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

DIARY OF LORD WARISTON
of his love, mor and mor to manifest his mercie, poure in his
graice, and caive the pouer of his mediation for my remission,
of his intercession for the audience of my prayers non as he
had doone in my first; and in my trouble, with ane great libertie,
I invoqued the Sprit of God that, as he had groaned in the
first, and, under my trouble, that as he had maid me to pray
for, then to trust on the promises of God the Fayther, the
Sons merits and intercessions, his auin groanings, nou he wald
let me find his groanings to be heard, Chrysts merits accepted,
Gods promises performed to me nou in furthring or hindring
this particular. Thairafter, with ane spritual eagernes, I prayed
the Lord to sanctifye the estaite quherto he was to cal me,
and to keape me in it from the pollution of my praedominant
(quhilk had so defyled the first); blissed be the Lord for the
libertie thou had heir.
Foranoone, ryding over to Hilton, I fand my mynd straingly
posessed with holy meditations and ejaculations, praying the
Lord as earnestly to prseveine the abusesof that estaitequherto he
was to call me, as for to dely ver me from the evils of my present;
yea and, seing by experience doolful and sinful I kneu the tenta-
tions of the on to be mor subtil, lesse sensible, they being the
abuses of lauful things, nor the dangers of my present quhilk ar
easilier perceived be the eie of the mynd, I craived the mor
instantly to be forairmed against them, and to be as afraid of
them nou in my entree to that estaite, as I was terrifyed at the
entree of my widouhood out of feare of the sins of my youth.
Quherupon I wissed that the Lord might ever present to my
memory during my mariage al the greifs of my humiliation,
and the sinnes of my first mariage as the procureurs thairof,
that so out of the feare of the lyk event I may be the mor cairful
to escheu the causes thairof. At night the Lord assisted me
in confession and meditation, maiking me seie Gods goodnes
praspairing me for my trouble, assisting me under it, mani¬
festing nou to me both his love as the motive, and my asternal
weal as the end of it, so that nou nothing seimed undoone for
to mak up ane perfyte work of his merciful goodnes bot my
delyverance be him out of it. Thairafter I got HHs letter,
quherby I kneu the Lord had hard my continual prayers for
his pouring out of the sprit of mourning for hir sins, praying