirs! there is such a blessed savour in this Plant of\nRenown, as has cast a perfume through all the Paradise above! He\nhas cast a perfume through the church militant, which in Isaiah\nv. is called God\u2019s vineyard. O sirs! do you find any thing of the\nscent of this Plant? I can tell you, if ever you have been made\nto know him, it will be so: \u201cbecause of the savour of thy good\nointment, thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the\nVirgins love thee.\u201d The believer he finds a scent about him, he\ndraws a savour from him. What is the design of us ministers, but\nto cast abroad his scent, and it is by this we win souls; and they\nthat cast out and drop the Plant of Renown out of their sermons,\nno wonder their sermons stink, and they shall stink to eternity,\nthat throw Christ out of their sermons. The great business of\nministers is to cast forth the scent of Christ to the people. I\nshall read you a word to this purpose, in 2 Cor. ii. 14--16. \u201cNow,\nthanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.\u201d\nThe apostle triumphs in him, and all other honest ministers will\ntriumph in him too; and all Christians that know him, triumph in\nhim. \u201cAnd maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in\nevery place. For we are unto God a sweet savour in Christ, in them\nthat are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are the\nsavour of death unto death; and to the other, the savour of life\nunto life; and who is sufficient for these things?\u201d Who is able to\ntell the sweet savour that is in him? Again,\n\n7. This blessed plant in my text, is not only renowned for his\nsavour, but likewise for his shadow. Song, i. 3. \u201cI sat down under\nhis shadow with great delight;\u201d the shadow of the Plant of Renown.\nYou are all sitting there or standing, but are you sitting under\nthe Plant of Renown? Jonah\u2019s gourd did him service against the\nscorching heat of the sun, that was like to take away his life;\nbut alas! that soon failed him, for God sent a worm and smote it\nthat it withered; and the worm of death will soon smite and wither\nyou and me: O get in under the shadow of this Plant of Renown, and\nye are secured against death and vindictive wrath for ever. Get\nin under his shadow; the shadow of his intercession,--the shadow\nof his power,--the shadow of his providence,--the shadow of his\nfaithfulness: O sit under his shadow, and you will find shelter\nthere against all deadly; whatever blasts come, you will find\nsafety there. Would you be shadowed from the king of terrors? Death\nis a terror to many, O if you be shadowed against the awful terrors\nof death and God\u2019s vengeance, get in under this shadow, and you are\nsafe.\n\n8. This Plant is renowned for his stature. He is a high Plant, he\nis a tall Plant: you see the heavens above you, but they are but\ncreeping things in comparison of him; for this glorious Plant is,\n_The high and lofty One that inhabits eternity_. You can never see\nhis height; your eye will look high, and your thought will reach\nhigher, but neither your eye nor thought will reach unto him; he\nis taller than all the cedars in the Lebanon of God: \u201cEye hath not\nseen, nor hath ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of\nman,\u201d to think of the height and glory of this Plant of Renown! And,\n\n_Lastly_, This Plant is renowned not only for his stature, but for\nhis extent also: he is a broad Plant, he was planted in the first\npromise in Paradise; he spread through the old testament church;\nhe came the length of filling the land of Judea; and, at length,\nthis Plant has spread itself among us: And O that I could open the\nleaves of this Plant to take you in; he is a broad Plant, he will\nserve you all. We read of the Tree of Life being on every side\nof the river: there is a great river betwixt us and heaven, and\nthat is death; and we are all running into this river of death. As\none well observes on the place, this Tree is in the middle of the\nriver; he is on this side of time, and he is on that side of time.\nNow, this Plant is on both sides of the river; though you were\ngoing to the wastes of America, you will find him there as well as\nhere, if you have but the art of improving him. And this Plant will\nspread himself through all kingdoms, \u201cThe earth shall be filled\nwith the knowledge of the Lord, just as the waters cover the sea.\u201d\nHe will not only fill the earth, but the whole heavens throughout\neternity! O but he is a broad Plant, that will extend himself both\nto heaven and earth! And this shall serve for the second thing\nproposed, namely, To show that this Plant is indeed a most Renowned\nPlant.\n\nThe third thing I proposed in the prosecution of this doctrine,\nwas, concerning the raising or upbringing of this Plant. You see it\nis no other than the Great GOD, that raised up this Plant. I find\nthe Great JEHOVAH glorying in his skill and wisdom in the raising\nup of this Plant for the use of the church. In Psalm lxxxix. 19.\nsays the Lord, \u201cI have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have\nexalted one chosen out of the people; I have raised up David my\nservant; with my holy oil have I anointed him.\u201d Here he glories in\nit that he had raised up this glorious Plant of Renown.\n\nI will tell you a few things with reference to the raising up of\nthis blessed Plant.\n\n1. He was raised up in the counsel of God\u2019s peace from eternity.\nThe Trinity sat in council anent the upbringing of him; \u201cThe\ncounsel of peace was between them both,\u201d Zech. vi. 13. The Father\nand the Son agreed upon it, that in the fulness of time the Son\nshould come into the world.\n\n2. He was raised up in the first promise to Adam and Eve. Till this\nPlant was discovered to them, they were like to run distracted: And\nindeed, sirs, if Christless sinners saw where they were, and the\nwrath of God that is hanging over their heads, they would be ready\nto run distracted, till a revelation of Christ was made to them.\nAll the promises, all the prophecies, all the types, and all the\ndoctrines of the old testament, they were the gradual springings of\nthis Plant: but it was under ground until,\n\n3. His actual manifestation in the flesh, when, in the fulness of\ntime he appeared: \u201cIn the fulness of time, God sent forth his Son,\nmade of a woman, &c.\u201d\n\n4. This Plant was raised up even in his death and resurrection,\nby which he was declared to be the Son of God with power, by the\nspirit of holiness. And,\n\n_Lastly_, This Plant of Renown will be raised up in the songs of\nthe redeemed through endless eternity. Thus you see, Christ is a\nPlant of Renown, and what way he is raised up.\n\nThe next thing I proposed was, for whom is it that this Plant is\nraised up? O! may some poor thing say, Was he ever raised up for\nme? I tell you, sirs, he was never raised up for the fallen angels;\n\u201cFor he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him\nthe seed of Abraham.\u201d Our nature was highly honoured at first,\nbut it soon sunk below the beast that perisheth; but the second\nAdam took our nature upon him, and raised it to a higher dignity\nthan the very angels; for to which of the angels did this honour\nappertain, to be united to the eternal Son of God? So that, I say,\nthis Plant of Renown is raised up for mankind-sinners, not for\nangel-kind sinners; and every mankind-sinner that hears tell of\nhim, they should lay claim to him, as in Isaiah, ix. 6, \u201cTo us a\nSon is given, to us this Child is born; and the government shall\nbe upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful,\nCounsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of\nPeace.\u201d To us he is given, unto us he is born.\n\nI thought to have gone through what I designed on this subject, but\ntime will not allow. The Lord bless his word.\n\n\nA DYING CHRISTIAN\u2019S PRAYER.\n\n\u201cReceive my spirit,\u201d was the prayer of Stephen to Jesus Christ, to\nreceive his departing soul; and, brethren, I think you will feel in\na dying hour, that your departing soul _needs_ a Divine Saviour.\nYou have one in Jesus Christ. You may call upon him then, even as\nnow. _His_ ear will not be heavy, though _yours_ may, when death is\nsealing up your faculties. _His_ eye will not have lost its power\nof gazing affectionately on you, when _yours_ is becoming dim and\nclosed. His hand will not be shortened, in the hour when yours will\nhave become tremulous and feeble. But lift up the hand, the heart,\nthe eye, the soul, in prayer to him then, and you will find him a\nvery near and present help in that your time of trouble.\n\nBrethren, a Christian should die _praying_. Other men die in\ndifferent ways, according to their character and temper. Julius\nCesar died adjusting his robes, that he might fall gracefully.\nVoltaire, with mingled imprecations and supplications; Paine, with\nshrieks of agonizing remorse. Multitudes die with sullenness, some\nwith blasphemies faltering on their tongue. But, brethren, the\nhumble Christian would die praying. Well says the poet:\n\n      \u201cPrayer is the Christian\u2019s vital breath,\n        The Christian\u2019s native air;\n      His watch-word at the gates of death,\n        He enters heaven with prayer!\u201d\n\nBut, observe for what Stephen prayed. \u201cLord Jesus receive my\nspirit!\u201d This is the prayer of faith, commending the immortal\nspirit to the covenant care of Jesus. The spirit does not die\nwith the body. None but God, who gave, can take away the soul\u2019s\nexistence, and he has declared that he never will. Would that\nbad men would think on that! You cannot get rid of your soul\u2019s\nexistence: you cannot cease to be: you may wish it; though the\nwish is monstrous and unnatural. But there is no annihilation for\nany soul of man. Oh, come to our Saviour! give him your guilty\nsoul, to be justified through his atonement, washed in his blood,\nregenerated by his Spirit. Make to him _now_ that surrender of your\nsoul, for which he calls. Renew this happy self-dedication every\nday, very especially every Sabbath, and most solemnly, from time to\ntime at the Lord\u2019s Supper. And then, when you come to die, it will\nonly be, to do once more, what you have so often done in former\ndays,--again to commend your soul very humbly, believingly, and\naffectionately, under the faithful care of Jesus Christ.\n\n\nTHE HOUSE OF GOD.\n\nThe church was pleasantly situated on a rising bank, at the foot\nof a considerable hill. It was surrounded by trees, and had a\nrural retired appearance. In every direction the roads that led to\nthis house of God, possessed distinct but interesting features.\nOne of them ascended between several rural cottages from the\nsea-shore, which adjoined the lower part of the village-street.\nAnother winded round the curved sides of the adjacent hill, and\nwas adorned, both above and below, with numerous sheep feeding\non the herbage of the down. A third road led to the church by a\ngently rising approach, between high banks, covered with young\ntrees, bushes, ivy, hedge-plants, and wild flowers.--From a point\nof land, which commanded a view of all these several avenues, I\nused sometimes, for a while, to watch my congregation gradually\nassembling together at the hour of Sabbath worship. They were in\nsome directions visible for a considerable distance. Gratifying\nassociations of thought would form in my mind, as I contemplated\ntheir approach and successive arrival within the precincts of the\nhouse of prayer.--One day as I was thus occupied, during a short\ninterval previous to the hour of divine service, I reflected on\nthe joy, which David experienced at the time he exclaimed, \u201cI was\nglad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.\nOur feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is\nbuilt as a city that is compact together; whither the tribes go\nup, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give\nthanks unto the name of the Lord.\u201d I was led to reflect upon the\nvarious blessings, connected with the establishment of public\nworship. \u201cHow many immortal souls are now gathering together to\nperform the all-important work of prayer and praise--to hear the\nword of God--to feed upon the bread of life! They are leaving\ntheir respective dwellings, and will soon be united together in\nthe house of prayer.\u201d How beautifully does this represent the\neffect produced by the voice of the \u201cGood Shepherd,\u201d calling his\nsheep from every part of the wilderness into his fold! As those\nfields, hills, and lanes, are now covered with men, women, and\nchildren, in various directions, drawing nearer to each other,\nand to the object of their journey\u2019s end; even so, \u201cmany shall\ncome from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and\nfrom the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.\u201d Who\ncan rightly appreciate the value of such hours as these?--hours\nspent in learning the way of holy pleasantness, and the paths of\nheavenly peace--hours devoted to the service of God, and of souls;\nin warning the sinner to flee from wrath to come; in teaching\nthe ignorant how to live and die; in preaching the gospel to the\npoor; in healing the broken-hearted; in declaring \u201cdeliverance to\nthe captives, and recovering of sight to the blind.\u201d \u201cBlessed is\nthe people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord,\nin the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice\nall the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.\u201d\nThis train of reflection, at intervals, occurred powerfully to my\nfeelings, as I viewed that very congregation assembled together\nin the house of God, whose steps, in their approach to it, I had\nwatched with prayerful emotions.--\u201cHere the rich and poor met\ntogether,\u201d in mutual acknowledgement that \u201cthe Lord is the maker\nof them all,\u201d and that all are alike dependent creatures, looking\nup to one common Father to supply their wants, both temporal and\nspiritual.--Again, likewise, shall they meet together in the grave,\nthat undistinguishing receptacle of the opulent and the needy.--And\nonce more, at the judgment-seat of Christ, shall the rich and poor\nmeet together, that \u201cevery one may receive the things done in\nhis body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or\nbad.\u201d How closely connected in the history of man, art these three\nperiods of a general meeting together. The house of prayer--the\nhouse appointed for all living--and the house not made with hands\neternal in the heavens.--May we never separate these ideas from\neach other, but retain them in a sacred and profitable union! So\nshall our worshipping assemblies on earth be representative of the\ngeneral assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in\nheaven.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  A CHOICE DROP OF HONEY\n\n  FROM\n\n  THE ROCK CHRIST;\n\n  OR,\n\n  A SHORT WORD OF ADVICE\n\n  TO\n\n  SAINTS AND SINNERS.\n\n  BY THOMAS WILCOCKS.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nCHRISTIAN READER,\n\n\nI find, in this latter day, the love of the Lord shining in\nsome measure with its pleasant beams into my heart, warming my\naffections, inflaming my soul not only to give a spiritual echo in\nsoul duty to so great a lover as my Saviour is, whose transcendent\nlove passeth knowledge, Eph. iii. 19. but also the loving and\nwishing well to all Sion\u2019s heaven-born children; for I find, in\nthis day, many poor souls tossed to and fro, ready to be carried\naway with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning\ncraftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, Eph. iv. 14: and\nthat there are many foundations to build upon that are false, upon\nwhich much labour is spent in vain; that men are not speaking the\ntruth in love; neither are they growing up unto him in all things,\nwhich is the head Christ, Eph. iv. 15. There cannot be a growing\nin Christ, without a union with him. Thou wilt find, therefore,\ngentle reader, this ensuing little treatise, if the Lord be pleased\nto bless the reading of it unto thee, as a still voice behind thee\nsaying, \u201cThis is the way, walk in it, that thou turn not to the\nright hand or the left.\u201d--The way into that pleasant path of soul\njustification before God is in and through the righteousness of\nJesus Christ, for all our self-righteousness is as filthy rags:\nsurely shall one say, \u201cIn the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be\njustified, and shall glory,\u201d Isai. xlv. 25. It is only the dying of\nthat Just One, for us unjust ones, that must bring us to God. He\nthat knew no sin was made sin for us; that we who were nothing but\nsin, might be made the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. v. 21.\n\nChristian Reader, let all that is of old Adam in thee fall down\nat the foot of Christ. He only must have the pre-eminence;--all\nthe vessels of this new spiritual covenant temple, from the cups\nto the flagons, must be all hung upon Christ; he is to build the\ntemple of the Lord, and is to bear the glory; he, by his Father\u2019s\nappointment, is the foundation-stone, the corner-stone, and the\ntop-stone; he is the Father\u2019s fulness of grace and glory: whatever\nthy wants be, thou mayest come to him; there is balsam enough in\nhim fit for a cure.\n\nReader, the good Lord help thee to experience the ensuing word of\nadvice, that it may be made by God unto thee like honey, sweet\nto thy soul, and health to thy bones, and thy soul shall rejoice\nwithin thee. Thy brother in the faith and fellowship of the gospel,\n\n      THOMAS WILCOCKS.\n\n\nA CHOICE DROP OF HONEY\n\nFROM THE\n\nROCK CHRIST.\n\nA word of advice to my own heart and thine:--Thou art a professor,\nand partakest of all ordinances: Thou dost well, they are glorious\nprivileges. But if thou hast not the blood of Christ at the root of\nthy profession, it will wither, and prove but painted pageantry to\ngo to hell in.\n\nIf thou retain guilt and self-righteousness under it, those vipers\nwill eat out all the vitals of it at length.--Try and examine with\nthe greatest strictness every day, what foundation thy profession\nand thy hope of glory is built upon, whether it was laid by the\nhand of Christ; if not, it will never be able to endure the storm\nthat will come against it. Satan will throw it all down, and great\nwill be the fall thereof, Matt. vii. 27.\n\nGlorious professor! thou shalt be winnowed, every vein of thy\nprofession shall be tried to purpose! It is terrible to have it all\ncome tumbling down, and to find nothing but it to rest upon.\n\nSoaring professor! see to thy waxen wings betimes, which will melt\nwith the heat of temptations. What a misery it is, to trade much,\nand break at length, and have no stock, no foundation laid for\neternity in thy soul!\n\nGilded professor! look if there be not a worm at the root, that\nwill spoil all thy fine gourd, and make it die about thee in a\nday of scorching. Look over thy soul daily, and ask, \u201cWhere is\nthe blood of Christ to be seen upon my soul? What righteousness\nis it that I stand upon to be saved? Have I got off my\nself-righteousness?\u201d--Many eminent professors have come at length\nto cry out in the sight of the ruin of all their duties, Undone,\nundone, to all eternity!\n\nConsider, the greatest sins may be hid under the greatest duties,\nand the greatest terrors. See the wound that sin hath made in thy\nsoul be perfectly cured by the blood of Christ; not skinned over\nwith duties, humblings, enlargements, &c. Apply what thou wilt\nbesides the blood of Christ, it will poison the sore. Thou wilt\nfind that sin was never mortified truly; that thou hast not seen\nChrist bleeding for thee upon the cross; nothing can kill it, but\nthe beholding of Christ\u2019s righteousness.\n\nNature can afford no balsam fit for soul cure. Healing from duty\nand not from Christ, is the most desperate disease. Poor ragged\nnature, with all its highest improvements, can never spin a garment\nfine enough, without spot, to cover the soul\u2019s nakedness. Nothing\ncan fit the soul for that use, but Christ\u2019s perfect righteousness.\n\nWhatsoever is of nature\u2019s spinning must be all unravelled, before\nthe righteousness of Christ can be put on; whatsoever is nature\u2019s\nputting on, Satan will come and plunder it every rag away, and\nleave the soul naked and open to the wrath of God. All that nature\ncan do will never make up the least drachm of grace, that can\nmortify sin, or look Christ in the face even for one day.\n\nThou art a professor, goest on hearing, praying, and receiving,\nyet miserable thou mayest be. Look about thee; did thou ever yet\nsee Christ to this day in distinction from all other excellencies\nand righteousness in the world, and all of them falling before the\nmajesty of his love and grace? Is. ii. 17.\n\nIf thou hast seen Christ truly, thou hast seen pure grace, pure\nrighteousness in him, every way infinite, far exceeding all sin\nand misery. If thou hast seen Christ, thou canst trample upon\nall the righteousness of men and angels, so as to bring thee\ninto acceptance with God. If thou hast seen Christ, thou wouldst\nnot do a duty without him for ten thousand worlds, 1 Cor. ii. 2.\nIf ever thou sawest Christ, thou sawest him a Rock, higher than\nself-righteousness, Satan, and sin, Ps. lxi. 2; and this Rock doth\nfollow thee, 1 Cor. x. 4; and there will be continual dropping of\nhoney and grace out of that Rock to satisfy thee, Ps. lxxxi. 16.\nExamine if ever thou hast beheld Christ as the only-begotten of\nthe Father, full of grace and truth, John, i. 14, 16, 17. Be sure\nthou art come to Christ, that thou standest on the Rock of Ages,\nhast answered to his call to thy soul, hast closed with him for\njustification.\n\nMen talk bravely of believing, but whilst whole and sound few know\nit. Christ is the mystery of the Scripture: Grace the mystery of\nChrist. Believing is the most wonderful thing in the world. Put any\nthing of thine own to it, and thou spoilest it; Christ will not so\nmuch as look at it for believing. When thou believest and comest\nto Christ, thou must leave behind thee thine own righteousness,\nand bring nothing but thy sin. (O that is hard!) Leave behind thy\nholiness, sanctification, duties, humblings, &c., and bring nothing\nbut thy wants and miseries, else Christ is not fit for thee, nor\nthou for Christ. Christ will be a whole Redeemer and Mediator, and\nthou must be an undone sinner, or Christ and thou will never agree.\nIt is the hardest thing to take Christ alone for righteousness:\nthat is, to acknowledge him Christ. Join any thing to him of thine\nown, and thou dost un-Christ him.\n\nWhatever comes in when thou goest to God for acceptance besides\nChrist, call it anti-Christ bid it begone; make only Christ\u2019s\nrighteousness triumphant; all besides that is Babylon, which must\nfall if Christ stand; and thou shalt rejoice in the day of the\nfall thereof, Is. xiv. 10, 11, 12.----Christ alone did tread the\nwine-press, and there was none with him, Is. lxiii. 3. If thou\njoin any thing to Christ, Christ will trample upon it in fury\nand anger, and stain his raiment with the blood thereof.----Thou\nthinkest it easy to believe; was ever thy faith tried with an hour\nof temptation, or with a thorough sight of sin? Was it ever put to\nwrestle with Satan, and the wrath of God lying upon the conscience?\nWhen thou wast in the mouth of hell and the grave, then God shewed\nthee Christ, a ransom, a righteousness, &c. Then if thou couldst\nsay, Oh, I see grace enough in Christ, thou mayest say that which\nis the biggest word in the world, Thou believest. Untried faith is\nuncertain faith.\n\nTo believing, there must go a clear conviction of sin, and the\nmerits of the blood of Christ, and of Christ\u2019s willingness to save\nupon this consideration merely, that thou art a sinner; things all\nharder than to make a world. All the powers in nature cannot get up\nso high in a storm of sin and guilt, as really to believe there is\nany grace, any willingness, in Christ to save. When Satan charged\nsin upon the conscience, then for the soul to bring it to Christ,\nthat is gospel-like. That is to make him Christ, he serves for that\nuse. To accept Christ\u2019s righteousness alone, his blood alone, for\nsalvation, that is the sum of the gospel. When the soul, in all\nduties and distresses, can say, Nothing but Christ, Christ alone\nfor righteousness, justification, sanctification, redemption, 1\nCor. i. 30; not humblings, nor duties, nor graces, &c., that soul\nhath got above the reach of the billows.\n\nAll temptations, Satan\u2019s advantages, our complainings, are laid in\nself-righteousness, and self-excellency: God pursueth these, by\nsetting Satan upon thee, as Laban did Jacob for his images; these\nmust be torn from thee, he is unwilling as thou wilt; these hinder\nChrist from coming in; and till Christ come in, guilt will not come\nout; and where guilt is, there is hardness of heart; and therefore\nmuch guilt argues little if any thing of Christ.\n\nWhen guilt is raised up, take heed of getting it allayed any\nway but by Christ\u2019s blood, that will tend to hardening. Make\nChrist thy peace, Eph. i. 14, not thy duties, thy tears, &c.\nThou mayest offend Christ by duties as well as sins. Look at\nChrist, and do as much as thou wilt. Rest with all thy weight upon\nChrist\u2019s righteousness; take heed of having one foot on thine own\nrighteousness and another on Christ\u2019s. Till he come and sit on\nhigh, upon a throne of grace in the conscience, there is nothing\nbut guilt, terror, secret suspicions, the soul hanging betwixt hope\nand fear, which is an un-gospel-like state.\n\nHe that fears to see sin\u2019s utmost vileness, the utmost hell of\nhis own heart, suspects the merits of Christ. Be thou never\nsuch a great sinner, 1 John, ii. 1; try Christ, to make him thy\nadvocate, and thou shalt find him Jesus Christ the righteous.\nIn all doubtings, fears, storms of conscience, look at Christ\ncontinually. Do not argue it with Satan, he desires no better.\nBid him go to Christ, and he will answer him. It is his office to\nbe our advocate, 1 John, ii. 1. His office is to answer the law\nas our surety, Heb. vii. 22; his office to answer justice, as our\nMediator, Gal. iii. 20; 1 Tim. ii. 5. And he is sworn to that\noffice, Heb. vii. 20, 21. Put Christ upon it. If thou wilt do any\nthing thyself to satisfaction for sin, thou renouncest Christ the\nrighteous, who was made sin for thee, 2 Cor. v. 21.\n\nSatan may alledge, and corrupt scripture, but he cannot answer\nscripture. It is Christ\u2019s word of mighty authority. Christ foiled\nSatan with it, Matt. iv. 10. In all the scripture there is not an\nill word against a poor sinner stripped of self-righteousness; nay,\nit plainly points out this man to be the subject of the grace of\nthe gospel, and none else. Believe but in Christ\u2019s willingness,\nand that will make thee willing. If thou findest thou canst not\nbelieve, put him upon it; he works to will and to believe, put him\nupon it; he works to will and to do of his own pleasure, Phil. ii.\n13. Mourn for thy unbelief, which is a setting up of guilt in the\nconscience above Christ, an undervaluing of the merits of Christ,\naccounting his blood an unholy, a common, and unsatisfying thing.\n\nThou complainest much of thyself.--Doth thy sin make thee look more\nat Christ, less at thyself! That is right, else complaining is but\nhypocrisy. To be looking at duties, graces, enlargements, when thou\nshouldst be looking at Christ, that is pitiful. Looking at them\nwill make you humble. By grace ye are saved, Eph. ii. 5, 8. In all\nthy temptations be not discouraged, James, i. 2. Those surges may\nbe not to drown thee, but to cast thee on the Rock Christ.\n\nThou mayest be brought low, even to the brink of hell, yet there\nthou mayest cry, there thou mayest look towards the holy temple,\nJonah, ii. 14. Into that temple none might enter but purified ones,\nand with an offering too, Acts, xxi. 26. But now Christ is our\ntemple, sacrifice, altar, and high-priest to whom none must come\nbut sinners, and that without any offering but his own blood once\noffered. Heb. vii. 27.\n\nRemember all the patterns of grace that are in heaven. Thou\nthinkest, \u201cOh what a monument of grace shall I be!\u201d There are many\nthousands as rich monuments as thou canst be. The greatest sinner\ndid never surpass the grace of Christ. Do not despair: hope still.\nWhen the clouds are blackest, even then look towards Christ, the\nstanding pillar of the Father\u2019s love and grace, set up in heaven,\nfor all sinners to gaze upon continually. Whatsoever Satan or\nconscience say, do not conclude against thyself. Christ shall have\nthe last word; he is judge of quick and dead, and must pronounce\nthe fatal sentence. His blood speaks reconciliation, Col. i. 20;\ncleansing, 1 John, i. 7; purchase, Acts xx. 28; redemption, 1 Pet.\ni. 9; purging, Heb. v. 13, 14; remission, verse 22; liberty, Heb.\nx. 19; justification, Rom. v. 9; nearness to God, Eph. ii. 13. Not\na drop of this blood shall be lost. Stand and hearken what God will\nsay, for he will speak peace to his people, that they return no\nmore to folly, Psal. lxxxv. 8. He speaks grace, mercy, and peace, 2\nTim. i. 2. That is the language of the Father and of Christ. Wait\nfor Christ\u2019s appearing, as the morning star, Rev. xxii. 19. He\nshall come as certain as the morning, as refreshing as the rain,\nHos. vi. 3.\n\nThe sun may as well be hindered from rising, as Christ the sun\nof righteousness, Mal. iv. 2. Look not a moment off Christ. Look\nnot upon sin, but look upon Christ first: when thou mournest for\nsin, if thou dost not see Christ, then away with it, Zech. ii. 20.\nIn every duty look at Christ; before duty, to pardon; in duty,\nto assist; after duty, to accept. Without this it is but carnal\ncareless duty. Do not legalise the gospel, as if part did remain\nto thee to do and suffer, and Christ were but an half mediator; and\nthou must bear part of thine own sin, and make part satisfaction.\nLet sin break thy heart, but not thy hope in the gospel.\n\nLook more at justification than sanctification. In the highest\ncommands consider Christ, not as an exactor, to inquire, but a\ndebtor and undertaker, to work. If thou hast looked at workings,\nduties, qualifications, &c., more than at the merits of Christ, it\nwill cost thee dear; no wonder thou goest complaining; graces may\nbe evidences, the merits of Christ alone, without them, must be the\nfoundation of thy hope to rest upon. Christ only can be the hope of\nglory, Col. i. 27.\n\nWhen we come to God, we must bring nothing but Christ with us. Any\ningredients, or any previous qualifications of our own, will poison\nand corrupt faith. He that builds upon duties, graces, &c., knows\nnot the merits of Christ; this makes believing so hard, so far from\nnature. If thou believest, thou must every day renounce as dung and\ndross, (Phil. iii. 7, 9,) thy privileges, thy qualifications, thy\nbaptism, thy sanctification, thy duties, thy graces, thy tears, thy\nmeltings, thy humblings, and nothing but Christ must be held up.\nEvery day thy workings, thy self-sufficiency must be destroyed.\nThou must take all out of God\u2019s hand. Christ is the gift of God,\nJohn, iv. 10. Faith is the gift of God, Eph. ii. 1. Pardon a free\ngift, Rom. v. 16. Ah, how nature storms, frets, rages at this, that\nall is of gift, and it can purchase nothing with its actings, and\ntears, and duties; that all workings are excluded, and of no value\nin heaven!\n\nIf nature had been to contrive the way of salvation, it would\nrather have put it into the hands of saints or angels to sell\nit, than the hands of Christ, who gives freely, whom therefore\nit suspects; nature would have set up a way to purchase by\ndoing; therefore it abominates the merits of Christ, as the most\ndestructive thing to it. Nature would do any thing to be saved,\nrather than go to Christ, or close with Christ, and owe all to him.\nChrist will have nothing; but the soul will force somewhat of his\nown upon Christ. Herein is that great controversy.--Consider--didst\nthou ever yet see the merits of Christ, and the infinite\nsatisfaction made by his death? Didst thou see this when the burden\nof sin and the wrath of God lay heavy on thy conscience? That is\ngrace. The greatness of Christ\u2019s merit is not known but to a poor\nsoul in deep distress! Slight convictions will but have slight low\nprizings of Christ\u2019s blood and merits.\n\nDespairing sinner! Thou lookest on thy right hand, and on thy left,\nsaying, \u201cWho will shew us any good?\u201d Thou art looking over all thy\nduties and professions to patch a righteousness to save thee. Look\nat Christ now; look to him and be saved all the ends of the earth,\nIs. xlv. 22. There is none else. He is a Saviour, and there is none\nbesides him, xliii. 11. Look any where else, and thou art undone.\nGod will look at nothing but Christ, and thou must look at nothing\nelse. Christ is lifted up on high, as the brazen serpent in the\nwilderness, that sinners at the end of the earth, at the greatest\ndistance, may see him, and look towards him, John, iii. 14, 15. The\nleast sight of him will be saving, the least touch healing to thee;\nand God intends thou shouldst look on him, for he hath set him upon\na high throne of glory, in the open view of all poor sinners. Thou\nhast infinite reason to look on him: no reason at all to look off\nhim; for he is meek and lowly of heart, Matt. xi. 29. He will do\nthat himself which he requires of his creatures; viz. bear with\ninfirmities, Rom. xv. 1. Not pleasing himself, nor standing upon\npoints of law, ver. 2; he will restore with the spirit of meekness,\nGal. vi.; and bear thy burdens, ver. 2. He will forgive not only\ntill seven times, but seventy times seven, Matt. xviii. 21, 22. I\nput the faith of the apostles to it to believe this, Luke, xvii. 4,\n5. Because we are hard to forgive, we think Christ is hard.\n\nWe see sin great, we think Christ doth so, and measure infinite\nlove with our line, infinite merits with our sins, which is the\ngreat pride and blasphemy, Ps. ciii. 11, 12; Is. x. 15. Hear what\nhe saith: I have found a ransom, Job xxxiii. 24; in him I am well\npleased, Matt. iii. 18. God will have nothing else; nothing else\nwill do thee good, or satisfy conscience, but Christ who satisfied\nthe Father. God doth all upon the account of Christ. Thy deserts\nare hell, wrath, rejection. Christ\u2019s deserts are life, pardon,\nand acceptance. He will not only shew thee one, but he will give\nthee the other. It is Christ\u2019s own glory and happiness to pardon.\nConsider, whilst Christ was upon the earth, he was more among\npublicans and sinners, than among scribes and pharisees, his\nprofessed adversaries, for they were righteous ones: it is not\nas thou imaginest, that his state in glory makes him neglected,\nscornful to poor sinners; No. He hath the same heart now in heaven;\nhe is good, and changeth not; he is the Lamb of God that taketh\naway the sins of the world, John, i. 20. He went through all thy\ntemptations, dejections, sorrows, desertions, rejections, Matt.\niv. 3 to 12 and 26; Mark, xv. 24; Luke, xxii. 44; Matt. xxiv. 38.\nAnd he hath drawn the bitterness of the cup, and left thee the\nsweet: the condemnation is out; Christ drank up all the Father\u2019s\nwrath at one draught, and nothing but salvation is left for\nthee. Thou sayest thou canst not believe, thou canst not repent.\nFitter for Christ if thou hast nothing but sin and misery. Go to\nChrist with all thy impenitence and unbelief, to get faith and\nrepentance from him--that is glorious: Say unto him, Lord, I have\nbrought no righteousness of grace to be accepted in or justified\nby; I am come for thine. We would be bringing to Christ, which\nmust not be; grace will not stand with works, Tit. iii. 5; Rom.\nxi. 6. Self-righteousness and self-sufficiency are the darlings\nof nature, which she preserves as her life; that makes Christ\nobnoxious to nature; nature cannot desire him; he is just directly\nopposite to all nature\u2019s glorious interests. Let nature make a\ngospel, and it would make it contrary to Christ. It would be to\nthe just, the innocent, the holy, &c. Christ made the gospel for\nthee, that is, for needy sinners, the ungodly, the unrighteous,\nthe accursed. Nature cannot endure to think the gospel is only for\nsinners; it will rather choose to despair than go to Christ upon\nsuch terrible terms. When nature is opposed to guilt or wrath, it\nwill go to its own haunts of self-righteousness, self-goodness,\n&c. An infinite power must cast down those strong holds. None but\nthe self-justiciary stands excluded out of the gospel. Christ will\nlook at the most abominable sinner before him, because to such a\none Christ cannot be made justification--he is no sinner. To say in\ncompliment, I am a sinner, is easy; but to pray with the publican\nindeed, Lord be merciful to me a sinner, is the hardest prayer in\nthe world. It is easy to profess Christ with the mouth, but to\nconfess him with the heart, as Peter, (to be the Christ, the Son\nof the living God, the alone Mediator,) that is above flesh and\nblood. Many call Christ Saviour; few know him to be so. To see\ngrace and salvation in Christ, is the greatest sight in the world;\nnone can do that, but at the same time they shall see that glory\nand salvation to be theirs. I may be ashamed to think, in the\nmidst of so much profession, that I have little of the blood of\nChrist, which is the main thing of the gospel. A Christless formal\nprofession will be the blackest sight next to hell. Thou mayest\nhave many good things, and yet one thing may be wanting that may\nmake thee go away sorrowful from Christ. Thou hast never sold all\nthou hast, never parted with all thine own righteousness, &c. Thou\nmayest be high in duty, and yet a perfect enemy and adversary to\nChrist, in every prayer, in every ordinance.\n\nLabour after sanctification to thy utmost, but make not a Christ of\nit to save thee; if so, it must come down one way or other.\n\nChrist\u2019s infinite satisfaction, not thy sanctification, must be\nthy justification before God. When the Lord shall appear terrible\nout of his holy place, fire shall consume that as hay and stubble.\nThis will be found true religion, to rest all upon the everlasting\nmountains of God\u2019s love and grace in Christ; to live continually\nin the sight of Christ\u2019s infinite righteousness and merits, (they\nare sanctifying; without them the heart is carnal,) and in those\nsights to see the full vileness of sin, and to see all pardoned;\nin those sights to pray, hear, &c., seeing thy polluted self, and\nall thy weak performances accepted continually; in those sights to\ntrample upon all thy self-glories, righteousness, and privileges,\nas abominable, and be found continually in the righteousness of\nChrist only; rejoicing in the ruins of thy own righteousness,\nthe spoiling of all thy own excellencies, that Christ\u2019s alone,\nas Mediator, may be exalted on his throne: mourning over all thy\nduties (how glorious soever) which thou hast not performed in the\nsight and sense of Christ\u2019s love. Without the blood of Christ on\nthe conscience, all this is dead service, Heb. ix. 14.\n\nThat opinion of free will, so cried up, will be easily confuted,\nas it is by scripture, in the heart that hath had any spiritual\ndealings with Jesus Christ, as to the application to its merit,\nand subjection to his righteousness. Christ is every way too\nmagnificent a person for a poor nature to close withal or to\napprehend. Christ is so infinitely holy, nature durst never look\nat him; so infinitely good, nature can never believe him to be\nsuch, when it lies under a full sight of sin. Christ is too high\nand glorious for nature so much as to touch. There must be a divine\nnature first put in the soul, to make it lie on him, he lies so\ninfinitely beyond the sight or reach of nature.