mo with an everlasting love. And I bless the Lord, I am in my right mind, and have hatred against no man's person, but in so far as they are fighting against my God, and plotting against his holy child Jesus; but as it is written, Psal. ii. 9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potsherd.' I leave my testimony against Charles Stuart, for his breach of covenant and for his setting forth that hellish act of supremacy,—whereby, he rescinded the law of God, and the just law of the land, that he might murder the Lord's people. I likewise leave my blood upon him, and these bloody counsellors, justiciary and assizers-because they take away my life, and the lives of my brethren, without a shadow of law or justice; for there were none of us guilty of action or crimes, and the protestation we gave them, shall be a standing witness against them. Secondly, I leave my testimony against prelacy, because they have taken upon them the place of Lords, which is proper to none but Jesus Christ; for we have but one God, one Lord, one Saviour and Master, &c. and they have our blood upon their heads. I leave my testimony against all the proceedings against the Lord's people, for their murders in the fields, and in the sea, and on scaffolds. I leave my testimony against the bringing home of that tyrant, Charles Stuart, after they knew that he had broken all bonds that could bind men, and was no more to be believed; I likewise leave my testimony against the Duke of York, and against the reception of him, first and last, because they knew he was a professed papist, and was seeking nothing but the lives of the Lord's people, as his actions declare; first, he behoved to have a draught of these five men's blood at Magus Muir, and next, of Mr. James Skene, John Potter, Archibald Stewart, and the rest of our brethren since; O bloody wretch! he is filling himself drunk with the blood of the saints; and when he was declared Viceroy and High Commissioner, as they call him, he behoved to have a draught of blood to sit down with, viz. of that faithful minister of Jesus Christ, Mr. Donald Cargill, and the other four; and then they sat down to their parliament, for enacting these hell-hatched acts, placing Charles Stuart and his succession, for their god, and that they call law and authority, for their Bible. And now, when they have taken their breath, they must have our blood to slake them. I leave my testimony against the parliamenters, and my blood upon them; I am sure they will find it and my brethren's, lying heavy upon them. I likewise leave my testimony against bonders, cess and locality payers, for strengthening the hands of these wicked ruffians, the troopers and soldiers, who destroy the Lord's people. Now therefore, dear friends, I warn you, as you would fly from the wrath to come, shake yourselves of these things, if so be there may be hope; it may be if ye be serious, ye will be hid in the day of the Lord's anger; take warning, and fly from the wrath that is to come. Likewise, I leave my testimony against the unfaithfulness of the watchmen of Scotland, for they have not fed the flock, but fed themselves. Therefore I, as a dying man, must tell you, that it will be a wonder, if ever ye be honoured to be faithful, for your turning 20 your backs on your Master,-when all men are set against him; and your seeking to save your lives,-when the Lord is calling you to suffer, rather than to yield, or quit one hair of the truth. Ye think nothing to call tyranny, lawful magistracy, and by that ye say, that all the martyrs, who have suffered under tyranny these twenty years. bave suffered justly! If that word be true, there is no power but of God,'-then certainly Charles Stuart's power must not be of God, for his unheard of murders, perjuries and adulteries. Now I say, those who call him a magistrate, they say, that God is the author of sin, which is horrid blasphemy; and I think, there are few ministera in Scotland, who are free of that horrid sin, and are not in some sort guilty of their brethren's blood; for ye are an upcast to poor sufferers. Now therefore, I advise you to repent, for I shall wish you no wrong. I might say much to that purpose, but I shall forbear, only I desire the Lord may forgive you, for your lukewarmness, neutrality, indifferency and sinful silence, where there is none to speak for Jesus Christ. And now, I advise you that are his people, to take warning from me as a dying man, not to join with them, till their repentance be as visible as their sin hath been. O seek teachers from the Lord; for he will not want ministers, when he hath an errand to send them. Wait on the Lord, for he doth all things well. Now, my dear friends, who desire to live godly, look out for tribulation and affliction, and the Scourge of tongues, and the envy and malice of devils. The ministers will reproach you and condemn you, and the worldly-wise professors will advise you to run at leisure, and not condemn the godly for their failings: it is true, I grant the godly may fall and rise again; but alas! their apostasy in denying their Master, and defending it, will be found very hard and terrible, in the sight of the Lord. "Now, I must not tarry, being surprised with shortness of time, having the king of terrors to grapple with. Only