ed more to the credit of men, than the glory of our great Lord God. I fear this teftimony be unacceptable and hazardous to you to maintain; becaufe of that they call treafon in it; but ah! there is so much done to aduance a mortal creature, a ftated enemy to Chrift; a furious haity cruel murderer of God's faints, that there is fear of difowning of God and a palpable denying of him before men when you own tyrannous oppreffors. Your estates you cannot part with; your credit and pleafures, and your quiet in the world, you will not part with. You will rather imagine argument to cheat yourfe ves, in defending your practices that are clear breaches of covenant, if your too great carnal love to the world did not blind you, and your unwillingness to quit your life for Chrift, which food will come to an end however with lefs comfort than you would certainly have when you adventure all for our bleffed Lord.

As for you, Mr. Alexander, I may fay have found you willing on good information, to be for tender cleaving to your dear Mafter, and bad information making it a queftion, if it was duty to dethrone the pretended King, which Mr T Hand Mr. R. M. oppofing, byaffed you from that principal duty; by which we are fingularly known to be true covén inters, and leave these that are blind, and follow your dear Matter, in the duties he calls his people to; and he will own them, and I an perfwaded he has owned them who have owned him in his dury. You did quarrel at field-meetings, enemies ordering against them, and confenting that house meetings he enjoyed; but here is your teftimony, when you keep the fields, you declare that our Lord's Church has liberty to keep her meetings and ordi nances, where the pleafes, and ought not to be at the arbritriment of men.

To Mr Mitchel, I fay I have had a great esteem of you as a true lover of piety; and I doubt not, the Lord has fealed your mini@ry fometimes, and fome witneffes of it 1 have known. But O fir, what a fearful fnare are you in, by complying with Curates in hearing them, and taking both Sacraments off their hands! Oh! if ye quit not all carnal love to the world, to credit, and friends, that will oppofe your coming off, the hazard is great. the Lord may rank you with them, that have oppofed the rifing of his kingdom: however, I am fure, he will make you mourn for it, and I doubt (if ye fhortly come, not off from accurfed crew) that the Lord will fend you a forer trial, than fufferers for him meet with

To Mr. Watfon, I write this as my laft Teftimony, Ol how unfaithful in his miniftry! he dare not, for fear of los fing his ministry, declare against the hainous breach of co venant by all the pretended magiftrates in the land. I grant

your clearness as to other things, was mnch one with my own. O Sir! quite men, as they quite Chrift's way and intereft; elfe you will never be clear in truths: as the Lord lets out light, and increafeth it. And this is moft dreadful, to be fo enfnared to walk in darknefs, and fo be in oppofition to our bleffed Lord! O! let love to the Lord Jefus Chrift, affuredly overcome you, and then admiring of men, and cleaving to them who are out of Chrift's way, will be no fmall matter, but a hainous fin. Oh! will you adventure your falvation on it, to cleave to them who are reproaching our Lord, his people and intereft, by mixing in them the curfed Curates, that perfon ye cleave to, draws on him the guilt of all the faints blood that is fhed in mainiaining his intereft and covenant, whofe judgment ye cannot decline, he being judge of all the world. Ye may fay much more, every one of you that know me: I was many times negligent of a tender walking, by fecking of fettlement, and if that had been my lot, yel had not heard of this teftimony. You know every one of you this Teftimony I gave you formerly, even when with you, I many times wifhed from my heart the Lord would not order a fettlement to me among you. My heart was broken with your lukewarmnefs and indifferency. And this I teftified to feveral of you, and I rather chufed, I faid often, to be a fheep keeper in the fouth, where I might be encouraged in godlinefs,' than to live in pomp and eafe at home, with an ill confcience; and when I came away laft, I was forry at my purpose of leaving Scotland, when I heard all were agreeing to apoftacy, in my judgment then, from our beft covenanted God, and I was determined for Ireland then, being ill informed of every one of the kingdoms, there not being a people tenderly owning the covenant in Ireland, but all fome way owning the ufurper Charles Stewart; but in poor Scotland, here in the fouth, I found a poor handful, and but one faithful Minister, whom the Lord called out, viz. Mr. Donald Cargil, to be his meffenger. to his people, and give witness against the apoftacy of Minifters and profeffors, even thofe who were great lights in the land, and now in obfcurity, and avowedly reproaching our Lord's intereft and people; whom yet the Lord will cloath with fhame, and make their peace they boatt of, and quiet fleep to their great confounding. As for the call I have to fuffer, Ifound it my only peace to quit thoughts of Ireland, that I might not be involved in their guilt of denying to have our Lord Jefus Chrift to be king over them. O! that poor party I find only for maintaining hs prerogative royal, to which I am joined Mr Donald Cargil being the only faithful ambasfador our Lord has in Scotland, I following the ordinances on

Friday laft; being as well armed for defending the gospel, and my felf, as I could, beyond expectation, a party of Linlithgow Soldiers is fent out to my lodging, and not dreading danger in the day-time. I thought our perfecutors had never heard of tuy name; I was apprehended, and now at laft brought hither to clofe prifon, the Lord having honoured me, to give an ample Testimony before the council and lords of Justiciary, tor my wronged Lord Jefus and fuppofing I must feal it with my blood, I leave this Teftimony to you, my friends and acquaintances in Aberdeen fhire, and subscribe it, November 17. 1080.

JAMES SKEEN.

From my delectable Prison in which my Lord has allowed me his Peace and Prefence, and comforted me with that, ball reign with him eternally, for I am his, and bought with his precious blood.

