Yet let it not hence be supposed that he was at all acquainted with the religion of the gospel; for there are many minds which can glow with admiration of the Deity in his works, and at the same time reject him in his beloved Son. Characters such as these must always more or less interest us, and make us desirous to bring them to a knowledge of Him, "whom to know is eternal life, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent."

Whatever satisfaction and peace of mind they possess, it is necessarily connected with ignorance of themselves, as fallen and ruined sinners, and of God, as a punisher of every violator of his law. This will be amply illustrated in the sequel of this narrative.

Preparatory to entering one of the English Universities, Mr. Buchanan applied to his studies with an ardour seldom equalled, and with a success that showed the powers of his mind. But his constitution, though naturally a good one, could not bear all that was imposed upon it; and he was obliged reluctantly, through ill health, to relinquish, at least for a season, the labours in which he had been so deeply occupied. Theology now began to occupy his mind;

and because he found in the sacred writings "some things hard to be understood," he was unfortunately led to reject the whole of the inspired volume; he knew not the important truth, that our faith is not "to stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God:" nor that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned," 1 Cor. ii. 14. He therefore fell into the too common error of sitting in judgment on the revealed truth of God, without first consulting the evidences by which it may be established; and, having previously fallen in with some infidel authors, his mind was prepared already to object and cavil; this induced him to abandon all idea of the clerical profession with disgust, and to fortify more strongly his mind in its dangerous errors by the writings of the most popular deists of the day. So great, indeed, at this time, was his hatred of the Bible, that, if in the course of his reading, any passage from it was brought before him, he passed it over with expressions of contempt. But, notwithstanding all the arguments he could bring against the truth, a latent

conviction of its reality remained in him; and he was far from obtaining that ease and comfort from his new principles which he expected.

In this condition, he withdrew into almost total solitude in the country, where he amused himself with rural scenery, and sought to trace the hand of the great Creator in his visible works, and to establish himself more firmly in the vain notions he had embraced. His health now began to amend; but gloom and inquietude pervaded his mind, which in his lonely retreat brooded over his disappointments, and proved how vain was the stoicism of which he made his boast. It will indeed always be found, that however specious in theory may be the speculations of the human intellect, when opposed to the word of God, in the hour of danger and distress they can bring no solid peace, and are only "refuges of lies," in which whosoever trusts must be disappointed.

"Periods there are in human life,

When reason's boasted sway

Avails not to allay the strife

That marks our stormy way,

Alike unable to provide,

To rule, to obviate, or guide."

He had imbibed the idea, long ago exploded by revelation, that the Supreme Being, having made the world, and placed it under certain laws, left his creatures to a kind of chance or fate, considering them as thenceforth unworthy of his care.

This false humility of infidelity, instead of exalting the Deity, robs him of his most distinguishing perfections, and supposes his attributes to be but finite; and it has its source in the blinded understanding and unbelieving heart of man, and is aptly described by the Psalmist :"Thou thoughtest that I was such an one as thyself." God declares by the prophet, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts," Isa. lv. 8, 9.

Thus rejecting the idea of a superintending Providence, he knew how painful was the feeling arising from considering the world as left to the uncertainties of chance, and the immitigable miseries of endless confusion; and thought the distress and sorrow which pervaded the whole

earth could not but be a matter of indifference to the Maker of all. His notions of the dignity of man were grounded on his moral excellence, and the acquirements of a good education, in which considering himself not deficient, he was too apt to regard those who came not up to his own standard as an inferior order of beings. Religion he held to be fanaticism, or the baseless fabric of visionary tales preached by enthusiasts; he admitted that they might be very honest in their intentions, but they were certainly deceived by the Scriptures, from which they took their creed. View him, therefore, holding these opinions, and, connecting them with the natural cast of his mind, it will not be difficult to conceive what was the complexion of his musings in his voluntary seclusion from society. In this seclusion he continued six months, about which time he had begun to form schemes for his future guidance, which happily were never permitted to be realized. It was soon seen that "the way of man is not in himself;" that "it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps," Jer. x. 23; and that the Lord oftentimes "leads the blind by a way that they know not;" and that, though there be