OF THE LIF Of the REVEREND, LEARNED and PIOUS Mr. THOMAS HALYBURTON, Profeffor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews. In FOUR PARTS. Whereof THREE were drawn up by himself, the FOURTH Collected by his Friends from his private Papers, and his dying Lips. THE EIGHT EDITION. With a large recommendatory Epifle by I. Watts. Pfalm lxvi. 16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God and I will declare what he hath done for my Soul. Pfalm. xxxvii. 37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace. Pfalm. cxii, 6.-The righteous fhall be in everlaf ting remembrance. GLASGOW: Printed by ARCHIBALD M' LEAN, for JOHN ORR Book-Seller in the Salt-mercat. M, DCC, LVI. 210.9.25 old ferpent to keep the foul from God and his Chrift; and all the counter workings of fovereign grace which in the end appears victorious. You fee here the felf-flattery and many deceits whereby finners raife a good esteem of themfelves, and build up their vain confidence in oppofition to the holiness of the law and the grace of the gofpel; and here Chriftians, may learn much of the holy skill that is needful to maintain a conftant and glorious war with fin by the ftrength that is in Chrift, and they may read the triumph of a dying conqueror. Now though every Chriftian hath fome inward fenfe of divine things yet every one has not fo rich a variety of experiences; and among thofe that have, few are fo watchful as to take a due account of them; few fo wife as to judge aright concerning them; and few fo faithful and bold as to confign thefe things to writing for the ufe of others. Men that are fit to publish their obfervations of this kind generally imagine, that humility requires to bury them in filence and darknefs. But the author and fubject of this narrative was a man of great piety, bright natural parts, ftudious learning and uncommon penetration and judgment, as fufficiently appears in his other writtings; yet there is fuch a vein of humility and honesty that runs through every page. that you may fee the fecret workings of his thoughts through his holy language. His fins as well as his graces lie open to fight, the labours of his foul appear to the eye, and the pious reader will find himself at once delighted and improved. So the curious operations of bees' are feen through a hive of glafs, and the fpectator is at once entertained with inftruction and pleafing wonder. II. Another thing that gave me an esteem of this work was the account that is given of an evangelical converfion, after the author had been long struggling with harp convictions of conscience and labouring long under fharp agonies and terrors: He had been fighting with guilt and corrupt nature to attain holinefs, pardon and peace, by all the methods that the reafon of man would naturally fuggeft, and by the doctrines and duties of the gospel ittelfufed in a more legal way and manner; and found his labours re peated and vain, and his work ftill to begin. Here he defcribes at large the utter infufficiency of all convictions and awakening words and providences, all tears and repentances, all religious duties of worship public and private, all vows and promifes, covenanış and bounds with which he hond his foul to God; and how fin prevail'd and triumph'd over them all when they were practifed only in a legal manner, as a mere tafk of conscience, and without the delightful taste of the grace of the gospel. All thefe left him ftill un der guilt, under rhe power of fin, and in outmost confufion near to defpair, till it pleased God to open his eyes to behold the mercy and comfort of the gofpel 2s the way to holiness and peace; till divine grace brought him as a dying finner, empty of all good and helpless, to the full falvation that is in Chrift, and fweetly conftrained him to receive peace and holiness together; till he learn'd the way of fanctification by faith and hope in a pardoning God, a God reconciling finners to himself through Jefus the redeemer, This overwhelm'd his foul at once with deep humility and repentance, with wonder and holy joy, with hope and love, and conftrained him to pleafant obedience, This renew'd his nature, this wrought in him all the powers and principles of Chriftian holiness, and raifed and fupported them in a glorious degree. Now though I dare not confine the workings of the bleffed fpirit, 'who is infinitely free and various in his operations, and he hath carried fome thoufands to falvation in a more legal way, and doth daily conform his divine workings in many fouls to their lower |