scaffold, for contending for the cause, covenant and work of reformation! O Sirs, quit all for holy Jesus, for I can promise you that you will never die better, than for contending for King Christ. Indeed, Sirs, ministers and professors, as they call them, say, That we are dying as fools, and giddy headed professors; but glory to his holy and sweet name, that has made it out to my soul that it is otherwise : and now, that my conscience doth not condemn me, how dare any mortal creature condemn me?

O friends! what is the reason that you will not take him, who is the chief among ten thousands, and is altogether lovely,' and without compare? There is no spot in him.' O prefer him to your chief joy! There are many of you who have preferred other things to him. O fear and tremble for wrath will be upon you very suddenly! O be afraid, for our Lord has said, if you will not quit all for him, you cannot be his disciple. And so you have neither part nor lot in our sweet Lord; you may read the x. of Matt. from the 16th verse to the end. O Sirs, go not with the Indulged, nor yet side with them ; cleave to the Lord with all your heart, and be not put off with any but himself. O he is sweet to be with: O his way is sweet to keep, but I cannot commend him to you; his sweetness is without compare. O take him, and be restless till ye get him to your mother's house, and to the chamber of her that bare you.' Pray much for your MotherChurch, that ministers and others have wronged: I witness and testify against them, for their unrighteousness, both first and last.

let, For leaving their kirks, without a public Testimony against enemies, at the incoming of Prelacy. 2dly, For their conniving at one another's sins. 3dly, For their leaving the fields when there was so much need of preaching to poor things; when wrath and judgment were coming on the land, they did not set the trumpet to their mouth, and give the people a faithful warning. They say, we have cast them off, but they are mistaken, for they have cast themselves off, by changing their head; and the Scriptures have cast them off, and I cannot join with them. I would with all my heart have a ministry; but I would have it according to the word of God;-men that will 'preach in season, and out of season,' whether people will hear, or whether they will forbear; that will be faithful in preaching against sin of all sorts, and will hide nothing of the mind of the Lord; but they that do play fast and loose in the matters of a holy God, and will not witness against enemies; I own none of these, but I leave my testimony against them for their unfaithfulness. They will preach to poor things to stand for God and his truths and not to yield a hair for the saving of their lives; and yet, they yield and comply themselves; and when they come before enemies, never a word of a testimony before them, but pass the sworn covenant and work of reformation in silence, and for fear of their lives will not hit them on the sore. Indeed they will wale* their words so, as they may not give their enemies offence. You condemn us, because we do that, which once a day you would have accounted it your honour to do; and say that

i. e. Choose or select.

we are all distracted, and have distracted notions in our heads. And say you so? Wilt thou tell me, man, if thou thinkest that a distracted notion, to confess the covenant and work of reformation? But you will say, it is not for that, that I lay down my life, but for the subscribing of that paper: and I do think it well worth the sealing with my blood; and will you tell me what could we do less? You ran away and left the work, and the enemies were carrying all before them; and we durst not but leave a testimony against them. My heart was like to bleed, when I saw enemies carry the day, and robbing the Lord of his rights, his crown and kingdom, and not so much as one to move their tongue against them, and say, that is ill done that they have done. I leave it to God and your own conscience, whether or not it be duty to contend for truth this day, when it is so much neglected. I leave my testimony against you and your hearers, and the joiners with you, aye and until they repent. I bid you repent and come off. and witness for the Lord; and if you will not do it, as sure as God is in heaven, he will be about with you; escape who will, ye will not escape; for it is like he will begin at the sanctuary.