this I say, (my dear friends) make haste, get your peace made with God, and in your stations contend for him; labour to have nothing before your eyes, but the glory of God, and ye shall undoubtedly get employment of him make it your main work to seek the Lord. And now, that I am to step out of time into eternity, I bless the Lord for the way he hath taken with me; for all that I have met with, hath been in loving-kindness; and I can say, that from my experience, he hath been kind to me in my wanderings and imprisonments; irons and stocks, have been made sweet to me; yea, evil company hath been made useful to me. Yea, these antiscripturists were made instructive to me; for I saw these four men (I mean John Gib and his followers) were once as fairly on the way, by appearance, as any I knew ; but I see gifts are not graces, and now, I think, they were hopeless; and I advise none that tender the glory of God to meddle with them; for they are turned horrid blasphemers, and deniers of the Scriptures. Beware of them; for I have no time to give you a particular account of them. "Now, my dear friends, farewell, with whom I have been refreshed many times: the love of God be with you, and carry you through. Farewell holy Scriptures, wherewith I have been comforted; farewell praying; farewell sweet imprisonment; farewell sweet stocks and irons for Christ's sake; farewell wanderings and sweet reproaches for my Lord's sake; farewell sun, moon and stars, farewell day and night; farewell all created comforts! Welcome death; welcome gallows, for Christ's sake; welcome eternity; welcome angels; welcome spirits of just men made perfect; welcome praises that shall never have an end. There I shall rest through all the age of eternity, in Immanuel's land. Welcome Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Sic sub. PATRICK FORMAN." XVIII. DAVID FAIRIE. This was another of the four persons, who were tried and executed, in company with Robert Garnock. He was dealt with in precisely the same way as the two preceding witnesses for the truth. His confession before the council bears," That he disclaimed the king's authority, that he calls him a tyrant,-asserts that it is lawful to kill murderers, and says the king is a murderer, because he has murdered the people of God." He suffered with the rest, at the Gallowlee, on the 10th October, 1581.-His testimony follows.] "DEAR FRIENDS,—I desire to bless the Lord, that I am sentenced to be a martyr for Christ and his cause, by wicked men, whose actions prove what they are; yet glory be to the name of God, that this day, I do not suffer as an evil-doer, but for the testimony of the truth, in owning Jesus Christ as head in his church, yea, in the church of Scotland; and not only so, but covenanted to be so, as he was with the children of Israel, in the sight of the nations; which covenant, made betwixt Jesus Christ and this land, I bless the Lord, that, by his strength, I have been enabled to own, before all these accusers of mine, especially the bloody committee, the bloody council, and the dreadful bloody assizers of the people of God, and givers of their sentences of death,—all instituted by Charles Stuart,—who was once by his profession, and by his oath, an owner of that covenant. Now, the grounds of my sentence are to be seen in my interrogations before the committee, council, and justiciary so called: at which I was asked, If I owned my former speeches? I said, What I had said, I had said; but in case that any might think, that I had heart malice at him whom they call king; I told them, I wished neither him nor them, nor their souls, any more evil nor I wished my own; but since he had broken the covenant with God, and turned out all our ministers, obtruded prelacy on the church, and overturned the whole work of reformation, I could not own him as a king, and them as judges, seeing he and his emissaries were proceeding to bring in Popery into the land; and I • Cloud of Witnesses disowned them as my judges; and told them, There was a day coming wherein they and I would be arraigned before a judge, ere it was long, and receive righteous judgment, and that I in that day would be a witness against them for their unrighteous sentences against the people of God, and their unrighteous proceedings against us, to take away our lives for owning and adhering to the word of God, and our sworn covenants. And when I was asked again the same questions, I answered, What I had said, I had said; for I had said as much as would be for the wo and sorrow of all present, except those that were penitent. Now, let men judge whether or not it becomes any to own Charles Stuart as king, and them as judges, seeing they have broken the covenant, and overturned the work of reformation and shed so much of the people of God's blood; and not only so, but also have made a Duke, popish by profession, heir to the crown, to be the door whereat they may receive Popery into the land. For I think there are none, but in some measure they allow Popery, that will not witness against, and withstand him and them in their proceedings, especially that black test, which that wicked parliament hath put forth, amongst all their other proceedings, these twenty years, against God, his work and people;-whereof the overturning