ground. God is my witnefs, my foul loves to fee holinefs; tenderness and zeal in fuch a generation, where there is nothing but untenderness, unconcernednefs, and lukewarmnefs; and by his grace, I fhall ever cherith it. I defire you then in the bowels of Christ, to retain your zeal; but fee well to this, that it be for his glory. In deed the more that you are zealous, and the further ye go forward, fo that the word of God direct your courfe, ye are the more pleafing to God, and fhall be the dearer to us. And perfuade yourselves, that though I cannot equal or go before; yet it is the fincere defire of my heart, to follow fuch. And my foul wishes you well, though it may be, I cannot here point, nor lead you the way to well-being; yet this I must say, that if I could lead you the way, that he has led me, I fhould let you fee eternal life, without these things that I am defiring you to relinquith. Hold truth, glorify God, be zealous to have him glorified; but think not to defire the condemnation of any man, fimply on that account, that they dare not come, and continue where you are; or to put a bar by prayer between them, and a return, is a glo. rifying of God: we glorify him, in this kind, when as he himself defires, if we acquiefce in his fentence, when it is paft; though we wrestle againft it, before it be known to us.

I cannot bid you go forward in all, but I defire you to go forward in that which is furer and better. And dear friends, let not the world have that to fay, that when ye are become right, ye are become the lefs zealous, only take the right object, and let your zeal grow. O let not your fufferings be stained with such wildness, and think it not ftrange that ye have not fuch liberty in your return; as ye feemed to have before, if ye take the right way, and hold on, ye fhall find it in his time greater, and better, and furer, I fhall only add, that there must be an exprefs difowning of your errors and evils, and an exprefs owning of his truths, whereof ye have been perfuaded before now, which now are either denied, or doubted, otherwise you will come to nothing of religion, or worfe; this will either state your fufferings right, or be a mean to obtain a cleanly liberty from God in his due time, Grace, Mercy, and peace be with you. Amen.

DONALD CARGIL.

The dying Teftimony and laft words of Mr Walter Smith, Student of Theology, who fuffered at the cross of Edinburgh, July 27. 1681.

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EAR friends and acquaintances, as I defire while in the body, to fympathize fomewhat with you, in lamenting your various cafes, and the cafe of the church, whereof we are the fons and daughters; so I must lay this requeft upon you, and leave it with you, that ye take fome of your time, and fet it apart particularly, to folace your fouls, in bleffing and magnifying your God,. and my God, for the lot he hath decreed and chofen out for poor unworthy me, from eternity, in time, and to eternity, in the immediate enjoyment of Father Son and Holy Ghoft, one God, incomprehenfible and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, juftice, goodnefs and truth, and that, because he hath made me a man, and a Chriftian; and now I fet to my feal to all. his truths, revealed in his word, and particularly thefe.. First, That he is one God, Father, Son, and holy Ghost ;. but alas! who can think of him? who can hear of him, or write of him aright? O! he is God! he is God! 2dly, That he made man perfect; and though we have deftroyed and incapacitate ourselves to do any thing that is right, while out of Chrift, yet we are under the obligation of the whole law, which is the perfect rule of righte oufnefs. 3dly, That my Lord( yea, through free grace, I. can fay, my Lord Jefus Chrift) came to the world, to fave finners. And though I cannot fay, that I have. been the greatest of finners, yet I can fay, that he hath covered, pardoned, prevented and hid from the world,, fins in me that have been heinous by many aggravations.. 4thly, That except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven; my friends, this is the new birth, this is the regeneration that I am fpeaking of, to which the great part, even of profeffors (I fear will be found ftrangers. 5thly, I fet to my feal to the truth of that precious promife, Jofh, i. 5. &c. repeated Heb. xiii. 3... For he hath faid, "I will never leave thee, nor forfake thee," together with all the other promifes to that purpofe; aud I am sure : he hath carried me through divers. conditions of life, many various and fingular difficulties, and damping difcouragements: But omitting these things.

things whereof the profane perfecutors may as much boaft as to the outward as any, he hath led me through the several steps of foul-exercise, and the pangs of the new birth, into himfelf. This, this, my friends, is the cognizance and diftinguishing character of a faint indeed: and by this, and this only, "We pass from death to "life."

And as I adhere to the confeffion of faith and work of reformation as I fhall afterwards speak to; fo particularly, I fet to my feal to these truths in the xviii chapter thereof, anent the affurance of grace and falvation. Alas! the ignorance of this generation is great: My dear friends, I leave this as my last advice to you, make use of that book which contain the confeffions of faith, catechifms, fum of faving knowledge, practical ufe of faving knowledge, directory for worship, the caufes of God's wrath, &c. And let none think this work below them, for the fpiritual enlightning of the mind, which requires the literal with it, is the firft work of the spirit, after we first begin to come to ourfelves, or rather to what we were in innocency, and ought to be by grace. But as to this, I do confidently refer you to the fhepherd's found believer, which in my poor apprehenfion is the foundest and fureft ye can meet with. And 6thly, I fet to my feal to the covenant of grace, particularly that claufe of it, Ifa. lix. 21. "As for me this is my covenant with "them, faith the Lord, my fpirit that is upon thee," &c. And here I leave my teftimony against all Atheists fpeculative (if there be any fuch) and practical, and all mockers of godlinefs, all formalifts and hypocrites, quakers and enthufiafts, who either pretend to the fpirit neglecting the word, or lean upon the word neglecting the teaching of the fpirit; and what fhall I more fay? but by what of truth I have in experience feen, I am bold to believe what I have not feen; his teftimony is a ground fufficient, and there can be no deceit under it.

