will bring you to the accomplishment; if ye endure with patience, he is the same always to poor sinners, to make them to conquer over all their inward and outward enemies, to those that have received him in the precious offers of the gospel, held out to poor sinners freely, and to poor me: and he hath engaged my heart to fall in love with him, and to follow the blessed persecuted gospel, through good report and ill report, upon all hazards whatsoever, through his strength. O! bless him, all that is within me, that ever he made me to act faith on his great and precious promises, and also to trust to the faithful outmaking of them to his own in particular straits, and also to the church in general, in his due season, against all oppositions that can come from a tempting devil, and a wicked, conspiring, and desperate heart, and the wicked, flattering, deceiving, and bewitching world. O! but these be three strong, arch, cunning, and subtle enemies! I fear, if this question were asked at professors in the land, If they knew these? they would answer, They knew them very well; though I fear the contrary; and it appears much in our day and generation. Woe is to us! where is this married land gone to, judge ye? I bless him that he has made me his prisoner, though I be unworthy; he has stooped low, and with his delicates has come to me in my irons and cords, in that chamber in Glasgow, with his own wine, apples, and flagons. O! if ye knew what a life we have here; if ye knew the want of him ye would have longed for him, and would not have thought a prison, cords, stocks, irons, hard to bear, for his comely presence, and refreshing of our souls. O glory to his blessed and everlasting name, whose loving-kindness lasts for aye! O friends! give all the praise to precious and lovely Christ. O friends! wrestle and hold on; use importunity with him for your bleeding mother-church; for it is not time to be slack. may get more and more of his support, that we may be strong in our Almighty God, who has done great things for his church, and is beginning to do great things for us in our prison. O praise him all ye people; it may be nearer to the breaking of the day of our King Royal, than ye are aware. God has long been silent and conscience dumb amongst people. O be ye aware, that ye have not these two, when he arises to make war for all the wrongs he has sustained. We beseech you, in his own name, try whose ye are, what ye are, and in whose list ye are: know ye not, that true faith is the substance of things not seen, but hoped for' in him, and will be made forthcoming to the sensible feeling of his own elect?

pray for us,

that we

JOHN WHARRY."*

XXIX. JAMES SMITH.

[After what is said in the foregoing article, as referring equally to both sufferers, it is only necessary to add here-that the scuffle at relieving the prisoner having been severe, and one of the soldiers

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killed in it, the crime alleged against these two men, was no less than murder; but so far from this being brought home to them, there was not a single witness adduced to prove, that they had even been in the affray. The sentence, too, which was passed against them and executed accordingly, was in the last degree ignominious and severe. After being hanged at the Cross of Glasgow, they were carried in a cart to Inchbelly-bridge, and there hung in chains. "It is worth recording to the praise of His grace, for whose royal dignities they witnessed, that they endured all these hardships with a great deal of Christian magnanimity-even to the conviction of enemies." The Testimony of James Smith is also in the form of a letter, and is as follows.]

"DEAR FATHER and Mother, I beseech you to forgive me all the offences I have done to you, for ye know it is natural to children to offend and grieve their parents. Now this I seek in His name, and for His sake, and I heartily forgive any provocations that my father has given me, as I am of myself; and desire the Lord may take a dealing with your heart, O my father. Now, my dear father, seek the Lord, that your soul may live; and make religion your main work, and let it not be a bye-business to you, but strive and wrestle to get time spent rightly in the fear of the Lord, minding always and at all times, that the eye of a holy and just God is upon you; and be serious with God, and deal in earnest with Him, that He would help you to self-denial, -to be denied to all things beneath the clouds; and study to get at mortification, and let your affections follow nothing further than ye can be mortified to it; and be submissive to his holy will. Now the Lord himself persuade you to fall in love with lovely Christ: and 1 desire the Lord may give you unfeigned repentance, and faith in Jesus Christ, and strength to stand out and resist these ensnaring courses, viz. locality paying, and the compearing at courts, and hearing of curates, and the like. Dear father, mother, brethren, and sisters, quit with me, and give me up to the Lord, who gave me to you. Give me up freely without any hankering and repining; for he loveth a cheerful giver. I dare not say but he has been kind to me; O matchless love! O praise, praise him that ever he honoured the like of me with cords on my arms, and stocks on my legs;-irons have been sweet and easy to me, and no trouble. Now hold up my case to the Lord, and doubt not of his faithfulness and all-sufficiency, for he is both able and willing, and he has said, 'In all your afflictions I am afflicted; and he carries his and their cross both, and he 'sends none a warfare on their own charges.' John xii. 24. Verily verily I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.' And ver. 25. He that loveth his life, shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.' And I can say upon good grounds, I am well helped of my lovely Master in all that I have been trysted with. I desire with all my heart and soul to bless and praise the holy name of my God for his love, and that ever he looked on the like of me, a poor sinful thing. O praise him, and rejoice with me,

