the good will of him that dwelt in the bush, and forget the day when he heard my cry and delievered me out of the hand of my fierce afflictions, manifesting his mighty power.* I desire to be humbled for my earthly mindedness and my desires after temporal things, riches, honour, and glory, which perish and pass away. I desire to be humbled for my breach of former engagements, and for that great mountain of sins accumulated on me since the last time I was before thee in this manner." *

"And now I desire to lay before thee my petitions. And first of all, O to be daily getting nearer and nearer thec; to be growing more and more acquainted with lovely Jesus, the light of the higher house, increasing more and more in grace, becoming more and more like thee, and daily less conformed to the world; to be delighting more and more in spiritual things, given more and more to meditation on the glory to be revealed, loving him more and more who loved me! O to be delighting in God all the day long, living in his fear as before him always, learning more and more submission to his disposals in providence, and more and more persuaded of the rectitude of hiwill, the equity of his law, the longness of his rence, and his care of his own. O to get the better of prevailing sin, and that which easily besets me.

"O Lord! 1 lay another petition before thee, and beg thou wilt hear it. O let me come into thy service (in the ministry) and breathe my last under thy colours, a volunteer; and to this end I beg a blessing on all my studies. O Lord! hear me.

He had lately before been dangerously ill; and, besides, had laboured under great dejection of soul.

"Also, I lay before thee my design of courtship with M. R. If she be thine, one in whom the fear of God is, may she be mine, if for thy glory and my good. Grant me direction in this matter, and give me favour in her eyes.*

"O prosper me in my business! Thy blessing be on my endeavours for the health and cure of thy creatures. Let never the greed of money get a hold of my heart; keep me from covetousness, and all wrong ends in following my business. Bless, Lord, the

work of my hands.

"May thy bounty so provide for me, as that I may not harm the world, or die in their debt. I hope thou wilt hear.

"Never let any apprentice or servant dwell in my house, who shall never dwell with thee; and let not the love of money make me choose the workers of iniquity to be with me.

"O look on Zion, Zion that is thine own! Remember thy promise, O God! and do her good. Heal her great breacht for thy name's sake.

"Cause peace, concord, and love, to be in my famlike a little river, and thy fear like a mighty

stream

I

"Now, Ord, in the hope that thou wilt hear, I lay all my petitions fore thee. Choose what thou wilt, cast away what thou wik, I will be content. commit myself to thee. I take thee as before, for my God and Father, for my Saviour, for my sanctifier for ever. To all my former engagements I again sub

The death of this young woman some time after gave him great distress. He speaks afterwards with the fullest confidence of her piety.

The division which had lately before taken place in the Se Cession.

scribe, begging that thou wouldest provide for me, so that I may attend thine ordinances. O hear! And I desire in truth, O terrible Jehovah! to call these heavens over my head, the hills and mountains about me, the growing grass and corn, to be witnesses, that I this day subscribe with my hand to be, through good report and bad report, thine, even thine. Amen, amen. So be it.

July, 1752.

JAMES MEIKLE."

It is evident from this paper, that a year and a half after he had begun business as a surgeon, his original resolution of employing his business only as a temporary expedient to help him forward to the ministry, remained unaltered. Nor did he finally abandon this design till the year 1763, some time after his return from the navy. This was the constant subject of his prayers; this excited him to application to his business; to this his private studies were uniformly di rected. Poverty distressed him, chiefly because it obstructed his progress; success in business elated him, only as it revived his languishing hopes of attaining the summit of his ambition. His heart was in divinity, ·while he practised surgery. It escaped not the observation of his pastor, the Rev. David Horn, that he had never seen a person take so little pleasure in discoursing on subjects connected with his own line of business; and he himself remarks it as an evidence of the care of God, that, notwithstanding his eagerness to acquire by his business, as a surgeon, what would enable him to devote his time to divinity and the previous studies, he was never permitted to exceed in his charges for medicine or attendance, in order the sooner to gain his object..

It may here be as proper, therefore, as any where else, to inquire into the ideas which he had of that office which he was so anxious to fill; and into the motives which excited him so eagerly to desire it. Happily two papers have been found in his hand-writing which serve to illustrate his views. The first is dated Carnwath, July 20, 1755, and begins thus: "O Lord! conscious of the levity of mind I am vexed with, my soon wearying in religious exercises, and my great unfitness for the weighty work of the ministry, I desire to be humbled, and to implore thy kindness, and in the sincerity of my heart to lay before thee my motives and my resolutions." After stating various important considerations which moved him to desire to be employed in the work of the ministry, he adds these memorable words: “As I feel a constant opposition in me to all that is holy and divine, I desire to be chained, as it were, by office to religion, and by a close exercise therein, and, breathing after communion with God, to get, through his grace, the antipathy in my heart against what is good dispelled, as far as my militant state can allow of." His resolutions are, that if God should put him into the ministry, he would, through good and bad report, follow Christ; would be willing to be the meanest of his servants; would not take it ill though he were despised, reproached, persecuted for Christ's sake; and was determined to preach, not for vulgar applause, but to advance his glory, and to promote the welfare of souls. "I lay my account," he adds, "with hardships, inconveniences, troubles, and mockings from the world, and the men of the world. Nor is it in view of profit or honor that I desire to change my occupation, for by kind providence I am now as well as I can wish; but I would fain be poor for Christ's sake, who, though

he was rich, for my sake became poor, that I through his poverty might be made rich. I shall never be surprised to find all winds blow against me, and every thing blasted in my temporal estate; it shall be my joy, if the cause of God and the gospel prosper in my hands. And, finally, I resolve to be honest to the trust committed to me, and in all things, to act not only as before thee, but as one that must give an account of my stewardship, that I may do it with joy." He concludes: "Receive this mite into thy mighty treasury, O Lord! and grant my request; and I beg of thee that thou wouldest bless me with a sound judgment, clear insight into the things of God, a strong memory, and with every faculty to fit me for so great a work."

The other paper, which was written some years after, consists of two parts-the one, a list of all the scriptural qualifications of a gospel-minister, arranged in order, that by it he might be guided in self-examination and prayer-the other, a series of advices respecting the conduct proper to be pursued by a minister of the gospel, written with the evident intention of assisting his own mindin weighing the importance and duties of the office to which he aspired. As these advices not only shew how conscientious he was in his views, but contain hints which may be profitable to those whom God has put into the ministry, they are here subjoined.

"Contract not much carnal acquaintance.

"Learn to be abused without becoming angry. "Meddle not much with the affairs of this life. "Argue coolly, and from conscience, not for victory.

"Affect not a shew of sanctimony before men. "Be not ashamed of piety in any company.