have all along appeared cordial and serious in that matter: but I must have been unaccountably blinded, if, by repeated evidences otherwife, I had not perceived the parish of Clofeburn not inclined to be hard on the parish of Etterick in this affair. And however this might perhaps be deemed to be of fmall importance in the cafe of one inclinable to embrace their call; yet it cannot but have weight with our Reverend and compaffionate judges, in the cafe of a fixed minifter, whofe congregation and himfelf must both be violented, in order to the cafting him in upon another that defires him not.

Moderator, I need not put the Reverend Commiffion in mind of the great end of this project, namely, the healing of breaches there: but I heartily with it may be duly weighed, whether this tranfportation be a means proper for attaining that end? And one would think, fome more than ordinary certainty was neceffary in this point, efpecially confidering that the widening of the breaches in Etterick, and the adjacent parts, will furely follow upon the event of this tranfportation; and that a mistake, or falfe ftep, in an affair relating to fuch a broken country as Nithfdale is, may be of dangerous confequence. I am perfuaded, with the Reverend fynod of Merfe and Teviotdale, that this tranfportation will not anfwer the end; and think it strange, if any who know all circumstances be otherwife minded. Whatever measures the wifdom of fome other perfon, who fhall be called to that parish, may fuggeft unto him for compaffing the defired end, I find myfelf fo ftraitened in that refpect, that I cannot forbear to fay, with all deference to my Reverend Judges, that the tranfporting me to Clofcburn, will in effect be a driving me into a fnare, where, to which hand foever I turn, I must be broken.

Now, Moderator, will the juftice of the Reverend Commiffion allow them, to lay a congregation defolate, which was planted with fo much difficulty, has been managed with fo much uncafinefs, and, upon the event of this transportation, muft become the very feat of feparation in the country, and which there is fo very little hope of the comfortable fupply of, they in the mean time fo vigorously reclaiming; and all this, in a time wherein there is fo very little need of transportations, but the parish purfuing may be otherwife fettled, to far greater advantage? Will their refpect to the peace of this church, fuffer them

to

to give fuch ground of irritation to a congregation in these circumftances I have narrated? Will their compaffion allow them, to take one whofe fpirit is already fhattered with the effects of the divifive temper, and caft him into another place, where it must be far more fo? or to lead out one, and fet him upon the ice, where he knows no way (in the course of ordinary Providence) how to keep his feet; and when he falls, muft fall for nought, I mean, no advantage to the church gained thereby? Nay, Moderator, I cannot believe these things.

I have the greatest averfion to this tranfportation; and whofo confiders what I have reprefented, will not think it ftrange. I hope the Reverend Commiffion will not violent me; which they will do, if they transport me to Clofeburn. The cafe of the Reverend Mr Warden's transportation to Falkirk, and of the Reverend Mr Wodrow's to Stirling, which were refufed by the Commiffion, though each of thefe parishes is more confiderable than the parish here purfuing, are fuch inftances of the lenity of this Very Reverend Judicatory, that it will be thought exceeding ftrange, if it fhall be my lot only to be violented.

Moderator, I have been twice fettled already; and. I blefs the Lord, who was pleafed, in both, convincingly to fhew me his own call coming along with the call of his church. And I have felt fo much need of the former, its accompanying the latter, that I would be most inexcufable to venture on removing to another parifh without it. I was perfuaded in my confcience of the Lord's calling me to Etterick; and my clearnefs as to my call to that place, was never overclouded, no not in my darkest hours; and had I not had that to fupport me there, I had funk under my burden. Now I have endeavoured, according to the measure of the grace beftowed on me, to fet afide my own inclinations, and the confideration of the cafe and fatisfaction of my own heart, and to lay this matter before the Lord, for light, to discover his mind about it, labouring to wait upon him in the. way of his word and works. But I fincerely declare, after all, I have no clearness to accept the call of Clofeburn, nor a foundation for my confcience, in this tranfportation, which ought not to reit on human authority. I have all deference for the autho rity of this church, and my miniftry is very dear to me: fo I caft myself down at your feet, begging that you will U u 2

not

not grant this tranfportation, which has been refused by the prefbytery and fynod whereof I am a member; and who are beft acquainted with the fate of the parish of Etterick, and what concerns me; whereas both that parith and I are known but to very few of our now Reverend Judges. But if it fhall pleafe the holy wife God, to fuffer me now, for my trial and correction, to fall under your fentence, tranfporting me from the parish of Etterick to the parish of Clofeburn; fince it is a charge I have no clearness to undertake, I refolve, through grace, rather to fuffer, than to enter upon it blindfolded. Though, in the mean time, I cannot help thinking, it will be hard meafure to punish me, becaufe I cannot fee with other mens eyes; efpecially confidering that the prefbytery of Selkirk, and the Reverend Synod of Merfe and Teviotdale, have, by their refpective fentences, continued me in Etterick, upon very weighty grounds, contained in the

fentence of the latter in this affair."

