15 March

On Thursday morning, I heard Mr. H. preach notably on the 9th ch[apter] of Genesis, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem;” where most powerfully and pathetically, to the moving of many hearts and wetting of the cheeks of many as of thine own, he spake of the covenant betwixt God and Israel, 24 Josh. v. 22; and betwixt God and this land, now renewed upon most pressing reasons, as the renovation of our infeftments, putting our name in our fathers’ bands, and the shaking hands anew after our former shedding [dividing], as the only mean to knit us either to God or amongst ourselves, as the most gracious, glorious work that ever our God of glory did to this land.

Upon Friday morning, I drew up D. Jollies testament; and went out afternoon in great rain to Wariston, where I found the Lord that night.

Upon Saturday, 17, in the morning, I got a great liberty of the spirit of prayer.  I went with my family to Rothau, where I heard Mr. J. Hamilton make the preparation sermon upon the 50th ch[apter] Jerem. v. 4, “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping; they shall go, and seek the Lord their God.  They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.  My people hath been lost sheep,” etc.: whereupon {327} he preached most sensibly.  After noon J. Lauson, Jn. Murray, etc., and ye conferred upon the sermon; ye found the Spirit of God assisting you, with a continual long assistance, in your family exercise of reading 9 Daniel and praying thereafter, likeas in the grace after supper.

18 March 1638

Communion and Covenant

On Sunday, the 18 day of March, 1638, after motion in your family prayer ye went to Rothau, heard Mr. J. Hamilton follow out his text very sensibly.  Ye went with sense to the second table of the morning service; got motion and tears at the table; ride presently away with your family and Riccarton, conferring on the sermons till we came to Currie, where Mr. John Chairtres minister was reading the 28 and 29 of Deuteron., Which he pressed in his exhortation.  He preached on 17 Genesis v. 1, “I am thy all sufficient God; walk thou before me, and be perfect.”  After sermon, being a solemn fast day appointed for subscription of the Covenant, he read it all over again as he had done the Sunday of before; he since explained to the people all the parts of it.  Thereafter, to show his warrant for seeking, and theirs for giving, an oath at the renovation of the Covenant, he pressed the 10 ch. Nehem. v. 28 and 29, “All the Rest of the people, their wives, sons, and daughters, every one having knowledge and understanding; they clave to their brethren, the nobles, and entered into a curse, and unto an oath to walk in God’s law;” and the 2 Chron. ch[apter] 15 v. 12, “And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and all their soul; that whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether great or small, man or woman.  And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and cornets.  And all Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about”; whereof applied very well every word.  Yet in all this time there was no motion nor tears in any of the congregation; but immediately thereafter at his lifting up of his hand, and his desiring the congregation to stand up and lift up their hands and swear unto the eternal God, and at their standing up and lifting up their hands, in the twinkling {328} of an eye there fell such an extraordinary influence of God’s Spirit upon the whole congregation, melting their frozen hearts, watering their dry cheeks, changing their very countenances, as it was a wonder to see so visible, sensible, momentaneal [instantaneous] a change upon all, man and woman, lass and lad, pastor and people, that Mr. John, being suffocate almost with his own tears, and astonished at the motion of the whole people, sat down in the pulpit in an amazement, but presently rose again when he saw all the people falling down on their knees to mourn and pray, and he and they for a quarter of an hour prayed very sensibly with many sobs, tears, promises, and vows to be thankful and fruitful in time coming.  Honor and praise be to the name of the eternal God, who only can work wonders and makes us daily see wonders, as this a prime remarkable one whereby he testified from the heavens this work to be his own work, his real reentry in the Covenant with his people, his acceptance of their offer, his reservation of a work of mercy for the congregations of this land, albeit personal plagues shall light upon particular persons.  “Lord, let me never forget that I was a spectator and actor in it; but prove thankful and fruitful in it,” as the Lord made thy heart and the hearts of thy family sensible in the mean time, and had made thee instruct thy tenants and servants before hand for it.  After the afternoon’s sermon I got good in my thanksgiving in my family; then in my private retiring; then in my reading [the] 84th and 85th Psalms; then in my public prayer before supper, during the space of a long hour confessing thy sins and the sins of the land at large; praising the Lord for all his favors; and particularly for four, for renewing of his covenant with this nation, for the powerful and lively manner of renewing it in our congregation, for his providence to my family in calling us upon one day first to his table wherein he gave himself to us, and then to the oath where we surrendered ourselves to him, which was as solemn a day of marriage betwixt the Lord and us, hinc inde, in the greatest spiritual solemnities, as perhaps will not fall out in an age again; and for his particular indulgence in employing me, the unworthiest of all his servants, to have been an instrument, advisor, drawer up, and partly {329} the author of it under the Lord, blessed be his name for ever; and praying to the Lord for wisdom, ability, and grace to perform all the conditions of the covenant on our part, and have our eyes opened to see, in the outward works of God’s providence and the inward of his indulgence, the Lord’s performance of all his conditions thereof.

19 March

Upon Monday, 19 March, in the morning, thou went one long hour with God in the long back alley, and poured out all thy particular fears, griefs, and desires and all his favors bygone.  Thou wast thereafter wonderfully assisted in thy public morning prayer and praise and confession.  Thy wife took [sick] at twelve hours.

Upon Tuesday thou reported to the noblemen and barons God’s great work in the parish of Currie, and heard of the Like presence of God’s Spirit in Craumont, Pans, and many other congregations.

Upon Wednesday, Orbiston[1] come home from court to take up the Thres. privy seal, and my Lo[rd] Lorne.  Then thou read the Confession over to the College, who subscribed all the scholars and masters except Rankin and Brown.

