JL4M' LIBRARY OF THE Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N. J. Ctose f „ «-5S. .■S*..S..Bi ¥ ision Shelf, I Oc^CJ SeclLon Hook, No,_. 4 ^£*&^4' C^a-^I^* ^/*^^ * -V EVANGELICAL biography: OR, AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE LIVES and DEATHS OF SOME EMINENT MEN OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES, AND Of VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS IN THE PROTESTANT CHURCH. .Exhibiting the Unity of their FAITH and EXPERI- ENCE IN THEIR SEVERAL GF.S, COUNTRIES, AND PRO- FESSIONS; AND ILLUSTRATING THE POWER OF DI- VINE GRACE IN THEIR VERY REMARKABLE holy Living and Dying. Chiefly feleftcd from the Works of The Rev. ERASMUS MIDDLETON, Of King's College, Cambridge. V H ILAD E L F H I A: •Printed and fold by John M'Culloch, N°. i. North Third-Street, tf,DCC.XCYlIL tp^t rrJ^ ^H^Jrh^^Sa .^ji^yT^jzxap&JXt^j^jx^j^jiij ^oj^nxapi^ 2yi.^2y^3^ PREFACE. AT a time, when infidelity and irreligion a- bound on the one hand, and heretical te- nets are making large flrides upon the reformed religion on the other j it hath been thought ne- ceflary, to oppofe a torrent of wickednefs and de- lufion, which threatens to bear down all before it. The judgments of GOD, which feem to hang over us as a nation, may juftly be imputed to the prevailing iniquity of the times, the diflblutenefs of our public principles and manners, and the open difregard for the Lord of Ho^ts, which fo many among us, in practice if not in words, have dared to avow. We have reafon to tremble as a nation, under the awful vifitations of the Almigh- ty ; and to fear, that, un efs a reformation of our general conduct take place, and a greater re- gard be paid to the interells of religion and truth, we Pnali be afflicted with yet heavier difptnfations, and that what we fee already, is only the beginning cf for r oils. With this view it hath been fuggefled, that (as nothing makes ilronger impreflions upon the mind / 4 PREFACE. mind than example) a review of the lives and principles of the mod eminent perfons in the pro- tedant churches, from the beginning of the refor- mation to the prefent day, might be a providen- tial means of afMing, at lead, in giving a check to this general inundation of infidelity and falfe opinions. The attentive perufal and confidera- tion of what thofe great and good men maintain- ed, fuffered for, or died in poiTeiTion of; may, in the hand of GOD, be indrumental in leading ethers to follow their example, or at lead deter many from reviling and contemning thofe peculiar principles of the protedant do&rine, which their indolence or their ignorance have not fuffered them to underdand. It may fafely be faid, that nothing has contributed fo much to the reception of impious or fu perditions tenets among us, as the fpiritual darknefs of our prefent enlightened' age^ which indeed has made great improvements in the knowledge of every thing but one — and that is, the one thing needful. Our youth are trained up, according to the fafhion, in the ignor- ance and contempt of every thing facred ; and no man is allowed either fenfe or difcretion, unlefs he is quite at eafe with refpec"t to religion, and in- different as to the great concerns of eternity. In fhort, to be polite, in the common acceptation, is to be profane ; and to gain a character of under- Handing and honour, a man mud affect to defpife the conscientious purity of the gofpel, and openly r : (regard the Author of all wifdom. What can be P- R E F A C E, ; be hoped for from maxims like thefe ; but what we have already found ; viz irreligion on the one- fide, AnXfpintual error on tne other ? And thefe, we may expect will draw upon us (as they did upon the churches of Ana) the dreadfu* fcour- ges of GOD, by outward calamities, and in the prog re fs of inward blindnefs or abandonment. Every man, therefore, who has any concern for the g ory of GOD, the purity of the gofpel, and- the bed interetts of potlerity, will readily (we mould hope) give his earned encouragement to a work, which feems calculated for thefe impor- tant purpofes, as well as his own edification. It is a F vmily-Book, and may be put into the hands of youth, both for their information as a hi(lory 3 and for their profit as an inltruclor. Perhaps, in no cafe, is the difufe- of wholefome injunctions more to be lamented, than in the unbridled Li- berty, which is taken in. the education cf our youth. People, or the wort! principles, may, without examination, inculcate them freely upon the rifmg generation : And thus, infidelity, and immorality,, are fcatcered all over the land. However, it cannot be unfeafonable for parents., in particular, to lay a work of this kind before their children \i ro the work itfelf, we have freely made ufe of the feveral authors who penned the lives of thefe iliuiVioas men; omitting what was either too prolix for our o';an, or what, upon compan- ion with other accounts, did not appear fufficient- A 2 ly 6 PREFACE. ]y founded; and adding many circumftandes, which had efcaped them or have fince been col- lected by others. By this method, we may, without vanity, hope, that thefe relations are in general more complete than thofe which have been hitherto offered to the public. In thefeve- ral accounts of thefe evangelical men, the great object of our plan has been the general edification as well as information ; and, for this end, the reader will find many ferious reflections interfper- fed throughout the work, tlow far we have fucceeded, muft be fubmitted to the judgment of the reader ; whom, if a fmcere chriftian, we fbali trull to pleafc ; and if othervvife, we ought not to be anxious about it. We will only detain the reader to allure him, that no bigotted partiality to fects or denominati- ons, whether eftablifhed or tolerated, will be found in this collection ; but our whole attention has been paid to truly great and gracious charac- ters of all thofe perfuafions, which hold the dif- tinguifhing principles of the gofpel, and are unit- ed in the main endeavour to promote our com- mon chriflianity. May the GOD of all grace be pleafed to blefs our attempt; to the inflruction of the ignorant and them that are cut of the way ; to the edifica- tion of humble profefTors of the gofpel; and to the fatisfaction of all thofe, whatever be their out- ward denomination, who Jove our Lord Jiisus Ci-j R 1ST injincerity. Sfr= — - ^- ===== — ! — ^^===?^==-=vig SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. A Rev. John A ruler fori, Miniiter of the Aflbciate congre- gations at Mill- creek and Harman's-creek, near Pittiburgh, 2 copies Mr- Samuel Agnew, Forks of Monongehela Nicholas Armbrewfter, Philadelphia B Mr. Matthew Barnwell, Pittiburgh James Baxter, Tyhoyn Townihip Peter Binckley, Pittiburgh Hugh Bigham, Philadelphia Charles Bovard, Carlifle David Bowers, Peter's-Creek Thomas Boyd, o, miles from Fittlfeurgb C Mr- Robert Callender, Cirlifle John Campbell, do- 8 SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES, Mr. John Carfon, Newton townfliip, near Carlifie John Carfon, Bucks County Donald Catnach, Philadelphia James Conchy, do. John Cunningham, Delaware County William Cunningham, Pittfburgh Thomas Craighead, Yellow. Breeches, C» C> John Crawford, Pittfburgh D Mr. John Dean, Bucks County William Duer, do> John Drenen, Forks of Monongehela E Mr. James Elliot, Middleton Townfhip, C. C F Mr. David Falkner, 3 miles from Pittfburgh John Forfyth, Carliile James Fulton, Oxford Townfhip James Freney, Forks of Monongehela Alexander Fridge, Philadelphia G Rev. David Goodwillie, Minifter of the Gofpel at Bar- net, Vermont. Mr. William Gregg, Bucks County Francis Gregg, do. John Gormiey, Pittfburgh William Gormiey, do. Thomas Gordon, Miller's-Run H Mr» John Hough, Bucks County Richard Haughton, Carlifls. SUBSCRIBER S' NAMES. Mr. David Hall, Philadelphia James Harper, Big-Kim, CC. David Hogan, Philadelphia John Hunter, Garhiie James Hyer, Philadelphia I Mr. James Imbrie, Wafhk)gt0n County, 20 copies. J ' Mr. Garret Johnion, Bucks County Matthew Jameion, Forks of Monongehela David Jaudon, Philadelphia. John Johnfton, Cambridge, (N* Y.J Thomas Johnfion, Forks of Monongehela K Mr. John Kennedy, Hagar's-Town, 2 copies, 'William Kidd, Philadelphia John Killoch, do. Benjamin Kite, do. I Moles Kelly, Bucks County Rev. John Linn, Tyrone 1 ownfhip, C.C Mr. James Lamberton, Carlifle Archibald Loudon, do. Alexander Love, Pittfburgh M Matthew M'Connel, Efq. 12 copies Samuel M'Croikery, M. D. Mr. Robert Mar ton, Philadelphia John Miller, Pittfburgh John- Mitchel, Forks of Monoucehela io SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. Nathaniel M'Connel, Efq. Wafliington County John M'Mafters, Efq. Pittfburgh Mr. "|ofeph Moode, Bucks County William Morris, Philadelphia V/illiam Myers, do. John M'AUifter, do. Benjamin M'Cormick, 1 1 miles from Pittfburgh' James M'Cormick, 1 1 do. do. Hugh M< Curdy, 9 do. do. John M'Cormick, Peters-Creek Jofeph M-Culloch, Pittiburgh Alexander M'Donald, Northumberland William M'Lean, Forks of Monongehela lfaac M'Michael, 9 miles from Pittiburgh N Rev. Dr. Charles Nefbit, Preiident of Dickinfon College, Carlifle Mr. Samuel Neely, 8 miles from Pittfburgh John Nickle, 7 da. do P Rev. David Philips, Minifter of the Baptift Church, 12 miles from Pittfburgh, 1 copies Mr. Robert Patterfon, A. M. Profeifor of Mathematics in the (Jniverfity of Pennfylvania Matthew Parks, Philadelphia George Pattifon, Carlifle James Paxton, Dickinfon townfhip, near Carlifle Peter Petit, Philadelphia John Philips, 7 miles from Pittfburgh Thomas Prior, Forks of JMo.ongehela Mr. James vhuo ley, 10 miles from Pittfburgh, SUBSCRIBE RS> NAMES. 1 1 R Rev. John RidcHe, Miniftcr of the Afiociate Reformed Synod, 12 miles from Pittsburgh Cap;:. John Robertibn, Monorigehela Mrs. Mary Rca, Philadelphia Mr. John Railing, do. Joieph Randal, Forks of Monogehela James Kohb, Philadelphia John Robefon, Forks of Monongehela Hugh Robinfon, Pittfburgh John Rofebrugh, do. S Mr. George Sanderfon, Carlifle James Semple, Sheriff of Pittfburgh Samuel Scott, 8 miles from Pittfburgh Jeflc Skelton, Bucks County Nathaniel R. Snowden, A. M. Harrifburgh Abraham Slack, Sen. Bucks County, Cornelius Slack, Sen. do. Cornelius Slack, Jun. do. James Slack, do. John Slack, do. David Smith, 10 miles from Pittfburgh George StevenfOn, Pittfburgh James Stirling, Burlington Jonathan Sturgeon, Bucks County Jofeph Suber, do. Abraham Supplee, Montgomery County T Mr. Peter Thompfon, Philadelphia Thomas Thompfon, do. John Thompfon, Bucks County Anthony Torbert, do. Samuel Tate, Carlifle Edward Tyler, near Harrifburgh to SUBSCRIBERS' N AMES. V Mr. Michue. Van Tart, Bucks County W Mr* James Wil fori, Preacher of the Gofpel Jonathan Walker, Efq. Northumberland John Wallace, Philadelphia William Watfon , Pittib urgh Nathaniel Weakley, CarllOe Robert Weakley, Dickinfon townmip, near Car- liile James Wildman, Bucks County Andrew Willock, Pittsburgh John Wilfon, Forks of Monongehela Zaccheus Wilfon, do. William Woodward, Philadelphia Jonathan Worthington, Bucks County John Wright, Carlifle Charles Whyte, Philadelphia Samuel Wylie, Monongehela Y Mr. Alexander Young, Philadelphia, Stephen Young, do. Ephraim Young, near Pittfburglt gv^ — ■■ ■ ','•'• ,"' =~ Evangelical Biography, JOHN W I C K L I F F E, THE FIRST REFORMER. WHEN we lookback upon the days of barba- . and the grofe ignorance of the true light of the gofpel, which prevailed in the Chriftian world, for fo many ages together, before the Reformation; wken we reflect upon the itapid ceremonies and abominable is and cheats, practifed by monks and others; and then furvey the hand of GOD, working, in a molt extraordinary manner, through all this mafs of corruption and folly, and bringing about, by degrees, the clear g of the everfaftjng gofpel : We mull ftand aftonifh- ed at the v.hole, and, from the wonderful contrait of b COD wrought ; It is ths it is marveUovs hi our eyt's. GOD vouchfafed to honour England with the fif ft dawn- ing of the Reformation : And an EngUmihaii was the firit champion of that cattfe, which afterwards received the name of Protestantism. This remarkable inftru- B ment i 4 WICKLIFFE. merit of the divine blelTing was John Wick lifff- He wasborn in the year 1324. Wickliffe was lent early to Oxford, and was firft admitted commoner of Queen's College and afterwards of Merton, where he became fellow. Merton College was then the heft feminary for great and learned men in the whole univerfity. Wickliffe was foon diftinguifhed, among thefe illuftrious con temporaries \ for the cloienefs of his application to ftudy, and the viva- city of his genius. He became celebrated in philofophy and divinity; being fo remarkable for an elegancy of wit, and ftfength in deputation, that he was efteemed more than human by the common fort of divines. Wicklifle not only ftuclied and commented upon thefacred writings; but he tranilated them into his native language, and wrote homilies on feveral parts of them. He alfo dili- gently iludied the writings of St. Auftin, St. Jerom, St. Ambrose, and St. Gregory, the four fathers of the Latin church : But he was thirty-fix years of age before he had a proper opportunity of exerting his excellent talents, fo as to attract the obl'ervation of the univerfity, and even of the whole kingdom ; for it was in the; year 1360 when he became the advocate for the univeriky againil the en- . croacbiuents made by the mendicant friars, who had been very trout-lefonie from their nrlt eitabliilmient in Oxford, in 123,0, and occafioned great inquietude to the chancel- lor and icholars, by infringing their ftatutes and privile- ge?, and letting up an exempt juriuli&ion. Popery was eftablilhed in England by Auftin the monk, - and continued to be the only religion till the Reforma- tion. The church of Rome had in .."ected all Chriilendom with its errors and corruptions ; and the whole church was degenerated from its primitive purity by the arti of the monks, who had polluted the clear frearn of reli- gion with the rank weeds of fuperihtion. 'The clergy had engrafted the greatcit part both of the . riches and power of Chriilendom : But the corruptions of their WICKLIFFE. 15 their worlhipand doctrine were eafily detected ; nor had thev any varnifh to colour them by, except the auth and traditions of the church. When fome itudious merf began to read the ancient lathers, and councils, they found a vaft difference between the firft tive ages of the ch, in which piety and learning prevailed, and the laft ten ages, in which ignorance had buried all their former learning : Only a little taifguided devotion was retained for lix. ofthofe ages; and, in the laic four, the reillsfs ambition and nfurpation of the po^es were iV.pported by the feeming hoHnefs of the begging friars, and ihefalfe counterfeits of learning, confiding only of a ▼ile metaphyseal j&rgon, or vain fchool-divinity, which prevailed among the canonifts, fchool-men, and cafuiits. It may be noted, that loon after znJ about the year 1300, flouriihed feveral able and pious men, who boldly withitood the errors of the church of Rome, and the in- folence of its popes. Of thefe, perhaps, none was more remarkable than Marfilius of Padua, who wrote his De- fensor Paris for the emperor Lewis, of Bavaria, again ft pope John XXII, and who is execrated by name in the bull of pope Gregory againft WicklifFe. He vehemently oppofed the enormities of the court of Rome, and main- tained, that believers are freely juftified by grace alone, and that worxs are not the efficient caufe of our falvation, though jultification and falvation are ever attended with them. He and others paved the way for our great countryman, who i'oon afterwards appeared, and difttn- suifhed himielfabove them. WicklifFe was indeed the morning-ftar of the Reforma- tion ; though he appeared like a meteor to the monks, when he oppofed them in iupport of the univerfity. The number of (Indents there had been thirty thoufand ; but, in 1357, they' were fo far decreafed that the whole was not above fix thoufand. Thi9 was entirely owing to the bad practices of the preaching friars, who took all op- portunities to entice the ftudents, from the colleges, into their 16 WICKLIFFE. their convents ; which made people afraid of fending their children to the univerfity. The friars diiregarded the determination of the parliament in 1366, whereby it was enacted, that they ihould receive no fcholar under the age of eighteen; and that the king ihould have power to redrefs ail controverfies between them and the uni- veriaty. W ickliffe fcon diftinguiihed himielf by his bold and zealous opposition againft the ufurpations and errors of the friars, who juitihed their begging trade, by alien- ing, that the poverty of Chrift, and his apoiiles, made them poiTefs all things in common, and beg for a liveli- hood. W ickliffe wrote with an elegance uncommon in that age, especially in the Englifh language, of which he may be cpnlidered as one of the firft refiners, and his writings afford many curious fpecimens of die old Englifh In one of his traces, intitled u Of Clerks " Polreiiioners, " he expofes the friars for drawing the youth of the a iv« : into their convents, and fays, . from ChrifVs religion into <( - their private order bV bypocrifie, lelings, and ileling. '•' For they tell :.n that their order is more holy than any ; : that they fliullen have higher degree in the " biiis oi heaven than other men that been not therein ; " and feyn., that men of their" cm Ren never " to hell, but fliullen dpme ether men with Chrift at T \\ ickliiie wTote and published feveral tracts againft the beggar^ of the friars ; particularly u Gf the Poverty ex raiiift able Beggary ; " and " ( tefs in ary-? Thcie controverfies gave W ickliiie fuch great reputa- tion in the univernty, that, in 1361, he was advanced to be mailer of Baiiol College ; and four years after he was made warden of Canterbury -hall, founded by Simon de Iflip, archbiiliop of Canterbury, in. 1361. The letters of mintution, whereby the archbifhop ap- pointed ^ WICKLIFFE. 