God from me. For my part, I am as content to be here as in the caftle, and as content in the castle as in the tower of London," (where he was first put)" and as content upon the scaffold as any of them all.". He added, that he remembered a fcripture paffage cited to him by an holy minifter in the caftle, and endeavoured to put in practice, when Ziklag was taken and burned, and the people spoke of ftoning David, he encouraged himself in the Lord his God. All his fhort time, tili Monday, he fpent with the greatest ferenity and chearfulness, and in the proper exercifes of a dying Chriftian. He faid to fome minifters, allowed to be with him in the prison, that "fhortly they would envy him who was got before them." And added, "Mind that I tell you, my skill fails me, if you who are minifters will not either fuffer much, or fin much; for though you go along with those men in part, if you do it not in all things, you are but where you were, and fo muft fuffer; and if you go not at all in with them, you fhall but fuffer."

The Marquis was naturally timorous, but he defired thofe about him to obferve, as he could not but do, that the Lord had heard his prayer, and removed all fears from him. And indeed his friends work was to reftrain and qualify his fervent longing after his diffolution, and not to fupport him under the near views of it. The Lord was exceeding kind to him at this time; for upon Monday morning (that day he suffered) when he was in the midst of company, and thronged in fubfcribing papers relating to his eftate, he was fo overcome with a fingular manifeftation from God, that he broke out in a rapture and faid, "I thought to have concealed the Lord's goodnefs, but it will not do; I am now ordering my affairs, and God is fealing my charter to a better inheritance, juft now faying to me, "Son, be of good chear, thy fins are forgiven thee." After he had retired fometime alone, when he opened the door, Mr Hutchinfon, one of the minifters that attended him, faid to him, what cheer, my Lord? He anfwered, good cheer, fir, the Lord hath again confirmed and faid to me, from heaven, "Son, be of good cheer,

cheer, thy fins are forgiven thee." And he gufhed out in abundance of tears of joy, fo that he retired to the windows and wept there. Afterwards he said, in a perfect rapture, to Mr Hutchinfon, "I think his kindness overcomes me; but God is good to me that lets not out too much of it here, for he knows I could not bear it: get my cloke, and let us go." But being told that the town clock was kept back, so that the hour was not yet come, he answered, they are far in the wrong; and prefently kneeled down and prayed before all present, in a most sweet and heavenly manner, to the ravishment of all that were there,

When he was going out to the fcaffold, he said, I could die like a Roman, but I choose rather to die as a Chriftian. Come away, gentlemen, he that goes first goes cleanest. When going down, he called Mr James Guthrie to him, and embracing him in the moft endearing way, took his farewell of him. Mr Guthrie at parting, addreffed the Marquis, "My Lord, God hath been with you, he is with you, and God will be with you; and fuch is my refpect for your Lordship, that if I were not under the sentence of death myself, I could cheerfully die for your Lordship." So they parted for a very short season, in two or three days to meet in a better place.

The Marquis, in his speech on the scaffold, hath these words, "God hath laid engagements upon Scotland; we are tied by covenant to religion and reformation. Those that were then unborn are engaged to it, and it paffeth the power of any under heaven to abfolve a man from the oath of God."

35. Mr John Welsh, minifter of the gospel at Ayr, whom Mr Rutherfoord (in his preface to his furvey of Antinomianifm) calls, that apoftolic, heavenly and pro phetical man of God, and there tells us, that he had it from those that were witneffes of his life, that of every twenty-four hours, he gave ufually eight to prayer, and that he spent many nights in prayer to God, interceding for tuffering Proteftants abroad, as well as for his mother church. This holy man, when prifoner in the caftle of Blacknefs, and in the view of death (being

condemned

condemned to it for maintaining the liberties of this church, though afterwards the fentence was changed into banishment) in his letter to a Chriftian lady, hath these words:

"I long to eat of that tree which is planted in the midst of the Paradife of God, and to drink of the pure river, clear as crystal, that runs through the fstreet of the new Jerufalem. I long to be refreshed with the

