1639. in the act of communion, was the woman safe deliuerd, thogh she had us'd mani wrong means to doe both herself and her child wrong; yet ar both safe alive, quhen all men had taken them for dead. I soght that woman's lyfe: He gaue me her lyfe and her child's also from verie death, and trysted it to me in the hour that I return from my sweit mariag meeting with the Lord at his ordinanc, this was "the lyon,” and "the beare" folloud.a Efter this I had sadd differences with my Mother and her Husband, quhen shee cam to the clos of Brodie to tak away my timber; and quhen they had casten in the Pley Moss; and quhen I had friends from all places on ther journey to this Convocation; the Lord mercifullie ended this trouble and heard me, and made my escape out of this extraordinarie trouble; and this was "the beare." When this was done did the Lord bring in the Couenant. The troubls of his church, and myn trysted well together; was it not fitt that I should fare as she far'd? ay, I saw her condition in eu'ri stepp of the Lord's dealing with myself. About this tym quhil the Lord is beginning to tri his Church, he smyts 1640. me in my beloud Wyfe, the delight of my eys: she is taken away at one strok. Quhil I was sadli shaken and broken under this, I askd at the Lord iff he could strick ani mor, for I did not esteem ani thing behind. He told me he could strick with sorer rods yet then I had felt: wherupon I was still, and onli moand, and was content to denud my self of earthlie joy. I saw flowds of temptation breaking in; I was feard to be drawn away with lightnes, wantones, and such lyk temptations. He replied to me, audiblie to my apprehension, and spok words to me articulatlie, and desird me not to be hartless and discouradged, for he should mak up my loss and giue me as a The allusion is to 1 Sam. xvii. 34. e Elizabeth Innes, daughter of Sir Robert Innes, Bart. of Innes, by Lady Grizel Stewart, daughter of James, the bonny Earl of Moray," and grand-daughter of "the good Regent." She was the relict of John Urquhart of Craigston, tutor of Cromarty, who died November 30, 1634. Brodie was married to her October 28. 1635. She died August 12, 1640. (Burke's Commoners, vol. iii., p. 596.) 1643. good as I wanted. I cried, Lord, what can thou giue me? children, hous, another wyfe, estat, mirth cannot make up this; nothing can doe it but thy self; if I may sanctifie thy nam, and may know and enjoy thee, it shall suffice. He seald it on my hart: soe should it fare with me. I was therupon as calm and quiet as iff I had noe exercyse; yett my complaints and greiffs returnd upon me, and I soght releefe in melancholi and retyrment, and runing from my hous. But, Oh Lord! al was in vain. When this was not weil ouer, at the veri tym of Montros' entring did the Lord smyt me with a fowler rodd than euer I felt which had mor wrath 1644. in it then al that euer befell me: and that was, my wretched sisters did, one efter another, play the whore. Then did my soul refus comfort. I apprehended nothing but wrath, it was so black, so uglie a rodd. The death of wyf and children was not lyk it. Now made he good that he had heavier, sharper rods then I had yet felt. Under this gulf of sorrow he upheld me with this, that I had endeavoured to prevent it, and had feard, wept, cried to him against it long er it came. This rod lasts yet but soe as the smart of it is ceasd, in that by so farr as, in ther low condition, they ar not exposed to sin; but a remedie off ther wickednes has the Lord prouided in setling them in mariage. When this was upon my back, then did the Lord caus the common enemie prevail in the land; and we fell befor the wild Irishes six tyms 1645. without anie interruption; and to mingle the Churche's and the Land's calamitie with my priuat, my hous, and my mains and bigging was brunt to the ground, and my estat made desolat, and noe place left me, nor means to subsist: Leathin's lands wer brunt, his hous, and my deir friend, [and] Christian brethren wer besedged and blocked up, and in feare off their lyfes by Huntlie. Quhen we and our race and familie were, in other men's appearance, ruin'd and undon, then did the Lord begin in mercie to blink and rais up, 1646. and lifted up our head; and in one year three of my deir uncles that wer 1647. without male children had three boyes, Mr. Jos., Mr. Jhon and William. My Mother becam content to keep hous to me (her husband being dead), and quhen shee was not fixd, the Lord humbld her by her fall, and in it I Lord Lewis Gordon, afterwards third These were Brodie's paternal uncles, afterwards of Forres; Mr. John Brodie, minister of Auldearn, and dean of Moray; and William Brodie of Coltfield. 1648. cannot deni but ther was mercie to her soul, and to me also, thogh it seemd bitter.. Whylst the Lord was doing thus, and giving me exercyse and tears to drink, he cald me forth to the publick, and in all was visiting my soul, he left me not destitut. He made eu'ri affliction to me a rose-bedd for smell and sweitnes, and withall was adding to my outward estate, sometyms one thing, sometyms another. Then sprung up the Engadgment, and quhilst the Lord had been exercysing a the Land by that rodd, and much violenc and oppression was ther us'd against the Land and my poor people; yet did he mak this trouble the mother of several mercies. In the next yeare, I was chosen unwillinglie to be a Judge, and was sent to the Hacge one of the Commissioners for the King. The Lord did in this both keep me up from affecting the favour of the man, or goeing about to compass it, and did mak manifest to me the hitl good that I might look for from him in that matter of the Treatie. I was sent back the next yeare to Breda, quhen I obserud notable prouidences accompanying our voyage, and asistance. with our ministers promising something; and we did speed. But I know not iff our success with the King