Memoirs or Spiritual Exercises of Katherine Colace or Mrs. Ross

THE RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE OF A SCHOOLMISTRESS
OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.*

(Written with her own Hand.)

“Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul.”—PSALM lxxvi. 16.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints; for there is no want to them that fear him.”—PSALM xxxiv. 8, 9.

A Letter from the Reverend Mr. James Hog, late Minister of the Gospel at Carnock, to the Publisher, bearing the Author’s Character.

DEAR SIR,—As to what you wrote me concerning the manuscript written originally by Mrs. Ross: the matter is excellent, and well deserves a public view, however that, in this degenerate age, matters of this sort are known by very few, decied and despised by many who claim to be accounted the wise and learned of the age. But herein there is nothing strange and unprecedented. (1 Cor. ii. 14; Rom. viii. 6, 7; Acts ii. 13.) The eminent Mr. Thomas Hog, minister of the Gospel at Kiltearn, in Ross, esteemed her much, and for many years had intimate Christian fellowship with her till very near his demise, and still gave her a great character. During her Christian work and warfare she had the trial of great and sore afflictions, besides her share of them under the prelatic persecutions, yet in all these her behaviour was composed, quiet—yea—and cheerful, notably fitted to adorn the doctrine of the Lord and Saviour. (Tit. ii. 10.) She kept, through grace, a steady course, without turning aside to any crooked way, notwithstanding the strongest solicitations and the troubles which attend faithfulness to Lord and in His cause in these persecuting times. (Psalm cxxv. 5.) Throughout her whole course she was guided to keep becoming measures, as to Church-communion, according to our received principles, without declining to extremes on either hand, and still she was most willing to submit every concern of life to a scriptural scrutiny with most exemplary Christian meekness. (James iii. 13; 1 Peter iii. 15.) I account it my great advantage (had I duly improv’d it) that I was acquainted and had frequent converse with her ere I went abroad and after my return, having found her most judicious, clearly and distinctly enlightened, of much digested experience, admirably acquainted with access to the Lord in prayer, and notable returns thereof of free mercy through Christ. I respected and honoured her, as well fitted to teach such a weakling as I am, only I regret my small proficiency. In fine, to add no more, she was a person of a most equal spirit. I had frequent and intimate converse with her for sundry years, and amidst many varieties in the situation of matters with her, and cannot say that I could observe unequallness in her temper, as being, to excess, either lifted up or cast down. She was enabled, to a great degree, to copy after the Apostolical pattern. (Phil. iv. 11, 12, 13.) She knew how to be abased and how to abound, etc.

The sea was rough on her in her last sickness, which was painful, and lasted long; yet, throughout the whole, the image of Christ shone notably forth in her deportment, as to submission, acquiescence, meekness. (Matt. xi. 28, 29, 30.) And still the more brightly the nearer that her demise approached. (Psalm xxxvii. 37.) This, with wonted salutations, is all from,—D.S., yours as before,

Carnock, 20th April, 1733.

JA. HOG.

* Taken from edition, 1735: “Printed for and sold by David Duncan, in the West-bow, Edinburgh.”

Some Notes of the Lord’s Dealings with Katherine Colace, Relict of Mr. Ross.

First—More generally; Secondly—More particularly.

BEING often challenged for not setting down the remarkable passages of my life, and of the divine goodness manifested to me, to show (when I am gone from this life) what a good God I had to do with, to these who have seen and heard of my afflictions, which all along my life have been rather preparations for mercy than any other thing, emptying and fitting me for mercy, I must give this true testimony of Him, viz.: Goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life, which I desire to make appear by what follows.

1. Though my troubles were many, great, and of long continuance, yet, in the most of them, I was taught how to prevent them. But, either through the deceitfulness of my heart shunning to know what I was not willing to observe, or through inadvertency, tentations blinding, I did not so seriously notice as was requisite.

2. In the most of all my afflictions I was clearly convinced of the cause, and so was silenced, seeing my destruction to be of myself.

3. Notwithstanding of this, I was usually prepared for every particular affliction by preceding suitable consolations.

4. Clear teaching accompanied them, which took much of the weight off me.

5. The Lord was with me in the fire and water, according to his faithful Word, often by sensible presence, and ever by His secret strength.

6. The sweetness of my deliverance made me forget the bitterness under them, except I marred it myself through mistake, which I sometimes did.

7. Every trouble had its particular work to accomplish, which, being done, it left me better than it found me.

8. I was never left to one thing only evil, all being sweetly mixed with mercy.

9. They never brake my bones, and now I have no sensible trouble in body or mind but some frailty, which the Lord lets me see he can easily cure by doing it sometimes.

10. I never heard of any that stumbled at me, or at the way of God, by reason of my afflictions; but rather the Lord’s helping me, helped others to bear theirs patiently, counting them light in respect of mine, as severals told me.

11. I am at this day convinced that I could have wanted nothing of what I met with, and that He afflicts not willingly—I being first tried with fairness, and when that would not do, and not till then, I was chastised, and thereby preserved from losing that tenderness that is preferable to all time’s comforts. Thus He hedged in my way with thorns that I could not find my paths; He chastens us for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness. They are but physic to purge away sin; hereby ’tis embittered that we may seek comfort in Himself, where alone our all is.

