Part 26 (1/2)
Upon the fourth of July following (being 18 days before his death), he preached at the Gra.s.s-water-side near c.u.mnock. In his preface that day, he said, ”There are three or four things I have to tell you this day, which I must not omit, because I will be but a breakfast or four-hours to the enemy, some day or other shortly; and then my work and my time will be finished both. And the first is this, As for king Charles II.
who is now upon the throne of Britain, after him there shall not be a crowned king of the name of Stuart in Scotland[173]. _2dly_, There shall not be an old covenanter's head above ground that swore these covenants with uplifted hands, ere ye get a right reformation set up in Scotland.
_3dly_, A man shall ride a day's journey in the s.h.i.+res of Galloway, Ayr, and Clydesdale, and not see a reeking house nor hear a c.o.c.k crow, ere ye get a right reformation, and several other s.h.i.+res shall be little better. And _4thly_, The rod that the Lord will make instrumental in this, will be the French and other foreigners, together with a party in this land joining them: but ye that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number, for when Christ comes to raise up his own work in Scotland, he will not want men enough to work for him, &c.”
In the week following, he preached in the parish of Carluke, upon these words Isa. xl. 24. _Shall the prey be taken from the mighty?_ &c. And the Sabbath following, at Hind-Bottom near Crawford-John, he preached on these words, _You will not come to me that you may have life._ In the time of which sermon he fell a-weeping, and the greater part of the mult.i.tude also, so that few dry cheeks were to be seen among them. After this, unto the death of his death, he mostly kept his chamber door shut until night; for the mistress of the house where he stayed, having been several times at the door, got no access. At last she forced it up, and found him very melancholy. She earnestly desired to know how it was with him. He said, That weary promise I gave to these ministers has lain heavy upon me, and for which my carcase shall dung the wilderness, and that ere it be long. Being now near his end, he had such a large earnest of the Spirit, which made him have such a longing desire for full possession of the heavenly inheritance, that he seldom prayed in a family, asked a blessing or gave thanks, but he requested patience to wait until the Lord's appointed time came.
His last-sabbath[174] he preached (with Mr. Cargil in Clydesdale) on Psal. xlvi. 10. _Be still and know that I am G.o.d_, &c. That day he said, He was sure that the Lord would lift up a standard against Antichrist, that would go to the gates of Rome and burn it with fire, and that blood should be their sign, and _no quarter_ their word; and earnestly wished that it might begin in Scotland. At their parting, they concluded to meet the second Sabbath after this at Craigmead.--But he was killed on the Thursday thereafter. And the Sabbath following, Mr. Cargil preached in the parish of the Shots upon that text, _Know ye not that there is a great man and prince fallen this day in Israel?_
The last night of his life, he was in the house of William Mitchel in Meadow-head, at the water of Ayr, where about 23 horse and 40 foot had continued with him that week. That morning a woman gave him water to wash his face and hands; and having washed and dried them with a towel, he looked to his hands, and laid them on his face, saying, This is their last was.h.i.+ng, I have need to make them clean, for there are many to see them. At this the woman's mother wept. He said, Weep not for me, but for yourself and yours, and for the sins of a sinful land, for ye have many melancholy, sorrowful and weary days before you.
The people who remained with him were in some hesitation, whether they should abide together for their own defence, or disperse and s.h.i.+ft for themselves. But that day, being the 22d of July, they were surprised by Bruce of Earls-hall; who, having got command of Airely's troop and Strahan's dragoons (upon notice given him by Sir John Cochran of Ochiltree[175]) came furiously upon them about four o'clock in the afternoon, when lying on the east end of Airs-moss. When they saw the enemy approaching, and no possibility of escaping, they all gathered round about him, while he prayed a short word; wherein he repeated this expression thrice over, Lord, spare the green and take the ripe. When ended, he said to his brother with great intrepidity, Come, let us fight it out to the last; for this is the day that I have longed for, and the day that I have prayed for, to die fighting against our Lord's avowed enemies: this is the day that we will get the crown.--And to the rest he said, Be encouraged all of you to fight it out valiantly, for all of you that shall fall this day, I see heaven's gates open to receive you.
But the enemy approaching, they immediately drew up eight horse with him on the right, the rest, with valiant Hackston, on the left, and the foot in the middle; where they all behaved with much bravery until overpowered by a superior number. At last Hackston was taken prisoner (as will afterwards be more fully narrated) and Mr. Cameron was killed on the spot, and his head and hands cut off by one Murray, and taken to Edinburgh. His father being in prison for the same cause, they carried them to him (to add grief unto his former sorrow), and inquired at him, if he knew them. He took his son's hands and head, which were very fair, being a man of a fair complexion with his own hair, and kissed them, and said, ”I know, I know them; they are my son's, my own dear son's; it is the Lord, good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all our days.” After which, by order of the council, his head was fixed upon the Nether-bow port, and his hands beside it, with the fingers upward.
