John Welsh of Ayr (c. 1570–1622), son-in-law of John Knox and one of the most remarkable ministers of the post-Reformation Church of Scotland, is remembered for his powerful preaching, fervent prayer, and steadfast witness under persecution. His writings, though comparatively few, continued to be copied, printed, and read for centuries.

For readers interested in Scottish Presbyterian theology, Puritan and Reformed literature, and rare antiquarian Christian books, the publication history of Welsh’s works is especially fascinating. His sermons were preserved in manuscript for more than a century before they first appeared in print, and they were repeatedly reissued in Scotland and America.

The following survey provides a verified bibliography of John Welsh’s writings and the principal printed lives that have preserved the memory of his ministry.

How John Welsh’s Sermons Were Preserved

The fullest nineteenth-century account of the provenance of Welsh’s sermons appears in James Young’s The Life of John Welsh, Minister of Ayr (Edinburgh, 1855), Appendix, pp. 447–449.

Young writes:

“Welsh’s Sermons were not printed and edited by himself, but are either rough sketches of his own, or rude notes taken from his mouth by some friend; perhaps by Mr John Stewart, an eminent burgess of Ayr.”

He continues:

“Copies in manuscript were in the hands of many in Welsh’s lifetime, and were freely circulated among the adherents to the cause for which he suffered exile.”

Young also quotes John Livingstone:

“I got in loan from Mr John Stewart of Ayr a large book of Sermons of Mr Welsh’s, all which are almost nothing but unfolding of the inward exercise of a Christian.”

These statements provide the clearest surviving evidence for how Welsh’s sermons were transmitted from the seventeenth century into print.

Polemical Works

Welsh, John. A Reply against Mr. Gilbert Brown, Priest. Edinburgh: Robert Charteris, 1602. STC (2nd ed.) 25256.

Welsh, Jean [John Welsh]. L’Armageddon de la Babylone Apocalyptique. Jonzac, 1612.

Welsh, John. Popery Anatomized: Wherein the Principal Heads of the Romish Religion Are Clearly Proved to Be Contrary to the Holy Scriptures. Glasgow, 1672.

Welsh, John. The Morning Star; or, Where Was the Protestant Religion Before Luther? London, 1878.

Sermons and Letters

Welsh, John. Miscellany Sermons, Preached by Sundry Divines. Viz. Thirty-Five Sermons Preached by Mr. John Welch, Minister at Ayr, in the Year 1605; with Two of His Letters. To Which Is Added, a Collection of Farewell Sermons, Preached Immediately Before Their Being Ejected from Their Respective Charges, in the Year 1662. Edinburgh, 1744. ESTC T163045.

Welsh, John. Forty-Eight Select Sermons, Preached by That Eminent and Faithful Servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. John Welch, Sometime Minister of the Gospel in Ayr. To Which Is Prefixed, The History of His Life and Sufferings, with Some Prophetical Letters. Edinburgh, 1744. ESTC T184381.

Welsh, John. Discourses on Several Important Subjects. By the Rev. Mr. John Welch, Late Minister of the Gospel at Ayr. To Which Is Prefixed an Account of the Author’s Life. Glasgow, 1752. ESTC T167626.

Welsh, John. Forty-Eight Select Sermons, Preached by That Eminent and Faithful Servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. John Welch. Glasgow: A. Duncan and Co., for John Bryce, 1771. ESTC T167625.

Welsh, John. A Cry to the Whole Earth. Glasgow, 1785. Attributed to Welsh; authenticity questioned by James Young.

Welsh, John. Forty-Eight Select Sermons, Preached by That Eminent and Faithful Servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. John Welch. Glasgow: Robert Chapman and Alexander Duncan, 1786. ESTC T183198.

Welsh, John. Forty-Eight Select Sermons. Glasgow: Samuel and Archibald Gardiner, 1803.

Welsh, John. Forty-Eight Select Sermons. Chambersburg, PA: George Kenton Harper, 1807. The title page states that it was “Printed from the Glasgow edition of 1786.”

Welsh, John. Forty-Eight Select Sermons. Glasgow: A. Napier, 1811.

Welsh, John. Forty-Eight Select Sermons. Glasgow: D. McKenzie, 1825.

Welsh, John. “The Great White Throne.” In The Pulpit of the Reformation, no. 1. Aberdeen, 1834.

Welsh, John. Letters. In Wodrow Society Miscellany, vol. 1, pp. 541–563. Edinburgh: Wodrow Society, 1844.

Printed Lives and Biographical Sources

The Life of Mr. John Welsh, Minister of Ayr. Early eighteenth-century biography, later incorporated into the sermon editions.

Howie, John. The Scots Worthies; or, The Lives of the Most Eminent Saints of the Kingdom of Scotland. First published 1775. Many editions followed. Banner of Truth Trust reprinted The Scots Worthies in 1995 with further reprints occurring.

Tweedie, William K., ed. Select Biographies. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Wodrow Society, 1845. Banner of Truth Trust reprinted Select Biographies in 2008.

Young, James. The Life of John Welsh, Minister of Ayr. Edinburgh: J. Maclaren, 1855, 2nd ed. Edinburgh, 1866. Tentmaker Publications reprinted Young’s biography in 2000.

Conclusion

Though relatively few works by John Welsh of Ayr survive, the publication history of his writings is extensive and revealing. From the 1602 Reply against Mr. Gilbert Brown to the classic editions of Forty-Eight Select Sermons and later biographies, Welsh’s influence continued long after his death.

For collectors of rare theology and students of Scottish Presbyterianism, these editions provide a rewarding field of study. Whether one is seeking the 1744 Miscellany Sermons, the important 1786 Glasgow edition, or modern reprints of The Scots Worthies, Select Biographies, and James Young’s Life of John Welsh, John Welsh remains one of the most compelling figures in the history of the Scottish Reformation.

We occasionally stock works by and about John Welsh, together with a wide selection of rare and second-hand books on Scottish Presbyterianism, Puritan theology, church history, and antiquarian Christian literature. Browse our latest stock at James Dickson Books