Joshua Redivivus, or Mr. Rutherford's Letters

Reader, how desirous soever thou mayest be, to have dead Mr Rutherford live, in the hearts of the present and succeeding generations, by an account of his singularly gracious life, & answerably glorious death: yet, I shall not (for that would lead me a length beyond the just limits of an Epistle, where, contrary to my purpose, I find my self almost arrived already) be able to satisfy thy desire, nor answer thy expectation. It's not my present work to tell thee, that he was a Gentleman by extraction. That he was educate at Schools & Colleges, where ⟨image 11⟩he was admired for the Pregnancy of his parts, & deservedly looked upon, even then, as a person of whom great things might be expected: Of his being pitched upon for a Profession of Philosophy by the College of Edinburgh (where he was educate) when he was yet very young: Of his being called thence to the Ministry in Anwoth (to which charge be entered, by the means of that worthy Noble-man my Lord Kenmur, without giving any engagement to the Bishop) where he laboured night & day with great success, the whole country being to him, & accounting themselves, as his particular flock: There it was, where he wrote that great Master-piece of Learning against the Arminians (with yet was but a compend of what he then intended) his Exercitationes Apologeticae: Of his persecution by the Prelates, who were so sound in the faith, as to challenge and accuse him for writing that book: Being called before their high Commission court, he appeared & declined it, as none of the Courts of Christ [nor was there need of any thing else for a confirmation that it came not from on high, but from below, save it's procedure; for it's Acts had the very dye and visage of hell upon them: If they will plead that it is from above, they will be puzzled to pitch upon a period, or fix upon any other time when it came down, except with the fallen Angels; but it may be, this please such Angels of the Church [so they will be called] for they boast much of Antiquity: And truly that which gives ground •or this conjecture, that it came down from heaven in that company, is, that it persecutes the saints, and servants of the most high;

Reader, how desireous soever thou mayest be, to have dead Mr Rutherfoord live, in the hearts of the present and succeeding generations, by an account of his singularly gracious life, & answerably glorious death: yet, I shall not (for that would lead me a length beyond the just limits of an Epistle, where, contrary to my purpose, I finde my self almost arrived allready) be able to satisfie thy desire, nor answer thy expectation. It's not my present work to tell thee, that he was a Gentleman by extraction. That he was educat at Scholes & Colleges, where