Series 6 > McCulloch examinations of the Cambuslang revival (1742) > Volume 6

EXAMINATIONS OF PERSONS UNDER SPIRITUAL CONCERN II
267
[599/-] Issobel Matthie John Yools Wife and [. . .] wife Widow
in the Town of Kilbride, age 26.1
I was put to School & taught to read the Bible when I was a Child, & got the
Shorter Cat. mostly & retain it in a good measure still. I had an outward Civil
walk before the world all along: I had a religious Education & usd sometimes
to pray by my Self in Secret & sometimes neglected it: but it was only a
Custom I got that made me mind it at any time. I always usd to go the Kirk
on Sabbath days, but it was only to see and be seen & out of fashion. I sometimes
had some desires to be where there was any thing of good, tho I had none in
my self. I usd to read the Bible sometimes, & when I read, I thought that they
were happy that were truly religious. I sometimes thought of heaven & hell,
but any worldly fancy would have out it out of my head again, I never had
any Convictions of Sin, till last year, tho’ I had some resolutions to mend my
life till. I came to Camb. about the first Sabbath Munday of March 1742, &
saw several people in distress, & wishd I were like them, & thought Surely if
I got a Sight of my Sins it would be a very dreadful sight, & could not endure
to hear any speak evil of them: I would gladly have come again to Camb.
but could not have opportunity to come till about the last Sabbath of March,
& in time of the first Psalms Singing, I felt a great heaviness come upon me
& my heart like to faint, & said within my self, Lord whatsoever is for thy
Glory and my good, I am willing to Suffer it. And hearing the Minr Mr McC
on that text, He that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath
of God abideth on him;2 & that word in the Sermon He that believeth not
the Gospel to be God’s word is condemnd already,3 struck my heart with
power, and I was put to examine Self, & all the way going home, I was kept
thinking upon it, & made to think [. ..][.. .] [. ..][.. .] [. ..][.. .]41 been
doing all this time that I have [600/-] never yet believd the Gospel, & had
never received it as God’s Word, but livd in a secure carnal state. That night
I slept some: and my mother in the morning telling me of one that had slept
well, I said Oh mother, we have got too many of these sound sleeps. Next
night I was so frighted, when I came in from Prayer, when I went to bed,
with the terror of Satan that fell upon me [when I though I saw at the side
of the bed as a rough tautie dog] and came out of the bed again: and a
Neighbour man (John Allan) coming on being calld by my sister, when she
saw I was so frighted, & he saw The night was ordaind for sleep, & bade me
1 This partial duplicate account is an earlier version of that found in Volume 1:3i2-2i.
2 >3:36.
3 Jn 3:18.
4 The duplicate account in Volume I (p. 312) reads: ‘Alas! What have . .