12. I was never tempted above measure; hitherto I have been helped. When I was ready to let my foot slip, His mercy upheld me, and seasonably prevented me; and, though frequently brought to horrible pits and miry clay, yet the upshot was always further stability and new songs of praise. By these He not only taught me experience, patience, and hope, but also to glory in tribulation, because of these blessed fruits that He hath wrought in me by them. I have experienced all to be true that is spoken in commendation of the cross.

Now, as to the PARTICULAR PASSAGES of my Life:—

The Lord trysted me with suitable education relating to things spiritual and temporal, and preservations from manifold hazards; but what I especially remark is, His great and wonderful work in dealing effectually with my soul about the fourteenth year of my age; and this is the more remarkable, because being religiously educated and kept from outbreaks, winning to a form of godliness, and looked upon as religious by others; yet I got not leave to rest there, but by a word of a sermon was made suspicious of my state, and then to conclude what I formerly suspected, and so came to be exercised with the necessity of a change. This I sought after, and was much encouraged therein by the Lord, who made my work, though sharp, yet very pleasant, that I loathed all divertisements, and was kept busy in what was suiting the main of my exercise, age, and temper, and became successful, so that for some considerable time together I was so filled with joy unspeakable that the ordinances became like a little heaven to me, and I loathed all the vanities of this life as hell. Such an impression was made on my soul at the time of the sweetness and glory of God in ordinances, and of the emptiness of all other delights, that it never altogether wore out unto this day. But being ignorant of the life of faith, and, through shame, not being able to communicate my case to others when the sense of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ was withdrawn, I turned less diligent in secret prayer, which was an inlet to backsliding, for which I got a sore awakening which had almost broken me; but was healed again in the public hearing. My case being directly spoken to, and I invited to come to Christ, I was for a time cured of that distemper. But by not coming to Christ, but simply resting on the suitableness of the purpose to my present case, which was a notable deceit, this wakening proved no great stop to my former backsliding, for within a little I turned as remiss in prayer as formerly. All this time I much question if I had closed with Christ, but I rather think all these discoveries were but to lead me to Him, and for convincing me that fair means would not do the turn, that I might the more easily submit to the sharp work that I was to meet with afterwards; and great pains was always taken upon me to convince me that the way of the Lord was equal, which now I find.

When I had turned remiss in prayer, I turned untender as to many practices that the Lord was training me up with; or, if I went about one part of a duty, I omitted another, and the most troublesome and weightiest part. Some practices not much noticed, the omission whereof cost me dear; as, for instance, the not enquiring the mind of God in one particular—His guiding,—and waiting for His counsel in that way. Now, as to the first part, even at that time I made some mint, viz., in seeking counsel; but was not so observant as to the second part—in waiting for His counsel—the omission whereof, in a weighty case, bred me twenty-four years grievous afflictions; and the root of it was my woeful natural disposition, unwilling to displease others, for I did not please myself in that particular. And this I note by the way, that that which is much noticed by men, a pleasant disposition, as they call it, hath been that for which I have been most severely punished, if I may call any of His ways severity to me.

I was often warned in that time that I should be taken to a wilderness, which was accomplished in my going north from Edinburgh to Ross, where I met with much encouragement from the Lord, especially at my first entry, though still warned of affliction. But, before I met with my greatest outward trials, the Lord persuaded me on good grounds of my eternal well-being; for in that place He began to deal with me so as I had not found formerly, and, meeting with the Sound Believer,* I was carried through all these steps he mentions all along as I read it. And after that my soul was drawn to the Lord Jesus, and I had entered into an everlasting covenant with Him. I had an heaven in my soul for three days uninterrupted, at which time I had a clear discovery of all the privileges that I enjoyed since, and as much as I was able to bear of what I should enjoy hereafter, and such an attractive, uniting, and changing sight of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as satisfied me, so that I was able clearly to discern an universal change wrought in my soul. And sin got such a stroke that I was scarce able at that time to discern any life in it; grace was so vigorous in my soul that I thought it was a resemblance of what I should enjoy hereafter. But at the end of the three days all sensible enjoyment was taken from me with that word, Ye must live on the strength of that meat forty days. And, indeed, I had a long troublesome journey to go. This was grievous to me, but I had large provision for preparation, and, thinking it would not continue long with me thus, I resolved to bear it, though very heavy. And this was not all, but for the space of two years thereafter I was tempted of Satan to give over prayer. Yet this being the way wherein he got advantage formerly, after I had lost sense, my conflict about it was very great, for there was never a time in all the two years but in every prayer I either swerved or was near it before prayer ended. Yet the Lord manifested strength in my weakness, so that I yielded not to the temptation as before, for which I was sore smitten, and at length got a seasonable victory. For, being under a violent fit of sickness so that I could not move out of a bed, and setting myself to prayer—Satan in his usual way opposing—to the breaking of my body, the Lord sensibly rebuked him, and I got the victory and present health to the admiration of onlookers. I was never more troubled after that manner, but still have found Satan a great enemy to prayer.

(To be Continued.)