17 point ed WicklifFe to this wardenfliip, were dated the four- teenth of December, 1365 ; in which he is ifylcd ' a per- 1 foil in whole fidelity, circumfpection, and induftry, his ' grace very much confided; and one on whom he had" ' fixed his eyes for that place, on account of the honefty ( of his life, his laudable conversation, and knowledge of ' letters. ' WicklifFe behaved with univerfal approbation, till the death of the archbiihop, who had a great elteem for him. His grace died the twenty-fifth of April, 1366, and was fucceeded in the archiepifcopal dignity by Simon Langham, biihop of Ely, who had been a monk, and was inclined to favor the religious againit. the feculars. The monks of Canterbury applied to Langham to eject Wickiiliefrom his warJ.enlhip, and the other feculars from their fellow- fhips. They alledged, that the warden was to be a monk, nominated by the prior and chapter of Canterbury, and appointed by the archbiihop : But that WicklifFe craftily obtained the wardenfhip. Archbiihop Langham ejected WicklifFe from the wardenfhip, and the three other fecu- lars, in 1367; in confequerice of which, he alfo iflued out. his mandate, requiring WiekiiiFe and all the fcholars to yield .obedience to Vv cdehall as their warden. This was refufed by them, as being contrary to the oath they had taken to the founder ; but the archbiihop feqneitered the revenue, and took away rhe books and other things, i the founder by his. lad will had left to the Hall. However, this deprivation was no injury to the repu- tation which WicklifFe had acquired- Every body faw it was a party bufinefs ; and that it was not fo much againfb his perfon that the monks had a prejudice, as againli all the fetulars tbac were members of the college. Shortly after, WicklifFe was prefented, by the favour of the duke of Lancaifer, to the living of Lutterworth, in the diocefe of Lincoln ; and then it was that he publilhed, in his writings and fermons, certain opinions which appeared :a be novel, becaufe contrary to the received doclrine of thai ~z 2 2 djys iS WICKLIFFE. days. As he did not declare his Fentiments till after he had loft his rector fhip, his enemies have taken occafion, from thence, to accuFe him of acting out of a fpirit of revenge, by reafon of the injury that had been done him. ' I lhall net, fays Rapin, undertake to clear him. from this ' charge. As there is none but God alone that fees into < the hearts of men, it is ralhnefs to accufe or excufe * them, with regard to the fecret motives of their actions. ' I fhall only take notice, that WicklimVsbittereit enemies 6 have never taxed him with any immoralities. ? WicklifFe was turned out of his reclorihip by the court of Rome; and a man mult be pofiefled of a very difin- terefled way of thinking, not to refent fuch ufage , efpe- cially as WicklifFe was irreproachable in his morals. The Fpirit of the times was no little encouragement to his re- ientment. * I muft however, ? Fays Mr Guthrie, ' do i WicklifFe the juftice, which has not been done bimbefdr.g, * of obferving, that he Feems to have maintained his re- v forming opinions even before he was turned out of his ' rectorfhip. ' This is to his honour, and removes one of the ftrongeft objections againft the motives of Wick- lifte's reformation, as we have it from an author unfa- vorable to his memory. This opinion is alio farther confirmed by the ingenious IV] r. Gilpin. But WicklifFe began more early to attempt the refor- mation of thofe diforders and corruptions? which he law in men of his own profeffion; and particuMrly the exactions and ufurpations of the pope. This i£ evident from his tract, " Of the laft Age of the Church," which he pub- lillied in the year 1356, fourteen years before he loft the rectorihip. WicklifFe, in 1372, took his degree as doctor of divinity which he publickly profefied, and read lectures in it with very great applaufe ; for he had Fuch authority in the ichools, that his opinion was received as an oracle, in- Jiead of Being disregarded after his ejectment. In thefe lectures, he more ftrongly expoied the follies and Fuper- flitions W I C K L I F F E. 19 ftitions of the friars : He charged them with holding fifty hcrelies and errors: Heiliewed their corruptions, and de- tected their practices. This was linking at the root of all the abuies which had crept into the church, at a time, when the greater and more ncceffary articles of faith, and all genuine and rational know ledge of religion, had gene- rally given place to fabulous legends, and romantic it orles ; fables which, in this refpect, only differed from thofe of the antient heathen poets, that they were more incredible, and lefs elegant. The pope difregarded the ftatute of provifors in Eng- land, by ftill continuing to difpoie of eccleiialtical benefi- ces and dignities as he thought tit. Thefe were enjoyed by Italians, Frenchmen, and other aliens, who had the revenues of them remitted abroad. The parliament fre- quently complained to the king and the pope of this intol- erable grievance, by reprefenting its fatal inconveniences to the church, and pernicious confequences to the king- dom. This oppreffion was fo infupportable, in 1373, that the king lent the bifhop of Bangor, and three other ambaifa- dors, to the pope, to require of him that he would not interfere with the refervation of benefices : But this em- baffy was ineffectual ; for though the pope entered into a concordate about that matter, it was only a temporal ccn- cemon ; and the parliament renewed their requeii, that a remedy mould be provided againft the provifions of the pope, whereby he reaped the firft fruits of ecclefiaftical dignities. It has always been the policy of the court of Home to play fad and loofe with temporal princes in its transactions with them, waiting diligently for advanta- geous feafons, and prefling them clofely whenever they occurred : But, when it met with dangerous oppositions, it dextrouQy waved- the contefl without renouncing its claims, and temporized, and foothed, and flattered, and by by, for a more convenient opportunity. The king, in 1374, iiTued out a coiiiii-ilTion for taking an 2o \V I C K L I F F E- an exact furvey cf all the eccleiiafl ical dignities and bene- fices, throughout his dominions, which were in the hands of aliens. The number and value of them afioniflied the king, who then appointed lev en ambafladors to treat with the pope upon the bufmefs of the former embafly. Doctor Wickliffe was the fecond perfon mentioned in this commiihon ; and the ambaiiadors were met at Bru- ges by the pope's nuncio, two biihops, and a provoft, to treat concerning the liberties of the church of England. The treaty continued two years, when it was concluded, that the pope ihould defift from making uie of refervati- ons of benefices. But all treaties with that corrupt court were of no fignification ; and the parliament, the very next year, complained the treaty was infracted. A long bill was brought into parliament againft the papal ufur- pations, as the caufe of all the plagues, injuries, famine, and poverty of the realm : They remondrated that the tax paid to the pope amounted to five times as much as the tax paid to the king; and that God had given his fheep to the pope to be paflured, not fleeced. Doctor Wickliffe was now made more feniible of the pricle, avarice, ambi- tion, and tyranny of the pope, whom he boldly expoled in his public lectures, and private converfation. He called him u Antichrift, the proud worldly prieft of Rome, " and the molt curfed of clippers and purfe-kervers. " He alio very freely reproved the corruptions which pre- vailed among the prelates and inferior clergy, obierving, u that the abomination of defolation had its beginning " from a gerverfe clergy, as comfort aroie from a con- " verted clergy. " Of prelates, he fays, " Oh Lord, had promulgated ' opinions full of errors and con- ' taining manifeft herefy ; fomc of whieH appeared to be ' the fame with thofe of Marfflius of Padua, and John de < Gandun, condemned by pope John XXII. ' En the bull to the univerlity, he fays, the heretical pravity of Wicklihe tended * to fubvert the fbte .of the whole ' church 24 WICKLIFFE. ' church, and even the civil government : ' And he orders them to deliver Wicklijffe up in fafe cuflody to the dele- gates. King Edward III. died the twenty-firft of June 1377, before the bulls arrived in England. The univerfity treated their bull with contempt, or with very little de- votion. They favoured and protected \Vickliite > who was powerfully fupported by the duke of Lancafter, and the earl-marfhal. Thcfe noblemen openly declared, they would not fuffer him to be imprifohed : And, indeed, there was yet no act of parliament, which impowered the bilhops to imprifon heretics without the royal confent. But the delegated prelates, on the nineteenth of Febru- ary, 1378, iliued out their mandate to the chancellor of the univerfity of Oxford, commanding him to cite Wiek- lifFe to appear before them in the church of St. Paul, Lon- don, hi thirty days. Before that day came, the firjft parliament of king Rich- ard II. met at Weftminiier, where it was debated, f whether they might lawfully refuie to fend the treafure ' out of the kingdom, after the pope required it on pain *■ of ceniures, and by virtue of the obedience due to him?.' The resolution of this doubt was referred, by the king and parliament, to doclor Wickiiffe, who anfwered it was lawful ; and undertook to prove it lb, by the principles of the law of C brill. Wickliffe appeared to the f ummons of the delegates at St. Paul's, where a vaft concourfe of people ailembled to hear the examination. The doctor was attended by the duke of Lancafter, and the lord-marfhal Percy, who had conceived fuch a very high opinion of his learning and integrity, that they allured him he had nothing to fear, and that he might make his defence with courage the bilhops, who were but mere ignorants in reipect to him. When Wickliiie came near the place of the ailem- bly, there was fo great a croud of people attending, that it was with difficulty he and his two patrons got ad- mittance v W1CKLIFFE. 25 ynittance into the church. This manner of their ap] and?, by introducing Wickliffe as to a triumph, rather than a trial, touched the bilhop of London, who told the earl-marlhal, ( if he had known what maiceries they 1 would have kept in the church, he would have Hopped ' them from coming there. ' The archbifhop, and the bifhop of London, held their court in the chapel, where feveral other prelates, and fome noblemen, attended to hear the trial. Wickliffe llood be- fore the commifTioners, according to cuftom, to hear what was laid to his charge : But the earl-marihal bid him fit down, ' as he had many things to anfwer, and hud need of ' a foft feat to refthim upon, during fo tedious an attend- 6 ance. ' The bilhop of London objected to this; which was anfwered by the duke of Lancaiter, in fuch warm terms, that he told the bifhop, c he would bring down the pride ' of all the prelacy in the kingdom.' The bilhop made a ipirited reply : And the duke laid loftly, to one who fat by him, that, ' rather than take fuch language from the ' bifhop* he would drag him out of the church by the hair 1 of his head.' This was over-heard by fome of the bye- ftanders, and the affembly was inftantly in a violent com- motion. The Londoners declared they would oppofe any infultsupon their bilhop : The noblemen treated the citi- zens with difdain; they carried oil WickliiFe in lately ; and the court broke up without entering into an examination of the bufmefs. But the Londoners plundered the duke of Lancaster's palace in the Savoy, and the duke turned the mayor and aldermen out of the magistracy, for not retrain- ing the {edition- Wickliffe had the happinefs to find his doctrine embraced by men of letters, and perfons of qual- ity. Some would make us believe, that people were frightened into a feigned approbation of his doftrlne : But it may befaid, with much greater probability, that fear deterred many from being his followers. The truth man ran-noriikin continuing to adhere to the old tenef^ as it might be dangerous to embrace the new ones. C The 26 WICKLIFFE. The duke of Lsncafter was made prefident of the coun- cil ; and the bilhops were afraid to offend the avowed ■ protector of Wickiiffe. However, the two prelates fum- moned the doctor a fecond time before them, at Lambeth. He appeared ; when the Londoners forced themfelvesinto the chapel, to encourage the doctor, and intimate the delegates. Wickiiffe feemed willing to give the prelates ibme fort of fatisfaction, and delivered them a paper, wherein he explained the feveral conclufions with which .he was charged. In all appearance, the delegates would ;UOt have been contented with lb general an explanation ; if the king's mother had not obliged them to defift, by fending Sir Lewis Clifford to forbid their proceeding to any definitive fentence againft Wickiiffe.. The delegates were co-founded with this meffage ; and, as their own hiftorian fays, ' at the wind of a reed ihaken, their fpeech became < as foft as oil, to the public lofs of their own dignity, * and the damage of the whole church.' They dropped the thoughts of all cenfures againii Wickiiffe, and dii- rniffed him, after enjoining him iilence ; to which injunc- tion he paid no regard, and maintained his opinions in the utmoft latitude. This-fteadinefs ill agrees with the expla- nation of his opinions, which it is pretended he made before the bifhops, and is reprefented as full of equivo- cations and evafions.. The difguiiing his fentiments is little conformable to his natural temper, which was far enough from being fearful : Though a modern writer takes" upon him to lay, ( that Wickiiffe appears to have ?' been a man of (lender resolution.' He alio calls Wick- JifTe's explanations aukward apologies: But he fhouldhave remembered they are only fuch -as are given us by Walfmgham, whom lie calls a prejudiced writer. The duke of Lancafter flattered himfelf wirli the hopes ^f being fole regent during the minority of the king his nephew, who was crowned on the thirteenth of July 1377; but the parliament joined fome biihops and noblemen with ■him in the regency. This was a damp upon the Wick- iiilites, or Lollards, who were become fo numerous, that two WICKLIFFE. i 7 two men could not be found together, and one not a Lol- lard. But pope Gregory XI. died the twenty- feventh of March 1378, which was a great advantage to Wickliffe; for, by his death, an end was put to the commiilion of the delegates. Here the hiftorian ieems to be miftaken, when he fays, the demife of the pope occaiioned grief to the faith- ful. Becaufe \V 'icklifie did not make his appearance before' the delegates of Lambeth, till aim oft three months after the death of Gregory. A fchifm enfued, by a double election of two popes; which was a red advantage to the Wickliffites; iince Urban VI. was not acknowledged by the kingdom to be lawful pope till the end of the next year. On this occafion, Wickliffe wrote a traifll (i Of K the fchifm of the Roman Pontiffs." And foon after published his book " Of the ttfuth of the Scripture*'? In* the latter he contended for the neceffity of tranflatiiig the fcriptures into the Englilh language, and aifirmed, that the will of God was evidently revealed in two Teiia- ments ; and that any difputation, not originally produced from thence, mtift be accounted profane. The fatigues which Wickliffe underwent, by attending the delegates, threw him into a dangerous fit of illnefs, on his return to Oxford. The mendicant friars took this advantage, and fent a deputation to him, to inform him of the great injuries he had done them, by his fermonsand writings. The deputies told him, he was at the point of death, and exhorted him to revoke whatever he had ad- vanced to their prejudice. Wickliffe immediately recover- ed his fpirits, railed himfelf on his pillow, and replied : " I (hall not die, but live to declare the evil deeds of the " friars :" The unexpected force of his expreftion, to- gether with the fternnefs of his manner, drove away the friers in. confulion. The parliament, which aflembled'm 1380, was famous for a ft atute made againft the blood-fuckers that had long- devoured the land; viz. the foreign ecclefiaftics, who, by this Itatute, were rendered incapable of holding any be- nefices. 28 WICKLIFF E. nefices in England. At the fame time, the parliament petitioned the king to expel all foreign monks, for fear they ihould inftil notions into the people of England, re- pugnant to the good of the ftate. While Wickliffe, in his lectures, fermons, and writings, embraced every oppor- tunity of expofmg the Romilh court, and detecting the vices of the clergy both regular and fecular. The holy fcriptures had never been tranflated into Englifli ; except by Richard Fitz-Ralph, archbifhop of Armagh, and John de Trevife, a Corniih-man, who both jived in the reign of Edward III. That tafk was now undertaken by Wickliffe, and other learned nffofciates ; which made it rieceffary for Wickliffe to apologize for their undertaking, by {hewing that Bede tranilated the bible, and king Alfred thepfalms, into the Saxon tongue. It had long given Wickliffe great offence (fays Mr. Gil- pin), and indeed he always confidered it as one of the capital errors of popery, that the bible mould be locked up from the people. He refolved, therefore, to free it from bondage. The bible, he affirmed, contained the whole of God ? s will, which, he faid, was fufficient to guide his church. Thefe, and other arguments, paved the way for the publication of this great work, and fatis- hed the minds of ail fober men. This work it may eafily be imagined raifed the clamors of the clergy. Kneighton, a canon of Leicefter, and con- temporary with Wickliffe, affords a fample of the language of his brethren. ' Chrift entrufted his gofpel (fays he) to ' the clergy, and doctors of the church, to minifter it to ' the laity and weaker fort, according to their exigencies 1 and feveral occafions. But this mafter John Wickliffe, * by tranilatingit, has made it vulgar, and laid it more < open to the laity, and even to women who can read, * than it uied to be to the moft learned of the clergy and ' thofe of the belt underflanding : And thus the gofpel - * jewel, the evangelical pearl, is thrown about, and 1 trodden underfoot offivine.' However, fome great and learned men were of opinion, there was an older tranf- iation WICKLIFFE. 29 lation, which muff, have been that above mentioned : Though it has been aflerted, < the firft t ran flat ion that 1 was ever made of the whole bible into the Englifh lan- ' guage, as fpoke after the conqueft, was made by doc- i tor WickKffe.' He and his aftiftants were very care- ful in making their tranflation, by correcting the Latin text, collecting the glories, and confulting the ancient divines ; after which they let about the tranflation, not literally, but as clearly as they could to exprefs the fenfe and meaning of the text, according to the Hebrew, as well as the Latin bible. In this he had much aiTifiance from the commentators, and particularly from the anno- tations of Nicholas Lyra. They diiHnguimed which books had the authority of holy writ, and which were apocryphal: They juftiried their tranflations ; and af- firmed, " that he that keepeth meeknefs and charity, " hath the trewe underitandynge and perfection of holi " write." The zeal of the . bifhops to fupprefs WicklifFe's bible only made it, as is generally the cafe, the more fought after. They, who were able, among the reformers, pur- chafed copies ; and they, who were not able, procured at leaft tranicripts of particular gofpels, or epiftles, as their inclinations led. In r.fter times, when Lollardy increafed, and the flames were kindled, it was a common practice, to fallen about the neck of the condemned heretic, fuch of thefe fcraps of fcripture as were found in his pofieiiion, which generally fhared his fate. Wickliffe proceeded in delecting the errors and abufes that had crept into the church ; and oppofed the popifh doctrine of traniubitantiation, which was afTerted byliaa- hertus about the year 820. It is confelled by the papifts, that this man was the firft who wrote feriouily and copi- ously on this fnbjecr, i the truth or reality of the boclv ' and blood of the eucharifiV This was contrary to the catholic doctrine that had exifted near a thoufand years after Chrift, and particularly in the church of EnglanJ ng to the Saxon homilies. Wickliffe attacked thj C 2 i 3 o WICKLIFFE. error in his divinity leftures, in 138 1 , and maintained the true and ancient notion of the Lord's i upper. On this account he publifhed fixteenconclufions, the firft of which is, that " the confecrated holt, feen upon the altar, is not '" Chid, or any part of him ; but an effectual fign of him. " He offered to enter into a public difputation with any man upon thefe concluiions ; which was prohibited by the reli- gious, who were doclors in divinity ; and Wickliffe then publifhed his opinion concerning the encharift. In his tract de Blafphemia, he obferved, that the true doctrine of the facrament of the eucharift was retained in the church a thoufand years ; even till theloofing of Satan: but this oppofition to the doctrine of tranfubitantiation foon brought Wickliffe into more difficulties ; for he was attempting to eradicate a notion, that exalted the myflical and hierarchical powers of the clergy. William de Bar- ton chancellor of the univerfity, and eleven doclors, of whom eight were of the religious, condemned Wickliffe's conclufions as erroneous alfertions. Wickliffe told the chancellor, that neither he, nor any of his affiftants, were able to confute his opinion ; and he appealed from their condemnation to the king. William Courtney, biihop of London, fucceeded arch- bifhop Sudbury in the fee of Canterbury, and was entirely devoted to the intereft of his patron the pope. The new archbiihop prevailed upon the king to empow- er the biihops to imprifon heretics, without afiung the royal permhTion : But the houfe of commons complained to the king, that this was a breach of the people's privile- ges, and very deftruclive to liberty ; fince the clergy thereby became the abfolute matters of the honour and fortune of private perfons. The king revoked the grant ; bur the revocation is not to be found on the parliament rolls, where it was expunged by the artifices of the cler- gy, whofe chief view was to punifn the Wickliffites. The king, in 1382, married Anne of Luxemburg, fifter ef the emperor Wenceflaus; and this princeis became a a < in patronefs of the Wickliilites to the time of her death, which W ICKLIFFE. 