Series 1 > Diary of Sir Archibald Johnston of Wariston 1632-1639

MEMENTO QUAMDIU VIVAS
221
hearts full of it, and eased the of al thy heartswisses and
freed thy stomak as it wer of thair burden, for he put in
thy heart and mouth thos omnipotent bands of unutterable
saules plaints and hearts prayers, of innumbrable tears,
groans and cryes, quhilk ar aible by his auin consent, 7 Mat.
11 c. Luik, to force and bind the Lords hands from doing
the any evil, and to doe the al the good quhairof thou stands
in need. Heir the Lord haiving engraiven in thy mynd that
omnipotentiam precum quherby he acknoledged himselth to
be so forced as he can no mor deny the, nor to deny himselth.
Alace if my memorie could serve me to wryte doune quhat the
Sprit of God, with inenarrable expressions, spak in mysaule to
my God, blissed for ever for it. Heir, quhyle al my straits in
the particular pressed me to distrust, the Lord brought to my [foi. US.}
mynd, with al his promises and my petitions befor, first al my
voues, upon the sense of his assistance in my trouble, to rest
on him for my delyverance contraire to al apearances; as also
my promise befor my first delyverie, quhyle apearances seimed
contrary, if the Lord then wrought by contraries exalting
quhyle I seimed most lou (as indeed he did), to rest on him
for the lyk successe in my lyk troubles; secondly, this to be
the continual maner of Gods dealing with me, drauing light
out of darknes, sueat out of soure, comfort out of unlykly-
hoods, and so working ever by, without, above means and con-
trarie to apearances quherby my saule gathering neu forces,
and seing the Lord had schifted himselth of al excuses by
temitting my sinnes, and had put in my hand the irresistible
weapon of the sprit of prayer, it with unspeakable accesse to
the throne of graice went on defying the devil, beleying sense,
conjuring the Lord, rousing up itselth to rest assured to seie
the goodnes of the Lord in the land of the living, and, I knou
not by quhat untellible warrants, grounding its hoope of a
blissing on this present indulgence and libertie of Gods Sprit
in me without al secondary middes, mor nor if al the world,
secondary causes therin, al sense and reason, wald concurre for
to blisse me quhyles I wanted this inward libertie. That
prayer of my saules saule from the heart of my heart, ‘O Lord,
Fayther, Saviour, Comforter, reject not the prayers, frustrat not
the hoopes, disapoynt not the trust quhilk thou by thy Sprit