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and other Christians, are taken away, what by death, what by banishment, what by execution; and hunted up and down, that they have not so much as a house to stay or make their abode in. And for my part, I shall say but very little to it; but I think, our king and counsellors should think shame to do so; but truly I may say, that shame is past the shade of their hair (as we used to say in an old proverb). And as the word says, They have a whore's forehead, they cease to be ashamed;' for any body may see it so, or else they would never do as they do; for if they were not void of the grace of God, they would be afraid to do as they do. I shall say nothing to this purpose, but what I shall make good from his word: when David lamented for the death of Saul and Jonathan his son, though David was accounted to be king over the people of Israel, yet because Saul and Jonathan were killed by their enemies, David says, Tell it not in Gath, nor publish it in the streets of Askelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph,' 2 Sam. i. 20. For truly I think, to my poor and weak skill, our rulers should think shame to be using their poor subjects so for nothing, but for following the work of God, as they are bound upon conscience to do, to be executing some, and banishing others, as they are doing. But for my own part I shall say no more, but wish, that the Lord would not lay it to their charge, for I desire to forgive them, if it may stand with the Lord's holy will; and if not, I desire to turn it over on the Lord, let him do as he sees fit. this I may say, that it is for no evil that I have done, that I am made a gazing-stock to all these beholders this day; and I bless his name for it, I die not as a fool;-I have his own word for it, that if I suffer for him, I shall also reign with him;' and I wot, that the Lord Jesus owns the cause as his, and he calls it his temptations. Therefore, although it be somewhat terrifying to the eyes of the beholders, and to flesh and blood, yet it will yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness to all those that are exercised thereby. And although I am to be executed here, and my body, after I am executed, is to be hung up until it consume all away; yet I die in the faith of this, that although it should hang till it consume all away, and be scattered up and down the earth, till there be not so much as a hairbreadth together; though the fowls of the air should come and take away part of it, and the beasts of the field should come and consume the other part of it; and though, if it were possible, that fishes should come and take another part of it, yet I desire to die in the faith of this, that it will be all gathered together again, and a hairbreadth of it will not be lost, when King Christ comes with the sound of the Archangel, and the sound of the last trumpet, and then the dead in Christ shall be first raised,' and then we must all stand before his tribunal, and give an account of the deeds of the body, whether they have been good or evil;' according as we have done here, so it will be done unto us, where there will be no respect of persons, where the beggar that sits upon the dunghill will be as much thought of that day, as the king that sits upon the throne: yea, and Tophet is prepared of old, for the king as well as for the beggar.' Now, my beloved, I shall let you see the

6

confidence I have of this truth. First, ye will find it, Job xix. 26 And though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.' Ver. 27. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me.' And likewise, ye will find it written in Isa. xxx. 53. ‹ For Tophet is prepared of old: yea, for the king it is prepared, he hath made it deep and large, the pile thereof,' &c. Now, my dear friends, I hope you will find nothing here but what is written in the scriptures, for this is of a certain truth, that it will be so both for kings, nobles, and ignobles, if they do not repent and turn from the evil of their deeds, and turn unto the Lord. But alas! there is no appearance of turning from their evil deeds. The Lord has been shoaring (as it were) this land with sore strokes, yet we may say, as the prophet says, Isa. i. 5., to that wicked people, Why should ye be stricken any more?' for the more they are stricken, the more they revolt: but stay still yet, there is a day coming when they shall be made to hear, whether they will or not; Mic. vi. 9. there is a voice of the Lord calling to the city, compared to a rod: but alas! it is very sad to think upon it, that there are so few that are taking warning from the word of the Lord, as there is. However, they will be made to hear and take with the warning, little for their profit, when the Lord shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, taking vengeance upon all them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.' And now I shall say no more to this purpose.

