1699. MR THOMAS BOSTON. 41 day's work to the fouls ofmany. This was aftoni(hing. The fame thing. I heard of it, next day, from another godly woman. The caufes of this defection I afterwards inquired into ; and found, 1. There was fomething of that former quarrel, becaufe of fell-feeking in the particular above faid ; Q. my fleeping too long in the morning ; 3. the people of Airth's efteem of me, as. noticed above, or to keep me humble ; 4. that the Lord might let me fee, it is not by might nor by power, but by his own Spi- rit, that fouls are edified ; 5. to learn me to be thankful for a little. Several years after this, meeting with the minifter of Airthat the affembly, he told nie, that by conference with fome of his parifh before the adminiftration of the facrament, he found feveral perfons there own me as the inftrument that the Lord' made life of to do good to their fouls. There was at that time, for the encouragement of probation- ers preaching in vacancies in that country, on the north fide of Forth, a legal allowance of 18 merks a-fabbath, as in the north the which fell to me in Clackmannan, and I fuppofe alto in Dol- lar. I had been appointed to preach at Clackmannart on the. 8th of January, but was called to go to Airth that day, exchang- ing my poft with another probationer who could not go thither. On that occafion I received a compliment of two dollarsat Airth, being the firft money I got in that country. The affair of Dollar was now in agitation. And coming up to the prefbytery, Feb. 1. I found an elder of thatparifh there, who, it would Teem, had been moving for their proceeding to a call, without having his commiffion in writing ; which was ap- pointed tobe feen to, in the cafe of any that fhould come to the next prefbytery from thence. In a private conference I hadwith him at his defire, he {hewed me, that Argyle, their fuperior, had, fignified his willingnefs to concur in a call to any whom the pa- rifh and prefbytery fhould agree on, and that the call was de- figned for me but withal, that eight or ten of their parifh had fubfcribed and fent to Argyle, a paper, bearing their diflike of. me : that one John Burn was reckoned an enemy to my fettle- ment there, yet would not fign it, in regard, he faid, I was a fèrvant of God. I learned afterwards, that one of the fubfcribers wifhed he had quit a joint of his finger, or the like, rather than he had fubfcribed that paper; as alfo, that Mr Forrefter had given the forefaid elder but a very indifferent "character of me, . laying, that now they were going to call a new upftart, one that . broke the thetes. This charaéter from that good man was af-' feéting to me ; confidering that going under fuch a chàraéter, I was fo unholy, my corruption prevailed fo much over me, and that I was really weak in comparifon of others, who took a more fmooth way than I durft take in my public performances : and fo it convinced me ofmy need to live more near God. Being to preach, Feb. 5. at Alloa, on Zech. xiii. ult. I was fomewhat thaken in my mind about my call to preach it; the
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