In reading church history, you will have occasion to observe the same things, because the history of the church is necessarily connected with the history of the world. But there are also some things to be noticed, wherein the history of the church differs from that of the world. The dealings of God with his own people differ from his dealings with his enemies. The afflictions which he brings upon the former are the wholesome corrections of a tender Father, and designed for their good; those he brings upon the latter are designed either to lead them to repentance, or they are just judgments, intended for the destruction of those who have filled up the measure of their iniquities. But be careful, in reading church history, that you do not lose sight of the true church of Christ. Most of the histories which have been written, are filled either with accounts of individuals, or of bodies of wicked men, who could lay no claim to the character of the church of Christ. A church consists of a society of people, professing the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, and practising them in their lives. Or, in other words, having both the _form_ and _power_ of godliness. Without these, no body of men have any right to be called the church of Christ. If you observe this, you will relieve yourself from much perplexity of mind, which the careless reader experiences from, supposing that all the evils described in any period of the history of the nominal church, do really exist in the _true_ church. These very evils prove that it is not the true church of Christ.