To his Friend and Fellow-Prifoner N.

My much honoured Friend in Chrift,

Give it under my hand, I have no caufe to rue my sweet bargain. His crofs is easy and light yet; and that which is most terrifying, I hope, he will make comfortable. O lovely Lord! what could make him to chufe me, to fuffer for him? What is all the world to me, if his honour be at the ftake? If his honour be advanced by my death, U happy me! I have oftentimes withed a fuffering lot, I heard and faw fo much of God's goodness, that I thought the cross and comforts of Christ could not be feparated: And I have no reason to complain, the Lord is oft the joy of my heart, that Lam forced to wonder at it; leaving further troubling you, hoping you will be as good as your word. Be much in prayer, for these two or three days. 'Tis likely on Thursday next, I will need në help of prayers, being come to the immediate vifion of my Lord, to fee him as he is; I will be ftupitied, as it were, and amazed at it. If his merits were not of infinite value, I might question, What would I do? But he has promiled, That I shall reign with him.

JAMES SKEEN

To his Friend and Fellow-Prifoner N.

My dear Friend in Chrift,

Received yours, encouraging me to hold on in my bleffed Lord's way, which he hath pathed to me. Tam not u

mindful of vou, as I can, and I defire you to pray, that none may offend at the Lord's intereft for me, there being willingnefs on my part to suffer though justly they cannot condemn me; for they offer me a delivery, if I would fubmit to the Duke's and ouncil's mercy, but it is evidently often feen, that the tender mercies of the wicked are cruelty. I find no liberty to deny my Lord, for fear of death I hope he will make up my 1ods in himself: All I can defire of you is lo pray much for me, that the Lord will own me, for his own caufe, before the advertaries and in my diffolution I with the Lord to comforta his people and tenderly own bis defpifed interest. Mr Carftairs faid, "He was afhamed of that principle we maintained, " and that we were not found Prefbyterians, and wished the "Lord might preferve him from the like. am no whit troubled at this. I blefs my Lord. They would have me con ferring with him. I faid, I would not notice him, if he came near me. Tell my friend, I would have written; but had no time I wrote yefter- night to him. I need both your helps by fupplications and trong cries to the Lord, tɔ càrry,me cleanly through the valley and fhadow of death I must leave here: withing the Lord to bear you up under all trials : I thought ye fhould have been in eternity before me, but now ↓ think, I thall leave you on the vallics, when I thall arrive at the bleffed harbour. I am, dear friend, your weli wither, and.. Chrift's prifoner.

JAMES KEEN.

P. S. A double of my Confeffions you may have from a friend whom I fhall defire to fend it to you I got my tummonds for eternity with found of trumpet yefter night, and my indictment with five thouts of the trumpet, and Purtevants in their coats, at feven of the Clock, was a grave fight; but my Lord helped me, not to be atraid at it, fince all was from him.

The laft Speech and Teftimmy of Mr. JAMES SKEEN, Brother to the Laird of Skeen, which he intended to have delivered on the Scaffold, December ft 1680.

1

Dear People,

Am come here this day to lay down my life for owning Jefus Chrift's defpifed intereft, and for afferting that he is a King, and for averring that he is head of his own Church, and has not delegated or deputed any, either Pope, King or Council, to be his vicegerents on earth Since my blefed

Lord Jefus Chrift has in his love engaged me by a particular covenant, in his own terms, to renounce and refign my self to him, in foul and body, affuring me by his word, and teftifying his acceptance of my refignation by his holy and bleffed fpirit, promifing to redeem me from all fins, giving me affurance of a faving intereft in himself; and now having called me in his providence, contriving this my fuffering by permitting his ungodly enemies to app chend and take me prifoner, having wickedly plotted my taking, in my going on the way to attend what the Lord had to work on my foul, by his preached gofpel, to give a testimony for his Covenant, intereft and people that are reproached and born down by a perjur'd, God-conte nning generation: And to feal my fufferings and teftimony with my blood. I moft willingly lay down my life for his intereft. I leave my teftimony to the national Covenant, and the folemn cague and Covenant, which are founded on the Scriptures, the word of God, which are written by the Prophets and Apostles in the Old and New Teftament, which has Jefus Chrift, the bleffed object of our faith, for the chief corner ftone of the building. I alfo leave my Teftimony to Mr. Donald Cargil's papers, taken at the Queensferry, called a new covenant, according as they agree to the true original copy.

I adhere to Prefbyterian Government, and the whole work of Reformation of the Church of Scotland, the Confeffion of Faith, the larger and horter Catechifns, confulted well, and written by the Affembly of Divines, ‡ except that article about Magistracy, when ill expounded in the 23d. Chap. becaufe our Magiftracy is bur pure tyranny, exercifed by the lufful rage of men, yea, rather devils in hape of men, whom God has permitted in his holy and spotlefs wisdom, for a trial. to his people, and a fnare to fome others, to oppress, tyranaize, and blafphemoufly tread under foot his truth, intereft and people, yea, that article is expounded in the National Covenant, where we have vowed to the Almighty God not to maintain the King's intereft, when he difowns the Covenant,

Let none mistake this sentence as if this worthy Gentleman thereby difowned that unshaken principle of the Proteftant Religion; that Infidelity or difference in Religion does not make void the Magiftrates juft and legal Authority; for 'tis plain, he rejects only the false fenfe that was then put upon it, to make it an Argument for defence of Tyranny and Arbitrary Power