plainness and affection, he laid before them their / sins, and those of the land, and of that age; and indeed the place was a Bochim.

He preaches the next Lord's day, early in the morning, and takes leave of his people.

At the close of that day's work he gave intimation of a sermon upon the next Lord's day very early; and his own people and many others met him at the church of Finwick, betwixt four and five in the morning, where he preached twice to them from the close of his last text, "But in me is thine help." And as he used upon ordinary Sabbaths, he had two sermons, and a short interval betwixt them, and dismissed the people before nine in the morning. Upon this melancholy occasion, he directed them unto the great fountain of help, when the gospel and ministers were taken from them; and took his leave of them, commending them to this great God who was able to build them up, and help them in the time of their need.

No violence used against the party who came to dispossess him.

His people would willingly have sacrificed all that was dear to them, in defence of the gospel, and adhering to him. Indeed Mr. Guthrie had some difficulty to get their affection to him so far moderated as to keep them from violent proceedings against the party who came to dispos

E

ses him; they would have effectually prevented the church being declared vacant, and were ready to have resisted even to blood, striving against sin, if they had been permitted. But Mr. Guthrie's peaceable disposition, his great regard to lawful civil authority, with his prudent foresight of the consequences of such a procedure, both as to the interests of the gospel, his people, and himself, made him lay himself out, and use the interest he had in the people, which was very great, to keep the peace; and there was no disturbance which could be made a handle of by adversaries.

With much difficulty the archbishop gets one to intimate his sentence against Mr. Guthrie.

When the archbishop of Glasgow resolved upon dispossessing him, he dealt with several of his curates to intimate his sentence against Mr. Guthrie, and as many refused it. There was an awe upon their spirits, which scared them from meddling with this great man; besides, they very well knew it was an action would render them forever odious to the West country, and they feared the consequence. At last he prevailed with one who was curate of Calder, as I am told, and promised him five pounds sterling for his reward: but, poor man; it was the price of blood, the blood of souls, and neither he nor his had much satisfaction in it.

The curate of Calder intimates it, July 24th, in the church of Finwick.

Upon the 24th of July, this man came with a party of twelve soldiers to Finwick church on the

Lord's day, and, by commission from the archbishop, discharged Mr. Guthrie to preach any more at Finwick, declared the church vacant, and suspended him from the exercise of his ministry.

And to himself in the Manse.

The commander of the party and the curate, leaving the soldiers without, came into the manse, or minister's house. The best account I can at this distance give of what passed in the house, is by inserting a short minute of this, left among the small remains of a valuable collection of pa-, pers belonging to Mr. Guthrie, which were taken away, as we shall afterwards hear, some years after this, by violence, and against all the rules of equity, from his widow, and fell into the hands of the bishops. The paper was drawn up at the time to keep up the remembrance of this affair, without any design of its being published, and I give it in its own native and plain dress.

The sum of the curate's discourse when he came and intimated Mr. William Guthrie his sentence of suspension; with Mr. Guthrie's answer to him.

An account of what passed in the Manse.

The curate showed," that the bishop and committee, after much lenity shown to him for a long time, were constrained to pass the sentence of suspension against him, for not keeping of presbyteries and synods with his brethren, and his unpeaceableness in the church; of which sentence he was appointed to make public inti

mation to him, for which he read his commission under the archbishop of Glasgow, his hand."

Mr. Guthrie answered, "I judge it not convenient to say much in answer to what you have spoken: only, whereas you allege there hath been much lenity used towards me, be it known unto you, that I take the Lord for party in that, and thank him for it; yea, I look upon it as a door which God opened to me for preaching this gospel, which neither you nor any man else was able to shut, till it was given you of God. And as to that sentence passed against me, I declare before these gentlemen (the officers of the party,) that I lay no weight upon it, as it comes from you, or those who sent you; though I do respect the civil authority, who by their law laid the ground for this sentence: and were it not for the reverence I owe to the civil magistrate, I would not surcease from the exercise of my ministry for all that sentence. And as to the crimes I am charged with, I did keep presbyteries and synods with my brethren; but I do not judge those who now sit in these to be my brethren, but men who have made defection from the truth and cause of God; nor do I judge those to be free or lawful courts of Christ that are now sitting. And as to my unpeaceableness, I know I am bidden follow peace with all men, but I know also. I am bidden follow it with holiness; and since I could not obtain peace without prejudice to holiness, I thought myself obliged to let it go. And as for your commission, sir, to intimate this sentence, I here declare, I think

myself called by the Lord to the work of the ministry, and did forsake my nearest relations in the world, and gave up myself to the service of the gospel, in this place, having received an unanimous call from this parish, and being tried and ordained by the presbytery: and I bless the Lord he hath given me some success, and a seal of my ministry upon the souls and consciences of not a few that are gone to heaven, and of some that are yet in the way to it. And now, sir, if you will take it upon you to interrupt my work among this people, as I shall wish the Lord may forgive you the guilt of it, so I cannot but leave all the bad consequences that follow upon it betwixt God and your own conscience. And here I do further declare before these gentlemen, that I am suspended from my ministry for adhering to the covenants and work of God, from which you and others have apostatized."

Here the curate interrupting him, said, “that the Lord had a work before that covenant had a, being, and that he judged them apostates who adhered to that covenant; and that he wished that not only the Lord would forgive him (Mr. Guthrie,) but if it were lawful to pray for the dead (at which expression the soldiers did laugh,) that the Lord would forgive the sin of this church these hundred years past."

"It is true," answered Mr. Guthrie," the Lord had a work before that covenant had a being, but it is as true that it hath been more glorious since that covenant; and it is a small thing for us to be judged of you, in adhering to that