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churches were all vacated of Presbyterians by an act of Council, 1662, Middleton sent a band of soldiers to apprehend him, who, coming to the church, found him not, he having providentially just stepped out of the one door a minute before they came in at the other; whereupon they took the keys of the church door with them, and departed.-In the mean while the Council passed an act of confinement banishing him to the north side of the Tay, under penalty of being imprisoned, and prosecuted as a seditious person.-But this sentence he no ways regarded.
During this time, partly by grief for the ruin of God's work in the land, and partly by the toils and inconveniences of his labours and accommoation, his voice became so broken, that he could not be heard by many together, which was a sore exercise to him, and discouragement to preach in the fields; but one day Mr Blackatter coming to preach near Glasgow, he essayed to preach with him, and standing on a chair, as his custom was, he lectured on Is. xliv. 3. "I will pour water on him that is thirsty, &c.". The people were much discouraged, knowing his voice to be sore broken, lest they should not have heard by reason of the great confluence. But it pleased the Lord to loose his tongue, and to restore his voice to such a distinct clearness, that none could easily exceed him; and not only his voice, but his spirit was so enlarged, and such a door of utterance given him, that Mr Blackatter, succeeding him, said to the people, 'Ye that have such preaching, have no need to invite strangers to preach to you; make good use of your mercy.' After this he
