It has pleased Almighty God, in his un-
searchable Providence, for some Time past
to afflict me with grievous &and sore Troubles,
every Thing that could be look’dlooked on as com-
fortable in this World being denied me,
that was in the Power of my Enemies to
grant or refuse; but, blessed be my merci-
ful God, they could not stop the inward
Consolations of God's Holy Spirit, which
has hitherto supported me in Health &and
Vigour under all this miserable Scene
of Calamities, for which I have the great-
est Reason, while I live, to bless &and adore
his glorious Name. The Miseries I have
already undergone, and, humanly speaking,
am still to suffer, are undoubtedly inflicted
upon me as a just Reward &and Punishment for
my manifold Sins &and Iniquities, and, I trust, they 2 (2)
they have been dispensed as the Chastise-
ments of a merciful Father to a prodigal
Child, in Order to draw me to a nearer
Acquaintance with Himself, to wean
my Heart from all inordinate Affections
to the Follies &and Vanities of the World,
to enlarge my Heart with Desires of
being with Jesus my Saviour, of the Free-
dom from Sin, &and of the Fruition of my
God to all Eternity. This is the proper
Influence his afflicting Hand should have
had upon me, and, if my Heart deceives
me not, I have made it my Endeavour,
tho'though with a great Mixture of Weakness,
during my long Confinement, it should
have it'sits due Effect.

Before this will reach You (My dear Mo-
ther &and Sisters) the last fatal Scene of
my Sufferings will be over, &and I set at
Liberty (even by my Enemies themselves)
from the heavy Load of Irons &and Chains
I have so long drag’ddragged. Lord, loose me
from the Burden of my Sins, assist
me in my last &and greatest Trial, receive
my Soul, &and bring me into the Way of
eternal Happiness &and Joy. Grieve not
for me, my dearest Friends, since I
suffer in a righteous &and honourable
Cause; but rather rejoice, that God has
assisted me by his Grace, the most un-
worthy of his Servants, to act agreea-bly3(3)
[b]ly to my Conscience &and Duty, by bearing Te-
[s]timony to Truth &and Righteousness, Religion
[&and] Loyalty, in Midst of a wicked &and irreligi-
[o]us, perverse &and rebellious Generation. Let
[th]is Consideration, the Motives of Christia-
[ni]ty, &and the Hopes &and Assurances, which our
[h]oly Religion so plentifully affords, allay in
[Y]ou all immoderate Grief, &and make You
[th]oroughly resign’dresigned to God's holy Will in
[a]ll his wise Dispensations, which, howso-
[e]ver harsh at present they may appear
[to] Flesh &and Blood, yet they shall all be
[m]ade to work together for Good to them,
[th]at love &and fear Him, &and put their Trust
[in] his Mercy.

[I] am very sensible, how much easier it is to
[g]ive Advice against Affliction &and Trouble in
[t]he Case of others, than to take it in my own.
[I]t hath pleased God to exercise me of
[l]ate with very sore Trials in which I do, I
[t]hink, perfectly submit to his good Plea-
[s]ure, firmly believing, that he does always
[th]at which is best: And yet tho'though my Reason
[w]as satisfied, my Passion was not so soon
[a]ppeas’dappeased; for to do this is a Work of some-
[L]abour &and Time.

But since that God hath thought fit to warn
[m]e of my own Mortality by giving me a Sum-
[m]ons to die a violent &and barbarous Death by
[th]e Hand of Man, I thank God for it, it
[h]ath occasion’doccasioned in me no very melancholy
Reflections; but this perhaps is more owing
[t]o my natural Temper than wise Considera-
[ti]ons. But yet, methinks, both Reason &and Religion do 4 (4)
do offer You, My dear Mother &and Sisters,
Considerations of that Solidity &and Strength,
as may very well support You under all
the Afflictions of this present Life. Pray
then consider,
That God is perfect Love &and Goodness,
that we are, not only his Creatures, but
his Children, &and as dear to Him as to
our selvesourselves; That he does not afflict
willingly, nor grieve the Children of
Men, &and that all Evils of Afflictions,
which befalbefall us, are intended for the Cure
&and Prevention of greater Evils, of Sin
&and Punishment; &and therefore we ought,
not only to submit to them with Pati-
ence, as being deserved by us, but to
receive them with Thankfulness, as being
design'ddesigned by Him to do us that Good, &and to
bring us to that Sense of Him &and our-
selves, which perhaps Nothing else
would have done. That the Sufferings
of this present Life are but short &and light,
compar’dcompared with those extreme &and endless
Miseries, which we have deserved, &and
with that exceeding Weight of Glory,
which we hope for in the other World,
if we be careful to make the best
Preparations for Death &and Eternity. What-
ever Hardships &and Afflictions we suffer
for our Attachment to Truth &and Righte-
ousness, bring us nearer to our everlasting
Happiness; &and how rugged soever the Way may 5 (5)
may be, the Comfort is, that it leads to
our Father's House, where we shall want
Nothing, that we can wish for.

