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

ROBERT LEIGHTON, D.D,

ARCHBISHOP OF GLASGO W.

TH

HIS truly good and great Man was the eldest son of Alexander Leighton, a Scotfman, D.D. who wrote two books for which he was called in question; the first was entitled, The Looking-glafs of Holy War,' for which he was made to fuffer. But the book that chiefly brought upon him the wrath of bishop Laud, and the high commiffion 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 flit, and fuffered a cruel imprisonment the space of eleven years.

Robert, the fubject of this memoir, had remarkable difpofitions of ferioufnefs from his youth. His father fent him to have his education in Scotland, where he made confiderable proficiency in the learned languages, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, above his fellow ftudents: For Burnet fays, He had the greatest command of the purest Latin that ever he knew in any man.' His "Prælectionés Theologie" are a full confirmation of this teftimony. He had fo great a quickness of parts and vivacity of apprekenfion, that he made very great progrefs in his philofophical and theological works. But that which excelled all the reft was, fays Burnet, he was poffeft with the higheft and nobleft sense of divine things that could be feen in any man. He had a contempt both of wealth and reputation, and feemed to have the loweft thoughts of himself poffible, wishing that all others fhould think as meanly of him as he did himself, He bore all forts of ill

ufage

ufage and reproach like a man that took pleasure in it. He had fo fubdued the natural heat of his temper, that there was feldom feen in him any fign of paffion; and he kept himself in fuch a conftant recollection, that he was never or feldom guilty of fpeaking an idle word. There was a visible tendency in all he faid, to raise his own mind, and all he converfed with to ferious reflexions. He seemed to be in a perpetual meditation; and though the whole courfe of his life was ftrict and afcetical, yet he had nothing of the fournefs of temper that generally poffeffes men of that fort. He was the freeft from fuperftition, from cenfuring others, or of impofing his own methods on them, poffible; fo that he did not fo much as recommend them to others. He faid, there was a diverfity 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 furprizing, yet juft and genuine. And he had laid together in his memory the greatest treasure of the beft and wifeft of all the antient fayings of the heathens, as well as chriftians, that I have ever known any man mafter of, and he used them in the apteft manner poffible,

He was bred up in the greateft averfion to the whole frame of the church of England: His father was warm and violent in his opinions of church government: But grace fubdued, if not rooted up, all undue bigotry to thofe outward circumftances in the fon. When he had finifhed his academical ftudies in Scotland, his father fent him to travel in foreign parts; he fpent fome years in France, and fpoke 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 miniftry, to the great approbation of his judges, he got pres byterian ordination. He was ordained minifter at Newbattle, in the prefbytery of Dalkeith, fix miles from Edinburgh. His preaching had a fublimity of thought and expreffion. The grace and gravity of his pronunciation was fuch, that few heard him without a fenfible emotion. Burnet fays, I am fure I never did; his ftyle was rather too fine: But there was a majefty and beauty in it that left fo deep an impreffion, that I cannot yet forget the fermons I heard him preach thirty years ago; and yet with this he seemed to look on himself as fo ordinary a preacher, that while he had a cure he was ready to employ all others." He did not punctually attend the prefbtery, but chufed 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 confiftent with human nature; But his own practice, fays Burnet, did even outfhine his doctrine.'

In the year 1648 he declared himself for the engagement for the king, which brought him to no fmall trouble; but the earl of Lothian, who lived in his parish, had fo high an esteem for him, that he prevailed with the leading men not to meddle with him, though he gave occafion to great exception: For when fome of his parifh were ordered to make public profeffion 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 injuftice 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 queftion afked of the brethren, both in the claffical and provincial meetings of minifters, twice in the year, if they preached the duties of the times? And when it was found that Mr. Leighton did not, he was cenfured for this omiffion, but faid, "If all the brethren have preached to the times, may not one poor brother be suffered to preach on eternity?" At laft, when he could not do the things impofed upon him any longer, and being unwilling to live in ftrife and contention, he chofe in a filent manner to withdraw from his charge and the ecclefiaftical courts, rather than engage in any difputes with them. The mastership of the college of Edinburgh fometime after falling vacant, and it being in the gift of the magiftrates 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 poft, and was a great bleffing in it; for he difcourfed to all the youth of any capacity or diftinétion 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 where 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 higheft reputation (fays 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 excurfions, and came often to London, where he obferved all the eminent men in Cromwell's court, and in the feveral parties then about the city, but