\n\nThat Christ, which natural free will can apprehend, is but a\nnatural Christ of a man\u2019s own making, not the Father\u2019s Christ, nor\nJesus the Son of the living God, to whom none can come without\nthe father\u2019s drawing, John, vi. 44. 46. Finally, search the\nscriptures daily, as mines of gold, wherein the heart of Christ\nis laid. Watch against constitutional sins, see them in their\nvileness, and they shall never break out into act. Keep always an\nhumble, empty, broken frame of heart, sensible of any spiritual\nmiscarriage, observant of all inward workings, fit for the highest\ncommunications. Keep not guilt in the conscience, but apply the\nblood of Christ immediately. God chargeth sin and guilt upon thee,\nto make thee look to Christ.\n\nJudge not Christ\u2019s love by providences, but by promises. Bless God\nfor shaking off false foundations, and for any way whereby he keeps\nthe soul awakened and looking after Christ. Better sicknesses and\ntemptations than security and slightness.\n\nA slighting spirit will turn a profane spirit, and will sin and\npray too. Slighting is the bane of profession; if it be not rooted\nout of the heart, by constant and serious dealings with, and\nbeholdings of Christ in duties, it will grow more strong and more\ndeadly by being under church ordinances. Measure not thy graces by\nother attainments, but by Scripture trials. Be serious and exact in\nduty, having the weight of it upon the heart; be as much afraid of\ntaking comfort from duties as from sins. Comfort from any hand but\nChrist\u2019s is deadly. Be much in prayer, or you will never keep up\nmuch communion with God. As you are in closet prayer, so you will\nbe in all other ordinances.\n\nReckon not duties by high expression, but by low frames, and the\nbeholdings of Christ. Tremble at duties and gifts. It was a saying\nof a great saint, he was more afraid of his duties than his sins;\nthe one often made him proud, the other always made him humble.\nTreasure up manifestations of Christ\u2019s love, they make the heart\nlow for Christ, too high for sin. Slight not the lowest, meanest\nevidences of grace; God may put thee to make use of the lowest as\nthou thinkest, even that, 1 John, iii. 14, may be worth a thousand\nworlds to thee.\n\nBe true to truth, but not turbulent and scornful. Restore such as\nare fallen; help them up again with all the bowels of Christ. Set\nthe broken disjointed bones with the grace of the gospel. High\nprofessor, despise not weak saints. Thou mayest come to wish to\nbe in the condition of the meanest of them. Be faithful to others\u2019\ninfirmities, but sensible of thy own. Visit sick beds and deserted\nsouls much, they are excellent schools in experience. Abide in your\ncalling. Be dutiful to all relations as to the Lord. Be content\nwith little of the world; little will serve. Think every little\nof the earth much, because unworthy of the least. Think much of\nheaven, not little, because Christ is so rich and free. Think\nevery one better than thyself, and ever carry self-loathing about\nthee, as one fit to be trampled upon by all saints. See the vanity\nof the world, and the consumption there is upon all things, and\nlove nothing but Christ. Mourn to see so little of Christ in the\nworld, so few needing him: trifles please them better. To a secure\nsoul Christ is but a table, the scripture but a story. Mourn to\nthink how many there are under baptism and church order, that are\nnot under grace, looking much after outward duties, little after\nChrist, little versed in grace. Prepare for the cross; welcome it,\nbear it triumphantly like Christ\u2019s cross; whether scoffs, mockings,\njeers, contempt, imprisonment, &c. But see it be Christ\u2019s cross,\nnot thine own.\n\nSin will hinder from glorying in the cross of Christ. Omitting\nlittle truths against light may breed guilt in the conscience, as\nwell as committing the greatest sins against light. If thou hast\nbeen taken out of the belly of hell into Christ\u2019s bosom, and made\nto sit among princes in the household of God, oh how shouldst thou\nlive as a pattern of mercy? Redeemed, restored soul, what infinite\nsums dost thou not owe to Christ! With what singular frames must\nthou walk, and do every duty! On sabbaths, what praising days,\nsinging hallelujahs, should they be to thee! Church fellowship:\nwhat a heaven, a being with Christ, and angels, and saints in\ncommunion; what a bathing of the soul in eternal love; what a\nburial with Christ, and dying to all things beside him! Every time\nthou thinkest of Christ, be astonished, and wonder; and when thou\nseest sin, look at Christ\u2019s grace which did pardon it; and when\nthou art proud, look at Christ\u2019s grace, that shall humble and\nstrike thee down in the dust.\n\nRemember Christ\u2019s time of love, when thou wast naked, Ezekiel,\nxvi. 8, 9, and then he chose thee. Canst thou ever have a proud\nthought?--Remember whose arms supported thee from sinking, and\ndelivered thee from the lowest hell, Ps. lxxxvi. 13: and shout\nin the ears of angels and men, Ps. cxlviii. and for ever sing,\n\u201cPraise, praise, grace, grace.\u201d Daily repent and pray; and walk in\nthe spirit of grace as one that hath the anointing of grace upon\nthee. Remember thy sins, Christ\u2019s pardoning; thy deserts, Christ\u2019s\nmerits; thy weakness, Christ\u2019s strength; thy pride, Christ\u2019s\nhumility; thy many infirmities, Christ\u2019s restorings; thy guilt,\nChrist\u2019s new applications of his blood; thy failings, Christ\u2019s\nraisings up; thy wants, Christ\u2019s fulness; thy temptations, Christ\u2019s\ntenderness; thy vileness, Christ\u2019s righteousness.\n\nBlessed soul! whom Christ shall find not trusting in his own\nrighteousness, Phil. iii. 9, but having his robes washed and made\nwhite in the blood of the Lamb, Rev. vii. 14. Woeful, miserable\nprofessor, that hath not the gospel within! Rest not in church\ntrials; thou mayest pass them, and be cast away in Christ\u2019s day of\ntrial. Thou mayest come to baptism, and never come to Jesus and the\nblood of sprinkling, Heb. xii. 24. Whatever working or attainments,\nshort of Christ s blood, merits, righteousness, (the main object\nof the gospel) fall short of the truth, and leave the soul in a\ncondition of doubtings and questionings; and doubtings, if not\nlooked into betimes, will turn to a lightness of spirit, one of the\nmost dangerous of frames.\n\nTrifle not with ordinances. Be much in meditation and prayer.\nWait diligently upon all hearing opportunities. We have need of\ndoctrine, reproof, exhortations, consolation, as tender herbs\nand the grass hath of the rain, the dew, the small rain, and the\nshowers, Deut. xxxii. 2. Do all thou doest as soul-work unto\nChrist, Zech. vi. 5, 6; as immediately dealing with Christ Jesus;\nas if he were looking on thee, and thou on him, and get all thy\nstrength from him.\n\nObserve what holy motions you find in your soul to duties; prize\nthe least good thought thou hast of Christ, the least good word\nthou speakest of him sincerely from thy heart. Rich mercy! Oh!\nbless God for it! Observe if every day you have the Day-spring from\non high, with his morning dews of mourning for sin, constantly\nvisiting thee, Luke, i. 78. Have you the bright Morning-star, with\nfresh influences of grace and peace, constantly arising, Rev. xxii.\n16, and Christ sweetly greeting the soul in all duties? What duty\nmakes not more spiritual, will make more carnal; what doth not\nquicken and humble, will deaden and harden.\n\nJudas may have the outward privilege of baptism, the supper,\nchurch-fellowship, &c., but John leaned on Christ\u2019s bosom, John,\niii. 23; that is the gospel-ordinance posture, in which we should\npray and hear, and perform all duties. Nothing but lying in that\nbosom will dissolve hardness of heart, and make thee to mourn\nheartily for sin and cure lightness and indifference of spirit,\nthat gangrene to profession; that will humble indeed, and make the\nsoul cordial to Christ, and sin vile to the soul; yea, transform\nthe ugliest place of hell into the glory of Christ. Never think\nthou art right as thou shouldst be, a Christian of any attainment,\nuntil thou come to this, always to see and feel thyself lying in\nthe bosom of Christ, who is in the bosom of his Father, John, i.\n18. Come and pray the Father for views of Christ, and you will\nbe sure to speed. You can come with no request that pleaseth him\nbetter. He gave him out of his own bosom for that very end, to be\nheld up before the eyes of sinners, as the everlasting monument of\nhis unspeakable love.\n\nLooking at the natural sun weakens the eye. The more you look at\nChrist, the Sun of righteousness, the stronger and clearer will the\neye of faith be. Look but at Christ, you will love him, and live\nupon him. Think on him continually,--keep the eye constantly upon\nChrist\u2019s blood, or every blast of temptation will shake you. If you\nsee sin\u2019s sinfulness, to loath it and mourn, do not stand looking\nupon sin, but look upon Christ first, as suffering and satisfying\nfor it. If you would see your graces, your sanctification, do not\nstand gazing upon them, but look at Christ\u2019s righteousness in the\nfirst place,--see the Son, and you see all,--look at your graces in\nthe last place.\n\nGo to Christ in sight of your sin and misery, not of your grace and\nholiness. Have nothing to do with thy graces and sanctification,\nthey will but veil Christ, till thou hast seen Christ first. He\nthat looks upon Christ through his graces, is like one that sees\nthe sun in water, which wavereth, and moves as the water doth.\nLook upon Christ only as shining in the firmament of the Father\u2019s\nlove and grace, you will not see him but in his own glory, which\nis unspeakable. Pride and unbelief will put you upon seeing\nsomewhat in yourself first, but faith will have to do with none\nbut Christ, who is unexpressibly glorious, and must swallow up thy\nsanctification as well as thy sin: for God made him both for us,\nand we must take him for both, 1 Cor. i. 30, 2 Cor. v. 21. He that\nsets up his sanctification to look at, to comfort him, he sets up\nthe greatest idol, which will strengthen his doubts and fears. Do\nbut look off Christ, and presently, like Peter, you sink in doubt.\n\nA Christian never wants comfort but by breaking the order and\nmethod of the gospel, looking on his own, and looking off Christ\u2019s\nperfect righteousness, which is, to choose rather to live by\ncandlelight than by the light of the sun. The honey that you suck\nfrom your own righteousness will turn into perfect gall; and the\nlight that you take from that to walk in will turn into black night\nupon the soul. Satan is tempting thee, by putting thee to plod\nabout thine own grace, to get comfort from that; then the Father\ncomes and points thee to Christ\u2019s grace, as rich and glorious,\ninfinitely pleasing to him; and biddest thee study Christ\u2019s\nrighteousness; and his biddings are enablings; that is, a blessed\nmotion, a sweet whispering, checking thy belief--follow the least\nhint, close with much prayer, prize it as an invaluable jewel; it\nis an earnest of more to come. Again,\n\nIf you will pray, and cannot, and are so discouraged, see Christ\npraying for you, using his interest with the Father for you. What\ncan you want? John, xiv. 7, and chap. xvii. If you be troubled,\nsee Christ your peace, Eph. ii. 14. Leaving you peace when he went\nup to heaven, again and again charging you not to be troubled;\nno, not in the least sinfully troubled; so as to obstruct the\ncomfort of thy believing, John, xiv. 1, 27. He is now upon the\nthrone, having spoiled upon his cross, in the lowest state of his\nhumiliation, all whatsoever can hurt or annoy thee; he hath borne\nall thy sins, sorrows, troubles, and temptations, and is gone to\nprepare mansions for thee.\n\nThou who hast seen Christ all, and thyself absolutely nothing who\nmakest Christ all thy life, and art dead to all righteousness\nbesides, thou art a Christian, one highly beloved, and who hath\nfound favour with God, a favourite of heaven. Do Christ this one\nfavour for all his love to thee; love all his poor saints and\nchurches, the meanest, the weakest, notwithstanding any difference\nin judgment, they are engraven on his heart, as the names of the\nchildren of Israel on Aaron\u2019s breast-plate; Ex. xxviii. 21. Let\nthem be so on thine. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall\nprosper that love thee, Ps. cxxii. 6.\n\n\nTHE END\n\n\n\n\n  SINS AND SORROWS\n\n  SPREAD\n\n  BEFORE GOD:\n\n  A SERMON,\n\n  BY THE REV. ISAAC WATTS.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nSINS AND SORROWS\n\nSPREAD BEFORE GOD.\n\nJOB xxiii. 3, 4.\n\n  Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to\n  his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth\n  with arguments.\n\n\nThere is such a thing as converse with God in prayer, and it is the\nlife and pleasure of a pious soul; without it we are no Christians;\nand he that practises it most, is the best follower of Christ, for\nour Lord spent much time in converse with his heavenly Father. This\nis the balm that eases the most raging pains of the mind, when\nthe wounded conscience comes to the mercy-seat, and finds pardon\nand peace there. This is the cordial that revives and exalts our\nnatures, when the spirit, broken with sorrows and almost fainting\nwith death, draws near to the almighty Physician, and is healed\nand refreshed. The mercy-seat in heaven is our surest and sweetest\nrefuge in every hour of distress and darkness on earth; this is our\ndaily support and relief, while we are passing through a world of\ntemptations and hardships in the way to the promised land. \u201cIt is\ngood for us to draw near to God.\u201d Psal. lxxiii. 28.\n\nAnd yet so much is human nature sunk down and fallen from God, that\neven his own children are ready to indulge a neglect of converse\nwith him, if their souls are not always upon the watch. But let\nit be remembered here, that so much as we abate of this divine\nentertainment among the vanities or amusements of the world, the\nbusinesses or burdens of life; so much we lose of the glory and joy\nof religion, and deprive our souls of the comfort that God invites\nus to receive.\n\nJob was encompassed with sorrows all around, and his friends had\ncensured him as a vile hypocrite, and a great sinner, because he\nwas so terribly afflicted by the hand of God: whither should he run\nnow but to his heavenly Father, and tell him of all his sufferings?\n\nFrom the practice of this holy man, I thought we might have\nsufficient warrant to draw this inference, viz. that when a saint\ngets near to God in prayer, he tells him all his circumstances, and\npleads for help. And this is the doctrine which I am endeavouring\nnow to improve. O if I could but come near him; I would spread all\nmy concerns before his eye, and I would plead with him for relief;\nI would fill my mouth with arguments.\n\nFour things I proposed in the prosecution of this doctrine.\n\nI. To consider what it is for a soul to get near to God in prayer.\n\nII. What particular subjects doth a soul, thus brought near to the\nmercy-seat, converse with God about.\n\nIII. Why he causes to tell all his circumstances and his sorrows to\nGod, when he is thus near him.\n\nIV. How he pleads for relief.\n\nI. We have already considered what it is for a soul to get near\nto the seat of God, and what are the usual attendants of such\na privilege. At such a season the holy soul will have an awful\nand adoring sense of the majesty of God, a becoming fear of his\nterrors, and some sweeter taste of his love. There will be a divine\nhatred of every sin, and a sensible virtue and influence proceeding\nfrom a present God, to resist every temptation; there will be a\nspiritual and heavenly temper diffusing itself through the whole\nsoul, and all the powers of it; a fixedness of heart without\nwandering; and a liveliness without tiring; no weariness is felt in\nthe spirit at such a season, even though the flesh may be ready to\nfaint under the overpowering sweetness; then the soul with freedom\nopens itself before the eye of God, and melts and flows in divine\nlanguage, whether it complain or rejoice. But I have finished this\nhead, and repeat no more.\n\nII. What are some of the particular circumstances or subjects of\ncomplaint, that a saint brings to God when he comes near to him.\n\nIn general, a saint, when he is near to God, has all the fulness of\nhis heart breaking out into holy language; he pours out his whole\nself before his God and his Father; all the infinite affairs that\nrelate to the flesh and spirit, to this life and that which is to\ncome; all things in heaven, and all things on earth, created or\nuncreated, may, at one time or other, be the subjects of converse\nbetween God and a holy soul. When the question is asked by a carnal\nman, \u201cWhat can a Christian talk with God so long and so often\nabout?\u201d The Christian, in a divine frame, answers, \u201cHe that hath\nmatter enough for converse with God, to wear out time, and to fill\nup eternity.\u201d It may as well be asked on the other side, What has\nhe not to say? What is there that relates to God, or to himself, to\nthe upper, or the lower world, that he may not at some time say to\nhis God?\n\nBut I must confine myself from wandering in so large a field,\nthat I may comport with the design of my text. Though a good man,\nin devout prayer often spreads his hopes and his joys before the\nLord as well as his sorrows, fear, and distresses; yet I shall at\npresent endeavour to set forth only the mournful and complaining\nrepresentations of his circumstances that he makes before the\nthrone of God.\n\n1. If I could but come near the mercy-seat, I would confess how\ngreat my sins are, and I would pray for pardoning grace. I would\nsay, \u201cHow vile I am by nature;\u201d I would count my original descent\nfrom Adam the great transgressor, and humble myself at the foot of\na holy God, because I am the descent of such a sinner. I would tell\nhim how much viler I have made myself by practice: \u201cI have been\nan enemy in my mind by nature, and guilty of many wicked works,\nwhereby I have farther estranged myself from him.\u201d I would tell my\nGod how multiplied my transgressions have been before I knew him,\nand how aggravated they have been since I have been acquainted\nwith him. I would acquaint him with the frequency of my returning\nguilt, how I have sinned against mercies, against reproofs,\nagainst warnings received often from his word, and often from his\nprovidence.\n\nI may appeal to the souls of many present, whether they have not\nhad the greatest freedom of confession of their sins when they have\nbeen nearest to God, even though he be a God of holiness. At other\ntimes they have not only been averse to confess to any friend, but\neven unwilling to talk over to themselves the aggravation of their\niniquities, or to mention them in prayer; but when they are brought\nthus near the throne of God, they unbosom themselves before him,\nthey pour out their sins and their tears together, with a sweet and\nmournful satisfaction.\n\n\u201cI behold (says the saint) the great atonement, the blood of Jesus,\nand therefore I may venture to confess my great iniquities, for the\nsatisfaction is equal to them all. When I behold God upon his seat,\nI behold the Lamb in the midst of the throne as it had been slain,\nand he is my Peace-maker. I see his all-sufficient sacrifice, his\natoning blood, his perfect, his justifying righteousness.\u201d The soul\nthen answers the call of God with great readiness, when God says\nin Isaiah i. 18. \u201cCome let us reason together; though your sins\nhave been as scarlet, they shall be as wool.\u201d \u201cI am ready (says\nthe soul) to enter into such reasonings; I am ready to confess\nbefore thee, that my sins are all crimson and scarlet, but there is\ncleansing blood with thy Son. Blood that has washed the garments of\na thousand sinners, and made them as white as snow; and it has the\nsame virtue still to wash mine too; I trust in it, and rejoice when\nI behold that blood sprinkled upon the mercy-seat, and therefore I\ngrow confident in hope, and draw yet nearer to God, a reconciled\nGod, since his throne has the memorials of a bleeding sacrifice\nupon it.\u201d\n\n2. If I could get nearer the seat of God I would tell him how many\nmy enemies are, and how strong; how malicious, and how full of\nrage. And I would beg strength against them, and victory over them.\nI would say as David, \u201cMany there be that hate me, many there be\nthat rise up against me, and many there be that say of my soul,\nThere is no help for him in God; but thou, O God, art my glory, my\nshield, and the lifter up of my head,\u201d Psal. iii. Then, says the\nsoul, I would complain to God of all my indwelling corruptions,\nof the body of death that dwells in me, or in which I dwell; and\nsay; \u201cO wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me!\u201d I would\ntell him then of the secret working of pride in my heart, though\nI long to be humble; of the rising of ambition in my soul, though\nI would willingly maintain a middle state amongst men, and not\naim and aspire to be great. I would acquaint him of the vanity of\nmy own mind, though I am perpetually endeavouring to subdue it.\nI would tell him, with tears, of my sinful passions, of my anger\nand impatience, and the workings of envy and revenge in me; of the\nperpetual stirrings of disorderly appetites, whereby I am led away\nfrom my God; I would tell him of the hardness of my heart, and the\nobstinacy of my temper. I would open before his eyes all the vices\nof my constitution; all those sacred seeds of iniquity that are\never budding and blossoming to bring forth fruit to death. These\nthings are fit to mourn before the Lord, when the soul is come near\nto his seat.\n\nI would complain of this sore enemy, the world, that is perpetually\nbesetting me, that strikes upon all my senses, that by the ears,\nand the eyes, and all the outward faculties, draws my heart away\nfrom God my best friend. I would tell him of the rage of Satan,\nthat watchful and malicious adversary; that I cannot engage in\nany duty of worship but he is ready to throw in some foolish or\nvain suggestion to divert me; and I would look forward, and point\nto my last enemy, death, and beg the presence of my God with me,\nwhen I walk through the dark valley; \u201cLord, when I enter into that\nconflict, assist me, that I may fear no evil, but be made more than\na conqueror through him that has loved me.\u201d\n\n3. I would tell him what darkness I labour under, either in respect\nof faith or practice. If I am perplexed in my mind, and entangled\nabout any of the doctrines of the gospel, I would tell them my\nGod what my entanglements are, where the difficulty lies; and I\nwould beg, that by his Spirit and his word, he would solve the\ncontroversy, and set his own truth before me in his own divine\nlight. And then in point of practice, what darkness lies upon the\nspirit at such a time, is revealed before God: \u201cMy way is hedged\nup, I know not what path to chuse; it is very hard for me to find\nout duty; show me, O Lord, the way wherein I should walk, and mark\nout my path plain for me.\u201d\n\n4. I would mourn, and tell him how little converse I have with\nhimself, how much he is hidden from me; I would complain to him,\nhow far off I am from him the most part of my life, how few are\nthe hours of my communion with him, how short is the visit, how\nmuch his face is concealed from me, and how far my heart is divided\nfrom him. A soul then says, \u201cSurely there is too great a distance\nbetween me and my God, my heavenly Father;\u201d and cries out with\nbitterness, \u201cWhy is God so far from me, and why is my heart so\nfar from God? How often do I wait upon him in his own sanctuary,\nand among his saints, but I am not favoured with a sight of his\npower and glory there! And how often do I seek him in my secret\nretirements, but I find him not! I would tell him how often I read\nhis promises in the gospel, and taste no sweetness; I go frequently\nto those wells of consolation and they seem to be dry; then I turn\nmy face, and go away ashamed.\u201d\n\n5. I would tell him too of my temporal troubles, if I get near to\nGod, because they unfit me for his service, they make me uncapable\nof honouring him in the world, and render me unfit for enjoying\nhim in his ordinances; I would tell him how they damp my zeal,\nhow they bow my spirit down, and make me go mourning all the day\nlong, to the dishonour of Christianity, which is a dispensation\nof grace and joy. Thus I might complain before God of pains, of\nweakness, of sickness, of the disorders of my flesh; I might\ncomplain there too of the weakness of all my powers, the want of\nmemory, the scatterings and confusions that are upon my thoughts,\nthe wanderings of my fancy, and the unhappy influence that a\nfeeble and diseased body has upon the mind: \u201cO my God, how am I\ndivided from thee by dwelling in such a tabernacle! Still patching\nup a tottering cottage, and wasting my best hours in a painful\nattendance on the infirmities of the flesh!\u201d\n\nI might then take the liberty of spreading before my God all the\nsorrows and vexations of life, that unhinge my soul from its\ncentre, that throw it off from my guard, and hurry and expose me to\ndaily temptations. I might complain of my reproaches from friends\nand enemies; because these, many times, wear out the spirit and\nunfit it for acts of lively worship. These are my weekly sorrows\nand groans, these are my daily fears and troubles; and these shall\nbe spread before the eyes of my God, in the happy hour when I get\nnear him.\n\nLastly, I would not go away without a word of pity and complaint\nconcerning my relations, my friends and acquaintance, that are afar\noff from God. I would put in one word of petition for them that are\ncareless unconcerned for themselves; I would weep a little at the\nseat of God for them: I would leave a tear or two at the throne\nof mercy, for my dearest relatives in the flesh, for children,\nbrothers or sisters, that they may be brought near to God, in the\nbonds of the Spirit. Then would I remember my friends in Christ,\nmy brethren and kindred in the gospel; such as labour under heavy\nburdens, languish under various infirmities of life, or groan under\nthe power of strong temptations. When God indulges me the favour\nof his ear, I would spread their wants and sorrows before him,\ntogether with my own, and make supplication for all the saints. I\nwould leave a petition at the mercy-seat for my native country,\nthat knowledge and holiness may overspread the nation; that our\nking may be a nursing-father to the church, and our princes may\nbe blessings to the land. And while I send up my request for the\nBritish Islands, I would breathe out many a sigh for Zion, that she\nmay be the joy of the whole earth.--I proceed now to.\n\nIII. The third head of inquiry, which is this: Why does a saint,\nwhen he gets near to God delight to tell him all his circumstances,\nand all his sorrows?\n\nIn general I might say this, because it is so seldom, at least in\nour day, that a saint gets very near to God; therefore when he\nfinds that happy minute, he says to his God all he wants to say;\nhe tells him all his heart; he pours out all his wants before him;\nbecause these seasons are very few. It is but here and there an\nextraordinary Christian, who maintains constant nearness to God;\nthe best complain of too much distance and estrangement. But to\ndescend to particulars.\n\n1. He is our chief friend, and it is an ease to the soul to vent\nitself in the bosom of a friend, when we are in his company. More\nespecially as it was in the case of Job, when other friends failed\nhim when he began to tell them some of his sorrows, and withal\nmaintained his own integrity; they would not believe him, but\nbecame his troublers instead of his comforters; \u201cMy friends, scorn\nme,\u201d saith Job, ch. xvi. 20, \u201cbut mine eye pours out tears to God.\u201d\nI go to my best friend, my friend in heaven, when my friends here\non earth neglect me.\n\nMan is a sociable creature, and our joys and our sorrows are\nmade to be communicated, that hereby we may double the one and\nalleviate the other. There is scarce any piece of human nature,\nbe it ever so stupid, but feels some satisfaction in the pleasure\nof a friend, in communicating the troubles and the pleasures that\nit feels; but those that have God for their highest and best\nfriend, they love to be often exercising such acts of friendship\nwith him, and rather with him than with any friend besides, rather\nwith him than all besides him. This is the noblest and highest\nfriendship; all condescension and compassion on the one side, and\nall infirmity and dependance on the other! and yet both joined is\nmutual satisfaction. Amazing grace of God to man! The Christian\nrejoices in this admirable divine indulgence, and delights in all\nopportunities to employ and improve it.\n\nBesides, this is the way to maintain the vigour of piety, and\nkeep all the springs of divine love ever open and flowing in his\nown heart; therefore he makes many a visit to the mercy-seat, and\ntakes occasion from every troublesome occurence in life, to betake\nhimself to his knees, and improves every sorrow he meets on earth,\nto increase his acquaintance with heaven. He delights to talk all\nhis grievances over with his God. Hannah, the mother of Samuel,\nis a blessed example of this practice, 1 Sam. i. 10. When she was\nin bitterness of soul, by reason of a sore affliction, and the\nteazing humour of her rival, she prayed to the Lord, and wept sore,\nand when she had left her sorrows at the mercy-seat, she went away,\nand did eat, and her countenance was no more sad, ver. 18. So\nsaith the Christian, \u201cI commit my sorrows to my God, he is my best\nfriend, and I go away, and am no more sad; I have poured out my\ncares into his ear, and cast my burdens upon him, and I leave them\nthere in peace.\u201d\n\n2. The saint knows God will understand him right, and will judge\nright concerning his case and his meaning. Though the expression\n(it may be) are very imperfect, below the common language of men,\nand propriety of speech, yet God knows the meaning of the soul,\nand he knows the mind of his Spirit, Rom. viii. The friends of Job\nperverted his sense; therefore he turns aside to God, for he knows\nGod would understand him. It is a very great advantage, when we\nspread our concerns before another person, to be well assured that\nperson will take us right, will take in our meaning fully, and\njudge aright concerning our cause. Now we may be assured of this\nwhen we speak to our God; he knows our thoughts afar, off, and all\nour circumstances, better infinitely than we can tell him. These\nour poor imperfect expressions of our wants, shall be no hinderance\nto his full supplies, nor any bar to his exercise of friendship\ntoward us.\n\n3. A saint pours out his soul before God, because he is sure of\nsecrecy there. How many things are there transacted between God and\na holy soul, that he could never publish to the world! and many\nthings also that concern his conduct in life, his embarassment of\nspirit, his difficulties, his follies, or the obstinacy, guilt,\nor follies of his friends or relatives, which prudence or shame\nforbid him to tell his fellow creatures: and yet he wants to spread\nthem all before God his best friend, God his dearest relative,\nthe friend nearest to his heart. There may be many circumstances\nand cases in life, especially in the spiritual life, which one\nChristian could hardly communicate to another, though under\nthe strictest bonds and ties of natural, and civil, and sacred\nrelation; though we may communicate these very affairs, these\nsecret concerns, with our God, and unburden our souls of every\ncare, without the least public notice.\n\nWe cannot be perfect secure of this with regard to any creature;\nfor when we have experienced the faithfulness of a friend many\nyears, he may possibly be at last unfaithful: unfaithfulness is\nmingled with our nature since the fall, and it is impossible any\nperson can be infallibly secure from it. Psal. lxii. 9. Men of\nlow degree are vanity, and great men are a lie; but we may leave\nour case with our God, as secure as though we had communicated\nit to none: nay, we may be easily secure and free in speaking,\nbecause God knows all before-hand. Our complaint adds nothing to\nhis knowledge, although it eases our souls, and gives us sweet\nsatisfaction in having such a friend to speak to.\n\n4. A saint believes the equity, faithfulness, and the love of God;\ntherefore he spreads his case before him. His equity, that the\njudge of all the earth will do right; the righteous may plead with\nhim. His faithfulness, that he will fulfil all his promises; and\nhis love, that he will take compassion on those who are afflicted;\nhe will be tender to those who are miserable. David takes occasion\nfrom this to address God under his sufferings and sorrows: Psal.\nlxii. 1, 2. \u201cHe is my rock, and my salvation, and my defence; I\nshall not be moved; therefore my soul waits upon God; my refuge is\nin him; he is a God that hears prayer, therefore unto him shall\nall flesh come,\u201d Psal. lxv. 1. God will not account our complaints\ntroublesome, though they be never so often repeated; whereas men\nare quickly wearied with the importunities of those who are poor\nand needy. Great men are ready to shut their doors against those\nwho come too often for relief; but God delights to hear often from\nhis people, and to have them ask continually at his door for\nmercy. Though he has almighty power with him, saith Job, yet he\nwill not plead against me with his great power; no, but he would\nput strength in me; he would teach me how I should answer him; how\nI should answer his justice, by appeals to his mercy; and how I\nshould speak prevailingly before him.\n\n5. Lastly, A saint tells God all his circumstances and sorrows at\nsuch a season, because he hopes for relief from him, and from him\nonly; for it is impossible creatures can give relief under any\ntrouble, unless God make them instruments of relief. And there are\nsome troubles in which creatures cannot be our helpers, but our\nhelp must come only from God, and that in a more immediate way.\nWhatsoever be our distress, whether it arise from past guilt and\nthe torments of an anxious and troubled conscience, or whether\nit arise from the working of indwelling sin, the strength of\ntemptation, or the violence of temporal afflictions, still God is\nable and willing to give relief. \u201cCall upon me (saith the Lord) in\nthe day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify\nme;\u201d Psal. 1. 12. And he hath never said to the seed of Jacob, seek\nye my face in vain, Isa. xlv. 19.\n\nIV. The fourth general head of discourse which I proposed, is to\nshew how a saint, near the mercy-seat, pleads with God for relief.\n\nHoly Job tells us in this text, that if he was got near to the seat\nof God, he would fill his mouth with arguments.\n\nNot as though he would inform God of the necessity, or the justice\nof his cause, beyond what he knew before; no, this is impossible;\nhe that teacheth man all things, shall he not know? Psal. xciv. 9,\n10. He who orders all the circumstances of our lives, and every\nstroke of his own rod, can he be unacquainted with any thing that\nrelates to our sorrows?\n\nNor can we use arguments with God to awaken his ear, or move\nhis compassion, as though he had neglected us or forgotten our\ndistress; for all things are for ever naked and open before the\neyes of him with whom we have to do. The shepherd of Israel cannot\nslumber; nor does his mercy want our awakenings.\n\nBut in this sort of expressions, the great God condescends to talk,\nand to transact affairs with us, and permits us to treat with him\nin a way suited to our weakness; he would have us plead and argue\nwith him, that we may show how deep a sense we have of our own\nwants, and how entirely we depend on his mercy. Since we cannot\nconverse with him in a way equal to his own majesty and Godhead he\nstoops to talk with us in such a way as is most agreeable to our\nstate, and most easy to our apprehension, he speaks such language\nas we can understand, and invites us to humble conference with\nhim in the same way. Come, says God to his people, by Isaiah his\nprophet, Come now, and let us reason together, Isa. i. 18. And he\noften in holy scripture, represents himself as moved and influenced\nby the prayers and pleadings of his afflicted saints; and he has\nordained before hand, that the day when he prepares their hearts to\npray, shall be the day when his ear shall hear the desire of the\nhumble, and shall be the season of their deliverence, Psal. x. 17.\n\nIf you inquire, how a Christian pleads with his God, and whence\ndoes he borrow his arguments; I answer, that according to the\nvarious sorrows and difficulties which attend him, so various\nmay his pleadings be for the removal of them. There is not a\ncircumstance which belongs to his affliction, but he may draw some\nargument from it to plead for mercy; there is not one attribute of\nthe divine nature, but he may use it with holy skill, and thereby\nplead for grace; there is not one relation in which God stands\nto his people, nor one promise of his covenant, but may at some\ntime or other afford an argument in prayer. But the strongest\nand sweetest argument that a Christian knows, is the name and\nmediation of Jesus Christ his Lord. It is for the sake of Christ,\nwho has purchased all the blessings of the covenant, that a saint\nhopes to receive them; and for the sake of Christ, he pleads that\nGod would bestow them.\n\nBut having treated largely on this subject, it remains that I make\na few useful reflections on the whole foregoing discourse.\n\n\nREFLECTION I.\n\nWhat a dull and uncomfortable thing is religion without drawing\nnear to God! for this is the very business for which religion is\ndesigned; the end and aim of religion is getting nigh to God; if it\nattain not this end it is nothing.\n\nO the madness of hypocrites, who satisfy themselves to toil in long\nforms of worship, and appear perpetually in the shapes of religion,\nbut unconcerned whether they ever get near to God by it or no!\nThey lose the end and design for which religion was made. What\nif we know all the doctrines of the gospel; what if we can talk\nrationally about natural religion; what if we can deduce one truth\nfrom another, so as to spread a whole scheme of godliness before\nthe eyes or ears of those we converse with; what if we can prove\nall the points of Christianity, and give uncontestable arguments\nfor the belief of them; yet we have no religion if our souls never\nget near to God by them. A saint thinks it a very melancholy thing\nwhen he is at a distance from God, and cannot tell God his wants\nand sorrows. Though he be never so much studied in divinity, and\nthe deep things of God, yet if God be not with him, if he does not\ncome near to his mercy-seat, so as to converse with him as his\nfriend, the soul is concerned and grieved, and never rests till\nthis distance be removed. It is to little purpose all these forms\nare maintained, if we have not the substance and the power of\ngodliness; if our God be not near us, if we never get near to God.