ved to quit it, and did fo for fome time: God by one means or other broke all my projects to turn away; he kept me intent in obferving providences, he gave an opportunity, directed to means I had not thought on, and prevented my fears as to those whom I thought most opposite.

After I had the greatest profpect of encouragement, I met with difcouragments, and then encouragement when leaft expected.

I have been kept off means, kept low as to thoughts of myself, and kept in dependance on God as to the iffue.

The thoughts of which things made me with much fweetness promise good at the hand of God.

In profecution of his purpose, he was married at Edinburgh January 23, 1701.

As God bleffed him with children, it was his conftant practise to devote them to the Lord: He was much in prayer for his family submitting all his and their concerns to the divine difpofal as to life, health, &c. But most earnest was he for their fouls eternal welfare; an inftance hereof follows.

March 1705, An account of my exercise, with refpect to my youngest child's foul's ftate, a girl of eleven months old, represented in a few remarks.

I.

W

7Hen two years ago my fon died furprisingly in the birth, I was much concern'd in defiring fome fatisfaction as to his eternal state, but ob-. tained no particular promife at that time, fave only, 1. That I was made to blefs God, that I had no ground to fear the worst, as I might have had if he had been come to age, 2. I was made to look to the extensive promife of the covenant that is to us and our children. 3. I had peace in this, that I had devoted him to the Lord as foon as I found him to live in the belly. 2. When

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2. When this child fell into a languishing sickness, and death began evidently to be threatned, I was put to more clofs exercife about her eternal state.

3. I was fome times much enlarged in her behalf, but was unwilling to reft here, but humbly defired, That the Lord would give me fome ground from the word to hope as to her."

4. That I might not be wanting in the ufe of the means of the Lord's appointment, I confulted books, and the experience of fuch of the Lord's people as I had access to, to fee what I might expect, but found no fatisfaction; yet I refolv'd to wait on the Lord, and cried to him.

When I cry'd to him, I found for a confiderable time no answer, but heavy challenges, 1. For not ob ferving returns by the word as I fhould have done, 2. For not feeking more this way, and refting too easily without this. 3. For not ftudying the word fo much. as I fhould: Thus the Lord dealt with me as with Ifrael Judges vi. 710. When they cry'd, before he fent deliverance, he fent a reproof.

6. The Lord further to humble me, tryfted me with feveral afflictions, my wife's frailty and my

own.

7. When I was in this distress, I cry'd to the Lord, and in prayer he relieved me by that paffage, Mark, X.13. 16. Suffer little children to come unto me;' as to which I remark, 1. While I was in prayer crying for mercy to the child it was then fuggested. And, 2. The Lord let me fee in it, that it was the parents who brought their children to Chrift, defirous of his blaffing of them. 3. The difciples were against Christ's taking notice of them, or putting any particular mark of refpect on them. 4. But Chrift rebuked them and faid,' fuffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them no.. Though the difciples would not age us to expect any evidence of the Lord's fpecial love to youngones, yet the Lord is of another mind.

5. The Lord approv'd of the parents bringing, and bleffed the children. 6. Here the Lord enlarged me, helped me to rely on him, that he would put his hand on the child and blefs her, and hereby quietedmy foul, and filled me with thankfulnefs; and I was relieved as to the child that is gone, and this that is dying Blefs, blefs, blefs the Lord, O my foul; he prepares the heart to pray, and he will incline the ear to hear. Remember the word on which thou caufecft me to hope.

April, 11, The child died: Bleiled be God, I have had a child to give at his call, and bleffed be the Lord that he helped to give her willingly.'

Another inftance at the death of his fon George, March 23, 1712, The Lord's day, a day to be remembred by me, a day wholly spent in prayer and praife, an introduction to life: 'O my foul, never forget what this day I felt, I reached, My foul had fmiles that almoft wafted nature.' My kind collegue and I prayed alternately: Oh fuch a fweet day! About half an hour after fabbath, my child, after a harp conflict 'twixt nature and the difeafe, flept pleafantly in Jefus, to whom pleasantly he was oft given.

Mercies and grounds of hope.

.1: He Lord from the begining fix'd the eye on himself, and kept fubmiffive and dependent

as to the child.

2. In the entry, the Lord brought the difeafe picafantly on; gave him aftonishing patience, when for feveral days and nights he slept nonc.

3. The Lord gave warning by this, that though the child, I doubt, fcarce knew his mother's name or mine before, but named us always, and only father and mother; in his fickness, when afked who we were? He answered, Thomas Halyburton and Janet

Watfon; Here the relation was difown'd, which struck me at the firft, and I thought the relation was loos'd. His mother one day afked him,why he called her fo? But he returned no anfwer. 4. I afk'd him fome days after he took it, George, would you be well and live, or die and go to heaven? I expected a child's answer; but he readily, and more readily than was confiftent with his usual way of speaking, said, I will go to heaven I had herein fome check for not being serious enough in the question; and his death I expected.

4. I had all this winter been extraordinary helped in crying for mercy to the children; and any blinks I had, and loofing of my bonds, was when I did point prayer this way; oft got I freedom to throw them on fovereign grace, oft to fpeak to them directly from the word at night, and never more than about a month before this, from Jacob's laft word's: I thought now God was to take a trial in the tenderest point, whether I should stand to it, and hold by the oft repeated refignation.

6. I could not find freedom in seeking the child's life, but much in crying for mercy to him, and a token for good.

7. When he first fell ill, the burden was great on my spirit, till that night after my kind collegue, and I had communed with much weight about the prefent ftate of the church and of religion in this place: concern for the Lord's intereft got far the afcendant in my heart, and my own deareft concerns funk; and from that time the Lord fcattered clouds, and comforted me, as to my present weighty concern for the child; and that, 1. In giving me enlargement to bless him, that I had no pofitive grounds to call in question his ftate. Again, 2. The Lord gave me to lay ftrefs on his command of bringing little ones to him; nay, he caufed me to hope on that word, and and on the reach of the promise to children. 3. The nearer to his end, the more loos'd I was from him,

the

the more chearful my refignation, fubmiffion, and humble confidence, refreshing, purifying and quickning my fpirit. 4. The Lord led both me and others. to express confidence, we would not avoid it. My kind collegue and I spent the whole day in prayer with and for him; and he in his turn, praying just when the child was dying, even could not hold fshort of this, We defire to believe, we hope, nay, we are confident he is entring unto glory. 5. Whereas he had been free of the fighting and roving for forty eight hours before his death, he came to have fome little ftruggles at last, tho' without contortions; I was put to cry for pity as to this, and that as a token for good, and was heard. 6. That fame grace that prepared the heart to pray, inclin'd the ear to hear, kept the foul chearfully to refignation, and not only compos'd, but fweetned our fpirits; fo that before his death, prayers were well nigh made up of praises, and he was fet off with thanfgiving.

CHAP. VI:

Of his entring upon the profeffion of divinity.

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He place of profeffor of divinity in the new college in the university of St. Andrews being vacant, a propofel was once and again made to Mr. Halyburton, of procuring him a patent for that poft; but he gave no encouragment to it, refolving to be no way the difpofer of his own lot. And in December 1709, being advertised, that her majesty's patent was granted in his favours, he faid, Lord crush it, if it is not for thy glory. Herein I have peace, that I had no hand in it.

The queen's patent being expede, the college there. upon applied unto the prefbytery of Coupar, for getting Mr. Halyburton loofed from his paftoral relation to the parish of Ceres, in order to his being fettled profeffor