was of mercie; yet iff his hart had been right, I would have counted it soe; and I did judg we wer about our dutie in dealing with him; yet in all this he discouerd much disaffection to the cours of reformation, to godliness, to thes that profess it, and retaind his affection and respect to his old companie and courses, and approud his father's ways in his hart, nay in his discours. Now, what our dutie should have been in this cace, I know not; but I am apt to judg that we wer carnal, hastie, inconsiderat, nay we feard and apprehended the evel that was to com upon thes Lands. Now, quherin I ignorantlie faild, let Him not lay it to my charge. When this was don, and we had returnd, the Lord prepard a suitable exercyse in my priuat condition to the cace of the poor land. My -a And even as the Lord did bring this rod upon me, he lessend the other off my poor brother David, and plaigd him with madnes, and soe was I fored to restrain him as he is to this day; insomuch that his wickednes hauing risen to so great a height it seemd to be restrained by this visible. judgment of madness and chains. Thus has the Lord afflicted me from my youth: mor of this may be obserud in my Diarie, and from my birth and going to England to my return. 14-Efter som small account of my experiences of the Lord's dealing, which mani books could not containe, my soul desird to bless the Lord, and to rejoic in his nam. I prayd with Mr. Harie. 1. We mentiond the seed that had been soun in Cathnes, thoogh it should not appeir for mani years, yet that it might in due tym tak som effect. 2. We besoght the Lord for Auldearn, and for a free cours to the ministri here. Quhil Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Blair, Mr. Wood, and mani others, ar labouring in places, and (as we heer) com smal speed; Oh! is it a marvel that we should be discouradgd? but the fruit depends not upon the minister's grace, abilities, or judgment, or painfulness, thogh thes be yet weil accepted of God. Oh! that He withhold not the blessing. 3. We prayd for poor Kinloss, and setling a ministri in that place, and that our souls might see Him there, and His nam and sanctuarie sett up, and a blest successful ministri raisd up in that place; and when He had don this, we would mention Dyk and Forres, and the places about: for sometymes the fleec is dri, and the floor weet, and sometym the fleec is weet, and the floor drie. Oh! that He would visit and water the ministers, and ther labours on the peoples also. At supper we spok off Frie Will, and I said they that wil have a part in Fre wil may quit their part in Free grace. I might give a man libertie to goe an errand; if he mak himself drunk and unabl, he retains his liberti: I have not taken it from him, but may requir obedience; and yet the drunken wretch has lost abilitie. b 17.-L. Grang cam to me ere I rose. directing them to choos Mr. H. Forbes. He acknowledged the Lord in He spok to me anent himself and his counts and affairs. . . . Knockoudie cam heer, and the L. Duffus, who Kinloss was not erected into a separate parish until October. 1657. The old Abbey Church continued to be used as a place of worship till the stones were sold to the English, in 1651, for building the Citadel at Inverness. b Alexander Dunbar of Grange, who was served heir to his father Thomas, December T 20, 1631. (Inquis. Retor., Elgin and Moray, no. 55.) He died before October 8, 1656, at which date his son Thomas was served his heir. (Ibid., no. 109.) • Alexander Sutherland of Duffus, who was created a peer with the title of Lord Duffus, December 8, 1650. (Douglas's Peerage, vol. i., p. 446.) prest me with a voyage to London. Yet since E. Lothian is there for my own particular, it yet appeirs safest to me not to move withal, that which concerns my sister's sone is lyk to fall in another way. Therfor I desire to be freed from this employment as that which may prove a snare and temptation to me. . . . I reaceavd letters from the Lord Lorn to com to Inverari. This I laid up in my thoghts, and desird to spread them before the Lord, and was troubld anent sending one with Mr. Hari to Inverness. b 23. I found exceptions rysing in my hart against the under the seeds, and risings of presumption, contempt, pryd, self conceit. I wryt; but my hart smot me for my writing. . . The tutour came. Pa. Campbel's importuniti movd me to pray even when I was doubtful. I besoght the Lord for us then present, for our souls condition, for our meeting and affairs, and for the person and famili we met for, and that our labour might be someway to the honour of God and the good of his Church. I sought an honest, upright heart, and not to be guided by witt, but by his word. I was in perplexiti anent the Lord Lorn's desire. But considering that he had not detained or turnd back the Tutour, notwithstanding our wryting, 2. That the Marquis had not wryten to me, 3. That I had such disconradgment from the Erl, I desird to trie and search if thes did not som way loos and exoner me from that undertaking. I read Balaam's offer of preferment, and besoght the Lord to keep me from that bait. . . . I held up this voyage, and laid forth my confusions befor him, that I be not as Balaam in his voyage, to gue when the Lord forbids. 24.-I conferd with the Tutour, and found him inclining to draw the compts to Ila or Kosneith. I saw and heard of the rysing of jealousies, and that ther was some unsoundness, and besoght the Lord not for witt but grace. Alexander Wilson cam heer. I heard an uncertain report of my Ladie William Ker, third Earl of Lothian, a zealous Covenanter, whose daughter, Lady Mary, was afterwards married to Brodie's only son and heir, James. (Douglas's Peerage, vol. ii., pp. 137, 138.) b Short-hand in MS. The words in short-hand evidently refer to the family of the Marquis of Argyle, and probably to some family disputes afterwards alluded to. |