31 which happened in 1394- But archbifhop Courtney pro- fecuted WicklifFc, and appointed a court of felect biihops, doctors and batchelors ; which aifembled in the monaftery of the preaching friars, London. This court declared fourteen conclufions of Wickliffe, and others, heretical and erroneous. It is laid, Wickliffe was cited to appear at this court, but was prevented by his friends, who advifed him, that a plot was laid by the prelates to feize him on the road. However, his caufe was undertaken by the chan- cellor of Oxford, the two proctors, and the greateft part of the fenate, who, in a letter, fealed with the univerii- ty feal, fent to the court, gave him a great commenda- tion for his learning, piety, and orthodox faith. Doctor Nicholas Hereford, Doctor Philip Rapyngdon, and John Ayfhton, M. A. were the principal followers of Wickliffe, and appeared at this court, where they defended his doctrine, as alio in the convocation. Doctor Hereford afterwards took a journey to Rome, and offered, in the confittory before the pope, to defend the conclufions lately condemned by the archbifhop, who committed him to prifon on his return to England. It has alio been faid, that the duke of Lancafter deierted the WicklHfites; and that all of them, except Wickliffe, fubmitted to the eftabliihed church. Archbifhop Courtney exerted all his own authority, and all his intereft at court, to puniih the Wickliffites, and fuppreis their doctrine. He ordered the condemnation of the heretical articles to be publifhed in the univerfity. But Wickliffe increafed in reputation, and his doctrine gained ground in the affections of the people; while he was obliged to quit his profeflorlhip, and retire to Lutterworth, where he ftill vindicated his doctrine, and juftified his followers. Doctor Wickliffe was feized with the palfy, in 1^82, foon after he left Oxford ; and the pope then cited him to appear at Rome, Wickiiffe returned a letter of excufeto this citation; wherein he tells the pope, that "-Chrlfts • i( taught 32 WICKLIFFE. " taught him more obeifhe [obedience] to God than to- man." His enemies were fenfible. that his diitemper would foon put a period to his life ; and therefore they permitted him to fpend the remainder of his days in tran- quility, after he had been many years expofed to conti- nual danger. He was feized with another violent fit of the palfy, on Innocents' day 1384, as he was in the church of Lutterworth, when he fell down, never recovered his fpeech, and foon expired, in the fixtieth year of his age. The Chriftian world has not had a greater man in thefe laft ages than doctor WicklifFe. He had well fiudied all the parts of theological learning ; and he was endowed, by the grace of God r with an uncommon gravity and fancYity of manners ; from whence aroie that vehement defire of reltoring the primitive purity of the church in that ignorant and degenerate age. His mod inveterate adverfaries never perfumed to call in queflion his excel- lent piety, and unblemifhed life : But many of them liave fufficientlv acknowledged his preat learning, and uncom- mon abilities. Indeed, in thofe writings of his which are yet remaining, doctor WicklifFe has iliewn an extraordi- nary knowledge of the fcriptures ; he difcovers a found judgment, argues clofely and iharply, breathes a fpirit of true piety, and preserves a modefty becoming his character. Nothing is to be found in him either puerile or trifling, a fault very common to the writers of that age; but everything he fays is grave, judicious, and ex- act. He wanted nothing to render his learning consum- mate, but his living in a happier age. The great Eradwardin was, in fome fenfe, Wickliffe's fpiritual father ; for it was the peruial of Bradwardin's writings, which, next to the holy fcriptures, opened that proro-reformer's eyes to difcover the genuine doctrine of faith andjuilification. Bradwardin taught him the nature of a true and juftifying faith, in oppofition to merit- mongers and' pardoners, purgatory and pilgrimages. The W I C K L I F F E. 33 The cenfure which Melancton palled on Wickliffe was made great ufe of by the papifts : And fome proteflant writers have charged him with maintaining f&veral erro- neous opinions. Guthrie affects to condemn him for being a predeftinarian ; but he acknowledges, however, that 'his ' notions about the fopperies of religion, images, pilgrim- * ages, legends, and the like, are many of them fenfible, 1 and moft of them allowable : That his opinions with ' regard to the facraments of the church, as then believed ' in England, are free, and fuch that have been adopted 1 by many Uriel foreign churches : That, however immo- ( derate he was in his principles, he appears to have been ' a wife and moderate man in his practice y witnefs his i dying in peace upon his own living, amidil an univerfal < combultion wh'ch his tenets had railed : And that he \ niuft be allowed to have left behind him the dawn of that f reformation which was afterwards completed*-' Mr. Guthrie, obferved that Wickliffe ' feems to have. 1 been a ftrong predeftinarian.' It will prelently appear (fays a later writer) that he more than feemedto have been fuch ; and that Luther and Calvin themfelves were not ftronger predeftinarian? than Wickliffe. I fhall open the evidence with two propositions, extracted from his own writings : i. " The prayer of the reprobate prevaileth for no man." 2- " All things that happen, do. come absolutely of tier- « cejfity." The manner in which this great harbinger of the re- formation defended the latter prepofition, plainly mews him to have been a deep and fkilful difputant. " Our " Lord," fays he, " affirmed that fuch or fuch an event " ihould come to pafs. Its accompliihment, therefore, I* was unavoidable. The antecedent is infallible: By " parity of argument, the confequent is fo too. For the u confequent is not in the power of a created being, for- " aimuch as Chrift affirmed fo many things" [before they were 34 WICKLIFFE. were brought to pafs]- " Neither did [pre] affirm any " thing accidentally. Seeing, then, that his affirmation " was not accidental, but neceilary; it follows, that 61 the event affirmed by him, nuift be neceflary likewife. " This argument," adds Wickliffe, " receives additional " ftrength, by obierving, that, in what way foever God " may declare his will, by his after-difcoveries of it in " time ; flill, his determination, concerning the event, took *' place before the world was made: Ergo, the event will " furely follow- The neceflity, therefore, of the ante- " cedent, holds no lefs irrefragably for the neceiiky of " the confequent. And who can either promote or hin- " der the inference, namely, That this was decreed of *• Gcd before the formation of the world." 1 will not undertake (fays Mr. Toplady) to jufiify the whole of this paragraph. I can only meet the excellent man half- way. I agree with him, as to the necefflty of events : But I can- not, as- he evidently did, fuppofe God himfelf to be a necefjary cgent, in the utmoft fenfe of the term. That Godtf£?j-m the moft exact conformity to his own decrees, is a truth which fcripture afferts again and again : But that God was abfoiutely free in decreeing, is no lefs af- ferted by the infpired writers ; who, with one voice, de- clare the Father's predeftination, and fubfequent difpofal, of all things, to be entirely founded, not on any antece- dent neceflity, but on the tingle, fovereign pleafure of his own will. The quotation however, proves, that Wickliffe was an abfolute necej&rstian. And he improves, with great fo- lidity and acutenefs, the topic of prophecy into (what it moft certainly is) a very ft rong argument for predeftina- tion. As the prophecies of the old and new teftaments are fuch an evidence of the divine infpiration of the f acred writers, and fuch a proof of Chriftianity, as all the in- fidels in the world will never be able to overthrow ; fo, on the other, hand, thofe fame prophecies conclude, to the full, as ftrongly in favour of peremptory predeftina- tion. WICKLIFF E. 35 tion. For if events were midecreed, they would be un- foreknown : And, if unforeknown, they could not be infallibly predicted. To fay, that l events may be fore- ' known without falling under any active or permimVe * decree ;' would be faying either nothing to the pur- pofe, or worfe than nothing. For, if God can, with certainty, foreknow any event whatever, which he did not previously determine to accomplish or permit ; and that event, barely foreknown, but entirely undecreed, be fo certainly future, as to furnilh poiitive ground for uner- ring prophecy ; it would follow, i . 1 hat God is depen- dent, for his knowledge, on the things known ; inftead of all things being dependent on him : And, 7* That there are fome extraneous concatenations of cauies, prior to the will and knowledge of God, by which his will is regulated, and on which his knowledge is founded. What he little more than intimates, in the citation given above, he delivered, it feems, more plainly and peremptorily, elfewhere. Among the fixty-two articles, laid to his charge by Thomas Netter (commonly called, Thomas of Walden who flouriihed about the year 1409,) and for which, that writer refers to the volume and chapter of WicklifFe's works; are thefe three : 1. That " all things come to pafs by fatal nece/Jlty." 2. That " God could not make the world otherwife than it is made ;" 3. And, that " God cannot do any thing, which he doth not do.*" This is fatalifm with a witnefs. And I cite thefe pro- pofitions, not to depreciate Dr« WickiiiTe* whole character * Fuller's church hi ft. b. 4 p. 134 — What this valuable hiftorian preniifes, concerning Wickiiife, before he carets on his account of" him, deferves to be quoted. ■ I intend, fays Dr. Fuller, 'neither 1 to deny, diftemble, defend nor excufe, any of his faults. We have * this creature, faith the apoftle, in earthen veffels : And he that * (hall endeavour to prove a pitcher of clay to be a p.>t of gold, will f take great pains to fmall purpofe. Yea, fhould I he over-officious * to retain niyfelf to plead for WickliftVs faults, that glorious faint 1 would fooner chide than thank me/ 36 WICKLIFFE. I admire and revere, as one of the greateft and belt fmce the apoftolic age ; nor yet with a view to recommend the proportions themfelves : But, limply, to fhew, how far this illuftrious Reformer ran from the prefent Arminian fyflem, or rather no-fyftem, of chance and free-will. But, concerning even thole of WickliftVs afiertions, which were the moil raih and unguarded ; -candor (not to fay, juifice) ^obliges me to obferve, with Fuller, that were all his works extant, ' we might therein read the occafion, inten- ' tion, and connection, of what he fpake : Together with ' the limitations, rellriclions, diftinctions, and qualifica- * tions, of what he maintained. There we might fee, 6 what was the overplus of his pafiion, and, what thejuit 1 meafure of his judgment. Many phrafes, heretical in -* found, would appear orthodox in fenfe. Yea, fome of ' his [reputedly ~] poifonous paffages, drelTed with due ' caution, would prove not only wholefome, but cordial ' truths ; many of his exprefiions wanting, not granum < ponderis, but granum fa Us ; no weight of truth, but c fome grains of difcretion *.' What I mall next add, may be rather filled bold truths, than indifcreet aflertions. u He defined the church to " confift only of perfons predestinated. And affirmed, " That God loved David and Peter as dearly, when they u g r ' ievou jly jinned, as he doth now when they are poffej/ed Ci of 'glory]." This latter pofition might, poffibly, have been more unexceptionably exprelTed ; be it, iubftantially, ever fo true. W-ickliiFe was found in the article of gratuitous pardon and juftification by the alone death and righteoufhefs of JeiusChrifi. "The merit of Cmml," fays he, " is, of u itfelf, fufficient to redeem every man from hell. It is " to be underflood of a fuiliciency of itself, without " any ether concurring caufe. All that follow Chriil, u being juftified by his rightsoufnefs, mail be laved, as* * Ibid. p. 135. f Ibid. p. 134. WICKLIFFE. ; 7 •" his i •" Dr. AUx obferves, that Wickliife ( rejects the doctrine of the merit of works, and fall c thofe who fay, that God did not all for them, but think 1 that their merits help." " Heal us, Lord, for nought, " favs WickliiVe ; thai is, for no merit of ours, but ■ .' y It has been already obferved, and proved, that he had very high notions of that inevitable neceifity, [eh he fifppbfed every event is governed. Yet, he did not enthuiiaitically fever the end from the mean,. Witnefs his own words: " Though all future things do li happen neceffarily, yet God wills that good things " happen to his fervants through the efficacy of prayer." In letters testimonial given WicklifFe by the u iiiverfity of Oxford, in i 406, and fealed with their common ieal ; it is laid, ' that his converfation, from his youth to his ' death, was fo praife-worthy and horieft in the univer- 1 iky, that he never gave any cutence, nor was he afperf- e ed with any mark of infamy or fmiiter fufpicion : But 1 that in anfwering, reading, preaching, and determining, ' he behaved himffelf laudably, as a valiant champion of * the truth, and cathollcly vanquished by fentences of 1 holy fcripture, all fiieh as by their wilful beggary blsf- c phemed the religion of Chriit. That this doctor was ' not convicted of heretical pravity, or by our prelates tred to be burnt after his burial. For God forbid i that our prelates mould have condemned a man of lb 1 great probity for an heretic, who had not his equal in ' all the univeriity in his writings of logic, philolbphy, lity, morality, and the fpeculative fciences.' As doctor WicklifFe was vei'y diligent and frequent in Ling, and reading his divinity lectures; fo he wrote and published a great many traces, of winch bimop Bale en a particular account. Tiny are two hundred e in all. - Moil of them are theological ; but fome are philofophical ; forty-eight are in Englifii, and the others arc in Latin. Befides thefe, there ^s a volume D of 3 8 WICKLIFFE. of Engliih traces faid to be wrote by Wickliffe ; fome o£ which are yet extant. He is faid to hare wrote two hundred volumes, beildes his tranfiation of the Bible into Englifh, a fair copy of which is in Queen's college, Ox- ford, and two more in the university library. * It was * done no doubt in the moft exprefiive language of thofe ' days, though founding uncouth to our ears ; the knave c of Jefus Chriil for fervant ; and Philip baptized the ( gelding, for eunuch : So much our tongue is changed € in our acre.' His opinions were mifreprefented by his adversaries ; but he was protected by many powerful friends, and his doctrine was embraced by the greater! part of the king- dom. King Edward III. the princefs dowager of Wales, the duke of Lancaiter, the queen of Richard II. the earl- marmal, Geoffry Chaucer the father of Englifli poetry, and lord Cobham, who diiperfed WickliiFe's works all over Europe, were his patrons and friends. From fuefa a noble fountain the itream ran ftrong, and was foon increafed : for many eminent divines, noblemen, and other perfons of diitinction, embraced the new doctrine ; which con- stantly gathered ground, notwithstanding it was violently oppofed by the priefls, who raifed bloody perfecutions againft the Wickliffites in the reigns of Richard II. Henry IV. and Henry V. The number of thofe who believed in the doctrine of- Wickliffe multiplied exceedingly. After a time, the fecu- lar and ecclefiaiiical powers were combined to iupprefs its growth ; and archbilhop Arundel, in convocation, condemned eighteen of Wicklifte's conclufions, twelve years after his death. Acts of parliament were made againit the W'ickliilites and many of them were burnt for "heretics. The books of ,\\ ickiifle, were prohibited to be read in the univeriities : And, in 141 6, archbilhop Chichely fet up a kind of inquifition in every parifh to difcove:* and puniih the Wickliifites; by which cruel and unchriftian V, r ICKLIFFE. 