ferious with the Lord, that what he hath begun, he may allo perfect in us to his own glory, and for his own work, in the fouls that are within the compafs of the decree of election of free grace. I cannot defcribe him, he is incomprehenfible, and he is without compare. O he is beautiful and glorious, ftrong and almighty, powerful to break through difficulties, and to bring through his own elect: All which is neceffary, and nothing less, that his own being caft in the furnace for the trial of their faith and patience, may be helped to endure; for he knows well enough to purge away the drofs and the fcum of his own elect O! but fome fouls he plunges over and over! to others he limits and permits their winnowing by Satan. Q! but true faith believing, and cafting all the weight ugon the promises, will bring you to the accomplishment, if ye endure with patience he is the fame always to poor finners, to make them to conquer over all their inward and outward enemies, to thefe that have received him in the precious offers of the gofpel, holden out to poor finners freely and to poor me: and he hath engaged my heart to fall in love with him, and to follow the bleffed perfe cuted gofpel; through good report, and ill report, upon all hazards whatsoever through his ftrength O! blefs him, all that is within me, that ever he made me to act faith on his great and precious promifes, and also to truft to the faithful outmaking of them to his own in particular ftraits, and alfo to the Church in general, in his due feafon, against all opofitions that can come from a tempting devil, and wicked conspiring, and defperate heart, and the wicked flattering, deceiving and bewitching world. O! but thefe be three ftrong arch, cunning and fubtile enemies! I fear, if this question were asked at profeffors in the land, If they knew thefe? They would anfwer, They knew them very well; though I fear the contrary; and it appears much in our day and generation. Wo is us! where is this married land gone to, judge ye? I blefs him that he has made me his prifoner, though I be unworthy; he has stooped low, and with his delicates has come to me in my irons and cords, in that chamber in Glasgow, with his own wine, apples and Hagons. O if ye knew what a life we have here! if ye knew the want of him, ye would have longed for him, and would not have thought a prifon, cords, ftocks, irons, hard 1 to bear for his comely pretence, and refreshing of our fouls. O glory to his bleffed and everlasting name whofe loving kindness lafts for ay. O friends! give all the praise to precious and lovely Chrift. O friends! wrefile and hold on; ufe importunity with him, for your bleeding mother-church; for it is not time to be flack. O pray for us, that we may get more and more of his fupport, that we may be strong in our almighty

God, who has done great things for his Church, and is beginning to do great things for us in our prifon.

O! praite him all ye people; but it may be nearer to the breaking of the day of our king royal, than ye are aware. God has long been filent, and confcience dumb amongst people O be ye aware, that ye have not these two, when he arifes to make war for all the wrongs he has sustained We beseech you ia his own name. try whofe ye are, what ye are and in whose list ye are: Know ye not, that truth faith is the fubftance of things not feen, but hoped for in him and will be made forthcoming to the fenfibic feeling of his own elect.

JOHN WHARRY.

A Letter written by JAMES SMITH, who fuffered for the truth at the Market-cross of Glafgow, June 11th, 1683. to his Fue ther, and mother.

I

Dear Father and Mother,

Beseech you to forgive me all the offences I have done to you, for ye know it is natural to children to offend and grieve their parents. Now this I feek in his name, and for his fake, and I heartily forgive any provocations that my father has, given me, as I am of myself, and defire the Lord may take a dealing with your heart, O my father. Now, my dear father, feek the Lord that your foul may live; and make religion your main work, and let it not be a by bufinefs to you, but frive and wrestle to get time spent rightly in the fear of the Lord, minding always and at all times, that the eye of a holy and just God is upon you; and be serious with God, and deal in earnest with him, that he would help you to self-denial, to be denied to all things beneath the clouds; and study to win at mortifica tion; and let your affections follow nothing further than ye can be mortifled to it; and be fubmiffive to his holy will. Now the Lord hirfelf perfuade you to fall in love with lovely Chrift: And I defire the Lord may give you unfeigned repentance, and faith in Jefus Chrift, and ftrength to stand out and resist these infnaring courles; viz Locality paying, and the compearing at courts, and hearing of Curates, and the like. Dear father, mother, brethren and fitters, quit with me, and give me up to the Lord, who gave me to you. Give me up freely without any hankering and repining; for he loveth a chcertul giver. I dare not fay but he has been kind to me, O matchlefs love! O praife, praile him that ever he honoured the like of me with cords on my arms, and stocks on my legs: Irons have been fweet and eafy to me, and no trouble. Now hold up my cafe

to the Lord, and doubt not of his faithfulness, and all fufficien cy, for he is both able and willing, and he has faid. In all your afflictions I am afflicted; and he carries his and their cross both, and he fends none at warefare on their own charges John xii 24. Verily, verily I fay unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. And ver 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this • world, fhall keep it unto life eternal:' And I can fay from good grounds, I am well helped of my "lovely mafter in all that I have been tryited with. I defire with all my heart and foul to blefs and praise the holy name of my God for his love and that ever he looked on the like of me, a poor finful thing. O praise him, and rejoice with me, that it is fo well with me. Now the manner of my taking, was not surprising to me; I was not, feared, for i dare not queftion, but it was both the place and also the time was come: Glory to his name in so ordering of it. No more at present, but have my love remembred to you, and defires you to take up yourselves with your duty Now I quit you all to him who is able to fave to the utmost. Be much taken up in the Churches condition, and be not at eafe in the time of Zion's trouble. My brethren my advice to you is, to join yourselves in a fociety of fellowship meeting in the ftrength of the Lord. Now my lovely Lord. give my bleffing to all thine, and pardon the fins of the elect.