Take warning in time, I leave it on you now, when I am going into eternity; for, I am persuaded, this is the way to the kingdom of heaven; for the Lord hath confirmed it to my soul, and hath made my life a sweet life to me. O read Isaiah xli. for it was sweet to me when I was taken, and O that I had as many lives to lay down for him as there are hairs on my head, I would think them all too little! O what is my life? Nothing in comparison of his glory. O wo to you, idle shepherds, for ye deceive poor things! If it were possible,' I think, 'ye would deceive the very elect;' you take God to be your witness, that ye are in his way yet, and have not quit one hoof; but your practice condemns you. You may read Malachi ii. 1-3. And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not near, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea. I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.' Therefore, behold I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts, and one shall take you away with it.' Matt. vii. 15, 16. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves: ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?' And that xxxiv. of Ezek. ver. 2. Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds of Israel, that do feed themselves, should not the shepherds feed the flocks.' I leave my testimony against them that say, We hold our principles of men, and that we die for pleasing men; but it is not so, for I never thought that ittle of my life as to lay it down for the pleasing of any; for it is a most base aspersion of some, cast on us, because our practice condemns theirs, and they can get no other thing to brand us with but that And glory to the Lord, the contrary is seen both by our practices, and our through-bearing and it is made out, that we hold our principles of none, but of God and his word.

t "I leave my testimony against the four men in the Canongate tolbooth, or any other that join with them, for wronging the holy and sweet Scriptures. Some brand me with this, that I am of their judgment; which thing I exceedingly abhor and detest, as the mire in the streets: and I count them guilty to death, for wronging of the Scriptures. If we had judges in the land, that were for God, they should not live. I leave my testimony against that tyrant on the throne, and all his underlings; and, I say, it will never be right with our land, 'till Haman and his ten sons be hung up before the sun.' I leave my testimony against them that rule as judges; and I leave my blood on the assizers, doomster, soldiers, and all of them, and all that acknowledge or aid them as magistrates, aye and until they repent. I leave my testimony against all enemies of all sorts; and against all sorts of compliance in less or more, and against all that has been done against the work of God these twenty years bygone; against the test, and compliance with, or compearing before, God's enemies in less or more. I leave my testimony against the ministers and professors in Fife, for the wrongs they have done to my lovely Lord and his sweet cause; and my head shall be a standing witness against them, and preach to them from Cupar tolbooth, aye and until they repent. As for any thing that they have done to me, I freely forgive them, and pray that the Lord may forgive them. I leave my testimony against all them that will not hear Mr. Donald Cargill, and own him as a faithful minister of the gospel, and none but he is faithful this day. I leave my testimony to the holy and sweet Scriptures, which, many a day I have been refreshed with; I bless the Lord that ever I could read a line of them. Now, I adhere to the faithful preached gospel, and to all that our worthies have done, which I need not particularly mention here.

66 And you that are the people of the Lord, O be ye busy and improve your time, and make use of your Bibles, while you have them, for it is like there may be a bonfire made of them yet, as well as of the Covenant. And covenant with Him and contend for him to the utmost of your power; for, I have found more of his sweet love, in contending for him, than ever I got in prayer, or hearing the word. O his sweet work! let it not slip through your fingers. It is like ye will have sad days of it when I am gone. Popery is begun, and it is likely to overspread the whole land, and there is hone to move their tongue against it, although the land be sworn in solemn oath against it. O Sirs! lift up your voice for the remnant that is left. Fast and pray, cry and weep, let not the apple of your eye cease, the wrath is like to be great, that will overtake us. 0 cry, that the days may be shortened, for the elect's sake, lest no flesh should be saved. O look out for sad days, dear friends; it may be you will get the saddest stroke that ever a poor land was trysted with: ye may read through the Scriptures, and ye will find what judgments followed such sins,-pestilence, sword, and famine,which, ye may look for. I leave it on you, that ye be not slackhanded, for it may come to that, that 'the tender and delicate women

