evidence is produced, we believe whether we will or not; but when the evidence either is, or appears to be deficient, belief becomes impossible, as, in the other case, it becomes unavoidable. In this objection, which is here exhibited in its most imposing form, there is, as in every other plausible error, some mixture of truth; and the quantity is just what is sufficient, with superficial minds, to gild over the pill of error, and to give a fair and false appearance to the poison which it contains. It is true that we cannot, and should not, believe without sufficient evidence; and when we possess, or rather when we candidly attend to sufficient evidence, it is impossible not to believe. Here, however, there is much of the truth concealed, and, as it were, put out of the way. We cannot believe without evidence. True; but cannot we avoid attending to the evidence, and thus escape the conviction which it would produce? We may say, and say truly, that we cannot see without light; but cannot we shut our eyes against it? or, by immuring ourselves in a dungeon, may we not, with our eyes open, avoid every ray of it, even when the sun pours upon the world the full flood of his noontide effulgence? Him who is a Spirit is impressed. It is the training of this immortal part of us, and that which we more properly call ourselves, that is the great object of all the divine communications made to our guilty race. It is the right government and exercise of these powers that constitute duty; and as to the corporeal organs, they serve the purpose for which they were formed, when they are under the direction and guidance of the nobler faculties. This is all so plain and incontrovertible, that one is almost ashamed to dwell on it, or introduce any illustration of it; but when we consider how many there are who, from want of reflection and discrimination, are apt to confound the plainest truths, then we see the necessity of giving "line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little." Let us, then, take a very simple illustration: We employ an ingenious artist to execute some nice piece of mechanism, and he does it to our admiration. Now, on what is it that our commendation is bestowed? Is it on the artist's bodily members, that were employed in the work, or the tools he used? No; but it is on the presiding mind, that directed these bodily members, and guided them in the employment of these tools. So in the Christian's obedience, however we may admire The application of all this is too apparent to the outward acts of firmness, and fortitude, and be pointed out. We know that the same cause, self-denial, and his manifold and unwearied la-operating in the same circumstances, will always bours of love, it is on the inward invisible pre-produce the same effect. Every mind, therefore, siding mind, directing every bodily act, that all our commendation is bestowed. It is to the faith and love that guided that mind that we trace the noble outward acts. The tree was made good, and therefore its fruits are good. We may see, then, how it is that, without faith, there can be nothing good in us, and how it is that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." We may see, also, the reasonableness of the command to believe God's testimony concerning his Son, and of our eternal happiness depending on our doing so, as the Scriptures frequently declare that it does, in such language as this," he that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." Innumerable passages to this effect will occur to every one acquainted with his Bible, where the most tremendous punishments are threatened against unbelief, as a failure in the most important of all duties, and in a duty, without which none other can be acceptably performed. We have more than once alluded to the declaration, that "without faith it is impossible to please God." But if it were not a reasonable duty, the absence of it would not and could not be punished by the Judge of all the earth, who can do that only which is right. Without farther quotation from Scripture, which we have seen to be very explicit, we shall notice an objection, which ignorance, prejudice, or impiety has urged against the position, that faith is a reasonable duty. The objection is, that faith does not depend upon ourselves. It is an act of the mind, which we cannot control, and is altogether independent of the will. When sufficient that is equally well informed, and equally free from prejudice and the love of sin, will be affected in the same way by the same evidence. Now, if great, and good, and learned men have been convinced by what has had no such effect upon others, to what is the difference of result to be ascribed? Is it to the men, or to the evidence? The evidence remains unquestionably the same; just as the sun shines, whether we bask under his cheering beams, or retreat to the inmost recesses of the deep and dark caverns where no ray can penetrate. Hence our Lord's explanation of the whole matter, and the justness of the doom that awaits those who shut out the light: "This," says he, "is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John iii. 19. Men remain ignorant of the principles of the Gospel, because they know this much of their holy nature, that they are at variance with their guilty passions and unhallowed pursuits; and as to the evidence of divine truth, they will no more examine it with candour, than the criminal will bring into view the evidence that condemns him. Such are the true causes of all the infidelity that can exist in a Christian country. It is all to be traced to the corruption of