Sic fubfcribitur

J MES SMITH..

Thefe two zealous Martyrs were precluded from having any formal teftimony. by the rage and cruelty of the perfecutors who having fuborned witneffes againft them, to depone that they faw them kill a foldier at Inchbelly-bridge in relieving a prifoner there, did pretently take them forth to the crofs of Glasgow, and with the greatest of inhumane rage, hanging them on a gibbet till they were half dead, caufed cut them down and laying them in that condition upon a cart, carried them to the faid Inch belly bridge, to be there hung up in chains. And is worth the recording to the praife of his grace for whofe royal dignities they witneffed, that they endured all thefe hardships inflicted upon them, with a great deal of Christian magnanimity and alacrity, even to the conviction of enemies.j

The Interrogations proposed to JOHN NISBIT younger, who lived in the parish of Loudon and suffered at Kilmarnock, April, 14th, 1683. Sent by him in a letter to fome Friends.

Dear Friends,

HE manner of my examination (as I remember) was this Firft on. When faw ye John Nisbet? A. I did not fee him this good while. Q. But when did you fee him, and where did you fee him? A Although I could, I would not answer, to difcover my neighbours The Major faid, he would make me to tell, or he would gar me fit three hours in hell. anfwered, That was not in his power Q Are you under an oath, that ye will not tell of the rest of you? A. I am under no oth but what the covenant binds us to. Q Took ye ever tle communion? A No. Q Did ye ever preach or expone the Scriptures? A. I could never read the Rudiments. Yet (lad they) there were men that did preach, that were not learned. I told them, I knew none, but the Quakers whofe principes I dif own. Then they faid, Say, God fave the king? I afwered, "It was not in my power to fave, or condemn him. Q Would you not fay, God fave your beaft, if it were fallen into a hole? A. No: Because it is a taking of his name in vain. Q Was you at Bothwel at the rebellion? 4. Seeing you coun it rebellion, it is criminal, witnefs of it. QIs the Bishop's dath mur der? A. I am not a judge to cognofce upon it. And being afked again my opinion of it. I anfwered, I had faidall that I could fay of it already. Q Was Bothwel rebellion? I anfwered, It was felf defence, which was lawful. Q. Hoy prove ye that? A. By the confeffion, which ye build your left upon. Then they faid jeeringly, I was a grammarian. QOwn ye a law? A Yes. Q Own ye the law, as it is now etablished? A. Since ye make your questions matters of life and death, ye ought to give time to confider upon them. Q wo ye the king in all matters, civil and ecclefiaftick, and to bethe head of the church? A. I will acknowledge none to be head of the church, but Chrift. Q Who is a law-giver? A Chrift. Q. Is the king the king or not? A. He was once acovenanted king. Q. Is he the king now? I refer it to his obligations in hiscoronation-oath, to be confidered. Q Is he your king or not? I told them, I would not anfwer any more fuch quiftions at this time. This is all that paft for the most part, except a number of fenfeleis queftions. No more at prefent but have my love

remembred to all friends in Chrift. I am very well brought through, bleffed be the Lord for it.

Sic fubfcribitur

JOHN NISBET.

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His laft Teftimony.

Dear Friends, and true lovers of Zion's righteous caufe.

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I would fpeak or write any thing to the commendation of the covenanted God of the Church and kingdom of Scotland, furely I have many things to do it for. ift, That he hath trifted my lot to be in a nation, where he hath set up his pure worship, difcipline and government, whereas he might juftly have ordered it, to have been among those that are worthip"ping Antichrift, that whore of Rome, that monstrous beast that fittethupon many waters, whofe fentence may be read, Rev.. xiv. 9." And the third angel founded, faying with a loud voice,

If any man worship the beaft and his image, and receive his "mar in his forehead, or in his right hand. And in the ro

ver the fame fhall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, "thatis poured out without mixture, in the cup of his indig"nation, and he fhall be tormented with fire and brimstone, in

the prefence of the angels, and in the prefence of the Lamb. "And in the 12 ver. The fmoke of their torment afcenderh "up, br ever and ever, and they have no reft day nor night, "who worship the beaft and his image, and whofoever re"ceive the mark of his name." 2dly, He might have ordered itto have been among the corrupt protestant Churches abroad, Lutherian's, and other corruptions, and abounding errors bot in the reformed Churches, and Scotland, which was fair as the moon, clear as the fun, and terrible as an army with banners; the day was, when we could have fung that fong, Ifa. xxvi.." We have a strong city, falvation will the Lord "appoin for walls and bulwarks." 3dly, I blefs the holy name of my God, that I am not this day carrying arms against him, his work and intereft; for there is no more in me as of myself, than in these that are deeply imbrewing their hands in the blood of the faints. 4thly, 1 blefs and magnify his holy name, thatever he brought me out of the eftate of nature, and brought me into an eftate of grace and falvation, through the virtue of the blood of Chrift; and exalted be his holy name, that he hath given me a fight of my own weakness, and alfo a fight of the deceitfulness of my own evil heart, and the mystery of iniquity abounding there, and alfo a fight of the remedy of