Patrick Walker

“ And for the profanity of England, the formality and security of Ireland, for the loathing and contempt of the gospel, covenant-breaking and innocent bloodshed in Scotland, none of these lands shall escape, ere all be done. ”

“ He stood up and said, Lord, we hear tell that thy enemies and ours are coming upon us, and thou hast hid thy hand of affliction on old John, have pity upon him, for thy enemies will have none; his blood will run where he lies! ”

“ John asked where the testimony should be then? He answered, “In the hands of a few, who shall be despised & undervalued by all. but especially by these ministers who buried Christ! But after that he shall get up on them; and, at the crack of his winding-sheet as many of them as are alive, who were at his burial, shall be distracted and mad for fear, not knowing what to do. Then, John, there shall be brave days, such as the Church of Scotland never saw the like! ”

“ Glory glory to the Lord, that has accepted a bloody sacrifice of a sealed test mony of Scotland’s land, we have a bloody clout to hold up, and the lads that got the bullets thro’ their heads the last day at Glentrol their blood has made the clout redder. ”

“ After this he longed to be out of Ireland, what through the fearful apprehensions of that dismal day of rebellion in Ireland that came upon it four years there after, and that he might take part with the sufferers of Scotland. He came near the coast one morning; John Muirhead came to him lying within a hedge: he said, “Have ye any news John?” John said, “There is great fear of the Irish arising.” He said, No, no, John: the time of their arising was not yet; but they will rise and dreadful will it be at last. ”

“ First, A bloody sword, a bloody sword for thee O Scotland, that shall tear the hearts of many. Secondly, Many miles shall you travel, and shall see nothing but desolations and ruinous wastes in thee O Scotland. Thirdly, The fertilest places in Scotland shall be as waste and desolate as the mountains. Fourthly, The women with child shall be ript up, and dashed to pieces. ”

“ After sermon when marrying a pair of folks, when the man had the woman by the hand, he said, Indeed man you have a bonny bride by the hand, I see a covetous devil in her; she is both a thief and a whore, let her go, you will be ashamed of her.—The man keeping fast her hand, he said, You will not take my advice, but it will tend to thy disgrace. ”

“ When our Lord looks upon the bloody clout, he will keep the sword of his avenging justice in the strait for a time but if Scotland shall not consider the merciful day of their visitation, nor his long-suffering patience and forbearance lead them to repentance, as we fear it will not, but harden therm in their sin, and the greater part turn gospel-proof and judgment-proof, and wax worse and worse, then will the Lord accomplish all that he has threatoned a well-deserved foreseen and foretold day of vengeance ”

“ After this, two days before Argyle was broken and taken he was near Wigtown in Galloway; a considerable number of men were gathered together in arms to go for his assistance; they pressed him to preach, but he refused, saying, he would only pray with them; where he continued long, and spent some part of that time in praying for Ireland, pronouncing that the Lord would spare a remnant and not make a full end in the day of his anger; and would put it in the hearts of his own to flee over to this bloody land, where they would find safety for a time. ”

“ In his travels through Galloway, he came to a house, and looking in the goodman’s face, he said. They call you an honest man but if you be so, you look not like it, you will not long keep that name, but will discover yourself to be what you are. And shortly after, he had to flee for sheep-stealing. The short time he was in Ireland the Governor required of all presbyterian ministers that were in Ireland, that they should give it under their hand, that they had no accession to the late rebellion at Bothwel-bridge. ”

“ Peden came above the deck and said, “Why are ye discouraged you need not fear, there will neither thumbkins nor bootkins come here: lift up your hearts and heads, for the day of your redemption draweth near; if we were once at London, we will be all set at liberty.” And when sailing in their voyage praying publicly he said, “Lord, such is the enemies hatred at thee and malice at us for thy sake, that they will not let us stay in thy land of Scotland, to serve thee. though some of us have nothing but the Canopy of thy heavens above us, and the earth to tread upon ”

