LIFE OF THE REV. THOMAS HALYBURTON. Religious Tract Society, PUBLISHED AND SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY, 56, PATER- LIFE OF THE REV. THOMAS HALYBURTON. As an introduction to Mr. Halyburton's own narrative of himself, we shall prefix the following brief account of this excellent man, taken from the original publication. MR. THOMAS HALYBURTON, professor of divinity in the new college at St. Andrews, was born at Dublin, in the Parish of Aberdalgy, December 25, 1674, of worthy and godly parents, Mr. George Halyburton and Margaret Playfere. His father was descended of the family of Pitcur, in the county of Angus, and was minister of the parish of Aberdalgy, in the presbytery of Perth, out of which he was ejected by the then government, in the year 1662, as about three hundred more ministers were also, summarily, without any legal process, simply for nonconformity to prelacy. His mother was daughter to Mr. Andrew Playfere, the first minister of Aberdalgy parish after the reformation from popery, to whom her husband succeeded a little before the restoration of prelacy. She was allied to some of the best families in the kingdom by the mother; but which was their far greater glory, both of them, from their youth up, were truly religious. She excelled many of her own sex, for knowledge of the principles of religion and regard to the scriptures; she could exactly repeat many of the choicest chapters of the bible. They had a numerous family, no less than eleven children, and very sickly; all of them died young, except their eldest daughter, Janet, and this their son, Thomas: but, to sweeten these trials, they had peculiar comfort in the death of their children; some even of the youngest of them gave singular evidences of their dying in the Lord. When his father died, he was happy to be under the care of such a mother. The persecution for nonconformity daily growing, she withdrew to Holland, and took him along with them while he was very young. He quickly learned the Dutch, and went to Erasmus's school to learn Latin. There they sojourned till August, 1687, at which time they returned home, narrowly escaping shipwreck. At their return he went to the school, and afterwards to the university, where he made great proficiency beyond many of his equals. When he had finished his course there, he became chaplain to a noble family. He was settled minister in Ceres parish May 1, 1700. In 1701, he was married to Janet Watson, a virtuous and pious gentlewoman, daughter to Mr. David Watson, an heritor in the parish of St. Andrews, a zealous good man. Some few years after his settlement at Ceres, his health failed, and his indisposition daily increased, so that he was hardly able to go through his ministerial work in that large parish. In April, 1710, having received a patent from her majesty, and an invitation from the presbytery, he was appointed by the synod of Fife to be professor of divinity in the new college of St. Andrews. In April, 1711, a dangerous sickness seized on him, which obliged the physicians, at several times, to take from him about forty-four ounces of blood. He recovered and went abroad again, but his wasted body never attained the small strength he had before his sickness. Shortly after his arms and legs became a little benumbed and insensible, as also swelled, which at his death increased greatly. |