caft of it; O! but I am come well and eafie to my purpose, of redemption, peace and happiness. But O! I cannot get him glorified; and I could never get him enough glorified, as long my foul liveth, and I fhall live as long as he liveth, and that is lite without end.. Now my dear and loving friend, It is but little advice that I can leave to you, how to order your life and converfation yet i fhall leave you my last advice, as the Lord fhall help me. As God hath once made you to accept of him upon his own terms and way, hold faft by him and claim a right to him, from his own promifes and former loving kindness, wherein he hath manifefted himself to you. And although you be made mary times to think, that he hath left you, when you are caf ten down, and under desertion, yet claim a right to him; tho you have deftroyed yourself, thrip kindness upon him; and refolve with Job, That though he should flay you, yet you will * truft in him: For you must not want your downcaftings and defertions: for all thefe things are given you, for the trial of your faith. And you may know fomething of this from experience, that we cannot guide our Lord's prefence, when we get it, we are fo lifted up, that he must cast us down again for our old bottles cannot bear with the new wine of heaven, none of us can be free of desertion; for as long as we live in this earth, we are often under an Egyptian cloud of darkness: Spend much of your time in prayer and meditation, for I think, that in these is the life of religion; and spend time in Christian converse with any of your own judgment, and private prayer, as you and I did, when we were together; and if you can get none, do your own part, and the Lord will make up all your lofs, for he hath engaged to make up all your wants. Now double your diligence, and make ready for the trial, for you will not get it fhifted, if ye continue faithful to the end I am not faying, That the trial will take away your life; but I am perfwaded, you will come through difficulties, if the Lord fee fit to fpare you, to fee the glorious days that shall be seen in Scotland again, and to reap of the fruit of it. This will be a high honour, for they will be a happy people, that will be the remnant of the church. your crown Now, dear friend hold tast, and let no man take for it is ready at the end of your race: run and never halt nor look back, till you obtain the prize. I have gotten the first ftart of you a little; but, I hope, you will follow me, before it be long, and we shall meet again; and ()! what a joyful meeting fhall it be? Study deniedness to your life, and die daily that death may not fuiprize you. But I muft forbear, my time is fo thort, that I cannot get all faid here, that I have to fay: but what is wanting, himfelf make it up to you. Now I take my leave of you for a little time, hoping to meet again up above in our Father's houfe. I pray that God's eternal bleffing may reft upon you And wifheth you even as my own foul. Farewel in the Lord, Your dear and loving Christian Friend; brother and fouls welwifher. Glasgow Tolbooth, ARCHBALD STEWART The Laft Teftimony of Captain JOHN PATON, who lived in the Parifb of Finnick, and fuffered at the Grafs-market of E dinburgh, May 9th 1684. Dear Friends and Spectators, OU are come here to look upon me a dying man, and you You great orator or eloquent of tongue, though I may fay as much to the commendation of God in Chrift Jefus, as ever any poor finner had to fay. I have been as great a finner, as ever lived; ftrong corruptions, ftrong lufts, ftrong paflions, a strong body of death have prevailed against me; yea I have been chief of finners, I may fay on every back-look of my way, though the world cannot charge me with any grofs tranfgreffion this day, for which I blefs the Lord. O what omiffions and commiffions, what formality and hyoocrify, that even my duties have been my grief and fear, left thou a holy God had made them my ditties, and mayeft do: My mif-improven time may be heavy upon my head, and cause of desertion, and especially my fupplicating the council, who has I think, laid their fnares the cloffer to take away my life, though contrary to their own profeffed law. I defire to mourn for my giving ear to the coun fel of flesh and blood, when I should have been confulting hea ven, and to reflect upon myself, though it lays my blood the cloffer to their door, and I think the blood of my wife and bairns, I think their fupreme Magiftrate is not ignorant of many of their actings, but thefe Prelates will not be found free when our God makes an inquifition for blood. And now I am come defired of fome indeed, who thirst for my life, though by o thers not defired. I blefs the Lord, I am not come here as thief or murderer, and I am free of the blood of all man, but hate blood shed directly of undirectly And now I am a poor finner, and could never merit any thing but wrath, and have no righteoufnefs of my own, all is Jefus Chrift's and his alone, and I have laid claim to his righteoufnefs and his fufferings by faith in Jefus Chrift, through imputation they are mine; for I have accepted of his offer on his own terms, and fworn away myself to him, to be at his difpofal both privately and publicly many times and now I have put it upon him to ratify in heaven" all that I have efflayed to do on earth, and to do away all my Imperfections and failings, and to ftay my heart on him. And I feek mercy for all my fins, and believe to get all my challenges and fins funk in the blood and fufferings of Jefus and his righteousness, and that he shall fee of the travel of his foul on me, and the Father's pleasure fhall profper in his hand, I bless the Lord that ever he led me out to behold any part of his power in the gospel, in kirks or fields, or any of his actings for his people in their ftraits. The Lord is with his people while they be with him.' We may fer our feal to this, and while they be unite; And O for a day of his power in cementing of this diftempered age. It is fad to fee his people falling out by the way, and of fuch a fiery fpirit, that look to be at one lodging at night, efpecially thefe who profefs to keep by our glorious work of reformation and folemn engagement to God, and to hold off the fins of thefe times. O hold off extre mities on both hands, and follow the example of our bleffed Lord, and the cloud of witneffes in the 11th of the Hebrews. And let your way be the good old path, the word of God and beft times of the church, for if it be not according to his