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Study of Divinity, with a View to ferve God in the holy Miniftry ; at which Time there happened to be a Vacancy in the College of Glasgow, by the Refignation of Mr. James Dalrymple of Stars, who had been. Mr. Binning's Mafter. This Gentleman was fo great and fo good a Man that it is impoffible to avoid giving an Account of fome of the remarkable Things of his Life. The firft Imployment he had, was in the Army being a Captain in William Earl of Glencairn's Regiment of Foot; but as he had made his Studies with great Application, at the earn: ft Request of the Profeffors of the Univerfity of Glalgow, he flood as Candidate for a Chair of Philofophy, in a comparative Trial, in Buff and Scarlet, the Military Drefs of thofe Days, to which he was with great Applaufe preferr'd. In this Station he was greatly esteem'd, for his uncommon-Abilities in, Philofophy and other Parts of Learning: But being refolu'd to follow the Study of the Law, he foon refigned his Office of Protelor, and entered Advocate upon the 7th of February 1648, and quickly diftinguished himself by his Pleadings before the Court of Seffion, avoiding always to take any Imployment, either as Advocate, or Judge in criminal Matters, tho' often refpectively prefs'd to accept of both, which proceeded from: a Delicacy in his Opinion, leaft to wit, he might poffibly be the Inftrument, either of making the Innocent fuffer, or to acquit the Guilty. In this Situation he continued till the Tender was impofed, when he, with many other eminent Lawyers, withdrew from the Bar. On June 26th 1657, he was by a Commiffion fige'd by General Monk, in Name of the Protector's Council of Scotland appointed to be one of the Judges, which was foon confirmed by a Nomination directly from the Prote&or himself, in the Month of July thereafter, which he had no Inclination to accept of, being himself no Favourer of the Ufurpation; for as he had been.Secretary to the Commiffion, which had been fent to the King to Breda, he had waited. upon his Majesty upon his landing in the North; however being importu nately preffed to accept by many eminent Men, and amongst them, by seve ral Minifters, who all diftinguished between his ferving as one of the Council under the Protector, and exercising the Office of a Fudge. by adminiftrating Juftice to his fellow Subjects, he did accept; and his A&t of Adm fion. Only bears his giving his Oath de fideli adminiftratione. After the Refloration he was made by the King one of the ordinary Lords of Seffion by his Majesty's Nomination dated at hiehall February 13th 1661 2.. And in the 671, he was created Prefident of that Court, in the Room of Sir John Gilmait of Craigmilet. In the Parlament. 1681,

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be made a great Appearance for Securing the Proteftant Religion; and by Reason of the Difficulties of the Times, he defired Leave of his Majesty 10 retire from Bufinefs, and live quietly in the Country; but in this he was prevented by a Commiffion, dated the 14th of October 1681, which having paft the Great Seal was produced the 1ft of November thereafter, by which Commiffion he was fuperfeded as Prefident of the Seffion, and in the Year 1682, was obliged for his Safety to retire to Holland; for the be had the King's Promife that he should live undisturbed, yet he was let know that he could not be in Safety; and after his Retreat to Holland, leveral unjust but fruitless Attempts were made to have him tried for Treafon, both before the Parliament and Justiciary, for no other Reafon, than that he had always with Sincerity and Firmness, given his Opinion to the King and his Minifters, against the Measures that were then followed, and which in the following Reign, at length brought about the glorious Revolution, at which Time Anno 1688, he attended King William in that Expedition, by the Success of which we were moft happily delivered from Tyranny and Slavery. November 1ft 1689, Sir James Dalrymple of Stair his Letter as President of the Seffion was produced and recorded, and he was accordingly admitted and restored to his Office. In the Year $690, he was created a Vifcunt upon Account of his great Services and Merit. He published while Holland his Institutions of the Law of Scotland (a more full Edition of which came out in the 1693,) and two Volumes in Folio of Decifions from the 1661, to the 1681 inclufive! He also published a Syftem of Phyficks, valued greatly at the Time, and a Book intitled a Vindication of the Divine Atributes was also his, in which there is discovered great Force of Argument and Knowledge. He was lookt upon before bis Death as the living Oracle of our Law, and at prefent his Inftitutions are appealed to as containing the true and folid Principles of it Mr. Binning who had lately been his Scholar, was determined after much Entreaty of which we shall presently give an Account) to stand as a Candidate for that Poft. The Mafters of the College, according to the ufual laudable Cuffom, emitted a Program, and Sent to all the Univerfities in the Kingdom inviting fuch as bad a Mind to difpute for a Profeffion of Philofopby, to thelfelven before them and offer themselves to compere for that Preferment, giving AfJurance that without Partiality and Refpect of Perfons, the Place bould le conferred upon him, who should be found dignior & doctior.

