pleading for the lawfulness of it, and disowning the Covenant, which we were all bound to. Oh ! my heart trembles to think what will come on this generation, for their dreadful apostacy and departing from the way of the Lord.

"10. To all the fellowship meetings of the Lord's people, for reading, praying, and singing of Psalms, and all the other duties proper for, and incumbent upon them. I mean these that desire to wrestle and hold up the case of His ruined work, and his poor suffering remnant.

"11. To the eight articles, called the New Covenant, taken at the Queensferry off worthy H[enry] H[all].

"Now as I have left my testimony in short to the truths of God, so I desire to leave my testimony against the defections of the time, as the Lord shall help and assist. Therefore,

"1. I, as a dying witness, leave my testimony against Popery and Prelacy, which is so much countenanced and set up in Scotland this day, especially by those who seemed to be most eminent, as it is in Gal. i. 6, 'I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another Gospel.'

2. Against Quakerism, Independency, and all other errors which are not according to the Word of God, and our solemn Covenants and Confession of Faith.

"3. Against the tyrant upon the throne of Britain and Ireland, for his tyranny, oppression, and bloodshed, and for overturning the laws, both civil and ecclesiastic, and not making the law his rule to be ruled by, but he ruling the law, and not the law him; which is not according to the Word of God, as it is in 2 Sam. xxiii. 3, 'He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.' Even against that tyrant, and all upholders, aiders, assisters, and maintainers of him. Oh what will become of this generation for their apostacy and departing away from God?

"4. Against the Oath of Supremacy, for the setting up of persons as supreme, and following and making them their rule, and not taking the Word of God to be their rule.

"5. Against that Bond taken in the Greyfriars kirkyard, although there be many that denied it, until the Lord in His own due time made it appear, when the trial came to agreater length; for He has said in His Word, that there is nothing done in secret, but He will have it manifested in the light.

"6. Against that Bond called the Bond of Regulation, for their

binding to walk according to the will of men, and not according to the will of God. Surely it is not according to the practice of the apostles' But Peter and John answered, and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye' (Acts iv. 19).

"7. Against the Bond pressed by the Highland host in the west country. Oh what may be said of this generation? It may be said, Ye have gone away backward from my ordinances, and ye have forsaken me the living God, and have hewed you out broken cisterns that can hold no water.

"8. Against that land-ruining and soul-destroying thing called the Test.

"9. Against all coming out of prison upon Bond and Caution; whatever men may say of it, it is a complying with the avowed enemies, and a binding themselves to be the prisoners of men, and not the prisoners of Jesus Christ.

"10. Against all compearing at courts and paying of fines; for it implies that we have done a fault against them; and also, it approves of these as just judges, that are imposing these things; but ye may see what they are, for there is no sober man will get leave to plead an action there. And can these be called judges, and owned as judges, who are grassators [i.e., robbers] and land judg

ments ?

"II. Against all Cess and Locality, which is imposed for the down bearing of the Gospel, and for maintaining bloody and avowed enemies to banish Christ and His Gospel out of the land, and to hunt, plunder, rob, spoil, and persecute the poor people of God; for in the very narrative of the Act, it is set down for that end, and declared to the world; see what is said against it: But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink-offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not' (Isa. lxv. 11-12).

"12. Against hearing of curates, because they are wolves and boars, thrust in upon the Lord's people to kill and destroy; and against the Indulgence first and last; and against the hearing of them, and joining with them, or pleading for them; because they are not entered in by the right door, and teach for doctrine the com

mandments of men. Therefore they are in so far not the ministers of Jesus Christ, but the ministers of men, as it is said: 'Verily I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber' (John x. 1). And against all ministers and professors, who are now lying at ease, when Zion is in trouble, and are shifting their duty for fear of hazard, and are sheltering themselves under the shadow of these avowed enemies, pleading in their favours, and have broken the poor people of God, and rent the bowels of the Church; and especially those who appeared once in the fields, to hold up a banner for our lovely Lord and Master Jesus Christ. I shall be a witness against them, if repentance prevent it not.

