God from me. For my part, I am as content to be 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 goodness, 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 gushed out in abundance of tears of joy, fo that he retired to the windows and wept there. Afterwards he faid, 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 scaffold, he said, I could die like a Roman, but I choose rather to die as a Chriftian. Come away, gentlemen, be that goes first goes cleaneft. When going down, he called Mr James Guthrie to him, and embracing him in the molt 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 Lordthip.". So they parted for a very fhort 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. Thofe 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 prophetical 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 fuffering Proteftants abroad, as well as for his mother church. This holy man, when prifoner in the castle of Blackness, 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 ftreet of the new Jerufalem. I long to be refreshed with the fouls of them that are under the altar, who were lain for the word of God, and the teftimony that they held ; and to have thofe long white robes given me, that I may walk in white raiment with thofe 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, bleffing, 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 should make me to defire to remain here? I expect that new heaven and new earth, wherein righteoufne fs dwelleth, wherein I fhall reft for evermore. I look to get entry into the new Jerufalem at one of thofe twelve gates, whereupon are written the names of the twelve tribes of Ifrael. I know that Jesus Christ 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 fhall 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 fcaffold, or that axe, or that cord, that might be to me that last 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 minifter of the glad tidings of the gof.. pel of falvation thefe 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 the is free in her government from all other jurisdiction, 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 cause 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 fo 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 thall please him," &c. This eminent faint spent much of his time in the mount of prayer and wrestling with God, was admitted to very intimate nearnefs 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 riling to spend some of the night in prayer and praise." In his laft illness he had a great weakness in his knees, caufed by his continuál kneeling at prayer, the flesh thereof became infenfible, and hard like a fort of horn; but, when in his weakness he was defired to remit fomewhat of his former painfulnefs, his answer was, he had his life of God, and therefore it fhould be spent for him. During his fickness he was fo filled with the fenfible enjoyment of God, that he was fometimes over. heard in prayer to have thefe words: "Lord, hold thy hand, it is enough, thy fervant is a clay veffel, and can hold no more." 36. Mr 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 houfe: there is a leffer way between me and my Father's house, but two fteps 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 gofpel were put to before me, John the Baptift, and Paul the Apostle, they were both be headed. I read also in Rev. xx. 4. "The faints were beheaded for the word of God, and the teftimony of Jefus." 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 ftate matters. To this I fhall briefly fay, that it is an old trick of Satan, to impute the caufe 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 Jeremiah 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 |