The other instance I promised as to the suf ferings of old ministers this year, is that of the reverend and singularly useful Mr. William Guthrie, minister of the gospel at Finwick. This extraordinary person I have particular opportunities to have certain and distinct accounts of. I heartily wish some proper hand would give the public a just narrative of this great man's life which might, I persuade myself, be very useful. The broken hints we have, before the last edition of his excellent Saving Interest, at London 1705, are lame and indistinct, and were wrote without the knowledge of his remaining relations, who could have given more just and larg er accounts: I shall therefore here give the more particular history of his sufferings at the time, and his being forced to part with his dear flock. He continues longer at his work than many others.

By the interest of several noblemen and others, to whom Mr. Guthrie was very dear, he enjoyed a connivance, and was overlooked for a considerable time, when he continued at his Master's work, though in his sermons he was more than ordinarily free and plain.

When bishop Burnet comes to Glasgow, he and some other ministers are attacked.

But soon after Dr. Alexander Burnet was brought from the See of Aberdeen to that of Glasgow, he and the few remaining ministers about him were attacked; such as, Mr. Livingston, at Biggar, Mr. M'Kall, at Bothwell, Mr. Gabriel Maxwell, at Dundonald, Mr. Gabriel Cunningham, at Dunlop, and Mr. Andrew

Hutcheson, and Mr. William Castlelaw, minis ters at Stewartoun; and perhaps the chancellor's death about this time helped to pave the way for the greater severity against these worthy per

sons.

Nothing prevails with the archbishop to spare Mr. Guthrie.

The archbishop had been addressed by some of the greatest in the kingdom in behalf of Mr. Guthrie, and treated them very indiscreetly by no importunity would he suffer himself to be prevailed upon to spare him any longer.

When means and intercessions could not prevail, Mr. Guthrie was warned of the archbishop's design against him, and advised by persons of note, his friends, to suffer no resistance to be made to his dispossession of the church and manse; since his enemies wanted only this for a handle to prosecute him criminally for his zeal and faithfulness in the former times: such was their spite against this useful man of God.

Wednesday, July 20, kept as a Congregational Fast with his people.

Under the prospect of parting with his beloved people, Wednesday, the 20th of July this year, was set apart by him for fasting and prayer with his congregation. The text he preached from was, Hosea xiii. 9. "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself."-His sermon was afterwards printed very unfairly and indistinctly, from an incorrect copy. From that scripture, with great

plainness and affection, he laid before them their sins, and those of the land, and of that age; and indeed the place was a Bochim.

He preaches the next Lord's day, early in the morning, and takes leave of his people.

At the close of that day's work he gave intimation of a sermon upon the next Lord's day very early; and his own people and many others met him at the church of Finwick, betwixt four and five in the morning, where he preached twice to them from the close of his last text, "But in me is thine help." And as he used upon ordinary Sabbaths, he had two sermons, and a short interval betwixt them, and dismissed the people before nine in the morning. Upon this melancholy occasion, he directed them unto the great fountain of help, when the gospel and ministers were taken from them; and took his leave of them, commending them to this great God who was able to build them up, and help them in the time of their need.

No violence used against the party who came to dispossess him.

His people would willingly have sacrificed all that was dear to them, in defence of the gospel, and adhering to him. Indeed Mr. Guthrie had some difficulty to get their affection to him so far moderated as to keep them from violent proceedings against the party who came to dispos

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ses him; they would have effectually prevented the church being declared vacant, and were ready to have resisted even to blood, striving against sin, if they had been permitted. But Mr. Guthrie's peaceable disposition, his great regard to lawful civil authority, with his prudent foresight of the consequences of such a procedure, both as to the interests of the gospel, his people, and himself, made him lay himself out, and use the interest he had in the people, which was very great, to keep the peace; and there was no disturbance which could be made a handle of by adversaries.

With much difficulty the archbishop gets one to intimate his sentence against Mr. Guthrie.

When the archbishop of Glasgow resolved upon dispossessing him, he dealt with several of his curates to intimate his sentence against Mr. Guthrie, and as many refused it. There was an awe upon their spirits, which scared them from meddling with this great man; besides, they very well knew it was an action would render them forever odious to the West country, and they feared the consequence. At last he prevailed with one who was curate of Calder, as I am told, and promised him five pounds sterling for his reward: but, poor man; it was the price of blood, the blood of souls, and neither he nor his had much satisfaction in it.

The curate of Calder intimates it, July 24th, in the church of Finwick.

Upon the 24th of July, this man came with a party of twelve soldiers to Finwick church on the

Lord's day, and, by commission from the archbishop, discharged Mr. Guthrie to preach any more at Finwick, declared the church vacant, and suspended him from the exercise of his ministry.

And to himself in the Manse.

The commander of the party and the curate, leaving the soldiers without, came into the manse, or minister's house. The best account I can at this distance give of what passed in the house, is by inserting a short minute of this, left among the small remains of a valuable collection of papers belonging to Mr. Guthrie, which were taken away, as we shall afterwards hear, some years after this, by violence, and against all the rules of equity, from his widow, and fell into the hands of the bishops. The paper was drawn up at the time to keep up the remembrance of this affair, without any design of its being published, and I give it in its own native and plain dress.

The sum of the curate's discourse when he came and intimated Mr. William Guthrie his sentence of suspension; with Mr. Guthrie's answer to him.

An account of what passed in the Manse.

The curate showed, "that the bishop and committee, after much lenity shown to him for a long time, were constrained to pass the sentence of suspension against him, for not keeping of presbyteries and synods with his brethren, and his unpeaceableness in the church; of which sentence he was appointed to make public inti

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