39 unchristian methods the great and good John lord Cob- ham was burnt for herciy ; and he was the firft nobleman whofe blood was fiied in England, on account of religion, by popilh barbarity. Fox averts, in his acts and monu- ments, that the two famous poets of that time, Gower .cjd Chaucer, were Wickliffitcs, and that they covered . their opinion very ingenioutty, and by way of parable, in their writings; adding likewife, that, by the expofition of thoie writings by iuch as had the key, many were brought into WicklmVs perfualion. Chaucer died in the - year 1400, and Gower fome time before. The infallibity of the pope was oppofed to the deftrine of VV ickliiie ; and the council pfConftance, en the fifth of May, 1 415, condemned for ty-hYe articles, maintained by Wickfiffe, as heretical, fali'e, and erroneous. His bones were ordered to be dug up, and call on a dunghill : But this part of the fentence was not executed till 1428, when orders were ientTby the pope to the bifhop of Lincoln to have it ftrictly performed, The remains of this excellent man were accordingly dug out of the grave, where they had lain undifturbed forty four years : Kis bones were burnt, and the allies caft into an adjoining brook called the Swift, which fprings near Knaptoft in Leicefterfhire. Such w 7 as the refentment of the Roman church on the memory of him, who was called the firft Engliih Lollard*. The fame council ofConilance, condemned John Hufs, and Jerom of Prague, to be burnt for favouring the doc- * The feft of the Lollards, fpreacl throughout Germany, had for their leader Walter Lollard, who began to difperie his doctrines about the year 1315. He defpifed the iacraments of the church, and derided her ceremonies and her conftirutions ; obferved not the fart 1 ; of the church, nor its abftinencies ; acknowledged not the intercef- fion of the faints, and believed that the damned in hell, and even the evil angels, fhould one day be faved. Trithemius, who recites their opinions, fays, that Bohemia and Auftria were infected with them ; that there were above 24,000 perfons in Germany which held thofe errors, and that the greater part defended them with obftinacy, even to death. — Du Pin. trine 4 o WICKLIFF E. trine of WicklifFe, and maintaining others which .were alfo condemned as heretical. This council fat to give fanction to injufrice, and to eftablifh iniquity by law ; though it inflicted an irretrievable blow upon the papal authority. The W icldiffites were oppreiTed, but could not be ex- tinguished : Perfecution ferved only to eftabliih that faith which became general at the reformation, about a hun- dred years after thefe reftraints were moderated. The whole nation then unanimously embraced the doctrine which WicklifFe began; and popery was abolifhedin Eng- land, that the purity of religion might increafe theblei- fings of liberty. His great work, and what offended the church of Rome mod highly, was his Trahflatipri of the Scriptures into Engliih, which effectually expofed the fophiftries and fuper- {litions of the time, and led the people from following; the traditions of men to the pure will and word of the bleiTed GOD. [Note. The term? fecvfor and regular cle-gy occur! ng fometirr.es in this work, it is necefiary to ohev-ve, that religicui or rcgutxr clergy were ftxh as lived a mo^aftic life, arid obferved the three vows of poverrv, chain ty, and obedience : Secular clergy, were thole who did »ot come lijjder any of the rules of the monkish orders-] JOHN [ 41 ] JOHN HUSS, D. D. THE BOHEMIAN REFOLIMER. JOHN HUSS, or Hus', whofe name in the Bohemian lai enitz, a vil- > His parents were net bleft with af- fluence; but they gave him a liberal education, which he improved rong mental abilities, andclofe applica- tion to his {Indies, in the univerihy of Prague, where he menced batchelor of arts in 1303, maiier of arts in , »395, and Lor of d^ in 140&. rims was a man (lays Wharton in h to Cave's UdeoriaLi- • i) even by the eonfeffion of his enemies, iiiuitrious | and remarkable both for doctrine and piety, It was in nko, or SubinJ t -., the archfaifhop of that city, iffued two orders to in-pprefs the doctrine of < the Wic en intrdduted into that kingdom, and was count::; - the greateld part of the. matters and fcholar ;, who$ by. a ce we ihaii mention preierulc, had got the s of WickliiTe into their hands; Queen Anne, the wife of king Richard II. of England, was daughter to the emperor Charles I V. and (liter to census, king of Bohemia, and Sigifmund emperor of Germany. She was a princefs of great piety, virtue, ledge; nor c die hnplicit and id) 2 unreafbnalde 42 H U S S. unreasonable iervice and devotion of the Roman church. Her death happened in 1394, and her funeral was atten- ded by all the nobility of England. She had patronized Wickliffe, vho fpeaks of her in his book " Of the three- " fold bond of love/' in thefe words; "It is poilible il that the noble queen of England, the filler of Casfar, " may have the gofpel written in three languages, Bohe. (i mian, German, and Latin : But to hereticate her, " on this account, would be Luciferian folly." After her death, ieveral of Wickliffe's books were carried by her attendants into Bohemia, and were the means of pro- moting the reformation there. The books of Wickliffe were carried into Bohemia by Peter Payne, an Englishman, one of his difciples : But the archbilhop ©f Prague ordered the members of that university to bring him the books of Wickliffe, that thole in which any errors were found might be burnt. The tracts of Wickliffe had been fo carefully preferved, that we are allured a certain bilhop wrote from England, that he had got two very large volumes of them, which feemed as large as St. Auftin's works. Archbiihop Sbynko burnt two hundred volumes of them, very finely written, and adorned with coftly covers and gold boffes ; for which reafon, they are fuppofed to belong to the nobility and gentry of Bohemia. Peter Payne was principal of Edmund-hall, in the uni- veriity of Oxford, where he was diltinguilhed for his ex- cellent parts, and his oppofition to the friars. Pie was a good difputant, and confuted Waiden, the Carmelite, about the beggary of Chriit, pilgrimages, the eucharift, images, and relicts ; for which he was obliged to quit the univeriity, and fly into Bohemia, where he contracted an acquaintance with Procopius, the Bohemian General, and publilhed fome books written by Wickliffe, which were greatly efreemed by Hufs, jerom, and the greater! part of the univeriity. of Prague. The ftudeuts belonging to this HUSS. 43 this learned feminary were offended with their archbiihop for fupprefiing the books of Wickliffe, and ordering the Bohemian clergy to teach the people, that, after the pronunciation of the words of the holy facrament, there remained nothing but the body of Jefus Chrift under the fpecies of bread, and the body of Jefus Chrift in the cup. There was alio, according to Fox, another caufe of the dilperilon of Wickliffe's books in Bohemia. A young- man of an opulent and noble family of that country came over to Oxford, about the year 1389, for the profecution of his itudies, and, upon his return, carried with him feveral tracts of Wickliffe. With this gentleman Hufs was well acquainted, and obtained from him the loan of thefe books, which were the means of bringing light into his mind, and fo much impreffed him with the conviction of their truth, that he embraced and maintained the doctrines they contained ever afterwards. He ufed to call Wickliffe an angel fent from heaven to enlighten mankind; and would mention among his friends his meeting with that great author's writings, as the moft happy circumftance of his life ; adding, that it would be his joy in heaven to live for ever with that excellent man. Hufs had diftinguiihed himfelf in the umverfity, where he taught grammar and philofophy. He had applied him- felf to the ftudy of the holy fcriptures, and the Latin fa- thers : He was become an excellent preacher, and was made chaplain in the church of the Holy Innocents, called Bethlehem, at Prague. He was held in great ePdrnation for his exemplary life and converfation as a divine, and for having been one of the principal perfons who had ob- tained a great favour to the univerfity. Hufs arduoufly embraced the doctrine of Wickliffe, and eafdy perfuaded many members of the univerfity, * that * For Dr. Hufs's pub'Jc defence of Wickliffe's opinions before the univerfity of Prague, in the year 1412, fee Fo;:'s A&c, v>:c. volt r. temp. Rie, 2. th? 44 K US S. tbefirfi: of tliefe orders, made by the archbiihop, was an' hrfringment of tlie privileges and liberties of the uni- verfity, whole members had a right to read all forts of books, .without any moleftation. Ke alfo obferved, that the fecond order contained a moft intolerable error, im feeming to aifirtri that there was nothing but the body and blood of Chr-ift under the fpecies of bread, and in the cup. Upon this foundation, they appealed from thole or* ders to Gregory XII. at Rimini, who was then acknow- ledged pope in Germany, in opposition to John XXIII. at Rome, and Benedict XIII. at Avignon. Their appeal was received, and the pone cited the archbifhop to Rome. But that prelate informed the pope, that the doctrine of , to take root in Bohemia : upon which the med a bull, whereby the pope gave him lilion to prevent the pubiilhing of thoie errors in Ks province. 1 his archbishop, we are told, was a mod illiterate man. He was io illiterate, that he was called, in ridicule, Al- piiabetaFius, the A B C Doctor. Indeed, the clergy of thole times were remarkably ignorant, inibmuch that many of the prelates could not write, but directed their tins to fubfcribe their very names for them to eccle- pa|jer$~ The archbiihop, by virtue of this bull, definitively con- demned- the writings of Wkkliffe ; proceeded againft four doctors, who had not delivered up the copies of that di- vine; and prohibited them, notwithiianuing their privile- ges, to preach in any congregation. Doctor Huis, wkk fame other members of the univerfuy, and the patron ot the chapel of Bethlehem, made their prcteilations agaioffe thefe proceedings; and, on the twenty-fifth of juae, A. X). 1410. entered a new appeal from the feritences of the ar • This affair was carried before pops John XXIII. who granted a commiffion to cardinal Col- onna to cite John Hufs to appear personally at the - HUSS. 45 court of Rome, to anfwer the accufations laid againft him of preaching both errors and hereiies. Doctor Hufs deiired to be excufed a perfonal appearance, and was fo greatly favoured in Bohemia, that king ' Wenceilaus, the queen, the nobility, and the univeriity, defired the pope to difpenfe with fuch an appearance ; as alfo that he would not fuffer the kingdom of Bohemia to lie under the defamation- of being accufed of herefy, but permit them to preach the gpfpel with freedom in their places cf worihip ; and that he WQuld fend legates to Prague to correct any pretended abufes, the expence of which mould be defrayed by the Bohemians. Three proctors appeared for doctor Kufs, before cardi- nal Colo una, who was elected pope, in 14 17, and auumed the name of Martin V. The proctors alledged excui'es for the abfence of Kufs,. and declared they were ready to anfwer in his* behalf: But the cardinal declared Kufs contumacious,, and excommunicated him accordingly. The proctors appealed to the pore, who appointed the cardinals of Aomileia,, Brancas, Venice, and Zabarella, to draw up the procefs. of this whole affair- Thefs ccm- njiilioners not only confirmed the judgment given by car- dinal Colonna, but carried the matter much further ; for they extended the excommunication, which had palled againft Kufs, to all his difciples, and alio to his friends. aa declared a promoter of herefy, and an interdict was pronounced againft him.. From thefe proceedings he appealed to a future council; and, notwithftanding the decilion of the four commiffioners, and his being expelled from the church of Bethlehem, he .retired to KmTenitz, the place of his nativity, where he boldly continued to pro- mulgate hia do, trine, both from the pulpit, and with the pen. letters which he wrote, about this time, are very- numerous ; and he compiled a treatife wherein he main- tained that the reading of the books of heretics cannot: be 46 HUS S. be abfolutely forbidden- He jQftified Wickliffe's book on the Trinity, and defended the character of that reformer againft a charge brought by one Stokes, an Englifhman, and others, who accuied him of difobedience. It is truth, and not opinion, which can travel through the world without a -paflport. The glorious caufe of truth had been freely efpoufed by Hufs, who undauntedly- declaimed againft the clergy, the cardinals, and even againft the pope himfelf. He wrote a difcourfe to prove, that the faults and vices of churchmen ought to be re- proved from the pulpit. Regarding the blood of Jefus Chrift, which many pretended to have as a relic, he obferved, that Chrift, being glorified, took up with him all his own blood, and that there is no remains of it on earth; as alfo that the greateft part of the miracles, which are reported about the apparition of his blood, are the frauds and impoftures of avaricious and defigning men. He maintained, that Jefus Chrift might be called bread : But he departed not from the doctrine of the church about the tranfubftantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood -of Jefus Chrift. But it is of fmall impor- tance with the church of Rome, in what particular points the judgments of men coincide with its doctrines, if the whole of the corrupt leaven be not implicitly fwallowed. And perhaps no points are held more facred by that here- tical communion, than thofe which yield the moft abun- dant profit to the holy fee, falfiy fo called. To attack the virtue of papal indulgences, is ftriking at the moft fundamental pillar of the popedom ; and to deny the ftock of merit, laid up in the church for public fale, is a damnable denial of the privileges of the clergy, to whom both heaven and earth belong, under thedifpofal of their pontiff, Chrift' s pretended vicar here below. Thefe mon* ftrous abufes, fome very few of that church have at- tempted, as far as they dared, to cenfure — And with re- fpect to Rome itfelf, a jonrnev thither "would probably effect II U S S. 4 7 effect more to prevent a perverficn from proteflantifm to popery, than a thoufand wordy arguments. The wick- ednefs and vices of the clergy, in that city, fpeak aloud for their principles. The review of thefe caufed Hikle- bert, archbifhop of Tours, fo long ago as the twelfth cen- tury, to characterize that famous mart of fouls in the fol- lowing words : Vrbs falix, (i vel dominis urhs ilia careret, Vel dominis ejjet turpe carerefide. That is, 4 Happy city, if it had no mailers; or if it were fcanda- 4 lous for thole m alters to be unfaithful. ' Luther ufed to fay, that * for iooo florins he would not. but have been at 4 Rome,' where he law lb thoroughly into that fink of fin and fpiritual abomination, that he abhorred the place and its profeiiion ail his life afterwards. He had been lent thither, in the early part of his life, in behalf of his con- vent. But to proceed : About the time when Kufs wrote the above difcourfes, Peter of Drefden was obliged to fly from Saxony, and feek a refuge at Prague, where he encouraged Jacobelle of Mifnia, a prieft of the chapel of St. Michael, to preach up the establishment of the communion under the fpecies of wine. 1 his opinion was embraced by doctor Hufs and his followers, who began to preach, that the ufe of the cup was neceffary to the laity, and that the facrament iliould be adminiftered under both kinds. Archbiihop Sbynko was incenfed at thefe proceedings, and applied to king Wenceijaus for afiiftance, which that monarch refufed. The prelate then had recourfe to Sigifmund, king of Hun- gary, who promiied to come into Bohemia, and fettle the affairs of the church in that kingdom : But Sbynko died in Hungary, before Sigifmund began his journey into Bohe- mia. /Ubicus fucceeded to the archiepifcopal fee of Pra- gue, who permitted theHuiiites to continue their fermons; and their doctrine became almofb general. Doctor 4 8 H U S S. Doctor Hufs left his retirement, and returned to Pra- gue, in 1412, at the time that pope John XXI 1 1, publifh- ed the bulls againft Laodiftaus, king of Naples, where- by he ordered a croifade againft him, and granted indul- gences to all thofe who undertook this war. Thefe bulls were confuted by doctor Hufs, who declaimed againft crcifades and indulgences. The populace became anima- ted by his orations, and declared that pope. John was an- tichrift. The magiftrates caufed fome of them to be ap- prehended, and the reft took up arms to fet them at liberty ; but they were pacified by the magiftrates, who gave them folemn affura nee s that no injury mould be done to the prifoners : however, they were privately beheaded In the judgment-hall. The blood which ran out from the place of execution difcovered the maffacre of thife men to the common people, who took arms again, forcibly carried off the bodies of thole that were executed, honour- ably interred them in the church of Bethlehem, and re- verenced them as martyrs. ' Hufs (fays Mr- Gilpin) ' difcovered, on this occafion, a true Chrifiian fpirit. ' The late riot had given him great concern ; and he had * now lb much weight with the people, as to retrain them ' trom attempting any farther violence — whereas, at the ' found of a bell, he could have been furrcunded with ' thoufands, who might have laughed at the police of ' the city.' The magiftrates of Prague found it neceffary to pub- lifn their reafons for thefe rigorous proceedings againft the Huilites. They aiFembled many doctors of divjnity in their city, who drew up a ceniure of forty-five of Wick- liffe's proportions; and, in their preface to it, they af- ferted the authority of the pope, the cardinals, and the church of Rome ; after which, they accufed the Huilites of fedition. Doctor Hufs wrote many books, and other difcourfes, againft the cenfure of thefe doctors, whom he called Praetorians. He maintained fome" of the articles which H U S S. 49 which they condemned ; particularly thofe concerning the liberty of preaching, the power of fecular princes over the revenues of eccleiiaftics, the voluntary payment of tythes, and the forfeiture that fpiritual and temporal lords make of their power, when they live in mortal fin. Doctor Hufs wrote a long treatife about the church, to confute the preface of that cenfure, in which he main- tain^, that the church confiits of thole only who are pre- deftinate ; that the head and foundation of it is Jefus Chriii ; that the pope and cardinals are only members of it, and the other biihops are iucceffors to the apofties as well as they ; that no one is obliged to obey them, if their commands are not agreeable to the law of God ; and that an excommunication, which is groundlefs, hath no effect. He particularly aniwered the writings of Stephen Paletz, Staniilaus Zuoima, and eight other doctors. He alfo caufed a writing to be fixed upon the church of Bethlehem, charging the clergy with thefe fix errors : Firit, Of believing that the prieft, by faying mafs, be- comes the creator of his Creator. Second, Of faying that we ought to believe in the virgin, in a pope, and in the faints. Third, That the prieits can remit the pain and guilt of fin. Fourth, That every one mull obey his fupe- riors, whether their commands be jufl or unjuft. Fifth, That every excommunication, jult or unjuit, binds the excommunicate. The fixth relates to iimony. He alfo wrote three large volumes againft the clergy ; the firit entitled, ". The Anatomy of the Members of An- " tichrit." The fecond, * It was impoflible to hear this pathetic fpeaker with- ' out emotion. Every ear was captivated; and every • heart touched — But wiflies in his favour were vain.