word, it is because there is no truth in it. Now as to my interrogations. I was not clear to deny Pentland or Bothwel. They afked me how long I was at them? I faid eight days, and the affize had no more to fentence upon, for the advocate faid he would not purfiie for Pentland, by reafon of an indemity, be fore the privy council. The Council afked me if I acknowledged authority? I faid, all authority according to the word of God. They charged me with many things as if I had been a rebel fince the year 1640, and at Montrofe's taking at Mauchlin meor. Lord forgive them, they know not what they do. I adhere to the fweet Scriptures of truth of the Old and New Teftament, and preached gofpel by a faithful fent ministry, whereby he many times communicated himself to the fouls of his people, and to me in particular, both in the kirks, and fince on the fields, and in private meetings of his people for prayer and fupplication to him. I adhere to our folemn covenants na. tional and folemn league, acknowledgment of fins and engage n trient to duties which became national. I adhere to our Con feffion of Faith, latger and shorter Catechifms, caufes of wrath, and to all the teftimonies given by his people formerly, and of late, either on fields or scaffolds, thefe, bygone, in fo far as they are agreeable to his word, and the practice of the worthy >Reformers, and holy true zeal, according to his rule, I adhere to all our glorious work of reformation. Now I leave my teftimony, as a dying man, against the horrid usurpation of our Lord's prorogativo and crown right, mean that fupremacy, eftablished by day in thefe lands which is a manifeft ufurpatison of this crown, for he is given by the Father to be head of the church. Cali And he is the head of the body, the church who is the beginning and firit, born from the dead, that in all things he might have the prehetinency, For itpleafed the Father, that in him all fulness fhould dwell." And against all Popery, Prolacy and Braftianifm, and all that depends on that hierarchy which is a yoke that neither we snor our fathers were able to heat which the poor remnant -is groaning under this day, by that boerid cruelty renting their confciences by téfts and bonds; taking away their fubstance and livelihoods by fines and illegal exactions; plunder-ings and quarterings, and compelling, them to fin, by hearing, joining and complying with the malicious Curates. -Matthxxiii. 213. b Wounto you. Scribes and Pharifees, ye fhut up the kingdom of heaven against men, and neither go in yourselves, nor fuffer others. I leave my testimony against the indulgence ficft and last, for I ever looked on it as a fnare, and for I never looked upon them as a part of "the hopeful remnant of the church, and now, it is fad to fea how fome of them have joined by their deeds in the perfecution of the pobrs remnant, and almost all in tongue perfecution. and Now I would speak a fhort word or two to three, forts of folk, I think but if onerife from the dead, he would not be heard by this generation, who are mad upon, idols and this -world. First,These who have joined deliberately with the perfecutors, in all their robberies and haling innocent fouls to -prifon, death and banishment The Lord will not hold them guiltless: They may read what the Spirit of God hath recordved of them in Juden 1th ver. and downward, and Obadiah's prophecy. A fecond fort is, thefe who feem to be more fober and knowing, yet through a timoroufness and fear, have jo with them in all their corrupt courfes for seafe, and their own things: do not think that these fig-leaves will cover you in the cool of the day, itriva hazard to be mingled with the heathen, left we learn of them their way. : O firsļibe zealous and ro pent feek repentance from Chrift, he purchased it with His blood and do your firft work, if ever there was any faving works on your fouls: for he will come quickly'; and who may abide the day of his coming' O firs! the noble grace of repentance grows not in every field; many could not get it, though they fought it carefully with tears. O work while It is to day, the night draweth on, and is may be very dark. "The third fort is, Thefe who have been moft tender; and O who of you can fay, that we have, out of love to his g glory fingly followed him upon examination we fear we find it not fo; but that we have come far fhort. We fear we find not him fuch as we would, nor he us as he would. O. we may fay, From the crown of the head to the fole of the foot there is no place clean. None can caft a ftone at another: we are all wounds, bruifes, and defilements. We muft put his work upon him who is the fountain to wash foul fouls, who breaks not the bruifed reed, nor quenches the fmoking flax: Give him * much ádo, for we have much ado for him.. Õ that there were no reft in our bones because of our fin. It is the Father's plea-fure, that he should fee his feed. and the pleasure of the Lord profper in his hand. O that he would make every one of us understand our errors, and seek after the good old path, followed in the moft pure times of our church, and get in to our >Lord Jefus Chrift, by faith in his righteousness, by imputati on and virtue of his fufferings for finners, and keep by him. There is no fafety but at his back; and I befeech you, improve time, it is precious when right improven, for ye know not when the Mafter calleth, at midnight, or at cock-crowing.' Dear friends, the work of the day is great, and calls for more than ordinary. O be oft at the throne, and give him no rest to make füre your foul's intereft. Seek pardon freely, and then he will come with peace; feek all the graces of his Spirit, the grace of love, the grace of holy fear and humility. O! but there is much need of this and the promised Spirit. Now, I defire to falute you, dear friends in the Lord Jefus Chrift, both prifoned, banifhed, widow and fatherlefs, or wandering and caft out for Chrift's fake and the gofpel's, even the blefling of Chrift's fufferings be with you all, ftrengthen, ftablifh, fupport and fettle you, and the bleffing of him who was in the bush, which while it burnt, was not confumed, and my poor bleffing be with you all. Now, as to my persecutors, I forgive all of them; inftigators, reproachers, foldiers, privy council, jufticiaries, apprehenders, in what they have done to me, but what they have done in despite against the image of God's name in me, who am a poor thing without that, it is not mine to forgive them ; but I wish they would feek forgive |