you in the faith, that ye may always behold thefe thing that are invisible, and live by them; and that he ́ma fill you with the fpirit of joy and gladness, and that h may cherish you in the hope of the life to come, an fanctify you more and more, that ye may do all things i his fight, in faith, as the Sons of God through Chri Jefus, in love, in fear, in obedience, with chearfulness wifdom, patience and conftancy.

The Lord be your fun and fhield, and rock of habi tation, yea, all in all to you, both in time and through out all eternity. fhall fhew you ou mind in the reft. Be mindful of me in your prayers that the Almighty may give me a greater meafure of hi Spirit, for comfort, holinefs and faithfulnefs in m work, and fitness to go about it. The Lord be with you I greet you with the right hand of fellowship.

WILLIAM BRACKEL

There was likewife at this time, a Letter fent by Ro BERT HAMILTON, which, though it be directed to Mr. Renwick, yet it was defigned for the whole Societies as is evident through the whole; the tenor whereof fol lows:

SIR,

YOU

AUGUST 22d, 1682

QU may let me know if you received my laft. It may be we fhall not have many occafions to write, for the execution-day of the Lord feems to approach, not only upon Scotland, but upon the whole churches; and that because of the contempt of the precious gofpel, and the perfidy, indifferency, formality and unconcernednes of the profeffors thereof. The day is coming, wherein all that bear a name of godlinefs thall be tried. Omy friends, the day is coming, wherein the people of God fhall be put to that bleffed neceffity, to have no where to fhelter themselves, but under the fhadow of the Almighty. O happy thefe, who have been or fhall be in any measure helped to be faithful; who fhall get their fouls for a prey. I doubt not but fome fhall be witneffes both of the Lord's glorious coming, and of his ftriking thro kings, and breaking down of kingdoms, drying up of rivers, purging and cleanfing of his houfe, and taking

of

of his feat to reign and rule as a free king in his own houfe; but O! who is the man that fhall abide the day of his coming? Itrow, it will be hard to determine : Yet I cannot but believe and hope, that poor defpifed Scotland's mufter in that day, fall come fhort of no land in the world, which has been honoured above all others to bear the ftandard with this glorious motto, CHRIST JESUS, not only King of the Jews, but KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS, Zion's King, without competitor.

And, my dear Friends, that the Lord's way may be the more remembered, I think it might be of great advantage to lay it upon every fociety to keep a regifter, not only of the Lord's glorious way of dealing with his people, in hiding, delivering, conducting them, &c.; but aifo his method with the enemies of all forts;-to fet down what and when fuch a family or perfon did against the Lord, his work, or any of his people; and then to fee them in their families, in their children, and in their deaths. If this be gone about, I can affure you, that not only the prefent generation, but the generations to come fhall profit thereby. For this long time, and now more than ever, the Lord has been making up the want of faithfulness in minifters, by preaching with terrible things in righteoufnefs, and that not only by his legible judgments on the families, perfons, and deaths of the open enemies; but more especially upon the perfons, families and deaths of lukewarm, apoftate profeffors. When I was in that land, I travelled fomewhat in that work to great advantage; there are few or nore you fhall find of fuch, but either they died miferably, or are living fo; either without children, or poffeffed with devils, madnefs, fools, whoremongers, &c.As alfo, I think if the Lord had not a mind to return to our land, he would not have been at pains to have written fuch large hiftories of his wrath upon families and perfons as he has done, which if he returned not again, fhould all be buried: neither would he have received fuch a burnt-offering at Scotland's hands, as the heads, hands, and eftates of fo many of his moft precious children. Of this I need fay no more,

It might alfo be thought upon, if it were not fit to have the fitteft perfons chofen out for catechizing, which is a duty fo neceffary this day; I am fure as neceffary as any I know. I hope when our neceffities are

fo

fo great, that none will fcruple to undertake it, provid ing they find themselves able,

O go on, go on, he is faithful who hath faid it, it fhall be well with the righteous.And is it not fomewhat promifing this day, that the Lord is helping fome to keep foot-fide with the brethren at home, not only in our firft Teftimony against M. Md, but in the late endeavours; and feems not only to favour us, but to accept of them at our hands? It is obfervable, our moving and yours was not only one way, but at one time, notwithstanding the diftanee, and ignorance of one another's moving; for though there have been fome in that land, who not only for themfelves, but in name of country-fides have written to me, as I am informed by my brother; yet fince I left that land, I have received few letters from any, and I judge none concerning the public. What has been in it,, I fhall not fay, though for mine own part I have been made to blefs the Lord for it, who in that trial, as in others, learned me to draw nearer and nearer to himself, and to rejoice in his favour, love and unchangeablenefs, yea, under the fhadow of his wings. And O unspeakable love! who in any meafure has kept us in his hand; for fince I faw you, I have been threatened to be ftarved out of my judgment, or confcience, and to be bribed out of it with the offers of honour and preferment. O praises, praises to him for his goodness!

