In May 1708, toward the beginning of his ministry in Ettrick, Thomas Boston began to preach on man’s fourfold state, as he had done before in Simprin. Ever an observer of Providence, Boston noted that “The conduct of Providence in leading to a second attempt on that subject, was the more remarkable, considering what the same Providence had designed it for, unknown to and unlooked for by me, till the event discovered itself years after. And preaching of these sermons of the Fourfold State, through the mercy of God, was not in vain” (Memoirs of Thomas Boston, 227). The eventual […]