of the Presbyterian Church. They preached not merely to their regiments, or in their respective quarters, but in all the adjoining parishes that were accessible to them. Livingston thus speaks of his proceedings, during this first visit to Ireland after the rebellion :

"I staid for six weeks, most part in Carrickfergus, where the headquarters were, and for other six weeks, most part at Antrim, with Si John Clotworthy, (ancestor of the Massareene family) and his regiment who had obtained an order from the council for me so to do. I preached for most part in these two places, but sometimes in other parishes of the coast-side about. Before I left Antrim, we had the communion celebrated there, where sundry that had taken the Oath (imposed by Strafford in the year 1639,) did willingly, and with great expressions of grief, publicly con fess the same. I found a great alteration in Ireland. Many of those who were civil (moral) before, were become many ways exceedingly loose: yea, sundry who, as could be conceived, had true grace, were decline much in tenderness; so as it would seem the sword opens a gap, an makes every body worse than before, an inward plague coming with the outward; yet some few were in a very lively condition."-Life, p. 36-7

This declaration, coming from an eye-witness, affords an important and impressive testimony to the demoraliz ing effects of civil war. May God send peace in our day The faithful and diligent preaching of the Presbytery succeeded, under the divine blessing, in removing muc of this religious indifference. The lively or zealous Chris tians, alluded to by Livingston, became gradually mor numerous; till at length, at the urgent solicitations of the people, and as the first step to the settled dispensation o religious ordinances among them, sessions were erected in almost all the principal towns of Antrim and Down.

The places where Presbyterian congregations were thus regularly organized, for the first time, according to the dis cipline of our Church, were: in Antrim, Ballymena, Antrim, Cairncastle, Templepatrick, Carrickfergus, Larne, and Belfast, to which were soon after added, Islandmagee, Ballycarry, Ballymoney, and Billy; and in Down, Ballywalter, Portaferry, Newtownards, Donaghadee, Killileagh, Comber, Holywood, and Bangor.

In the month of July, the Presbytery sent forward a supplication to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, praying for supplies of preaching to these congregations; and especially entreating that the Ministers who had been formerly settled in Ulster, but who were then members of that Church, might be permitted, if invited by their former parishes, to return to this country. This supplication is a most interesting document, well

worthy of being introduced in this place; but our very confined limits, for the present, prevent its insertion. The General Assembly complied with a part of their request. They would not permit any of their members to remove from Scotland, but they appointed six Ministers to visit Ulster, in the rotation of two every four months. Their commission was thus worded:

"They are to repair unto the North of Ireland, and there to visit, comfort, instruct, and encourage the scattered flocks of Christ; to employ themselves to their uttermost with all faithfulness and singleness of heart, in planting and watering according to the direction of Jesus Christ, and according to the doctrine and discipline of this Church, in all things; (our readers need scarcely be reminded how strictly Orthodox these were at this period) and, if need be, with concurrence of such of the Minister of the army as are there, to try and ordain such as shall be found qualified for the ministry, giving charge unto the persons foresaid in the sight of God, that in doctrine, in worship, in discipline, and in their daily conversation, they study to approve themselves as the Ministers of Jesus Christ."-Acts of General Assembly, p. 152.

These supplications to the General Assembly, and consequent supplies of Ministers were continued for several years; until our Church had acquired such stability and extension as enabled her to meet the wants of the people, without having recourse to foreign assistance. On these interesting missions to the destitute Protestants of Ulster were employed, in their turn, all the surviving Ministers who had been formerly settled in this country, and of whose Orthodox sentiments, and pious labours, we have given full proof in a preceding number. Both Blair and Livingston were, as may be expected, frequently appointed. The former, accompanied by Mr. Hamilton, formerly of Ballywalter, was the first to come over from the General Assembly, in the month of September, 1642. The services of this Orthodox Presbyterian in re-edifying our Church, were nearly as laborious as when, twenty years before, he had been engaged in first laying its foundations. They are thus recorded in his life:

During all the three months he was in Ireland, he generally preached once every day, and twice on the Sabbath, and frequently in the fields; the auditories being so large that no house could contain them; and in some of these he administered the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. But because many of the people had formerly, through constraint, taken an oath imposed by the Lord Deputy, abjuring the National Covenant of Scotland, Mr. Blair, after a pathetic discourse, laying out the guilt of that black oath, charged all whose conscience accused and condemned them, to separate themselves from amongst those who were not involved in that grievous provocation. And they having willingly done so, and stood in a body, on his left hand, he, as a son, first of thunder and then

of consolation, did with great vehemency, energy, and warmth, set before them the awful threatenings held forth by the Holy Law against transgressors; and then endeavoured to display the exceeding greatness of God's mercy and grace, exhorting them to fly to God for reconciliation and pardon, through Christ. And after the guilty had willingly, and with great expressions of grief and sorrow, confessed their sin, they were received as sincere penitents, and admitted to the holy Communion. Of that solemnity, several old experienced Christians declared that they never saw the like, nor ever heard the Gospel so powerfully preached and pertinently applied, with such variety of threatenings, promises, exhortations, motives, comforts, and cordials; and that they never saw such commotion and heart-melting among hearers, both guilty and innocent; so that it might be truly said, 'And they gathered together, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and said, we have sinned against the Lord.' 1 Sam. vii. 6. During this short visit to Ireland, both Ministers and Professors had many sweet and soul-refreshing days of the Gospel, and some solemn high Sabbaths; the like of which Mr. Blair seldom enjoyed in St. Andrew's.”—Life, p. 967.