Thus this valiant soldier and minister of Jesus Christ came to his end, after he had been not only highly instrumental in turning many souls unto G.o.d, but also in lifting up a faithful standard for his royal Lord and Master, against all his enemies, and the defections and sinful compliances of that time. One of his and Christ's declared enemies, when he took out his head at Edinburgh, gave him this testimony, saying, ”There the head and hands of a man who lived praying and preaching, and died praying and fighting.” And wherever the faithful contendings of the once famous covenanted church of Scotland are honourably made mention of, this, to his honour, shall be recorded of him.
When he was slain, there was found upon him a short paper, or bond of mutual defence, which the reader will find inserted in Wodrow's history, and in the appendix to the cloud of witnesses. There are also some few of his letters now published with Mr. Renwick's collection of letters, but the only sermon of his that appeared in print formerly, is that preached at Carluke, int.i.tled, Good news to Scotland, published _anno_ 1733. He wrote also in defence of the Sanquhar declaration, but we can give no account of it ever being published. Some more of his sermons were lately published.
_An ACROSTIC on his Name._
Most n.o.ble Cameron of renown, A fame of thee shall ne'er go down; Since truth with zeal thou didst pursue, To Zion's king loyal and true.
Ev'n when the dragon spil'd his flood, Resist thou didst unto the blood:
Ran swiftly in thy Christian race, In faith and patience to that place Christ did prepare to such as thee, He knew would not his standard flee.
A pattern of valour and zeal, Rather to suffer than to fail; Didst shew thyself with might and main,
Counting that dross others thought gain; A faithful witness 'gainst all those, Men of all sorts did truth oppose; Even thou with Moses didst esteem Reproaches for the G.o.d of heaven: On him alone thou didst rely, Not sparing for his cause to die.
_The Life of DAVID HACKSTON of Rathillet._
David Hackston of Rathillet, in the s.h.i.+re of Fife, is said in his younger years to have been without the least sense of any thing religious, until it pleased the Lord, in his infinite goodness, to incline him to go out and attend the gospel then preached in the fields, where he was caught in the gospel net, and became such a true convert, that after a most mature deliberation upon the controverted points of the principles of religion in that period, he at last embarked himself in that n.o.ble cause (for which he afterward suffered), with a full resolution to stand and fall with the despised persecuted people, cause and interest of Jesus Christ.
There is no account of any public appearance that this worthy gentleman made, amongst that party, until the 3d of May 1679, that we find him, with other eight gentlemen, who were in quest of one Carmichael, who, by means of the arch-bishop, had got commission to harra.s.s and persecute all he could find (in the s.h.i.+re of Fife) for non-conformity; but not finding him, when they were ready to drop the search, they providentially met with their arch-enemy himself. Whenever they descried his coach, one of them said, It seems that the Lord hath delivered him into our hand; and proposed that they should choose one for their leader, whose orders the rest were to obey. Upon which they chose David Hackston for their commander; but he absolutely refused, upon account of a difference subsisting betwixt Sharp and him in a civil process, wherein he judged himself to have been wronged by the primate; which deed he thought would give the world ground to think, it was rather out of personal pique and revenge, which he professed he was free of. They then chose another, and came up with the coach; and having got the bishop out, and given him some wounds, he fell on the ground. They ordered him to pray, but, instead of that, seeing Rathillet at some distance, (having never alighted from his horse), he crept towards him on his hands and his feet, and said, Sir, I know you are a gentleman, you will protect me.--To which he answered, I shall never lay a hand on you. At last he was killed; after which every one judged of the action as their inclinations moved them. However, the deed was wholly charged upon him (and his brother-in-law, Balfour of Kinloch) although he had no active hand in this action.
About the latter end of the same month of May, that he might not be found wanting to the Lord's cause, interest and people, upon any emergent or occasion, he, with some friends from Fife, joined that suffering handful of the covenanters at Evandale, where, after he and Mr. Hamilton, &c. had drawn up that declaration (afterward called the Rutherglen declaration), he and Mr. Douglas went to the market cross of Rutherglen, and upon the anniversary day the 29 of May, where they extinguished the bonefire, and published the said testimony. They returned back to Evandale, where they were attacked by Claverhouse, upon the first of June near Drumclog. Here Mr. Hackston was appointed one of the commanding officers (under Mr. Hamilton who commanded in chief), where he behaved with much valour and gallantry during that skirmish.--After which he was a very useful instrument among that faithful remnant (as witness his repeated protests against the corrupt and Erastian party), and had an active hand in the most part of the public transactions among them, until that fatal day the 22d of June, where he and his troop of horse were the last upon the field of battle at Bothwel-bridge[176].