the human heart, and a disinclination to have that corruption exposed, condemned, or abandoned. It is our unquestionable duty to honour God; and, in order to do so, to investigate truth, and to act according to it when discovered. It is equally plain, that every man who remains in unbelief, while sufficient evidence of the truth is within his reach, must stand condemned as guilty of violating a "reasonable duty." cross, and he was cruelly driven from his parish, an alien and an outcast for the cause of the Redeemer. Young Cadiot was not thus to he deterred from prosecuting the sacred work of preaching the Gospel. He felt the power of the truth in sanctifying and saving his own soul, and he burned with a holy zeal to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation. banished from the Church of Rome, he thought of passing over to Jersey and Guernsey, where he might prepare himself for returning to France as a Protestant And since he had been We may be allowed here to assume, what has been demonstrated a thousand and a thousand times, that, with a rightly constituted and candid mind, the evidence for the truth of the Gospel, and therefore of every fact and doctrine which it contains, is manifold, strong, and irresistible. It requires but the exercise of a clear head and an honest heart to come to the knowledge and belief of the truth; and if this happy result be prevent-minister; or, if his enemies should prevent this, he ined by the perversion of the noblest powers of our nature, is it not just and reasonable that those who are chargeable with such guilt should suffer the doom, unutterable and unending, that is denounced against the unbeliever? For it is the doom attached to the violation of a duty, that, in every aspect of it, is reasonable in itself, and which, if performed, secures the blessedness in time, and through eternity, of him who humbly and faithfully endeavours to perform it. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEAN ANTOINE CADIOT THE Protestant Church of France has of late years excited Jean Antoine Cadiot was born in 1797, in the Commune of Bors, in the department of Charente. His parents destined him at an early age for the pastoral office, in connection with the Roman Church, to which they themselves belonged; and as the young man early exhibited proofs of decided talent, he passed through his course of study at the ecclesiastical seminaries of Sarlat and Angoulême with the marked approbation of his instructors. Having received ordination from the bishop of the diocese, he was soon intrusted with the pastoral cure of the parish of Gurat and Vaux. While engaged in preparation for the ministerial office, the mind of Cadiot had become acquainted with the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel, and as he still continued to study the Word of God, with a simple desire to know the truth, that, with all fidelity, he might declare it to his people, the Lord was pleased gradually to enlarge and rectify his views of divine truth. He now preached the Gospel with all conscientiousness and earnestness, and his parishioners crowded to hear his public sermons, and even to wait upon his private instructions. The result was most encouraging. Many eagerly inquired the way to Zion with their faces thitherward. Perceiving the unscriptural nature of many of the ceremonies of the Romish Church, both pastor and people were eager to rid themselves of all such unhallowed observances. But in this they proceeded with as much caution as was consistent with a firm adherence to principle. Their caution, however, was of no avail. A persecution arose against this devoted minister of the tended to proceed as a Missionary to the heathen. Providence, however, had otherwise determined. The health of Cadiot began to decline, and he removed to Anduse, where he connected himself with the Protestant congregation of that town. This step was fatal to his worldly interests, but he had counted the cost, and it was his firm determination to quit for ever that Church which had so basely and iniquitously persecuted him for his fidelity in his Master's work. Though destitute, however, in a temporal point of view, he was not forsaken. The Almighty raised up to him a kind friend, in the Protestant pastor of Anduse, M. Soulier, who received him into his family as tutor to his children. Before this period, Cadiot had addressed a letter to his late parishioners, giving a full exposition of the principles which he had maintained, and his reasons for leaving the Church of Rome. This letter, which was productive of much advantage to the poor bereaved people for whom it was intended, contains a plain impressive statement of his case : "No," says he, "no, my dear parishioners, I have not abandoned the religion of the Lord Jesus; I have only rejected those ordinances of men, which they have vainly attempted to make a means of salvation. I have attached myself more strongly than ever to Jesus, seeking salvation in him alone; neither trusting to the absolutions of men, nor resting on any merits of my own." In the shelter and quiet which M. Soulier's house afforded, the young convert now employed himself in preparing two other pastoral letters, and a controversial treatise in opposition to the errors of the Papacy. For several months his health continued to improve. On the 1st of July 1824, however, very unfavourable symptoms began to develope themselves. It was but too evident to M. Soulier and his family, that their interesting young friend had nearly run his course. now became an object of peculiar solicitude to all the Protestants of