that it is so well with me. Now, the manner of my taking, was not surprising to me: I was not afraid, for I dare not question but the place, and also the time was come: glory to His name in so ordering it. No more at present, but have my love remembered to you, and desire you to take up yourselves with your duty. Now I quit you all to him who is able to save to the utmost.' Be much taken

up with the church's condition, and be not at ease in the time of Zion's trouble. My brethren, my advice to you is, to join yourselves in a society or fellowship meeting, in the strength of the Lord. Now my lovely Lord, give thy blessing to all thine, and pardon the sins of all the elect.

Sic sub.-JAMES SMITH." ""*

XXX. ANDREW GUILLAN.

[This, according to Wodrow, was the only individual of those really present at it, who suffered, "precisely on account of the Archbishop's death;" and even he was not actually engaged in compassing that event. He was by trade a weaver, and living in the neighbourhood of Magus-Muir,—was called out on the occasion, to hold the horses of those by whom the deed was perpetrated. He seems to have been a serious, and for his station, a wellinformed man. He was apprehended as a nonconformist, by the Curate of the parish, in which for some time, by way of concealing himself, he had resided in the capacity of a farm-servant; and refusing to drink the king's health, he was first put into prison at Dalkeith, and afterwards removed to Edinburgh. As yet, nothing could be alleged against him, till he was artfully drawn into something like a confession of having been present at the Archbishop's death. He was tried, brought in guilty, and condemned to have both his hands cut off at the foot of the gallows, hanged at Edinburgh, his head fixed at Coupar, and his body hung in chains at Magus Muir: a sentence which was executed on the 20th of July, 1683.+]

"MY DEAR FRIENDS,-Being here to die for my dearest Lord's precious truths, I thought fit to leave this with you, as my last advice. Seek to do good to all in your day. Let your moderation be known unto all men. Study to be imploring your God, for there is sudden wrath pronounced from heaven against all that have been doing, or continue to do evil: for he hath said, Jer. x. 25. Pour out thy fury

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↑ "After his body," says Wodrow, "had hung in chains for some time, some people came and took it down, for which the country about was put to no small trouble. I find that in May, 1684, the council granted a commission to the earl of Balcarras, to pass sentence of banishment against the persons who took it down, as being owners of the Archbishop's murder." Wodrow, vol. II. p. 304.

upon the heathen, and upon the families that call not upon thy name." We had need to know what we shall answer, when we shall come before him, with whom we have to do; for he is a holy God, and ‘a consuming fire to the workers of iniquity,' Wherefore, dear friends, study holiness in all manner of conversation; make it your earnest care to have your conversation as becomes the gospel, and then he will be forthcoming unto you. My friends, I leave you with the Lord, who hath promised to be the God of his people. He is given of the Father to be a leader and commander to his people, and he will lead them. And I entreat every particular person, never to be at rest till they give away themselves personally in covenant to God, and promise through his grace, to be for him, and not for another. I leave you to him, who leads Joseph like a flock.' If you would have him speaking peace to you in your life, and in your end, cleave to the Son of God and his truths. And remember, if speedy repentance do not prevent, you will utterly ruin your immortal souls. Now, my dear friends, ye that are desiring singly to stand for God, hold on your way, and wait for the Lord, and quit not a hoof of the truth: he will be an up-making God to you, and he has promised to be a present help in the time of your need.

