Page:Brief historical relation of the life of Mr. John Livingston Minister of the Gospel.pdf/11

( 11 ) The pariſh of Shots bordered on the pariſh of Torphichen, where they ſometimes reſorted, and I was ſeveral times invited by Mr. John Hance miniſter of Shots to preach there. In that place I uſed to find more liberty in preaching than elſewhere; yea, the only day in all my life wherein I found moſt of the prefence of God in preaching, was on a Monday after the communion, preaching in the church yard of Shots, June 2l. l620. The night before, I had been with ſome chriſtians, who ſpent the night in prayer and conference. When I was alone in the fields about 8 or 9 of the clock in the morning, before we were to go to ſermon, there came ſuch a miſgiving of ſpirit upon me, conſidering my unworthineſs and weakneſs, and the multitude and expectation of the people, that I was conſulting with myſelf to have ſtolen away ſomewhere, and declined that day’s preaching, but that I thought I durſt not ſo far diſtruſt God, and ſo went to ſermon, and got good aſſiſtance about an hour and a half upon the points which I had meditated on Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26. "Then will I ſprinkle clean water upon you, and ye ſhall be clean: from all your filthineſs, and from all your idols will I cleanſe you. A new heart alſo will I give you, and a new ſpirit will I put within you, and I will take away the ſtony heart out of your fleſh, and I will give you an heart of fleſh:" And in the end, offering to cloſe with ſome words of exhortation, I was led on about an hour’s time, in a strain of exhortation and warning, with ſuch liberty and melting of heart, as I never had the like in publick all my life-time. Some little of that ſtamp remained on the Thurſday after when I preached in Kilmarnock; but the very Monday following, preaching in Irvine, I was ſo deserted, that the points I had meditated and written, and had them fully in my memory, I was not for my heart able to get them pronounced. So it pleaſed the Lord to counterballance his dealings, and hide pride from man. This ſo diſeouraged me, that I was upon reſolution for ſome time, not to preach, at lead not in Irvine; but Mr. David Dickſon would not ſuffer me to go from thence till I preached the next Sabbath, To get (as he expreſſed it) Rh