But, this worthy and religious gentleman, being now declared a rebel to the king (though no rebel to Zion's king), and a proclamation issued out, wherein was a reward offered of 10,000 merks to any who could inform of or apprehend him, or any of those concerned in the death of the arch-bishop of St. Andrews. Upon this and the proclamation after Bothwel, he was obliged to retire out of the way for about a year's s.p.a.ce. In which time he did not neglect to attend the gospel in the fields, where-ever he could have it faithfully dispensed. But this pious gentleman, having run fast and done much in a little time, it could not be expected he should continue long, and upon the 22d of July 1680, having been with that little party a few days, who attended Mr.
Richard Cameron at Airs-moss, they were surprized by Bruce of Earls-hall, Airly's troop and Strahan's dragoons.
Here, being commander in chief of that little band, and seeing the enemy approaching fast, he rode off to seek some strength of ground for their better advantage, and the rest followed; but seeing they could go no further, they turned back, and drew up quickly. Eight horse on the right, and fifteen on the left; and the foot who were but ill armed in the middle. He then asked, If they were all willing to fight? They all answered, They were. Both armies advanced, and a strong party of the enemies horse coming hard upon them, their horse fired, killed and wounded severals of them, both horse and foot; after which they advanced to the enemies very faces, when, after giving and receiving fire, valiant Hackston being in the front, finding the horse behind him broke, rode in among them, and out at a side, without any damage; but being a.s.saulted by severals with whom he fought a long time, they following him and he them by turns, until he stuck in a bog, and the foremost of them, one Ramsay, one of his acquaintance, who followed him in, and they being on foot, fought with small swords, without much advantage on either side. But at length closing, he was struck down by three on horseback behind him; and falling after he had received three sore wounds on the head, they saved his life, which he submitted to. He was, with the rest of the prisoners, carried to the rear, where they gave them all a testimony[177] of brave resolute men. After this he was brought to Douglas, and from thence to Lanerk, where Dalziel threatened to roast him for not satisfying him with answers. After which he and other three prisoners were taken to Edinburgh, where, by order of the council, they were received by the magistrates at the water-gate, and he set on a horse's bare back, with his face backward, and the other three laid on a goad of iron, and carried up the street (and Mr.
Cameron's head on a halbert before them) to the parliament closs, where he was taken down, and the rest loosed by the hand of the hangman.
He was immediately brought before the council, where his indictment was read by the chancellor, and he examined, which examination and answers thereunto being elsewhere[178] inserted at large, it may suffice here to observe, that being asked, if he thought the bishop's death murder? he told them, That he was not obliged to answer such questions; yet he would not call it so, but rather say, it was not murder. Being further asked, If he owned the king's authority, he replied, ”That though he was not obliged to answer, yet as he was permitted to speak, he would say something to that; and _1st_, That there could be no lawful authority but what was of G.o.d, and that no authority stated in a direct opposition to G.o.d could be of G.o.d, and that he knew of no authority nor justiciary this day in these nations, but what were in a direct opposition to G.o.d, and so could neither be of G.o.d nor lawful, and that their fruits were kything it, in that they were letting murderers, sorcerers, and such others at liberty from justice, and employing them in their service, and made it their whole work to oppress, kill and destroy the Lord's people.” Bishop Paterson asked, ”If ever Pilate and that judicature, who were direct enemies to Christ, were disowned by him as judges?” He said, ”He would answer no perjured prelate in the nation.” Paterson replied, ”He could not be called perjured, since he never took that sacrilegious covenant.” Mr. Hackston said, ”That G.o.d would own that covenant, when none of them were to oppose it, &c.” Notwithstanding these bold, free, and open answers, they threatened him with torture, but this he no-wise regarded.
Upon the 26th, he was again brought before the council, where he answered much to the same purpose as before. The chancellor said, He was a vicious man. He answered, That while he was so, he had been acceptable to him, but now when otherwise it was not so. He asked him, If he would yet own that cause with his blood, if at liberty?--He answered, That both their fathers had owned it with the hazard of their blood before him. Then he was called by all a murderer.--He answered, G.o.d should decide it betwixt them, to whom he referred it, who were most murderers in his sight, him or them. Bishop Paterson's brother, in conference, told him, That the whole council found that he was a man of great parts, and also of good birth. He said, That for his birth, he was related to the best of the kingdom, which he thought little of, and as for his parts, they were very small; yet he trusted so much to the goodness of that cause for which he was a prisoner, that if they would give G.o.d that justice, as to let his cause be disputed, he doubted not to plead it against all that speak against it.