- 1 He threw himfelf beyond a poflibility of mercy. Brav- i ing death, he even provoked the vengeance, which was 4 hanging over him. ** If that holy martyr, (faid he, ' fpeaking of Hufs) ufed the clergy with difreipeet, his " cenfures were not levelled at them as priefes, but as " wicked men. He law with indignation thofe reve- " nues, which had been defigned for charitable ends, " expended upon pageantry and riot." ' Through this whole oration he (hewed a moft amaz- * ing itrength of memory. He had been confined alrnoft 7 6 JEROM of PRAGU E. ■ a year in a dungeon : The fe verity of which ufage he ' complained of, but in the language of a great and ' good man. In this horrid place, he was deprived of ' books and paper. Yet notwithstanding this, and the ' confrant anxiety, which rauft have hung over him, he ' was at no more lofs for proper authorities, and quota- * tions, than if lie had fpent the intermediate time st f leiiureinhis ftudy. ' His voice was fweet, diflinft, and full : Hi* action 1 every way the moll proper, either to exprefs indigna- * tion, or to raife pity ; though he made no affected ap- ' plication to the paflions of his audience. Firm, and ' intrepid, he flood before the council ; collected in him- ' felf; and not only concerning, but feeming even de- i firous'of death. The greater! character in ancient ftory ' could not pofiibly go beyond him- If there is any juf- * tree in hiftory, this man will be admired by all pofte- < rity- I fpeak not of his errors : Let thefe reii with 1 him. What I admired was his learning, his eloquence, ' and amazing acutenefs. God knows whether thefe ' things were not the ground- work of his ruin. 1 Two days were allowed him for reflection ; during c which time many perfons of confequence, and partial- * larly my lord cardinal of Florence, endeavoured to bring ' him to a better mind- But perflating obftinatel'y in his ' errors, he was condemned as a heretic. ' With a chearful countenance, and more than ftoical < conftahcy, he met his fate ; fearing neither death itfelf, « nor the horrible form, in which it appeared. When he 1 came to the place, he pulled off his upper garment, < and made a fhort prayer at the (take ; to which he was ' foon after bound with wet cords, and an iron chain ; i and in doled as high as his bread with faggots. < Obferving the executioner about to fet lire to the < wood behind his back, he cried out, « Bring thy torch " " hither. JEROM of PRAGUE. 77 4< hither. Perform thy office before my face. Had I 4i feared death, I might have avoided it." ' As the wood began to blaze, he fang an hymn, which f the violence of the flame fcarce interrupted. * Thus died this prodigious man, The epithet is not ' extravagant.- I was myielf an eye-witnefs of his whole ' behaviour. Whatever his life may have been, his * death, without doubt, is a leflbnof philofophy. * But it is time? to fmiih this long epiitle. You will * fay I have had fome leifure upon my hands : And, to * fay the truth, I have not much to do here. This will, * I hope, convince you, that greatnefs is not wholly con- ' fined to • antiquity,- You will think me perhaps te- 4 dious ; but I could have been more prolix on a fubjecl: ' fo copious. -Farewel, my dear Leonard.' Conibmce, May zotiu Such was the teftimony borne to an cdverfary by this ingenuous papift. &£>?*-— r~~-, ^ ===^==^^^t=^^^^^,^ PATRICK HAMILTON THE FIRST SCOTCH REFORMFR. PATRICK HAMILTON was a gentleman of Scot- J. land, of royal defcent, a circumftance in providence, that was fubfervient to raife more attention to his excel - :i';ine ; holy life, and patient fufoings. * Ke had G* an ;8 PATRICK HAMILTON. an amiable difpofition, and was well educed ; he was very early made abbot of Perme, with a view to his beino* one day more highly preferred. At the age of twenty- three, he with three companions travelled into Germany, in purfuit of religious knowledge, and coming to Witten- berg he met with Luther and Melanclhon, with whom he held frequent and clofe conferences, and by whom he was well inhructed in the doctrines of the gofpel. From thence he went to Marpurg, an univerfity newly erected by Philip Landgrave of Hefie ; he became intimately ac- quainted with Lambert, our Engliih martyr, at whofe inftance he was the firft in that univerfity who fet up public difputations concerning faith and works ; the pro- portions and conclufions of which, are in what is entitled Patrick's Places, of which excellent tract we IhallTubjoin a fpecimen at the end of this article. Ke grew daily in grace and in the knowledge of Jefus Chrift ; and being well eftabliihed in the faith, and much improved in all ufeful learning, he returned with one of his companions to Scotland, defirous to' impart the know- ledge of the trne religion to his countrymen. With a % T iew to this, he began to preach the gofpel of jefus Chrift with great fervency and boldnefs, and to lay open the errors and corruptions of the church of Rome. This foon alarmed the whole body of the clergy, and parti- cularly James Beaton, archbilhop of St. Andrew's, who laboured to get Mr- Hamilton to come to him at St. An- drew's; where, after ieveral days conference, hewasdif- miffed, the archbilhop feeming to approve of his doctrine, acknowledging that many things wanted reformation in the church. But, at the fame time, the archbilhop con- fulted with other biihops, to put the king, (who was young and much led by them) upon going on a pilgrimage to £t. BotbeiTe in R.cis ; fo that, during his abience, they might condemn Mr. Hamilton, as no intereft could then. fee made with the king to lave his life. • fylr. Hamilton, fiot PATRICK H A M ILTO N. 7^ not fufpecting their malice and treachery, remained at St. Andrew's; and the king being gone on his pilgpimage, he was cited to appear before the archbiihop and his col- leagues on the tirit day of March, 1527. The arti- cles of accufation brought again ft him, which he was found guilty in holding and maintaining, and for which he was condemned to death, are the following. " That u man hath no free-will — That there is no purgatory " 1 hat the holy patriarchs were in heaven before Chrifc's pafiion — i hat the pope hath no power to loofe and bind : Neither any pope had that power fince St. Pe- ter That the pope is antichriit, and that every prieft hath the power, that the pope hath — That Mr. Pa- trick Hamilton was a bifliop — -That it is not neceilary " to obtain any bulls from any bifliop — That the vow of the pope's religion is a vow of wkkednefs — That the pope's laws be of no ftrength — That all Chrii- tians, worthy to be called Chriitians, do know that " they be in a f tate of grace — That none be faved, but 44 thofe that are before predeilinate — YVhofoever is in 44 deadly fin, is unfaithful — -1 hat God is the caufe of *' ni\, in this fenie ; that is, that he withdraw eth his u grace from men, whereby they (in — That it is deviliih 44 doctrine, to enjoin to any (inner actual penance for (in. " — That thefaid Mr. Patrick Hamilton himfelf doubteth " whether all children, departing incontinent after their " baptifm, are faved or condemned — That auricular con- " felfion is not neceifary to falvatioii." 1 hough thefe articles are inferted in their regifter^i ' neverthelefs,' fays Mr- Fox, ' other learned men, ' communed and reafoned with him, do teftify, that thefe 4 articles following were the very articles, for which he red.' " 1. man hath no free-will. 2. A man is only jufti- " fied by faith in Ghriil. 3. A man, (o long as he liveth, " is not without im. 4. He is not worthy to be called " a So PA T R I C K H A.MI L T O N. tl a Chriftian, who believeth not that he is in grace* *• 5. A good man doeth good works : But good - works do " not make a good man. 6. An evil man bringeth forth t( evil works : Evil works, being faithfully repented, do u not make an evil man. 7. Faith, hope, and charity, ei be f linked together, that one of them cannot be with- u outr another in one man in this life.'' ' And as touching the other articles,' adds Mr. Fox, 4 whereupon the doclors gave their judgments, as divers * do report, he was not accufed of them before the arch- 1 biihop. Albeit in private difputation he affirmed and i defended the moft of therm' That he did not hold the whole of them, at leaftas they are expreiTed in their re- giller, may eallly be learnt from his writings, where he treats of the fame doctrines,- and efpecially in his treatife entitled Patrick's Places. A performance fo very judi- cious and truly evangelical, that it is feme concern to us, that we cannot oblige the reader with the whole of if. Having gone through the farce of a trial, they pro- ceeded to pronounce Sentence upon him, which, becaufe it ihews his underftanding, orthodoxy and innocence, as well as the ignorance and cruelty of the papiits, we wilt lay it before the reader in their own words* His fentence, as it f lands in the regider of the arch- bilhop's court, was as follows : 1 Christ i nomine tnvocato : We- James, by the mercy ' of God, archbifhop of Saint Andrew's, primate of Scot- ' land, with the council, decree, and authority of the moft reverend fathers in God, and lords, abbots, doc- '"tors of theology, profeffors of the holy fcripture, and * matters of the univerfity, amTting us for the time, fit- * ting in judgment within our metropolitan church of * Saint Andrew's, in the caufe of heretical pravity^ againft *' Mr. Patrick Hamilton, abbot or penfionary of Ferme, - being fummoned to appear before us, to anfwer to cer- i tain articles affirmed, taught, and preached by him, and < fo PATRICK HAMILTON. 81 « fo appearing before ns, and accufed, the merits of the ' caule being ripely weighed, difcufied, and underilood * by faithful inquifition made in Lent taft paft : We have * found the fame Mr. Patrick Hamilton many ways in- 4 flamed with herefy, difputing, holding, and maintaining ' divers hcrefies of Martin Luther, and his followers, re- ' pugnant to our faith, and which are already condemned ' by general councils, and moft famous univerfities *. ' And he being under the fame infamy, we decerning be- ' fore him to be fummoned and accufed upon the pre- 4 miles, he of evil mind (as may be prefumed) pafied to * other parts forth of the realm, fufpected and noted of * herefy. And being lately returned, not being admitted, * but of his own head, without licence or privilege, hath ' prefumed to preach wicked herefy. * We have found alfo, that he hath affirmed, published 4 and taught divers opinions of Luther, and wicked he- ' relies, after that he was fummoned to appear before us, 4 and our council : " That man hath no free-will : That " man is in iin fo long as he liveth : That children, in- 44 continent after their baptifm, are tinners -j- : AllChrii- •' tians, that be worthy to be called - Chriftians, do know 11 that they are in grace: No man is juftiried by works, 11 but by faith only : Good works make not a good man, 1 but a good man doeth good works : That faith, hope, " and charity, are fo knit, that he, that hath the one, " hath the reft, ^nd he, that wanteth the one of them, '•' wanteth the reft, &o" with divers other hereiies and 1 deteftable opinions : and hath per fitted fo obftinate in the fame, that by no counfel nor perfuafion he may be 1 drawn therefrom to the way of our right faith. They do not pretend fo much aa to fay they were condemned by the /captures. t ft may be obferved, that theft articles do not agree with thofe in their regifter. * All 82 PATRICK HAMILTON. * All thefe premifes being confidered, we, bavins God ' and the integrity of our faith before our. eyes, and fol- * lowing the counfel and advice of the profeiibrs of the 4 holy fcripture, men of law, and others afiifting us for the 4 time, do pronounce, determine, and declare the faid Mr. Patrick Hamilton, for his affirming, confefliog, and * maintaining of the aibrefaid herefies, and his pertinacity (they being condemned already by the church, general . ' councils, and molt famous umverfities) to be an here- . 4 tic, and to have an evil opinion of the faith, and 4 therefore to be condemned and puniihed, like as we condemn, and define him to be punimed, by this our fentence definitive, depriving and fentencing him to be deprived of all dignities, orders, offices, and benefices of the church ; and therefore do judge, and pronounce 4 ■ him to be delivered over unto the fecular power, to be * puniihed, and his goods to be confiscate. ' 1 his our fentence definitive was given and read at 4 our metropolitan church of St. Andrew's, the laftday ' of the month of February, anno 1527. That this fentence might have the greater authority, they caufed it to be figned by all prefent, of any account, whether clergy or laity j and, in order to make their num- ber appear great, they took the fubfcription of the very children of the nobility- Being thus condemned as an oblfinate heretic, he was delivered over to the fecular power, and after dinner, on the fame day, the fire was prepared, and he was led to execution ; whilft moil peo- ple thought it was only to terrify him, and to make him recant. But God, for his own glory, the good of the elect, and for the manifeiration of their brutal tyranny,, had decreed it otherv\ife; and fo frrengthened him, that neither the love of life, though young, nor fear of this cruel death, could in the leaft move him from the truth he had boldly profeiTed- Ac PATRICK HAMILTON. 83 At the place of execution, he gave his fervant, that had long attended him, his gown, coat, cap, and his other garments, laying, M Thcie are the lait things you M can receive of ine, nor have I any thing now to leave " you, but the example of my death, which I pray you " to bear in mind; for, though it be bitter to llelh, and 11 fearful before men, yet it is the entrance into eternal " life, which none {hall inherit, who deny Jefus Chriit '* before this wicked generation." He was then bound to the (take in the midit of wood and coal, which they at- tempted to let on. fire with gun-powder ; but it neither killed him nor kindled the fire, only exceedingly fcorch- ed one fide of his body and his face. During the pain- ful interval of their going to the caille for more powder and combuilibles, the friars called frequently upon him to recant ; and when the fire was kindled, it burnt foilowly, that he endured o-reat torment; which the friars endea- vored to increafe by fettingfome of their own creatures to cry out in a clamorous manner, s Turn, thou heretic, * pray to the virgin, fay, fa he regina, &c' to whom lie anfwered, " Depart from me, and trouble me rot, you " mefTengers of Satan." One friar Campbell, who had vifited him often in prifon, was particularly officious, and continued to bellow out. ' Turn, thou heretic ; * turn, thou heretic ;' whom Mr. Hamilton thus addref- fed, " Wicked man ! you know I am not a heretic, and *' have confefied the fame to me in private ; but I appeal •* to the juft tribunal feat of Jefus Chriit, and cite you to " appear there to anfwer for it to almighty GOD." And then faid, " How long, O Lord, ihall darknefs " overwhelm this realm ? and how long wilt Thou differ *' the tyranny of thefe wicked men!" And at length with a loud voice he cried, as he had frequently done, " Lord jefus, receive my ipirit!" and died. It is recorded, that friar Campbell died not long after in a phrenfy, and ieemingly in deipair. Which, con- sidered 8 4 PATRICK HAMILTON. fidered with the circumflance of his being cited by Mr. Ha- milton, made a great impreflion on the minds of the peo- ple, and caufed them to inquire more particularly into the nature and meaning of the articles, for v/hich Mr. Hamil- ton was burnt ; and fo this event proved the means of many embracing the truth. Mr- Knox, in his hiflory of Scotland, relates the amazing efFecls of this great man's death, and how wonderfully the Lord fpread abroad the light of the gofpel, by a careful examination of the arti- cles upon which he was condemned, and of his writings. 4 When thofe cruel wolves had, as they fuppoled, 4 clean devoured the prey, they found themfelves in a 4 worfe cafe than before; for then, within St. Andrew's, 4 yea, almoft within the whole realm, (who heard of that 4 facl) there was none found who began not to inquire, * wherefore Mr. Patrick Hamilton was burnt ; and when 4 his articles were rehearfed, queftion was holden, if fnch 4 articles were neceffary to be believed, under the pain of 4 damnation ? And fo, within a fhort fpace, many began < to call in doubt, that which before they held for a. certain 4 verity ; infomuch that the univerfity of St. Andrew's 4 and St. Leonard's college, principally by the labours of 4 Mr. Gavin Logy, the novices of the abbey, and the 4 fuperior, began to fmell fomewhat of the verity, and to 4 efpy the vanity of the received fuperftition : yea, within 4 few years after, began both black and grey friars pub- 4 lickly to preach againft the pride and idle life of bimops, 4 and agakift the abufes of the whole ecclefiaftical fiate. ' Amongit whom was one called William Arithe, who, ' in a fermon preached in Dundee, fpake fomewhat more ' freely again ft the licentious life of the bimops, than ' they could well bear. The bifhop of Be renin having ' his parafites in the town, buffeted the friar, and called ' him heretic. The friar pafFed to St. Andrew's, and did communicate the heads of his fermon to Mr. John Mair, \ whofe word then was held as an ©racle, in matters of 4 religion ; PATRICK HAMILTON. 85 ' religion; and be amired of him, that fnch doctrine ' might well be defended, and that he would defend it, ' for it contained no herei'y ; there was a day appointed to * the laid friar, to make repetition of the lame fermon ; and adverti fement was given to all inch, as were of- fended at the former, to be pre lent. And lb, in the parilh church of St. Andrew's, upon the day appointed, appeareil the faid friar, and had, am on git his auditors, Mr. ]ohn Mair, Mr. George Lockhart, the abbot of f Cambuikeneth, Mr. Patrick Hepburn, prior ol St. An- ' drew's, with all the doctors and mailers of the univcr- \ Cities. Shortly after this, new confutation was taken, * there, that fome ihould be burnt ; for men begin freely * to fpeak. A merry gentlemen, called John Lindfay, fa- 1 miliar to archbi:hop Beaton, (landing by, when conful- ? tation was had, laid, " My lord, if ye burn any more, " except ye follow my counfel, ye will utterly deiiroy " vourielres ; if you will burn them, let them be burnt n f of God, keepeth all, " Ergo, he that keepeth not all the commandments fGod, u keepeth not one of them. Prepojrtton. " It is not in our power 'to keep any one of die com- M mandments of God. Argument'. " // is tmpoffibtit to keep any of 'the commandments of Xhf r " 'without grace v " // is not in our power to have grace. « Ergo; it is not in our power to keep a?iy of the com* " mandments of Cod* « And even fo may you reafon concerning the Holy " Ghoft and faith, forafmuch as neither without them " we are able to keep any of the commandments of God^ " neither yet be they in our power t have. Non ejt " volenti s ne que cur rtntis, 6c. Rom.ix. 16. Proportion. [ The law was given us to mew our fm. " By the lawcomeih the knowledge of Jin; Rom. iii. 20. " I knew not what fin meant, but through the law : For I had not known what luft had meant, except the law ^ "ffaid Thoujhalt not luji. Without the law , fin was ^ dead, that is, it moved me not, neither wift I that it was Jin, which notwithftarcding was Jm, and forbidden by the law. Rom. vii. Propoftion. it r\ , r law biddeth us do that d«ng> which is impof- " lible for us. r a . i . Argument. The keeping of the commandments is to us impofpble. ■ " The (( u << 88 PATRICK HAMILTON. * The law commandeth to us the keeping of the command- " me Kt s. " Ergo ; the iaw commandeth unto us what Is tmfoffible. " CbjeWott. But you will fay, Wherefore doth God H bid us do chat, which is impofiible for us ? Anfwer. To make thee know, that thou art but evil, and that there is no remedy to fave thee in thine own hand : And that thou may eft feek a remedy at il fome other: For the law doth nothing elfe, but con- " demn thee. The doctrine of the Gospel. 