\n\n\nREFLECTION II.\n\nHow happy are we under the gospel, above all ages and nations\nbesides us, and before us! For we have advantages of getting near\nto God, beyond what any other religion has; above what the heathen\nworld ever enjoyed; for their light of nature could never show\nthem the throne of grace; above what the ancient patriarchs had,\nthough God came down in visible shapes, and revealed and discovered\nhimself to them as a man or an angel; above what the Jews had,\nthough God dwelt among them in visible glory in the holy of holies.\nThe people were kept at a distance, and the high-priest was to come\nthither but once a-year; and their veil, and smokes, and shadows,\ndid, as it were, conceal God from them, although they were types\nof a future Messiah; and even their Shekinah itself, or cloud of\nglory, gave them no spiritual idea or notion of Godhead, though it\nwas a shining emblem of God dwelling among them.\n\n\nREFLECTION III.\n\nLastly, That future state of glory must be blessed indeed where we\nshall be ever near to God, even to his seat, and have no sorrows\nto tell him of. If it be so delightful a thing to come near the\nseat of God here upon earth, to mourn before him, and to tell\nhim all our circumstances, and all our sorrows, how pleasurable\na blessedness must that of heaven be, where we shall be ever\nrejoicing before him, as Christ Jesus was before the world was\nmade, rejoicing daily before him; and our delight shall be with\nthat God who created the sons of men; where we shall be for ever\ntelling him of our joys, and our pleasures, with humble adoration\nof his grace, and everlasting gratitude.\n\nO that I could raise your souls, and mine, to blessed breathings\nafter this felicity, by such representations! But how infinitely\nshort must the brightest descriptions fall of this state and place!\nMay you and I, who speak and hear this, may every soul of us be\nmade thus happy one day, and learn the extent and glory of this\nblessedness, by sweet and everlasting experience. Amen.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  A\n\n  TOKEN FOR\n\n  MOURNERS.\n\n  WITH A SELECTION OF\n\n  SCRIPTURE PROMISES,\n\n  RELATIVE TO\n\n  THE TROUBLES of LIFE.\n\n  Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,\n    But trust him for his grace;\n  Behind a frowning Providence\n    He hides a smiling face.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW;\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nA\n\nTOKEN\n\nFOR\n\nMOURNERS.\n\n&c.\n\n\n  2. KINGS, iv. 26.\n\n  _And she answered, It is well._\n\nShort words, soon spoken; but to have a suitableness of heart to\nthem is one of the highest attainments of faith. To be sure, \u201cIt\nis well;\u201d we think so, when all things go according to our wish;\nwhen there is nothing in Providence that crosses our desires, that\nthwarts our designs, that sinks our hopes, or awakens our fears;\nSubmission is easy work then; but to have all things seemingly\nagainst us, to have God smiting in the tenderest part, unravelling\nall our schemes, contradicting our desires, and standing aloof\nfrom our very prayers; how do our souls behave then? This is\nthe true touchstone of our sincerity and submission; \u201cHere,\u201d as\nit is said, Rev. xiii. 10, \u201cis the patience and faith of the\nsaints;\u201d this shews what they are made of, what they are within;\nbut instances there are many in the book of God, wherein we find\nthis sweet frame prevailing, as Abraham, Job, David, and the\nShulamite in my text, than whose story we meet with few things\nin Providence more affecting. If you look back a little, you may\nsee what were her circumstances, and those of her family. She was\na \u201cgreat woman,\u201d says verse 8, and that she was a \u201cgood woman,\u201d\nthe whole context shews, her husband and she wanted but one thing\nto make them as happy as the vanity and uncertainty of all human\naffairs would admit of. They had enough of the world, and they\nseem to have had the enjoyment of it; for when Elisha, to requite\nher kindness, asks; \u201cWhat shall be done for thee? Wouldst thou\nbe spoken for to the king? &c.\u201d she answers, \u201cNo, I dwell among\nmine own people,\u201d \u201cI seek nothing greater than what I have:\u201d only\n(as Gehazie learned from her) they wanted a child to comfort them\nnow, and to inherit what they had when they were gone. God in a\nmiraculous way, gives this request. This child grows up, and was no\ndoubt the delight of its parents. Just at the time of life when\nchildren are most engaging, before they are capable of doing any\ngreat thing to grieve their parents, God lays his hand suddenly\nupon him and takes him away. The dearest comforts are but short\nlived, and the dearer they are when living, the deeper they cut\nwhen they are removed. Many of you can judge what the loss of a\nson, an only son, must be, and when there is no hope of a Seth\ninstead of Abel. But, behold, \u201che taketh away, and who shall\nhinder him?\u201d Well: What does the mother do now? One would think\nall her hope is cut off, and all her comfort dried up: No, it is\nfar otherwise. The same power that gave him could also raise him;\nin faith of this, she lays him upon the prophet\u2019s bed, and makes\nall the haste to him she could. She concealing what had happened\n(as it is probable) from her husband, he objects to her going to\nthe prophet, ver. 23, \u201cWherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? It is\nneither new-moon nor Sabbath.\u201d And she said, \u201cIt shall be well.\u201d\nFaith sets aside every obstacle: \u201cIt shall be well: the end will be\npeace;\u201d \u201cGod is with me, and he will make all things work together\nfor good.\u201d Commentators, in general, make very light of this, and\nher answer to Elisha\u2019s message in my text. Some suppose she has a\nreserve in her breast, when Gehazi asks after her family, that\nthis \u201cwell\u201d only refers to her husband and herself. Others think\nit is but a transition to something farther, which she was in\nhaste to say; as if she had said, \u201cAll is well do not hinder me, I\nhave urgent business with your master Elisha, and cannot stay to\ntalk farther with you upon any matters.\u201d This is the sense which\nmost annotators incline to, which, I confess, I the more wonder\nat, because all agree, that the apostle\u2019s words in part refer to\nthis story, Heb. xi. 35. \u201cWomen received their dead raised to life\nagain.\u201d How they received them is there specified; namely, by or\n\u201cthrough faith.\u201d Faith, not as some carry it, in the prophet, but\nin the persons who had their dead restored to them; or else there\nwould have been no need to make mention of any by name. Now wherein\nthis woman\u2019s faith appeared, my text and context make manifest.\nHere was a dependance upon God\u2019s promise, an abiding by that, God\nhad promised her a son; a son, not to lose him but to have comfort\nin him; and, as if she had said, \u201cAs for God, his work is perfect,\nhe does not use to raise his people\u2019s expectations for nothing;\nto give and immediately take away again. My son is dead, but God,\nall sufficient liveth; why should I mourn as though I had no hope?\nAs for God\u2019s power and faithfulness there is no abatement in\nthem.\u201d Therefore, she makes no preparation for his burial tells her\nhusband nothing of his death, but seeks to God by the prophet, and\nexpects help from him, See how she expresses herself: \u201cIs it well\nwith thee?\u201d (and says Gehazzi,) \u201cIs it well with thy husband? Is\nit well with the child?\u201d and she answered, \u201cIt is well\u201d. Here is\nthe greatest submission in the greatest distress: Her son, her only\nson, the son of all her love, the son of her old age, he is taken\naway with a stroke, and yet all is well. There is nothing amiss in\nthe dispensation; had she been to choose it, it is well; she has\nnothing to object. Here are submission and faith both discovered in\ntheir sweet exercise; submission to what God hath done; faith in\nwhat he is able to do, and in what she believed he would do: \u201cBy\nfaith women received their dead raised to life again;\u201d so that the\nwords, thus explained, afford us this plain and useful observation.\n\nOBSERV. Faith in God\u2019s promise and power will bring a man to submit\nto the sorest and most trying dispensations of his Providence; or\nthus,\n\nFaith where it is in exercise, will teach a Christian to say of all\nGod does, \u201cIt is well.\u201d\n\nIn discoursing on this proposition, I will endeavour to show what\nsubmission is, or how and in what sense we are to understand the\nexpression in my text, \u201cIt is well.\u201d\n\nThis \u201cwell\u201d dost not suppose there is nothing in providential\ndispensations, which to flesh and sense appears evil. Submission\nquiets under an affliction, but it does not take away our sense\nand feeling of the affliction. The apostle speaks what is every\nbeliever\u2019s experience, Heb. xii. 11. \u201cNo chastening for the present\nseemeth to be joyous, but grievous.\u201d Whatever be spoken of the good\nof it, it presents itself unto us with a very different face; it\nis matter of present grief and sorrow to them that are chastised;\nnor are we blamed for our feeling and sense of it. Our blessed Lord\nhimself wept at the grave of his dear friend, John xi. 35. And\nat the approach of his last sufferings, \u201chis soul was exceeding\nsorrowful, even unto death,\u201d Matt. xxvi. 38. \u201cyet he was led as a\nlamb to the slaughter; he opened not his mouth\u201d: there was patience\nand quiet submission under all his sorrows, while nature had some\nvent; for groans are sometimes an easement to our grief. Thus it\nis said of the good woman, \u201cthat her soul was bitter within her,\u201d\nver. 27. Elisha saw her agony in her looks, though he knew not the\ncause of it; and yet \u201cAll is well.\u201d When Job lost his substance and\nhis children, and was smitten in his body with sore boils; when\nHeman, and when the church in the Lamentations were deprived of the\nconsolations from God, when the Comforter, who would relieve their\nsouls, was far from them; when David also was cursed by Shimei, and\nturned out of doors by his own son; can you think that in all these\nthere was no feeling? Had there been none, there could have been no\nprofit by any of the dispensations. Unless we realize our trials\nindeed, what are we the better for them? This would be to despise\nthe chastening of the Lord, to be above correction, to be smitten\nand not grieve, is one of God\u2019s sorest judgments, and always argues\na soul ripe for ruin: this \u201cwell\u201d does not suppose us insensible of\nthe evil of afflicting.\n\nThough we believe all that befals us is well, this does not forbid\nour inquiring into the reasons of God\u2019s providential dispensations,\nand a searching out the cause for which they come upon us. Every\nrod hath a voice in it, and the \u201cman of understanding will hear\nit,\u201d and \u201csee the name of God in it,\u201d Micah vi. 9. what God intends\nby it, what is his ends and design in it; for he does not afflict\nwillingly, nor grieve the children of men, Lam. iii. 33. There is\na \u201cneed be\u201d in every dispensation that befals us: 1 Pet. i. 6.\n\u201cWherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season\u201d (if need be)\n\u201cye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.\u201d God acts with\njudgment in proportion to our needs; there is a conveniency and\nfitness, nay, there is an absolute necessity in the case; it must\nbe that we are in heaviness and that through manifold temptations.\nOne single trial oftentimes will not do, to empty us of self, to\nwean us from the world, to shew us the vanity of the creature, the\nsinfulness of sin, &c.; it must be repeated or others joined with\nit, so fast are our affections glued to the things of time and\nsense. Now, what this need is in us, what this intention and end\nis in God, the Christian will and ought to be searching out, and\ninquiring daily into. This was Job\u2019s frame, (and ye have heard,\nas says the apostle, of the patience of Job.) Job xxxiv. 31. 32.\n\u201cSurely it is meet to be said unto God I have borne chastisement, I\nwill not offend any more. That which I see not, teach thou me; if I\nhave done iniquity, I will do no more.\u201d Sin lies deep, it must be\nsearched after in the deep and secret corners of the heart; there\nis so much self-love and self-flattery hid there, that a man cannot\njudge aright of himself, or of God without divine teachings.\n\n\u201cIt is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement.\u201d\nSirs, it is one thing to be chastised, and another thing to\nbear chastisement; to behave aright under it; to be patient,\nsubmissive, thankful; to have a frame of heart suited to the\ndispensation, whatever it is. This is to bear chastisement: and\nwherever this is, the language of the soul will be, \u201cThat which I\nsee not teach thou me; I have done iniquity, I will do no more.\u201d\nWhen an affliction is sanctified, it always begets godly fear\nand jealousy. A man is then most afraid of his own heart, lest\nthat should deceive him; lest he should come out of the furnace\nunpurged, unrefined; lest the end of God\u2019s visitation upon him\nshould be unattained. And this is well consistent with our\nbelieving all that God does is well done. Once more,\n\nA soul may say in a becoming frame, and in the exercise of suitable\naffections, \u201cIt is well,\u201d and yet long, and pray, and wait from the\ntrial. Submission to the will of God, under awful dispensations,\nis not inconsistent with earnest prayer for a gracious and speedy\nissue to these very dispensations. \u201cIt is well,\u201d says this good\nwoman in my text; and yet how does she plead for the life of\nthe child, ver. 28. \u201cDid I desire a son of my lord? Did not I\nsay do not deceive me?\u201d As if she had said, \u201cI asked it not, I\ncould scarce believe it when it was promised me; God raised my\nexpectations himself, he encouraged my hopes, and surely he will\nnot go back from his own word.\u201d It was a wonderful act of faith;\nbut the promises of God can never lie long unfulfilled: when he\nhas prepared the heart to pray, his own ear is open to hear. He\nhas not called himself \u201cI am that I am,\u201d for nothing. Abraham\nstaggered not at the promise through unbelief, no more does the\ndaughter of Abraham here: it is blessed pleading, \u201cDid not I say,\ndo not deceive me?\u201d \u201cMay I trust? May I venture? He has given me\nthe faithful word of God to rely on; here my faith resteth.\u201d And\na son came in due season. Now she looks to God, the author of the\nmercy, and applies to the prophet, who was the revealer of it. He\nsends Gehazi with his staff, but this will not content her, except\nElisha goes himself: she knows that he was great with God; she\nwill therefore have his prayers and presence \u201cAs the Lord liveth,\nand as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee,\u201d ver. 30. All this\nargues the strong desires of her heart after the return of the\nchild\u2019s life, though still she says, \u201cAll is well.\u201d While, we bear\nchastenings, we may pray, and pray hard that God would take them\noff. \u201cIf it be possible,\u201d (says innocent aggrieved nature in the\nman Christ,) \u201clet this cup pass from me,\u201d Matthew xxvi. 26. Opening\nour mouth against God is our sin, but it is our duty to open our\nmouths and our hearts to him. In the former sense, says David, \u201cI\nwas dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it,\u201d Psal.\nxxxix. 9.; and yet, with the same breath, he adds, \u201cRemove thy\nstroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand,\u201d\nver. 10. Was a child under the direction of a parent to intimate\nno desire of his forbearance, should we not rather account him\nstubborn than submissive? In like manner, not to ask of God release\nfrom troubles, is as offensive as to mourn at them. It is the token\nof a proud heart and a relentless spirit. God expects other things\nat our hands; even of the wicked he says, \u201cIn their affliction they\nwill seek me early;\u201d much more shall his own people, who have known\nhis name, and put their trust in him; who have known the advantage\nof prayer, and been so often set at liberty by it from all their\nfears. If these are silent, they cannot be sensible nor submissive.\nOnly in all their prayers, when they are most earnest and vehement,\n\u201cIf it be consistent with the will of God,\u201d and there will be no\nlimiting him as to time or way.\n\nThese things are neither of them inconsistent with the soul\u2019s\nsaying, under the most awful rebukes, \u201cAll is well.\u201d\n\nNow, what is included in this \u201cwell\u201d in my text, or what is this\nsubmission to the will of God? It takes in, as I apprehend, these\nthree things:\n\n1. A justifying God in all he does \u201cIt is well;\u201d God cannot do\namiss; he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, to\nthe praise of his glory. \u201cAnd after all that is come upon us,\u201d says\nthe Church, Ezra ix. 13. \u201cthou, our God, hast punished us less than\nour iniquities deserve; thou hast taken vengeance according to the\ndesert of our sins.\u201d When sin appears to be what it is in itself,\nexceeding sinful, affliction will appear light, and not till then.\nWherefore, says the church, Lam. iii. 39, \u201cwherefore, does a living\nman complain, for the punishment of his sins?\u201d So long as we are\nout of hell, God punishes less than our iniquities deserve.\n\nWhatever be our trial, it comes from God: he is the author,\nwhoever be the instrument, therefore, \u201cit is well,\u201d He cannot do\niniquity: David had not one word to say, by way of complaint, when\nhe saw God\u2019s hand in the affliction: yea, let him curse, for \u201cthe\nLord hath bid Shimei curse David,\u201d 2 Sam. xvi. 12. We may puzzle\nand distress ourselves about instruments and second causes, but\nno quiet no rest can we have, till we are led to the first. \u201cHe\nperformeth the thing appointed for me;\u201d that settles the soul, but\nnothing else will do it. \u201cBe still and know that I am God,\u201d Psal.\nxlvi. 10. If thy children are taken, thy substance fails, thy body\nis sore vexed, thy comforts, and even the presence of thy God\nleaves thee; yet be still, that is, do not say a word against the\ndispensation, do not fret, do not censure and condemn Providence.\nI am God, thy God in all; and a covenant God cannot do amiss. God\nwill be glorified and exalted, that\u2019s enough for us. This, \u201cIt is\nwell,\u201d implies in it, not in some things, but in all.\n\n2. This submission implies in it, our approving of all God does;\nnot only it is not amiss, but it is right; it is the best way, the\nonly sure way to bring about our good. Therefore holy Job blesses\nGod in all, chap. i. 21. \u201cNaked came I out of my mother\u2019s womb, and\nnaked shall I return thither: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken\naway; blessed be the name of the Lord.\u201d He had the same great and\ngood thought of God as ever he had; God was his God still, and the\nGod of his mercy. He should have an expected, a desired end; that\nhe believed still, still, because God\u2019s thoughts were the same they\never were; that is thoughts of peace and not of evil. And this is\nthe frame in which we find the poor saints, that were scattered up\nand down throughout the whole world almost, 1 Pet. i. 6. \u201cwho are\nkept by the power of God through salvation, ready to be revealed in\nthe last time, wherein ye greatly rejoice,\u201d &c. They were far from\none another to avoid persecution, it was in their way: but none of\nthese things moved them. There was joy in their expected rest in\nhappiness at last, though there was great pain and heaviness in the\nway to it: the way was rough, but right; therefore they approved\nof it, they acquiesced in it; nay, herein \u201cthey greatly rejoiced.\u201d\nThus the saints of old took joyfully the spoiling of their goods,\nand were tortured, not accepting deliverance, because they knew\nin themselves, \u201cthat they had in heaven a better and an enduring\nsubstance,\u201d Heb. x. 34. O that blessed knowledge! it comforts,\nrefreshes, it fills the soul, and lifts a man above himself.\n\nEvery path which God takes is right then and the believer chooses\nto walk in it: His God, his Father, has marked it out, and nothing\ngoes so against the grain, but that \u201call is well,\u201d which his Father\ndoes: His will is brought to be one with God\u2019s; the soul approves\nof all God does.\n\n3. This submission implies in it our cleaving to God in all. To\nbe pleased with God as a friend, when he seems to be coming forth\nagainst, us as an enemy; to lean upon a promise, when all the ways\nleading to the performance are shut up; to rejoice in God when we\nhave nothing left beside to rejoice in, and faith is hard put to\nit to call God ours. Thus, to cleave to God when we do not find\ncomfort from him, this is believing indeed; to love the hand that\nsmites, this is true grace and great grace. A noble act of faith\nwas that, Job xiii. 15. \u201cthough he slay me, yet will I trust in\nhim;\u201d So \u201cAbraham staggered not at the promises through unbelief,\u201d\nRom. iv. 20. He brought God\u2019s promises and faithfulness close\ntogether, and considered none of the difficulties nay absurdities,\nwhich came between them: It was not--\u201cIs this reasonable? What\nprobability is there in that? How can these things be?\u201d &c. but\nbeing not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead,\nneither yet the deadness of Sarah\u2019s womb, but was strong in faith,\ngiving glory to God; he clave to him, abode by his promise in a way\nof faith and firm dependance.\n\nThis is the true nature of submission, and is contained in that\nexpression in my text, \u201cIt is well.\u201d A word of use.--\n\nUSE 1. Wonder not at your trials, be they never so strange: \u201cAll is\nwell;\u201d some secret end is to be answered which you see not; God is\nin all; the hand and love of a Father is there. They are to purge\nfrom sin, to wean from the world, to bring you from the foot of\nGod, to shew you that your rest is not here, that it lies beyond\nthe grave. What though they make you smart, they do you the more\ngood: this argues your sensibleness under the rod; that is not\na rod which does not cause smart; the sharpest physic does most\nservice, because it reaches the inward, hidden cause, not one of\nour many trials which we could well spare.\n\nUSE 2. Do not think any trial sanctified, till you have a\nsuitable frame to the trial, whatever it be. Are you humbled?\nAre you prayerful? Are you submissive? Have you looked inward,\nand confessed your sin, saying, Take away all iniquity? If the\naffliction has not brought you to this, it hath done you no good.\nFor all you may have borne, his anger is not turned away, but his\nhand is stretched out still.\n\nUSE 3. Do not think of other means, whereby God\u2019s end in visiting\nyou might have been as well answered; that is, in fact, to quarrel\nwith God in what he has done, or is doing. Have a care of your\nthoughts; unsubmission slips in at that door before one is aware.\n\u201cIt is well,\u201d is the only soul quickening and God-glorifying frame.\nGod that has appointed the end, has settled, and he will order the\nmeans: Rest there, and \u201call is well.\u201d\n\n\nHINTS TO THE AFFLICTED.\n\nWhat fatal mischiefs would follow, if there was no variety in our\nexperience! There are so many remains of depraved nature in the\nhearts of the saints, that if the warm sun of prosperity did always\nshine upon the Lord\u2019s garden, the weeds would quickly multiply, the\nchoicest flowers wither, and an army of caterpillars devour the\npleasant fruits. To prevent these, God will not suffer his people\nto enjoy uninterrupted prosperity, but wisely appoints seasons of\naffliction and trouble.\n\nOn the other hand, were we to groan under perpetual adversity, our\nsouls perhaps would suffer equal prejudice. Our heavenly father\nwill not always chide; he remembers that we are but dust, and that\nour flesh is not like brass or iron. Were we never in the fire, our\ndross would not be consumed, and were we always to be in the fire,\nour silver and gold would be wasted.\n\nHereby God takes a proper method for the exercise and improvement\nof the graces of his children. Without such a mixed condition,\nthere could be no room for many of them, and not room enough for\nany of them to appear in their glory and beauty. Were it always a\nday of prosperity where would be the proof of their faith, hope and\npatience?--the evil day brings thee to rest. To possess our souls\nin patience, in the day of trouble to believe the good will and\nfatherly love of God even when he smites, is a point of no small\ndifficulty.--But, were we never to enjoy a season of prosperity,\nwhere would be the evidence of our humility, heavenly mindedness,\nand contempt of a present world? Variety adds a beauty and lustre\nto providence. In the day of prosperity therefore, we ought to\nrejoice with trembling, and in the day of adversity, to consider\nand faint not; for \u201cGod hath set one against the other, to the end\nthat no man might find any thing after him,\u201d Eccl. vii. 14.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhile in this valley of tears, it is not wonderful that believers\nshould be often called to weep. To mingle their tears with those of\ntheir brethren--or in the words of the apostle, to \u201cweep with those\nthat weep,\u201d--is a part of the holy fellowship they are called to by\nthe gospel.\n\nAt present, the way of providence in general is dark and\nmysterious. There is a depth in it, for which we have no line.\nThere are many seals on it, not fit as yet to be opened. But when\nthe Lamb who is in the midst of the throne, shall open the seals,\nand shew the meaning of all the dark passages in that mysterious\nbook, and every one is made to view that part of it that related\nto the way in which they were brought through manifold tribulations\nto the kingdom, when they will all strike up on the highest key,\nand sing \u201cHE HATH DONE ALL THINGS WELL!\u201d\n\nBelievers ought to comfort one another with these words. It is\nheartsome for travellers on the road in a dark night, and going\nto the same place, to speak to each other in the language of\nthe country to which they are going, and to say, \u201cWhat of the\nnight! what of the night!\u201d And to encourage one another, by often\nreiterating that animating reply, \u201cThe morning cometh.\u201d\n\nThe shadows of the evening are daily growing longer with all the\ntravellers to the heavenly Sion. But at evening time it shall\nbe light. The bright shining of the sun of Righteousness will\nmake even the passage through the dark valley of the shadow of\ndeath lightsome and pleasant. Faith can see eternal day at the\nfarther end of it. Jesus went through the Jordan of death when it\noverflowed all its banks, and was brimful of the curse. But his\ndeath drank up the curse, and left nothing but a blessing to all\nhis redeemed: and his sweet and cheering voice is still to be heard\nin the passage--\u201cFear not! I am He that liveth, and was dead; and\nbehold I am alive for evermore; and have the keys of hell and of\ndeath!\u201d\n\n\u201cIF THEIR UNCIRCUMCISED HEARTS,\u201d said the Lord respecting ancient\nIsrael, \u201cbe humbled, and they ACCEPT of the punishment of their\niniquity, then will I remember my covenant with Jacob,\u201d &c. Lev.\nxxvi. 41.--of the punishment of their iniquity! that is, bear it\nwillingly contentedly. It is a happy state of mind when our trials\nare ACCEPTED ones: when God\u2019s chastening hand is even esteemed a\nkindness.--Lord! may the believer say, I will not puzzle myself\nwith hows, and whys, and yets. THOU hast done it; I rest there.\nIt seemed good in thy sight that is a sufficient reason. Let God\nchoose my portion; I am sure it will be best in the end.--Even when\nHe acts as a Sovereign, he forgets not his relation as a father.\n\n\nSCRIPTURE PROMISES.\n\nPsalm 68--6. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow\nis God in his holy habitation.\n\nJeremiah 49--11. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve\nthem alive; and let thy widows trust in me.\n\nJob 5--17. Happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise\nnot thou the chastening of the Almighty. Verse 18. For he maketh\nsore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole.\n\nPsalm 119--67. Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have\nI kept thy word Verse 71. It is good for me, that I have been\nafflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. 75. I know, O Lord, thy\njudgements are right, and thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.\n\n2. Corinthians 4--16. For which cause we faint not; but though our\noutward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Verse\n17. For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for\nus a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.\n\nHebrews 21--6. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth\nevery son whom he receiveth. Verse 7. If ye endure chastening,\nGod dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the\nfather chasteneth not? 10. They verily, for a few days chastened us\nafter their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be\npartakers of his holiness. 11. Now no chastening for the present\nseemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it\nyieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, unto them which are\nexercised thereby.\n\nDeut. 8--5. As a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God\nchasteneth thee.\n\nJob 36--8. And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords\nof affliction. Verse 9. Then he sheweth them their work and their\ntransgressions, that they have exceeded. 10. He openeth also their\near to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.\n\nPsalm 94--12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord and\nteachest him out of thy law. Verse 13. That thou mayest give him\nrest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the\nwicked.\n\nRomans 5--3. We glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation\nworketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.\n\nJob 19--26. Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my\nflesh shall I see God. Verse 27. Whom I shall see for myself, and\nmine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins shall be\nconsumed within me.\n\nIsaiah 26--19. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body\nshall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for\nthy dew is as the dew of herbs: and the earth shall cast out the\ndead.\n\n\n\n\n  A\n\n  PRAYER BOOK\n\n  FOR\n\n  FAMILIES\n\n  AND PRIVATE PERSONS,\n\n  UPON VARIOUS SUBJECTS AND OCCASIONS\n\n  In which all the Prayers are so arranged, that when any one is\n  too long to be used without inconvenience, it may be shortened by\n  leaving out some of the paragraphs: and this may be done without\n  injury to the connection.\n\n  TO WHICH ARE ADDED,\n\n  GRACES FOR YOUNG PERSONS.\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nPRAYER-BOOK.\n\n  The following admonition read occasionally before Family-worship,\n  is very proper to produce seriousness of mind, and to keep up a\n  godly jealousy, lest hypocrisy and formality should render this\n  important duty of no use.\n\n\nMy Friends and Fellow-Christians,\n\nWe, dust and ashes, are assembled to speak unto the holy Lord God\nof heaven and earth, our Maker and our Judge, who deserves from us\nall possible reverence whenever we presume to call upon Him. We are\ngoing to pray to that God who strictly charges us to take heed that\nwe draw not nigh to him with our lips, whilst our hearts are far\nfrom him--to that God who is of purer eyes to regard our services\nwithout the meditation of the Holy One and the Just, who died for\nour sins, but hath promised to give us whatever we shall ask of him\nin his name, and to perform all our petitions.\n\nNow, therefore, let us lift up our hearts to him that he may fill\nus with reverence and godly fear, with sincerity and lowliness of\nmind, with lively faith in the blood and prevailing intercession\nof Jesus, and with assurance that we shall receive whatever we\nask according to his will. With these holy dispositions we should\nalways desire to bow down our knees before God.\n\n\nA FAMILY MORNING PRAYER.\n\nO Thou, Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and God of glory, who\nhast so loved the world as to give thy only-begotten Son, to\nthe end, that all who believe in him should not perish but have\neverlasting life, mercifully regard us merciful sinners. Thou seest\nhow slow of heart we are to believe the record thou hast given of\nthy Son. Though we read of his glory, how little does it affect us!\nThough he has a name which is above every name in heaven or earth,\nhow little affiance do we feel in him! or consolation from all that\nhe hath done and suffered!\n\nHave compassion upon us, O Lord, and help us. Give us what thou\nhast most graciously promised, the Spirit of truth to open our\nunderstanding, that we may understand the things which are spoken\nof thy Son in the scriptures. O give us the spirit of wisdom and\nrevelation in the knowledge of him; of his person and his office;\nof his love and power towards all that hear his voice and follow\nhim; that so we may abound in clear, magnificent, and endearing\nthoughts of Jesus Christ the Lord; that he may be no less precious\nto us than he was to the glorious company of the Apostles, and the\nnoble army of the martyrs. Thou, O God, hast declared that thy Son\nshall be exalted and extolled, and shall be very high. Help us,\nwe earnestly pray thee, to give him the honour day by day, more\nperfectly. Enable us to comprehend with all saints the immeasurable\nextent of his love; the breadth and length, the height and depth\nthereof.\n\nWe beg this of thee, O our God, in order that we may have our\naffections raised up to heaven, where Christ sitteth on thy right\nhand; that we may grow more dead to the world, and walk more\nbecoming our Christian character: that we may be enriched as much\nas possible with light and grace, joy and peace in this present\nlife; and to shew forth the praise of Him who hath called us out of\ndarkness into marvellous light.\n\nWe beseech thee, that the excellency of our knowledge of Christ\nmay be evidenced to others, by our adding day by day to our faith\na noble Christian courage, in defence of his truth, honour, and\ngovernment: by a constant victory over our corrupt affections;\nby a moderate use of all lawful comforts; by a meek and quiet\nspirit under all our trials, and by resignation to the will of our\nheavenly Father.\n\nGrant, O Lord, that our knowledge of the redemption that is in\nJesus may work effectually this day upon our hearts. Let the\nSaviour\u2019s love to us be the pattern of ours to all that are round\nabout us; let it make us zealous to embrace all opportunities\nof ministering to the happiness of one another. If we cannot\nassist the needy by our alms, or protect the oppressed by our\npower, O let us diligently exercise love, in abstaining from all\nuncharitableness of speech, from all forwardness and evil tempers:\nlet us look upon the failings of others with pity, as if they were\nour own: make us kind and tender hearted, forbearing and forgiving\nall, as thou, for Christ\u2019s sake, hast forgiven us. Banish from\nour dwelling all variance, whisperings, heart-burnings, and evil\nsurmisings. Let peace and gentleness, meekness and goodness, be\nexercised by all of us one towards another, and the only contention\nin our family be this, who shall conform most to the will of God,\nby abounding in brotherly kindness and fervent charity. Thou, O\nGod, that makest men to be of one mind that dwell together, inspire\nus with a spirit of concord, and harmonize all our naturally\nselfish tempers. O let this benefit at least be found from our\nfamily-devotion, that we may agree better together, and live more\nin peace and quietness, than those who call not upon thee; who lie\ndown and rise up like the herd of the stall, never saying, Where is\nGod the Maker!\n\nContinue, we beseech thee, if it seemeth good to thee, the voice of\nhealth and strength amongst us, and the favour of thy prosperous\nprovidence; but give us grace to expect and to be ready for a\nchange. And, as in a day, nay, in an hour, our prosperity may\nbe turned by thee into deep affliction, our health into pining\nsickness, our ease into tormenting pain, and our life into death.\nO Lord God, establish us in Christ Jesus, and give the earnest of\nthy spirit in our hearts, that, whatever we are called to suffer,\nwe may not be afraid with any amazement, but bear our cross\ncheerfully, to the edification of those around us.\n\nComfort and protect continually all our near relations and dear\nfriends. Sanctify to them their present circumstances whatever they\nare. May they mind the things of the Spirit, and never be deluded\nby things of time and sense. Be their guide through life, and at\ndeath give them admission into thy kingdom and glory.\n\nPromote, O God, the peace and welfare of this our country. Let\nthy servant, our most gracious King, be continually, guided by\nthy counsel, and reign over us in righteousness. May he and his\nMinisters with unwearied labour, seek to promote thy glory and his\npeople\u2019s good.\n\nFree and relieve all who are distressed or oppressed; regard their\nhearts, bear their sighs and make them to see their sin in their\nsuffering, to humble themselves under thy hand, and find that it is\ngood for them to be afflicted. Bless our enemies; do good to them\nwho hate us; and ever enable us to return good-will for evil.\n\nAccept our praises for our continued preservation by thy goodness,\nwho has first brought us into being; for sleep upon our beds, for\nthe return of the day after the shades of darkness, for the use\nof our reason, the comfort of this opportunity of worshipping\nthy name, and above all, for the light of life, the Son of\nRighteousness, Christ Jesus; for whom, with all that is within us,\nwe should bless thy name; in whom we command ourselves and our\nservices to thee; and to whom, with thyself and the Holy Ghost, one\nGod over all, be all honour and praise, love and obedience, for\nevermore.\n\nOur Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom\ncome. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this\nday our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive\nthem that trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but\ndeliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and\nthe glory, for ever and ever. Amen.\n\n\nA FAMILY EVENING PRAYER.\n\nBlessed and holy Lord God, who didst make all things by thy power,\nwho rulest all things by thy providence, and fillest all things by\nthy presence, we, thy unworthy creatures, beseech thee to fill our\nhearts with an awful sense of thee, and with humility, sincerity,\nand faith in Christ in our approaches to thee.