And now I am to die a martyr; and I am as fully perfuaded of my intereft in Chrift, and that he hath countenanced me in that, for which I am to lay down my life, as I am of my being. And let the world and biaffed profeffors fay their pleafures, I am here in no delufion; I have the free and full exercife of reafon and judgment; I am free of paffion and prejudice, and, (excepting that I am yet in the body) 1 am free of Satan's

fire and fury; I have no bitterness nor malice at any living; fo that what I am owning and dying for, I am folidly and firmly perfuaded to be truth and duty, according to my mean capacity. And this is the main point this day in controverfy, upon which I was peremptorily questioned, and defired pofitively to answer, yea, or nay, under the threatening of the boots, viz. Whether I owned the king's authority as prefently established and exercised? which I did pofitively difown, and denied allegiance to him, as he is invested with that fupremacy proper to Chrift Jefus only. And who knoweth not that at first he was conftitute and crowned a covenanted king, and the subjects fworn in allegiance to him, as fuch, by the folemn league and covenant? This was the authority wherewith he was cloathed; and the exercise of it was to be for God, religion, and the good of the subjects; and is not all this, as to God and his people, overturned and perverted? But 2dly, The whole of this pleaded for authority at prefent, is established on the ruins of the land's engagements to God, and to one another: But I fay no more as to this. Confider things feriously, and ponder them deeply; zeal for God is much gone: look to it, and labour to recover it; your peace fhall be in it, as to duty; though Chrift's righteousness (I fee) is the only fure foundation.

I leave my teftimony against malignancy, ungodliness, and profanity, and whatsoever is contrary to found doctrine, profeffed and owned by the reformed Anti-Eraftian prefbyterian party in Scotland, whereof I die a member and profeffor, being fully fatisfied and content with my lot. And as to my apprehending, we were fingularly delivered by providence into the adverfaries hand, and (for what I could learn) were betrayed by none, nor were any acceffary to our taking, more than we were ourselves, and particularly let none blame the lady St. Johnskirk in this. I have no time to give you an account of the Lord's kindness and tenderness to us, in restraining the adverfaries fury; for they began very brifk, by making us ly all night bound, and exprefsly refufed to fuffer us to worship God, or pray with one another, until we came to Linlithgow. But the Lord hafteneth to come, beware of going back, wait for him, be not anxious about what fhall become of you, or a remnant; he is concerned, his interceffion is fufficient,

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get him fet up, and keeped up in his own room in your fouls, and other things will be the more eafily keeped in theirs. Be tender of all who have the root of the matter, but beware of compliance with any, whither minifters or profeffors, or adversaries. As to my judgment (infignificant as it is) I am neceffitate to refer you to the draught of a paper, which I drew at the defire of fome focieties in Clydfdale, intituled, fome fteps of defection, &c. beware of a fpirit of bitternefs, peremptorinefs, and ignorant zeal, which hath been the ruin of fome, and will be the ruin of more, if mercy prevent. not. I was withdrawn from by fome, as having given offence to them by my protesting againft their way in a particular, wherein I am fure as to the manner they were wrong; and though they had been right, it was not a ground to have made such a separation from me, much lefs from these who joined with me? And if any divifion be longer kept up upon that account, they will find it a great iniquity, if rightly confidered. I can get no more written, nor fee I great need for it, for the testimony of martyrs is not your rule. Farewel.

From the tolbooth of Edinburgh, July 27, 1681.

Sic fubfcribitur WALTER SMITH.

Being come to the fcaffold, he accofted the multitude to this purpose. All ye beholders who are come here upon various defigns, I entreat you, be not mistaken anent the cause of our fuffering this day; for however ye may be misinformed, yet it is of verity, that we are brought here upon the matters of our God; because we teftified against the fupremacy, and would not confent to the fetting of Chrift's crown upon the head of him, who had by ufurpation afpired thereto, contrary to his former engagements. Upon this they caufed beat the drums, which obliged him a little to filence; but beckoning with his hand, he faid, I fhall only fay fomething to three particulars: and first, anent that which fome are apt to believe, that we are against authority; but we deteft that, and fay, that we own all the lawful exercise of authority; and we hope, there are none, that are christians, will allow us to own the unlawful exercise, or rather tyranny of authority. At this the drums were again beat, and fo he fung a part of the ciii Pfal. from

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