44 The gospel is, in other words, good tidings* ; and 44 may be exprefTed in the following manner: " Chrift is the Saviour of the [eled] world 1 . Chrift ri is the Saviours. Chrift died for us3. Chrift died for our 44 fms-i. Chrift bought us with his blcodf. Chrift wafh- <; ed us with his blood 6 . Chrift offered himfelf for us7. '■' Chrift bare our fins on his own backs. Chrift came M into this world to fave finncrs9. Chrift came into this '* world to take away our fms J °. Chrift was the price 44 that was givt .for us and our fins* 1 . Chrift was made 44 debtor for ttt v Chrift Hath payed our debt, for he 44 died for us«f. Chrift made fatisfacHon for us and our 44 finsH. Ch r ift is our righteoufnefs*5. Chrift is pur. " fanctificationio. Chrift is our redemption '7. Chrift is " our peace t s. Chrift hath pacified the Father of heaven 44 for usig. Chrift is ours, and all his o. Chrift hath u delivered us from the law, from the devil, and from 44 helb-i. The Father of heaven hath forgiven us our *' fins for Chriit's fake. And many other fimilar ex- * Luke il. 1. John iv\ 2 Luke it. 5 Rom. v. 4 Ibid. iv. 5 f P-.t- ii. 6 Rev. i. v. 7 Gil. i. 8 ifa. iiii. 9 I Tim. 1. 10 r John iii, II 1 Tim. ii. 12 Horn, viii- 1 3 Col. ii- 14 1 Cor. vii. 15 1 Cor. i. 16 1 Cor. i. 17 Eph. ii. 18 Rom. v- »9 1 Cor. iii. 23 Col. iii, 21 John i. preflior PATRICK HAMILTON. S 9 " preffions, equally fcriptural, which declare unto us the u mercy of God. " The nalwc and office of the Law and of the Gospel. 41 The law flieweth us our fin. Rom. iii. u The goipel iheweth us a remedy for it. John i. u The law iheweth us our condemnation. Rom. vii. 4< The gofpeUhewcth us our redemption. Col. i. " The law is the word of ire [wrath] Rom. iy. " The goipel is the word of grace. Ac~ts xiv. 2c 1 i he law is the word of deipair. Deut. xxvii. The goipel is the word of comfort. Luke ii. The law is the word of difquietude. Rom. vii. The gofpel Is the word of peace. Eph. vi. A difputation between the Law" and the Gospel, in -which is /hewed the dijference or contrariety between them both* ** " The law-faith, Pay the debt. u The gofpel faith, ' Chrift hath paid it. " The law faith, Thou art a firmer , defter, and thou fh alt u he damned. t: 'I he gofpel faith, Thy ftns are p-given thee ; be of good " comfort, fir thou J 'ka It be fa\ - he law faiths Make an. nds as. " 'i he goipel faith, Ch rift hath made it far thee. . '* The law faith, The Father in heaven is angrv with thee. " The gofpel faith, Chrift hath pacifed him with his blood. " The law lakh, Where is thy righteoufnefs^goodnefs, and " fnthfaclicm? " The ^v.pel fuith, drift is thy right eoufnefs, goodnefs, ' ' and futisf action. «« The law faith, Thou a;- 4 bound* and obliged to me, to the " civil, and to hell. " The goipel faith, Chrift hath delivered thee fr^i them all H 2 « A 90 PATRICK HA M ILTON. • " A comparifon bet-ween Faith and Unbelief* «• Faith is the root of all good. •< Unbelief is the root of all evil. •' Faith maketh God and man good friends. '.' Unbelief maketh them foes. '< Faith bringeth God and man together. *( Unbelief feparates them. *t All that faith doeth, pleafeth God. ** All that unbelief doeth difpleafeth God. «< Faith only maketh a man good and righteous* -< Unbelief maketh him unjuit and evil. «« Faith maketh a man a member of Chrifr. '- Unbelief maketh him a member of the devil. - *« Faith maketh him an inheritor of heaven. ,( Unbelief maketh a man an inheritor of hell. *< Faith maketh a man a fervant of God. *< Unbelief maketh him the fervant of the devil. " Faith flieweth ns God to be a tender Father* u Unbelief flieweth him to be a terrible judge. i( Faith holdeth hQ: by the word of God. " Unbelief wavereth here and there. " Faith eiteemeth God to be true. " Unbelief looketh upon him to be falfe and a liar* " Faith knoweth God. " Unbelief knoweth him not. *' Faith loveth both God and his neighbour. '.' Unbelief loveth neither of them. " Faith only faveth us. (i Unbelief only condemneth us. iC A comparifon between Faith, Hope ? and Charity. ih Faith cometh of the word of God ; hope cometh of u faith ; and charity fpringeth of them both. •' Faith believcth the word ; hope trufteth to enjoy that, '** which PATRICK HAMILTO N. 91 «•' which is promifedin the word ; charity doeth good Dft- l S to her neighbour, through the love that it hath to God, " and gladnefs that is within herfelf. " Faith looketh to God and his word ; hope looketh u unto his gift and reward ; charity looketh on her neigh* " hour's profit. " Faith receiveth God ; hope receiveth his reward ; " charity loveth her neighbour with a glad heart, and " that without any refpect of reward. " Faith pertaineth to God only; hope to his reward, •' and charity to her neighbour." This little treatife of Mr. Hamilton's (continues his editor Mr. John Frith, the martyr) though fliort, is very comprehensive, containing matter fufficient for feveral volumes; and mews us the true doctrine of the law, of the gofpel, of faith and of works, with their nature, properties, and difference. Which difference is thus to be understood, that in the article of falvation, and in the oflice of j unifying, they are diftinct and to be kept afun- der, the law from the gofpel, and faith from vvor Though in the perfon that is juilified, and alio in the order of doctrine, they ought and do go neceilarily to- gether. Therefore, wherefoever any queftion or doubt arifeth refpecting falvation, or our juflifkation before God, there the law and all good works rnufl be utterly excluded, that grace may appear to be fovereign, the promife free and gratuitous, and that faith may ftand alone ; which faith alone, without law or works, confirms to every believer his own particular falvation. For as, the grace of God is the efficient caufe, and Jefus Chrifh the meritorious caufe, of our redemption ; fo faith is the inftrumental caufe by which the believer applieththe merits of Chrifl particu- larly to his own falvation. So that, in the aft and office of juitification, both law and works are entirely out of the queftion, as things that have nothing to do in the matter. 9 2 PA T R I C K H A M ILTuN, matter. The reafori is this, that all our falvation js by Chrift alone, fo nothing can favingly profit us, but that with which we can apprehend Chrift. Now, as neither the law nor works, but faith alone is that by which we can apprehend Chrift as an almighty and all-fufficient Saviour, fo faith alone juftiiieth the (inner before Go( ] , through the object it doxh apprehend ; namely, Jefus Chrift. For the only object of our faith is Chrift, juit as the brazen ierpent, lifted up in the wildernefs, was the object only of the eyes of the Israelites looking, and not of their hands working; by virtue of which, through the promife of God, immediately proceeded health to the be- holders : So Chrift, being the object of our faith, becomes rightcouihefs and falvation to our fouls, not by works, but by faith only. Thus we fee how faith, being the only eve of our foul, flandeth alone in apprehending or feeing Chrift for jufti- fication to life; but yet, neverthelefs ; in the body it ixandeth not alone: For befides the eye, there are alio hands to work, feet to walk, ears to hear, and other members, every one convenient for the fervice of the body ; and yet of them all, the eye only can fee. So in a Christian maifs life, and in order of doctrine, there is the law, repentance, hope, charity, and the deeds of charity ; all which in life and in doctrine are joined, and neceila- rily do Concur together, and yet in the act of jollification there is nothing elie in man, that hath any part or place but faith alone apprehending the object, which is Chriit crucified, in whom is all the worthinefs andfulnefs of our falvation ; that is, by our apprehending and receiving of him by faith, as it is written, Wbofoever re<\ . H them gave he power to become the fins of God, even to X that believe on his name : Which -were born, not of blood, mr of the will of the flejh 7 nor of the will of man, but of Cod*. * John i. 12, [3. And PATRICK HAMILTON. 93 And alfo in Ifaiahf, — By his knowledge, flail my righteous Servant jnjlify many ; \ free liberty to fpeak. Zuinglius made a public challenge three times: But he met with no opponent, except Faber, who inadvertently mentioned the intercellion of faints, which gave Zuinglius an opportunity of oppoiing that doctrine, and drawing his adverfary into a difpute. Faber made a very general dilcourie about the authority of the church and councils, which had condemned the ancient heretics, and lately WickliiFe, Hufs, and Jerom of Prague, whole doctrines were now revived. He laid, that the intercefiion of faints was a doctrine, which had been long fettled in the church, and authorized by the prac- tice of all nations : But concluded, that inch queltions ought to be debated only among divines, as in the uni- verlities of Paris, Cologne, or Lou vain. Zuinglius replied, that he deiiredof him only torefolve, whether the fcripture made any mention of the intercellion of faints? If councils were infallible? Whether tradi- tions and cuitoms ought not to be rejected, when they are not grounded upon the authority of holy fcripture ? And whether it is not clearly expreffed, that Jeius Chrift is our only Mediator ? From this queftion, they palled to another concerning the celibacy of priefts ; and thefe two queltions were the fubject of a long conteit, between the deputies of the bifh- op of Conftarice on the one part, and Zuinglius, Leo Judas, and fome other minifters on the other. The for- mer fupported their opinions by tradition, the authority of the church, and the canons of the councils : But the lat- ter would abide only by the holy fcripture. The debates ended at noon, and the fenate publilhed an edict, whereby it was ordained, * that Zuinglius mould ' « continue to teach and preach the doctrine of the gofpel, ' and the word of God, in his ufuai manner ; and all K ' paftors uo Z U I N G L I U S. * paftors and teachers, both in the city and country, were ( forbid to teach any thing that could not be proved by f the gofpei, and holy fcripture ; and they were enjoined ' to forbear all accufations of herefy, or other crimes.' Faber entered a proteftation againft this edict, and laid, he would demonstrate, that the doctrine of Zuinglius was contrary to that of St. Paul. Zuinglius challenged him to do it; and prorniied him a cheele of hare's milk, if he could prove any of his doctrines erroneous, by the gofpei, or holy fcripture. It iseafy to imagine, after the publication of this edict, that the doctrine of Zuinglius became general throughout all the canton of Zurich, under the name of ' evangelical 6 truth.' The external worihip was contrary to the new doctrine ; for images remained, and mafs was celebrated, in the churches, which could not be aboliihed without authority. Zuinglius was determined to perfect his de- lign, and engaged the fenate to call a new aflembly, to which they invited the bilhop of Conftance, Coire, and Bafil, the univerfity of Bafil, and the other twelve can- tons of Switzerland, to fend their deputies, and make the aifembly of greater authority.. The fenate afiembled again, on the twenty-flxth of Oc- tober, 1523, when Joachim Vadianus, Sebaftian Hoffman, and Chriftopher Chapplerus, werecliofen arbitrators of the difpute : Zuinglius and Leo Jucks were reipondents. And all perfons prefent were allowed to object what they pleafed. The firft queftion propounded was, ' What the ' church is, and where it is?' Zuinglius diftinguifhed, and laid, " That the church was taken in two fenfes : t( Firft, For the congregation of all true Chriftians, of ;//tranf- lation of the fcripture into modern English.- He then -began with the Old Tell anient, and finiihed the five books of Moles, prefixing excellent difcourfes to each book, as he had done to thole of the New Teftament. Cranmer's Bible, or (as it was called) the Great Biulf, was no other than Tindale's reviled and corrected, omitting the prologues and tables, and adding fcripture references and a fummary of contents. At his firft goingover into Ger- many, he went into Saxony, and had much conference with Luther and other learned men ; and then returning to the Netherlands, made his abode at- .Antwerp, at that time a very populous and flouriihing city. About the time he had finiihed his translation of the book cf Deuteronomy, he had alfo prepared for the prefs a work concerning the nature ofihefacraimnt, or (as it was then called) the altar ; but wifely conhdering, that the people were not yet fully convinced of the abfurdity of many fuperititious ceremonies and grofs idolatries, and that the mafs was every where held in the fame estimation, as the great goddefs Diana had been amongft the Ephe- iians, which they thought came down from heaven ; he therefore judged it might be more feafonable, and would anfwer the end more fully, at fome future period. And he alfo wrote a very valuable tract upon the obedience of a Chrifiian man, and likewife his expositions of fcripture, Sec. Kefet fail in the mean time to Hamburgh, with a view to print his hit finiihed tranfiation of the icriptures ; but being ihipwrecked on the coaft of Holland, he loft all his books and papers. However, going in another ihip to Hamburgh, he met with Mr. Coverdale, who adifted him in 124 TINDAL E. in tranflating again the five bocks of Mofes, both of them being entertained in the houfe of a widow gentlewoman, Mrs. Margaret Van Emerfon. This was in the year 1527, when the fweating-ficknefs very much prevailed in that place. Having finimed the printing of thefe books, he returned again to Antwerp ; and his tranflation of the fcrip- tures, being in the mean time fent to England, made a great noife there as well as in Germany ; and, in the opi- nion of the bifhops and clergy, did fo much mifchief (as they were pleafed to call it) that they railed againit and condemned them for containing a thoufand heretics, and urged — that k was impoiiible for the fcriptures to be tranllated into Engiifh — -and that it was neither lawful nor expedient for the laity to have the fcriptures in their mother-tongue. Nor could they refl ; till, by their intereft, they had procured a royal proclamation to be iiiued out, -prohibiting the buying or reading fuch tranflation or translations. This proclamation was publifhed in 1527, foon after the publication of Tindale's New Tellament, which gave the loudeft alarm ; and in the fame edict, as well as by the public prohibitions of the biihops, feveral other treatiies were cried down, written by Luther, and other reformers. But all this only ferved, as is uiual in fuch cafes, to increafe the public curioiity, and to occafion a more careful reading of what was deemed fo extremely obnoxious. One ftep taken by the bilhop of London af- forded fome merriment to the proteltants. His lordfhip thought, that the beft way to prevent thefe Engiifh New Teflaments from circulation, would be to buy up the whole impreflion, and therefore employed a Mr. Packing- ton, who fecretly favoured the reformation, than at Ant- werp, for this purpofe, alluring him at the fame time, that, colt what they would, he would have them, and burn them all at Paul's Crofs. Upon this, Packington applied himfelf toTindale, and ; upon agreement, the biifh- °P T I N D A L E. 125 ep had the books, Packington great thanks, and Tindale all the money. This enabled our reformer inftantly to publifh a new and more correft edition, fo ' that they t came over (lays Mr. Fox) thick and threefold into Eng- ' land.' This occafioned extreme rage in the difappoint- ed biihop and his popifli friends. One Conftantine being loon after apprehended by Sir Thomas More, and being afked how Tindale and others fubfifted abroad, readily anfwered, That it was the biihop of London who had been their chief fupporter, for he beftowed a great deal of money upon them in the purchafe of New Teftaments to burn them, and that upon that calh they had fubfift- ed, till the laie of the fecond edition was received. However, Tindale's perfecutors, concerned for all that was dear to them, namely, thfiir furfe and their belly, did not reft here; for, as they perceived him to be a very able man, and if luffered to live, capable of doing immenfe harm to their craft , they lent over to Antwerp one Phi- lips, who infmuated himfelf into his company, and under the pretext of friendfhip betrayed him into tuftody. He was lent prifoner to the caftle of Filford, about eighteen liiiies from Antwerp ; and though the Englilh merchants at Antwerp did what they could to procure his releaie, and letters were fent from lord Cromwell and others out of England, yet Philips beftirred himfelf fo heartily, that Tindale was tried and condemned to die. Ke was brought to the place of execution, and while he was tying to the flake he cried with a fervent and loud voice, " Lord, open u the king of England's eyes." He was firft ftrangled by the hands of the common hangman, and then burned near Filford-caftle, in the year 1536. And thus he, whom Fox, with the ntmoft propriety, flyles ' England's ' Apoftie/ reited from his labours and troubles, and en- tered into the joy of his Lord. He was a perfon of feraphic piety, indefatigable ftudy, and extraordinary learning. Kis modefty, zeal, L 2 and i26 T I N D A L E. and difintereftednefs, were fo great, that be declared, before he went to Germany, that he fnould be content " to live in any county of England, on an allowance " of ten pounds per annum, and bind himfelf to receive ct no more, if he might only have authority to in- ff ftrutt children and preach the gofpel." His un- common abilities and learning, which, joined to great warmth and flrmnefs of nature, and to true faith and gqf- pel-zeal, qualified him exceedingly well for the office of a reformer. Such was GOD's bleiiing upon his true I and faithful preaching, that, during the time of his im- prifonment (which halted a year and a half) he converted his gaoler, his daughter, and many of his houihold. Nay, the procurer general, or emperor's attorney, publickly laid of him, that he was a learned, pious, and good man- The good biihop Bale alfo fays of him, that for knowledge, purity of doctrine, and holinefs of life, he ought to be efteemed the next Englifh reformer after Wickliife, and that he was born for the converfion and edification of many fouls. His picture reprefents him with a bible in his hand, and this diilich ; Hac tit luce iuas dif-pergam, Roma, tcnebras, Sponte extorris ero ,/ponie facrificium. That light o'er all thy darknefs, Rome, With triumph might arife ; An exile freely I become, Freely a facrifice. The works which he wrote, befides the tranflation of the fcriptures, were publifhed in one volume. The remains of fuch men, when they are but few, are the mere defirable and precious. We will, therefore, iniert (as they difcover the fpirit and temper of this good man) the three letters abovementioned, preserved by Mr. Fox, TINDAL E. 127 Fox; and efpecially as his voluminous writings are not in the poffenion, or within the purchafe, of many fericus perfons. I. THE grace and peace of God our Father, and of Jefus Chriit our Lord, be with you, Amen. Dear- ly beloved brother John, 1 have heard fay, how the hy- pocrites, now that they have overcome that great bubneis which letted them, or at the lealt have brought it to a ftay, return to their old nature again. The will of God be fulfilled, and that which he hath ordained to be ere the world was made, that come, and his glory reign over all. Dearly beloved, however the matter be, commit your- felf wholly and only unto your mod loving Father, and mod kind Lord ; fear not men that threat, nor truft men thafipeak fair : But truft him that is true of promife, awd able to make his word good. Your cauie is Chriit's gof- pel, a light that mult be fed with the oil of faith. The lamp mult be dreffed and fnulfecj daily, and that oil poured in every evening and morning, that the light go not out. Though we be Tinners, yet is the caufe right. If when we be buffeted for well doing, we fuffer patiently and endure, that is acceptable with God. For to that end we are called. For Chrift alfo fuffex*ed for us, leaving us an example that we lhould follow his fteps, who did not fin. Hereby have we perceived love, that he laid down his life for us ; therefore we ought alio to lay down our lives for the brethren. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For we fuffer with him, that we may alfo be glorified with him : Who fhall change our vile body, that it may be fafnioned like unto his glori- ous body, according to the working whereby he is able even to fubdue all things unto himfelf. Dearly beloved, be Osgood courage, and comfort vour ' fowl 123 T I N D A L E. foul with the hope of this high reward, and bear the image of Chr ift in your mortal body, that it may at his coming be made like to his immortal body ; and follow the example of all your other dear brethren, which chofe to fuffer in hope of a better refurre&ion. Keep your con- ference pure and undented, and fay againft that nothing. Stick at neceffary things, and remember the blafphemies. of the enemies of Chriit, faying, they find none but who will abjure rather than fuffer the extremity. Moreover, the death of them that come again after they have once denied, though it be accepted with God, and all that be- lieve, yet it is not glorious : For the hypocrites fay, he mud needs die, denying helpeth not. But might It have holpen, they would have denied five hundred times, but feeing it would not help them, therefore of pure pride and meer malice together, they fpake with their mouths what their confeience knoweth falfe. If you give your- felf, caft yourfelf, yield yourfelf, commit yourielf wholly and only to your loving Father, then ihall his power be in you and make you ftrong, that you mall-feel no pain, which ihould be to another prefent death : And his Spirit fhall fpeak in you, and teach you what to anfwer, accor- ding to hispromife: He ihall fet out his truth by you wonderfully, and work for you above all that your heart can imagine ; yea and you are not yet dead, though the hypocrites all, with all that they can make, have fworn your death. Unafalus vl6iis nullamfperarefalutem; To look for no man's help, bringeth the help of God to them that feem to be overcome in the eyes of the hypocrites : Yea, it fhall make God to carry you thorow thick and thin for his truth's fake, in fpite of all the enemies of his truth. There falleth not a hair till his hour be come ; and when his hour is come, necefiity carrieth us hence though we be not willing. But if we be willing, then have we a reward and thank. Fear not the threatning therefore, neither be over- come T I N D A L E. 129 come of fweet words ; with which twain the hypocrite* ihall atTail you. Neither let the perfualions of worldly wifdom bear rule in your heart, no, though they be your friends that couniel you. Let Bilney be a warning to you, let not their vizor beguile your eyes. Let not your body faint. He that endureth to the end will be laved. If the pain be above your ftrength, remember, Whatfoever ye Jhall afk in my name, I will give it you* And pray to your Father in that name, and he {hall ceaie your pain, or fhorten it. The Lord of peace, of hope, and of faith, be with you, Amen. William Tindale. II. TWO have fufFered in Antwerp, in die fancies cruets y unto the great glory of the gofpel ; four at Ryiels in Flanders ; and at Luke hath there one at lea ft fuffered, and all the fame day. At Roan in France they perfecute. And at Paris are five doctors taken for the gofpel. See, you are not alone ; be cheerful and remember that among the hard-hearted in England, there is a number referved by grace : For whofe fakes, if need be, you rauft be ready to fufter. Sir, if you may write, how ihort foever it be, forget it not, that we may know how it goeth with you, for our heart's eafe. The Lord be yet again with you, with all his plenteoufnefs, and fill you that you flow over, Amen. If when you have read this, you can fend it to Adrian ; do I pray you, that he may know how that our heart is with you. George Joy at Candlemas being at Barrow printed two leaves of Genefis in a great form, and fent one copy to the king, and another to the new queen, with a letter to N. to deliver them ; and to purchafe hcenie, that he might fo i 3 o TINDALE. fo go through all the bible. Out of this is fprung the noife of the new bible ; and out of that is the great feek- ingfor Engliih books at all printers and book-binders in Antwerp, and for an Engliih prieit that mould print. This chanced the ninth day of May. Sir, your wife is well content with the will of God, and would not for her fake have the glory of God kindred. William Tindale." III. a The grace of our Saviour jefus, his patience, meek- nefs, humblenefs, circumipecuon, and wifdom, be with your heart, Amen. x^EARL Y beloved brother, mine hearts defire in our Saviour Jefus, is that you arm yourfeif with with patience, and be cool, fober, wife, and circumfpect, and that you keep you a low by the ground, avoiding high questions, that pafs the common capacity. But expound the law truly, and open the vail of Mofes to condemn ailflelh, and prove all men finuers, and all deeds under the law, be- fore mercy have taken away the condemnation thereof, to be fin and damnable, and then, as a faithful minifter, let abroach the mercy of our Lord Jefus, and let the wound- ed confeiences drink of the water of life. And then fhall your preaching be with power, and not as the doctrine of the hypocrites ; and the Spirit of God ihall work with you, and all confeiences mall bear record unto you, and feel that it is fo. And all doctrine that cafteth a mill on thofe two, to ihaclovv and hide them, 1 mean the law of God, and mercy of Chrift, that refill you with all your power. Sacraments without fignifications refufe. If they put fign ifications to them, receive them, if you fee it may- help, though it be not neceflary. Of the prefence cf Chrift' s body in the facrament, med- dle T I N D A L E. 131 die as little asyoucan, that there appear no divifiou among us. Barnes will be hot againftyou. The Saxons be lore on the affirmative ; whether conftant or obftinate, I re- mit it to God. Philip Melancthon is faid to be with the French king. There be in Antwerp that fay, they law him come into Paris with an hundred and fiffiy horfes, and that they fpake with him. If .the French men re- ceive the word of God, he will plant the affirmative in them. George Joy would have put forth a treatife of that matter, but I have ftopt him as yet : What he will do if he get money, I wot not. I believe he would make many reafons little ferving to that purpofe : My mind is, that nothing be put forth till we hear how you (hall have fped. I would have the right ufe preached, and the pre- sence to be an indifferent thing, till the matter might be reaibned in peace at leifure of both parties. If you be required, mew the phrafes of the fcripture, and let them talk what they will. For as to believe that God is every where, hurteth no man that worihippeth him no where but within the heart, in fpirit and verity : Even ih to believe, that the body of Chrift is every where (though it cannot be proved) hurteth no man, that worihippeth him no where fave in the faith of his gofpel. You perceive my mind : Howbeit, if God ihew you otherwife, it is free for you to do as he moveth you. I gueffed long ago, that God would fend a dazing into the heaci of the fpiritualty, to catch themfelves in their own lubtilty, and truif. it is come to pafs. And now me thinketh I fmell a counfel to be taken, little for their pro- fits in time to come. But you rauft underfland, that it is not of a pure heart and for love of the truth, but to avenge themfelves, and to eat the whore's ileih, and to fuck the marrow of her bones. Wherefore cleave fail to to the rock of the help of God, and commit the end ot all things unto him : And if God mall call you, that you may then ufe the wifdom of the worldly, as far as you perceive i 3 2 TINDALE. perceive the glory of Gcd may come thereof, refufe it not; and ever among thruft in, that the fcripture may be in the mother-tongue, and learning fet up in the univerfities. But if ought be required contrary to the glory of God, and his Chrift, then ftand faft, and commit yourfelf to God, and be. not overcome of men's perfuafions ; which haply fhall fay, We fee no other way to bring in the truth. Brother, beloved in my heart, there liveth not in whom I have fo good hope and truft, and in whom my heart re- joiceth, and my i'oul comforteth herfelf, as in you ; not the thoufand part fo much for your learning, and what other gifts elfe you have, as becaufe you will creep a low by the ground, and walk in thofe things that the confer- ence may feel, and not in the imaginations of the brain : In fear, and not in boldnefs : In open neceffary things, and not to pronounce or define of hid fecrets, or things that neither help nor hinder, whether it be fo or no ; in unity, and not in feditious opinions : Infomuch that if you be fare you know, yet in things that may abide leifure you will defer, or fay (till other agree with you) Me- thinks the text requireth the fenfeor underftanding. Yea, and if you be fure that your part be good, and another hold the contrary, yet if it be a thing that maketh no mat- ter, you will laugh and let it pafs, and refer the thing to other men, and ftick you ftifly and ftubbornly in earned and neceffary things. And I truft you be perfuaded even fo of me : For I call God to record againft the day we fhall appear before our Lord Jefus, to give a reckon- ing of our doings, that I never altered one fyllable of God's word againft. my confeience, nor would this day, if all that is in. the earth, whether it be pleaiure, honour, or riches, might be given me. Moreover, I take God to record to my confeience, that I defi-re of God to myfelf in this world, no more than that without which I cannot keep his laws. Finally, if there were in me any gift that could help at T I N D A L E. 133 at hand, and aid you if need required, I promife you I would not be far off, and commit the end to God. My foul is not faint, though my body be weary. But God hath made me evil favoured in this world, and without grace in the fight of men, fpeechlefs and rude, dull and How witted ; your part fhall do to fupply what lacketh in me : Remembring, that as lowlinefs of heart fhall make you high with God, even fo meeknefs of words mall make you fink into the hearts of men. Nature giveth age au- thority, but meeknefs is the glory of youth, and giveth them honour. Abundance of love maketh me e: and eclipied fo great a port of their glory* This, debate between Luther and Tetzel was, at fir ft, a matter of no great moment* and might have been ter- minated with the utmoit facility, had Leo X. been difpofed to follow the healing method which common prudence muft have natural! v pointed out on fuch an cccafion. For, after all. this was no more than a private difpute between two monks, concerning the extent of the pope's power with refpeci to the remilhon of fin. Luther corfeifed that the Roman pontiff was clothed with the power of remitting the human puniihments inflicted upon tranfgref- fors, i. e. the puniihments denounced by the church, and its vifible head the biihop of Rome ; but he ftrenu- oufiy denied that his power extended to the renuiuon of the divine punifhmenis allotted to erifenderv either in this prefent, or in a future itate ; affirming, on the contrary, that thefe puniihments could only be removed by the me- rits of Chrift. The doctrine of Tetzel was. indeed, directly oppciite to the fentiments of Luther; for this fcnfelefs or deiigningmoak aliened, that all punimmems, prcient and future LUTHER. 141 future, human and divine, were fubmitted to the authority of the Roman pontiff, and came within the reach of his abfolving power. 1 he tentiments of Luther were received with applauie by the greatelt part of Germany, which had long groaned under the avarice of the pontiffs, and the. extortions of their tax-gatherers, and had murmured grievouuy againit the various iiratagems that were daily put in practice, with the moit frontleis impudence, to fleece the rich, and to grind the faces of the poor. But the votaries of Rome were tilled with horror, when they were informed of the opinions propagated by the Saxon reformer ; more ei- peciaily the Dominicans, who looked upon their order as infulted and attacked in theperfon of Tetzci. The alarm of controverfy was therefore founded, and Tetzel himielf appeared immediately in the field againit Lather, whofe fentiments he pretended to refute in two academical dif- courles, which he pronounced on occaiion of his promo- tion to the degree of dodtor of divinity. In the year fol- lowing two famous Dominicans, Sylvefter de Prierio and trat, the former a native of Italy, and -the latter a German, role up alfo againfl the adventurous reformer, and attacked him at Cologn with the utmoft vehemence and ardour. Their example was foon followed by anoth- er formidable champion, named Eckius, a celebrated pro- felfor of divinity atIngolitadt,and one of the 111 oft zealous lupporters of the Dominican order. Luther flood firm againit thefe united adverfaries, and was neither van- cunlhed by their arguments, nor daunted by their talents and reputation; but anfwered their objections and refuted their reaibnings with the greater! ftrength of evidence, and a becoming fpirit of reiolution and perfeverance. At the fame time, however, he addreffed himielf by letters, written in the molt fubmiilive and refpectful terms, to the Roman^ontiff and to fever al of the bifhops, (hewing them* 142 LUTHER. ihem the uprightnefs of his intentions, as well as the juitice of his caufe, and declaring his readinefs to change his fentiments, as foon as he mould fee them fairly pro- ved to be erroneous. At firft, Leo X. beheld this controverfy with indiffer- ence and contempt ; but, being informed by the emperor Maximilian I. not only of its importance, but alfo of the fatal divifjons it was likely to produce in Germany, he iummoned Luther to appear before him at Rome, and there to plead the cauie which he had undertaken to maintain. This papal fummons was fuperfededby Frede- rick the wife, elector of Saxony, who pretended, that the caufe of Luther belonged to the jurifdi&ion of a Ger- man tribunal, and that it was to be decided by the eccle- fiaftical laws of the empire. The pontiff yielded to the remonflrances of this prudent and magnanimous prince, and ordered Luther to juftify his intentions and doctrines before cardinal Cajetan, who was, at this time, legate at the diet of Augfourg. In this firft Hep the court of Rome gave a fpecimen of that temerity and imprudence with which all its negociations, in this weighty affair, were afterwards conducted. For, inftead of reconciling, nothing could tend more to inflame matters than the choice of Cajetan, a Dominican,, and, coniequently, the ceclared enemy of Luther, and friend of Tetzel, as judge and arbitrator in this nice and perilous controverfy. Luther, however, repaired to Augfburg, in the month of October 15 r 8, and conferred, at three different meet- ings, with Cajetan himfelf, concerning the points in de- bate. But had he even been difpofed to yield to the court of Rome, this imperious legate was, of all others, the mod improper to encourage him in the execution of luch a purpofe. The high fpirit of Luther was not to be tam- ed by the arrogant dictates of mere authority ; fuch, how- ever, were the only methods of perfualion employed by the haughty cardinal. He. in an overbearing tone, dc- fired LUTHER. M3 iired Luther to renounce his opinions, without even at- tempting to prove them erroneous, and infilled, with importunity, on his confeihng humbly his fault, and fub- mitting refpectfully to the judgment of the Roman pontiff. The Saxon reformer could not think of yielding to terms lb unreafonableinthemfelves and fo defpotically propofed; fo that the conferences were abiblutely without effect. For Luther, rinding his adverfary and judge inaccefhble to reafon and argument, left Augfourg all of a Hidden, after having appealed from the prefent deciuons of the pontiff to thofe which he mould pronounce, when better informed ; and, in this ftep, he feemed yet to refpect the dignity and authority of the bilhop of Rome. But Leo X. on the other hand, let loofe the reins to ambiti- on and deipotifm, and carried things to the utmoft extre- mity ; for, in the month of November, this fame year, he publifhed a fpecial edict, commanding his f'piritual fub- je he thought it was high time to confult both his preSent de- fence andiiis future Security ; and the firft ftep he took for this purpoSe, was the renewal of his appeal from the Sentence of the Roman pontiff, to the more refpectable decifion of a general council. But as he forefaw that this appeal would be treated with contempt at the court of Rome, and that when the time prefcribed for his recan- tation was ehpi'ed, the thunder of excommunication would be levelled at his. devoted head, he judged it prudent to withdraw LUTHER. i 47 withdraw himfelf voluntarily from the communion of the church of Rome, before he was obliged to leave it by force ; and thus to render this new bull of ejection a blow in the air, an exercife of authority without any object to act upon. At the fame time, he was reiblved to execute this wife refolution in a public manner, that his voluntary retreat from the communion of a corrupt and fuperititi- ous church might be univerfally known, before the lordly pontiff had prepared his gholtly thunder. With this view, on the ioth of December, in the year 1520, he had a pile of wood erected without the walls of the Wit- tenburg city, and there, in prefence of a prodigious mul- titude of people of all ranks and orders, he committed to the flames both the bull that had been publiihed againtt him, and the decretals and canons relating to the pope's fupreme jurifdiction. By this he declared to the world, that he was no longer a fubject of the Roman pontiff;. and that, of confequence, the fentence of excommunication againft him, which- was daily expected from Rome, was entirely fuperfluous and inlignificant. It is not improba- ble, that Luther was directed, in this critical meafure, by perfons well {killed in the law, who are generally dex- trous infurniihing a perplexed client with nice diftinctions and plaufible evalions. Be that as it may, he feparatedr himfelf only from the church of Rome, which confiders the pope as infallible, and not from the church, confider- ed in a more extenfive fenfe ; for he fubmitted to the decifion of the univerfal church, when that decilion mould be given in a general council lawfully affembled. When this judicious diltincliion is confidered, it will not appear at all furpriling, that many, even of the Roman catholics, who weighed matters with a certain degree of impartiality and wifdom, and were zealous for the maintenance of the liberties of Germany, juftified this bold refolution of Lu- ther. In lefs than a month after this noble and impor- tant ftep had been taken by the Saxon reformer, a fecond bull i 4 8 LUTHER. bull was iffued out againft him, on the 6th of January, 1 52 1, by which he was expelled from the communion of the church, for having infulted the majefty, and difowned the fupremacy, of the Roman pontiff. Such iniquitous laws, enacted againft the perfon and doctrine of Luther, produced an effect different from what was expected by the imperious pontiff. Inftead of inti- midating this bold reformer, they led him to form the project of founding a church upon principles entirely op- pofite to thofe of Rome, and to eftablifh, in it, a fyftem of doctrine and ecclefiaftical difcipline, agreeable to the fpirit and precepts of the gofpel of truth. This, indeed, was the only refource Luther had left him ; for to fub- mit to the orders of a cruel and infolent enemy, would have been the greater! degree of imprudence imaginable ; and to embrace, anew, errors that he had rejected with a jril indignation and expofed with the cleared evidence, would have dilVovtred a want of integrity and principle, worthy only of the moft abandoned profligate. From this time, therefore, he applied himfelf to the purfuit of the truth with ftill more affidirity and fervour than he had formerly done ; nor did he only review with atten- tion, and confirm by new arguments, what he had hither- to taught, but went much beyond it, and made vigorous attacks upon the main flrong-hold of popery, the power and jurifdiction of the Roman pontiff, which he overturn- ed from its very foundation. In this noble undertaking he wasfeconded by many learned and pious men, in vari- ous parts of Europe ; by thofe of the profeffors of the 'academy of Wittenburg, who had adopted his principles ; and in a more efpecial manner by the celebrated Melanc- thon. And as the fame of Luther's wifdom and Melanc- thon's learning had filled that academy with an incredible number of ftudents, who flocked to it from all parts, this happy circumftance propagated the principles of the re- formation with an amazing rapidity through all thecoun- tries of Europe. ^ ot LUTHER. 