\n\nWe thankfully acknowledge our absolute dependence upon thee;\nfor our lives, and all the comforts of them, we are indebted to\nthy bounty. Thy hands have fashioned us in the womb, brought us\ninto this world, and ever since we saw the light, filled us with\nvariety of good. We adore thy sparing mercy. Justly mightest thou\nhave brought upon us all the curses written in the book of thy\nlaw against thy transgressors: and had thy ways been as our ways,\nand thy thoughts like our thoughts towards our enemies, we had\nlong since been past the power of offering to thee our thanks and\npraise, beyond the benefit of prayer, or the hope of pardon.\n\nWe confess, O Lord, we have been transgressors of thy law, in\nthought, word, and deed. We are chargeable with the workings\nand defilements of pride and hypocrisy, of uncharitableness and\nsensuality of self-love, and worldliness of heart, notwithstanding\nall the methods thou hast taken to heal these diseases of our\nsouls. We have sinned against the clear revelation of thy will,\nand the strongest obligations binding us to comply with it. We\nhave sinned against thy most inviting promises, and thy most\ndreadful threatenings: against the frequent warnings of thy Word,\nthe renewed motions and powerful convictions of thy Spirit, and\nthe precious blood of Christ. We have sinned against the light of\nour understanding, against promises and purposes of obedience, and\nagainst the strongest remonstrances of our own conscienses.\n\nO God, we cannot recount the number of our sins, nor fully set in\norder all their aggravations. We should not therefore presume to\nask for thy pardoning mercy, if we do not trust that thy Spirit has\ncreated within us a holy mourning for all our wickedness, and for\nthat corruption of our nature, from whence as their fountain, all\nthese poisonous streams have flowed. O humble us effectually, and\nplace before us all the detestable qualities which meet together\nin every act of sin, that injustice and contempt towards thee,\nthat rebellion and ingratitude which prevail in it. And oh! most\nmerciful Father, speak peace to our souls, weary and heavy laden\nwith guilt, through the death and sufferings of thy dear Son, and\nfor the sake of his precious sacrifice, avert the punishment from\nus. Increase in us the faith whereby we only can be justified, and\nhave peace with thee, through our Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nAccompany thy pardoning mercy with thy purifying grace. Help us,\nO Father, thou God of all power and might, to put of the old\nman, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts, and to\nput on the new man which is created after thine own image, in\nrighteousness and true holiness. Give us a new heart and put\nwithin us a new spirit. O grant us a mind weaned from the pomps\nand pleasures, the profits and honours, and all the transitory\nenjoyments of the flesh; but hungering and thirsting after\nrighteousness. Prevent us by thy grace, that we may never more\ncommit sin with the deceitful hope of gaining advantage by it.\nImpress us continually with the conviction, that the gaining of the\nwhole world can be of no recompense for the loss of the soul.\n\nO let that solemn account we must ere long give, when the throne\nshall be set, the books be opened, and the dead, small, and great,\nstand before God, influence the whole course of our lives; O let\nus so believe and so obey, that when Christ shall come in the\nclouds with power and great glory, we may then cry out in holy\nraptures. Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will\nsave us! This is the Lord, we will be glad and rejoice in his\nsalvation!\n\nIn thy merciful protection, O God, we humbly commit ourselves, our\ndear friends and relations this night. The darkness is no darkness\nwith thee, but the night is as clear as the day. Defend, we beseech\nthee, our persons, our dwellings, and our possessions. Refresh us\nwith sweet sleep; and with the health and strength of our bodies,\nand the vigour of our minds, let us serve thee all our days, till\nthrough the gate of death we enter into that blessed kingdom, where\nthere is no night; where we all receive the end of our faith, even\nthe salvation of our souls, through Jesus Christ; in dependence\nupon whose righteousness and intercession we farther pray: Our\nFather, &c.\n\n\nFOR THE LORD\u2019S DAY MORNING.\n\nThanks be unto thee, O most merciful and gracious God, for having\ndevoted this day to thy service. Never can we sufficiently express\nthe obligations we owe thee for this stated season of rest from\nlabour; for this delightful opportunity afforded us of imitating\nthe heavenly host, whilst we assemble ourselves with one heart\nand voice to glorify thee, O God, our heavenly Father; and thee O\nChrist, our Advocate, Righteousness, and Life; and thee, O eternal\nSpirit, the Comforter and Sanctifier of the Church of God.\n\nWe praise thee, who instead of loathing our persons for our\nsinful pride and stubborn forgetfulness of thee, hast taken the\nmost effectual methods to teach us the knowledge and plant in us\nthe love of thy name. We praise thee that thou hast commanded\nus to make, on this day, public confession of our guilt, and of\nthy hatred of sin; of our disobedience and the riches of thy\nforbearance towards us; of our weakness, depravity, and need of\nthy perpetual grace to help us. We praise thee for commanding us\nto make public intercession for all sorts and conditions of men,\nin order that our hearts may be the more enlarged towards them,\nand our hands the more ready to minister to their necessities. We\npraise thee for this opportunity of hearing thy holy scripture,\nwhich is profitable for our reproof, for our correction, and for\nour instruction in righteousness.\n\nWe bless thee that we have our habitation fixed in the land of\nliberty, under the bright beams of thy glorious gospel; that we can\nworship thee according to our conscience, no one making us afraid;\nthat we are not required to pay adoration to those who by nature\nare not gods, nor compelled to bow down at the altar of idols. We\npraise thee that we are in health and strength to use the sacred\nopportunity of going with the multitude that keep thy holy day,\ninto the house where thou hast recorded thy name, and promised to\nmeet and bless us. How amiable are thy dwellings, O Lord of hosts;\none day employed in them is better than a thousand engrossed by the\nbusiness of the world.\n\nWe praise thee also for passing by all the provocations and insults\nwhich we have offered unto thee by abusing and profaning this holy\nday, by our detestable presumption in compassing thee about with\ndeceit and lies. O how often have we rushed into the courts of thy\nhouse without meditation, without prayer, without any desire to\nworship thee with an holy worship! how often have we dissembled and\npretend to give thee glory, when we were yet living in our sins,\nmaking thee angry with us every day, and casting thy law behind us!\n\nO, our God, let the time past suffice for us to have entered\ninto thy courts thoughtless and unhumbled, self-satisfied, and\nself-sufficient. Now teach us effectually to reverence thy\nsanctuary: make us feel awful conceptions of the God with whom we\nhave to do, and of the infinite importance of the holy exercises in\nwhich we are going to engage. Thou knowest our souls cleave to the\nvery dust of the ground. O send thy quickening Spirit to raise our\nthoughts and desires up to thee in every part of thy holy worship.\nShield us on every side from the flesh, the world, and the devil,\nthat they may have no power to fill us with sinful distractions,\nand make us absent in spirit while we are presenting our bodies in\nthy temple.\n\nWhile we confess our guilt, open thou our understanding, we\nbeseech thee, that we may understand all the aggravations of our\nwickedness. Call back to remembrance whatever at any time has made\nus appear most vile in our own eyes, that we may now feel a godly\nsorrow, and be really ashamed and confounded at the sight of our\niniquity.--Accompany, we beseech thee, the reading of thy most holy\nword with the power of thy own Spirit, that so the practice of thy\nsaints, and thy peculiar favour towards them, may stir us up to\nbe diligent followers of their examples: that we may receive the\nstrong consolation from thy promises, which in Christ Jesus are all\nsure and infallibly certain, and, by hearing the gospel proclaimed,\nattain to clearer views of thy great salvation. When we are\noffering up our intercession to thee, give us to feel tenderness of\nheart, melting pity towards all our fellow creatures in distress,\nand very fervently desire that thou wouldst immediately appear\nfor their relief. When we ask for mercy and forgiveness, strength\nand holiness of heart, may we ask with an earnestness suited to\nthe value of these gifts, and with a strong conviction of our\nunavoidable misery, if our suit is rejected.\n\nWhen we join in giving thanks unto thy name, O make all thy\ngoodness to pass before us. Excite in us such a lively remembrance\nof the multitude of thy mercies towards us, as shall fill our souls\nas it were with marrow and fatness, whilst our mouths are praising\nthee with joyful lips.--From the beginning to the conclusion of\nthe service of thy sanctuary, by the perpetual influence of thy\nfree Spirit, do thou uphold us, that we may be satisfied with\nthe pleasures of thy house, and offer to thee a pure offering in\nrighteousness.\n\nAnd, as thou, O Lord, hast ordained that the people should seek thy\nlaw at the mouth of thy ministers, do thou fill them with knowledge\nand sound doctrine; that they may preach not themselves, but Christ\nJesus, the Lord. Under their instructions delivered according to\nthy will, may our ignorance be dispelled, our slothful hearts\nquickened, our fears removed, our hope encouraged, and our souls\nestablished in grace.\n\nFinally, we beseech thee, O God, to incline our hearts to sanctify\nthis whole day. Make it our delight to employ our time in reading\nthy word, in meditation and privacy, not yielding to the sinfulness\nof our hearts, or the custom of the world, in speaking our own\nwords, in thinking our own thoughts, and finding our own pleasure\non thy holy day. And grant us grace so to use this day of rest\nand of public worship in this life that we may none of us fail of\nhaving a part in the everlasting adoration, praise, and love of thy\nname in the life to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n\nA FAMILY PRAYER ON THE EVENING OF THE LORD\u2019S DAY.\n\nO Lord, thou art great, wonderful, and holy. Thou art exalted far\nabove all blessing and praise which can ever be afforded to thee\nby the angels of light; yet such is thy condescending mercy, that\nthe door of thy house has been open this day to us, vile dust and\nmiserable sinners. We have been waiting on thee in the ordinances\nof thy own appointment; and as we implore the comfort and help of\nthy spirit before we present ourselves in thy courts, so now, as\nbecometh us in bounded duty, we desire to return thee our most\nhearty thanks and praise, if we have found any deliverance from the\nhardness, unbelief, distraction, and deceitfulness of our depraved\nhearts, whilst we were offering our vows unto thee.\n\nNot unto us, but to the influence of thy Spirit be the praise, if\nwe have confessed our sins this day with any self-loathing, and\nbeing melted into contrition for our offences; if the forbearance\nthou hast shown towards us, and thy tender pity in sparing us\nthough so richly deserving damnation, have been sensible to our\nhearts, whilst we were accusing ourselves before thee. We praise\nthee if we have sanctified this day, and our holy services in it,\nto the honour of our Lord Jesus Christ, by looking only to the\nvirtue of his atonement for the remission of our sins. We bless\nthee if we have found thy word sweet unto us, and the increasing\ndiscovery of thy love delightful to our hearts; if we have been\nfilled with faith, and experience in our hearts the Spirit of\nGrace, of prayer and supplication; so that instead of saying, When\nwill the Sabbath be gone, that we may buy and sell and get gain?\nwe have found the spiritual provisions of thy house a feast indeed\nto our souls. We thank thee if thy word preached hath searched us,\nmaking any hidden corruption; if it has been for our edification,\nexhortation, and comfort in Christ Jesus. We thank thee, if it has\nbeen a pleasant and joyful thing to us to be thankful, to speak\ngood of thy name, and to declare thy goodness towards the children\nof men.\n\nLord, increase and stir up within us evermore devote affections\nwhen we call upon thee: and in whatsoever we have displeased thee\nthis day, O do thou pardon us. Overlook what has been wanting,\nforgive what has been amiss, though we are too blind ourselves to\nperceive it. There is iniquity in our most holy offering. Purge\naway, we beseech thee, the defilement of them in the fountain\nopened for sin and for uncleanness. Accept our devotions at the\nhands of our faithful and merciful High-priest, and may our\nsacrifices be perfumed with the sweet incense of his merits.\n\nFor his sake fulfil all the requests we have this day made known\nunto thee. O give us strength and power to live more according\nto thy will, in all righteousness and holiness. Let the benefit\nand success of our public worship be manifested in our whole\ndeportment; and the influence of the good impressions made upon us\nin thy house, appear in our sincere love both to God and man, in\nour abhoring all that is evil, and cleaving to that which is good.\nLet every heavenly and Christian temper we have this day requested\nshine in our conversation, and our lives be a transcript of the\ngraces we ask in our prayers. May we return again to our respective\nemployments armed with the whole armour of God, and determined\nin nothing wilfully to offend thee. May thy praise and love, thy\npower and glory, and the mightiness of thy kingdom, be much in our\nthoughts, till at length we are brought to that everlasting sabbath\nwhere we shall no more need the use of these means; no more behold\nthee our God at a distance, and through ordinances darkly, but see\nthee face to face, and know thee even as we are known.\n\nWe desire now particularly to recommend to thy mercy all who are\nunited to us by the ties of kindred or special friendship. Let none\nof them slightly estimate this holy day, or blindly think it enough\nto be merely present at the assemblies of thy people. May they ever\nworship thee in spirit and truth, and esteem this day their delight.\n\nWe beg thy mercy upon all those nations which yet sit in darkness\nand the shadow of death, that the Sun of Righteousness may arise\nupon them to guide their feet into the way of peace. O hasten the\ntime, when all thou hast promised concerning the church in the last\ndays shall be accomplished; bring in the fulness of the Gentiles,\nand let all Israel be saved. Revive and cause to flourish in all\nplaces upon earth pure and undefiled religion. Let the power of\ngodliness prevail, and daily obtain victory over the formality and\nhypocrisy of mere nominal Christians.\n\nParticularly we recommend to thy protection and tenderest care, the\nkingdom in which we dwell. We entreat thee to direct, sanctify, and\ngovern the heart of our Sovereign Lord, the King. Prosper all his\ncounsels for the good of his subjects. May he live dear to thee,\nbeloved of his people, and receive at thy hands, after death,\na crown of glory. Bless the Royal Family, and all that are in\nauthority over us.\n\nTake us this night, O our God, under thy protection. Watch over\nus whilst we sleep; if we wake in the night season, may our\nmeditation of thee be sweet and our souls be glad in the Lord. If\nwe are spared to see the light of the returning day, may we rise\nfrom our beds to give all diligence to walk before thee to all\nwell-pleasing.--And whether we wake or sleep, live or die, may we\nbe the Lord\u2019s. To him, with thee, O Father, and the Holy Ghost,\nbe ascribed, as most due, everlasting praise, might, majesty, and\ndominion.\n\n\nA PRAYER TO BE USED WHEN ANY MEMBER OF THE FAMILY IS SICK.\n\n  Either entire as a Morning or evening Prayer for the Family or\n  occasionally with some of the Family, or in part, paragraphs,\n  selected from it being added to the usual family devotions.\n\nO thou infinitely great and glorious God, thou killest and makest\nalive. Thou woundest and thy hands make whole. Thou bringest down\nto the grave, and bringest back again. Thou dost according to thy\nwill in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the\nearth; and none can stay thine hand or say unto thee, What dost\nthou? yet righteous art thou in all thy ways, and holy in all thy\nworks. Even when thou afflictest, and causest trouble and heaviness\nto fall upon us, it is that we may learn righteousness from thy\njudgments, and receive profit from thy correction.\n\nWherefore, though thou hast not visited our house with sickness,\nand art calling us to humiliation for our sins, yet we would still\nspeak good of thy name, and love and bless thee. We desire at this\nseason to remember all the past mercies with which thou hast been\npleased to bless us and our household. God forbid that our present\ngrief should make us unmindful of the constant benefits we have\nenjoyed. How long has each of our family lain down and risen up,\ngone out and come in, in health, strength, and peace? How long\nhas the candle of the Lord shone upon us without intermission? For\nthese multiplied favours, blessed, O Lord, be thy good and holy\nname; since the smallest of benefits is more than we deserve, and\nthe sharpest affliction less.\n\nTo us, on account of transgressions, is most justly due,\nindignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. Wherefore then\nshould living men complain, men and transgressors, for the\npunishment of their sin? Shall we receive so much good at the\nhand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil? patiently and\ncontentedly receive evil also; this temper we know, O Lord, is our\nbounding duty; O form it in us. And as in great compassion to us,\nthou hast opened a way of relief for us under every trouble, by\ndirecting, commanding, and encouraging us in all our afflictions to\npour out our complaints unto thee, and tell thee of all we fear and\nfeel; to thee, O Father of mercies, do we make our supplications at\nthis time. O Lord be not far from us.\n\nIn entire submission to thy most wise and holy will, we do now most\nearnestly pray for that person whose sickness fills us with so much\nconcern. O look upon him (or her) in his low estate; suffer not we\nbeseech thee, his disorder to proceed, and let not his sickness be\nunto death, but be for the manifestation of thy grace towards us\nall. Thou knowest, Lord, his frame; lay no more upon him than thou\nwilt enable him to bear with patience and quietness of mind. And\nO, thou great Physician, without whom all others are of no value,\ndo thou direct to the most proper medecines, and bless the art of\nhealing to his body, and our great comfort. In thy due time restore\nthy servant to health and strength again, that he may have a longer\nday of grace and salvation, prove more useful, and do more good in\nhis generation.\n\nIn the meantime, however, thou shalt think fit to dispose of him, O\nsanctify unto him this affliction; work in him deep humiliation for\nhis sin; bless him with repentance unto life; enable him by faith\nto behold the Lamb of God, and to trust in the fountain opened in\nhis blood for the remission of sins, that, being justified through\nfaith, he may have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.\nMake all his bed in his sickness, and let patience have its perfect\nwork in his soul. Raise him up to praise thy name, to pay those\nvows he makes in trouble before the assembly of thy saints, and to\nwalk in newness of life. But if thou dost not see fit to spare thy\nservant, whom we are now remembering before thee, O prepare every\none of this family according to our several relations, for the\nawful stroke. With respect to himself, if the time of his departure\ndraweth nigh, O let his heart be comforted by the promises in\nChrist, and taste that thou art gracious unto him. May his soul be\nsafe and happy at the hour of death; and in the great day of the\nLord Jesus Christ may be found among those who died for him.\n\nAnd help us all, who are now in health, to improve this loud and\nsolemn call to prepare for our own sickness and disease. Let us not\nabuse our bodily strength to encourage ourselves in sinful security\nand impenitence. Grant that we may always be ready, by performing\nthe will of our Lord, that whensoever he shall come, we may be\nfound of him in peace and enter into his joy; that whenever our\nhealth is turned into sickness, and our strength into weakness, and\nour ease into sharp pain, we may not be cast down or perplexed, but\nfeel in our souls those supports and consolations, which the world\ncannot give, nor death itself take away.\n\nHear us, O Lord our God, in these our humble requests; forgive us\nour sins; and accept our persons and our services, through Jesus\nChrist our Lord. Amen.\n\n\nA THANKSGIVING FOR THE RECOVERY OF A SICK MEMBER.\n\nMost gracious and holy, good and merciful God! we have heard, we\nhave seen, we have experienced thy love. Blessed, for ever blessed\nbe thy name, that instead of being known to us by the judgments our\nsins have deserved, thou art manifested to us as the God willing\nto forgive all our iniquities. Thou hast delivered our eyes from\ntears, and our hearts from anguish. Thy servant, whom thou hast\nlately afflicted, is now a monument of thy sparing mercy. Thou hast\nchastised and corrected him, (_or her_) but thou hast not delivered\nhim over unto death. Thou hast turned our mourning into joy, and\nour fears into songs of praise.\n\nO may this thy servant have been spared in order to live hereafter\nto the glory of thy name.--We beseech thee, perfect all that\nconcerns his recovery; and grant that this gracious interposition\nmay properly effect both him and every one of us in this family.\nFrom henceforth may we all more entirely depend upon thee for the\ncontinuance and preservation of our dearest earthly comforts: may\nwe consider them as thy free gifts, O Lord, and know that they\nalone makest every earthly blessing be to us what it is.\n\nAnd give us grace so to use and enjoy all our temporal comforts, as\nthose who know that the fashion of this world passeth away. Grant\nwe may learn, from this late affliction in our family, to live more\nlike persons who are soon to be separated by death, and to give all\ndiligence to grow rich towards God, that we may be better prepared\nfor a breach in our family whenever it shall come. And whensoever,\nO God, thou shalt be pleased to call any of us away, though for a\nseason our family may thus be separated, may we all be united again\nin heaven, and be for ever with the Lord and with one another.\n\nThat we may none of us fall short of so glorious an end, O give\nus a clear knowledge of the excellency of our God, and a firmer\ndependence upon the word of thy grace. Grant us a strong love to\nthe Lord Jesus Christ, and a greater resemblance of him; that each\nof us in our particular station may be zealous for God, full of\nmercy and justice towards men, and possess every temper whereby God\ncan be glorified in us.\n\nFill our minds with a more cheerful and lively sense of our\nobligations to thee, especially for this late additional mercy:\nwrite it, we beseech thee, on our hearts, so that no temptation\nfrom without, or corruption from within, may make us ever act as if\nwe forgot it.\n\nAnd now, O Lord, we again present both ourselves and family, all\nwe have and all we are, a lively sacrifice unto thee for all our\nremaining days. Be with us when we are passing through the valley\nof the shadow of death; may we then fear no evil, nor have cause to\nfear any. Guard us through the gloomy passage, and bring us safe to\nthine eternal kingdom and glory. We humbly ask all these blessings,\nthough utterly unworthy ourselves of any notice, in the name of\nJesus Christ our Lord, who ever liveth to make intercession for us.\nAmen.\n\n\nFOR THE DUE DISCHARGE OF DOMESTIC DUTIES.\n\nO Lord and heavenly Father, who has commanded us concientiously to\ndischarge each duty we owe one to another, take away, we beseech\nthee, from us all stubbornness, pride, and self-conceit; all\nenvy, hatred, and ill-will, which would lead us to despise thy\ngracious restraints, and destroy that harmony which thou wouldest\nhave to reign in every family. From the least to the greatest\nmember of each house, give them grace to walk before thee unto all\nwell-pleasing.\n\nTeach and incline servants to do their work with singleness of eye,\nas unto Christ: to be ambitious of serving their masters with all\nfidelity, and of preventing all just cause of anger or rebuke from\nthem for obstinacy, sloth, or carelessness. Grant them wisdom to\nconsider their station not as any hardship, much less any disgrace\nto them, but as the post which thy fatherly love hath appointed\nthem to fill. Give them to understand, to their great peace and\nstrong consolation, that by doing their work from a principle\nof faith and love to Christ Jesus, they may stand as high in\nthy favour, and grow as rich towards God, as if their condition\nentitled them to all respect from the world. And may they never\nimagine they are religious and Christians altogether, any longer\nthan they abstain from all those frauds and deceits which they are\ntempted to use for filthy lucre\u2019s sake.\n\nBe merciful and gracious, O God, to all heads and governors of\nfamilies. Save them from haughtiness of carriage, from passionate\nreproaches, and every kindred unchristian treatment of their\ninferiors and dependents. O! convince the rich that it is not\ntheir merit, but thy providence alone that makes the difference of\nstation, and appoints the subordination: not that they should be\nas tyrants in their houses, and imperious to their servants, but\nthat they should add to the comfort of those who are under them.\nEnable them, therefore, carefully to avoid hurting those who labour\nfor them, by their forwardness and behaving towards them with such\nrudeness, as they would be ashamed to shew to any equal. Imprint\nupon their minds a lively remembrance that they have a master in\nheaven, who is no respecter of the persons of men, before whom\nboth masters and servants must give a strict and solemn account of\ntheir behaviour to each other. Inspire all who preside in families\nnot only with justice, but with mercy and piety towards their\nservants. Like the good centurion, whose praise is in the gospel,\nmay they sympathize with them in all their afflictions, be glad to\nalleviate their burden, when sickness and old age oppress them, and\nto sweeten the bitter cup that is appointed them to drink. Give\nthem grace to teach their servants the fear of the Lord by their\nown example, and to let their light so shine before them, that they\nmay be led to glorify God also, in whose hands is their breath, and\nwhose are all their ways.\n\nDispose, O Lord, the hearts of all parents to receive and obey the\ncommands addressed in a peculiar manner to them. Teach them always\nto regard their children as immortal souls intrusted to their care,\nand for whose nurture and admonition in the fear of the Lord they\nare strictly answerable; and may they esteem it their greatest\npleasure, and their highest honour, to be teaching their children\nthe sacred truth, when they sit with them in the house, and when\nthey walk by the way, when they lie down, and when they rise up.\nGive them to observe with hearts sensibly affected, the natural\ndepravity too apparent in every one of their offsprings, and to be\nsolicitous to bring them by early discipline and instruction to\nhim who alone can deliver from it. Make them vigilant to check the\nfirst sallies of their vile affections, to furnish them with the\nmeans of knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, and to\nhabituate them from their childhood to some profitable employment\nof their time, and their understanding, as they are able to bear\nit. Keep all parents from setting a bad example before the eyes\nof their children, and so teaching them an evil lesson against\nthemselves. And may they dread nothing more than the insupportable\ndoom of being condemned as accessaries to the damnation of their\nown children by their worldliness, sensuality and neglect of their\nsouls. And as thou knowest that no parents are of themselves\nsufficient to educate their children according to thy will, O! do\nthou fill them with wisdom and discretion. Guide them continually\nwith thine eye, between the extremes of shewing a false indulgence\nor an irksome severity to the fruit of their own bodies. Bless\naltogether the relation thou hast established between them, so that\nparents may have the joy of seeing their children growing up as\npleasant plants before thee, and children have reason to rise up\nand call their parents blessed, and to praise God for them in time\nand in eternity.\n\nAnd thou, O God, so influence and form the minds of all children,\nand turn their hearts towards their parents, that they may behave\ntowards them with all reverence, obedience and love; not stubborn\nwhen corrected for their faults, not heedless when instructed, not\nungrateful to forget how much they are bound to administer to the\ncomfort of their parents and to requit them.\n\nIn an especial manner we beg of thee, O God, that we of this\nfamily, who are now kneeling before thee may be forgiven for\nChrist\u2019s sake, all the instances of which we have been guilty, of\nirreverence, unkindness, and passion one towards another. Make us\nsensible of our transgressions, heartily sorry for them, and more\nvigilant for the future. O give unto us, and every family, more of\nthy grace and power, that we may be of one mind, who dwell together\nin one house on earth; that at the last day, when we appear to\ntake our trial at the bar of God, we may not be accusers of each\nother, for exercising any malevolence of temper, but witnesses of\nthe grace of our common Lord in making us dwell together in perfect\namity and Christian Love. Grant, O God, these our petitions, and\nlet us all perceive the accomplishment of them by the increase of\nharmony, peace, and love amongst ourselves. We ask it for the sake,\nand through the intercession of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.\nAmen.\n\n\nUPON THE OCCASION OF A DEATH OR FUNERAL.\n\nMay all the appointments of thy providence, O Lord, be profitable\nto the souls of thy people. Visit the members of this house of\nmourning with thy favour, and let them know and feel, that thou art\nan all-sufficient help, in time of trouble. Knowing that we have no\ncontinuance in this life, but pass our days, as a tale, which has\nbeen told, may we act a wise and a worthy part, that we may find\npeace to our souls, in every time of review, and have good hopes in\nthe prospect of the world to come.\n\nBe as a Father to the fatherless, the protector of the widow, and\nthe orphan\u2019s stay. Bless those who are intimately, and feelingly\nconnected, with the present dispensation of thy providence,\nand according to the circumstances of their lot, grant them\nconsolation. As the depth and the length of their sorrows have\nbeen, so do thou comfort them and wipe away their tears. By the\nsadness of the countenance may the affections become better, and\nthe conduct improved, that the heart may be spiritually glad. Give\nthem an interest in the blessings of redeeming love, and let the\nassurance of everlasting life pour joy into their afflicted souls.\nForgive, O Lord, the manifold transgressions of those who mourn,\nand the multiplied sins of all thy children, and accept of us, and\nthy penitent people every where, according to thy mercies in Christ\nour Lord and Saviour.\n\n\nFOR A SICK CHILD.\n\nAlmighty and most merciful Father, have compassion upon us\nin the day of trouble, and let this child live, by whose\nafflictions we are afflicted. Suffer not the hope of thy servants\nto be disappointed, but if death be in the cup, sanctify the\ndispensation, comfort the mourner, and receive the departing\nspirit into the fellowship of the saints on high. If life shall be\nprolonged, let gratitude prevail in the hearts of those, who are\nnearly connected, and let all diligence be given to train up the\nchild, in the paths of wisdom and piety, and may every endeavour to\npromote a virtuous and holy life be successful, through Christ our\nLord.\n\n\nTHE LORD\u2019S PRAYER.\n\nOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom\ncome, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day\nby day our daily bread; forgive us our tresspasses, as we forgive\nthose who have trespassed against us; and lead us not into\ntemptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom and\nthe power and the glory for ever. Amen.\n\n\nGRACES FOR YOUNG PERSONS.\n\n  If said by an Individual, the Singular must be used instead of\n  the Plural.\n\n\nBEFORE MEAT.\n\nThe eyes of all things wait upon thee, O Lord, and thou givest them\ntheir food in due season. Enable us to receive all thy blessings\nwith becoming affections of mind; and sanctify the present instance\nof thy bounty through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n\nOR THUS:\n\nThy mercies, O Lord, are renewed unto us day by day, though by our\nsinfulness and disobedience, we are unworthy of thy favour. But do\nthou forgive our manifold transgressions, sanctify us in all our\nundertakings, and bless the offered mercies, through Christ our\nLord and Saviour. Amen.\n\n\nAFTER MEAT.\n\nWe thank thee, O Lord, for the continued bounty of thy providence,\nand while our bodies are strengthened by their daily food, cherish\nour souls by thy heavenly grace. Forgive, we beseech thee, our\nnumerous sins, and accept of our acknowledgments for this and every\ninstance of thy goodness, through Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\nOR THUS:\n\nWe give thee praise, O Lord, for all the blessings of this life,\nand for the hopes of future glory. Accept of our thanks for every\nmercy we receive, and to thy name, through Christ the Lord, be\nascribed the praise, now and for ever. Amen.\n\n\n[Illustration: FINIS.]\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  NEW PICTORIAL\n\n  BIBLE.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  1     _The Creation of Light._\n\nGEN. i. 1-3.\n\nIn the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the\nearth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of\nthe deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.\nAnd God said, let there be light: and there was light.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  2      _The Division of the Waters._\n\nGEN. i. 6, 7.\n\nAnd God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,\nand let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the\nfirmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament\nfrom the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  3    _Woman formed._\n\nGEN. ii. 22, 23, 25.\n\nAnd the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a\nwoman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now\nbone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman,\nbecause she was taken out of man. And they were both naked, the man\nand his wife, and were not ashamed.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  4      _Adam naming the creatures._\n\nGEN. ii. 19, 20.\n\nAnd out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field,\nand every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam, to see\nwhat he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living\ncreature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all\ncattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the\nfield.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  5        _The serpent deceiveth Eve._\n\nGEN. iii. 4, 6.\n\nAnd the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. And\nwhen the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was\npleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,\nshe took of the fruit thereof and did eat; and gave also unto her\nhusband with her, and he did eat.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  6      _Adam and Eve driven from the garden._\n\nGEN. iii. 23, 24.\n\nTherefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to\ntill the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man:\nand he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a\nflaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree\nof life.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  7      _Noah entering the ark._\n\nGEN. vii. 7-10.\n\nAnd Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons\u2019 wives\nwith him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of\nclean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and\nof every thing that creepeth upon the earth. There went in two and\ntwo unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had\ncommanded Noah.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  8      _Babel built._\n\nGEN. xi. 4, 8.\n\nAnd they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower whose\ntop may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be\nscattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. So the Lord\nscattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth:\nand they left off to build the city.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  9      _Lot and his Daughters leave Sodom._\n\nGEN. xix. 15, 30.\n\nAnd when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot saying,\nArise, take thy wife and thy two daughters, which are here, lest\nthou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And Lot went up out\nof Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him;\nfor he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his\ntwo daughters.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  10      _Abraham offereth Isaac._\n\nGEN. xxii. 10-12.\n\nAnd Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay\nhis son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven,\nand said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he said,\nLay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him;\nfor now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld\nthy son, thine only son from me.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  11      _Joseph is cast into the pit._\n\nGEN. xxxvii. 23, 24.\n\nAnd it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that\nthey stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours,\nthat was on him. And they took him, and cast him into a pit; and\nthe pit was empty, and there was no water to it.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  12      _Joseph tempted by Potaphar\u2019s Wife._\n\nGEN. xxxix. 7, 10, 12.\n\nAnd it came to pass after these things, that his master\u2019s wife cast\nher eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. And it came to\npass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto\nher, to lie with her, or to be with her. And she caught him by his\ngarment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand,\nand fled, and got him out.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  13      _The finding of Moses._\n\nEXOD. ii. 5, 6.\n\nAnd the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river;\nand her maidens walked along by the river\u2019s side: and when she\nsaw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And\nwhen she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe\nwept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the\nHebrew\u2019s children.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  14      _Moses smiteth the rock._\n\nEXOD. xvii. 5, 6.