170 MEMOIRS OF PERIOD VIII. have been in, if, after fuch indications of the mind of God, it had mifgiven. When I came out of the church I met with Mr Col. den, who told nie he was ferry I was to go out of the Merfe. And I remember it was against his will that I fettled in Simprin; he would have had me to Teviotdale. Then J. E. met withme, and difoouraged me, and told me, I would not come to Kelfo, but got to Etterick. I remember he did jufl, fo to me at Kelfo, that night before I went away to my marriage. But I had no caufe to repent either of the two, my fettlement at.Simprin, or my marriage. The ufe I made of thefe things, was to look for trouble; ani expeet throughbearing. I came home that day. As I was by the way, I had a great calmnefs and feren;ty of mind from the Lord ; all was well ; and when I came home, the Lord was very gracious to me in prayer ; and in that prayer I had great liberty to plead with God for my wife's fafety, and had a fort of impreffion thatthe child in her belly was a boy, and the name to be Ebenezer, which, for a memorial of the Lord's kindnefs to me,'I promifed, in cafe it íhould be fo that it was a boy. Hi. therto I have had kept up on my fpirit, a plain fenfe of theLord's calling me to Etterick. Fears of great difficulties are upon me, but the fenfe of my duty keeps me up, and thefe former fears, p. 206. 207. are a bulwark againft my prefent fears. And my foul has been much enlarged in thankfulnefs for the Lord's kindnefss, in guiding me with his eye fet upon me. The fynod, in their ad of tranfportation, out of kindnefs to me, recommended it to the prefbytery of Selkirk_ to ufe all ten- dernefs to me; and in cafe Í íhould meet with fach grievancesat Etterick as I might be unable to bear, that they íhould give and . grant to me what might eafe me of the fame : and the modera. ter, in name of the fynod, promifed the fame unto me. In that ácî, the.fynod likewife.provided, that I íhould not (on account of the ruinous hate of the manfe at Etterick) be obliged to remove my family, till filch time as there was a fufficient nearfe provided, for me there. I judged it expedient and favourable, to have fuch provifions for my eafe, in the adt forefaid. But having once taken the charge of that parifh, I had no freedom to make ufe of that touch-. ing,the nianfe, but behoved to tranfport my family to the place, and to bear the inconveniency of our lodging there for the time. And though mygrievances there foon came to be exceeding great, and hardly fupportable to me ; yet fuck was the fenfe of the com- mand and call of God upon me to that place, that I durit never. prefume to feek cafe and relief, by the provifion made about it,:. fo that, under all my finking burdens there, I never moved any filch thing to prefbytery or fynod, but refolved to wait till he who fet nie there íhould call nie alto away from it. March 9. Sabbath. This morning I found there was a fad change upon me : my frame was gone, my fpirit ftraitened, every way unfit for the work of the day ; and therewith came on a,
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