"There is a great confluence come here at this time: I would wish with all my heart they would get good by it. I am come here to lay down my life. I declare I die not as a murderer, nor as an evil-doer; although this covenant-breaking, perjured, murdering generation lay it to my charge, as though I was a murderer, on account of the justice that was executed on that Judas who sold the kirk of Scotland for 50,000 merks a year. And we being bound to extirpate Popery and Prelacy, and that to the utmost of our power, and we having no other that were appearing for God at that day, but such as took away his life, therefore I was bound to join with them, in defending the true religion, and all the land. Every man was bound in covenant, when he had sold the church,—they were bound, I say, to meet him by the way, when he came down from London, and have him presently put to the edge of the sword, for that heinous indignity done to the holy Son of God. But it is, alas! too apparent that men have never known God rightly, nor considered that he is a holy God. O terrible backsliding! they will not believe that God will call them to an account for what they owed to God: but assure yourselves, as he is in heaven, he will call every one to an account, how they have stood to that covenant and work of reformation. I need say no more; but I would have you consider, that in breaking the covenant, we have trampled under foot the precious truths of Jesus Christ.

Now, being straitened of time, I must leave off writing. Wherefore, farewell holy Scriptures, wherewith my soul hath been many a day refreshed farewell sweet societies with whom I have been, and whose company was so refreshful to me; farewell my mother, brethren, sisters, and all other relations; farewell all earthly pleasures; farewell sun, moon, and stars. Welcome spirits of just men made perfect;

welcome angels; welcome Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,-into whose bands I commit my spirit.

Sic sub.-ANDREW GUILLAN.”*

The inhuman treatment this martyr met with ought not to be forgotten, as a pregnant instance of the hellish rage and fury of the persecutors, and of the Lord's rich grace, who wonderfully countenanced and strengthened him to endure the tortures inflicted upon him, with an undaunted braveness of spirit: for besides the tortures he suffered in prison, they ordered both his hands to be cut off, while he was alive: and it was observed by onlookers, though (by reason the executioner was drunk) he received nine strokes in cutting them off, yet he bore it with invincible patience. And after the right hand was cut off, he held out the stump in view of the multitude, saying, “As my blessed Lord sealed my salvation with his blood, so am I honoured this day to seal his truths with my blood."-C. W.

XXXIII. JOHN COCHRAN.

[This was one of Three countrymen, who suffered together on the 30th of November, 1683. He was by trade a shoemaker, and belonged to the parish of Lesmahagow. With his two companions he was indicted in the usual form, for treason, as having been in the rising at Bothwell. They were brought before the council on the 26th; and their confession there emitted was all that was adduced as evidence at their trial, on the 28th of said month. They were, of course, condemned, and two days after, hurried into eternity." They were persons," says Wodrow, "from whom the government had nothing to fear, and their blood was shed (for what I can see) merely out of love of blood." It appears that John Cochran confessed his having been both at Drumclog and Bothwell-bridge, armed with a fork, and that he refused to own or pray for the king, or to give his opinion of the Archbishop's death. His testimony, in which the other two concurred, is as follows.]

"BEING brought before the lords of Justiciary, they asked, Where I went in to the rebels? I answered, I went in to the people of God, whom ye call so, at Drumclog. They asked, If I had arms? I told them, I had a fork. They asked, If I thought it febellion? I said, No.

And they said, What was it then? I told them, It was in defence of the gospel. They asked, If I did own the authority? I told them, As far as it did agree with the word of God. Then they asked, If I would pray for the king? I told them, That prayer should be gone about in decency and order. Then they asked, If I would say 'God save the king ?' And I refused. Then they said, Was I not bound to

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