\n\nAnd the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take\nwith thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou\nsmotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand\nbefore thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the\nrock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may\ndrink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  15      _Moses receiveth the Tables._\n\nEXOD. xxxiv. 1, 4.\n\nAnd the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like\nunto the first; and I will write upon these tables the words that\nwere in the first tables, which thou brakest. And he hewed two\ntables of stone, like unto the first: and Moses rose up early\nin the morning, and went up into Mount Sinai, as the Lord had\ncommanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  16      _Jericho compassed._\n\nJOSH. vi. 12, 13.\n\nAnd Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the\nark of the Lord. And seven priests, bearing seven trumpets of rams\u2019\nhorns before the ark of the Lord, went on continually, and blew\nwith the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the\nreward came after the ark of the Lord, the priests going on, and\nblowing with the trumpets.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  17      _The sun and moon stand still._\n\nJOSH. x. 12, 13.\n\nThen spake Joshua to the Lord, in the day when the Lord delivered\nup the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the\nsight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon,\nin the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon\nstayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  18      _Samson\u2019s Death._\n\nJUDGES xvi. 29, 30.\n\nAnd Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house\nstood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right\nhand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die\nwith the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and\nthe house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were\nwithin.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  19      _David Killeth Goliath._\n\n1 SAM. xvii. 49, 51.\n\nAnd David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and\nslung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone\nsunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.\nTherefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his\nsword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut\noff his head therewith.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  20      _Absalom caught up in the oak._\n\n2 SAM. xviii. 9.\n\nAnd Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick\nboughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he\nwas taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that\nwas under him went away.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  21      _Solomon\u2019s Judgement._\n\n1 KINGS iii. 25, 26.\n\nAnd the King said, Divide the living child in two, and give half\nto the one, and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the\nliving child was unto the king, (for her bowels yearned upon her\nson,) and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no\nwise slay it: but the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine,\nbut divide it.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  22      _Solomon\u2019s Temple._\n\n1 KINGS vi. 2, 3.\n\nAnd the house which king Solomon built for the Lord, the length\nthereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty\ncubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. And the porch before\nthe temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof,\naccording to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the\nbreadth thereof before the house.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  23      _Elijah fed by ravens._\n\n1 KINGS xvii. 3, 4, 6.\n\nGet thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the\nbrook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou\nshalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed\nthee there. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the\nmorning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the\nbrook.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  24       _The Assyrians Overthrown._\n\n1 KINGS xx. 20, 21.\n\nAnd they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled, and Israel\npursued them; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse\nwith the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, and smote the\nhorses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  25      _Elijah is taken up into heaven._\n\n2 KINGS ii. 11, 12.\n\nAnd it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that behold\nthere appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted\nthem both assunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.\nAnd Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father! the chariot\nof Israel, and the horsemen thereof.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  26      _Jezebel eaten by dogs._\n\n2 KINGS ix. 35, 36.\n\nAnd they went to bury Jezebel; but they found no more of her than\nthe scull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore they\ncame again, and told him; and he said, This is the word of the\nLord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In\nthe portion of Jezreel shall dogs, eat the flesh of Jezebel.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  27      _Belshazzar\u2019s Feast._\n\nDAN. v. 3-5.\n\nThe king and his princes, his wives and his concubines, drank wine,\nand praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of\nwood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man\u2019s\nhand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of\nthe wall of the king\u2019s palace; and the king saw the part of a hand\nthat wrote.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  28      _Daniel cast into the den of lions._\n\nDAN. vi. 21, 22, 23.\n\nThen said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath\nsent his angel, and hath shut the lions\u2019 mouths, that they have not\nhurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and\nalso before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king\nexceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel\nup out of the den.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  29      _Jonah is swallowed by a fish._\n\nJONAH i. 17. ii. 10.\n\nNow the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And\nJonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. And\nthe Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry\nland.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  30      _The Salutation._\n\nLUKE i. 30, 31, 32.\n\nAnd the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found\nfavour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,\nand bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be\ngreat, and shall be called the son of the Highest: and the Lord God\nshall give unto him the throne of his father David.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  31      _Wise men enquire after Christ._\n\nMATT. ii. 11, 12.\n\nAnd when they were come into the house, they saw the young child\nwith Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him: and when\nthey had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;\ngold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a\ndream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into\ntheir own country another way.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  32      _The baptism of Jesus._\n\nLUKE iii. 21, 22.\n\nNow when all the people were baptised, it came to pass, that Jesus\nalso being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the\nHoly Ghost descended in a bodily shape, like a dove, upon him; and\na voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in\nthee I am well pleased.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  33      _John Baptist Beheaded._\n\nMATT. xiv. 6, 7, 8.\n\nBut when Herod\u2019s birth-day was kept, the daughter of Herodias\ndanced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with\nan oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before\ninstructed of her mother, said, Give me John Baptist\u2019s head in a\ncharger.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  34      _The Good Samaritan._\n\nLUKE x. 33, 34.\n\nA certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when\nhe saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up\nhis wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast,\nand brought him to an inn, and took care of him.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  35      _Christ\u2019s sermon on the mount._\n\nMATT. v. 1, 2, 3, 4.\n\nAnd seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he\nwas set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and\ntaught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is\nthe kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall\nbe comforted, &c. &c.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  36      _The Tempest_\n\nMARK iv. 37, 38, 39.\n\nAnd there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the\nship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the\nship, asleep on a pillow; and they awake him, and say unto him,\nMaster, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked\nthe wind, and he said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind\nceased, and there was a great calm.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  37      _Christ healeth a bloody issue._\n\nLUKE viii. 47, 48.\n\nAnd when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling,\nand, falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the\npeople for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed\nimmediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort:\nthy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  38      _The prodigal son._\n\nLUKE xv. 21, 22, 23.\n\nAnd the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven,\nand in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But\nthe father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put\nit on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And\nbring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be\nmerry.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  39       _The Parable of Lazarus_\n\nLUKE xvi. 20, 21, 22.\n\nAnd there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his\ngate, full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which\nfell from the rich man\u2019s table: moreover, the dogs came and licked\nhis sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was\ncarried by the angels into Abraham\u2019s bosom.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  40      _The Last Supper._\n\nMATT. xxvi. 26, 27, 28.\n\nAnd as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and\nbrake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this\nis my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to\nthem saying, Drink ye all of it: For this is my blood of the New\nTestament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  41      _Jesus is accused before Pilate._\n\nLUKE xxiii. 1, 2, 3.\n\nAnd the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And\nthey began to accuse him, saying, We found this follow perverting\nthe nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cesar, saying that he\nhimself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou\nthe King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  42      _The Crucifixion._\n\nMARK xv. 24, 25, 26, 27.\n\nAnd when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting\nlots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third\nhour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his\naccusation was written over, The King of the Jews. And with him\nthey crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other\non his left.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  43      _The Ascension._\n\nLUKE xxiv. 50, 51, 52.\n\nAnd he led them out as far as to Bethany; and he lifted up his\nhands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed\nthem, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they\nworshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  44      _The Apostles speak divers languages._\n\nACTS ii. 2, 3, 4.\n\nAnd suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty\nwind, and it filled all the house, where they were sitting. And\nthere appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it\nsat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy\nGhost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave\nthem utterance.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  45      _Saul called to the Apostleship._\n\nACTS ix. 3, 4, 5.\n\nAnd as he journeyed, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there\nshined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to\nthe earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why\npersecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord\nsaid, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to\nkick against the pricks.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n  46      _The Last Day._\n\nMATT. xxv. 31, 32, 33.\n\nWhen the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy\nangels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:\nAnd before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate\nthem one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the\ngoats: And he shall put the sheep on his right hand, and the goats\non his left.\n\n\n\n\n  THE HISTORY\n\n  OF\n\n  ABRAHAM, ISAAC, & JACOB,\n\n  EMBELLISHED WITH CUTS;\n\n  TO WHICH IS ADDED\n\n  AN ACCOUNT OF JONAH\u2019S MISSION\n\n  TO THE\n\n  NINEVITES.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nSarah promised a Son.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nHagar being returned to Abram\u2019s house, soon bore a son, who was\ncalled Ishmael. Thirteen years after, God appeared to Abraham to\nrenew his covenant, and instituted circumcision as a token of the\ncovenant, and promised him a son who should be the father of many\nkings. Abraham laughed to think that Sarah, ninety years old,\nshould bear. A while after, as Abraham was sitting in the tent door\nhe saw three men coming, and as his charity suffered none to pass\nwithout a refreshment, he ran to meet them. After they had eaten,\nthey asked for Sarah, when the men, (who were angels) assured him\nthat she would bear a son. Sarah overheard what was said, and\nlaughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have\npleasure--my Lord being old also. The angels reproved Sarah for\nlaughing, which she denied: they stated nothing was too hard for\nthe Lord. They then rose up, and Abraham with them went on their\nway.\n\n\nLot entertains two Angels at Sodom.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAfter God\u2019s promise to Abraham, that Sarah would shortly bear him\na son, he was warned that Sodom was to be destroyed. Lot, seeing\ntwo angels coming to Sodom, ran to meet them, and entreated them\nto lodge with him. The angels at first refused, but Lot earnestly\npressed them to come in. The men of Sodom surrounded the house,\nand demanded of Lot to deliver up the men, that they might satisfy\ntheir lust with them. He resisted them with all his powers, but\nstill they insisted. Lot, pierced with sorrow, was on the point of\ndelivering them up, had not the angels put forth their hand, and\npulled him in; and having shut the door, they smote the men that\nwere without with blindness: yet with all this it reclaimed not\ntheir fury; for they still sought to satisfy themselves, and they\nlaboured hard to find the door to effect their purpose.\n\n\nLot and his Two Daughters.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe angel having warned Lot of his danger of remaining among the\nSodomites, hastened him to depart from the city with his wife and\ntwo daughters, that they might not be consumed. They laid hold of\nhim by the hand, ordering him to escape, and not to look behind\nhim. Lot requested leave of the angels to retire to Zoar; and he\nhad no sooner entered Zoar, than the Lord rained fire and brimstone\non Sodom and Gomorrah from heaven. Lot\u2019s wife, alarmed at a sudden\nnoise, looking back, became a pillar of salt. Lot, affrighted, went\nup and dwelt in a mountain, his two daughters imagining that they\nand their father were the only remains of the inhabitants of the\nearth, thought it their duty not to suffer the generation of men to\nperish, made their father drink wine, and did not stop to commit\nincest in hopes of being mothers; and though we cannot think on\nthat action without horror, yet their innocence did much lessen the\nguilt of it.\n\n\nAbimelech afflicted by God.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAbraham being obliged, soon after the overthrow of Sodom, to quit\nhis former abode, came to Gerar, where he was exposed to some\ndanger by the king of that city, on account of his wife, as he\nhad been by the king of Egypt. Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and\ntook Sarah, who called herself Abraham\u2019s sister, as she had done\nin Egypt. But God, who was the protector of Sarah\u2019s chastity,\nthreatened that prince in the night-time, telling him he was a\ndead man if he offered to touch Sarah, for she was Abraham\u2019s wife.\nAbimelech was horror-struck at having nearly committed so great a\ncrime, and terrified by the threats of God, called all his officers\nand servants together, as also Abraham, and reproved him sharply\nfor concealing the truth, to make him and his kingdom guilty of so\ngreat a sin. Abraham replied, that they were both of one father but\ndifferent mothers.\n\n\nHagar and Ishmael cast out.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nGod fulfilled his promise to Sarah, and she brought forth a son\nin her old age. Abraham called him Isaac, and circumcised him the\neight day. Sarah suckled him herself, though a great princess;\nand when the time of weaning Isaac was come, Abraham made a great\nfeast to express his joy. In the mean time, while Sarah had so\nmuch reason to rejoice, Hagar\u2019s son became cause of great trouble\nto her. This lad, disappointed in his hopes by the birth of Isaac,\ncould not endure to see his father and mother delight so much in\nhim, and began to behave himself abusively towards him. Sarah\nforesaw the fatal consequences of this hatred, and entreated\nAbraham to cast out the bond-woman and her son. This request\ngreatly afflicted Abraham, but God advised him to do as Sarah had\nsaid. They were forthwith cast out; but an angel appeared and spoke\ncomfortably to them in the wilderness, assuring her, her son would\nbe the father of a great nation.\n\n\nAbraham offereth up Isaac.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIsaac being now arrived at the age of twenty-seven, God, to try\nAbraham, commands him to take his son, whom he loved, and offer him\nup upon a mountain. He remembered he had received his son from God,\nand his great faith stifled all the thoughts which did arise in him\nabout the divine promises so often repeated to him, that from the\nvery Isaac whom he was now about to offer, his posterity should be\nmultiplied as the stars of heaven. Accordingly he rises early in\nthe morning, and takes Isaac his son, and two servants, cleaves\nthe wood for the burnt-offering, and binding Isaac his son, laid\nhim on the altar, and stretching forth his hand, took the knife to\nslay him. God, seeing constancy in the father, stops his hand by\nan angel from heaven. Hereupon Abraham, seeing a ram caught in a\nthicket by the horns, offered him up to God instead of his son, and\nreturned to his house.\n\n\nThe Death and Burial of Sarah.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nIsaac being restored to his parents by the command of him who\nfirst bestowed him, he was the comfort of his mother in her old\nage, who, being arrived at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven\nyears, died. Abraham having wept over her some time, considers\nof providing a burying place for her. He addresses the children\nof Heth, stating he was a stranger, and that he wished a burying\nplace to bury the dead, out of his sight, which was kindly granted,\nrequesting him to take choice of all their sepulchres. Abraham,\nwho would not be beholden to any man, entreated them to sell him a\nfield which had a double cave, but they wanted him to accept of it\nas a free gift, but Abraham was immoveable, and forced Ephron to\ntell him that the field was worth four hundred shekels of silver,\nwhich Abraham paid down, and there he buried Sarah.\n\n\nIsaac\u2019s Marriage with Rebekah.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAbraham being old, and thinking to take a wife for his son Isaac,\nresolves not to allow him to marry any of the daughters of the\nCanaanites; but despatches Eliezer his steward to Mesopotamia to\ntake a wife for his son. Being come near the city of Nahor, he\nprayed that God would direct him to the person he had allotted\nto be his master\u2019s son\u2019s wife, by this token, that the damsel he\nshould ask to draw water for himself and his camels, should do it\nfrankly. Rebekah came, and Eliezer ran to meet her, and desired\nwater to drink, which she readily gave him, and hasted to draw\nfor his camels. This faithful servant, satisfied that she was the\nperson, presents her with many presents, when she ran home to her\nbrother, who instantly ran to meet Abraham\u2019s servant, brought him\nhome, and set down meat before him but would eat none till he got\nan answer to his business. A favourable answer being given, he\nprepared to return home.\n\n\nEsau sells his Birthright to Jacob.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nAfter the happy consummating of Isaac\u2019s marriage with Rebekah,\nAbraham lived many years, till at length transported to that better\nand heavenly country; having spent one hundred and seventy-five\nyears in the exercise of holy virtues and graces. God, after his\ndeath, multiplied his blessings on Isaac his son. But they had been\ntwenty years married without having any children, when Isaac prayed\nthe Lord for his wife\u2019s sake for children, and he was heard, and\nRebekah was delivered of male twins. The Divine oracle stated that\nthe elder should serve the younger. When these two children were\ngrown up, Jacob, the youngest, on a time sold lentil pottage, and\nEsau, returning from hunting, extremely hungry, with greediness\ndesired this pottage; which Jacob perceiving, would not part with\nit till he had promised to sell him his birthright in consideration\nthereof, to which Esau agreed.\n\n\nIsaac blesseth Jacob instead of Esau.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nEsau having sold Jacob his birthright, Rebekah, who had a tender\nlove for Jacob, ratified the right by a holy piece of craft. Isaac\nbeing sensible of his great age, and willing to bless his children\nere he died, called Esau his eldest, whom he loved, to him, to\nhunt some venison, and make savoury meat that he might bless him.\nRebekah told Jacob to fetch two kids, that she might make savoury\nmeat to Isaac. She then dressed Jacob in Esau\u2019s dress and put the\nskins of the kids upon his hands and smooth of his neck, that his\nfather might suppose him to be Esau, which had the desired effect;\nfor he received his father\u2019s blessing by this deception. Scarcely\nhad he made an end of blessing Jacob, when Esau came in from\nhunting, prepares his savoury meat, brings it to his father, and\ndesires him to eat that he might bless him. The holy patriarch,\nperceiving the deception, trembled, and Esau cryed bitterly. Isaac,\nmoved with his cries, blesseth him also, but subjects him to Jacob.\n\n\nJacob\u2019s Mystical Ladder.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe anger of Esau against Jacob was too visible to be hid from\nRebekah; and the tender love she had for Jacob caused her to send\nhim away for a time, though grieved to let him out of her sight. To\nreconcile her husband Isaac to it, she spoke of his marriage--how\ngrieving it would be if her son Jacob would marry any of the\ndaughters of the land of Canaan, as Esau had done against their\nwish. Jacob was sent away, more like a fugitive than the son of\na rich person. Being overtaken by night, he was obliged to take\nup his lodgings upon the earth, with no softer pillow than stone.\nHere he dreamed that he saw a ladder, the top of which reached to\nheaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it.\nHe was the Lord above it, who encouraged him to proceed on his\njourney, and promised that his seed should be as the dew of the\nearth, as in him should all nations of the earth be blessed.\n\n\nJacob serveth for Rachel and Leah.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nJacob assured by the vision of the Divine protection, went\ncheerfully on his way to Haran, and meeting some shepherds near\na well, which had a great stone at the mouth thereof, asked them\nwhither they knew one Laban, a grandchild of Nahor. They answered,\nyes; and that Rachel his daughter was coming thither with his\nsheep. Jacob no sooner saw her, then he went and rolled the stone\nfrom the mouth of the well, watered his sheep, kissed her, and\nmade himself known to her. She ran with the tidings to her father,\nwho came forth, kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob\ntold him of his brother\u2019s fury, stating that he wished to serve\nhim; to which Laban agreed, that Jacob should serve him seven\nyears for Rachel, which term he finished; but Leah was falsely put\ninto Jacob\u2019s bed, which displeased Jacob; but Laban appeased him\nby promising him Rachel at the end of other seven, which he also\ncompleted.\n\n\nJacob\u2019s return to his birth-place.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe blessings that God so plentifully showered down upon Jacob\nexcited Laban\u2019s envy, so that he perceived it prudent to leave\nMesopotamia. For this purpose he calls his two wives, and tells\nthem of his design, which they approving of, he went off privately,\ntaking family and possessions. Laban, informed of their sudden\ndeparture, and missing some of his idols, pursues them seven days.\nAs soon as he overtook them, he reproached Jacob for stealing his\ndaughters; and however right it might be to return to his country;\nit was very unjust to steal the idols. Jacob declared his ignorance\nof any such thing, whereupon Laban examined his whole effects, and\nat last enters Rachel\u2019s tent; but before his coming she hid them in\nthe camel\u2019s furniture, and sat upon them; and desired her father\nnot to take it ill that she did not rise, as she was unwell. Laban,\nforced to return without them, made a covenant with Jacob, after\nwhich they lovingly took leave of each other.\n\n\nJacob wrestleth with an Angel.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nJacob having thus escaped the hands of Laban, began to think how\nhe might escape those of Esau, whereupon he sent messengers before\nhim that he might find grace in his sight. Upon their return they\ndeclared that he was at the head of four hundred men coming to\nmeet Jacob, which filled him with extreme fear. Jacob, to soften\nhis brother\u2019s heart, prepared great presents to him, left orders\nfor his wives and children to pass over the brook Jabbok by night,\nwhile he remained on the other side. He betakes himself to prayer\nfor a happy meeting with his brother, when an angel appeared unto\nhim, and wrestled with him until day, when the angel touched the\nhollow of his thigh, and caused him to halt, and gave him the new\nname of Israel, with the assurance that he had nothing to fear from\nmen, and in particular from his brother Esau.\n\n\nJacob\u2019s sons kill all the people of Shechem.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWhen Jacob was returned from Mesopotamia, a city of the\nShechemites, an accident happened which caused him a great deal of\nsorrow. Dinah being gone abroad to see the daughters of the land,\ntheir king took her by force, and ravished her; but desired to get\nher to wife. Jacob was grieved at his daughter\u2019s defilement; and\nhis sons, dissembling their rage, requested the Shechemites to be\ncircumcised, that the mutual intercourse they proposed should take\nplace. They consented; and on the third day, when their pain was\nmost sensible, Simeon and Levi took their swords, and came upon\nthem, and slew all the males, without sparing the king himself or\nhis son, whose unlawful lust caused this bloodshed. The rest of\nJacob\u2019s sons pillaged the city, and carried all the spoil along\nwith them, taking all their little ones and their wives captives.\nJacob was extremely troubled at this, their revenge.\n\n\nAN ACCOUNT OF JONAH\u2019S MISSION\n\nTO THE\n\nNINEVITES.\n\nJonah was the son of Amittai, a prophet of Gath-hepher in Galilee.\nSome Jews would have him to be the son of the widow of Sarepta,\nraised to life by Elijah, but the distance of time renders it\nalmost impossible; nor is it a whit more certain that he was the\nson of the Shunamite restored to life by Elisha, or the young\nprophet who anointed Jehu.\n\nIt is certain, that he predicted that God would restore to the\nHebrews, the cities which the Syrians had taken from them during\nthe reigns of Ahab, Jehoram, Jehu, and Jehoahaz, 2 Kings, xiv. 25.\nHe restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto\nthe sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of\nIsrael, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son\nof Amittai the prophet which was of Gath-hepher. We have also the\nbook of Jonah, where God ordered him to go to Nineveh and warn the\ninhabitants of their approaching destruction.\n\nNineveh was the capital of Assyria, and built by Asshur the son\nof Shem; Genesis, x. 11, \u201cOut of that land went forth Asshur, and\nbuilded Nineveh.\u201d It was one of the largest cities in the world. In\nJonah\u2019s time it was a city of three day\u2019s journey, or would require\nhim three days to go through it, proclaiming its overthrow. It then\nhad about one hundred and twenty thousand infants in it, whom we\ncannot suppose above the eighth or tenth part of its inhabitants:\none learned writer says it was sixty miles in circumference; and\nanother writer says it was larger than Babylon. It was surrounded\nby a wall about two hundred feet high, and so thick, that three\nchariots abreast might have been driven along the top: on the wall\nwere built one thousand five hundred towers, each two hundred feet\nhigher than the wall; this city was very early noted for wealth,\nidolatry, and whoredom.\n\nFearing that the Lord might forbear punishing them if they\nrepented, and so seemingly tarnish his honour, Jonah shipped\nhimself at Joppa for Tarshish, when a storm quickly pursued the\nship wherein he was. The heathen mariners awaked him, and required\nhim to call on his God for deliverance. Lots being cast to discern\nfor whose sake the storm arose, the lot fell on Jonah, who with\nshame confessed his guilt to the mariners, and desired them to\ncast him into the sea, that the storm might be stayed, which with\nreluctance, they were at last obliged to do; whereon the storm\nimmediately ceased. A large fish swallowed up Jonah, and retained\nhim safe in her belly for three days. There he earnestly prayed to\nthe Lord, at whose command the fish vomited him alive on dry land.\nHis orders to warn the Ninevites of their approaching destruction\nwere immediately renewed, and all obedient, he hasted to that\nvast city, and travelled in it above a day\u2019s journey denouncing\ntheir ruin if they did not repent within forty days. When the\ninhabitants heard this, they were greatly afflicted; a fast of\nthree days both for man and beast was appointed, and they cried\nmightily to God for the preventing of this stroke; he heard their\nprayers, and long delayed their ruin. Displeased with the divine\nmercy, Jonah angrily wished to die, rather than live and see his\nprediction unfulfilled. While he sat without the city, waiting for\nhis desired view of Nineveh\u2019s ruin, God caused a gourd quickly to\nspring up to overshadow him from the scorching heat of the sun, but\nnext day, a worm having bitten its root, it suddenly withered. The\nscorching sun and blasting wind vehemently beating on Jonah, he\nfainted and angrily wished to die, and averred to God himself that\nhe was right in doing so. The Lord bid him think, if he had pity on\nthe short-lived gourd, was there not far more reason for his and\ntheir maker to pity the penitent inhabitants of Nineveh?\n\nNineveh at last was destroyed about one hundred years after\nJonah. The Medes and Persians had several times laid siege to it,\nbut were diverted by various accidents; but after the massacre\nof the Tartars in Media, they repeated the siege, Cyaxares and\nNebuchadnezzar being the commanders: after they had lain before it\nthree years, the river Tigrus or Sycus, being exceedingly swollen,\nwashed away two and a half miles of the wall; when the waters\nassuaging the besiegers rushed into the city, and murdered the\ninhabitants, who lay buried in their drunkeness, occasioned by an\nadvantage which they had just before gained over the enemy. When\nthe king, whose name we suppose was Sardanapalus, heard the city\nwas taken, it is said, he shut up himself, family, and wealth to\nthe value of about twenty-five thousand millions sterling, in the\npalace, and then set fire to it, and destroyed all that was in it,\nand it was fifteen days before the flames were quenched.\n\nIt is hard to say what was the gourd that covered Jonah\u2019s head at\nNineveh: Jerome says, it was a small shrub, which, in the sandy\nplaces of Canaan, grows up in a few days to a considerable height,\nand with its large leaves forms an agreeable shade. It is now\ngenerally thought to be the _Palma Christi_, which is somewhat like\na lily, with large smooth and black spotted leaves; one kind of it\ngrows to the height of a fig-tree, and whose branches and trunk are\nhollow as a reed; there is also the wild gourd, which creeps along\nthe surface of the earth, as those of cucumbers; its fruit is of\nthe size and form of an orange, containing a light substance, but\nso excessively bitter that it has been called the gall of the earth.\n\nI have now given you a short account of the History of Jonah,\nwhich could be greatly enlarged if space would permit--also the\ncommand given by God to preach at Nineveh--Jonah\u2019s disobedience to\nthat command--the pursuit and arrest of him for that disobedience\nby a storm, in which he was asleep--the discovery of him and\nhis disobedience to be the cause of the storm--the casting of\nhim into the sea, for the stilling of the storm--the miraculous\npreservation of his life there in the belly of a fish, which\nwas his preservation for further services. We have also Jonah\u2019s\npraying unto God: in his prayer we have, the great distress and\ndanger he was in--the despair he was thereby almost reduced\nto--the encouragement he took to himself in this deplorable\ncondition--the assurance he had of God\u2019s favour to him--the warning\nand instruction he gives to others--the praise and glory of all\ngiven to God--his deliverance out of the belly of the fish--and\nhis coming safe and sound upon dry land again--his mission\nrenewed--and the command a second time given him to go preach at\nNineveh--his message to Nineveh faithfully delivered, by which its\nspeedy overthrow was threatened--the repentance, humiliatian, and\nreformation of the Ninevites hereupon--God\u2019s gracious revocation\nof the sentence passed upon them, and the preventing of the ruin\nthreatened. We have also Jonah\u2019s repining at God\u2019s mercy to\nNineveh, and the fret he was in about it--the gentle reproof God\ngave him for it, Jonah\u2019s discontent at the withering of the gourd,\nand justifying of himself in that discontent--God\u2019s improving of it\nfor his conviction, that he ought not to be angry at the sparing of\nNineveh. Man\u2019s badness and God\u2019s goodness serve here for a foil to\neach other, that the former may appear the more exceeding sinful,\nand the latter the more exceeding gracious.\n\nFrom all this we may learn, _First_, that though God may suffer his\npeople to fall into sin, yet he will not suffer them to lie still\nin it, but will take a course effectually to show them their error,\nand to bring them to themselves, and to their right mind again. We\nhave reason to hope that Jonah, after this, was well reconciled to\nthe sparing of Nineveh, and was as well pleased with it, as ever he\nhad been displeased.\n\n_Second_, that God will justify himself in the methods of his grace\ntoward repenting returning sinners, as well as in the course his\njustice takes with them that persist in their rebellion, though\nthere are those that murmur at the mercy of God, because they\ndo not understand it, (for his thoughts and ways therein are as\nfar above ours as heaven is above the earth) yet he will make it\nevident that therein he acts like himself, and will be justified\nwhen he speaks. See what pains he takes with Jonah, to convince him\nthat it was very fit that Nineveh should be spared. Jonah had said,\nI do well to be angry, but he could not prove it; God says, I do\nwell to be merciful, and proves it; and it is a great encouragement\nto poor sinners to hope that they shall find mercy with him, that\nhe is so ready to justify himself in showing mercy, and to triumph\nin those whom he makes the monuments of it, against those who is\nevil because he is good; such murmurers shall be made to understand\nthis doctrine, that how narrow soever their souls and their\nprinciples are, and how willing soever they are to engross divine\ngrace to themselves, and those of their own way, their is one Lord\nover all, that is rich in mercy to all that call on him, and in\nevery nation, Nineveh as well as in Israel, he that fears God, and\nworks righteousness, is accepted of him, and he that repents and\nturns from his evil way shall find mercy with him.\n\nDid not the fate of this prophet typify our Saviour\u2019s being cast\ninto the raging sea of divine wrath; his lying a part of three days\nin the grave; his glorious resurrection from the dead; and the\npublication of his gospel to multitudes of perishing sinners that\nfollowed.\n\nWe cannot close more fitly, perhaps than by extracting a few lines\nfrom the powerful summing up by the poet Young.\n\n      \u201cWhat am I? and from whence?--I nothing know,\n      But what I am: and since I am, conclude\n      Something eternal: had there e\u2019er been nought,\n      Nought still had been: eternal there must be.\n      But what eternal?--Why not human race?\n      And Adam\u2019s ancestors without an end?\n      That\u2019s hard to be conceiv\u2019d. Yet grant it true,\n      Whence earth and these bright orbs?--Eternal too?\n      Grant matter was eternal, still these orbs\n      Would want some other father;--much design\n      Is seen in all their motions, all their makes:\n      Design implies intelligence, and art;\n      That can\u2019t be from themselves, or man; that art\n      Man scarce can comprehend, could man bestow?\n      Who motion, foreign to the smallest grain,\n      Shot through vast masses of enormous weight?\n      Who bade brute matter\u2019s restive lump assume\n      Such various forms, and gave it wings to fly?