But now, You labour under Affliction for the
Death &and Loss of your only Son, &and You of
your only Brother, &and all of You, of your dear-
est earthly Friend. Consider then, that, if
you be good Christians, God, who is your
best Friend, who is immortal &and cannot die,
will never leave You nor forsake You, but
will provide both for your temporal &and spi-
ritual Concerns, beyond what you can either
ask or think. But Nature, you say, is fond
of Life. I acknowledge it; but then con-
sider, to what Purpose should we desire a
long Life? Since with the usual Burdens
&and Infirmities &and Misfortunes that attend
it; it is but the same Thing over again,
or worse, so many more Nights &and Days,
Summers &and Winters, with less Pleasure
&and Relish; every Day a Return of the same
&and greater Pains &and Troubles, but perhaps
with less Strength &and Patience to bear them.

It likewise gives me no small Uneasi-
ness, that I should leave You in a worse
Way, as to your worldly Circumstances,
than I could have wish’dwished, or once ex-
pected, having spent my own, &and made
some Encroachments upon poor Cicie’s
Stock; but then I must say, in my own
Vindication, this was not by any Luxury or
Riot, as you can bear me Witness, but
rather owing to a small yearly Income,
an expensive Place for living, &and being
too liberally disposed upon certain Oc-
casions, but, above all, by my being en-
gag’dengaged in the late glorious Cause of serv-
ing my King &and Country. You'll easily see
it was no mercenary View, but purely Obedi-
ence to Conscience &and Duty, that made me take 7 (7)
take Part in the Fate of my Royal Prince
&and Country, when I tell You, that I never
received a Farthing of his Royal High-
ness’s Money, nor was assisted in the least
Penny by any engaged in his Service; so
that this Undertaking consum’dconsumed no small
Part of my private Stock; and, I hope,
you'll readily grant, it could not have
been better bestow’dbestowed, altho’although all of You
must feel the Want of it. But God,
who has formerly done wonderful Things
for us all, will, I trust, provide for You
the Necessaries of Life.

And even Poverty, rightly weigh’dweighed, is not
so very sad a Condition. For, what is it?
but the Absence of a very few superflu-
ous Things, which please wanton Fancy,
rather than answer Need, wtoutwithout which
Nature is easily satisfied, &and which, if we
do not affect, we cannot want. What
is it, but to wear coarse CloathsClothes, to feed
on plain &and simple Fare? to work &and
take some Pains, to sit or goego in a
lower Place? to have few Friends,
&and not one Flatterer? And what great
Harm in this? if I had Time to compare
it with the many Dangers &and Tempta-
tions, to which Wealth is expos’dexposed.
Pray consider, that Poverty is a State,
which many have born with great Chear-
fulnessCheerfulness. Many wise Men have voluntari-
ly embrac’dembraced it. It is allotted by Divine Wisdom 8 (8)
Wisdom to most Men, &and the very best of
Men do often endure it. God has de-
clared an especial Regard to that State
of Life; the Mouth of Truth hath proclai-
med it happy; the Son of God dignified
it by his own Choice, &and sanctified it by
his partaking deeply thereof. And can
such a Condition be very disagreea-
ble to any of You (who were never
over-prosperous in the World) or can
it reasonably displease You?
My dear Mother &and Sisters, these Consi-
derations, I hope, thro'through the Divine Assis-
tance, will be a Mean to support You
under your present &and future Afflicti-
ons, &and preserve You from repining at
my Fate &and your own Loss. *

I must next acknowledge, with all the
Tender-heartedness of a Brother, the griev-
ous Troubles &and Afflictions both of Body &and
Mind my dear Sister, Cicie, hath un-
dergone, in Order to be of Use &and Comfort
to me under my severe Trials. Her firm
Love to me has made Her follow my Fate
too far, &and be a Witness of more of my
Troubles than I could have wish’dwished. But
whatever She has suffer’dsuffered on my Account,
which indeed cannot be express’dexpressed, She has
been of unspeakable Service to me. May
Almighty God reward Her; &and whatever
Love all of you bore to Her formerly, I
hope, it will be enlarged to Her on this very 9 (9)
very Account.

