Accordingly, upon the 18th of Jan. he was taken to the grass-market of Edinburgh, and the sentence put in execution. In the morning he delivered some copies of what he had to say, if permitted, at his death; but not having liberty to deliver this part of his vindicatory speech to the people, he threw it over the scaffold, the substance of which was as follows.
"Christian people,
"It being rumoured abroad, immediately after I received my sentence, that I would not have liberty to speak in this place, I have not troubled myself to prepare any formal discourse, on account of the pretended crime for which I am accused and sentenced; neither did I think it very necessary, the same of the process having gone so much abroad, what by a former indictment given me near four years ago, the diet of which was suffered to desert, in respect the late advocate could not find a just way to reach me with the extra-judicial confession they opponed to me; all knew he was zealous in it, yet my charity to him is such, that he would not suffer that unwarrantable zeal so far to blind him, as to overstretch the laws of the land beyond their due limits, in prejudice of the life of a native subject; next by an extreme inquiry of torture, and then by exiling me to the bass; and then, after all by giving me a new indictment at the instance of the new advocate, who, before, was one of mine, when I received the first indictment; to which new indictment and debate in the process, I refer you; and particularly to these two defences of an extra-judicial confession, and the promise of life given to me by the chancellor, upon his own and the public faith of the kingdom; upon the verity thereof I am content to die, and ready to lay down my life, and hope your charity to me a dying man will be such as not to mistrust me therein; especially since it is notoriously adminiculate by an act of secret council, and yet denied upon oath by the principal officers of state present in council at the making of said act, and whom the act bears to have been present: the duke of Lauderdale, being then his majesty's commissioner, was likewise present;——and which act of council was, by the lords of justiciary, most unjustly repelled, &c. Thus much for a short account of the affair for which I am unjustly brought to this place; but I acknowledge my private and particular sins have been such as have deserved a worse death to me; but I hope in the merits of Jesus Christ to be freed from the eternal punishment due to me for sin. I am confident that God doth not plead with me in this place, for my private and particular sins, but I am brought here that the work of God may be made manifest, and for the trial of faith, John ix. 3, 1 Pet. i. 7. That I might be a witness for his despised truths and interest in this land, where I am called to seal the same with my blood; and I wish heartily that this my poor life may put an end to the persecution of the true members of Christ in this place, so much actuated by these perfidious prelates, in opposition to whom, and testimony to the cause of Christ, I at this time lay down my life, and bless God that he hath thought me so much worthy as to do the same, for his glory and interest. Finally, Concerning a christian duty, in a singular and extraordinary case, and anent my particular judgment, concerning both church and state, it is evidently declared and manifested elsewhere. Farewell all earthly enjoyments, and welcome Father, Son and Holy Ghost, into whose hands I commit my spirit.
JAMES MITCHEL."
Here we have heard the end of the zealous and faithful Mr. James Mitchel, who, beyond all doubt, was a most pious man, notwithstanding all the foul aspersions that have been, or will be cast upon him (not only by malignant prelates, but even by the high fliers, or more corrupted part of the presbyterian persuasion) namely, on account of his firing at bishop Sharp; which, they think, is enough to explode, affront or bespatter all the faithful contendings of the true reformed and covenanted church of Scotland. But in this Mr. Mitchel stands in need of little or no vindication; for by this time the reader may perceive, that he looked upon himself as in a state of war, and that, as Sharp was doubtless one of the chief instigators of the tyranny, bloodshed and oppression in that dismal period, he therefore, no doubt, thought he had a right to take every opportunity of cutting him off, especially as all the ways of common justice were blocked up; yet all this opens no door for every private person, at their own hand, to execute justice on an open offender, where there is access to a lawful magistrate appointed for that end. Yea what he himself saith anent this affair, in a letter dated Feb. 1674. may be sufficient to stop the mouths of all that have or may oppose the same, a few words of which may be subjoined to this narrative; where, after he has resumed what passed betwixt him and the chancellor, he says, that as to his design against Sharp, "He looked up him to be the main instigator of all the oppression and bloodshed of his brethren, that followed thereupon, and of the continual pursuing of his life; and he being a soldier, not having laid down arms, but being still upon his own defence, and having no other end or quarrel at any man but what (according to his apprehension of him) may be understood by the many thousands of the faithful, besides the prosecution of the ends of the same covenant, which was and is in that point, the overthrow of prelates and prelacy, and he being a declared enemy to him on that account, and he to him in like manner; and as he was always to take his advantage, as it appeared, so he took of him any opportunity that offered——For," says he, "I, by his instigation, being excluded from all grace and favour, thought it my duty to pursue him at all occasions, &c." And a little farther he instances in Deut. xiii. 19. where the seducer or inticer to a false worship is to be put to death, and that by the hand of the witness, whereof he was one; takes notice of Phinehas, Elijah, &c.; and then observes, that the bishops would say, what they did was by law and authority, but what he did was contrary to both; but he answers, The king himself and all the estates of the land, &c. both were and are obliged by the oath of God upon them, to extirpate the perjured prelates and prelacy, and, in doing thereof, to have defended one another with their lives and fortunes, &c.
The Life of Mr. John Welwood.
Mr. John Welwood, born about the year 1649, was son to Mr. James Welwood, sometime minister at Tindergirth (and brother to Mr. Andrew Welwood and James Welwood doctor of medicine at London). After he had gone through the ordinary courses of learning he entered on the ministry, and afterwards preached in many places, but we do not hear that he was ever settled minister in any parish, it being then a time when all who intended any honesty or faithfulness in testifying against the sins and defections of the times, were thrust out of the church and prosecuted with the greatest extremity. It is said, that he preached some five or six sermons in the parish where his father was minister, which were blessed with more discernible effects of good amongst that people than all the diligent painfulness his father had exercised in the time he was minister of that parish.
And besides his singular piety and faithfulness in preaching, he was a most fervent presser to all the duties of the christian life, particularly to the setting up and keeping of fellowship and society meetings, for prayer and christian conference, which he often frequented himself. One time, among several others, at the new house in Livingston parish, after the night was far spent, he said, Let one pray, and be short that we may win to our apartments before it be light; it was the turn of one who exceeded many in gifts.——But before he ended it was day-light within the house. After prayer he said, James, James, your gifts have the start of your graces: And to the rest he said, Be advised, all of you, not to follow him in all times and in all things, otherwise there will be many ins and many outs in your tract and walk.
Anno 1677, there was an Erastian meeting of the actually indulged and non-indulged, procured by the indulged and their favourites, in order to get unity made and kept up (but rather in reality a conspiracy without any truth, unity or veracity among these backsliders and false prophets).—Mr. Welwood, worthy Mr. Cameron, and another minister were called before this meeting, in order to have them deposed, and their licence taken from them, for their faithfulness in preaching up separation from the actually indulged. But they declined their authority, as being no lawful judicatory of Jesus Christ, whilst thus made up of those who were actually indulged. Some of them went to Mr. Hog, who was then in town, though not at this meeting, for his advice anent them. To whom he said, His name is Welwood, but if ye take that unhappy course to depose them, he will perhaps turn out their Torwood at last.