The History of the Reformation of the Church of Scotland

The Scots, although they received amongst them the light of the Gospel with the very first of the Gentiles, as we have said, yet had they not the Evangel so universally professed through the whole Country, till towards the first years of the third Age; that is, till Donald the first; who not only professed the Faith of Christ himself, with his Family, but did his best to cast out Idolatry wholly from his Dominions, and to settle the Ministry of the Gospel in every corner thereof: But this religious King could not bring ⟨image 22⟩to pass this his good Design fully, being diverted by continual Wars against the Romans the whole course of his life.

The Scots, although they received amongst them the light of the Gospel with the very first of the Gentiles, as we have said, yet had they not the Evangel so universally professed thorow the whole Countrey, till towards the first yeers of the third Age; that is, till Donald the first; who not onely professed the Faith of Christ himself, with his Family, but did his best to cast out Idolatry wholly from his Dominions, and to settle the Ministery of the Gospel in every corner thereof: But this religious King could not bring ⟨image 22⟩to passe this his good Designe fully, being diverted by continuall Wars against the Romans the whole course of his life.

After the death of Donald, till toward the later end of the third age; that is, to the Reign of Crathilinth, this work of totally putting down Idolatry, and settling the Gospel every where in the Country, by the negligence of the following Princes, was at a stay. In this King Crathilinth his days fell out the ninth persecution under Aurelius, and the tenth under Diocletian, which gave occasion to many Christians from divers parts of the Empire, but namely from the South parts of Britain, now another time to fly into Scotland for refuge, as they had done before under Domitian. Among those fugitives who did then repair into Scotland for shelter from the general massacre, were many excellent men in Piety and Learning, whom the King Crathilinth not only kindly received, but also employed to aid and help him and his Council in the further settling of Christs Truth in his Kingdom, and in the total extirpation of Idolatry out of it; which was so much the harder work, because of the Druids, the principal false Prophets, and Idolatrous Priests in those days; who not only by their subtle hypocrisy, and sense-pleasing Divine Service, but also by a cunning forecast, having drawn into their hands the hearing and determining of Civill affairs, had so gained upon the spirits of the poor and simple people, that they could not imagine how to be without them, and live. The resolute care and diligence of King Crathilinth and his Council, with the help of those pious and learned men, surpasseth all difficulties; and having put quite down the Groves and Altars under the Oaks, and, in a word, all Idol Service, established the pure Worship of the true God in every place of his Dominions, and filled up the rooms of those false Prophets, with godly and learned Teachers of the people; which was done every where through the Kingdom, but particularly in the Islands, which those pious men chose for their principal abode, as being most fit for a retired life; and namely, in the Isle of Man the King Crathilinth caused to build a