and you mut know this, That the fufferers have a large allow ance, and although his own want not in their fufferings the faith of adherence to him, yet ye must not think to fail that way on a bed of roles to heaven; but that you must have fire in your trial; I mean, a deferting God as to apprehenfion ; yet wait patiently, and at length he will incline his car, and you shall not want experience to fay, For but a moment laits his wrath. And now I leave my dear wife, children and fifters] upon the Lond, who gave me fuch fweet refreshing relations, and defire all the people of God to be kind to them; and I bless the Lord he has enabled me to quit them to him; and though the Lord has made every one of them fo fweet and fo pleafing to me, that I have been forced to crub my affection with the bridle of religion; yet herein I blefs the Lord, he has given me a heart, to go through my cross with forgetfulness of all; yea, to be most nnconcerned in the tears and weeping of my relations.

And now I leave all God's people, and others, with this, That his cross is beautiful; yea, though I had occasion of efcaping prifon, fince fentence; yet I durft not without a check of confcience have done it, and though I did petition, yet there was (to me) two neceffary ends therein. First, They defigning to make me odious, that I would not feek my life, and 1 defiring to make my suffering clear to their own confciences (to be unjuft), and next, if any thing ailed, my wife, I'might lay her blood at their door, but I would advife all to beware of them, for there must be frequent confulting with God, band reafonable judgment to difcern their fnares, it being their main design to ensnare. Hadvife.any, called to fuffering, never to quit with the faith of adherence, and they shall not want the faith of affurance, for fince lever i came to prifon, saw and believed God's defignito ine was love and having emptied mes of all promilesh to fufferers, and of all my own righteoufnefs, made me clofe with him, and take him for all, and believingly to rest on him, and have recourfe to him, for grace to fupply neceffity, and give me a believing (though to me incompre henfible) of feeing him as he is, and knowing him, even as [l am known of hime

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Now I die commending to all the people of God that duty% of unity: conform to the second of fimothy, ii 22. “ Follow peace with them that call upon the Lord with a pure heart.” And that, John i 7." If we have fellowship one with another, the blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth from all fin.**

I do not say this, to make up an union or joining with thefe, I testify against. › `

Sic fubfcribitur

JOHN WILSON.

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[This worthy judicious Martyr being obliged to write his teftimony in feveral papers, and convey them out fecretly by parts, by reafon of the ftrictnefs of the Perfecutors, who fearched the Martyrs about this time with much feverity, could not get it reduced to order: Wherefore 'tis hoped, the candid reader will not be offended. if he finds method altered a little from what it was in the manufcript, feeing there is nothing in the sense, or phrase of the author changed, but only his additions put in their proper place of the teftimony, fome very few things lefs material being left out for brevitics fake]

The last Testimony of GEORGE MARTINE, who suffered at the Grass-market of Edinburgh, upon the 22d of Feb 1684.

My dear Friends,

A

Fter four years, and near four months captivity and bondage, for this glorious and honourable caufe of Jefus Chrift, for which I have been kept fometimes in bolts and fetters night and day, without fire, and other neceffaries; and now at the end of the forefaid fpace, being fentenced to die, I thought it fit to fignify to you, why I was fo fentenced, as the adverfaries gave it forth: And it is this, I could not own, nor allow of the king's authority, as it is now established, nor pray for him in a fuperftitious idolatrous manner, nor call the late Prelate of St. Andrews', and the late king's death murder, nor Bothwel-bridge rebellion, and abjure the covenant; All which I refufed, and could do upon no terms.

As to the first, I could not own, nor allow of the prefent government, as it is now established, because it is derogatory tothe crown and kingdom of our Lord Jefus Chrift, in robbing him of his royal prerogatives; in their " fetting of their thres

hold by his threshold, and their pofts by his posts, and the "wall between him and them, they have even defiled his holy "name, by their abominations that they have committed" Ezek iv. 3, 8 and Ezek. xliv 6, 7. 8 "And thou fhalt "fay to the rebellious house, even to the house of Ifrael,

Thus faith the Lord God, O ye houfe of Ifrael, let it fuffice 46 you of all your abominations, in that ye have brought into my fanctuary strangers, uncircumcifed in heart, and uncir"cumcifed in flesh, to be in my fanctuary to pollute it, even "in my houfe, when ye offer the fat and the blood, and they "have broken my covenant, because of all their abominations, and they have not kept the charge of my holy things, but ye have fet keepers of my charge in my fanctuary for your felves. Should he that hateth right govern? And wilt thou ❝condemn him that is most just? Job xxxiv. 17. Who durft "do it, and be guiltlefs? And moreover, which fay to the "feers, See not; and to the prophets, prophefy not unto us " right things, fpeak unto us fmooth things, prophefy de"ceits: Get ye out of the way, turn afide out of the path, "cause the holy One of Ifrael ceafe from before us." Ifa xxx. 30, 11. And I cannot, nor dare not pray for him, fo fuperftitiously. First, Because it imports a fet form of prayer, which is moft fuperftitious, and that which is their dreadful defign. 2dly, It imports idolatry, like unto the cry of the people made mention of, in Acts xix. 34 who had a cry for the pace of two hours, of that idol," Great is Diana of the Ephefians." which was rejected by some of their own fort, with fome kind. of reafon, though heathens, and much more ought it here. 3dly. Another reafon why I cannot pray after fuch a manner is. I find when prayers rightly discharged, and seriously gone about, in the manner, time and place, as is warranted by the word of God; God is thereby worshipped and honoured. And if irreverently gone about, he is dishonoured, and his name profaned, and taken in vain, which is abomination to him, and which he faith, His enemies do, and for which he will not hold them guiltlefs.

