Life and diary of Lieut. Col. J. Blackader

CHAP. XX. MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS. 499
I think you should give them your charitable advice,
and tell them freely. — Gentlemen, your minds are
heated; in your present ferment you are not fit to
choose a minister. A man in a fever is not fit to
choose what is good for him. Tell them to lay down
these irascible passions of anger, malice, envy, back-
biting, &c, and let their spirits cool, and then let
them join heart and hand together, and choose a faith-
ful, pious, peaceable, gospel minister ; a man far from
party-spirit, for I will venture to say, the gospel never
did, and never will thrive in the hands of a party-man.
Advise them to choose a man who has no other end
in view, but to lead them to Christ ; in a word, a man
that can say on his admission, / determine to know no-
thing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified ,-
and at the close of his ministry can say with the
Apostle, This is our rejoicing, even the testimony of our
conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not
with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God we have
had our conversation among you. And, Moderator, if
they will choose such a man, assure them in your
Master's name, that they shall have the blessing of
God with him, they shall have peace, unity, and hap-
piness with him ; and if they do not choose such,
they can expect nothing but strife and contention ;
and I cannot but say, as the case now stands, and
from the debates I have heard, that the translating of
Mr. Anderson to Glasgow must be productive of the
worst consequences. For these reasons I am against
his translation.
It was carried in the affirmative by a great majority,
though it is not likely that he who so virulently
libelled the ministers of Glasgow, will be fit to be a
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