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The Minifters of the City of Glasgow confidering how much it was the Intereft of the Church, that well qualified Perfons be put into the Profeffion of Philosophy, and that Univerfities by this Means become moft ulejul Seminaries for the Church; and that fuch as had ferved as Regents in the College, were ordinarily brought out to the Miniftry, who, as the Divinity Chairs became vacant, were advanced to that Honour, many Infiances of which I am able to cohdefeend upon; And they knowing that Mr. Binning was eminently pious, and one of a folid Judgment, as well as of a bright Genius, fet upon him to fift himself among the other Competitors, but had great Difficulty to overcome his Modefty; however they at last prevailed with him to declare before the Mafters his Willing-* nels to undertake the Difpute with others.

There were two Candidates more, one of them had the Advantage of great Intereft with Doctor Strang, Principal of the College at that Time, and the other a Scholar of great Abilities, and of the fame Sen timents with the Doctor in fome problematical Points of Divinity, which with great Subtility bad been debated in the Schools. Mr. Binning fo managed the Dispute, and acquitted himself in all the Parts of Trial, that to the Conviction of the Judges he very much darkned bis Rivals. And as to the precife Point of Qualification, in respect of Literature, cut off all Shadow of a Demur and Pretence of Difficulty in the Decifion however the Doctor, and fome of the Faculty who joined him, tho' they could not pretend, that the Candidate they appeared for had an Equality, much less a Superiority in the Difpute; yet they argued a cæteris paribus, that the Perfon they inclined to prefer, being a Citizen's Son, having a good Competency of Learning, and being a Perfon of more Years, had greater Ext: perience than Mr. Binning could be fuppofed to have, and confequently was more fit to be a Teacher of Youth: Mr. Binning being but Tefterday a fellow Student with those, he was to teach, it was not to be expected, that the Students would behave to him with that Refpect and Regard, which fhould be paid to a Master But to this it was replied, That Mr. Binning was fuch a pregnant Scholar, fo wife and fedate as to be above. all the Follies and Vanities of Youth, that he knew very well how to let no Man defpile his Ruth; his it was neither vain nor light, and his Fancy was obedient to his Reafpn, and what was wanting in Tears, was Sufficiently made up by his fingular Indowments, and more than ordinary Qualifications. A Member of the Faculty perceiving the Struggle among them to be great (and indeed the Affair feem'd to have been argued very

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plaufibly on both Sides) propofed a Difpute between the two Candidates.
extempore, upon any Subject they fhould be pleased to preferibe.
This being confidered by the Faculty, did quickly put a Period to
the Divifion among them; and thefe who had opposed him, not being
willing to engage their Friend again in the Lifts, with fuch an able
Antagonif, they yielded the Question, and Mr. Binning was elected.
Mr. Binning was not full nineteen Years of Age, when he commenced
Regent and Profeffor of Philofophy; and tho' he had not Time 10 prepare
a Syftem of any Part of his Profeffion, being inftantly after his Election to
take up his Clafs; yet fuch was the Quickness and Fertility of his Inven-
tion, the Tenaciousness of his Memory, and the Solidity of his Judgment,
that his Dictates to the Scholars had a Depth of Learning of that Kinds
and Perfpicuity of Expreffion. And I am affured, That he was among
the firft in Scotland, that began to reform Philofophy from the barbarous
Terms and unintelligible Diftinctions of the Schoolmen, and the many
vain Difputes and trifling Subtilties, which rather perplexed the Minds
of the Youth, than furnished them with folid and ufeful Knowledge..