"But I am to leave my testimony against Popery, and Prelacy, and Quakerism, and Erastianism, and all abominations that are abounding in this land. And likewise, I let all the world know, wheresoever this paper of mine comes to be known, that I die in the faith of this, -that the Lord shall have a church in this land, whether the devil or men will or not. We have his word for it; there shall be a generation that shall be counted to the Lord for a people that shall serve him, whether king or council will or not, let them do their best, and the bishops and all their underlings, and all their attendants: if hell, and death, and wicked men, and all were set in opposition against it, I say, our King Christ will be head of his church, say against it who will: and he shall reign in Zion till all his enemies be under his feet. Now, I shall say no more, but only two or three words anent the thing I was accused of, by those that pursued me, and that was the king's advocate, and bishop Sharp's brother, anent the bishop's killing. And whether I had spoken of it or not, there is nobody, but may know, that it was the only thing that made them so sorely to insist against me; I wish the Lord may not lay it to their charge: for 1 never saw that man whom they called the bishop of St. Andrews, that I knew by another man; and the other ground of my sentence was the killing of a butcher,* who confessed that he committed both

The reader must observe that this act was not charged home in the indictment on John Clyde, or any of his companions, personally-but only as the act of the party of insurgents, with whom he and they had thought it their duty to join. It may even be questioned how far it was the act of that body as a whole-but at all events, the motives which led to it were far other than those

adultery and buggery, and murdered a man of late at Glasgow; and when as himself did the most horrible acts that ever man did, yet they called the killing of him murder. The third ground of my sentence was, that I was at the late rebellion that was at Bothwell-bridge, as they call it, the which I never held as rebellion, nor counted any thing that was done that way rebellion. I bless the Lord that ever he counted me worthy to bear witness to such things as these were. The fourth ground of my sentence was the hearing of rebellious ministers, that are holden out, as rendezvouses of rebellion, both in field and houses. My soul blesseth the Lord that ever I was witness to such meetings, either in the fields or in houses, as these were. I bear witness and give my testimony to such meetings as these were. For I may say, that if ever the Lord had a poor church in Scotland, that he has some [ministers] who have been wonderfully owned and carried on by the Lord's powerful and mighty hand, not only to the conviction of some, but to the conversion of others. And I leave my testimony to this persecuted and borne-down work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and leave my testimony against all the opposers thereof, that they are enemies to the cross of Christ. And now I shall say no more concerning these things:-But 1. I declare my testimony against all these forementioned things, and against all bonds that are not consistent with the word of God, and are not agreeable to the Solemn League and Covenant, and against all declarations and cesses that are for the army, to bring down the work of reformation, as it was once owned and advanced in this island of Britain and Ireland, and especially in Scotland; which was once the best reformed church that was in the whole earth. And I leave my testimony to the Larger and Shorter Catechisms and Confession of Faith. 2. And likewise I declare, that I lay not my life unwillingly down this day, but freely, without any restraint or constraint. Next, I declare, that I am free of all the crimes that they lay to me, for I was ever obedient to the king and his lawful authority, and do commend every one in their places and stations thereto, so far as his laws consist with the word of God. 3. I declare, that it was for the defence of the gospel that I arose, and that of free-will, not allured, nor enticed by any body or person in the world. 4. I declare, that I durst not take the bond that was laid to me, and go over the belly of my conscience, and sin against God, and durst not take liberty to my body with prejudice to my soul; for, that word was borne in upon me, that those that save their lives, shall lose their lives. 5. I bless the Lord, that since I got my sentence I have been wonderfully carried through, not having so much as an hard thought of any thing that I have done. Yea, the Lord hath wonderfully upholden me since I got my sentence. 6. I

to which it was ascribed in the terms of the charge. The individual in question seems to have been chargeable with the grossest crimes-and it was for these crimes, and not for his zeal or diligence in serving his majesty, that he was condemned and executed. But, indeed, as we have already stated, the indictment against these five individuals is full of the most glaring untruths and misrepresentations in regard to the Bothwell insurrection, and this, as Wodrow remarks, is undoubtedly one of them.

shall say no more to this, but desire my blessing to all my friends in Christ; and now, I must bid farewell to all earthly pleasures and enjoyments, all kinsfolk and relations, and farewell to my loving mother, and all other friends, and welcome Christ, heaven, and eternity, and farewell sorrow and sighing, and farewell losses and crosses, punishments and banishments, farewell all earthly sorrows, and welcome Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for evermore ; Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,' and receive my spirit! Amen. Sic Sub.-JOHN CLYDE."*

XXIX. THOMAS BROWN AND OTHERS.

SECT. III. THEIR DYING SPEECH.