I cannot conclude without offering my best
Wishes (as they have always had my Prayers)
to Mr Drummond, my Colleague, &and every
individual Person, a Member of our Con-
gregation. May Almighty God bless all of
them both in their temporal &and spiritual
Concerns, and, of his infinite Goodness,
reward them for their Love &and Kindness,
their attachment &and Concern, for me, in
the several Difficulties I have undergone.
May the same God, in his due Time, af-
ford them authoriz’dauthorized Guides to perform
Divine Offices amongst them, to admini-
ster to them the Means of Grace &and Bread
of Life, that they may be no longer as
Sheep without a Shepherd; till which
Time may the Holy Spirit direct every
One of them into the Way of Truth, &and
assist them earnestly to contend for the
Faith once delivered to the Saints in
Unity of Spirit, in the Bond of Peace, &and
in Righteousness of Life. And finally,
may the same merciful Lord save them
&and bless them, make them to the End of
their Lives stedfaststeadfast in the Faith, un-
blameable in Holiness, &and zealous of
good Works.

I sincerely pray, that Almighty God
may reward the Family of Moncrief,
Mr Smyth's, Mr Sterling's, Dr Carmi-
chael’s, Mr Graeme's, Ladies of Stor-
mont,1 Lady Findals's, &and all other my
kind Benefactors &and Well-wishers
with You (who have so bounty fullybountifully mi-
nistredministered to my Necessities) with his e-
ternal &and everlasting good Things.

And now, my dear Mother &and Sisters, it is my 11 (11)
my dying Exhortation to you, as well as
to every particular Person, who (by the
Providence of God) was committed to my
Spiritual Care, stedfastlysteadfastly &and constantly
to continue in the Faith &and Communion of
our holy persecuted Mother, the Church
of Scotland, in which I have the Honour
to die a very unworthy Priest, whate-
ver temporal Inconveniencies &and Hard-
ships you may wrestle with in so doing.
Nothing must appear too hard, which tends
to the Salvation of your Souls; &and the
Disciple is not to expect better Treat-
ment than his Lord &and Master; for as
they persecuted Him, even so will they
persecute You. Strenuously adhere then,
in Spite of all Opposition, to those Do-
ctrines &and Principles, which thro'through the
Grace of God &and my own weak Abilities,
I endeavoured to teach publicklypublicly, &and in-
culcate upon You in my private Conver-
sation: I mean, the Doctrines of the ho-
ly Scriptures, with their only genuine &and
authentickauthentic Comment, the universal Do-
ctrines &and Practices of Christ's Church in
her purest Ages, even the three first
Centuries, before the manifold Errors of
Popery on the one Hand, or presbyter-
an Enthusiasm on the other, prevail’dprevailed,
both of which have been dangerous to
the Souls of many. Let no worldly Con-sideration12(12)
sideration prevail with any of You to join
with SchismaticksSchismatics of whatever Kind; and
more especially be not deceived by those,
who may come unto You in Sheep's Cloa-
thingClothing, having the Appearance of Sancti-
ty &and Righteousness more than others, but
in Divine Offices offer up to God unlaw-
ful Petitions &and immoral Prayers.
And, as you know, the Man cannot be per-
fectly happy without the Reunion of Soul
&and Body, (in Consequence of which Prin-
ciple it was my Practice, in my Fami-
ly-devotions, to commemorate the Souls
of my deceas’ddeceased Friends who died in the
Lord); so I earnestly beg &and intreat, qnwhen
you approach the Throne of Grace, that
you’ll pray for Rest &and Peace, Light
&and Refreshment to my Soul, that I
may find Mercy in the Day of the Lord,
&and that I may be Partaker of perfect
Consummation &and Bliss, both in Body &and
Soul, in God's eternal &and everlasting
Glory. May our good &and wise Eccle-
siastical GovernoursGovernors, with the Divine
Assistance, contribute their Endeavours
to restore this &and all other primitive &and
apostolical Practices, in due Form, to the
publickpublic offices of our Church, which
would be a Mean to administer Com-
fort &and great Consolation to many a
pious &and devout Soul. I cannot finish this 13 (13)
this Subject without putting in my Petitions
in the same Words of our holy Mother,
the Church, as She appoints the very ✝
Day, on which it is determin’ddetermined I should
suffer. “O Almighty God, who hast
“built thy Church upon the Foundation of
“the Apostles &and Prophets, Jesus Christ
“himself being the Head Corner-stone,
“Grant us so to be joined together in U-
“nity of Spirit by their Doctrine, that
“we may be made an holy Temple ac-
“ceptable unto Thee, through Jesus Christ
“our Lord. Amen.”

FarewelFarewell, my dear Mother. FarewelFarewell,
my loving Sisters. FarewelFarewell, every One
of You, for ever, &and let us fervently
pray. for one another, that we may
have a joyful &and happy Meeting in
another World, &and there continue in
holy Fellowship &and Communion with our
God &and one another, Partakers of ever-
lasting Bliss &and Glory to the endless
Ages of Eternity.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
&and the Love of God, &and the Communion of
the Holy Ghost, be with You all evermore,
is the Prayer &and Blessing of,