fome have been; however, I defire to look to God, who not only can give me what to speak, but can also blefs what I fpeak; fo as it may be for his glory, and the good of them that love him, and wait for his coming, which is the defire of my foul. Now, being to flep out of time into eternity, I hope you will not think that I fhall fay any thing now, but what my confcience binds me to fay.

In the first place I must tell you for what I am come here to lay down my life: it is for owning and adhering to my fworn principles. I am a Prefbyterian; and herein I do rejoice, that I am to fuifer for his caufe only: for adhering to the word of God, and our Confeffion of Faith, larger and shorter Catechifms, our covenants national and folemn league, together with our folemn acknowledgement of fins, an engagement to duties, wherein all Scotland were once engaged, and thought it their duty and honour to be fo: And this is the reafon for which I am fentenced to death by men; but God, to whom vengeance doth belong, will avenge himfelf for all the wrongs done to his glory, caufe, intereft and people. I was born under the pure light of the gofpel, and was taught to own Chrift as King in Zion only, and head of his own church; and this I own to be my duty: but ! am here charged with rebellion, which I deny, because I was never of that opinion, that it was rebellion to hear the gofpel, for the word of God binds us to it, as our duty; otherwife why should God have told us, that we fhould go from fea to fea, to feek the word of the Lord, and fhould not find it. And the practice of our Lord and his apottles in preaching of the gofpel to the people that heard them, is a fufficient ground to prove it to be duty to hear the gofpel, whether in fields or houfes, when it cannot be had elfewhere; and if it be duty to hear the gospel, as it is, then certainly it is duty to defend the gofpel when preached in purity; according to the word of God, and according to the fixth article of the folemn league and covenant, wherein we are bound to affift and defend all that enter into covenant with us, and to the utmost of our power, with our lives in our hands, much more to defend the gofpel, which teaches us the fundamental principles of our holy religion.

And to take away that vile and malicious afperfion, which they caft upon us, charging us with an intention

to have murdered the duke of York, and others with him; I declare, I had never fuch a principle as to murder any man; neither did I hear ever of it, till the council told me; which I knew to be a vile and hell-hatched afperfion, calt upon the way and people of God: but they judge others by themselves, for that is their prin. ciple to murder the people of God, as they alfo do. Next, I was charged, whether or not I adhered to Sanquhar declaration? I answered, I not only adhered to it, but alfo will lay down my life chearfully and willingly, as I do this day, for adhering thereto; yea, if every hair of my head were a life, and every drop of my blood were a man, I would willingly lay them all down for him and his caufe. I come here to tell you, f, That I adhere to all the written will and word of God; and I adhere to the Confeffion of Faith and our Catechifms, larger and fhorter, and to our covenants, national and folemn league, and to the folemn acknowledgement of fins and engagement to duties, and to all the covenants made betwixt God and us, wherein I ftand engaged. 2dly, I adhere to all the teftimonies that have gone be fore me. 3dly, I adhere to all that has been done for maintaining and defending the gofpel, against a tyrannizing and bloody enemy, when the actors thereof had the glory of God before their eyes, as the chief motive that drave them thereto, whether at Pentland, Drumclog, Glasgow, Bothwel, Airfmofs, or any other place in Scot land, where there has been any rencounter of that kind. 4thly, I adhere to that action of excommunication at the Torwood, it being according to the word of God, and done by a faithful minifter of the gofpel, and in as legal a way as the prefent difpenfation and circumftance of time could permit and alfo the perfons excommunicate being guilty of fuch crimes, as juftly do deferve that act to be paffed against them. 5thly, I adhere to the tellimonies of all that have born teftimony against filent and unfaithful minifters, by their withdrawing from them, which is a declaring that they do not own them as faithful ambaffadors of Jefus Chrift, because of their unfaithfulness and I hope, none will condemn me for laying, that I have not had clearness to join with them, while they remain fo unconcerned with the caule of Chrift, and the oppreffion of his people. 6thly, I adhere to the way of falvation agreed upon betwixt the Father and the Son

before the creation of the world, that through the Son we should be made perfect, which I hope to obtain, before this body of mine be cold, and in his perfection I fhall be made perfect, and through his fuffering I fhall be conformed to him, who fuffered without the gate, bearing his reproach. And I am well pleased with my lot this day. O! my foul, and all that is within me, bleis his holy name, for all that he hath done for my foul, and for his way of bringing me here this day to lay down my life for him. I am not afraid of grim death; I know that God has taken away the fting of death, through the fuffering of his Son.

