was drawn up and subscribed, and the Westminster Confession of Faith received and adopted, without a dissenting voice. These Ministers were Robert Blair, who was at first Minister at Ayr, and was afterwards removed to St. Andrews; James Hamilton settled first at Dumfries, and shortly after at Edinburgh; George Dunbar at Calder; Henry Colwart at Paisley; John Livingston, first at Stranraer, and afterwards at Ancrum; John M'Clelland at Kircudbright; Samuel Row at Dunfermline; and Robert Hamilton at Ballantrae. Hubbard, Brice, Welsh, and Stuart had died in Ireland before the persecution began; and Cunningham and Ridge died at Irvine shortly after they reached Scot land.

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This brief review of the characters and history of the Fathers of our church, in the first or earliest period of her history, is decisive as to their doctrinal principles. Though we have little but their actions to appeal to, yet even by these fruits may we assuredly know that they were strictly Orthodox in their opinions. When did Arians, even supposing that there were any in the church at this period, ever act like these venerated men? We know, indeed, that they have signed Calvinistic creeds, and have obtruded themselves into many churches under a false profession. But when did they frame such confessions, or recommend them to others? When were they ever known to carry the Gospel into dark and uncivilized regions, where it had been previously unknown;—to act as laborious, prayerful, devoted missionaries? When has it been their practice to hold social meetings for prayer, and the performance of devotional exercises, for their mutual encouragement and support in the work of the minisWe answer, as a sect or body of professing Christians, never! It would be foreign, however, to the design of this paper, to contrast any further the conduct of acknowledged Arians with that of the founders of the Presbyterian church, for the purpose of illustrating their contrariety in point of doctrine. We have referred to this mode of proof, merely because of the paucity of records that remain relative to this branch of the personal history of our early fathers in the ministry. The only individuals among them who have left any written memorials of their lives or sentiments, are Blair and Livingston; and even in these memoirs, in consequence, as we have already stated, of the Arian heresy being altogether unknown among the

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Irish or Scottish clergy, we do not meet with any explicit testimonies against its dangerous errors. But the language -the sentiments-the incidents noticed, and the proceedings recorded-with the tone of thinking and speaking on religious subjects, by which their pages are pervaded, can leave no reader in a moment's doubt, as to their having been the staunch and uniform upholders of that system of faith, to which the term Orthodox is usually applied. With a few extracts from their writings, in corroboration of these remarks, we shall conclude the present paper.

First, of Livingston. He thus relates the early determination of his mind to enter on the ministry of the Gospel: "I do not remember the time or means particularly whereby the Lord at first wrought upon my heart. When I was but very young, I would sometimes pray with some feeling, and read the word with delight; but thereafter did often intermit any such exercise; I would have some challenges, and begin, and again intermit. I had no inclination to the ministry till a year or more after I had passed my degrees in the college, and that, upon this occasion, I had a bent desire to give myself to the know. ledge and practice of medicine; I was very earnest to go to France for that purpose, and propounded it to my father, that I might obtain his consent; but he refused the same. About the same time, my father having before purchased some land, the rights whereof were taken in my name, propounded that I should go and dwell on that land, and marry. But finding that that course would divert me from all study of learning, I refused that offer. Now, being in these straits, I resolved that I would spend a day alone before God; and knowing of a secret cave, I went thither, and after many to's and fro's, and much confusion, and fear about the state of my soul, I thought it was made out to me that I behoved to preach Christ Jesus; which if I did not, I should have no assurance of salvation. Upon this, I laid aside all thoughts of France, and medicine, and land, and betook me to the study of divinity."-Life, p. 5, 6.

In reference to the second period of his life, when he was as yet only a Probationer, he observes:

"Those books whereby I profited most, were the sermons of Mr. Robert Rollock, Mr. Robert Bruce, Mr. J. Welsh, and Mr. David Dickson, whom I thought of all I had read breathed most of the spirit of God, were best affected, and most clear, plain, and powerful. Several of Mr. Robert Rollock's sermons are in print. I got in loan a large book of sermons of Mr. Welsh's, in which are almost nothing but unfolding of the inward exercise of a Christian. Mr. Robert Bruce I several times heard, and in my opinion never man spake with greater power since the Apostles' days. There are five or six of his sermons printed: and Mr. David Dickson I often heard, and borrowed several of his written sermons."-Life p. 12.

It need scarcely be added, that more zealous upholders of Calvinism are not to be found than these eminent Ministers, to whose sermons Livingston thus affixes the unqualified mark of his approbation.

When in Ireland, he thus narrates the ordinary proceedings of himself and his brethren in the ministry:

"Not only had we public worship free of any inventions of men, but we had also a tolerable discipline; for after I had been some while among them, by the advice of heads of families, some ablest for that charge were chosen elders, to oversee the manners of the rest, and some deacons, to gather and distribute the collections. We met every week, and such as fell into notorious public scandals, we desired to come before us.-We needed not to have the communion oftener, than twice a year in each parish, for there were nine or ten parishes within the bounds of twenty miles, or little more, wherein there were godly and able Ministers that kept a society together, and every one of these had the communion twice a year at different times, and had two or three of the neighbouring Ministers to help thereat, and most part of the religious people used to resort to the communions of the rest of the parishes. Most of all the Ministers used ordinarily to meet the first Friday of every month at Antrim, where was a great and good congregation, and that day was spent in fasting, and prayer, and public preaching. Commonly two preached every forenoon, and two in the afternoon. We used to come together the Thursday's night before, and stayed the Friday's night after, and consulted about such things as concerned the carrying on of the work of God: and these meetings, among ourselves, were sometimes as profitable as either Presbyteries or Synods."

