(6.) Some treasonable expressions he was alledged to have uttered in a meeting in 1650 or 1651.
His indictment being read, he made an excellent speech before the parliament (wherein he both defended himself, and that noble cause for which he suffered), which being too nervous to abridge, and too prolix to insert in this place: The reader will find it elsewhere[108].
After he had delivered this speech, he was ordered to remove. He humbly craved, that some time might be given him to consult with his lawyers. This was granted; and he was allowed till the 29th to give in his defence.—It is affirmed, upon very good authority, that when he met with his lawyers to form his defence, he very much surprized them by his exactness in our Scots laws, and suggested several things to be added that had escaped his advocate, which made Sir John Nisbet express himself to this purpose, "If it had been in the reasoning part, or in consequences from scripture and divinity, I would have wondered the less if he had given us some help, but even in the matter of our own profession, our statutes and acts of parliament, he pointed out several things that had escaped us." And likewise the day before his first appearance in parliament, it is said he sent a copy of the forementioned speech to Sir John and the rest of his lawyers of the reasoning and law part, and they could mend nothing therein.
The advocate's considering his defence, and the giving of it in, took up some weeks, until April the 11th, when the process against him was read in the house, upon which he made a speech affecting and close to the purpose; in which he concludes thus:
"My Lord, in the last place, I humbly beg, that having brought so pregnant and clear evidence from the word of God, so much divine reason and human laws, and so much of the common practice of kirk and kingdom in my defence; and being already cast out of my ministry, out of my dwelling and maintenance; myself and my family put to live on the charity of others; having now suffered eight months imprisonment, your Lordships, would put no other burden upon me. I shall conclude with the words of the prophet Jeremiah, Behold, I am in your hands, saith he, do to me what seemeth good to you: I know, for certain, that the Lord hath commanded me to speak all these things, and that if you put me to death, you shall bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon the inhabitants of this city."
"My Lords, my conscience I cannot submit; but this old crazy body and mortal flesh I do submit, to do with it whatever ye will, whether by death, or banishment, or imprisonment, or any thing else; only I beseech you to ponder well what profit there is in my blood: it is not the extinguishing of me or many others, that will extinguish the covenant and work of reformation since the year 1638. My blood, bondage, or banishment will contribute more for the propagation of these things, than my life or liberty could do, though I should live many years, &c."
And though this speech had not that influence that might have been expected, yet it made such impression upon some of the members that they withdrew, declaring to one another, that they would have nothing to do with the blood of this righteous man. But his judges were determined to proceed, and accordingly his indictment was found relevant. Bp. Burnet[109] says, "The earl of Tweeddale was the only man that moved against putting him to death; he said, Banishment had hitherto been the severest censure laid upon preachers for their opinions,—yet he was condemned to die." The day of his execution was not named till the 28th of May, when the parliament ordered him and William Govan to be hanged at the cross of Edinburgh, on the first of June, and Mr. Guthrie's head to be fixed on the Nether-bow, his estate to be confiscated, and his arms torn; and the head of the other upon the west-port of Edinburgh.
And thus a sentence of death was passed upon Mr. Guthrie, for his accession to the causes of God's wrath, his writing the petition last year, and the protestation above-mentioned; matters done a good many years ago, and every way agreeable and conform to the word of God, the principles and practice of this and other churches and the laws of the kingdom. After he received his sentence, he accosted the parliament thus, "My lords, let never this sentence affect you more than it does me, and let never my blood be required of the king's family."
Thus it was resolved that this excellent man should fall a sacrifice to private and personal pique, as the marquis's was said to be to a more exalted revenge; and it is said, that the managers had no small debate what his sentence should be, for he was dealt with by some of them to retract what he had done and written, and join with the present measures, and he was even offered a bishopric. The other side were in no hazard in making the experiment, for they might be assured of his firmness in his principles. A bishopric was a very small temptation to him, and the commissioner improved his inflexibility to have his life taken away, to be a terror to others, that they might have the less opposition in establishing prelacy.
Betwixt Mr. Guthrie's sentence and his execution, he was in perfect composure and serenity of spirit, and wrote a great many excellent letters to his friends and acquaintances. In this interval, he uttered several prophetical expressions, which, together with the foresaid religious letters, could they now be recovered, might be of no small use in this apostate and backslidden age. June 1st, the day on which he was executed, upon some reports that he was to buy his life at the expence of retracting some of the things he had formerly said and done, he wrote and subscribed the following declaration.