fouls of them that are under the altar, who were flain for the word of God, and the teftimony that they held; and to have those long white robes given me, that I may walk in white raiment with those glorious faints, who have washed their garments, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Why should I think it a ftrange thing to be removed from this place to that where my hope, my joy, my crown, my elder brother, my head, my father, my comforter, and all the glorious faints are, and where the fong of Mofes and the Lamb is fung joyfully; where we shall not be compelled to fit by the rivers of Babylon, and hang up our harps on the willow trees, but shall take them up, and fing the new Hallelujah, blefling, honour, glory and power, to him that fits upon the throne and to the Lamb, for ever and ever? What is there under the old vault of the heavens, and in this old worn earth, which is groaning under the bondage of corruption, that fhould make me to defire to remain here? I expect that new heaven and new earth, wherein righteousness dwelleth, wherein I shall rest for evermore. I look to get entry into the new Jerufalem at one of those twelve gates, whereupon are written the names of the twelve tribes of Ifrael. I know that Jefus Chrift hath prepared them for me. Why, may I not then, with boldness in his blood, ftep into that glory, where my Head and Lord hath gone before me? Jefus Chrift is the door and the porter; who then shall hold me out? O thou fairest among the children of men, the delight of mankind, the light of the Gentiles, the glory of the Jews, the life of the dead, the joy of angels and faints, my foul panteth to be with thee. I refufe not to die with thee, that I may live with thee; I refuse not to fuffer with thee, that I may rejoice with thee. O when fhall I be filled with his love! Surely, if a man knew

how

how precious it is, he would count all things but drofs and dung to gain it. I long for that scaffold, or that axe, or that cord, that might be to me that laft step of this my wearifome journey, to go to thee, my Lord. Who am I, that he should first have called me, and then constitute me a minister of the glad tidings of the gofpel of falvation these many years, and now, laft of all, to be a fufferer for his cause and kingdom? These two points, 1. That Chrift is the head of the church. 2. That he is free in her government from all other jurifdiction, except Chrift; yea, as free as any-kingdom under heaven, not only to convocate, hold, and keep her meetings and affemblies: but also to judge of all her affairs among her members and fubjects: thefe are the caufe of our fufferings. I would be most glad to be offered up as a facrifice for fo glorious a truth; but, alas! I fear that my fins, and the abufe of fo glorious things as I have found, deprive me of so fair a crown: Yet my lord doth know, if he would call me to it, and ftrengthen me in it, it would be to me the most glorious day, and gladeft hour I ever faw in my life; but I am in his hands, to do with me whatsoever fhall please him," &c.

This eminent faint fpent much of his time in the mount of prayer and wrestling with God, was admitted to very intimate nearness with him, and had many fecret things revealed to him from God. He used to fay," He wondered how a Chriftian could lie in bed all night, without rifing to spend fome of the night in prayer and praife."

In his laft illness he had a great weakness in his knees, caufed by his continual kneeling at prayer, the flesh thereof became insensible, and hard like a fort of horn; but, when in his weakness he was defired to remit fomewhat of his former painfulness, his anfwer was, he had his life of God, and therefore it should be spent for him. During his fickness he was fo filled with the fenfible enjoyment of God, that he was fometimes overheard in prayer to have these words: "Lord, hold thy hand, it is enough, thy fervant is a clay veffel, and can hold no more."

36. Mr Chriftopher Love, minifter of Laurence-jury in London, who was beheaded on Towerhill, Aug. 22. 1651, in time of Cromwell's ufurpation, and for fufpected plotting against his government, his words on the fcaffold were moft pathetic and weighty: " Although (faid he) there be but little between me and death, yet this bears up my heart, there is little between, me and heaven. It comforted Dr Taylor, the martyr, when he was going to execution, that there were but two ftiles between him and his Father's house: there is a leffer way between me and my Father's houfe, but two steps between me and glory. It is but lying down upon that block, and I fhall afcend upon a throne. I am this day failing towards the ocean of eternity, through a rough paflage to my haven of reft, through a Red fea to the promised land. Methinks I hear God fay to me, as he did to Mofes, Go up to mount Nebo, and die there: So to me, Go up to Towerhill, and die there. Ifaac faid of himself, that he was old, and yet he knew not the day of his death; but I cannot fay fo. I am young, and yet I know the day of my death, and I know the kind of my death, and the place of my death alfo. I am put to such a kind of death, as two famous preachers of the gospel were put to before me, John the Baptift, and Paul the Apoftle, they were both beheaded. I read alfo in Rev. xx. 4. "The faints were beheaded for the word of God, and the teftimony of Je fus." But herein is the disadvantage which I lie under in the thoughts of many; they judge that I fuffer not for the word of God, or for confcience, but for meddling with state matters. To this I fhall briefly fay, that it is an old trick of Satan, to impute the cause of God's peoples fufferings, to be contrivements against the state; when, in truth, it is their religion and confcience they are perfecuted for. The rulers of Ifrael would have put Je remiah to death upon the civil account, though indeed it was only the truth of his prophecy that made the rulers angry with him and yet, upon a civil account, they pretended he muft die, because he fell away to the Chaldeans, and would have brought in foreign forces to invade them. The fame thing is laid to my charge,

of