56pp. Not in ESTC.

[Bound with:] SHIRRA, Robert. Godliness and its exercise recommended in two sermons... Edinburgh. Printed by John Gray and Gavin Alston, 1769. First edition. 50, 16pp. ESTC T95195.

12mo. Recent gilt-ruled half-calf, marbled boards, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece. Lightly browned internally.

An apparently unrecorded edition of John Steven's immensely popular spiritual biography, first published in 1729. Stevenson, an agricultural labourer heralding from Dailly parish, Carrick, Ayrshire, a veteran of the Battle of Bosworth, was, seemingly due to his devotion to the Presbytery, declared a fugitive on the 1684 Roll. Intended for his children as an account of his spiritual journey, Stevenson narratives his evasion of the authorities, frequently citing the fervour of his devotions as key to his preservation.

The second bound publication collects two sermons by Kirkcaldy minister Robert Shirra (1724-1803), the first of which was preached at the opening of the Associate Synod at Glasgow in 1768. Shirra was notably tutored, and greatly influenced by, Ebenezer Erskine (1680-1754), a founder of the Secession church.

ESTC records copies of the second bound work at three locations only (BL, Edinburgh, and NLS).