Anduse. A number of these flocked to his bedside, to listen to his parting instructions. When informed that he was dying, he was quite calm and unmoved. He lost no time in writing to his parents, and he once more addressed a letter to his beloved parishioners, headed by these affecting words, "From my death-bed," and it runs thus: He DEARLY BELOVED PARISHIONERS,-It is at a moment such as the present, that I feel myself more strongly impressed than ever, to make a solemn appeal to your consciences, and to ask you, whether you have proved to yourselves, that the state you are in, is precisely what you would wish it to be at that moment when death shall burst the bonds which retain your soul in the mortal body? I have often experienced, that while in perfect health, we are not always suthiciently serious on matters of truly serious import, and that we pay no regard to the one thing needful,' in | not. Thus far had he dictated when he was unable to proceed. He gradually became weaker and weaker. M. Soulier waited upon him with all the tenderness and affection of a father, and the interviews which passed between them he has faithfully recorded. The following extracts may be useful:— "The next day being the Sabbath, before day-break he said to Madame Nougier, the mistress of the house, To-day is the day of rest: if the Lord would vouchsafe to make it that of my rest, it would be a happy event for my soul.' He repeated the same to M. Soulier, and added, All days are days of grace-every hour -every moment is an hour and a moment of mercy; while we are unconverted, we are infidels.' He said a little after, This body of dust must be destroyed, that it may rise again a glorious incorruptible body.' The evening of the day before his death, M. Soulier found him surrounded by many pious Christians, who, anxious to take a last farewell of this devoted servant of the Saviour, and to profit by his instructions, were on their knees around his bed, when he thus expressed himself: I cannot speak,' said he to them; but my desire, my great desire would be to transfuse into the soul of every one who hears me, a sense of the need I have experienced, and do still experience, to be more closely attached to Jesus. You are young, but alas! you see the Lord makes no distinction. He calls the young, as well as the old, to render their account, and to appear before him. "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Long before it was light, on the day of his death, he sent for his friend, wishing to say something more on the benefit he had derived from the afflictions with 6 "In the morning he prayed often, but in a much lower, or more feeble voice; I heard at one time these words, It has pleased Thee to prolong my trial, in not granting me sleep; thy holy name be blessed! O! it is doubtless to purify my body and soul that thou dost so; this is clearly revealed in thy Word.' 'You cannot sleep,' said I to him, having observed his anxious desire, for some time, to find repose, but you shall find spiritual repose on the bosom of the Saviour, and fall asleep in his arms.' O yes!' said he, that is my hope.' Having requested a draught of the freshest water, I said to him, In a little you will satisfy your thirst at the fountain of living waters.' 'Oh! yes,' said he, in reply, those are the truly good waters,-these only refresh the body; but those of heaven which flow from Jesus the Fountain of living waters, which spring up to everlasting life, will refresh the soul for ever!' 666 6 Finally, his last moments drew nigh; we were all on our knees around his bed, and did not suppose he was now able to hear us praying, but as I concluded, I expressed myself thus, Lord Jesus come, gather his soul into thy bosom!' he repeated the word 'Come!' and when I had said Amen, and Amen!' he also repeated' Amen!' A little after we prayed again, not having the least idea that he yet heard us, but when I had again repeated Amen!' his eyes, which had been half-closed, were opened a little wider, and elevated towards heaven. These two words were the last his dying lips uttered, and the last expression of his piety was the uplifting of his eyes to heaven. Shortly the Lord came indeed, to transport, from time to eternity, the immortal soul which he had given him, and which he had redeemed with no less a price than his own most precious blood.'" Thus died, on Monday, 19th July 1824, in the 27th year of his age, one who had been rescued from the darkness of Papal ignorance, and introduced to a clear experimental knowledge of divine truth. His life was short, but it was long enough to evince that he had become a child of God and an heir of glory. A SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN SCOTLAND. FROM ITS INTRODUCTION TO A.d., 432. AT the time when the Son of God came into the world, the inhabitants of Scotland well deserved the epithet of barbarians, which the Greeks and Romans arrogantly applied to all but themselves. Virgil has mentioned the entire separation of the Britons from the rest of the world, and Catullus speaks of them not only as extremely remote, which might apply to their insular situation, but also as horrible, which might refer to their frightful and savage aspect, as they were accustomed to tinge their faces, and other parts of their bodies, with woad. which he had been tried; after this he heard with great That part of Britain to the north was much less proattention some chapters read from the New Testament. ductive than that to the south of the river Tweed, and He had not for a long time closed his eyes, in consefrom its distance, as well as from the