Page:Brief historical relation of the life of Mr. John Livingston Minister of the Gospel.pdf/14

( 14 ) and altho’ he durſt not anſwer it to the State, he gave the book of ordination, and deſired that any thing I  at, I ſhould draw a line over it on the margin, and that Mr Cunningham ſhould not read it: but I found that it  been ſo marked by ſome others before, that I needed  mark any thing: ſo the Lord was pleaſed to carry  buſineſs far beyond any thing that I had thought or  ever deſired. That Winter following I was often in heavineſs, for altho’ the people were very tractable,  they were generally very ignorant, and I ſaw no  of doing any good among them, yet it pleaſed the  that in a ſhort time ſome of them began to  ſomewhat of their condition. The biſhop of Down an ill eye upon me becauſe I had gone elſewhere to  ordination, and at a viſitation at Down, in the  following, whither I went much againſt my will, but  Blair and Mr. Cunningham drew me, ſaying, my  away would procure more trouble. The biſhop aſked in preſence of all the miniſters, what was my  of the ſervice-book? my anſwer ſo diſpleaſed him, there was ſome appearance I might ſhortly be  but my lord Clannihoy prevailed with him that I ſhould  forborn, the pariſh of Killinchie being looked upon  as a pendicle of another pariſh, viz. Killileach, was never any official court kept in it all the while I  there. Not only had we publick worſhip free of inventions of men, but we had alſo a tolerable  for after I had been ſome while among them, by  advice of the heads of families, ſome ableſt for that  were choſen elders, to overſee the manners of the  and ſome deacons to gather and diſtribute the  We met every week, and ſuch as fell into notorious  ſcandals, we deſired to come before us, ſuch as came w dealt with both in publick and private to confeſs th ſcandal, in prefence of the congregation, at the  ſermon before the communion, which was celebrated  in the year: ſuch as after dealing would not come  us, or coming would not be convinced to  their fault before the congregation, upon the  preceeding