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calls him, was ſent from that Eraſtian meeting of Miniſters, into the Tolbooth to theſe fifteen, who, urged the lawfulneſs of taking the Bond to ſave their lives; and the refuſal of it would be a reflection to religion, and the cauſe they had appeared for; and a throwing away their lives, for which their friends would not be able to vindicate them. He prevailed with thirteen of them, which ſoured in the ſtomachs of ſome of theſe 13, and lay heavy upon then both in their life and death. The priſoners taken at and about the time of Bothwel, were reckoned about 1500. The faithful Mr. John Blackader did write to theſe priſoners, diſſuading them from that foul compliance; and ſome worthy perſons of theſe priſoners, whom he wrote to, ſaid to me with tears, that they ſlighted his advice, and ſwallowed the unhappy advices of theſe Miniſters who were making peace with the enemies of God, and followed their foul ſteps, for which they would go mourning to their graves I heard the ſame Mr. Blackader preach his laſt public ſermon, before his falling into the enemies' hands, in the night-time, in the fields, in the parish of Livingſtone, upon the ſide of the Muir, at Newhouſe, on the 23d. of March, after Bothwel, where he lectured upon Micah iv. from the 9th verſe, where he aſſerted, That the nearer the delivery, our pains and ſhowers would come thicker and ſorer upon us; and that we had been long in the fields, but ere we were delivered, we would go down to Babylon: That either Popery would overſpread this land, or be at the breaking in upon us, like an inundation of water. And preached upon that text, "Let no man be moved with theſe afflictions; for ye yourſelves know, that ye are appointed thereunto." Where he inſiſted on what moving and ſhaking diſpenſations the Lord had exerciſed his people with in former ages, eſpecially that man of God, that went to Jeroboam at Bethel, and delivered his commiſſion faithfully, and yet was turned out of the way by an old lying prophet: how moving