"Now, ye that are the poor wrestling remnant, weary not of the cross of Christ, for He is a good Master, and He sends none a warfare on their own charges, for He will own them in all that he carves out for them. Oh! double your diligence, and give Him no rest till He come back again. As in Isa. lxii. 7, ‘And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.' Oh! what will come of poor Scotland, for the horrid iniquities and abominations, perjury and bloodshed, and Covenant-breaking? Oh! Scotland's punishment will be sad; but my eyes shall be closed, and I shall not see it, and I am well content, seeing I get my soul for a prey. Now I am afraid God will not know many of this generation, that have gone such a dreadful length in defection and backsliding. But oh, what shall I say! I shall leave it to Himself to do as He may most glorify Himself, in preserving a seed and remnant to serve Him. Now I die in the faith of it, that He has a seed whom He will have preserved when He sends forth instruments with slaughter weapons; that He has a party that He will set a mark on, as it is said in Ezek. ix. 4 And the Lord said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.'

"Now I say, weary not of the cross of Christ, although ye should suffer persecution, for He has said, 'In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace.' And oh! but He taketh exact notice what is done to His people: 'Thou shouldst not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldst not have looked upon their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their

calamity' (Obad. 13). Oh! but that be a sweet word: 'It is a faithful saying, for, if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us' (2 Tim. ii. 11-12). Oh, sirs! lose not heaven for Mammon, and your own souls for what ye can suffer here. It is true none can merit heaven by their sufferings, but it is as true that He has said, 'He that will not forsake all and take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple.' Now I know there are many will brand me with self-murder, because I have got so many an offer to go to Carolina upon such easy terms. But as to that I answer, Self-preservation must stoop to truth's preservation. There are indeed many of this generation who pretend to keep their present ease and to be followers of Christ; but I defy any, if they be called to a public testimony, but they shall either lose their present possession, or else that which is of more worth, even their immortal souls and everlasting salvation.

"Now as to the heads of my indictment whereon they have sentenced me to die, they are mainly these:

"1. My approving of Drumclog and Bothwell, and being at Glasgow to be lawful and in the defence of the Gospel, and in self-defence, which both the law of God and nature allow.

"2. For adhering to the National and Solemn League and Covenant; and they declare before my face that both their king and Council had disowned the Covenant, and had taken that way by their Acts of Parliament, and said that they were both unjust and unlawful; and shall such be owned and adhered to, who have declared themselves against King Christ, and have broken His laws, and have seated themselves in the room of Jesus Christ, which belongs to no mortal man upon earth, and much less to him who is a usurper and a tyrant, I mean Charles Stuart ? And here I, as a dying witness, leave my testimony against that monstrous beast; for our Saviour calls Herod a fox, and says, 'Go tell that fox, I work to-day, and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'

"3. And mainly my sentence was, that I disowned their authority. For since they had rejected the Covenant, I was the more clear to disown them to be my judges or governors over the land; and they asserted it treasonable, because I said none of the people of God would say otherwise. And in plain terms and direct words, I deny them to have any power to rule either in civil or ecclesiastic

matters. Also these avowed enemies, who are thirsting for my blood, charged me with going up and down the country plundering and murdering, and so by their law made liable to punishment, even to the loss of my life; but I declare, who am within a little to appear before the righteous Judge, that I never intended to wrong any man. And so it is evident they take away my life upon the account of adhering to truth; and I bless the Lord that ever He gave me a life to lay down for Him, and that ever He counted me worthy to lay down my life for His persecuted truth. O matchless free grace; that is making choice of the like of me, and poor weak things to confound the strong, and the poor foolish things to confound the wise!

"Now there are three sorts of folk that I would speak a word to:

"The first are these that have begun in the way of the Lord, and seemingly have gone a good length, and when the storm of persecution arose, for fear of the rough sea of trouble, have drawn back. Oh, mind that word in Heb. x. 38, 'But if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him;' and Rom. viii. 35, 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?' and many more places of Scripture.

"A second sort are these who are going on in rebellion against God openly and avowedly, as ye may see in Psalm ii. 1, 4, 5, ‘Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure.' O poor Scotland, that once married away to the Lord, and now has provoked Him to depart and leave it, and give a bill of divorcement, as it were ! Oh, Scotland has sinned dreadfully, what by Covenant-breaking, bloodshed, lying, and swearing.

"Now a third sort are these who desire to keep their garments clean, and undefiled with the abounding sins of this generation. Go on in the way of the Lord, and fear not what man can do, for He has said, 'Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear fear Him, which, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell.' I can set to my seal to it, that Christ is a good master, and well worthy the suffering for.