I

O dear Friends, let us fall down before the Lord, and adore him, who after all our feveral trials has not only brought us to be one in mind and judgment, but alfo employed about the fame thing; O for grace, for grace to be kept in his hand. When I was as a dead man, hẹ called me out from all my acquaintances into a strange land. A ftranger to their humour, to their language, to their perfons, poor and empty, yet he led me out, not knowing whither I was going, he put work in my hands, made friends for me, and is now carrying on his work. O blefs, blefs the Lord? and pray that it may go forward. I muft fay to the commendation of the goodness of God, that though when I came here, (as afterward they declared) they not only hated our nation, but our caufe. But O what a change, in such a time! for the Lord (after that they were engaged to mind our church publicly, and to appint weekly and monthly meteings for

the

the fame) gave them an opportunity for a public teftimony, stating it the same with our own, after he had let them (in much prayer and wrestling, day and night) find the fweetness of that way, he gave them the victory to the wonder of themselves and on-lookers, and to the aftonishment and conviction of their adversaries, which not only has encouraged the godly to public testifying, but endeared them fo to our church and caufe, that they cannot hear it spoken of, but they are at the melting down with tears. But having spoken of this in my last, I need speak no more of it, only let it ftir up all ranks to thankful→ nefs, tenderness, more holy zeal and forwardrefs.

Amongst many other overtures my brother fhewed me from you, that of having our youth educated for a new nursery of minifters, did not a little astonish me, it being of a long time both my great work and exercise here, and I propofed it, and the Lord had made it acceptable at the very first moving of it, fo that I was defigned to have written it to you long fince, had not the weight of it fo preffed me for fome days, tying me to my chamber.

O dear Friends, lay it to heart, perfons, and families, and societies, every lafs and lad, by fafting and prayer,. fee how the Lord feems to pafs by the minifters of Scotland, pitching upon ftrangers, who not only offer their fervice, but are willing to lay down their lives for the rebuilding of that once fo glorious and beautiful work, and to be at the coft and charges of educating our youth, whereby they may be fitted for the fervice of the house of our God, aad to ordain fuch as fhall be judged fit for the great, O great work of the ministry.

Worthy and dear Friends, as this would be gone about with much fafting and prayer, fo, for the Lord's fake, let none be chofen for this end, but fuch who have given evidence of their REAL PIETY, HOLINESS, and TENDERNESS: And O let none, as they would not be made monuments of the Lord's anger and wrath in an extraordinary way, venture upon it uncalled. Let them read Ifaiah's and Jeremiah's call, and Titus i. 7, 8, 9. &c.

O the plagues, the plagues that may be seen on our minifters this day, yea on fuch as were once as bright ftars in our horizon, may be a terror to all pofterity to venture lightly on fo great a work. Let not the want of learning ftartle any, where the main thing is really felt

and

and known: yea, it has not been the want of learning, but of grace, holy zeal, and courage, that has so brought us among the feet of our adverfaries, and kindled the wrath of the Lord fo hot against us. O then, upon all hands, let it be gone about with much fafting and prayer, as being the ordinary and appointed way to know the Lord's will, and to be fitted for going about it, and managing it aright.

Worthy friends, to me this matter hath been often reprefented, as amongst the greateft concernments yet in hand; as a mean that may be eminently for recovery from the dead, or of giving us the foreft blow that ever we yet had. O! a down pouring of the Spirit in his fulnefs, be your allowance, both for your encouragement in your managing of it, and for a token of our Master's approbation of the work.

And O forget not to mind poor Freizland, and in particular the work begun here, let the godly here, lie near to your hearts and prayers before the throne, for that church, I dare fay, is dearer to them than their lives. Mind alfo worthy Mr. Brackel, who has now written to you: it is he whom the Lord is honouring here, and hath honoured to give a great teftimony, of which I gave you an account in my laft. And O for the Lord's fake mind worthlefs, worthlefs me, who am as a dead man, of a long time, feparate from my brethern, and fhot at, yea bitterly fhot at, by all ranks of off-fallers from the cause of God. I will tell, I muft tell you, I have found my Lord, unchangeable, in every eftate the fame, ay the fame up making, and more than up making portion; fweet and eafy is his crofs; I cannot get him commended: O his love is lovely, yea lovlinefs itfelf: O if he were ent, whofe mercy endureth for ever! O feek him to our land, to our mother, and to ourselves, that his kingdom may come, and his will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. O let him do with us as he will, that he would but come as in the days of old; yea, and forever bleffed be his name for what I have already feen and heard, both of tweet Scotland, and poor Freiz land. O let us not envy that he is enlarging his tents and fetting up in other places; his prefence is more than able to fill heaven and earth; there is no fear that he want plenishing where he comes. Let him conquer, let him conquer, until he has ftretched his conqueft from one end of the earth to the other, in breadth and length,

and