[The designation we have given to the following paper is in a great measure arbitrary. We conceive it, however, justified by the probable design with which it was written, and for any thing certain, that appears to the contrary-which it actually served. It seems to embrace a brief view of the principal topics discussed in their Joint Testimony, which they probably reduced to this more concise form, with the intention of delivering it at the place of execution. Whether it was so delivered or not, we have not ascertained. But at all events, it being necessary to distinguish it by a separate title, the present one seemed proper, from certain forms of expression employed in it, especially towards the beginning.]

"Men and Brethren,-We are come here this day in your presence to lay down this life of ours, being in our own defence, and defence of the gospel, as ye know we are bound in the covenants, to defend our religion, lives, liberties, and all in our stations. My dear friends, mind your vows and engagements, that ye are lying under, and the Church of Scotland is lying under this day. Now we come to give you an account of the reasons, why we are come here to this place of execution, this day. The thing was, our refusing of a bond, which we could not take, no not for our lives, which were offered us, upon condition of subscribing it. 1. The first thing that was in it, was that we should acknowledge our being at Bothwell-bridge to be rebellion, which we profess to be our duty. 2. We are commanded never to lift arms against the king and his authority, in which authority these acts establishing prelacy and the supremacy are included. So we arc commanded to maintain and defend them, never to rise against them, which we know to be contrary to sound doctrine. So according to our covenant we give our witness and testimony against them, and as for rebellion, we never intended any such thing against the king or his lawful authority, which we are all sworn to defend, with our lives, and all that we have, in our station. But our appearing at Bothwell

"Naphtali,

bridge we count no rebellion, but our bounden duty, and no sin, for it was grievous to our hearts to see the work of God borne down, and trode under foot by a generation that have discovered themselves to be stated enemies to the cross of Christ, by shutting up his faithful servants of the ministry, some in the rocks of the sea, part also banished, others expelled to corners, private persons being put to flee to mountains, rocks, dens, and caves of the earth; so, we thought ourselves obliged in our station to appear there with others, for the defence of the gospel, according as we are all sworn in the National and Solemn League and Covenants, and Solemn Acknowledgment of Sins, to defend the work of reformation against Popery, Prelacy, Quakerism, and all manner of unsound doctrines and wicked practices abounding in these times. So also, my friends, when we considered the bonds of these covenants that we are all lying under, we durst not subscribe any other bonds contrary unto them. Wherefore, we desire all the Lord's people, in so far as it may consist with the word of God, [to consider] the engagements of these covenants that are lying upon them. As for our part, when we considered the obligations of them, we thought it was not a time for us to lie at ease in Zion, lest we should bring the curse of Meroz upon ourselves, if we went not out to the help of the Lord against the mighty;' for ye know it is said in the word, Shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?' So we give our witness and testimony to the cross of Christ, and blessed be the Lord that ever we appeared at Bothwell-bridge for the defence of his persecuted cause, which within a little we shall seal with our blood.

"We desire you all not to cast a reproach on that late appearing at Bothwell-bridge, lest ye state God an enemy against you; for we bless him that ever he fell upon such a method with the like of us, as to make us appear for so honourable a cause as that.

"We give our joint witness and testimony against Popery, Prelacy, and all other corruptions abounding in these loose times, particularly against bishops, curates, and malignants, and all who connive with them in that black course they are in for the present, and strengthen the hands of the adversary, in carrying on a course of defection. And we give our testimony against indifferent and lukewarm professors, who follow Christ as the times make for them. We give our testimony against all profligate and wicked livers, who know not God, nor will acknowledge him to be Head of his church, whose judgment lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.' We give our testimony against that calumny cast upon presbyterians, that they are not loyal to their king, which aspersion as false we abhor; so we desire you all to obey your king in all his lawful commands, according as ye are bound in the word of God, and your covenants: but wher God's laws and the king's laws are contrary one to another, do not stretch your consciences for the saving of your life; for he that seeks 'to save his life, shall lose it,' saith Christ; but he who loseth his life, for my sake, shall find it.'

Likewise, we give our testimony against the taking of unlawful bonds or declarations for the saving of the life, for which cause we come here to lav down our lives, even for refusing to take such