our ministry and thrusting in of Prelacy,-the unlawful acts of indulgence first and last, the killing and murdering of the people of God, in fields, and scaffolds, and seas, in one place and another, are a witness. O the great witness, that is, and will be standing against the said Charles Stuart, and his unlawful council and parliaments, and all their proceedings ! The Lord in the second commandment threatens his wrath against the children for the fathers' iniquity, unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate him; and if the Lord visit not the successors of this generation aforenamed, with dreadful judgments, I am mistaken; yea, and all these that join and comply with them, either ministers or professors, I mean the indulged, and all these that bond with the enemies, or give them clats of gear* for their liberation, when they are brought to prison upon the account of owning the truth; or in any manner of way to acknowledge them as magistrates; I say (without repentance) I see no way that they can miss God's wrath. - "But I think, I need not insist much on these subjects, for all the warnings they have gotten (which are many) by ministers and professors, one way or other, especially on scaffolds, since Mr. James Guthrie to this day, have not been effectual; their actings prove them to be more hardened in their sin than when they began. Therefore, I think it seems, that the Lord will either give them no more warnings, or else take them shortly away, or both: indeed he may give them more warnings, but if ever they do the most part of this generation any good, I greatly question, I mean those whom I have named; for I think, with several others who are gone before me, and are going off the stage by death, That there will be dreadful judgments to follow on this generation, for breach of covenant with God, and open rebellion against him, by these iniquitous laws of theirs, in taking away • i. e. Sums of money. their lives, liberties, and privileges of the people of God, and not only so, but in making Charles Stuart head of the church, which becomes not him nor any mortal; for Jesus Christ is head of his own church, and Lord over the consciences of men. And as for me, I would not have my conscience tied by Charles Stuart's belt, nor any who are called his subjects, though I were to live an hundred years; no, though I could have the whole world for my pains; for I might as well tie my conscience to the devil and my own corruptions, as do it, by yielding submission to his iniquitous laws, by either bond or cess, or any thing relating thereto. Now I bless the Lord, I hope, that he who hath led me hitherto, will lead me away from him, and his, and my own corruptions, and the devil, ere the tenth day of this month pass over. "And as for my own particular interest, I bless the Lord, I am in some measure, as clear of my interest in Christ, as I am that my pen is writing on this paper; for I hope that the Lord will carry me honourably through, and give me that which he hath promised: aye when I asked of him faith, he gave me faith, life, light, and a heart to believe, and love, to him and his glory, interest, cause, covenant, and work of reformation, and strength to stand, and withstand my enemies inward and outward, who many a time have assaulted and tempted me, striving to drive me away to sin. Indeed it is true, I lived most lewdly, aye, till within a little more than these four years. O if I could go to the stage, blessing and magnifying the Lord, that it hath pleased him to bring me from the devil's fireside, as it were, and draw me out to hear the gospel of Christ! I bless the Lord, the first field-preaching that ever I heard, I entered in covenant with him to follow him, though it should cost me my life; and at a communion in Irongray in Galloway, I had the clear manifestation of my interest. O free grace! O free love! O free mercy! what am I that he hath been so kind to me! O me! O poor me! and not only so, but also when he discovered the evils of the woful indulgence, from the supremacy, that he made it known to me, and also made me to stand and withstand that woful evil, and to join with that party, by the bond found upon Mr. Richard Cameron, whom he honoured to witness against it; and for this I desire to bless him. O! I think, it is Scotland's mercy this day, that he hath opened up the eyes of the blind, to see these abominations, especially among the ministers, I mean, the indulged, and those who plead for them! O! Scotland's mercy hath been great, that notwithstanding their rebellion, and joining with rebels by that supremacy, the Lord opened the eyes of the blind to see these abominations, and to testify against them: O! I say this is Scotland's mercy; though some may think otherwise; for if the Lord had not opened up that evil to poor things, it had been a token that he would have gone his way, and not owned his covenanted land any more; but it is a token for good yet to the land, that notwithstanding all our rebellions against him by breach of covenant, he continues yet to discover to his people, what is sin and duty. And this also is a token that the Lord will not leave Scotland, though he may chastise it very sore; his taking the blood and lives of his saints, on fields, seas, and |