He continued in this Profeffion for the Space of three Years, and dif charged bis Truft fo well, that be gained the general Applause of the Univerfity for his Accademical Exercifes: And this was the more wonderful, That having turned his Thoughts towards the Miniftry, be carried on his Theological Studies at the fame Time, and made vaft Improvements therein; to which he was enabled by his deep Penetration, and a Memory fo rea tentive, that he scarcely forgot any Thing he had read or heard. It was eafy and ordinary for him to tranfcribe any Sermon, after he returned to bis Chamber, at fuch a full Length, as that the intelligent and judicious. Reader who heard it preached, hould not find one Sentence to be wanting.

During this Period of his Life be gave a Proof and Evidence of the great Progrefs be bad made in the Knowledge of Divinity, by a Compo. fure on that choice Paffage of the boly Scripture, 2 Cor. v. 142. For the Love of God conftraineth us, becaufe we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.

This Performance be fent to a certain Gentlewoman for her private Edification, who had been detained at Edinburgh for a long Time with Bufinefs of Importance, and having perufed the fame, be judged it was a Sermon of fome eminent Minister in the West of Scotland, and put it into the Hands of the then Provost of Edinburgh for bis Opinion, who was fo well fatisfied with it, that fuppofing it to be taken from the Mouth

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of one, whom the City pad formerly refolved to call, was restless till a Call was brought about to bim, to be one of the Minifiers of the City, but when the Lady returned back to Glasgow, he found ber Miftake, by Mr Binning's asking the Difcourfe from ber. This was the first Discovery he bad given of his great. Dexterity and Ability in explaining of Scripture. At the Expiration of his third Tear as a Profelor of Philofopby, the Parish of Govan, which lies adjacent to the City of Glasgow, and is within the Bounds of that Presbytery, happened to be vacant. Before this Time, whoever was Principal of the College of Glafgow, was alfo Minifter of Govan, for Mr. Robert Boyd of Trochrig (a Perfon of very great Learning, as bis Commentary on the Epistle to theEphefians and his Hecatombe Chriftiana teftify) after he bad been Minifter at Vertal in France, and Profeffor of Divinity in Saumur, returned to Scotland, and was fettled Principal of the College, and Mini fter of Govan; but this being attended with Inconveniencies, an Alteration was made, and the Presbytery baving a View of Jupplying that Vacancy with Mr. Binning, did take pim upon Trials, in order to bis being licensed as a Preacher; and after be was licensed, be did preach at Govan, to the great satisfaction of the People. Mr. Binning was fometime after called and invited to be Minister of the said Parish, which Call the Presbytery beartily approved of, and entered him upon Trials for Ordination, about the 22d Tear of his Ager and as a Part of Trials, they prefcribed to bim a common Head, De concurfu & influxu diino cum actionibus creaturarum. The Occafion of which was, that Dr. Strang Principal of the College, and a Member of the Presbytery, bad vented fome peculiar Notions upon that profound Subject, and baving delivered a very elaborate Difcourfe, viva foce, to the Admiration of all who beard it, he gave in according to Custom, bis Thefis to be impugned by the Members of the Presbytery, which was the direct Antithesis of Dodor Strang's Opinion in bis Dilates to the Students on that Controversy. The Doctor being pitched upon to be one of his Opponents, found his Credit and Reputation much engaged, and exerted his metaphyfical and fubtile Talent on that Occafion: But Mr. Binning maintained bis Ground by the Weight and Solidity of bis Defence, to the great Satisfaction of all that were prefent; fo that fome were pleafed to Jay, That young Mr. Binning appeared to be the old learned Dodor: Nay, the Dolor himself after the Rencounter, admiring Mr. Binning's Abilities and Parts faid, Where bath this young Man got all this Learning and Reading? When be bad finished bis Trial, be bad the unanimous Appro

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