Upon Thursday we dealt with the Council of Edr. for ratifying the proceedings of the Commissioners.

Upon Friday, being Good Friday, Mr. D. Mitchel would not preach except he both changed his ordinary text and the ordinary hour, so that Mr. A. Scaldee preached more ordinario.

Upon Sunday, being Pasche, ye heard Mr. R. Blair in the College hall forenoon on 2 Chron. 15 ch. 15 v., ‘And all Judah rejoiced at the oath;’ and Mr. James Hamilton afternoon in the Grayfriers, 52 c. Isaiah 13 v., ‘Behold my servant shall deal prudently.’ {330}

The 8 articles.

Ye heard Mr. A. Ramsey on Tuesday answering the objections against subscription; Mr. J. Hamilton on Wednesday, in the Old Kirk, 52 Isa. 14 verse; and Mr. R. Blair on 2nd chapter Hosea 14th verse, on Thursday all this time; and upon Friday, first Mr. A. Henderson drew up a draught, then thou revised it twice or thrice, and got approven the eight articles containing The least of our necessary desires to settle this church and kingdom in peace.[2]

1 April

The oath in Edr.

Upon Sunday, 1st April, I heard Mr. H. Rollo preach on the 19 ch. Exod. the 5 and 8 verses, ‘Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken will we do.’  Wherein he did exceeding well anent the Lord’s offer, the condition and the benefit thereof; and anent the people’s answer, the extent thereof in the persons and in the speech.  After sermon, and an intimation for the Communion on the Sunday following and other three Sundays, he gart [made, caused] read all the Covenant over; thereafter he made a pithy exhortation anent the present solemn action of swearing to God; he showed God’s part in it, out of the 3rd ch. Jerem. 1st verse, ‘If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord;’ that the Lord was recalling and reclaiming his people, especially this city of Edr., from their former whoredoms and idolatries, as on our backs and bellies, of authority in breaking the Sabbath by feasting, by receiving first the Perth Articles, and giving the examples to others; and he showed our parts out of the 15th chap. of Luke in the prodigal’s returning, as we, after the proclamation of treason, resolved to return to our father’s arms.  Then he said a very pity, powerful, pathetic prayer for the Lord’s immediate presence, assistance, and influence upon this congregation, in this most solemn act of worship; then he returned to the acceptance {331} of the prodigal son by the kiss of his father’s mouth.  Thereafter he desired the nobles, and all the people, stand up unto the Lord; and first desired the noblemen, Montrose, Boyd, Loudon, Balmerino, to hold upon their hands and swear by the name of the living God, and desired all the people to hold up theirs in the like manner; at the which instant of rising up, and then of holding up their hands, there rose such a yelloch [cry], such abundance of tears, such a heavenly harmony of sighs and sobs, universally through all the corners of the church, as the like was never seen nor heard of.  The Spirit of the Lord so filled the sanctuary, warmed the affections, melted the hearts, dissolved the eyes of all the people, men and women, poor and noble; as for a long time they stood still up with their hands up unto the Lord, till Mr. Henry [Rollock] after he recovered himself, scarce able to speak, after a short exhortation to thankfulness and fruitfulness, closed all up in an heavenly prayer and praise, and gart [caused] sing the 74 Psalm from the 18th verse.  Thou wast moved unto many tears in his first exhortation and prayer before sermon; and in all the time of the solemnity both of the exhortations, prayers, lifting up of hands, and the praising, thy heart was like to burst; thou got abundance of tears and sobs, bless the Lord for thy particular motion; but, above all expression, bless his name for that glorious work of his immediate presence, and unexpressable influence of his Spirit upon the whole congregation, testifying from heaven that He directed the work, did now bless it, and would crown it with some great mercies to the which he is, by this lively, powerful, spiritual manner of renewing his covenant, preparing this poor nation, albeit our persons should suffer.  We heard that, in the Grayfriar Kirk, it pleased the Lord both forenoon and afternoon at the swearing of the Covenant there, by the like motion, to show the like presence of his Spirit.  The Lord make us never forget his presence in it, but rather make us tell it to our posterity, and make us walk worthy of it, and within the compass of this Covenant, as Mr. H[enry] R[rollock] concluded in his prayer, ‘Give to us, O Lord, what thou asks and requires of us; and then ask what thou wilt.’  O Edinburgh, O Edinburgh, never forget this first day of April, the gloriousest day that ever thou enjoyed; {332} blessed, ten thousand times blessed, be the name of the eternal God.  On Sunday afternoon I heard Mr. R. Blair in the College hall on 2nd chapter of Hosea the 18th verse.

Footnotes:

1. Sir John Hamilton of Orbiston, knighted, and appointed Lord Justice-Clerk in 1636.

2. These articles may be found in the printed text of A Relation of the Proceedings Concerning the Affairs of the Kirk of Scotland by John Earl of Rothes.  They are found on pages 100-102 and include the following points expressed at more length: (1.) The discharge of the Service-book, the Book of Canons, etc.;  (2.) The Abolishing of the High Commission;  (3.) Freedom from the Articles of the Perth, including kneeling at the Lord’s Supper and keeping Holydays;  (4.) Eliminating the Civil Places of Churchmen;  (5.) Remedy for sinful conditions imposed on men to be received into the ministry;  (6.) Lawful and Free General Assemblies of the Church must be held yearly;  (7.) They desire the king to call a Parliament to redress the grievances of his subjects;  (8.) More particular notes should be considered in either the General Assembly or Parliament.—JTK.