\n      Has matter innate motion? then each atom,\n      Asserting its indisputable right\n      To dance, would form an universe of dust:\n      Has matter none? Then whence these glorious forms\n      And boundless flights, from shapeless, and repos\u2019d?\n      Has matter more than motion?--has it thought,\n      Judgment, and genius?--is it deeply learn\u2019d\n      In mathematics? Has it fram\u2019d such laws,\n      Which but to guess a Newton made immortal?--\n      If so, how each sage atom laughs at me,\n      Who thinks a clod inferior to a man!\n      If art to form, and counsel to conduct,\n      And that with greater far than human skill,\n      Resides not in each block--a Godhead reigns--\n      And if a God there is, that God how great!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  HISTORY OF MOSES;\n\n  GIVING AN\n\n  Account of his birth, his being found by Pharaoh\u2019s daughter in\n  the ark of bulrushes, and the miracles wrought by him for the\n  deliverance of the children of Israel.\n\n  EMBELLISHED WITH CUTS.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nThe finding of Moses.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus ii. 1.\n\nMoses was the son of Amram and Jochebed, of the tribe of Levi,\nand was born in Egypt. In consequence of the decree of Pharaoh\nfor putting the male children of the Hebrews to death, his mother\nseeing that he was a goodly child, hid him three months. At length\nwhen she could no longer hide him, she made for him with her own\nhands a little cradle of bulrushes, which she daubed with slime\nand pitch to keep out the water, and having put the child into\nit, she laid it among the flags by the edge of the river Nile.\nShe then left his sister at a little distance from the spot to\nwatch the cradle. A short time after Jochebed had left her child,\nthe daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe herself in the river,\nand when she saw the little ark, she sent her maid to fetch it.\nAnd when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold the child\nwept. And she had compassion on him, and said, \u201cThis is one of the\nHebrew\u2019s children.\u201d And the sister of the child, who had seen all\nthat had passed, came to the princess, and said to her, \u201cShall I\ngo and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse\nthe child for thee?\u201d And Pharaoh\u2019s daughter said to her, \u201cGo:\u201d and\nthe maid went and called the child\u2019s mother. And the woman took\nthe child and nursed it. And we read that the child grew under the\ntender care of his mother, and that she took him when he was old\nenough unto Pharaoh\u2019s daughter, who brought him up as her own son.\nAnd she called his name Moses, which, in the Egyptian tongue, means\none saved out of the water.\n\nAs the son of Pharaoh\u2019s daughter, Moses was educated in a\nmagnificent and princely manner, yet Moses did not forget his own\npeople, or his father\u2019s house. In his visits to his own people,\nMoses saw and pitied the miseries which they had to bear from the\ncruelty of King Pharaoh. He saw their sufferings, and could no\nlonger be happy in the court of Egypt, among the enemies of his\npeople and of their religion. His faith made him more proud of the\nname of Israelite then he had ever been of being called the adopted\nson of King Pharaoh\u2019s daughter. Once more among his own people, he\nfound it very difficult to see with patience all that they had to\nbear; and on one occasion we read that he saved a Hebrew from the\nhand of an Egyptian who was smiting him, and slew the Egyptian.\nWhen Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. And Moses\nfled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian, and\nlived several years with Jethro, who gave him one of his daughters\nfor his wife.\n\n\nThe burning Bush.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus iii. 1.\n\nOne day, when Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, the\nangel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out of the\nmidst of a bush. And Moses said, \u201cI will now turn aside, and see\nthis great sight, why the bush is not burnt.\u201d Then God called unto\nhim out of the midst of the bush, and said, draw not nigh hither;\nput off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou\nstandest is holy ground. And the Lord commissioned him to deliver\nhis people Israel. But Moses was afraid when he heard what God\ncommanded him to do; because he thought himself unworthy of such an\noffice, and unfit for it. But it pleased God to assure him, that he\nwould be with him, to guide and protect him.\n\n\nThe Plagues of Egypt.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus viii. 1.\n\nNow Moses and Aaron went as the Lord commanded them, and told the\npeople all that the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did wonders\nbefore them. And Moses and Aaron went in and said to King Pharaoh,\n\u201cThus saith the Lord God of Israel, \u2018Let my people go, that they\nmay hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.\u2019\u201d And Pharaoh said,\n\u201cWho is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I\nknow not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.\u201d And from that day\nPharaoh made the children of Israel work harder than they had ever\ndone before, desiring that they might no longer have straw given\nthem to make their bricks of, but that they should from that time\nbe obliged to find their own straw, and at the same time get done\nas much work as they did when they had straw given them. Then when\nGod saw the hardness of Pharaoh\u2019s heart, he commanded Moses to go\nto Pharaoh in the morning, when he took his walk by the river, and\nto take his rod in his hand, and to smite the waters of the river\nbefore him, which should all be turned into blood. And the fish\nthat were in the river died, and the river stank, and the Egyptians\ncould not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood\nthroughout all the land of Egypt. Seven days did this sad change in\nthe waters last; but still Pharaoh would not listen to the voice\nof Moses and Aaron. Then God told Moses to stretch forth his hand\nover the river, and over all the waters, and to bring frogs over\nall his people: and Moses did so; and frogs came over all the land\nof Egypt, as the Lord said. Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron,\nand said, \u201cEntreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from\nme, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they\nmay so sacrifice unto the Lord.\u201d But no sooner did the Lord hear\nthe voice of Moses, and take away this evil from Pharaoh and his\npeople, than the king forgot what he had suffered, and would not\nlet the Israelites go. Great and dreadful were the plagues that\nthe Lord brought upon the land of Egypt before the King would let\nthe children of Israel go. At one time, he covered the whole land,\nboth man and beast, with the most disgusting kind of insects--at\nanother, he sent grievous swarms of flies to torment them--now, he\nsent mighty hails, and thunderings, and rains upon the land, which\nwere exceeding terrible, filling the hearts of the people with\nfear--then, he destroyed all the first-born of the land, both man\nand beast.\n\n\nThe Passover.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus xii. 3.\n\nOn the evening before the Passover God commanded that every family\nof Israel should slay a lamb, and sprinkle the door-posts before\nthe houses with the blood of the lamb; that so, when the angel of\nthe Lord came down to destroy the first-born of Egypt, he might\nknow the houses of Israel from those of Egypt, and pass over them,\nand save those that dwelt in them from death. This lamb was to be\ncalled the Passover, because God should pass over those houses\nwhose doors were sprinkled with its blood. This was the last supper\nwhich the children of Israel were ever to eat in Egypt, even the\nfeast of the Passover. They kept up this feast every year, in\norder that they might remember the night when the Lord smote the\nEgyptians.\n\n\nThe passage of Israel through the Red Sea.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus xiv. 15.\n\nWe now see the children of Israel, delivered by the almighty power\nof God from Egypt and from Pharaoh, travelling towards the land\nthat God had promised to their fathers. The Lord went before them\nby day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way, and by night\nin a pillar of fire, to give them light. When they had thus got\nas far as Pi-hahiroth, which borders on the Red Sea, they lifted\nup their eyes, and behold the Egyptians marched after them. So\nhardened was king Pharaoh\u2019s heart, that scarcely had the Israelites\ngone out of Egypt before he was sorry that he had let them go. And\nhe took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt\nand captains over every one of them, and passed after the children\nof Israel, and overtook them by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth. Then\nthe children of Israel were sore afraid, and cried unto the Lord.\nThe Red Sea before them, the Egyptians behind, they saw no hope\nof safety; and they were full of anger against Moses, for having\nbrought them out of Egypt. But the Lord said unto Moses, \u201cLift up\nthy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it;\nand the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst\nof the sea.\u201d And the angel of the Lord, which went before the camp\nof Israel, removed and went behind them, and came between the camp\nof the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; so that the one came not\nnear the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over\nthe sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east\nwind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were\ndivided. But that foolish and wicked man Pharaoh, still set himself\nagainst God, and madly pursued the Israelites into the midst of the\nsea. But so soon as the Israelites had passed over on dry land, and\nsafely reached the shore, the Lord said unto Moses, \u201cStretch out\nthine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the\nEgyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.\u201d And Moses\nstretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his\nstrength when the morning appeared, and the Egyptians fled against\nit; but the Lord overthrew them in the midst of the sea, and the\nwaters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, and\nall the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there\nremained not so much as one of them: and Israel saw their dead\nbodies upon the sea shore. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out\nof the hand of the Egyptians.\n\n\nIsrael fed from Heaven.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus xvi. 1.\n\nWe read in the Bible, that after they had crossed the Red Sea, they\ncame into the wilderness of Chur. While travelling onwards through\nthe wilderness of Sin they suffered from hunger, and murmered\nagainst Moses and Aaron. But again God heard their cries, and sent\nthem bread from heaven to eat. The Lord said unto Moses, \u201cBehold I\nwill rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out\nand gather a certain rate every day--at even ye shall eat flesh,\nand in the morning ye shall be filled with bread.\u201d And in the\nmorning there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar-frost,\non the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said\none to another, \u201cIt is manna.\u201d And Moses said, \u201cThis is the bread\nwhich the Lord hath given you to eat.\u201d\n\n\nMoses Smiting the Rock.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus xvii. 1.\n\nWe now find the children of Israel travelling from the wilderness\nof Sin, and, according to the commandment of the Lord, pitching\ntheir camp at Rephidim. There being no water here, we find those\nstubborn and rebellious people, saying unto Moses, \u201cGive us water\nthat we may drink; wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up\nout of Egypt, to kill us, and our children, and our cattle, with\nthirst?\u201d The Lord had shewed them signs and mighty wonders in the\nland of Egypt--he had delivered their children from the sword\nof the destroying angel, when all around them was anguish and\ndismay--he heard them when they cried and groaned under the lash of\nthe oppressor, amid the brick-kilns of Egypt, and emancipated them\nfrom the same--he opened a passage for them in the mighty waters\nat the Red Sea, when about to fall a prey to the rage and fury of\nPharaoh king of Egypt--moreover, he had given them bread to eat in\nthe wilderness when they hungered for the same; and was still able\nto give them what they now desired. But they, instead of praying\nto the Lord that he would once more condescend to look down with\ncompassion upon them, and grant them their request, reproached, and\nmurmured against Moses, the servant of the Lord. And Moses said\nunto them, \u201cWhy chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?\u201d\nMoses tired of their complaints and discontent, felt that he could\ndo nothing with the people under his care; but knew that the Lord\ncould either quench there thirst, or put a stop to their rage. He,\ntherefore, cried unto the Lord, and said, \u201cWhat shall I do unto\nthis people? they be almost ready to stone me.\u201d Nor did he cry in\nvain, for the Lord said unto him, \u201cGo on before the people, and\ntake with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod wherewith thou\nsmotest the river, take in thine hand and go. Behold, I will stand\nbefore thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the\nrock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may\ndrink.\u201d And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. Thus\ndid God open streams in the desert--he clave the hard rocks in the\nwilderness, and gave them drink thereof, as it had been out of the\ngreat depth--he brought waters out of the strong rock, so that it\ngushed out like rivers: and this he did although his people had\nsinned against him, and provoked the Most High in the wilderness.\n\n\nThe Law given from Mount Sinai.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus xix. 10.\n\nNow the children of Israel encamped before Mount Sinai. Then God\ndesired that the people would put away all their usual employments,\nand spend the next two days in preparing to appear before him. And\non the third day Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to\nmeet with God; and Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke; because\nthe Lord descended upon it in fire, and the whole mount quaked\ngreatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed\nlouder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.\nAnd the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount. Then Moses\nwent up and heard God himself speak the Ten Commandments which we\nhave in the twentieth Chapter of Exodus.\n\n\nThe Israelites worshipping the golden calf.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nExodus xxxii. 1.\n\nNow Moses was forty days and forty nights in the mount with God;\nand the people had began to wonder what had become of him, and to\nbe tired of waiting and looking for his return. Although the glory\nof the Lord still rested on the mount, and the presence of the Lord\nwas clearly there, they pretended to think that God and Moses had\nleft them, and they said one to another, \u201cLet us make us gods which\nshall go before us.\u201d And they made them a golden calf, and said,\n\u201cThese be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land\nof Egypt.\u201d And they worshipped the golden calf which they had set\nup, although God had positively forbidden them to make any graven\nimage to worship, or the likeness of any thing in heaven above,\nor in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. But so\nevil were their hearts, so ready to wander from God, so quick to\nforget his mercies, that having been left only for a few short days\nto themselves, they set up a golden calf to worship. And the Lord\nsaid unto Moses, \u201cGo, get thee down; for thy people have corrupted\nthemselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which\nI commanded them; they have made them a molten calf, and have\nworshipped it: let me alone that my wrath may consume them, and I\nwill make of thee a great nation.\u201d But Moses loved the people of\nIsrael; and he prayed earnestly for them, unto the Lord his God.\nAnd the Lord who is abundant in mercy, graciously heard his prayer;\nso as not to destroy them altogether in a moment. And Moses went\ndown from the mount, and as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, he\nsaw the calf, and the dancing; and his anger waxed hot, and he cast\nthe tables out of his hands, and break them beneath the mount. And\nhe took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire,\nand ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made\nthem drink of it. And he stood in the gate of the camp, and said,\n\u201cWho is on the Lord\u2019s side? let him come unto me.\u201d And all the sons\nof Levi gathered themselves together unto him. Then Moses, by the\ncommand of God, desired the sons of Levi to take their swords and\ngo in amongst the people, and kill them: and they did so; and there\nfell of the people that day about three thousand. And to the rest\nof the people Moses said, \u201cYe have sinned a great sin; and now will\nI go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for\nyour sin.\u201d\n\n\nNadab and Abihu burnt by fire.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nLeviticus x. 1.\n\nNadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer,\nand put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange\nfire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went\nout fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the\nLord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, \u201cThis is it that the Lord spake,\nsaying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before\nall the people I will be glorified.\u201d And Aaron held his peace. And\nMoses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the uncle\nof Aaron, and said unto them, \u201cCarry your brethren from before the\nsanctuary out of the camp.\u201d So they carried them, as Moses had\nsaid; And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto his sons, \u201cUncover not\nyour heads, neither rend your clothes, lest ye die.\u201d\n\n\nThe Spies return from surveying Canaan.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNumbers xiii. 1.\n\nThe children of Israel were thus wonderfully led by the Lord\nthroughout all their journeys, until they arrived safely on the\nborders of the land of Canaan. There God desired Moses, to send men\nto search the land of Canaan. And Moses sent twelve men, one man\nfrom each of the tribes or families of Israel, and said unto them,\n\u201cGo, see the land what it is, and the people that dwell therein,\nwhether they be strong or weak, few or many; and what the land is\nthat they dwell in, whether it be good or bad. And be ye of good\ncourage, and bring of the fruit of the land.\u201d Now the time was the\ntime of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and searched the\nland; and they came to a brook or valley, afterward called Eshcol.\nAnd so beautiful were the fruits they found in this fertile valley\nof Eshcol, that they cut down there a bunch of grapes so large that\ntwo men were obliged to carry it between them on a stick: they took\nalso of the pomegranates and the figs. After forty days spent in\nsearching the land, they went back to Moses and Aaron, and all the\npeople, and shewed them the fruit of the land; and they told them\nthat such were the fruits of the land of Canaan, and that it was\ncertainly a land flowing with milk and honey; but in other respects\nthese men gave a very evil account of the land itself, and a very\nfrightful one of the people that dwelt there, whom they called\ngiants; saying, \u201cThat by the side of them they seemed to themselves\nas grasshoppers.\u201d But two of the children of Israel, named Caleb\nand Joshua, who were of the twelve who had been sent into the land,\ndeclared unto all the people that what the others had told them was\nnot true. But the people would not listen to Caleb and Joshua, nor\nbelieve what they said; for their hearts were exceedingly perverse\ntowards God. And the anger of the Lord was exceeding great against\nthe children of Israel; and because they had acted in this wicked\nmanner, God said they should not see the land which he had promised\nthem; no, not one of them should enter that land, excepting his\nservants Caleb and Joshua; but that the rest of the people should\ndie in the wilderness, and that their children should wander there,\nuntil all those who had now and so often before sinned against the\nLord had died and were buried. Then God said to this wicked people,\n\u201cTurn you, and get you into the wilderness, by the way of the Red\nSea.\u201d Now Moses told these sayings to the people of Israel, and\nthey murmured greatly.\n\n\nHe that violated the Sabbath is stoned.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNumbers xv. 32.\n\nOn one occasion some of the children of Israel found a man\ngathering sticks upon the sabbath day. And they put him in ward,\nbecause it had not been declared what should be done to him. And\nthe Lord said unto Moses, \u201cThe man shall be surely put to death:\nall the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.\u201d\nAnd all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned\nhim with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses. And the\nLord spake unto Moses, saying, \u201cBid them make fringes in the border\nof their garments, throughout their generations, and put upon the\nfringe of the borders a ribband of blue; that they may remember,\nand do all my commandments, and be holy unto their God.\u201d\n\n\nThe earth swalloweth up Korah.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNumbers xvi. 1.\n\nNow Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, took men; and they rose up before\nMoses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and\nfifty princes of the assembly. And they gathered themselves\ntogether against Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, \u201cYe take\ntoo much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every\none of them, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then lift ye\nup yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?\u201d And when Moses\nheard it, he fell upon his face; and he spake unto Korah, and all\nhis company, saying, \u201cEven to-morrow, the Lord will shew who are\nhis, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him.\nThis do; take you censers, Korah and all his company; and put fire\ntherein, and put incense in them before the Lord to-morrow, and\nit shall be, that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be\nholy.\u201d And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them,\nand laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle\nof the congregation with Moses and Aaron. And Korah gathered all\nthe congregation against them, and the glory of the Lord appeared\nunto all the congregation. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto\nAaron, saying, \u201cSeparate yourselves from among this congregation,\nthat I may consume them in a moment.\u201d But Moses and Aaron fell upon\ntheir faces, and entreated the Lord to spare the congregation. And\nthe Lord commanded Moses to speak unto them, and say, \u201cGet you up\nfrom about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.\u201d So Moses\nspake these words unto them, and they obeyed him, and departed\nfrom the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Moses said\nunto them, \u201cIf these men die the common death of all men, then\nthe Lord hath not sent me; but if the Lord open the mouth of the\nearth, and swallow them up, and all that pertaineth unto them, then\nye shall know that these men have provoked the Lord.\u201d And it came\nto pass, as he had made an end of speaking these words, that the\nground clave asunder under them; and the earth opened her mouth,\nand swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that\nappertained unto Korah. And there came out fire from the Lord and\nconsumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. Then\nthe congregation murmured against Moses, saying, \u201cYe have killed\nthe people of the Lord.\u201d And the Lord was angry with the children\nof Israel, and smote them with a plague; which, however, was stayed\nby the intercession of Aaron.\n\n\nThe Brazen Serpent.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nNumbers xxi. 6.\n\nThe children of Israel being obliged to take a longer journey than\nthey expected before they were permitted to enter the promised\nland, murmured against the Lord and against Moses. Then the Lord\nin his anger sent fiery serpents among the people, which bit them;\nand much people of Israel died. And Moses prayed for the people.\nAnd the Lord said unto Moses, \u201cMake thee a fiery serpent, and set\nit upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that\nis bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.\u201d And Moses made\na serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass,\nthat if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent\nof brass, he lived. The children of Israel continued their journey\ntowards the promised land; none of them, however, who had left\nthe land of Egypt, save Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son\nof Jephunneh, were permitted to enter it, for having sinned so\noften against the Lord. Even Moses the servant of the Lord, though\npermitted to see it from the top of Mount Nebo, was not permitted\nto enter; but died in the land of Moab, when he was an hundred and\ntwenty years of age. And the children of Israel wept for Moses\nthirty days.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  THE HISTORY\n\n  OF\n\n  JOSEPH & HIS BRETHREN,\n\n  EMBELLISHED WITH CUTS;\n\n  TO WHICH IS ADDED,\n\n  THE LIFE, JOURNEYINGS, AND DEATH\n\n  OF THE\n\n  APOSTLE PAUL.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH\u2019S FIRST DREAM.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      In Canaan lived a man of righteousness,\n      Whom the great God in love was pleas\u2019d to bless\n      With twelve sweet sons, one Joseph called by name.\n      Whose worthiness we\u2019ll to the world proclaim.\n      Being endued with blessings from above,\n      He gained the favour of his father\u2019s love,\n      Now while his brothers hated him, behold!\n      He dream\u2019d a dream, which unto them he told;\n      Saying, \u201cAs we were binding in the field\n      Our sheaves of wheat, it was to me revealed\n      That mine arose upright, and yours around,\n      Stood making low obedience to the ground.\u201d\n      These words of his, they did anger breed;\n      They say, must you reign over us indeed?\n      The like of this was never known before,\n      Thus for his dreams they hated him the more.\n\n\nHIS SECOND DREAM.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      Soon after this as Joseph sleeping\n      Free from the toils and troubles of the day,\n      He dreamed a second dream, and told the same\n      Unto his brothers, as to them he came;\n      Saying, in sleep appeared before my eyes,\n      The sun, the moon, the seven stars likewise,\n      All making their obedience unto me,\n      With meek and humble humility.\n      He told it likewise to his father dear,\n      Who chid him, saying, what is this I hear?\n      Must I, thy mother, and thy brothers too,\n      Be all obliged to bow the knee to you,\n      Low on the earth, as if you reigned and ruled:\n      \u2019Tis very hard that aged parents should\n      A meek and lowly veneration pay\n      To you who ought to honour and obey.\n\n\nHE IS PUT INTO A PIT.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      This very paragraph will clearly show\n      How they did seek young Joseph\u2019s overthrow,\n      His father sent him to the rural plain,\n      Where with their flocks his brothers did remain.\n      When afar off young Joseph they espied,\n      Behold, here comes the dreamer now, they cried\n      Let us conclude to take his life away,\n      And cast him in a pit without delay,\n      Then see how all his dreams will come to pass:\n      But Reuben, Reuben pitied him, alas!\n      And hid him in the pit, there to remain,\n      Till he might safe conduct him home again.\n      What mortal man is able to express,\n      Poor Joseph\u2019s grief when in the wilderness\n      He lay confined? no doubt his present fears\n      Caused his youthful eyes to flow with tears.\n\n\nHE IS SOLD INTO EGYPT.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      While in the pit young Joseph lay confined,\n      They sat them down to eat, and ere they dined\n      Some Ishmaelites from Egypt passed by;\n      Then Judah made his brothers this reply,\n      \u201cWhat shall it profit to us now, I pray,\n      If we should take this precious life away?\u201d\n      They all consented to the same with speed,\n      For loth they were to see their brother bleed.\n      Then from the lonesome pit the child they drew,\n      And sold him to those trading merchants, who\n      A score of silver pieces for him paid,\n      And then to Egypt he was soon conveyed.\n      When Reuben found him not, how did he grieve\n      The rest contrive their father to deceive,\n      By staining Joseph\u2019s coat with purple blood,\n      Which caused poor Joseph many a weeping flood.\n\n\nTEMPTED BY POTIPHAR\u2019S WIFE.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      When Joseph to the land of Egypt came,\n      One Potiphar a man of noted fame,\n      Bought him with silver and preferred him straight\n      Making him steward of his whole estate.\n      On whom his mistress cast her wanton eyes,\n      And he reproved her, and said, be wise,\n      And cast, henceforth, these idle thoughts away--\n      How can I do that wicked thing, I pray?\n      Now finding her entreaties would not do,\n      She went to seize him, but away he flew,\n      Leaving his garment in her hand also:\n      Now from that time she proved his mortal foe:\n      She said, my lord, (when he returned at night,)\n      Thy Hebrew strove with all his might,\n      To mock thy lady, but was ne\u2019er the near,\n      I cried, he fled, and left his garment here.\n\n\nCAST INTO THE DUNGEON.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      No sooner had she made this false report\n      Of Joseph\u2019s coming in so vile a sort,\n      But Potiphar immediately he flew\n      Into a sad and cruel passion too,\n      And cast him into prison where he lay\n      Till the chief butler and the baker, they\n      By Pharaoh\u2019s strict command were sent to be\n      Confined from their former liberty.\n      The baker and the butler both, we find\n      With dreams one night were much disturbed in mind,\n      When they to Joseph did themselves apply,\n      He told them what their dreams did signify;\n      One he restores unto his former place,\n      The other, he must die in sad disgrace;\n      The butler must his former place supply,\n      The baker by the laws be doomed to die,\n\n\nHE IS MADE LORD OF THE LAND.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      Still Joseph lay confined in prison fast,\n      Until two tedious years were gone and past.\n      At length Pharaoh dreamed, but none in the land\n      Could his dream interpret or understand.\n      Then the chief butler to the king did say,\n      \u201cI needs must own my faults this day:\n      In prison lies a Hebrew servant there,\n      Who will the truth of all your dreams declare:\u201d\n      Then from a prison to a palace straight,\n      Joseph was brought, and Pharoah did relate\n      His dreams, and did full satisfaction find,\n      Which eased the grief and anguish of his mind:\n      He gave such satisfaction to the king,\n      That from his royal hand he drew a ring,\n      And gave it Joseph, saying, \u201cThou shalt be\n      Next to myself in royal dignity.\u201d\n\n\nHis Brethren going to buy Corn.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      Behold the dreams of Pharoah did fortell,\n      A mighty famine, which at length befell;\n      Joseph in Egypt was head ruler over all;\n      But when his brothers came, and seemed to fall\n      Before him, straight his dreams came in his mind\n      Yet he spoke rough, and seemed most unkind:\n      You\u2019re spies said he, they answered, no,\n      We are true men, my lord, pray say not so,\n      Sons of one man, we twelve in number were,\n      The youngest now under his father\u2019s care\n      Remains at home, the other he is not.\n      He knew them, yet his anger seemed hot,\n      And for three days they were in prison cast,\n      Confined they lay, yet Joseph came at last,\n      And laid upon them all a strict command,\n      To bring their young brother out of hand.\n\n\nTHE CUP IN BENJAMIN\u2019S SACK.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      When they had eaten up their slender store\n      Jacob he needs must send them down for more;\n      But knowing that his youngest son must go,\n      His eyes with melting tears did overflow.\n      With presents then they did return again,\n      And Joseph doth them kindly entertain.\n      When he his brother Benjamin beheld,\n      His bowels yearned, his heart with joy was filled;\n      But here\u2019s a grief which did them all surround,\n      The nightly lord, his silver cup was found\n      On Benjamin; this made them sore afraid,\n      That for that crime they would be captives made:\n      Then to the house of Joseph they returned,\n      Judah he pleaded, till his bowels yearned,\n      To be a captive in his brother\u2019s room,\n      Lest he should see his father\u2019s threatened doom.\n\n\nJOSEPH DECLARETH HIMSELF.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      \u201cMy lord, hear thy servant now I pray,\n      Our father, when we brought the child away\n      Expressed such grief and sorrow for his sake,\n      That if he stay, his aged heart will break:\n      Seeing his tears, which fell like showers of rain,\n      I promised then he should return again.\n      Therefore, my lord, pray let him go, for I\n      Am loth to live to see my father die.\u201d\n      Joseph from tears could now no longer hold:\n      He said, \u201cI am your brother whom you sold\n      To Egypt, when on me your anger fell;\n      And is my father yet alive and well?\u201d\n      Then on each other\u2019s necks they wept amain.\n      Their cries were heard, from tears could not refrain\n      \u201cO fetch my father hither,\u201d Joseph cried,\n      \u201cThat for the family I may now provide.\u201d\n\n\nJACOB\u2019S JOURNEY INTO EGYPT.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      The sons of Jacob Pharaoh did command,\n      To take both food and waggons from the land\n      Of Egypt, to fetch their father straight;\n      They did, and poor old Jacob\u2019s joy was great\n      He said, still as his spirits did revive,\n      It is enough, Joseph is yet alive,\n      The son for whom I mourned, therefore I\n      Will go and see him now before I die.\n      Then on his journey still he doth proceed,\n      And in the land of Goshen, there indeed\n      Joseph did meet him, whom he straight did bring\n      Into the royal presence of the king.\n      When Jacob before king Pharaoh stood,\n      His age one hundred and thirty years, a good\n      Old man was he; Pharaoh gave to his race,\n      The land of Goshen for a dwelling-place.\n\n\nJOSEPH VISITS HIS FATHER.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      When Joseph knew his pious father lay\n      On his sick bed, to him he hastes away,\n      Joseph he brought Manasseh and Ephraim,\n      Placed them before his father\u2019s eyes now dim,\n      At sight of them, cries Jacob, \u201cWho are these?\u201d\n      \u201cMy sons,\u201d says Joseph, \u201cfrom between my knees.\u201d\n      When near, he kissed them, and with sweet embrace\n      Admires his GOD before his Joseph\u2019s face.\n      These boys of thine which were in Egypt born,\n      They shall be mine, not orphans or forlorn.\n      Manasseh he blest, commended to his GOD,\n      Bids him to mark the steps that Abraham trod,\n      Displeased was Joseph to see his elder son\n      Put by, and the younger the blessing won;\n      But Jacob replied, \u201cSon, I know it well,\n      For Ephraim shall unto great nations swell.\u201d\n\n\nJACOB BLESSETH HIS SONS.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      Jacob he calls his first born, Reuben, near,\n      Weak as the water from the fountain clear;\n      Simeon and Levi, men of cruelty,\n      They smote a man, and caused him so to die.\n      Judah\u2019s bright sceptre shan\u2019t from him depart\n      Till Shiloh come rejoicing every heart.\n      Zebulun\u2019s a small port where tall ships may pass,\n      Issachar well resembles the couchant ass.\n      Dan as a judge will do his people right,\n      Gad by a troop at last will win the fight;\n      Asher his bread is fat, and of a dainty sort,\n      Naphtali\u2019s a hind loosed for the hunter\u2019s sport.\n      Joseph\u2019s a bough laden with pleasent fruit,\n      Near to a well, whose branches sap recruit:\n      Benjamin like a ravenous wolf doth slay,\n      Devours his prey, then bears the spoil away.\n\n\nJOSEPH\u2019S LOVE TO HIS FATHER.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      Filial affection\u2019s to old Jacob good,\n      When Canaan\u2019s land lay destitute of food,\n      Then Joseph kind his aged father fed,\n      When thousands daily starved for want of bread;\n      His love expressed with mind sedate and calm,\n      Then with rich spices did his corpse embalm;\n      When breathless lay upon a bed of down,\n      He treats blest Jacob, father of renown;\n      Falls on his clay and with a kind embrace,\n      Salutes the late most venerable face\n      Of Pious Jacob, now growing stiff and cold.\n      It must be so when life is charged to mould,\n      Plenty of tears did from his eye balls flow,\n      To show mankind he did his duty know,\n      That nought\u2019s too much to pay a parent dear,\n      From children that the awful GOD do fear.\n\n\nJACOB\u2019S FUNERAL.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n      When seventeen long years Jacob had dwelt,\n      Behold, the fatal hand of death he felt:\n      To Joseph he commits the special care\n      Of his great funeral, and tells him where\n      He would be laid, which was fulfilled at large,\n      According to the tenor of his charge;\n      For having yielded up his vital breath,\n      He dropped into the frozen arms of death.\n      Numbers of mourning coaches out of hand\n      Prepared were; thus to his native land\n      He was conveyed a sleeping-place to have,\n      Near to the borders of his father\u2019s grave.\n      Upright he was, and just in all his ways;\n      Pray now observe the number of his days,\n      He was, when he dropt off this earthly stage,\n      One hundred and forty-seven years of age.\n\n\nTHE LIFE OF ST. PAUL.