Livingston was also, as we have said, occasionally engaged in this important work. Besides coming over with the army, in April, 1642, as already noticed, he revisited Ulster several times as a missionary, in company with other brethren. He thus speaks of their proceedings:

"These Ministers who went, used, for the most part, to separate themselves to divers parishes in several parts of the country; there being such a great number of vacant parishes, yet so as the one would also visit the place where the other had been. By this appointment, I was sent over three months in summer, 1643; and as long in summer, 1645; and also in 1646 and 1648. For the most part of all these three months, I preached every day once, and twice on the Sabbath; the destitute parishes were many; the hunger of the people was become great; and the Lord was pleased to furnish otherwise than usually I wont to get at home. came ordinarily the night before to the place where I was to preach, and commonly lodged in some religious person's house, where we were often well refreshed at family exercise. Usually I desired no more before I went to bed, but to make sure the place of Scripture I was to preach on the next day. And rising in the morning, I had four or five hours myself alone, either in a chamber or in the fields. After that we went to church, and then dined, and then rode five or six miles, more or less, to another parish. Sometimes there would be four or five communions in several places, in the three months' time. I esteemed these visits in Ireland the far best time of all the while I was in Galloway."-Life, p. 37-8.

Together with these zealous and Orthodox Ministers, with whose character and sentiments our readers are already familiar, were associated several of the most eminent of the Scottish clergy. We especially notice Dr. Robert Baillie, Professor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow, who was appointed to accompany Mr. Livingston to Ireland, for four months, in the summer of 1643. He was one of the

most distinguished men of that age. His character cannot be better given than in the following words of Wodrow, the celebrated historian of the Church of Scotland :-"Mr. Robert Baillie may most justly be reckoned among the great men of his time, and was an honour to his country for his profound and universal learning, his exact and solid judgment, that vast variety of languages he understood, to the number of twelve or thirteen, and his writing a Latin style, which might become the Augustan age. But I need not enlarge on his character,—his works do praise him in the gates.' He was employed in much of the public business of this Church since the year 1637. He was a worthy member of the venerable Assembly at Westminster, and at London, almost all the time of it." It is only necessary to add, that he took an active part in drawing up the Confession of Faith, and Catechisms, which were set forth by the Westminster Assembly; that he was the successful advocate of Calvinism, both in Scotland and England; and that, on several trying occasions, he distinguished himself as the able and intrepid advocate of the Orthodox doctrine and discipline of his national Church. Another eminent Minister, who was employed in re-establishing our Church at this period, was the Rev. George Hutchinson, one of the Ministers of Edinburgh, who is well known to biblical students as the author of an exposition of the book of Job, and of the twelve minor Prophets; and, also, of an elaborate commentary on the Gospel by John, in which the precious truths contained in that portion of the Divine Word, are most ably defended against the heretical glosses of the Arian and Socinian interpreters.

What we have said of these men, may suffice as a sample of the ministry under whose auspices the foundations of our church, after having been overturned by persecution, were a second time established in Ulster. From their hands she received her existing form and constitution. The congregations and the Presbyteries, subsequently founded by them, continue with little variation to the present day. They bequeathed to her the rich inheritance of a sound and uncorrupted Gospel. The doctrines they preached were, for a time, indeed, disowned by some Ministers, who had "crept unawares" into her communion. The result was such as the Apostle predicted:"many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of" 2 Pet. ii. 2. Under

the unhappy rule of these men, several of our more ancient congregations declined into Arianism; and our Church at large was covered with reproach in the eyes of the pious in other communions. But a day of refreshing from above has visited us. The doctrines in which our fathers gloried, are, once more, the doctrines that are acknowledged and maintained by our church. And, in humble dependance on the Eternal Spirit of Truth, we are confidently anticipating a revival of truth and righteousness to result from our return to the "good old ways" of our ancestors, and our determination to entrust the ministry of the Gospel amongst us to those only who maintain those precious truths, on the preaching and professing of which, our Scriptural and Apostolical Church was originally founded.

FIRST FOREIGN MISSIONARY FROM THE ULSTER PRESBYTERIANS.

"The cultivation of a Missionary spirit, is the cultivation of the Spirit of Christ.""The spirit of Unitarians, in this kingdom, is not a Missionary spirit."-Monthly Repository.-See Orthodox Presbyterian, p. 60.

WE need not assist our readers to draw the conclusion from the foregoing premises. They afford us, however, a reason to hope, that He who is "exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour in giving repentance," is beginning to convince the writer of them of the error of that sect of which he is the organ.

Believing, however, that the " Spirit of Missions is the Spirit of Christ," we feel pleasure in announcing to the readers of your Magazine, that H. M. Waddell, who was ardained by the Scottish Missionary Society, in September last, is an Irishman, a native of Monaghan.

Mr. W. early in life, showed a preference for the Christian ministry. His friends, however, wished to direct his mind to the choice of some other profession, as they feared that, from an impediment in his speech, he would never be useful as a public teacher. He was accordingly brought up to business, and served some years of his apprenticeship in Dublin. As he advanced in life, his mind, instead of turning from his first choice, reverted and clung to it with increasing devotedness. At length opposition was withdrawn; he returned home, and commenced the study of the Latin and Greek languages.