“ God will let none of these men’s words fall to the ground, that he sent forth with a commission to preach these things in his name: He will not let one sentence, fall to the ground, but they shall have a sad accomplishment. ”

“ Oh! let Brown’s blood be precious in thy sight; and hasten the day when thou wilt avenge it, with Cameron’s, Cargil’s, and many others of our Martyrs’ name. And oh! for that day, when the Lord will avenge all their blood! When ended, John Muirhead enquired what he meant by Brown's blood? He said twice over, What do I mean! Claverhouse has been at the Preshill this morning, & has cruelly murdered John Brown, his corpse is lying at the end of his house, and his poor wife sitting weeping by his corpse, and not a soul to speak comfortably to her. ”

“ If thou hast any more work, for us in the world, allow us the lap of thy cloak this day again: And if this be the day of our going off the stage, let us win honestly off & comfortably through, and our souls will sing forth thy praises thro’ eternity, for what thou hast done to us and for us. ”

“ Fourthly, The rod that the Lord will make instruments of. shall be the French and the French king, with a party in this land joining with them. But ye that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number, when Christ comes to set up his work in Scotland, he will not want men anew to work for him; yea. he will chap on the greatest man in all Scotland, and he will be the greatest malignant in it, and he will say, Sir, let alone this Babel-building, for I have another piece of work to put in your hand; and he will gar him work whether he will or not. ”

“ When the day of his death drew near, and not being able to travel, he came to his brother’s house, in the parish of Sorn, where he was born: he caused dig a cave, with a saughen bush covering the mouth of it, near to his brother’s house; and the enemies came and searched the house narrowly many times. In the time that he was in this cave, he said to some friends, 1. That God shall make Scotland a desolation. 2. There shall be a remnant in the land, whom God should spare and hide. 3. They should lie in holes and caves of the earth, and be supplied with meat and drink ”

“ When I put the barn in order, he goes to such a place, and there be prays for the afflicted Church of Scotland, and names so many people in the furnace. He wrought the next day, and his mistress watched and overheard him praying, as the lad had said. At night she desired her husband to enquire if he was a minister, which he did, and desired him to be free with him, and he should not only be no enemy to him, but a friend. Mr. Peden said, he was not ashamed of his office ”

“ Then upon the sixth, he was in that wood all day, and at night he came to the said Mr Vernor’s house, where several of our Scots sufferers were; he said, “Why are ye so discouraged? I know ye have got ill news of the dreadful murder of our friends in Scotland; but I will tell you good news, that unhappy, treacherous, leacherous man, who has made the Lords people in Scotland, tremble these years bygone, has got his last glut in a lordly dish from his brother, and he is lying with his tongue cold in his mouth.” The news of this came not to Ireland for 24 hours thereafter. ”

“ There is an old Christian gentlewoman. yet alive in Edinburgh, a daughter of the said Laird’s, who told me of late, that she had several times heard her father-give an account of this. She also told me, since Bothwel-bridge fight, she heard him preach in the fields, in the foresaid parish; and a woman sitting before the tent looking up to him, he said “How have you the confidence to look up? Look down to hell, where you are going; the devil has a fast grip of you & will not lose it.” That woman lived & died under the mala fama of a witch, and presumptuous of the same. ”

“ He ran where Mr. Peden was, who said. “Oh! Jamie, Jamie, I am glad your head is safe, for I knew it would be in danger.” He took his knife, and cut away the other knot.
36. About this time, he and James Wilson in Douglas, a singularly known man to many, was at Airdsmoss; and being together some time, without speaking, as Mr. Peden's ordinary was, when there was any extraordinary thing in his head, they came to Mr. Cameron’s grave, where he and other eight were buried. After sitting some time on the grave, he gave James a clap on the shoulder with his heavy hand. ”