enmity which genequence of his sufferings; but now, looking forward with rally subsists between barbarian tribes, it was deprived faith to the repose of the grave which awaited his of the advantages which might have been derived from body, while his soul dwelt with delight on the glory to intercourse with the nations of the continent. It is be revealed on its release from earthly troubles, he probable, the poverty of the inhabitants of Scotland, burst forth into a rapturous prayer, beginning, Mornmore than their warlike prowess, preserved their indeing star from on high! brilliant star of day! raise thy-pendence, and the Grampian mountains presented a self up,-come to enlighten me!' It was remarkable natural barrier, beyond which the conquerors of the for the scriptural view he took of the salvation of manworld were either unable or unwilling to penetrate. kind by the blood of Christ." The natives of Italy shivered amid the frosts and snows The last struggles of nature cannot be described of Caledonia, and the hardy soldier turned with disgust better than in the words of M. Soulier :from the stormy hills, where the objects calculated to gratify his avarice or sensuality were utterly unattainable. Industry and the arts of peace were neglected, or, perhaps, entirely unknown, and they lived on the milk and flesh of their cattle, and on the animals which they killed in hunting, which seems to have constituted their principal employment. In these circumstances, religion, as might be expected, reached the utmost degree of degradation. Julius Cæsar, in the sixth book of his Commentaries, has given a favourable account of the Druids of Gaul, who, according to his statement, derived their knowledge of the druidical institutions from those of Britain. He tells us of the youth who were instructed under their superintendence, of their mode of instruction, which chiefly consisted in the improvement of the memory, of the influence which they exercised in the settlement of all manner of disputes, and of the interdict or excommunication which they issued against any who presumed to question their authority. The only knowledge which was then attainable, was confined to this order of men, and we must admit their acquaintance with arithmetic, astronomy, and with the nature of things-a phrase under which Cæsar probably intended to include botany and some parts of natural philosophy. But the great secret of their power over the minds of the people was their eloquence, which they seem to have cultivated with no ordinary care. The doctrines which they taught are not very accurately known, because they thought it unlawful to commit them to writing; but Cæsar has assured us that they believed in the immortality of the soul, and in its transmigration from one body into another. This is but a rude outline of that picture of the Druids, which the author of the Commentaries has, as usual, sketched with the hand of a master. But Tacitus, with characteristic brevity, has cast over this picture of Cæsar a shading fearfully dark. When Paullinus Suetonius had obtained the government of Britain, he prepared to attack Mona, which, with good reason, is believed to be the isle of Anglesea, and which was then inhabited by a warlike people, and was a refuge for the discontented. The Romans entirely subdued them. Tacitus adds, "The groves dedicated to a savage superstition were cut down, for they stain their altars with the blood of their captives, and consult the gods by the entrails of men." Even before Tacitus wrote the sentence which we have now quoted, there appeared over the hills and glens of Caledonia, the dawning of a brighter day. The Culdees were accustomed to assert that the doctrines of the religion which they taught had been communicated to their predecessors by the disciples of the last of the Evangelists; and this assertion, which it is now difficult to verify by an appeal to direct evidence, will find considerable support from inferences, which may be legitimately drawn from the general history of that age. During the first imprisonment of the Apostle Paul at Rome, which was not later than the reign of Nero, we know, from the highest authority, that the doctrines of Christianity had forced an entrance into the imperial palace, and that there were saints in Cæsar's household. From this piece of unquestionable evidence we may conclude, that men of all ranks and of every degree of intellectual endowment had heard the Gospel preached, and had professed their belief in the name of Christ. Besides the Apostle Paul himself, " many of the brethren waxing confident by his bonds, were much inore bold to speak the Word without fear." Paul, in writing to the Philippians, distinctly alludes to their success, and it may be admitted, without difficulty, that they themselves, or some who heard them preach, had| soon after occasion to visit Britain, to serve the emperor, either in a civil or military capacity. These individuals might be, according to circumstances, the disciples of the Apostles Paul or John. Now, as the inhabitants of the na• See also Cæsar de Bell Gall., book vi. chap. 16. | tions around Judea, who heard Peter's sermon in Jerusa lem on the day of Pentecost, must have spoken of what they heard to their families and neighbours when they returned to their homes, so we may readily believe those who had listened to the instructions of Paul, or John, or any of those who acted along with them, would tell the tidings, and would speak of what they had been taught to such of the inhabitants of Britain as they met with in daily intercourse. Tertullian asserts that those