4thly, I dare not pray fo fuperftitioufly for him, because I find Jeremiah three times exprefly forbidden to pray for a people, not guilty of all the things that he is guilty of, though he be guilty of all their fins, and many others alfo. See for this vii. of Jer. 16. ver. Where it is faid, "Pray not for "this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither "make interceffion to me, for I will not hear thee," etc. Jer. ix. 14. "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither "lift up cry nor prayer for them, for I will not hear thrm, " in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. And "Jer. xiv. 11, 12. Then faid the Lord unto me, Pray not "for this people, for their good; when they faft, I will not "hear their prayer. Pfal. xliv. 21. If we have forfaken the "name of our God, or stretched out our hands unto a strange "God; fhall not God fearch this out? For he knoweth the

"fecrets of the heart. John v. 16. If any man fée his brother "fin a fin which is not unto death, he shall afk, and he thell "give him life for them that fin not unto death. There is a fin

unto death; I do not say that he shall pray for it." I fear fome fins in this land have too near bordering with that fin. Innumerable Scriptures are to this purpose, but thefe may fuffice at prefent. Another thing makes me fcruple, because they com mand no more prayers to be prayed, fave unto thee Óking, Dan vi. 7. And lastly, I dare not pray it, because all the pros fane profligate perfons has it always in their mouth, efpecially when they are drunk, and if. I do what they do, I fear, I go where they go: But bleffed be the Lord, who has yet prevented me, from the paths of these deftroyers. Much of this was spoken, when I was before them, and so I shall forbear to speak any more as to this question...

The next Queftion is, in order to the Prelate's death, whether it was murder or not? Murder,. I dare not call it, more than Eglon's, Sifera's and Balaam's deaths, but the juft judgment of God for his fearful apoftacy and backfliding, together with the horrid murders committed by him, upon the faints and fervants of God. The third is, That of the death of the late King: Whether it was murder or not? I am not much to meddle with it: But the many thousands that were flain in England, the horrid murder committed by the Irish in Ireland, and the dreadful flaughter of the proteftants in Scotland, caufes great thoughts of heart, that it was a fatal stroke. A fourth thing, Whether Bothwel-bridge was rebellion? which whether it was fo or not, may appear, if ye confider our former engagements to that effe&t. And 5thly, Anent owning and adhering to the covenants? We anfwered publickly before the court, That in all the Scripture it was warrantable, both to make covenants, and also to keep them, and that there was never a covenant fo broken, but that which was punished by fignal judgments and plagues by the Lord. Thefe were the answers to the indictment, and whereupon fentence of death paft, or for not answering to some of thefe queftions; for which I muft lay down my life, and if this be not murder, let Christian nations bear witnefs, if ever the like was done in any Christian kingdom heretofore.

But now being ftraitned for want of time, and other incon veniencies, I cannot fay much more to you. Only I leave it with you as my laft advice, That ye would endeavour to keep the way of the Lord fincerely, and not to meddle with them that are given to fuch changes, which alas! too many plead for, and are given to this day: and that ye would not be formal in many things, concerning godliness, and the work and worship of God. Formality, may be feared, will give many a beguile, when it cannot be mended. As Firft, I beseech you, be more

TO

obfervant, in keeping the Lord's day, in rising betimes in the morning, and in spending the whole time in worshipping of God fincerely: Take heed to your thoughts, words and actions And when ye fet a day apart, I mean of humiliation, give God the whole day, and notice what fuccefs ye have had, and how you have found the work thrive, and profper among you; And ufe lefs difputings, even in things feemingly neceffary: And be more in examination and edification both of yourfelves and others: And believe it, a well fpent fabbath, will be help ful to spend the week well. And alfo labouring to have your converfation aright through the week, will be a noble prefage to begin the fabbath.

DAP

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And what ye fpare of your ordinary diet, beltow it upon the poor and needy. There is this among many, who profefs to be religious, which is odious, That they take well with it to be called religious, and yet they have little or no fcruple to do wrong, and fpeak wrong of others, and towards them; I befeech you Gin not, though there were no eye to fee you but God either by doing or fuffering; you will never perform religious duties aright, till ye be at this, That ye do wrong in no kind to any. Do juftly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.' Alas! it is fad to fee and hear judgments and plagues multiplied, and fin fo much increaling. O for more tenderness one towards another! and of a fpirit of meeknefs and zeal for God, give yourselves to be ever in prayer one with another, and one for another: Wreftle with him in behalf of his Church, and ruined work now born down, and that h may return to the land, and pity his people, and be importunate with him in this, left the ruin thereof be found to be under your hand, I fear ye may expect judgments to come fuddenly upon this finful land; fo that ye will think, happy were they that wan away, before you as would they came: Therefore fo many of in any measure efcape the deluge of wrath, that is coming on this finful generation, keep clean hands, and be free of the fin ful abominations committed therein, and for witneffing against them, we are to lay dow down our lives this day.

DIA

ACHT

And now as a dying man, and a dying Chriftian I join with and approve of all the holy Scriptures both of the Old and new Teftament, both of threatnings and promifes therein. As alfo I agree with, and allow of that excellent book, called the confeffion of faith, with the larger and fhorter catechifms, fum of faving knowledge, directory for worship; and particularly, L adhere to, and allow of the two covenants, both national and folemn league and covenant, acknowledgement of fins and engagement to duties, with all other contained in the forenamed book. As alfo I do witness and teftifie my diflike of the breaches LI