I have only seen two of his many pathetick sermons, which are very extensive upon the sufferings of Christ from Isa. liii. 11. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied, &c—The reader will find them in a small collection of sermons lately published.
The Life of Mr. James Renwick.
Mr. James Renwick was born in the parish of Glencairn in Nithsdale, Feb. 15, 1662. His parents though not rich, yet were exemplary for piety. His father Andrew Renwick (a weaver to trade) and his mother Elizabeth Corsan, had several children before Mr. James, who died young; for which when his mother was pouring forth her motherly grief, her husband used to comfort her with declaring, that he was well satisfied to have children, whether they lived or died, young or old, providing they might be heirs of glory. But with this she could not attain to be satisfied, but had it for her exercise to seek a child from the Lord, that might not only be an heir of glory, but might live to serve him in his generation: whereupon when Mr James was born, she took it as an answer of prayer, and reputed herself under manifold engagements to dedicate him to the Lord, who satisfied her with very early evidences of his accepting that return of his own gift, and confirmed the same with very remarkable appearances of his gracious dealings with the child. For, by the time he was two years of age, he was observed to be aiming at prayer even in the cradle and about it, wherewith his mother conceived such expectations and hopes, that the Lord would be with him, and do good by him, &c. so that all the reproaches he sustained, difficulties and dangers that afterwards he underwent, to his dying day, never moved her in the least, from the confidence that the Lord would carry him through, and off the stage in some honourable way for his own glory. His father also, before his death, (which was Feb. 1, 1679.) obtained the same persuasion, that his time in the world would be but short, but that the Lord would make some eminent use of him.
After he had learned to read the Bible, about 6 years old, the Lord gave him some sproutings of gracious preparations, training him in his way, exercising him with doubts and debates above childish apprehension, about the Maker of all things, how all things were made, and for what end; and with strange suppositions of so many invisible worlds above and beneath, with which he was transported into a train of musing, and continued in this exercise for about the space of two years, until he, by prayer and meditation on the history of the creation, came to a thorough belief that God made all things, and that all which he made was very good. And yet after he came to more maturity, he relapsed to a deeper labyrinth of darkness about these foundation truths, and was so assaulted with temptations of atheism, that being in the fields and looking to the mountains, he said, "If these were all devouring furnaces of burning brimstone, he would be content to go through them all, if so be he could be assured there was a God." Out of which he emerged through grace into the sweet serenity of a settled persuasion of the being of a God, and of his interest in him.
From his younger years he made much conscience of obeying his parents, whose order (if they had spoken of putting him to any trade) he would no way decline, yet his inclination was constant for his book, until providence propitiously furnished him with means of greater proficiency at Edinburgh, by many, who were so enamoured of his hopeful disposition, that they earnestly promoted his education; and when he was ready for the university, they encouraged him in attending gentlemen's sons for the improvement of their studies and his own both; which consorting of youths, as it is usually accompanied with various temptations to youthful vanity, so it inticed him, with others, to spend too much of his time in gaming and recreations. Then it was, for no other part of his time can be instanced, when some, who knew him not (for these were only his traducers), took occasion from this extravagance, to reproach him with profanity and flagitiousness, which his nature ever abhorred, and disdained the very suspicion thereof. When his time at the college drew near an end, he demonstrated such a tenderness of offending God, &c. that, upon his refusal of the oath of allegiance then tendered, he was denied his share of the public solemnity of laureation with the rest of the candidates; but received it privately at Edinburgh. After which he continued his studies, attending on the then private and persecuted meetings for gospel-ordinances for a time.
But upon a deplorable discovery of the unfaithfulness of the generality, even of non-conformist ministers, he was again for some time plunged in the deeps of darkness; doubting what should be the end of such backsliding courses, until, upon a more inquisitive search after such ministers as were freest from these defections, he found more light, and his knowledge of the iniquity of these courses was augmented and his zeal increased. And being more confirmed, when he beheld how signally the faithful ministers were owned of the Lord, and carried off the stage with great stedfastness, faith and patience, especially after the death of that faithful minister and martyr, Mr. Donald Cargil (at whose execution he was present July 27, 1681.), he was so commoved, that he determined to embark with these witnesses in that cause for which they suffered: and he was afterward so strengthened and established in that resolution, getting instruction about these things in and from the word, so sealed with a strong hand upon his soul, that all the temptations, tribulations, oppositions and contradictions he met with from all hands to the day of his death, could never shake his mind to the least doubt concerning them.
Accordingly in this persuasion, upon grounds of scripture and reason, &c. in Oct. 1681, he came to a meeting with some of these faithful witnesses of Christ, and conferring about the testimonies of some other martyrs lately executed (which he was very earnest always to gather and keep on record), he refreshed them greatly by a discourse shewing how much he was grieved and offended with those who heard the curates, pleaded for cess-paying, and defended the owning of the tyrant's authority, &c. and how sad it was to him that none were giving a formal testimony against these things; and in the end, added, "That he would think it a great ease to his mind, to know and be engaged with a remnant that would singly prosecute and propagate the testimony against the corruptions of the times to the succeeding generations, and would desire nothing more than to be helped to be serviceable to them."
At his very first coming amongst them, he could not but be taken notice of; for, while some were speaking of removing of the bodies of the martyrs lately executed at the Gallowlee, Mr. Renwick was very forward to promote it, and active to assist therein, and when the serious and sincere seekers of God who were interspersed up and down the land, and adhered to the testimony, as Messrs. Cameron and Cargil left it, towards the end of that year 1681, began to settle a correspondence in general, for preserving union, understanding one another's minds, and preventing declensions to right or left hand extremes. In the first of which (the duke of York holding a parliament at Edinburgh), they agreed upon emitting that declaration published at Lanerk Jan. 12, 1682, wherein Mr. Renwick was employed proclaiming it, but had no hand in the penning thereof, otherwise it might have been more considerately worded than what it was; for, though he approved of the matter of it, yet he always acknowledged there were some expressions therein somewhat unadvised.