\n\nSaint Paul, though not one of the twelve, yet for his great\neminence in the ministry of the gospel, had the honour to be\nstyled an apostle, particularly above all the rest that were\nnot of the number, and hath justly the next place to St. Peter\nallotted to him, both in regard they were so conversant in their\nlives, and inseparable in their deaths. He was born at Tarsus, not\nonly of Jewish parents, but originally descended from an ancient\nJewish family of the tribe of Benjamin in Judea, where he had his\neducation, which was a flourishing Academy, whose scholars (as\nStrabo testifies) excelled those of Alexandria, and even Athens\nitself. In the schools of this city, he was brought up from his\nchildhood, and became an excellent proficient in all the polite\nlearning of the ancients, yet at the same time he was brought up\nto a manual trade, as even the most learned of their Rabbins were,\nfor enabling them to get a livelihood if occasion required it; it\nbeing a maxim (especially amongst the Jews,) that he who teacheth\nnot his son a trade, teacheth him to be a thief; for learning of\nold was not made an instrument to get a maintenance by, but for\nthe better polishing the mind; so that the learned among the Jews\nwere frequently denominated (as Drusius observes,) from some one\nor other handy-craft trade, as Rabbie Judah, the baker; Rabbie\nJochanan, the Shoemaker, &c.\n\nHaving at Tarsus attained to a great perfection in the liberal\narts and sciences. He was sent to Jerusalem to be instructed in\nthe knowledge of the laws; and for the better accomplishing him in\nthat study, was put under the tuition of Raban Gamaliel the son of\nSimon, (the same probably that took up our Saviour in his arms.)\nHe was an eminent doctor of the law, one of the families of the\nschools at Jerusalem, and a person of principal note and authority\nin the Jewish Sanhedrim, in which that grave and prudent speech,\nmentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, which he made on behalf\nof the apostles and their doctrine, took great effect. At the\nfeet of this great doctor St. Paul was brought up, as he himself\ntestifies; and by his instructions he soon advanced to that degree,\nthat he gained himself a reputation above all his fellow scholars.\nMoreover he was a strict professor of the sect of the Pharisees,\nwhich of all others amongst the Jews, was the severest and most\nmagisterial; and the professors thereof, generally great applauders\nof themselves for their sanctity, despising and censuring all\nothers as reprobates, and unworthy of their society, and presuming\n(as Josephus writes) to govern even princes themselves. With the\nfiery genius of this sect, our apostle was too deeply infected,\nwhich made him a most zealous persecutor of the Saints; so that\nwhen the blood of the martyr Stephen was shed, I (saith he with\nsorrow after his conversion) was standing by, consented to his\ndeath, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. Nay, of all the\napparators, and inquisitors, employed by the Sanhedrim, to execute\ntheir warrants; upon those upstart heretics, as they called them,\nwho preached against the law of Moses, and the tradition of the\nfathers; he was the man that strove to be the forwardest. In this\nzeal to execute his office, as he was on his way to Damascus, with\nsome other, of his fellow officers, breathing out vengeance and\ndestruction against the poor Christians, their was on a sudden a\nmost glorious light shot full upon him, and the rest that were with\nhim, so that they fell to the ground in great amazement, and at the\nsame time a voice from heaven was directed to him, saying, \u201cSaul,\nSaul, why persecutest thou me?\u201d to which, amazed as he was, he\nanswered, Lord who art thou? the voice replying, that it was Jesus\nwhom he persecuted, and that it was hard for him to kick against\nthe pricks. He again desired further instructions; Lord, said he,\nwhat wilt thou have me to do; upon which he was bid to rise, and\ngo to Damascus, and there expect what should be further revealed\nto him; rising from the ground he found his sight gone. In this\nplight being led to Damascus, he was there three days fasting,\nand probably then he saw that celestial vision mentioned by him,\nwherein he heard and saw things past utterance, and those divine\nrevelations, which gave him occasion to say, that the gospel he\npreached, he was not taught by man, but had it revealed to him by\nJesus Christ. The three days being expired, Ananias, a devout man,\nand one of the seventy disciples came to him, according to the\ncommand he had received from our Lord, who appeared to him, to go\nand enquire for one Saul of Tarsus, and having laid his hands on\nhim, told him his message, upon which his sight was restored to\nhim, and the gift of the Holy Ghost conferred on him; presently\nafter he was baptized, and made a member of the church, to the\ngreat joy of the rest of the disciples, that he should become not\nonly a professor, but a preacher of that faith, which he so lately\nwas a bitter persecutor of. His stay at this time at Damascus was\nnot long, for being warned away by a vision from heaven, he took a\njourney into Arabia, where he preached the gospel for three years,\nand then returned to Damascus, where the unconverted Jews eagerly\nsought his ruin, endeavouring to seize him, but he escaped through\nthe help of the disciples, and the rest of his friends who were\nzealous for his safety.\n\nThus far we have made an entrance into the life and acts of this\ngreat apostle, with which there is scarcely any thing equally\nmemorable in history, nor could the further prosecution thereof\nhave been omitted, but that all the travels of this apostle in the\npursuance of his ministry, from the time of his conversion to the\nlast of his being at Rome, with the most principal transactions,\nand the severest accidents that happened to him therein, are\nalready related in the exposition of the map of the voyages of\nthe apostles, and more particularly those of St. Paul, in which,\nfor avoiding needless repetitions, the sequel of his life may not\nunfitly be referred. We shall therefore make some enquiry into the\ntime and occasion of the several epistles wrote to the several\nchurches; as also unto the time and manner of his death.\n\nWhen he went from Athens to Corinth, it is said he wrote his first\nepistle to the Thessalonians, which he sent Silas and Timothy,\nwho returned during his stay, and before his departure he wrote\nhis second epistle to them, to excuse his not coming to them as\nhe promised in his first. Not long after at Ephesus, he is said\nto have written his epistle to the Galatians; and before he left\nEphesus, he wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians. Moreover,\nhe sent from thence by Apollos and Silas to Titus, whom he left\nin that island to propagate the faith, and had him made bishop\nthereof, in which he gives him advice for the better execution of\nhis episcopal office. At Macedonia, whither he went from Ephesus,\nhaving by Titus received an account of the church of Corinth\u2019s\npresent state of affairs, he sent by him at his return, when he was\naccompanied by St. Luke, his second epistle to the Corinthians; and\nabout the same time he wrote his first epistle to Timothy, whom he\nhad left at Ephesus. From Corinth he went to Macedon, whither he\nsent his epistle to the Romans, by Phebe, a deaconess of the Church\nof Cenchrea, not far from Corinth. Going thence to Rome, he sent\nhis epistle to the Phillipians by Epaphroditus, who had been sent\nfrom them with relief, not knowing to what straits he might be\nreduced by his imprisonment at Rome. In the next place, he sends\nby Tychicus his epistle to the Ephesians. Not long after, (if not\nabout the same time) he wrote his epistle to the Colossians, and\nsent it by Epaphras, his fellow-prisoner for some time at Rome.\nAs for his second epistle to Timothy, there is some dispute about\nthe time of his writing it; only it seems probable by authentic\nauthors, that it was written after the Philippians and Ephesians.\nAs for the epistle to the Hebrews, it is not known when, or from\nwhence written, and rather conjectured than certainly known to have\nbeen St. Paul\u2019s. Tertulliah judgeth it to be written by Barnabas;\nbut the most received opinion is, that it was St. Paul\u2019s, but\nwritten by him in Hebrew, and so sent to the Jews; but for the\nbetter publishing it to the Gentiles, translated into Greek, some\nsay by St. Luke, and others by St. Clement, for the style of whose\nepistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians is observed by St. Jerome\nto come very near the style of this epistle, and to contain a purer\nvein of Greek than is found in the rest of St. Paul\u2019s epistles.\n\nOur apostle having been now two years a prisoner at Rome, is at\nlength set free, and soon after departs to visit other parts of\nthe world, for the further divulging the gospel, but into what\nparticular parts is variously conjectured; some think into Greece,\nand some parts of Asia, where he had not yet been; others will have\nit that he went preaching, as well into the Eastern as Western\nparts of the world; for in his epistle to the Corinthians it is\nsaid, that Paul being a preacher both Eastward and Westward, taught\nrighteousness to the whole world, and went to the utmost bounds of\nthe West. That he went into Spain, may be gathered both from his\nown words, as intimating so to do, and also from the testimony of\nother authors, as Theodoret, who writes, that he not only went into\nSpain to preach, but brought the gospel into the isles of the sea,\nand particularly into our island of Britain; and more particularly\nin another place, he reckons up the Gauls and the Britons amongst\nthose people to whom the apostles, and especially the tent-maker,\nas he calls him, had divulged the Christian faith.\n\nFarther mention of St. Paul we find none till his next and last\ncoming to Rome, which is said to be about the 8th and 9th years of\nNero\u2019s reign; and he came in the fittest time to suffer martyrdom\nhe could have chosen; for whereas at other times, his privilege\nof being a Roman citizen gained him those civilities which common\nmorality could not deny him, he had to do with a person with whom\nthe crime of being a Christian weighed down all apologies that\ncould be alledged; a person whom lewdness and debauchery had made\nseven times more a Pagan than any custom or education could have\ndone. What his accusation was, cannot be certainly determined,\nwhether it was his being an associate with St. Peter in the fall\nof Simon Magus, or his conversion of Popp\u00e6a Sabina, one of the\nEmperor\u2019s concubines, by which he was curbed in the career of his\ninsatiate appetite. Neither can it be resolved how long he remained\nin prison, what the certain time of his suffering was, and whether\n(according to the custom) he was first scourged; only Barentons\nspeaks of two pillars in the church of St. Mary, beyond the bridge\nin Rome, to which both he and St. Peter were bound, when they were\nscourged.\n\nIt is affirmed that St. Paul and St. Peter suffered upon the same\nday, though different kinds of death. Others will have it that they\nsuffered on the same day of the year, but at a year\u2019s distance; and\nothers affirm that St. Paul suffered several years after St. Peter;\nbut all agree that Paul, as a Roman, had the favour to be beheaded,\nand not crucified. His execution was at the Aqu\u00e6 Salvi\u00e6, 3 miles\nfrom Rome; and he is said to have converted the three soldiers\nthat guarded him thither, who also suffered for the faith. Some of\nthe fathers add, that upon his death there flowed from his veins\na liquor more like milk than blood, the sight whereof (saith St.\nCrysostom) converted the executioner.\n\nHe was buried about two miles from Rome, in the way called Via\nOstiensis, where Lucina, a noble Roman matron, not long after\nsettled a farm for the maintenance of the church. Here he lay\nbut indifferently entombed for several ages, till the reign of\nConstantine the Great, who in the year of our Lord, 318, at the\nrequest of Sylvester, bishop of Rome, built a very sumptuous\nchurch, supported with a hundred stately pillars, and beautified\nwith a most rare and exquisite workmanship, and after all richly\ngifted and endowed by the emperor himself. Yet was all this\nthought too mean an honour for so great an apostle by the emperor\nValentinian, who sent an order to his Pr\u00e6fect Salustinus, to\ntake that church down, and to erect in its room one more large\nand stately, which, at the instance of the Pope Leo, was richly\nadorned, and endowed by the Empress Placidia, and doubtless, hath\nreceived great additions ever since, from age to age.\n\nThus was brought up, became converted, and a preacher of the\ngospel, and thus was put to death and buried, this great apostle\nof the Gentiles, superior in learning and natural parts, and not\ninferior in zeal to any of the rest of the apostles.\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  LIFE AND DEATH\n\n  OF\n\n  JUDAS ISCARIOT,\n\n  OR THE\n\n  LOST AND UNDONE\n\n  SON OF PERDITION.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LOST\n\nAND\n\nUNDONE SON OF PERDITION.\n\n\nIt is to be observed, that the Scripture makes mention of three\nJudases; the first is Judas Maccabeus; the second Judas the son of\nJoseph, the reputed father of our Lord; and third, Judas Iscariot,\nthe son of a Tanner, living in repute at Joppa, or Japho, a\nbeautiful sea-port on the west of Canaan, about thirty-four miles\nNorth west of Jerusalem, from which it was seen, as it stood on\na hill amidst a delightful plain. Here Peter restored Dorcas to\nlife, and received the messages of Cornelius. In the time of the\nAntichristian war of the Croisades, or Crusades, Lewis of France,\nand Godfrey of Boulogne, and others, repaired and adorned it; but\nin these unhappy times, what was one year a beautiful city, was\noft in the next a heap of ruins. At present, and for ages past, it\nhath but a bad harbour, and is remarkable for nothing but ruinous\nremains of antiquity. This Judas who betrayed our Lord, was his\nmother\u2019s first child, who dreamed that the child in her womb\nwould prove both a thief and a murderer, and bring her and her\ngeneration to shame and disgrace: which so terrified her, that she\nwas like to go distracted; but her husband strove to pacify her,\nbidding her leave it to God the wise disposer of all things, who\nmay take it away in its infancy or endue it with more grace than\never to be guilty of such dishonourable actions.--This somewhat\nquieted her, and she was soon after delivered of a lovely male\nchild; but under his left breast was the following curious marks\nviz. a cross, a gallows, two daggers, and several pieces of money:\nthis likewise terrified his mother, who concealed it from her\nhusband, determining, as soon as she was able, to go to a magician\nand know the signification of these surprising marks. The child\nbeing circumcised, and she purified, according to the old Jewish\ncustom, she dressed herself in disguise, put a veil on her face,\nand taking with her a kinswoman, went to the magician\u2019s, and being\nintroduced to him, she related her dream, her fears and the marks\nupon her son, desiring the interpretation of the dream, and the\nsignification of the marks.\n\nThe magician replied, I am no interpreter of dreams, neither do I\njustly know the signification of marks; and the whole of your story\nappears as strange to me, as it can be amazing to you; but if you\ncan tell me when the child was born, I will calculate its nativity,\nand see what it pretends. He then called for pen, ink, and paper,\nand sitting down, calculated his nativity; and when he had finished\nit, he shook his head, and his countenance waxed pale; which being\nperceived by Judas\u2019s mother, she said unto him, do not deceive\nme, but tell me true, hide nothing from me, whether it be good or\nevil.--Then, said the magician, to your sorrow, I have seen the\nrules of the planet that reigned predominant at your son\u2019s birth,\nthat he would prove a thief and a murderer, and what is worse, he\nwill, for lucre, betray the Lord of Life; for which act he will\nafterwards despair of mercy, lay violent hands on himself and\ncome to a shameful end.--These words pierced the mother\u2019s heart,\nwho wringing her hands, wished she had never been born, rather\nthan to have been the mother of such an unhappy child; and asked\nthe magician what she could do to prevent the bringing of shame or\ndisgrace on her family? He told her he knew no way of prevention,\nbut by laying violent hands on it, which might be now easily done\nin its infancy and in a manner so as not to be discovered. To this\nshe replied, that she would not for ten thousand worlds commit such\nan act of violence on her son; for if her husband had the least\nsuspicion of it, he was so fond of Judas, that he would never be\nreconciled to her any more; yet for the sake of her family, she\nwould by some means or other prevent it without destroying it; and\nthen told the magician, that if she had a small boat made like a\nshell, with a cover to go down close that no water might get in,\nand a little vent to let in air at the top, and room in it to lie\nsoft and easy, she might without danger send him down the river\nJordan, and so commit him wholly to the protection of providence,\nwhich might conduct him to some distant shore, into the hands\nof some tender persons, and thereby preserve his life; and if\nhe afterwards commits those base actions the shame will fall on\nhis own head, as no one will know from whom he is descended. The\nmagician highly commended her for her invention, and said he would\nprocure such a boat for her; and she promising him a good reward\nfor his assistance, returned home. After she was gone, the magician\nsent for one Rot, a very cunning Artist, a Joiner by trade, who\nundertook to make the boat, drawing out with his pencil, the form\nof it, carried it home with him, wrought upon it in private, and\nhaving soon finished it, brought it to the magician\u2019s house, who\npaid him largely for it, and sent a servant to the house of Simon,\nwho told Judas\u2019s mother, that the matter which his master and she\nspoke of was now finished. She understanding him, went next morning\nto the magician\u2019s house, viewed the boat, and liked it well, saying\nit was very convenient for the end intended, but seemed perplexed\nhow she should do it privately, and keep it from discovery, as\ndeath was the consequence thereof. Her kinswoman begged her to\nleave that to her, and all should be safe enough; for we will feign\nthe child sick for a day or two, in the meantime we will make some\ninquiry in the city for the dead body of some poor male child which\nwe will buy of its parents, and have it privately brought to our\nhouse to be buried; in the meantime we will dispatch your son to\nsea, and make him believe the other child to be his, and that he\ndied during his absence; so having it buried, the matter can never\nbe brought to light.\n\nThe mother liked the contrivance, and going home with a promise Of\na great reward, and her friendship for life, she swore her servants\nto secrecy, and then said she, we must act in this manner. When\nyour master comes home at night, I shall put on very dejected\nlooks, and When he asks the cause, I shall tell him that Judas\nis not well, and that I am apprehensive of his death, which you\nmust all testify and confirm. She accordingly put this scheme into\npractice at night, when her husband did all he could to comfort\nher, telling her that they were young, they might, be parents of\nmany children: and going up stairs to see the child, the maid then\npinched its neck till it was black in the face, and thinking it\nin convulsions, gave it over to death. As soon as he was gone out\nin the morning, the mother and kinswoman took the child and went\nto the magician\u2019s house, in order to put the child to sea. They\nput on him many warm and rich garments, with an upper coat of oil,\nthat no water might penetrate it; and the magician, on a piece of\nparchment, wrote the following words:\n\n  MY NAME IS JUDAS.\n\nwhich his mother sewed round his neck and put him into the boat,\nand shut down the cover. At parting with the child the mother was\nalmost distracted, wringing her hands and weeping bitterly, but\nbeing comforted by the magician and her kinswoman she was at last\npacified, and desired to go home, as she could not bear to see the\nchild put into the water, so she and her kinswoman departed home.\nThe magician then took the boat and carried it down to his own\ngarden, at the foot of which ran the river Jordan, and putting it\nin where a strong stream ran, it was soon carried out of sight.\n\nThe mother when she got home fainted away, but was revived by being\ninformed by her maid servant, that during her absence they had\nalmost brought the matter to a close, having found a neighbour\u2019s\nmale child, who had died the day before, and was just of the same\nage as Judas, for whose body they had given the parents a small\nsum of money, and paid the expense of burying a coffin full of\nbones, by way of a blind: and the only thing that remained was to\ndeceive her husband, and get this child buried under the sanction\nof Judas\u2019s body.\n\nThe father coming home at night, and finding his wife in tears,\nsoon guessed the dismal cause; and inquiring of the servants, they\nwith dissembled grief informed him, that the child died in the\nmorning soon after his departure. The man was much affected with\nthe loss of his child, and thinking to prevent his wife\u2019s grief by\nthe sight of the body he had it removed to a kinsman\u2019s house, and\nin a day or two interred it from thence, supposing it to be his son\nJudas.\n\nBy this time Providence had conducted Judas, alive and well, unto\nthe coast of Iscariot, a kingdom in Palestine, where Pheophilus the\nking often used to recreate himself, in beholding the ships pass\nand repass at sea. It happened that the very day that Judas was\ncast on the coast, the king and his nobles came on that diversion,\nand as they were standing on the top of the rock, looking into\nthe sea, the king espied a little boat floating upon the water,\nand thinking it to be a chest of some wrecked ship, he ordered\na servant to put out a boat and fetch it; which being done, and\nbrought to the king, he ordered it to be broken open; when to their\ngreat surprise, they found a lovely babe, who look\u2019d up, and smiled\nin the king\u2019s face. Then said the king to the child, _welcome as\nmy own child_; and expressed much joy in being providentially sent\nto preserve the babe\u2019s life, and taking it up in his arms, said if\nthou wert a child begat by me, I could not esteem or value thee\nmore. Then he espied about its neck the aforementioned parchment,\nviz:\n\n  MY NAME IS JUDAS.\n\nWell, said the king, as thy name is Judas, I will now double name\nthee, and then called him _Judas Iscariot_, because he found him\nnear the coast of that name. He was then brought to court, treated\nas the king\u2019s own child, and at a proper age educated well, and at\nlast became a man of learning and genius and behaved himself so\nwisely, that the king made him his principal steward.\n\nJudas being arrived at this rank, still coveted greater, and\nremembering the queen one day said, that if the prince, her son\ndied, Judas should be her heir, he therefore set about contriving\nto kill him, accordingly he professed great love and friendship\nfor him; and one day being walking together, Judas took occasion\nto quarrel with the prince, and maliciously slew him, thinking all\nwould go well with him if he was dead.\n\n      Behold the serpent, which the king\n        Long nourished in his breast,\n      Grown warm, strikes forth his baneful sting,\n        And robb\u2019d him of his rest.\n\nThough none accused him of the murder, yet his conscience so stung\nhim, that he soon quitted the kingdom, leaving all his pomp and\nfinery behind him, and changing his name, took upon him the mean\nemploy of a servant, wandering about from place to place, until\nat length he arrived at Joppa, the place of his nativity; here he\nsoon got a place in a nobleman\u2019s family, where he behaved so well\nas to gain the esteem of his lord and lady, and all that knew him.\nOne day it happened that as his lady was walking abroad big with\nchild, she longed for some fruit, which she saw in Judas\u2019s father\u2019s\ngarden, bidding him go and buy her some. He took the money, but\nwas resolved to steal the fruit; and going to the garden, broke\ndown the fences, which as he was doing his father came out, and\nseized him for the robbery; and Judas to extricate himself from the\nhand of justice murdered his father upon the spot, and immediately\nescaped to Theba, a city about seventy-six leagues distance. Here\nhe continued four years, in which time the noise of the murder\nbeing blown over, he returned back again, and got another place in\na nobleman\u2019s family, where he lived sometime, till his own mother\naccidentally seeing him fell in love with and married him.\n\nAbout five years after they had been married, one morning in bed\nJudas\u2019s shirt bosom lay open, when she saw under his left breast\nthe marks he was born with; upon which she waked him in an agony,\nand told him the whole story of his birth, and the part she had\nacted therein. Judas heard this with wonder and astonishment, and\non his part confessed to her the many crimes he had been guilty\nof; after which she desired him to depart from her, and seek mercy\nof God in another country; protesting she would never be carnally\nknown to him any more.\n\nJudas full of grief and remorse of conscience, left Joppa, and\nwandered about like a pilgrim, till he heard of a mighty prophet,\ncalled _Jesus of Nazareth_, in the land of Judea, who wrought\nmany miracles, and wonderful works; to him he went, and liking\nhis doctrine and seeing his miracles, he begged of our Lord to\nbe admitted one of his followers: Our Saviour chose him to be\none of his disciples, and gave him the charge of what money or\nprovision he carried about with him. There is no evidence that his\nreligious instructions, or his preaching the word, or miracles,\nwere inferior to those of his brethren: but covetousness still\nreigned in his heart. Notwithstanding all this Judas could not\nforget his covetousness, for when Mary Magdalene brought a box of\ncostly ointment, to anoint our dear Lord\u2019s feet, at the house of\nSimon the Leper, Judas was highly offended thereat, because the\nvalue thereof was not put into his bag. But our Lord knowing his\ncovetous and wicked heart, sharply rebuked him; at which he was so\nenraged, that he in revenge premeditated, and put into execution,\nthe worst action of all his life, and going to the chief priests\nand elders, he said unto them, what will you give me, and I will\nbetray him they call Jesus into your hands? And they agreed with\nhim for thirty pieces of silver; or \u00a33, 8s. 5d. English money.\n\n      The love of money is a rock\n        Which causes care and trouble,\n      And he that hasteth to be rich,\n        He makes his sorrows double.\n\n      Money\u2019s a most alluring bait,\n        Conducive unto evil,\n      For this base Judas sold his God,\n        Himself unto the devil.\n\nWhen our Lord was instituting his last supper, he said unto his\ndisciples, I have chosen you twelve, but one of you is a devil. And\nagain, Verily I say unto you, one of you this night shall betray\nme, and he it is unto whomsoever I shall give a sop: then giving\na sop unto Judas, he said unto him what thou dost do quickly.\nWith the sop the devil entered into Judas, and he went out from\namongst them.--Judas then went to the chief priests, and received\nthe thirty pieces of silver; so taking with him an armed band\nof men, to apprehend his master, He led them to the Garden, of\nGethsemane where Jesus was wont to retire for his devotion; he went\ntelling them, that whomsoever he should kiss, the same was he,\nhold him fast. There our Lord beheld his adversaries coming with\nburning torches and lanterns, and weapons to apprehend him; then\nspake he to his disciples, and said, \u201c_Rise let us go; behold he\nis at hand that will betray me._\u201d And while he was speaking, came\nJudas the traitor, saying, Hail, Master, and kissed him. For it\nis written, that it was the manner and custom of our Lord Jesus\ntowards his disciples, that when at any time he had sent them out,\nat their return again, he would receive them with a loving kiss.\nThen they laid hands on the Lord, and bound him as a thief and\na murderer, and led him away to the high Priest and Elders, who\nasked him many questions; to which our Lord gave them no answer,\nbut stood like a lamb dumb before his shearers. And here let us\nbehold our Lord Jesus, how patiently and meekly he receives that\nfalse and treacherous kiss from that unfaithful disciple, whose\nfeet he had vouchsafed to wash with his own hands, and whom out of\nhis unspeakable charity he refused not to feed with the precious\nfood of his blessed body. Consider likewise how meekly he suffered\nhimself to be taken, bound, struck, and furiously dragged away,\nas if he had been a thief, or the most wicked person in the\nworld, void of power to help himself. Contemplate also the great\nsorrow and inward affliction he had of his disciples, who fled\nand left him in the hands of those ravenous wolves. And on the\nother side, consider the grief of their hearts, since the cause of\ntheir leaving him was not the perversity of their will, but the\nfrailty of their weak nature: for which they heartily mourn and\nsigh, like poor orphans that know not what they do, or whither\nto go; and their sorrow was so much the greater, as they knew in\nwhat villanous manner their Lord and master would be treated and\nabused. Nevertheless, the whole assembly, though they found nothing\nworthy of death in him, one by one passed the following sentences\non him.\n\n\n  JERUSALEM\u2019S\n\n  BLACK TRIBUNAL;\n\n  OR THE\n\n  BLOODY SENTENCE OF THE JEWS,\n\n  AGAINST\n\n  OUR BLESSED LORD AND SAVIOUR,\n\n  JESUS CHRIST.\n\n\n  CAIPHAS.\n\n  Better one man should die, than all perish.\n\n\n  JEHOSOPHAT.\n\n  Let him be bound, and kept fast in chains.\n\n\n  RAPHAR.\n\n  Let us put him to death.\n\n\n  FAREAS.\n\n  Let us banish him, or he will destroy our country.\n\n\n  DIARRHIAS.\n\n  He is worthy of death, because he seduceth the people.\n\n\n  RABINTH.\n\n  Guilty or not, let the seducer die.\n\n\n  LESSA.\n\n  Let us banish him for ever.\n\n\n  CHIERIES.\n\n  If he be innocent he shall die, because he stirreth up the people.\n\n\n  PTOLEMEUS.\n\n  Guilty or not guilty, let us sentence him to death or punishment.\n\n\n  TERAS.\n\n  Either banish him, or send him unto C\u00e6sar.\n\n\n  LEMECH.\n\n  Punish him with death.\n\n\n  POTIPHARES.\n\n  Let him be banished for seducing the people.\n\nThe mob also cried out to Pontius Pilate, if you let this man go,\nyou are not C\u00e6sar\u2019s friend; therefore, crucify him! crucify him!\n\n\n  THE\n\n  SENTENCE OF DEATH\n\n  PASSED ON\n\n  JESUS CHRIST\n\n  BY\n\n  PONTIUS PILATE.\n\nI PONTIUS PILATE, Judge in Jerusalem under the most potent\nTiberius, happy and prosperous be his reign, having heard and known\nthe accusation of JESUS OF NAZARETH, whom the Jews brought bound,\nto pronounce his sentence; seeing he, by presumptuous expressions,\ncalled himself the SON of GOD and the KING of the JEWS, and said he\nwould destroy the TEMPLE of Solomon. Let him be condemned to the\ncross with the two Thieves.\n\n      Thus was the Lord of Life condemn\u2019d,\n        On Calv\u2019ry\u2019s mount to die,\n      As Moses\u2019 Serpent so was he\n        There lifted up on high.\n\n      \u2019Twas not for sins that were his own,\n        He there shed forth his blood,\n      But that such sinners vile as we,\n        Might be brought near to God.\n\n      Let us obey the gospel call,\n        Now while it is to-day,\n      Lest ere to-morrow Death should cry,\n        To judgment come away.\n\n\nMISERABLE AND AWFUL END OF THE TRAITOR JUDAS.\n\nNow Judas, the Traitor, had no sooner seen his master condemned by\nthe Jewish council, than his conscience upbraided him; he brought\nback the thirty pieces of silver, and confessed he had betrayed his\ninnocent master. But the Jewish rulers replied, that that was none\nof their business, he might blame himself. And he threw back the\nthirty pieces of silver and went out and hanged himself; but the\nrope breaking, or the tree giving way, he fell and his body burst\nasunder, and his bowels gushed out. Then the Jews, as they thought\nthe price of blood was not fit for the Treasury, they, as agents\nfor Judas, gave it for the Potters-field to bury strangers in.\n\n      Tho\u2019 Judas \u2019mongst the Apostles was\n        And with them took his part,\n      His awful end proved him to be\n        A traitor in his heart.\n\n\nOn the Evening after our Lord\u2019s resurrection he appeared unto ten\nof the apostles, Judas being dead, and Thomas absent: he renewed\ntheir mission, and breathed on them, as a token of his sending the\nHoly Ghost. After giving them repeated proofs of his resurrection,\nhe just before his ascension gave them a formal commission, saying,\n\u201c_Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the\nname of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching\nthem to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and,\nlo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen._\u201d\nAfter they had witnessed their master\u2019s departure to the heavenly\nmansions, Peter proposed, that one who had been a constant witness\nof his marvellous sufferings and conduct, should be chosen to fill\nthe room of Judas. The disciples chose Barsabas and Matthias for\nthe candidates. As the office was extraordinary, and perhaps the\nvotes equal, the final determination, which of the two should be\nthe apostle, was left to the decision of God by the lot. After\nprayer, the lots were cast, and it fell upon Matthias: he was\ntherefore numbered with the eleven apostles.\n\nOn the day of Pentecost, a feast appointed to commemorate the\ngiving of the law, the Holy Ghost, in the shape of cloven tongues\nof fire, descended on each of them; rendered them bold and\ninfallible in preaching the gospel; qualified them with power, to\nspeak in every language, to discern men\u2019s tempers, and to confer\nthe miraculous influence of speaking with tongues on others, by the\nlaying on of hands.\n\n      Learn hence a lot\u2019s a sacred thing,\n        Let\u2019s not it vanity use,\n      Since God thereby has oft thought fit,\n        To choose and to refuse.\n\n      Let\u2019s be content with what\u2019s our lot,\n        Since God to us it gave,\n      Let\u2019s pray that Christ may be the gift,\n        Greater can\u2019t sinners have.\n\nCorrespondent to the twelve patriarchs, or twelve tribes of Israel,\nour Saviour, in the second or third year of his public ministry,\nfirst appointed, and then sent forth twelve of his followers, whom\nhe named Apostles. These he sent out by two\u2019s,\n\n  SIMON PETER, and ANDREW his brother;\n\n  JAMES the son of ZEBEDEE, and JOHN his brother;\n\n  PHILIP, and BARTHOLOMEW;\n\n  THOMAS, and MATTHEW;\n\n  JAMES the son of ALPHEUS, and JUDE his brother;\n\n  SIMON the Canaanite, and JUDAS ISCARIOT;\n\n  MATTHIAS, succeeded Judas after the resurrection of our Lord.\n\n\n  ASCENSION\n\n  OF\n\n  OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.\n\nTouching the wonderful ascension of our Lord Jesus, it behoves\nthee, pious reader, to awaken thy heart, and render thyself with\nmore than ordinarly attention to all that is here said or done,\nrelating to this subject, if thou desire to feed thy soul with\nheavenly comfort, and reap the spiritual unction, which plentifully\nflows from the devout contemplation of so divine a subject.\n\nOn the fortieth day after the resurrection, our Lord Jesus, knowing\nthat his time was now come to depart from this world, and to pass\nhence to his Father, taking with him the holy patriarchs, prophets,\nand others, who after his resurrection were in the terrestrial\nparadise, and blessing Enoch and Elias, who remained there still\nalive, he came, to his apostles, who were gathered together on\nMount Sion, which was the place where he made his last supper the\nnight before his passion. There were likewise with the apostles at\nthis place, the blessed Virgin, and many other disciples; and our\nLord appearing to them said, that he would eat with them before he\ndeparted from them, as a special token and memorial of the love\nhe bore them. And as they were all eating, being full of joy and\nspiritual comfort at this last refection of our Lord Jesus, he said\nto them, \u201cThe time is now come in which I must return again to him\nthat sent me: but you shall remain in the city till you are clothed\nwith the virtue descending from above; for within a few days you\nshall be filled with the Holy Ghost, as I before promised you.\nAfter which, you shall be dispersed throughout the whole world, to\npreach my gospel, baptizing all that shall believe in me, so that\nyou shall be my witnesses to the utmost confines of the earth.\u201d\nHe likewise reproved them for their incredulity in not believing\nthem who had seen him rise, that is the angels. This he chose to\ndo at the time he was speaking to them of preaching his gospel,\nto give them to understand, that they ought to have believed the\nangels, even before they saw him, much sooner than they ought to be\nbelieved by those to whom they were to preach, who, nevertheless,\nwould believe them (the apostles) though they should not see him,\n(Jesus Christ.) And this he did, that by knowing their fault\nthey might remain humble; shewing them at his departure how much\nhe admired that virtue, and that he recommended it to them in a\nsingular manner. They asked him concerning many things that were\nto come to pass; but he would not resolve them, inasmuch as it was\nnot necessary for them to know the secrets of God, which his father\nhad reserved in his own power, to fulfill at his own will and\npleasure. And thus they continued discoursing and eating together,\nwith great comfort and satisfaction, occasioned by the presence of\ntheir Lord; yet their comfort was mixed with some grief, by reason\nof his departure from them. For they loved him so tenderly, that\nthey could not hear him speak of leaving them without heaviness and\nsorrow.\n\nAnd what can we think of his blessed Mother? May we not devoutly\nimagine that, sitting near him, and hearing what he said concerning\nhis departure, she was moved with the tenderness of her motherly\naffection; and that overcome with grief, which suddenly seized,\nand oppressed her blessed soul, she inclined her head towards him,\nand rested it upon his sacred breast! For, if John the Evangelist\nat the last supper, took this freedom, with much more reason may\nwe suppose her to do the same on this doleful occasion. Hence,\nthen, with tears, and many sighs, she spoke to him in this manner:\n\u201cOh my beloved son, I beseech thee not to leave me; but if thou\nmust depart, and return again to thy heavenly Father, take me,\nthy afflicted Mother, along with thee!\u201d But our blessed Lord\nendeavoured to comfort her, and said, \u201cGrieve not, oh beloved\nparent, at my leaving you because I go to my Father; and it is\nexpedient that you remain here a short time longer, to confirm\nin their faith, such as shall be converted, and believe in me,\nand afterwards I will come again, and take you with me, to be a\npartaker of my glory.