On his banishment from Scotland, at the Restoration, he wrote a farewell letter to his parishioners, in which, after giving them many important counsels, he adds:

"I recommend to you, above all books, except the blessed Word of God, the Confession of Faith and Larger Catechism."

This eminent servant of God, after numerous trials and vicissitudes, died at Rotterdam, in Holland, in 1672. He died as he had lived, an Orthodox Presbyterian; for on his death-bed he made this solemn declaration :

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"I die in the faith that the truths of God, which he hath helped the Church of Scotland to own, shall be owned by him as truths, so long as sun and moon endure."

The only other Minister of this period, of whom any printed records remain, is Blair. He has written "Me. moirs of his Life," in which the most decided intimations of his religious principles are given. When a regent or professor in the College of Glasgow, he thus describes how he was led to receive and live upon Christ, as “God manifest in the flesh :".

"Then began I in earnest to study his person, his natures, and his offices; how he is made to us of God, not only wisdom as the great promised prophet, righteousness as our justifier and absolver, but also sanctification as our king, to reign in us, and work that which is well pleasing in his sight. Then looked I with pleasure upon his human nature,

wherein he is sib (related) to us. Comfortable was the report that 'unto us a child is born and a son given.' Isa. ix. 6, who shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, Mic. v. 5, and who being made like one of us, partaking of flesh and blood with the children, both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified, are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Heb. ii. 11. And the consideration of his human nature, wherein he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities,' issued in strong consolation; for upon this ground we are exhorted to come boldly into the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.' And so our Saviour was made fit to be a sacrifice to satisfy for sin, and a more familiar (friend) to whom we might, have recourse for sanctification to help us against all temptations as our need requireth, seeing, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.' I John iii. 8. Now, as the consideration of his human nature proves thus comfortable in order to our sanctification, so also his divine nature; for the child that is born to us, the Son that is given to us, his name is 'the mighty God, the everlasting Father.'". Life, p. 25.

When settled in Ireland, he gives nearly the same account as Livingston does, of his diligence in the work of the ministry, and the progress of practical religion among the people:

"My charge was very great, consisting of about six miles in length, and containing about 1200 persons come to age, besides children, who stood greatly in need of instruction. This being the case, I preached twice every week, beside the Lord's Day; on all which occasions I found little difficulty, either as to matter or method. But finding still that this fell short of reaching the design of a gospel-ministry, and that the most part continued vastly ignorant, I saw the necessity of trying a more plain and familiar way of instructing them: and, therefore, besides my public preaching, I spent as much time every week as my bodily strength could hold out with, in exhorting and catechising them."-Life, p. 52-3.

We meet with another incidental but decided proof of his religious principles, in reference to a most important article of the Christian Faith, in the following account which he gives of his intercourse with the celebrated Usher, Archbishop of Armagh-a narrative which, however brief, cannot fail to interest every Orthodox Presbyterian :—

"In March, 1627, my noble patron, Lord Claneboye, having had a great esteem of Primate Usher, would have me to accompany him to a meeting of the nobility and gentry of Ulster with the Primate. Accordingly I went, and had a kind invitation to be at his table while I was in town. But having once met with the English Liturgy there, I left my excuse with my patron, that I expected another thing than formal liturgies in the family of so learned and pious a man. The Primate excused himself, by reason of the great confluence that was there; and had the good nature to encourage me to come to Drogheda, where his ordinary residence was, and where he would be more at leisure to be better acquainted with me. I complied with the Primate's invitation, and found him very affable and

ready to impart his mind. He desired to know what was my judgmeut concerning the nature of justifying and saving faith. I told him in general that I held the accepting of Jesus Christ, as he is ficely offered in the Gospel, to be saving faith. With this he was well satisfied; and by a large discourse confirmed and further cleared the same, by the similitude. of a marriage, where it is not the sending or receiving of gifts, but the accepting the person, that constitutes the marriage. From this he passed on to try my mind concerning ceremonies; wherein we were not so far from agreeing as I feared. For when I had freely opened my grievances,3 he admitted that all these things ought to have been removed; but the constitutional laws of the place and time would not permit that to be done. He added that he was afraid our strong disaffection to these would mar our min-7 istry; and that he had himself been importuned to stretch forth his hand against us; and that, though he would not for the world do that, he feared instruments might be found who would do it; and he added that it would break his heart if our successful ministry in the North were interrupted. Our conference ending, he dismissed me very kindly, though I gave him no high titles; and when trouble came upon us, he proved our very goodfriend."-Life, p. 64.

The only other evidence of the religious opinions of Blair, to which we have space for referring in this paper, is afforded by the following notice of a conference he had with one of the Judges of Assize, before whom, when on the Northern Circuit, he had the opportunity of preaching at Downpatrick:

"After sermon on the Lord's Day, one of the Judges, wanting to confer with me, sent for me to his lodgings; where, after professing his satisfaction with what I had delivered, especially in my last sermon, for therein,' said he, 'you opened a point which I never heard before, viz. the covenant of redemption made with Christ the Mediator, as head of the elect:' he entreated me to go over the heads of that sermon with him; and, opening his bible, he read over and considered the proofs cited; and was so well satisfied, that he protested if his calling did not tie him to Dublin, he would gladly come to the North, and settle under such a ministry."-Life, p. 69, 70.

From these extracts it is easy to perceive what were the religious principles of Livingston and Blair;' and when we know these, we know the principles of their brethren. So close and intimate was the union that subsisted between the fathers of our church, that the sentiments of one were the sentiments of all. They were stedfast believers in the deity of Christ, and the efficacy of his atonement; and their views of saving faith, of the covenant of redemption, and the doctrines of grace, were in exact accordance with those laid down in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Such were the religious principles on which the foundation of the Presbyterian church in Ireland was laid by these wise master-builders,-Jesus Christ him