parts of Britain which were inaccessible to the Romans had been made subject to the authority of Christ. The places inaccessible to the Romans lay beyond the Grampian mountains; and we can only account for this fact by supposing that the rude and illiterate inhabitants of Caledonia were instructed in the doctrines of the Gos pel by those whose business led them to visit this island, and who had heard them from the lips of the Apostles or their followers. This reasoning, which is at least borne out by analogy, is supported by a fact recorded in the annals of Tacitus. Aulus Plautius was prefect of Britain in the reign of Claudius. On his return to Rome he was honoured with an ovation, or inferior triumph, on account of the victories which he had obtained over the Britons. At the same time his wife, Pomponia Graecina, was accused of having adopted a foreign superstition, and her husband was permitted to try her for this crime against the laws of the commonwealth. According to ancient usage, Plautius assembled a number of her re| lations, and, in their presence, investigated her conduct. She was declared innocent, and lived to a great age, but Tacitus adds that her life was spent in uninterrupted sorrow. The commentators of Tacitus give it as their opinion, that this foreign superstition was the Christian religion; and Dr Henry, in his history of Britain, expresses himself to the same effect. Supposing Pomponia to have been a Christian, of which little doubt can be entertained by those who are acquainted with the phraseology of Tacitus, the high station which she occupied in this island must have given her many opportunities of recommending to the notice of the inhabi tants the religion of Jesus. Perhaps this illustrious lady was among the first who engaged the preachers of the Gospel to dispel, by the light of truth, the darkness of Druidical superstition. In the absence of that testimony, which it would be extremely desirable to possess, the facts now stated are not without some claims upon our belief. It is necessary to exercise the utmost caution even in reading the Scottish history of this period, for the fertility of invention in the writers of the middle ages is utterly confounding. The various monkish legends that refer to the introduction of Christianity into Scotland, must be passed over as, generally speaking, unworthy of any serious notice. The curious reader, who may wish to amuse a leisure hour with this species of romance, will find enough to satisfy him in Archbishop Usher's book on the origin of the British Churches, of which the fifteenth chapter contains both the real and fabulous account of the origin of the Church of Scotland. are willing to hope that sufficient grounds have been now shown for not rejecting the assertion of the Culdees, that they received their doctrines from the disciples of the Apostle John. We While we believe that a number of individuals were converted to Christianity about the end of the first and throughout the second century, it must not be supposed that Christianity was even generally prevalent. But Donald I. and his court are said to have become Christians about the year 203. This fact has been considered fabulous; and it must be confessed, that there are many circumstances connected with it extremely suspicious. Before we reject it, however, let it be remembered, that it is related by Buchanan, and believed by Spottiswood and the fact itself may be true, while the circumstances connected with it are false. The story is this: Victor, Bishop of Rome, was requested to send some preachers to Scotland, which he did, and their preaching was attended with the most astonishing success. Never did any people lay aside idolatry with such readiness, or embrace the doctrines of the Gospel with such eagerness. They came in so great numbers to receive baptism, that duly to administer it became a very oppressive duty. This is Dempster's account of the matter; but the narrative of Buchanan is much more sober. He intimates, that Donald I., and several of his successors, had great difficulty in bringing the people to embrace Christianity; and this fact is more consistent with what may be supposed to be the circumstances of the case. The Druids had been intrusted with extraordinary powers, and possessed great influence, and they would not be slow in using their power and influence in their own behalf. They could scarcely be ignorant of the gradual diffusion of Christianity over western Europe, and their knowledge of this fact would only serve to sharpen their jealousy. History has, indeed, preserved no memorials of the victims of Druidical persecution; but well knowing how men placed in similar circumstances have uniformly acted, we can have no doubt that the authority which they exercised would not be resigned without a tremendous struggle. While Christianity was confined to a few individuals in different places, any public profession of it must have been attended with very serious danger. But the case must have been greatly altered, when the king and his nobles were converted. Their conversion was a powerfui lever, by which the public mind was to be moved, and by which the resistance of the Druids was to be overcome. Still the influence of the Druids with the people, must have been set in opposition to the example and influence of the king; and this, in all probability, formed a part of the difficulties to which Buchanan simply alludes as standing in the way of the introduction. of Christianity. One thing is certain, whether the conversion of this monarch be true or false, Christianity, in the beginning