He had married Margaret Robertson daughter to Archibald Robertson of Stone-hall, a younger brother of the house of Ernock, in the shire of Lanerk; by her he had three sons, John, clerk to the exchequer in Scotland; Alexander, professor of Hebrew in the college of Edinburgh; and Archibald, who lived with his family afterward in the parish of Irvine. On December 1662, he fell extremely sick, at which time worthy Mr. Livingston, now suffering for the same cause, though he had then but forty-eight hours liberty to stay in Edinburgh, came to see him on his death-bed. They had been intimately acquainted near forty years, and now rejoiced as fellow-confessors together. When Mr. Livingston asked the professor, What were his thoughts of the present affairs, and how it was with himself? His answer was, "That he was sure Jesus Christ would not put up with the indignities done against his work and people:" and as for himself, said he, "I have taken all my good deeds and all my bad deeds, and have cast them together in a heap before the Lord, and have fled from both to Jesus Christ, and in him I have sweet peace[123]." Having been very low and weak for some days, he called all his family together, and spoke in particular to each of them, and having gone through them all, he pronounced the words of the apostolical blessing, 1 Cor. xiii. 13, 14, with much gravity and solemnity, and then put up his hand, and closed his own eyes; and, without any struggle or apparent pain, immediately expired in his son's arms, and with Jacob of old, was gathered to his people in a good old age, being now upwards of seventy-two years. He was a man singularly endowed with an edifying gift of preaching; and his painful labours had been, in an eminent manner, blessed with success. His sermons were always full of solid and substantial matter, very scriptural, and in a very familiar style; not low, but extremely strong and affecting, being somewhat a-kin to the style of godly Mr. Rutherford; and it is said, That scarce any minister of that time came so near Mr. Dickson's style or method of preaching, as the reverend Mr. William Guthrie, minister at Finwick, who equalled, if not exceeded him.