Scriptures. 1677. XXIII. The Ways and Means of understanding the Mind of GoD in the Scriptures. 1678. XXIV. An humble Testimony to the Goodness and Severity of GOD in his dealing with sinful Churches and Nations. 1681. XXV. The Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer. 1682. XXVI. Meditations on the Glory of Christ in his Person and Offices. Part i. 1684. XXVII. Part ii. 1691. XXVIII. Of the Dominion of Sin and Grace. 1688, XXIX. Two Discourses of the Work of the Spirit. 1693. XXX. Evidences of the Faith of GOD's Elect. 1695."

ROBERT LEIGHTON, D. D.
ARCHBISHOP OF GLASGOW.

THIS truly good and great Man was the eldest son of Alexander Leighton, a Scotsman, D. D. who wrote two books for which he was called in question; the first was entitled,The Looking-glass of Holy War,' for which he was made to suffer. But the book that chiefly brought upon him the wrath of Bishop Laud, and the high commission court, was his Zion's Plea, or Appeal to the Parliament,' for which he was condemned in the Starchamber, to have his ears cut and his nose slit, and suffered a cruel imprisonment for the space of eleven years.

Robert, the subject of this memoir, had remarkable dispositions of seriousness from his youth. His father sent him to have his education in Scotland, where he made considerable proficiency in the learned languages, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, above his fellow students: For Burnet says, He had the greatest command of the purest Latin that ever he knew in any man.' His "Prælectiones Theologica" are a full confirmation of this testimony. He had so great a quickness of parts and vivacity of apprehension, that he made very great progress in his philosophical and theological works. But that which excelled all the rest was, says Burnet, he was possessed with the highest and noblest sense of divine things that could be seen in any man. He had a contempt both of wealth and reputation, and seemed to have the lowest thoughts of himself possible, wishing that all others should think as meanly of him as he did himself. He bore all sorts of ill

usage

usage and reproach like a man that took pleasure in it. He had so subdued the natural heat of his temper, that there was seldom seen in him any sign of passion; and he kept himself in such a constant recollection, that he was never or seldom guilty of speaking an idle word. There was a visible tendency in all he said, to raise his own mind, and all he conversed with to serious reflections. He seemed to be in a perpetual meditation; and though the whole course of his life was strict and ascetical, yet he had nothing of the sourness of temper that generally possesses men of that sort. He was the freest from superstition, from censuring others, or of imposing his own methods on them, possible; so that he did not so much as recommend them to others. He said, there was a diversity of tempers, and every man was to watch over his own, and to turn it in the best manner he could. His thoughts were lively, oft out of the way, and surprizing, yet just and genuine. And he had laid together in his memory the greatest treasure of the best and wisest of all the ancient sayings of the heathens, as well as Christians, that I have ever known any man master of, and he used them in the aptest manner possible.

He was bred up in the greatest aversion to the whole frame of the church of England: His father was warm and violent in his opinions of church-government: But grace subdued, if not rooted up all undue bigotry to those outward circumstances in the son. When he had finished his academical studies in Scotland, his father sent him to travel in foreign parts; he spent some years in France, and spoke the French language like one born there. After his travels he returned to Scotland; and having acquitted himself in all the parts of his trials for the ministry, to the great approbation of his judges, he got presbyterian ordination. He was ordained minister at Newbattle, in the presbytery of Dalkeith, six miles from Edinburgh. His preaching had a sublimity of thought and expression. The grace and gravity of his pronunciation was such, that few heard him without a sensible emotion. Burnet says, 'I am sure I never did; his style was rather too fine: But there was a majesty and beauty in it that left so deep an impression, that I cannot yet forget the sermons I heard him preach thirty years ago; and yet with this he seemed to look on himself as so ordinary a preacher, that while he had a cure he was ready to employ all others.' He did not punctually attend the presbytery, but chused rather to live in great retirement, minding only the care

of

of his own parish. He preached up a more exact rule of life, than seemed to many consistent with human nature : But his own practice, says Burnet, did even outshine his doctrine.'

In the year 1648 he declared himself for the engagement for the king, which brought him to no small trouble; but the Earl of Lothian, who lived in his parish, had so high an esteem for him, that he prevailed with the leading men not to meddle with him, though he gave occasion to great exception: For when some of his parish were ordered to make public profession of repentance, for it, he told them, they had been in an expedition, in which he believed they had neglected their duty to God, and had been guilty of injustice and violence, of drunkenness and other immoralities; and he charged them to repent of these very seriously, without meddling with the quarrel, or the grounds of that war. It was a question asked of the brethren, both in the classical and provincial meetings of ministers, twice in the year, if they preached the duties of the times? And when it was found that Mr. Leighton did not, he was censured for this omission, but said, "If all the brethren have preached to the times, may not one poor brother be suffered to preach on eternity?" At last, when he could not do the things imposed upon him any longer, and being unwilling to live in strife and contention, he chose in a silent manner to withdraw from his charge and the ecclesiastical courts, rather than engage in any disputes with them. The mastership of the College of Edinburgh some time after falling vacant, and it being in the gift of the magistrates and town-council, he was prevailed with to accept of it, because in it he was proposed to be entirely free from meddling with the public affairs of church judicatories: He continued ten years in that post, and was a great blessing in it; for he discoursed to all the youth of any capacity or distinction in such a taking manner, that it had great effect upon many of them: He prelected often to them; and if crowds broke in, which they were apt to do, he would have gone on in his harangue in Latin, with a purity and life that charmed all who understood him. Thus he had lived above twenty years in Scotland, in the highest reputation (says Burnet) that any man in my time ever did in that kingdom.' In the vacation-time, while he was principal of the College, he made excursions, and came often to London, where he observed all the eminent men in Cromwell's court, and in the several parties then about the city, but