In the next place, being here as a dying witness for Chrift and his caufe, I do therefore leave my teftimony against all abominations done in the land against a holy God, and in contempt of his image; particularly, 1st, I testify against all that woful and hell-hatched act of fupremacy, wherein they acknowledge the king to be head of the church, and thereby, have invested a mortal creature with Chrift's crown, fword and fceptre. zdly, I bear witnefs and teflify against the breaking of the national and folemn league and covenant, and making them to be burnt by the hand of the hang-man at the market cross of Edinburgh, and elsewhere through Scotland, fo contrary to their folemn engagements. 3dly, Į witness and bear my teflimony againft the reception of prelacy, fo contrary to the word of God, and our cove nants; for then it was that the covenanters in Scotland fhould have withstood both king and council, and all that joined with them in that head, and fhould have teftified against them with their fwords in their hand, until they had refifted unto blood, according to the 6th article of the folemn league and covenant. O! that all that are alive this day, that were men when the covenant was burnt, were taken with their fin, and were lying in the duft; every one for his fhare in that fin, and every one for the land's guiltinefs. 4thly, I leave my telimony against all the horrid bloodshed that has been in the land, whether of noblemen, gentlemen, minifters, or any others, that have fuffered in Edinburgh, or any other place, whether on fcaffolds, on gibbets, in open fields, or on the fea; particularly that horrid act of murdering fo many men after they had taken them prifoners,

and after promifing them their lives, which was done by Thomas Dalziel, called general, who took them prisoners, and after promifing to fet them at liberty, delivered them up to the bloody council, who moft cruelly murdered them, against, and without all law and reafon, never fpeaking of confcience, for they had loft all of that that they ever had, when they burnt the covenant, and murdered the marquis of Argyle, and my lord Warriftoun, and that eminent minifter Mr. James Guthrie, who were murdered against the very act of their own laws. 5thly, I bear witnefs and teftimony against the cutting off heads and hands, and fetting them up upon the ports of Edinburgh, and elsewhere through the kingdom of Scotland, as if they had been thieves or malefactors. 6 bly, I teftify and bear witness against all the imprifonments, finings and continings of the people of God, for adhering to his word and our covenants. 7thly, I testify and bear witness against the preffing of the declaration against our covenants upon the confciences of the Lord's people. 8thly, I teftify and bear witnefs against the impofing and paying of cefs and militia-money, both for oppreffing the confciences, and grinding the faces of the poor. 9thly, I teftify and bear witnefs against that cruel and bellhatched act of fending the highland hoft, and the rest of that cabal, to opprefs and plunder the people of God. cibly, and lefly, I bear witnefs against all the oppreflion, fpoiling, robbing and hunting of the people of God, and that againft all manner of law and reafon. I fhall be a ftanding witness against them, ay and while they repent. O! that the Lord would pour out of his Spirit upon all that have fo grievously turned afide, and make them to lie in the duft, and to take with their fins; but I fear an holy God has given them up to themfelves, and fealed their hearts with obduration, and to they are become proof against all difpenfations: but fure fuch as will not bow to God, fhall be broken by the mighty rod of iron that is in his hand to bruife the nations. I have here left my teftimony against the perjury, bloodshed and oppreffion of the people of God, which has been done by him who is called the King of Britain and Ireland; and the perjury and bloodshed acted by noblemen and gentlemen, that have been affifting and ftrengthening his hand in bloody and cruel courfes: and therefore I leave my teftimony against them, and my blood upon

their heads, and especially against fuch as were present in the council when I was examined, and these perjured lords of the criminal court, where I was fentenced to die here in this place of execution; and alfo I leave my blood upon the head of the affizers, and all others who faid amen to my fentence, whatever they have been, and yet are, except they repent, my blood fhall be charged upon them. Likewife, I leave my teftimony againft all who carried arms to guard me to this fcaffold, they fhall be found guilty of my blood, if mercy and grace prevent

it not.

And with refpect to that for which I am fentenced.to death, because of many mistakes, even among the godly, through wrong information; I here as a dying man declare, I had before me no defign but only the glory of God, and the coming of Chrift's kingdom, and his reigning as king in Zion. And for this I am fentenced, and for this I lay down my life this day, and I do it willingly and chearfully, and not by constraint; for if I had been left of an holy God, so far as to quit one hoof of his truth, I might have redeemed my life as fome have done, that were as deeply engaged to stand by the truth, even to the refifting unto blood as I was; and feemed to be as deeply concerned as I was. How they have come out of prifon I know not, but God knows, and to him they will and muft give account thereof, and to him I leave it; but I think, there are few that come out of prifon now, that can fay, they have neither touched, tafted, nor handled the abominations of these times wherein they live: Therefore I leave my teftimony and witness againft all that have come out of prifon, by taking of the bond, if it were but to compear before thele bloody enemies of God, in as far as they were convinced that it was fin; as fome of them were, otherwise their tongue and pen have lied; which I leave to God and their own confcience to determine, whether or not they have finned in fo doing. Next, I here as a dying man, do declare, that if the blotting of paper to them would fave my life, I would not do it at that rate; for I fee they are fetting themselves to enfnare poor things; and I fee neither ministers nor professors to give their advice in this matter, if it be not to make them take the bond, as they did to thefe poor things in the church-yard. Alfo, I leave my teftimony, and bear witness against all