\u201d To whom again, our Lady replied, \u201cMy beloved\nSon, may thy will always be fulfilled in all things, for I am\nnot only contented to remain here during thy pleasure, but also,\nto suffer death for love of those souls, for which thou hast so\nwillingly vouchsafed to lay down thy life: this, however, I beseech\nthee, be thou ever mindful of me.\u201d Our Lord then again comforted\nher, with the disciples, and Mary Magdalene, saying, \u201cLet not\nyour hearts be troubled, nor fear ye any thing, I will not leave\nyou desolate; I go, but will shortly return again to you, and\nwill remain always with you.\u201d At length he bid them remove from\nthence, and go to Mount Olivet, because from that place he would\nascend into heaven, in the presence of them all: saying this, he\ndisappeared.\n\nHis holy Mother, with the rest of the company, without any delay,\nhastened to the said mount, about a mile distant from Jerusalem,\nas he had appointed them, where our Lord again soon appeared to\nthem. Behold on this day we have two different apparitions of our\nLord. Thus being all together, our Lord embraced his holy Mother,\nand she again embraced him in a most tender manner, taking leave of\neach other. And the disciples, Mary Magdalene, and the rest falling\ndown to the ground, and weeping with tenderness, kissed his blessed\nfeet, and he, raising them up, embraced all his apostles most\nlovingly.\n\nLet us now, pious reader, diligently consider them, and devoutly\ncontemplate all that is here done; and amongst the rest, let us\nbehold the holy Fathers, who being there present though invisible,\njoyfully admire, and inwardly praise the blessed Virgin, by whom\nthey received so great a benefit as their salvation. They behold\nwith pleasing admiration, the glorious champions, and leaders of\nGod\u2019s hosts, the apostles, whom our Lord Jesus had chosen from\namong all others, to conquer and subdue the world, and bring it\nover to the belief of his holy doctrine.\n\nAt length, when the mysteries were all fulfilled and completed, our\nLord Jesus began gradually to raise himself up before them, and\nto ascend by his own virtue and power into heaven. And then the\nblessed Virgin, with the rest, fell down and devoutly worshipped\nhim. And our Lady said, \u201cO my beloved, I beseech thee to be mindful\nof me,\u201d and with this she burst into tears, not being able to\nrefrain, when she reflected on his departure, yet was she full of\ninward joy, to see her blessed Son thus gloriously ascend into\nheaven. His disciples also, when they beheld him ascending, said,\n\u201cThou knowest, O Lord, that we have renounced all things for thee,\nwherefore, we beseech thee not to forget us, but be ever mindful\nof us, for whom we have forsaken all.\u201d Then our Lord lifting up\nhis hands, with serene and pleasing aspect, crowned with glory,\nvictoriously ascended into heaven, but first blessing them, he\nsaid, \u201cBe stedfast, and fight courageously, for I shall always be\nwith you, even to the end of the world.\u201d\n\nThus, our Lord Jesus, ascended into heaven, fulfilling that which\nthe prophet Micah had said long before his ascension; _And their\nKing shall pass before them, and the Lord at the head of them_. So\nthat they all followed him with unspeakable joy, and never-ending\nfelicity.\n\nAnd Michael, the prince of God\u2019s celestial host, going before,\ncarried the joyful tidings of their Lord\u2019s ascending, at which\nthe whole heavenly court of celestial spirits came forth to meet\ntheir Lord, and with all worship and reverence, they led him with\nhymns and songs of jubilation, repeating with inexpressible joy,\nAlleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.\n\nHaving paid their due reverence to the Lord, and ended the joyful\ncanticles, which related to his glorious Ascension, the angels\nbegan to rejoice with each other. And what tongue can express,\nor mind conceive, that which passed between them at this happy\nmeeting? The blessed spirits began to congratulate them on their\narrival, saying: \u201cYe princes of God\u2019s people, you are welcome\nto our eternal habitation, and we rejoice and are glad at your\narrival: you all are gathered together, and wonderfully exalted\nwith our God; Alleluia. Therefore rejoice and sing to him who so\ngloriously ascended into heaven, and above the heaven of heavens:\nAlleluia.\u201d\n\nTo which the Fathers again joyfully replied, \u201cTo you, princes of\nGod\u2019s people, Alleluia: Our guardians and helpers, Alleluia: Joy\nand peace for ever, Alleluia: Let us sing and make mirth to our\nKing and our Saviour, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Now we joyfully\nenter into the house of our Lord, Alleluia: to remain for ever in\nthe glorious city of God, Alleluia. As sheep of our Lord\u2019s pasture\nwe enter his gates, Alleluia: With hymns and canticles, Alleluia:\nFor the Lord of power is with us, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.\u201d\nFor according to the prophet, _The Lord is ascending in shouts of\njoy, and the Lord in the sound of a trumpet_.\n\nOur Lord Jesus ascended visibly for the greater comfort of his\nmother and disciples, that they might see him as far as they could.\nAnd behold a _cloud received him out of their sight_, and in an\ninstant they were present in heaven! And as the blessed Virgin and\nthe disciples were looking still up to heaven, two angels stood\nbeside them in white garments, who began to comfort them, telling\nthem not to look longer after his body, which they saw ascend so\ngloriously into heaven, for that they should not see him any more\nin that form till the day of Judgment, when he should come to judge\nthe quick and the dead. They bid them return into the city again,\nand there to expect the coming of the Holy Ghost, as he himself had\ntold them. His blessed Mother spoke to the angels, desiring them\nto recommend her to her blessed son; who profoundly inclining to\nher, promised gladly to fulfil her commands. And the apostles and\nMary Magdalene recommended themselves in the same manner. After\nthis, the angels departing, they went according as they had been\nappointed into the city, unto Mount Sion, and waited there the\ncoming of the Holy Ghost.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  WIFE OF BEITH:\n\n  BEING\n\n  AN ALLEGORICAL DIALOGUE.\n\n  CONTAINING\n\n  NOTHING BUT WHAT IS RECORDED IN SCRIPTURE.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n  GLASGOW:\n  PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WIFE OF BEITH.\n\n\n      In Beith once dwelt a worthy wife,\n      Of whom brave Chaucer mention makes\n      She lived a licentious life,\n      And namely in venereal acts\n      But death did come for all her cracks;\n      When years were spent and days out driven.\n      Then suddenly she sickness takes,\n      Deceased forthwith, and went to heaven.\n        But as she went upon the way,\n      There followed her a certain guide,\n      And kindly to her he did say,\n      Where mean you, dame, for to abide?\n      I know you are the wife of Beith,\n      And would not then that you go wrong,\n      For I\u2019m your friend, and will be leath\n      That you go through this narrow throng;\n      This way is broader, go with me,\n      And very pleasant is the way;\n      I\u2019ll bring you there, where you would be,\n      Go with me friend, say me not nay.\n        She looked on him, then did speer,\n      I pray you, Sir, what is your name?\n      Shew me the way how came you here?\n      To tell to me it is no shame.\n      Is that a favour \u2019bout your neck?\n      And what is that upon your side?\n        I knew you by your colours first,\n      Is it a bag or silver sack?\n      What are you then? where do you bide?\n        I was a servant unto Christ,\n      And Judas likewise is my name.\n        Forsooth indeed you are to blame:\n      Your Master did you not betray?\n      And hang yourself when you had done?\n      Where\u2019er you bide I will not stay\n      Go then, you knave, let me alone.\n        Whatever I be, I\u2019ll be your guide,\n      Because you know not well the way.\n        What would you me, where do you dwell?\n      I have no will to go with thee:\n      I fear it is some lower cell,\n      I pray thee therefore let me be.\n      I know your way it is to hell,\n      For you are none of the eleven:\n      Go haste you then unto your cell,\n      My way is only unto heaven.\n        That way is by the gates of hell,\n      If you intend there for to go,\n      Go, dame, I will not you compel,\n      But I with you will go also,\n      Where smoke and darkness did abound,\n      And pitch and sulphur burned still,\n      With yells and cries hills did rebound,\n      The fiend himself came to the gate,\n      And asked him where he had been?\n      Do ye not know and have forgot,\n      Seeking his wife could not be seen.\n        Good dame, he said, would you be here,\n      I pray you then tell me your name?\n        The wife of Beith, since that you speer,\n      But to come in I were to blame.\n        I will not have you here good dame,\n      For you were mistress of the flyting,\n      If once within this gate you come,\n      I will be troubled with your bitings\n      Cummer, go back, and let me be,\n      Here are too many of your rout,\n      For women lewd like unto thee,\n      I cannot turn my foot about.\n        Sir, thief, I say I shall bide out,\n      But gossip thou wast ne\u2019er to me,\n      For to come in, I\u2019m not so stout,\n      And of my biting thou\u2019st be free:\n      But, Lucifer, what\u2019s that on thee,\n      Hast thou no water in this place?\n      Thou look\u2019st so black, it seems to me\n      Thou ne\u2019er dost wash thy ugly face.\n        If we had water for to drink,\n      We should not care for washing then,\n      Into these flames and filthy stink,\n      We burn with fire unto the doom:\n      Upbraid me then, good wife, no more,\n      For first when I heard of the name,\n      I knew thou hast such names in store,\n      Would make the devil to think shame.\n        Forsooth, Sir thief, thou art to blame,\n      If I had time now for to bide\n      Once you were well, but may think shame,\n      That lost heaven for rebellious pride,\n      Who traitor-like fell with the rest,\n      Because you would not be content,\n      And now of bliss are dispossest,\n      Without all grace for to repent,\n      Thou mad\u2019st poor Eve for to consent\n      To eat of the forbidden tree;\n      (Which we poor daughters may relent\n      And made us almost like to thee;)\n      But God be blest who passed thee by.\n      And did a Saviour provide,\n      For Adam\u2019s whole posterity,\n      All those who do in him confide.\n      Adieu, false fiend, I may not bide,\n      With thee I may no longer stay;\n      My God in death he was my guide,\n      O\u2019er hell I\u2019ll get the victory.\n        Then up the hill the poor wife went,\n      Oppressed with stinking flames and fear.\n      Weeping right sore with great relent,\n      For to go else she wist not where:\n      A narrow way with thorns and briers,\n      And full of mires was her before,\n      She sighed oft with sobs and tears,\n      The poor wife\u2019s heart was wonderous sore,\n      Tired and torn she went on still,\n      Sometimes she sat, and sometimes fell,\n      Aye till she came to a high hill,\n      And then she looked back to hell,\n      When that she had climbed up the hill,\n      Before her was a goodly plain;\n      Where she did rest and weep her fill.\n      Then rose she to her feet again,\n      Her heart was glad the way was good,\n      Up to the hill she hy\u2019d with haste,\n      The flowers were fair, where that she stood\n      The fields were pleasant to her taste.\n        Then she espied Jerusalem,\n      On Sion\u2019s mount where that it stood\n      Shining with gold light as the sun,\n      Her silly soul was then right glad;\n      The ports were pearls shining bright,\n      Glorious it was for to behold,\n      With precious stones give such a light,\n      The walls were of transparent gold.\n      High were the walls, the gates were shut.\n      And long she thought for to be in\n      But then for fear of biding out,\n      She knocked hard and made some din.\n        To knock and cry she did not spare.\n      Till father Adam did her hear;\n      Who is\u2019t that raps so rudely there,\n      Heaven cannot well be won by weir.\n        The wife of Beith that you speer,\n      Hath stood these two hours at the gate.\n        Go back, saith he, you must forbear,\n      Here may no sinners entrance get.\n        Adam, quoth she, I shall be in,\n      In spite of all such churls as thee:\n      Thou\u2019rt the original of all sin,\n      For eating of the forbidden tree:\n      For which thou art not flyting free,\n      But for thy foul offences fled.\n      Adam went back and let her be;\n      Looking as if his nose had bled.\n        Then mother Eve did at him speer\n      Who was it that made such a din?\n      He said a woman would be here,\n      For me, I durst not let her in.\n        I\u2019ll go, said she, and ask her will,\n      Her company I would have fain;\n      But aye she cried and knocked still,\n      And in no ways she would refrain.\n        Daughter, said Eve, you will do well,\n      And come again another time\n      Heaven is not won by sword or steel,\n      Nor one that\u2019s guilty of a crime.\n        Mother, said she, the fault is thine,\n      That knocking here so long I stand:\n      Thy guilt is more than that of mine,\n      If thou wilt rightly understand,\n      Our misery thou didst begin,\n      By thee thy husband was deceived.\n        Eve went back where Noah was,\n      And told him all how she was blam\u2019d,\n      Of her great sin and first trespass,\n      Whereof she was so much ashamed.\n        Then Noah said, I will go down,\n      And will forbid her that she knock;\n      Go back, he said, ye drunken lown,\n      You\u2019re none of the celestial flock.\n        Noah, she said, hold thou thy piece,\n      Where I drank ale, thou didst drink wine,\n      Discovered was to thy disgrace,\n      When thou wast full like to a swine:\n      If I was drunk I learned at thee,\n      For thou\u2019rt the father and the first,\n      That others taught, and likewise me,\n      To drink when we as had no thirst.\n        Then Noah turned back with speed,\n      And told the Patriarch Abraham then,\n      How that the carlin made him dread,\n      And how she all his deeds did ken.\n        Abraham then said, now get you gone,\n      Let us no more hear of your din\n      No lying wife as I suppone,\n      May enter in these gates within.\n        Abraham, she said, will you but spare,\n      I hope you are not flyting free;\n      You of yourself had such a care,\n      Denied your wife and made a lie;\n      O then I pray you let me be,\n      For I repent of all my sin,\n      Do thou but open the gates to me,\n      And let me quietly come in.\n        Abraham went back to Jacob then,\n      And told his nephew how he sped,\n      How that of her he nothing wan,\n      And that he thought the carlin mad.\n        Then down came Jacob throu\u2019 the close,\n      And said, go backward down to hell:\n        Jacob, quoth she, I know thy voice,\n      That gate pertaineth to thy sell\n      Of thy old trumperies I can tell,\n      With two sisters thou led\u2019st thy life\n      And the third part of these tribes twelve,\n      Thou got with maid\u2019s besides thy wife:\n      And stole thy father\u2019s bennison,\n      Only by fraud thy father frae;\n      Gave thou not him for venison,\n      A kid, instead of baked rae.\n        Jacob himself was tickled so,\n      He went to Lot where he was lying,\n      And to the gate he pray\u2019d him to go,\n      To staunch the carling of her crying.\n        Lot says fair dame, make less ado,\n      And come again another day.\n        Old harlot carle and drunkard too,\n      Thou with thine own two daughters lay,\n      Of thine untimely seed I say,\n      Proceeded never good but ill.\n        Poor Lot, for shame then stole away,\n      And left the wife to knock her fill.\n        Meek Moses then went down at last,\n      To pacify the carling then;\n      Now, dame, said he, knock not so fast,\n      Your knocking will not let you ben.\n        Good Sir, said she I am aghast,\n      When that I look you in the face;\n      If that your law till now did last,\n      Then surely I had ne\u2019er got grace:\n      But, Moses, Sir, now by your leave,\n      Although in heaven thou be possest\n      For all you saw, did not believe.\n      But you in Horeb there transgres\n      Wherefore by all it is confest,\n      You got but once the land to see,\n      And in the mount was put to rest,\n      Yea burned there where, you did die.\n        Then Aaron said, you whorish wife,\n      Go get you gone and rap no more;\n      With idols you have led your life,\n      Or then you shall repent it sore.\n        Good Aaron Priest, I know you well,\n      The golden calf you may remember,\n      Who made the people plagues to see,\n      This is of you recorded ever;\n      Your priesthood now is nothing worth,\n      Christ is my only priest and he,\n      My Lord who will not keep me forth,\n      So I\u2019ll get in, in spite of thee.\n        Up started Samson at the length,\n      Unto the gate apace came he,\n      To drive away the wife with\u2019s strength,\n      But all in vain it would not be.\n        Samson, says she, the world may see,\n      Thou wast a Judge who proved unjust,\n      Those gracious gifts which God gave thee,\n      Thou lost them by licentious lust.\n      From Dalila thy wicked wife,\n      The secrets chief couldst nor refrain,\n      She daily sought to take thy life,\n      Thou lost thy locks and then was slain,\n      Tho\u2019 thou wast strong it was in vain,\n      Haunting with harlots here and there.\n      Then Samson turned back again,\n      And with the wife would mell nae mair.\n        Then said king David, knock no more.\n      We are all troubled with your cry.\n        David, quoth she, how cam\u2019st thou there,\n      Thou might\u2019st bide out as well as I:\n      Thy deeds no ways thou can\u2019st deny,\n      Is not thy sin far worse than mine,\n      Who with Uriah\u2019s wife did lie,\n      And caused him to be murdered syne?\n        Then Jonas said, fair dame content you,\n      If you intend to come to grace,\n      You must dree pennance and repent you,\n      Ere you can come within this place.\n        Jonas, quoth she, how stands the case?\n      How came you here to be with Christ?\n      How dare you look him in the face?\n      Considering how you broke your tryst?\n        So Jonas then he was ashamed,\n      Because he was not flyting free,\n      Of all his faults she had him blamed,\n      He left the wife and let her be.\n        Saint Thomas then, I counsel thee\n      Go speak unto yon wicked wife,\n      She shames us all and as for me,\n      Her like I never heard in life.\n        Thomas, then said, you make such strife,\n      When you are out, and meikle din,\n      If ye were here I\u2019ll lay my life,\n      No peace the saints will get within,\n      It is your trade far to be flyting,\n      Still in a fever as one raves,\n      No marvel though you wives be biting,\n      Your tongues are made of aspen leaves.\n        Thomas, quoth she, let be your taunts,\n      You play the pick-thank I perceive,\n      Tho\u2019 you be brother\u2019d \u2019mong the saints,\n      An unbelieving heart you have\n      Thou brought\u2019st the Lord unto the grave,\n      But would\u2019st no more with him remain,\n      And wast the last of all the lave\n      That did believe he rose again.\n      There might no doctrine do thee good,\n      No miracles make thee confide,\n      Till thou beheld Christ\u2019s wounds and blood,\n      And putt\u2019st thy hands into his side;\n      Didst thou not daily with him bide,\n      And see the wonders which he wrought?\n      But blest are they who do confide,\n      And do believe, yet saw him not;\n      Thomas, she says, will ye but speer,\n      If that my sister Magdelene,\n      Will come to me, if she be here;\n      For comforts sure you give me nane.\n        He was so blythe and turned back,\n      And thanked God that she was gane;\n      He had no will to hear her crack,\n      But told it Mary Magdalene.\n        When that she heard her sister\u2019s mocks,\n      She went unto the gate with speed;\n      And asked her who\u2019s there that knocks;\n      \u2019Tis I the wife of Beith indeed.\n      She said, good mistress, you must stand\n      Till you be tried by tribulation.\n        Sister, quoth she, give me your hand\n      Are we not both of one vocation;\n      It is not through your occupation,\n      That you are placed so divine,\n      My faith is fixed on Christ\u2019s passion,\n      My soul shall be as safe as thine.\n        Then Mary went away in haste,\n      The carling made her so ashamed,\n      She had no will of such a guest,\n      To lose her pains and be so blamed.\n        Now good Saint Paul, said Magdalene,\n      For that you are a learned man,\n      Go and convince this woman then,\n      For I have done all that I can;\n      Sure if she were in hell, I doubt\n      They would not keep her long there,\n      But to the gate would put her out,\n      And send her back to be elsewhere.\n        Then went the good apostle Paul,\n      To put the wife in better tune,\n      Wash off that filth that files thy soul,\n      Then shalt heaven\u2019s gates be opened soon.\n        Remember, Paul, what thou hast done,\n      For all the epistles thou didst compile,\n      Though now thou sittest up above,\n      Thou persecuted\u2019st Christ a while.\n        Woman, he said, thou art not right,\n      That which I did, I did not know;\n      But thou didst sin with all thy might,\n      Although the preachers did thee show.\n        Saint Paul, she said, it is not so\n      I did not know so well as ye,\n      But I will to my Saviour go,\n      Who will his favour shew to me.\n      You think you are of flyting free,\n      Because you was rapt up above,\n      But yet it was Christ\u2019s grace to thee,\n      And matchlessness of his dear love.\n        Then Paul, says she, let Peter come,\n      If he be lying let him rise,\n      To him I will confess my sin,\n      And let him quickly bring the keys,\n      Too long I stand, he\u2019ll let me in,\n      For why I cannot longer tarry,\n      Then shall ye all be quit of din,\n      For I must speak with good saint Mary.\n        Peter, said she, let Christ arise,\n      And grant me mercy in my need;\n      For why I ne\u2019er deny\u2019d him thrice,\n      As thou thyself hast done indeed.\n        Thou carling bold, what\u2019s that to thee?\n      I got remission for my sin;\n      It cost many sad tears to me,\n      Before I entered here within.\n        It will not be thy meikle din\n      Will cause heaven\u2019s gates opened be,\n      Thou must be purified of sin,\n      And of all sins must be made free.\n        Saint Peter then, no thanks to you,\n      That so you were rid of your fears,\n      It was Christ\u2019s gracious look, I trow,\n      That made you weep those bitter tears.\n      The door of mercy is not closed,\n      I may get grace as well as ye,\n      It is not so as ye supposed,\n      I will be in in spite of thee.\n        But wicked wife, it is too late,\n      Thou should\u2019st have mourn\u2019d on earth,\n      Repentance now is out of date:\n      It should have been before thy death,\n      Thou mightest then have turned wrath\n      To mercy then, and mercy great,\n      But now the Lord is very loth,\n      And all thy cries not worth a jot.\n        Ah! Peter, then, what shall I do?\n      He will not hear me as I hear,\n      Shall I despair of mercy too?\n      No, no, I\u2019ll trust in mercy dear;\n      And if I perish, here I\u2019ll stay\n      And never go from heaven bright\n      I\u2019ll ever hope and always pray,\n      Until I get my Saviour\u2019s sight.\n        I think indeed you are not right,\n      If you had faith you could win in;\n      Importune then with all your might,\n      Faith is the feet wherewith ye come.\n      It is the hands will hold him fast,\n      But weak faith may not presume;\n      \u2019Twill let you sink, and be aghast\n      Strongly believe, or you\u2019re undone.\n        But, good saint Peter, let me be,\n      Had you such faith, did it abound?\n      When you did walk upon the sea,\n      Was you not like for to be drown\u2019d,\n      Had not our Saviour helped thee,\n      Who came and took thee by the hand,\n      So can my Lord do unto me,\n      And bring me to the promised land.\n      Is my faith weak? yet he is still\n      The same and ever shall remain;\n      His mercies last, and his good will,\n      To bring me to his flock again;\n      He will me help and me relieve,\n      And will increase my faith also,\n      Of weakly I can but believe,\n      For from this place I\u2019ll never go.\n        But Peter said, how can that be,\n      How durst thou look him in the face.\n      Such horrid sinners like to thee,\n      Can have no courage to get grace;\n      Here none comes in but they that\u2019s stout,\n      And suffered have for the good cause;\n      Like unto thee are keeped out,\n      For thou hast broke all Moses\u2019 laws.\n        Peter, she said, I do appeal,\n      From Moses, and from thee also.\n      With him and you I\u2019ll not prevail,\n      But to my Saviour I will go;\n      Indeed of old you were right stout;\n      When you did cut off Malchus\u2019 ear;\n      But after that you went about;\n      And a poor maid then did you fear.\n      Wherefore, saint Peter, do forbear,\n      A comforter indeed you\u2019re not;\n      Let me alone, I do not fear,\n      Take home the whistle of your groat:\n      Was it your own, or Paul\u2019s good sword,\n      When that your courage was so keen,\n      You were right stout upon my word,\n      Then would you fain at fishing been;\n      For at the crowing of the cock,\n      You did deny your master thrice,\n      For all your stoutness turned a block,\n      Now flyte no more if ye be wise.\n        Yet at the last the Lord arose,\n      Environed with angels bright,\n      And to the wife in haste he goes,\n      Desired her soon pass out of sight.\n        O Lord, quoth she, cause do me right,\n      But not according to my sin;\n      Have you not promised day and night,\n      When sinners knock to let them in.\n        He said thou wrests the scriptures wrong\n      The night is come thou spent the day,\n      In whoredom thou hast lived long,\n      And to repent thou didst delay;\n      Still my commandments thou abus\u2019dst,\n      And vice committedst busily,\n      Since now my mercy thou refus\u2019dst,\n      Go down to hell eternally.\n      O Lord, my soul doth testify,\n      That I have spent my life in vain;\n      Ah! make a wand\u2019ring sheep of me,\n      And bring me to thy flock again.\n        Think\u2019st thou there is no count to crave,\n      Of all these gifts in thee was planted.\n      I gave thee beauty \u2019bove the lave,\n      A pregnant wit thou never wanted.\n        Master, quoth she, it must be granted,\n      My sins is great give me contrition:\n      The forlorn son when he repented,\n      Obtained his father full remission.\n      I spared my judgments many times\n      And spiritual pastors did thee send;\n      But thou renewd\u2019st thy former crimes,\n      Aye more and more me to offend.\n        My Lord, quoth she, I do amend,\n      Lamenting for my former vice\n      The poor thief at the latter\n      For one word went to paradise.\n        The thief heard never of me teaching,\n      My heavenly precepts and my laws,\n      But thou was daily at my preachings,\n      Both heard and saw, and yet miskaws.\n        Master, quoth she, the scriptures shows,\n      The Jewish woman which play\u2019d the lown,\n      Conform unto the Hebrew laws,\n      Was brought to thee to be put down,\n      But nevertheless thou lett\u2019st her go,\n      And made the Pharisees afraid.\n        Indeed, says Christ it was right so,\n      And that my bidding was obey\u2019d,\n      Woman, he said, I may not cast\n      The childrens\u2019 bread to dogs like\n      Although my mercies yet do last,\n      There\u2019s mercy here but none for thee.\n        But, loving Lord, may I presume\n      Poor worm, that I may speak again,\n      The dogs for hunger were undone,\n      And of the crumbs they were right fain,\n      Grant me one crumb then that did fall\n      From thy best childrens\u2019 table, Lord,\n      That I may be refreshed withal,\n      It will not help enough afford.\n        The gates of mercy now are closed,\n      And thou canst hardly enter in\n      It is not so as thou supposed,\n      For thou art deadly sick in sin.\n        \u2019Tis true indeed, my Lord most meek\n      My sore and sickness I do feel:\n      Yet thou the lame didst truly seek,\n      Who lay long at Bethseda\u2019s pool,\n      Of many that thee never sought,\n        Like to the poor Samaritan,\n      Whom thou unto thy fold has brought,\n      Even as thou didst the widow of Nain\n      Most gracious God, didst thou not bid\n      All that were weary come to thee,\n      Behold, I come! even overload\n      With sin, have mercy upon me.\n        The issues of thy soul are great,\n      Thou art both leprous and unclean,\n      To be with me thou art not fit,\n      Go from me then, let me alone.\n        Let me thy garments once but touch,\n      My bloody issue shall be whole,\n      It will not cost thee very much,\n      To save a poor distressed soul,\n      Speak thou the word, I shall be whole,\n      One look of thee shall do me good,\n      Save now, good Lord, my silly soul,\n      Bought with thine own most precious blood\n      Sweet Lord my God, say me not nay,\n      For if I perish here I\u2019ll die.\n        Poor silly wretch, then speak no more,\n      Thy faith, poor soul, hath saved thee;\n      Enter thou in unto my glore,\n      And rest thro\u2019 all eternity.\n        How soon our Saviour these words said,\n      A long white robe to her was given;\n      And then the angels did her lead,\n      Forthwith within the gates of heaven:\n      A laurel crown set on her head,\n      Spangled with rubies and with gold:\n      A bright white palm she always had,\n      Glorious it was for to behold;\n      Her face did shine like to the sun,\n      Like threads of gold her hair hang down,\n      Her eyes like lamps unto the moon,\n      Of precious stones rich was her crown.\n      Angels and saints did welcome her,\n      The heavenly choir did sing, rejoice;\n      King David with his harp was there:\n      The silver bells gave a great noise.\n      Such music and such melody\n      Was never either heard or seen,\n      When this poor saint was placed so high,\n      And of all sins made freely clean;\n      But then when thus she was possest,\n      And looked back on all her fears;\n      And that she was come to her rest,\n      Free\u2019d from all sins, and all her tears,\n      She from her head did take the crown,\n      Giving all praise to Christ on high,\n      And at his feet she laid it down.\n      For that the Lamb had made her free,\n      Now doth she sing triumphantly,\n      And shall rejoice for evermore,\n      O\u2019er death and hell victoriously\n      With lasting pleasures laid in store.\n\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n      Of WIFE OF BEITH I make an end,\n      And do these lines with this conclude,\n      Let none their lives in sin now spend,\n      But watch and pray, be doing good,\n      Despondent souls do not despair,\n      Repent, and still believe in Christ,\n      His mercies, which last for evermore,\n      Will save the souls that in him trust.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n  TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTE\n\n  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been\n  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within\n  the text and consultation of external sources.\n\n  Use of \u2018Mr\u2019 and \u2018Mr.\u2019, \u2018St\u2019 and \u2018St.\u2019 is sometimes inconsistent\n  even within a Chap-book. This has not been changed.\n\n  Several missing opening quotation marks have been inserted; many\n  missing closing quotation marks have been inserted.\n\n  Four occurrences of the French word _mele_ have been replaced\n  by _m\u00eal\u00e9e_.\n\n  Except for those changes noted below, all dialect in the text,\n  all misspellings, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been\n  retained.\n\n  The Life of John Knox.\n    Pg 5: \u2018and licentions lives\u2019 replaced by \u2018and licentious lives\u2019.\n    Pg 12: \u2018neqhew of\u2019 replaced by \u2018nephew of\u2019.\n    Pg 13: \u2018I require I of your\u2019 replaced by \u2018I require of your\u2019.\n    Pg 18: \u2018and Dominician\u2019 replaced by \u2018and Dominican\u2019.\n    Pg 21: \u2018throughtout all\u2019 replaced by \u2018throughout all\u2019.\n    Pg 24: \u2018professsor of\u2019 replaced by \u2018professor of\u2019.\n\n  The Life of Alexander Peden.\n    Pg 20: \u2018of the visons\u2019 replaced by \u2018of the visions\u2019.\n    Pg 20: \u2018I tell the, woman\u2019 replaced by \u2018I tell thee, woman\u2019.\n    Pg 24: \u2018was buired in\u2019 replaced by \u2018was buried in\u2019.\n\n  The Life of Mr Donald Cargill.\n    Pg 3: \u2018chapter of Ezekial\u2019 replaced by \u2018chapter of Ezekiel\u2019.\n    Pg 11: \u2018are will- to quit\u2019 replaced by \u2018are willing to quit\u2019.\n    Pg 20: \u2018motion buing put\u2019 replaced by \u2018motion being put\u2019.\n    Pg 23: \u2018interpersed among\u2019 replaced by \u2018interspersed among\u2019.\n\n  The Battle of Drumclog.\n    Pg 4: \u2018deal of Aven\u2019 replaced by \u2018dale of Aven\u2019.\n    Pg 12: \u2018born by his men\u2019 replaced by \u2018borne by his men\u2019.\n    Pg 12: \u2018was born along\u2019 replaced by \u2018was borne along\u2019.\n    Pg 18: \u2018the plumb of\u2019 replaced by \u2018the plume of\u2019.\n    Pg 21: \u2018born upright by\u2019 replaced by \u2018borne upright by\u2019.\n    Pg 23: \u2018was born off\u2019 replaced by \u2018was borne off\u2019.\n\n  An Elegy in Memory of Sir Robert Grierson.\n    Pg 14: \u2018The Caneronians\u2019 replaced by \u2018The Cameronians\u2019.\n    Pg 19: \u2018to the revoluton\u2019 replaced by \u2018to the revolution\u2019.\n\n  A Wedding-Ring Fit for the Finger.\n    Pg 6: \u2018damnally sinful\u2019 replaced by \u2018damnably sinful\u2019.\n    Pg 13: \u2018by her alineation\u2019 replaced by \u2018by her alienation\u2019.\n    Pg 20: \u20182. Choose not\u2019 replaced by \u20183. Choose not\u2019.\n    Pg 21: \u2018toast on the sea\u2019 replaced by \u2018tost on the sea\u2019.\n\n  The Pilgrim\u2019s Progress\n    Pg 1: \u2018PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.\u2019 inserted after\n        \u2018GLASGOW;\u2019 (present on every other Chap-book Title page).\n    Pg 3: \u2018the warth to come\u2019 replaced by \u2018the wrath to come\u2019.\n    Pg 24: \u2018to Christianna\u2019 replaced by \u2018to Christiana\u2019.\n\n  Divine Songs.\n    Pg 8: \u2018Great God, with\u2019 replaced by \u20181 Great God, with\u2019.\n    Pg 15: \u20184\u2019 replaced by \u20185\u2019, and \u20185\u2019 replaced by \u20184\u2019.\n    Pg 18: \u2018those in pla\u2019 replaced by \u2018those in play\u2019.\n    Pg 22: \u2018My God, who\u2019 replaced by \u20181 My God, who\u2019.\n\n  The Plant of Renown.\n    Pg 16: \u2018is the deisgn\u2019 replaced by \u2018is the design\u2019.\n\n  Honey from the Rock of Christ.\n    Pg 7: \u2018dost on-Christ him\u2019 replaced by \u2018dost un-Christ him\u2019.\n\n  Sins and Sorrows before God.\n    Pg 3: \u2018in ever hour\u2019 replaced by \u2018in every hour\u2019.\n    Pg 5: \u2018melts and flow in\u2019 replaced by \u2018melts and flows in\u2019.\n    Pg 23: \u2018ancient petriarchs\u2019 replaced by \u2018ancient patriarchs\u2019.\n\n  A Token for Mourners.\n    Pg 6: \u2018this propossition\u2019 replaced by \u2018this proposition\u2019.\n    Pg 9: \u2018borne chistisement,\u2019 replaced by \u2018borne chastisement,\u2019.\n    Pg 9: \u2018which a see\u2019 replaced by \u2018which I see\u2019.\n    Pg 9: \u2018It It is meet\u2019 replaced by \u2018It is meet\u2019.\n    Pg 9: \u2018borne chastisment.\u2019 replaced by \u2018borne chastisement.\u2019.\n    Pg 10: \u2018have done inquity\u2019 replaced by \u2018have done iniquity\u2019.\n    Pg 11: \u2018is epen to hear\u2019 replaced by \u2018is open to hear\u2019.\n    Pg 13: \u2018man complain, a man for\u2019 replaced by \u2018man complain, for\u2019.\n    Pg 16: \u2018through nnbelief\u2019 replaced by \u2018through unbelief\u2019.\n    Pg 17: \u2018that has oppointed\u2019 replaced by \u2018that has appointed\u2019.\n    Pg 23: \u2018fron iniquity\u2019 replaced by \u2018from iniquity\u2019.\n\n  A Prayer Book for Families and Private Persons.\n    Pg 5: \u2018all frowardness and\u2019 replaced by \u2018all forwardness and\u2019.\n    Pg 6: \u2018we shoud bless\u2019 replaced by \u2018we should bless\u2019.\n    Pg 7: \u2018our dail bread\u2019 replaced by \u2018our daily bread\u2019.\n    Pg 7: \u2018didst make things\u2019 replaced by \u2018didst make all things\u2019.\n    Pg 10: \u2018making the angry\u2019 replaced by \u2018making thee angry\u2019.\n    Pg 13: \u2018to or hearts;\u2019 replaced by \u2018to our hearts;\u2019.\n    Pg 16: \u2018his geneneration\u2019 replaced by \u2018his generation\u2019.\n    Pg 20: \u2018their frowardnes\u2019 replaced by \u2018their forwardness\u2019.\n    Pg 23: \u2018said by\u2019 replaced by \u2018If said by\u2019.\n\n  The New Pictorial Bible.\n    Pg 2: missing \u20181\u2019 inserted before \u2018The Creation of Light.\u2019.\n    Pg 3: missing \u20183\u2019 inserted before \u2018Woman formed.\u2019.\n    Pg 10: \u2018with s right hand\u2019 replaced by \u2018with his right hand\u2019.\n    Pg 18: \u2018kept, -- daughter\u2019 replaced by \u2018kept, the daughter\u2019.\n    Pg 19: \u2018his diciples came\u2019 replaced by \u2018his disciples came\u2019.\n    Pg 19: \u2018they hat mourn\u2019 replaced by \u2018they that mourn\u2019.\n    Pg 22: missing \u201841\u2019 inserted before \u2018Jesus is accused\u2019.\n\n  Lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.\n    Pg 5: \u2018there innocence did\u2019 replaced by \u2018their innocence did\u2019.\n    Pg 8: \u2018on the alter\u2019 replaced by \u2018on the altar\u2019.\n    Pg 11: \u2018on a time sod\u2019 replaced by \u2018on a time sold\u2019.\n    Pg 11: \u2018to which Esa\u2019 replaced by \u2018to which Esau agreed.\u2019.\n    Pg 16: \u2018Upon there return\u2019 replaced by \u2018Upon their return\u2019.\n    Pg 19: \u2018there approaching\u2019 replaced by \u2018their approaching\u2019.\n    Pg 22: \u2018in there rebellion\u2019 replaced by \u2018in their rebellion\u2019.\n\n  The Life and Death of Judas Iscariot.\n    Pg 24: \u2018their to expect\u2019 replaced by \u2018there to expect\u2019.\n\n  The Wife of Beith.\n    Pg 18: \u2018ever hop and\u2019 replaced by \u2018ever hope and\u2019.\n    Pg 19: \u2018When yon did cut\u2019 replaced by \u2018When you did cut\u2019.","title":"John Cheap, the Chapman's Library. Vol. 2: Religious and Scriptural: The Scottish Chap Literature of Last Century, Classified","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":106994}