may eat their own children for straitness, in the siege.' It is to be feared, that the plagues that are coming on Scotland, for a broken and burnt covenant, will make their ears to tingle that hear of them; but I will not be to see it. The Lord is taking me away from the evil to come, which was often my desire; for the sad hearts that ministers and professors have made me, with their complying and wronging his glory, made me oft wish to be away; and now it does not trouble me to lay down my life in your presence this day. O it is sweet to be a sufferer for truth! I wonder what doth ail the generation to scare at him or his sweet cross; for there is no cause of rueing or wearying, for all that is come. There is a beauty in holiness. O commend him, Sirs! O bless and praise him that ever he honoured such a wretch as I am, to be a martyr for his sweet truth! O sweet honour he puts on poor things! O Sirs, cast in your lot with the suffering remnant that this day is in the furnace. Sink and swim with his church. O prefer Jerusalem to your chief joy. But O be persuaded to come and taste of his goodness: This is the way, although the whole world should condemn it. It will not be the learned clergy, or great heads of wit, that he will honour with carrying on his work, for they have all denied him. There are none of the ministers that will witness for him, nor yet any that the Lord has bestowed great parts on their wit leads them by the cross, and beyond suffering. They will not suffer if petitioning will do it, or hiring of advocates, or learned speakers; they can put in petitions, and say, They never intended the death of any man, but in the defence of their life; but never a word of the defence of the gospel, the work of reformation, or the sworn covenant. Nay, if they had done that, their life would go. But they were bound by covenant to own and maintain religion against Popery and Prelacy, Quakerism, Indulgence, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, with their lives in their hands; and to quit with all for the faith once delivered to the saints.' And though they never mention a word of all this, yet they will say, they came clearly off. But I say, now when I am going into eternity, that God's wrath will be on such a liberty, and God will count with them for what they have done against his honour; for there can none come clearly out from among their hands, that are once before them, without wronging his glory. O fear and tremble, Sirs! you that get the favour of God's enemies, and yield your conscience to the lusts of men. I leave it on all persons, now when I am to appear before my Judge, that they do nothing but what is according to the holy and sweet Scriptures; take them to be your rule, and go no farther than they allow you. They do not bid you petition enemies for your liberty, nor yet hire advocates.

"Now, my advice to you that are taken prisoners, is, that you seek no favour of God's enemies; black not paper with them, in good, cheap, nor dear; stand for your sweet Lord, with your life in your hand; own and avouch him to be King and Head of his own church.' Count not your life dear unto you, when it comes in competition with truth. And now, as for you that are the poor

seekers of the Lord, O act faith on him, give him much credit. Live as brethren, dwell in unity; let peace and truth be among you; but good Lord, let never peace be without truth. Keep up fellowship and society meetings; for my soul hath been often refreshed in the fellowship of the saints. O stand for your despised Lord, and his wronged glory.

"Now, I being straitened for want of time, it being short, I forbear, and bid you 'be strong in the Lord, and the power of his might.' Now, farewell my dear friends; farewell holy and sweet Scriptures; farewell sun, moon, and stars; farewell sweet reproaches and crosses for my sweet Lord Jesus; farewell all things in time, reading, praying, and all duties; farewell my dear wife, the Lord be to you better than ten husbands. Glory be to his great name, that made me so sweetly to submit to his will, whatever he trysted me with. Farewell mother and sisters, and all relations; farewell all my Christian acquaintances for a while; farewell sweet society in Fife, the Lord's blessing be on you all. And now, welcome Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; welcome sweet company of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect; welcome everlasting songs of praise. Now, into thy hands, holy Father, I commit my spirit.

Sic sub.-ANDREW PITILLOCH."*

XII. DONALD CARGILL.

[Few names are so prominent in the history of the Scottish persecution as that of Donald Cargill. He was born in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, in 1610, and was sent to pursue his studies for the ministry at the University of St. Andrews. Having at length received license, he was called to the Barony Parish, Glasgow; and in this situation remained till the establishment of Prelacy in 1662. About this period he became particularly obnoxious to the dominant party in the state; and henceforth his life was one of continual jeopardy and peril. After having frequently escaped, in the most dangerous circumstances, he was apprehended in January, 1669. Upon this occasion, however, he was liberated by the interest of his friends; and during the ten years subsequent, was diligent, as opportunity offered, in preaching the gospel in the fields. He was at the battle of Bothwell, and received several wounds; and having sided with what is generally styled the stricter party among the Presbyterians, he afterwards united with Richard Cameron, in preaching against the Indulgence and other contested points. He is especially famous for having excommunicated the King and his principal officers, in the year 1680. In October that year, a reward of 5,000 merks was offered for his person; and in the following summer he was apprehended at St. John's Kirk, Lanarkshire, by a party of dragoons, under the command of Irvine

*Cloud of Witnesses.