The Life and Times of John Livingston [pp. 428-450]

The Life and Tinme9 oje
kirk, I resolved to choose a new text, and having but little
time, wrote only some notes of the heads I was to deliver,
yet I found at that time more assistance in the enlarging of
these points, and more motion in my own heart, than ever I
had found before; and after that I never wrote all at length,
but only notes."
In the year 1626, hle was invited into Galloway, where he
preached for some time, and received a joint call from the
Presbytery of Linlithgow, and the parish of Torpiclhen to be come pastor at the latter place. Iere he would have been or dained, had it not been for Bishop Spottswnood, vlwho inter posed his veto, on account of Mr. Livingston's inon-conf)rmi ty. Accordingly, in autuiin of 1627, he departed, having
found, says he, "I the two or three last Sabbaths I preached
there, the sweetest Sabbaths, although sorrowful, that I had
seen in thatplace." From this time until his visit to Ireland
in 1630, he spent his time between his father's house, and the
house of the Earl of Wigtoun: preaching, as occasion offered,
at Lanerk, Irvine, "the Shots" and other places.
Much has been said of a noted sermon of Mr. Livingston
at the "Kirk of Shots." In noticing it, weve have no desire to
represent the instrumentality then used, as having any such
efficiency (even by congruity) as would lead to the supposition that if wve could preach just as Mlr. Livingston then
preached, we should witness the same results. We are not
among the number of those who make apparent success a criterion of doctrine, nor d(o we limit the Holy One of Israel to
any specific methods of operation: yet as we find ourselves
charged with enmity to revivals of religion, and to the simutltaneous conversion of multitudes, and as this our alleged enmnity to every good word and work is fuirthermore charged as
coming by lineal descent from our paternal creed, and unavoidably connected with our peculiarities of faith, we take our
position of defence behind a line of facts. We deny the validity of the argument firoom supposed conversions to the truth
of a system, we have ever denied it; it is not we who have
fled to any such methods of ratiocination; but ex con Js.so the
argument is good when retorted upon its originators, and we
claim the right of so using it as to silence the battery of our
' otherwise minded" brethren, while wve rest the defence of
the truth upon a " more sure word of prophecy."
"The parish of Shots (we quote Mr. Livingston's words) bor
434