never saw any thing among them that pleased him; they were of unquiet and meddling tempers, and their discourses were dry and unsavoury, full of airy cant and bombast swellings. Mr. Wodrow gives the following character of him: By many he was judged void of any doctrinal principles, and his close correspondence with some of his relations at Doway in popish orders, made him suspected, as very much indifferent to all persuasions which bear the name of Christian, and was much taken with some of the popish mystic writers, and indeed a Latitudinarian, and of an over-extensive charity.' I doubt not but his opinion was, that the government of the church was ambulatory, and not fixed in the Holy Scriptures; which was also the opinion of some great divines in England, Hooker, Stillingfleet, and others: But as to the articles of the Christian faith, any who have read his Prælectiones Theologica, his Commentary on the first Epistle of Peter, and his other books, will be persuaded that he was both sound in the faith, and strong in the faith.

Bishop Burnet opens up the correspondence which he had with Flanders, and which was the occasion of his being suspected. He says, That Leighton sometimes went over to Flanders, to see what he could find in the several orders of the church of Rome. There he found some of Jansenius's followers, who seemed to be men of extraordinary tempers, and studied to bring things, if possible, to the purity and simplicity of the primitive ages, on all which his thoughts were much fixed.' Shortly after the restoration of King Charles II. it was proposed to him, that an alteration of the government of the church of Scotland should be made. The Earl of Clarendon and the Duke of Ormond of the English peers, and the Earls of Middleton and Glencairn of the Scottish peers, with Archbishop Sharp, were for the introduction of prelacy. Whereupon a letter was written to the privy council of Scotland, intimating the king's intentions for setting up episcopacy, and demanding their advice upon it. The council in their letter to the king, encouraged him to go on, assuring him that the change he intended would give general satisfaction. This was not true in fact. Then the next work was, to seek out proper persons to be made Bishops; for all the Scotch Bishops before the year 1638 were dead, except Sydserf, who had been Bishop of Galloway. The English Bishops had an aversion to all that had been engaged in the covenant; however, Sharp, who had taken the covenant, nay, the tender also, abjuring the race of Stuarts,

and

and was so much confided in by the Church of Scotland as to be their agent for presbytery, he being sent by them to the king, first in Holland, and afterward at London, betrayed their cause, and prevailed so far, that the choice of fit persons should be left to him. Mess. Sharp, Fairfowl, and Hamilton were sent for, who went up to England, October 30th, 1661. Leighton came to London from Bath, having been there some time for his health. Sharp got the Archbishoprick of St. Andrews secured for himself, Fairfowl was desired to be Archbishop of Glasgow, Hamilton (brother to the Lord Belhaven) for Galloway, for Sydserf was to be removed to Orkney: And Leighton made choice of Dunblane, a small diocese, as well as a little revenue, not exceeding one hundred and twenty pounds per annum; but the deanery of the chapel royal was annexed to that see.

It

At the consecration of these persons there was great feasting; with this Leighton was struck, and said, had not such an appearance of seriousness or piety as became the new modelling of a church." Bishop Burnet proceeds in his narration: I bear still, says he, the greatest veneration for the memory of that man, that I do for any person; and reckon my early knowledge of him, which happened the year after this, and my long and intimate conversation with him, that continued to his death, for twenty-three years, amongst the greatest blessings of my life, and for which I know I must give an account to GOD in the great day in a most particular manner. And yet, though I know this account of his promotion may seem a blemish upon him, I would not conceal it, being resolved to write of all persons and things with all possible candour. The papists had hopes of him at this time, having talked of some points of popery with the freedom of an abstracted and speculative man, not knowing any thing of the design of bringing in popery; yet he expressed another sense of the matter, when he came to see it was really intended to be. brought in amongst us. He then spoke of popery in the complex at much another rate: And he seemed to have more zeal against it, than I thought was in his nature with relation to any points in controversy; for his abstraction made him seem cold in all these matters. But he gave all who conversed with him a very different view of popery, when he saw we were really in danger of coming under the power of a religion, "That had, as he used to say, much of the wisdom that was earthly, sensual and devilish, but

nothing