6

never faw any thing among them that pleafed him; they were of unquiet and meddling tempers, and their difcourfes were dry and unfavory, full of airy cant and bombaft fwellings. Mr. Wodrow gives the following character of him: By many he was judged void of any doctrinal principles, and his close correfpondence with fome of his relations at Doway in popish orders, made him fufpected, as very much indifferent to all perfuafions which bear the name of chriftian, and was much taken with fome of the popish myftic writers, and indeed a Latitudinarian, and of an over extenfive charity.' I doubt not but his opinion was, that the government of the church was ambulatory, and not fixed in the holy fcriptures; which was alfo the opinion of fome great divines in England, Hooker, Stilling fleet, and others: But as to the articles of the christian faith, any who have read his Prælectiones Theologica, his Commentary on the first Epiftle of Peter, and his other books, will be perfuaded that he was both found in the faith, and strong in the faith.

Bishop Burnet opens up the correfpondence which he had with Flanders, and which was the occafion of his being fufpected. He fays, That Leighton fometimes went over to Flanders, to fee what he could find in the feveral orders of the church of Rome. There he found fome of Janfenius's followers, who feemed to be men of extraordinary tempers, and studied to bring things, if poffible, to the purity and fimplicity of the primitive ages, on all which his thoughts were much fixed.' Shortly after the restoration of K. Charles II. it was propofed to him, that an alteration of the government of the church of Scotland fhould be made. The earl of Clarendon and the duke of Ormond of the English peers, and the earls of Middleton and Glencairn of the Scotifh 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 fetting up epifcopacy, and demanding their advice upon it. The council in their letter to the king, encouraged him to go on, affuring him that the change he intended would give general fatisfaction. This was not true in fact. Then the next work was, to feek out proper perfons 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 bifhops had an averfion 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, VOL. III.

Rrr

and

and was so much confided in by the church of Scotland as to be their agent for prefbytery, he being fent by them to the king, firft in Holland, and afterward at London, betrayed their caufe, and prevailed fo far, that the choice of fit perfons fhould be left to him. Meff. Sharp, Fairfowl and Hamilton were fent for, who went up to England, October 10th, 1661. Leighton came to London from Bath, having been there fometime for his health. Sharp got the archbishoprick of St. Andrews fecured for himfelf, Fairfowl was defired to be archbishop of Glasgow, Hamilton (brother to the lord Belhaven) for Galloway, for Sydferf was to be removed to Orkney: And Leighton made choice of Dumblane, a fmall diocefe, as well as a little revenue, not exceeding one hundred and twenty pounds per annum; but the deanry of the chapel royal was annexed to that fee.

At the confecration of thefe perfons there was great feafting; with this Leighton was ftruck, and faid, "It had not fuch an appearance of seriousness or piety as became the new modelling of a church." Bishop Burnet proceeds in his narration: I bear still, fays he, the greatest veneration for the memory of that man, that I do for any perfon; and reckon my early knowledge of him, which happened the year after this, and my long and intimate converfation with him, that continued to his death, for twenty-three years, amongst the greatest bleffings 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 feem a blemish upon him, I would not conceal it, being refolved to write of all persons and things with all poffible candor. The papifts had hopes of him at this time, having talked of fome points of popery with the freedom of an abftracted and fpeculative man, not knowing any thing of the defign of bringing in popery; yet he expreffed another fenfe of the matter, when he came to fee, it was really intended to be brought in amongst us. He then spoke of popery in the complex at much another rate: And he feemed to have more zeal against it, than I thought was in his nature with relation to any points in controverfy; for his abftraction made him feem cold in all these matters. But he gave all who converfed with him a very different view of popery, when he faw we were really in danger of coming under the power of a religion, "That had, as he used to fay, much of the wisdom that was earthly, fenfual and devilish, but

nothing