The deep concern I was in, naturally formed the delivery of the fpeech. Parties being removed, I went into a feat in the church alone, and gave myself to prayer, it being in the night-feafon: I caft myself over on the Lord, to follow ftill as he fhould go before, but no otherwife; and in cafe of the fentence going against me, was refolved to proteft for liberty to complain to the aflembly, and never to undertake that charge, unlefs light broke up to me, which had not yet appeared. But by a vast majority, the fentence paffed in our favour: and others, as well as I, were convinced, that the fpeech I delivered, was that which influenced the Commiffion, and moved their compaflion.

Thus ended that weighty affair, for which feveral of the godly through the country, particularly thofe of the meetings for Chriftian fellowship in Galathiels, had been concerned before the Lord. About fourteen days before, at the facrament of Maxton, laying hold on the covenant, which is a covenant of promifes, I was helped to fome diftinctnefs in applying the feveral forts of promifes, as thofe for pardon, for fanctification, for direction, &c. and this with a particular view to that business then before Ine. And I must say, the Lord was with me in the management, giving me in that hour, both what to speak, and courage to fpeak it; and even when I ran, he left me not to ftumble. One of our heritors that I had confi

dence

dence in, quite failed me: but Sir William Scot, the principal one, furprised me with his perfonal appearance, and ftanding by me in judgement, which he had all along refufed. My inclinations in that matter having been moft injurioufly mifreprefented by fome minifters and others, by the iffue they were filenced. That which was the real ground of my averfion to Clofeburn, was, that I had a moft uncomfortable life in Etterick, and my work among them had all along been exceeding heavy; through the difpofition of the people, felfish, conceited, and bending towards the fchifm, which has moft deep rooting in this place: hence proceeded contempt of ordinances, minifters, &c. to the great breaking of my fpirit. To have gone to Clofeburn, a parish of the fame character, I reckoned would have been just to begin my weary tafk anew; in one word, to have caft me out of the frying pan into the fire. Otherwife, to have been tranfported from Etterick, and gone any whither, where the gofpel would have been heard and received at my hands, would have been moft gladly embraced by me, if the Lord himself had but faid it. Befides, I had been advised, that the air did not agree with my wife's conftitution, and tended to impair her health; and that it would overcome me at length. Of these my heavy circumstances in this place, I had been speaking to Mr Murray, and he took occafion to provide this remedy of the tranfportation to Closeburn, which I looked on as ill as the difeafe, in refpect of the uncomfortableness of my work, which the more wholefome air could not counterbalance to me. As for my wife's conduct in the matter, it was as became a Christian, fpoke forth much felf-denial, and refignation to the will of the Lord; making not the leaft uneafinefs to me in point of my confcience. The defign of Providence in the whole affair, I take to have been, as at first, to rebuke the parish and myfelf; and, I would fain hope, to cement and knit us more closely for the time to come. And they feem to have a fenfe of the mercy.

This tofs hindered the adminiftering of the facrament this year; which was the only interruption it had met with, from the year 1710, that the courfe of it was be

gun.

PE

PERIOD XI.

From the transportation to Clofeburn refufed, to the notable breach in my health, and alteration in my conftitution.

After this affair was over, my wife went from Edinburgh to her own country, to breathe her native air a while for her health, as had been advifed in her cafe. That the air of Etterick did not agree with her, was declared to us and that was an argument ufed by the purfuers for the tranfportation. It was alfo declared to me, by my dear friend Dr Trotter, that it would overcome me too at length. But what could we do for relief in the cafe, in the circumstances above narrated ?

But as the effects of the rebellion cured our people of their unnatural fondnefs for public confufions, fo that that difpofition never appeared among them fince, as before; fo the attempt to tranfport me to Clofcburn, did bring them to themfelves with refpect to me; and made my life among them tolerable. Howbeit, fince that time I have not wanted enough to keep me from forgetting where I am.

On Sept. 18. there was, by appointment of our feffion, a congregational thanksgiving obferved, upon the account of the favourable iffue of the procefs aforefaid; which was ground of thankfulness to me, as well as to the parish. But to balance the victory I had obtained, I came home from that ftruggle, with a fore rheumatic pain in my arm, which kept me a confiderable time after. On the thanksgiving-day Mr Henry Davidson minister of Galashiels, Mr Gabriel Wilfon, and I myself, preached.

Mr Davidfon aforefaid was, by that time, become a third with Mr Wilfon and me, in our bond of strict friendship: A man of great gravity, piety, and tendernefs; learned and judicious; well acquainted with books; a great preacher, delivering in a taking manner, masterly thoughts, in an unaffected elevated ftyle; endowed with a gift of prayer, in heavenly oratory, beyond any man that ever I knew; extremely modeft, and referved in his temper; but a kind and affectionate friend. This friendfhip, most comfortable, and useful as a threefold cord, does by the mercy of God continue inviolated to this day.

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