of the third century, began to be more widely diffused in Scotland, and the Druidical superstition began at that time to fall into disrepute. Had the records of that age come down to our times, it is not improbable we would have found the Druids maintaining as fierce a struggle for preserving their superiority as the Church of Rome maintained at the Reformation. The successive pages of Listory present us with new actors and new circumstances; but the principles of the human heart are in every age, and in every climate, uniformly the same. The reign of Donald I. in Scotland corresponds to that of Severus at Rome, and the history of that Emperor enables us to perceive, that the opposition of the Druids did not constitute the only difficulty which stood in the way of the introduction of Christianity into this country. After almost incredible exertions, Severus obtained the empire of the world, and he was doomed to experience, that true happiness and lasting satisfaction are not necessarily connected with the most exalted rank, and with the most extensive power. In his advanced age, the enmity of his sons towards each other embittered his existence. The luxury of the capital only served to increase their mutual hatred, and Severus heard, with pleasure, of an invasion of the Roman province of Britain by those who dwelt beyond its northern boundary. He left Rome, and took his sons along with him, to wage war with these presumptuous barbarians. Old, and enfeebled with disease, he encountered the storms and colds of Caledonia. He passed the wall of Antoninus, and pushed northward without meeting an enemy. He penetrated to the northern extremity of the island, an achievement which was accomplished by the loss of fifty thou sand men. The perseverance of Severus tamed the spirit of the Caledonians, and they sued for peace, which was granted, on condition that they would surrender their arms, and cede a large portion of their territory. But their submission was only for a time. When the Roman legions returned to the more genial climates of the south, the Caledonians again assumed their attitude of sturdy independence. The Emperor was exasperated-he was determined to wage against them, a war of utter extirpation-and was only prevented by his death, in the year 211, from carrying his bloody purpose into execution. It may be easily supposed that these events were unfavourable to Christianity, and that the Druids were able, for a time, to arrest its progress. The age of Severus and his sons has been fixed upon as that period when Ossian wrote the poems which are known to the literary world by the translation of Macpherson. If the writings of Ossian be genuine, they would go far to overturn all the conclusions which have now been drawn, in regard to the existence of the Christian religion in Scotland during the two first centuries; for he does not make the most distant allusion to Christianity. But the same objection applies, with equal force, to the Druidical superstition, which is not so much as mentioned in any of the poems of this ancient Caledonian. It would be travelling out of our path to enter upon an investigation of a subject which has been so keenly controverted; but in epic poems of such length as Fingal and Temora, we might have expected, that some mention would have been made of the religion which then prevailed. The classical scholar would be at no loss to collect a system of Grecian theology from the Iliad; and if Ossian really wrote in the age of Severus, it is somewhat singular that he should not have made a single allusion to the religion of his country. It can scarcely have escaped the observation of those who have studied this portion of the history of the Church, that many years must be passed over without a single incident which may give interest to the narrative. The progress of the historian along this barren portion of our country's history, may be compared to the journey of a traveller through a wilderness, which presents the same stern aspect of irreclaimable sterility, and whose dreariness is only sometimes relieved by the sparkling fountain and the verdant oasis, and sometimes by the simoom and the whirlwind. From the age of Severus to that of Dioclesian, there is no record of the progress of religion in the northern part of this island. It would be rash, however, to conclude, that Christianity was extirpated either by the Druids on the one hand, or by the unsettled state of the country on the other. The princes and men in authority were probably opposed to the Christian religion, and the Christians were compelled to be silent, or to maintain their profession in the midst of difficulties and persecution. In the preface to Knox's History of the Reformation, which was written by David Buchanan, the revival of Christianity is said to have taken place under the reign of King Crathilinthus; but Buchanan, the historian, assigns to this event a later date, in the reign of Fincormachus. The Church of Christ, under the Emperor Dioclesian, was visited with the tenth persecution. It raged with great severity for several years, and there were not wanting numerous witnesses to the truth and value of the Gospel. But it is worthy of observation, that perse cution has always been an instrument in the hand of Divine Providence for the extension of the Church. When Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi, the conversion of the jailer was the consequence; and when the Jews raised a tumult at Thessalonica, so that the apostle was forced to leave it by night, this occurrence became the occasion of the glad tidings of salvation |