1716, MR THOMAS BOSTON. 959 And herein I fo profpered, by the good hand Of my God upon me, that, as I reckon, I began from that time to apprehend, that this bufinefs I had engaged in, for my own private benefit only, might poffibly in end turn to a book for public ufe. And all along thereafter, until it was done, I looked upon that fludy as the bufinefs of my life. About the end of this month of September, came an account to 041T parifll, that a call to Clofeburn was drawn up for me. Herewith they were, much alarmed ; and, in their own rough way, fliewed a mighty concern for my continuance among them. And thus the trouble of the parifh about me began just about the time wherein, the year preceding, my trouble with themwas going to the higheft pitch. What influence,the awful fteps of Providence that followed upon this lait, as above narrated, had upon them, I cannot fay. But as the fpring of comfort, from the study af'orefaid, was molt feafonably ftruck up to me in my clofet, when without 1 was fo much oppreflèd ; fo, about the latter end of April, fome things in the parilh began to look with a better face towards my encou- ragement, as.I have related above, p, 318. infomuch that they had weight with me againft a tranfportation to Legertwood, which at the April fynod had been propofed to me ; fo as I had been obliged lerioufly to feel{ the Lord's mind in it, and was one of the caufes of the fecret fall above mentioned. Moreover, whereas the feffion had been reduced to a very fmall number, by death and otherwife, I prevailed this fummer to get their number increafed : fo that, on July 12. being the fall-day before the facrament, there were feven added to the elderfhip*. Among there feven was Thomas Linton in Chapelhop, a man of weight and activity ; who, together with another elder, and Michael Anderfon younger of Tnihilaw, went in December to Clofeburn, by conference and reafoning to divert the floras of the deigned tranfportation thither : but it prevailed not. But this was perhaps the loft journey that Thomas Linton made; being feized with a fore and vehement trouble in his mouth and head, which kept him till he died about the end of the year 1718. He had been a notable futferer in the time of perfecution, and fpoiled of all his goods ; but was become very wealthy t and moreover he had a heart given him to do good with bis wealth, and was very ufeful in the country that way. On him I be. 'towed this epitaph, which I fuppofe is to be found on his tomb- floue in Mary ehurch- yard in -Yarrow : All loftfor Chrift, an hundredfold Produc'd, and he became A father, eyes, andfeet unto The poor, the blind, the lame. * An excellent fermon on 1 Tim. v. 17. preached on this occafion, is inferted inthe author's Body of Divinity, voi. 3. p. 55, e'en.
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