it si 68 NMEM;OhRS OP PERIOD vI, and came away cheerfully and contentedly, my foul laying, Where thou wilt, Lord ; for he ftrengthened me with ftrength " in my föul." Then, thinking on the bufinefs, I confidered and put down in writing, that I might the better judge thereof, Firft, Some things feerning to clear ,my call to Simprin, _as fol- lows : I. My being cart into this country, where I was expofed to it, and God's clofing up all.other doors hitherto. Q. On the 10th of June, Mr Dyfert wrote a letter in my favour to the el- ders of Simprin, and gave it me to difpatch to them. I took it, but afterwards tore it in pieces (on what occafion, I cannot now find out) : yet on July 4. being refolved to leave this country next week, being refolved to go over Forth.firft, and then toGal- loway, I was obliged to go to the prefbytery of Churnfide, to meet with Mr Dyfert, to borrow Ibme money of him neceffary for my going out of the country : but when I faw him, I could not command fo much confidenceas to afk it of him. But the prefbytery took occafion to invite me to preach at Simprin next Lord's day : which I could not but confent to, knowing of no otherplace I was tryfted to ; and this was the firft time I ever preached in Simprin. My father went to Mr Dyfert on the mor- row for that purpofe ; but hecould not anfwer mydefires. Thus was I locked in. 3. I have experienced, that I have been moil for complying with it, when I faw molt of the vanity of the world, and had meaneft thoughts of myfelf. 4. On the 8th of Auguft it was told me, that Langton minded to fhift the bufi- nefs of Simprin till Michaelmas were aver, which would have made the eluting with that call almoft impraáticable, on account ofmy particular circumftances : fo that it feemed the Lord had a mind I Mould not fettle in the Merfe. So thatnight and the morrow morning, thinking the bufinefs of Simprin almoft over, I defired of the Lord he would thewme how to difpofe of myfelf. And after this, Aug. y. was furprized with a vifit from Mr James Murray, who entreated me to go to Nithfdale, givinggood hopes of a comfortable fettlement there. His coming to me at that nick of time feemed at firft to ,be determining : but in the verymean time there comes in ore from Simprin, (hewing me, that the Laird had written a letter to one of the minifters ; and that the bufinefs might yet be, done in due time. This put.me again to a (tand. Thereafter I found the Laird had written to the prelbytery to go on. My inclination was to go to Nithfdale, and I was racked betwixt the two. After prayer for light, I found I durftnot yet leave Simprin. 5. I could not but notice my preaching at Simprin on the emptinefs of all things betides Chrift, the only fermon yet preached there byme. Ori the loth of Auguft, in the forenoon, I ftudied a .fermon of the vanity of the world, on Pfítl. cxix. 96. being to preach it in Dunfe ; and juft when I was meditating on that head of it, the vanity of rich- es, one knocks at my chamber-door, I opened, and found it was a man from Simprin,. who delivered me a letter froma commit-
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