“ Now in this bloody land, this poor woman has endangered her life in bringing bread to support our , we cannot pay her for it but Lord, it is for thy sake she has brought it; there is no need that she should be a loser at thy hand: thou givest plenty of bread to many that are not so worthy of it ”

“ He delights not to keep mercy over night. Every day brings new mercies to the people of God: He is the easiest merchant ever the people of God yoked with: If ye be pleased with the wares, what of his graces make best for you, he and you will soon sort on the price. he will sell goods cheap that ye may spier for his shop again ”

“ Only he remembered he was once sent from the Societies in Galloway to Garrick, to call on Mr. Peden to preach: When he told him for what end he was come, Mr. Peden went for some time alone; when he returned he said, I am sorry. Earlstoun, you are come so far in vain, for I cannot obey your desire, I ean get nothing to say to your people. Nothing will convince this generation but judgments, and a surprising lump of them on the West of Scotland. Earlstoun said, Sir, you was once legally ordained and authorised to preach the gospel, and the Lord’s people’s call is sufficient ”

“ And said, The Lord rebuke give repentance and forgiveness to these ministers that persuaded these prisoners to take that bond. For their perishing by sea, was more moving and shocking to him, than if some thousands of them had been slain in the field. He was thereafter taken, the 6th of April, by Major Johnston, in Edinburgh, and detained prisoner in the Bass, and died there. As the interest of Christ lay near his heart through his life, amongst his last words he said, The Lord will defend his own cause. ”

“ In the beginning of May, 1685, he came to the house of John Brown and Marion Weir, whom he married before he went to Ireland, where he stayed all night; and in the morning, when he took farewell he came out at the door, saying to himself, “Poor woman, a fearful morning!” twice over: “A dark misty morning.” The next morning, between five and six, the said John Brown, having gone about the worship of God in his family, was going with a spade in his hand, to make ready some peat ground ”

“ It being killing time. He replied There are more dark, weary days to come, when your pulpits will be full of Presbyterian minsters, and it will turn that dark upon you that many shall not know what to do, whether to hear or forbear; and they shall be reckoned happy that wan well through at Pentland, Bothwel. and Airdmoss, and wan fairly of the stage, and got martyrdom for Christ; for the ministers will cut off many of the serious and zealous godly at the web's end; but I will be hid in a grave. They enquired what would become of the testimony of the Church of Scotland? ”

“ But I tell you, said he. you will be all very far mistaken; for both England and Scotland will be scourged by foreigners, and a set of unhappy men in these lands taking part with them, before any of you can pretend to be happy, or get a thorough deliverance, which will be a more severe chastisement than any other they have met with, or can come under, if that were over. ”

“ A stone cut out of a mountain, should come down, and God shall he avenged on the great ones of the earth, and the inhabitants of the land, for their wickedness, and then the church should come forth with a bonny bairn-time of young ones at her back. ”

“ And the less you have, he has the more heart to trust you and so it is best with you to keep in with your old acquaintance Christ. New acquaintance with strange lords, is the ready way to make a wound in grace’s side, which will not heal in haste ”

“ When at exercise in the Bark, be said, Lord thou knowest that there lads are hot-spirited, lay an arrest upon them, that they may not appear; their time is not yet; tho’ Monmouth and Argyle becoming, they will work no deliveranceAt that time there was no report of their coming, for they came not for ten weeks thereafter. ”

“ A fowler, when he shoots a bird, may rise and flee, but not far, for there is some of the shot in it. Within ten days after, the news of the death of Charles II. was confirmed.
16. About the same time he said to James Slowan, We must go to another house, for I am mistaken there be not a very narrow search made this night. They went to William Craig's, and James went with them to the house, and returned to his own bed. When he awaked, the house was full of people, constables and others, making search for prisoners, who had broken prison and fled, but found none. ”

“ Christ knows full well, whether heaping or straking agrees best with our narrow vessels for both are alike to him: Sparing will not enrich him, nor will spending impoverish him. He thinks it ill won that is holden off his people. ”