147 Not' long after the commencement of thefe divifions, Maximilian I. had departed this life, and his grandfon Charles V. king of Spain, had fucceeded him in the em- pire in the year 1^19. Leo X. feized this new occalion of venting and executing his vengeance, by putting the new emperor in mind of his character as advocate and defender of the church, and demanding the exemplary puniihment of Luther, who had rebelled againft its facred laws and inftitutions. On the other hand, Frederick the Wife em- ployed his credit with Charles to prevent the publication of any unjuft edict againft this reformer, and to have his caufe tried by the canons of the Germanic church, and the laws of the empire. This requefl was fo much the more likely to be granted, that Charles was under much greater obligations to Frederick, than to any other of the German princes, as it was chiefly by his zealous and important fervices that lie had been raifed to the empire, in oppofition to the pretentions of fuch a formidable rival as Francis I. king of France. The emperor was fenfible of his obligations to the worthy elector, and was entirely difpofed to fatisfy his demands. That, however, he might do this without difpleafmg the Roman pontic, he reiblved that Luther mould be called before the council, that was to be ailembled at Worms in the year 1 ^ai,and that his caufe mould be there publicly heard, before any final fentence fhouid be pronounced againft him. When f'ome of his friends, informed of the violent deiigns of the Roman court, and alarmed by the bull that had been publilhed againft him by the ram pontiff, advifed him not to expofe his perfon at the diet of Worms, notwith- ilandingthe imperial fafe-ccnducl (w 7 hich, in afimilar cafe, had not been iufficient to protect John Hufs and Jerome of Prague from the prefidy and cruelty of their enemies), he anfw ered with his ufual intrepidity, that were he oblige ed to encounter at Worms as many devils as there were tiles up'jn the houfes of that city, this would not deter him from N 2 hi 150 L U T H E R» his fixed purpofe of appearing there : that fear , in his cafe, could be only a fuggefiion of Satan, who apprehended the ap- proaching ruin of his kingdom; and who was willing to avoid a public defeat before fuch a grand affemlly as the diet of Worms. Luther, therefore, appeared at Worms, fecured againft the violence of his enemies by a fafe- conduct from the emperor, and, on the 1 7th of April, and the day fol- lowing, pleaded his caufe before that grand aflembly with the utmoft retaliation and pretence of mind. The united power of threatenings and entreaties were employed to conquer the firmnefs of his purpofe, to engage him to re- nounce the proportions he had hitherto maintained, and to bend him to a fubmiffion to the Roman pontiff. But he refufed all this with a noble obftinacy, and declared io- lemnly, that he u ould neither abandon his opinions, nor change his conduit, until he was previoufly convinced, by the word of God, or the dictates of right reafon, that that his opinions were erroneous, and his conduct unlaw- ful. When therefore neither promifes nor threatnings could make the conftancy of his magnanimous reformer, he obtained, indeed, from the emperor the liberty of re- turning, unmolefted, to his home ; but after his depar- ture from the diet, he was condemned by the unanimous iufTrages both by the emperor and the princes, and was declared an enemy to the holy Roman empire. Freder- ick, who law the ftcrm rifmg againft Luther, ufed the beft precautions to fecure him from its violenee. For this purpofe he lent three or four perfons, in whom he could confide, to meet him on his return from the diet, in order to conduct him to a place of fafety. Thefe emiflarics, difguifed by mafks, executed their commhTion with the utmoft fecrecy and fuccefs. Meeting with Luther, near Eyfenac, they feized him, and carried him into the caftle of Wartenburg, nor, as fome have imagined upon pro- bable grounds, was this done without the knowledge of LUTHER. i 5 t his Imperial majefty. In this retreat, which he called his Patmos, the Sr.xon reformer lay concealed during the fpace of ten months, and employed this involuntary lei- fure in compoiitions that were afterwards uielul to the world. The active fpirit of Luther could not, however, long bear this confinement ; he therefore left his Patmos in the month of March, of the year 1522, without the con- fen t, or even the knowledge, of his patron and protector Frederick, and repaired to Wittenburg. One of the principal motives that engaged him to take this bold flep, was the information he had received of the inconfiderate conduct of Carloftadt, and fome other friends of the refor- mation, who had already excited tumults in Saxony, and were acting in a manner equally prejudicial to the tran- quility of the ftate, and the true interefts of the church. Luther oppofed the impetuoiity of this imprudent refor- mer with the utmoft fortitude and dignity ; and to thefe prudent admonitions this excellent reformer added the in- fluence of example, by applying himfelf with redoubled induftry and zeal, to his German tranflation of the Holy Scriptures, which he carried on with expedition and fuc- cefs, with the aififtance of fome learned and pious men, whom he confulted in this great and important undertak- ing. The event abundantly mewed the wifdom of Luther's advice. For the different parts of this tranf- lation, being fucceffively and gradually fpread abroad among the people, produced fudden and almoft incredi- ble effects, and extirpated, root and branch, the errone- ous principles and fuperftitious doctrines of the church of Rome from the minds of a prodigious number of perfons. While thefe things were transacting, Leo X. departed this life, and was fucceeded in the pontificate by Adrian VI. a native of Utrecht. This pope, who had formerly been preceptor to Charles V. and who owed his new dignity to the good offices of that prince, was a man of probity 9r. 152 L U T II E R.- probity rind candor, who acknowledged ingenuoufly that the church laboured under the molt fatal diforders, and declared his willingnefs to apply the remedies that mould be judged the moft adapted to heal them. He began his pontificate by fending a legate to the diet, which was affembled at Nuremberg in 1522. Francis Cheregato, the perfon who was intrufted with this commiffion, had pofitive orders to demand the fpeedy and vigorous execu- tion of the fentence that had been pronounced againft Luther and his followers at the diet of Worms ; but, at the fame time, he was authorifed to declare that the pon- tiff was ready to remove the abufes and grievances that had armed fuch a formidable enemy againft the fee of Rome. The princes of the empire, encouraged by this declaration on the one hand, and by the abfence of the emperor, who, at this time, refided in Spain, on the other, feized this opportunity of propoling the fummoning a general council in Germany, in order to deliberate upon the pro- per methods of bringing about an univerfal reformation of the church. They exhibited, at the fame time, an hundred articles, containing the heavieft complaints of the injurious treatment the Germans had hitherto received from the court of Rome, and, by a public law, prohib- ited all innovation in religious matters, until a general council mould decide what was to be done in an affair of fuch high moment and importance. The pope Adrian did not long enjoy the pleafure of fitting at the head of the church. He died in the year 1523, and was fucceeded by Clement VII. a man of a referved character, and prone to artifice. This pontiff fent to the imperial diet at Nuremberg, in the year 1524, a cardinal-legate, named Campegius, whole orders, with refpect to the affairs of Luther, breathed nothing but fe- verity and violence, and who inveighed againft the lenity of the German princes in delaying the execution of the decree of Worms ; while he carefully avoided the fmalleft mention LUTHER. 153 of the promife Adrian had made to reform the corruptions of a fuperititious church. The emperor feconded the de- mands of Campegius by, the orders he fent to his minif- ter to infill upon the execution of the fentence which had been pronounced againfl Luther and his adherents at the diet of Worms. The princes of the empire, tired out by thefe importunities and remonflrances, changed in ap- pearance the law they had palled, but confirmed it in reality. For while they promiled to obferve, as far as was poffible, the edift of Worms, they, at the fame time, renewed their demands of a general council, and left all other matters in difpute to be examined and decided at the diet that was foon to be aflembled at Spire. The pope's legate, on the other hand, perceiving by thefe proceedings, that the German princes in general were no enemies to the reformation, retired to Ratifbon, with the biihops and thofe of the princes that adhered to the caufe of Rome, and there drew from them a new declaration, by which they engaged themfelves to execute rigoroudy the edict of Worms in their refpeclive dominions. While the efforts of Luther towards the reformation of the church were daily crowned with growing fuccefs,and almofl all the nations feemed difpofed to open their eyes upon the light, two unhappy occurrences, one of a foreign, and the other of a domeftic nature, contributed greatly to retard the progrefs of this falutary and glorious work. The domeftic, or internal incident, was a contro- verfy concerning the manner in which the body and blood of Chrift were prefent in the eucharift, that arofe among thofe whom the Roman pontiff had publicly excluded from the communion of the church, and unhappily produced among the friends of the good caufe the moil deplorable animolities and divifions. Luther and his followers, though they had rejected the monftrous doctrine of the church of Rome with refpect to the tranfubftantiathn, or change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Chrift, 154 LUTHER. Chrift, were neverthelefs of opinion, that the partakers of the Lord's fupper received, along with the bread and wine, the real body and blood of Chrift. Carloftadt, who was Luther's colleague, underftood the matter quite other- wife, and his doctrine, which was afterwards illuftrated and confirmed' by Zuinglius with much more ingenuity than he had propofed it, amounted to this: " That the u body and blood of Chrift were not really prefent in the " eucharift ; and that the bread and wine were no more " than external figns y and fymbols, defigned to excite in " the minds of Christians the remembrance of the fuffer- " ings and death of the divine Saviour, and of the benefits " which arife from it." This opinion was embraced by all the friends of the reformation in Switzerland, and by a confiderahle number of its votaries in Germany. On the other hand, Luther maintained his doctrine, in rela- tion to this point, with the utmolt obftinacy ; and hence arofe, in the year 1524, a tedious and vehement contro- verfy, which notwithstanding the zealous endeavours that were ufed ro reconcile the contending parties, terminated, at length in a fatal divifion between thofe who had em- barked together in the facred caufe of religion and liberty* To thefe inteftine divifions were added the horrors of a civil war, which was the fatal effect of oppremon on the one hand, and of enthufiafim on the other; and, by its unhappy confequences, was prejudicial to the cauie and progrefs of the reformation. In the year 1525, a prodi- gious multitude of feditious fanatics arofe like a whirl- wind, all of a fudden, in different parts of Germany, took arms, united their forces, waged war againft. the laws, the magiftrates, and the empire in general, laid wafte the country with fire and fword, and exhibited daily the raoft horrid Spectacles of unrelenting barbarity. The greateft part of this furious and formidable mob was compofed ofpeafantsandvaflals, who groaned under heavy burthens, and declared they were no longer able to bear the defpotic Severity LUTHER. *55 feverity of their chiefs ; and hence this feditionwas called the Ruftic ivar y or the war of the peafants. But no fooner had the euthuliaft Munzer put himfelf at the head of this outrageous rabble, than the face of things changed entirely, and by the mitigation of this man, who had de- ceived numbers before this time by his pretended vifions and infpirations, the civil commotions in Saxony and Thuringia were ibon directed towards a new object, and were turned into a religions war. The fentiments, how- ever, of this leditious and diiTolute multitude were great- ly divided, and their demands were very different. Luther, fufficiently defended both his principles and his caufe" againit this turbulent feet, by the advice he addref- fed to the princes of the empire to take arms againft them. And, accordingly, in the year 1525, this odious faction was defeated and deftroyed, in a pitched battle fought at Mulhaufen ; and Munzer, their ringleader, taken, and put to death. Luther laid afide the friar's habit in October, 1524 ; and married Catharine de Bore, a lady of noble deieent, who, with eight other nuns, was taken out of the nun- nery at Nimptfchen in 1523, and carried to Wittenberg, by Leonard Coppen, of Torgau. Luther vindicated that action, and intended to marry Catharine to Glaciu* minifter of Ortamunden, whofe perfon Ihe difliked ; and lb Luther married her himfelf, on the 13th of June, 1525, without confulting his friends : But Luther fays, he took a wife in obedience to his father's command. Luther was then forty-two, and his wife was twenty-fix. He was fo far from being amamed of entering into the holy ftate of matrimony, that he exhorted the elector of Mentz, and the grand mailer of the Teutonic order, to follow his example ; which was done by the latter, not- withftanding the cenfure of the Romanifts. This grand mailer was Albert margrave of Brandenburgh, for whom that part of Pruflici which belonged to the Teutonic or- der 156 LUTHER. der was formed into a fecular duchy. He embraced the Lutheran religion, renounced his vow of celibacy, and married Anna Maria of Brunfwick. He afterwards con- formed to the Augfburg confefiion, and founded an uni- verfity at Koninglberg, in 1544, that the proteftant re- ligion might be introduced and eftablifhed in Pruffia, and all the profeflbrs were to be Lutherans. In thofe times, marriage foon became a recommendation among the re- formers, and was a certain proof that they had abjured popery ; for if a converted clergymen did not marry, he caufed a fufpicion that he had not renounced the doctrine of celibacy. Luther was very fond of his wife, and ufed to call her his Catharine. She was handfome and modeft : But he profeffed himfelf, that one great reafon which induced him to marry was, to give an example of the doclrine he preached againfl celibacy, and to Ihew, that he was not afraid or aihamed to do himfelf, what he exhorted and enjoined in others. While the fanatical infurrection raged in Germany, Frederick the wife, elector of Saxony, departed this life. This excellent prince, whole character was diftinguifhed by an uncommon degree of prudence and moderation, had, during his life, been a fort of a mediator between the Roman pontiff and the reformer of Wittenburg. The elector John, his brother and lucceffor, acted in a quite different manner. Convinced of the truth of Luther's doctrine, and perfuaded that itmuftlofe ground and be foon fuppreffed if the defpotic authority of the Roman pontiff remained undifputed and entire, he, with- out hefitation or delay, ailumed to himfelf the fupremacy in eccleiiaftical matters, and founded and eftabliihed a church in his dominions, totally different from the church of Rome, in doctrine, difcipline, and government. To bring this new and happy eftablilhment to as great a de- gree of perfection as was pofhble, this refolute and active prince LUTHER. 157 prince ordered a body of laws, relating to the form of ecclefiatiical government, the method of public worihip, and other matters of that nature, to be drawn up by Luther and Melancthon, and promulgated by heralds throughout his dominions in the year 1527. The illuf- trious example of this elector was followed by all the princes and flates of Germany, who renounced the papal iupremacy and jurifdkftion ; and a like form of worfhip, difcipline, and government was thus introduced into all the churches, which diflented from that of Rome. Hence was an open rupture formed between the German princes, of whom one party embraced the reformation, and the other adhered to the fuperftitions of their forefathers. Things being reduced to this violent and troubled flate, the patrons of popery gave intimations, that were far from being ambiguous, of their intention to make war upon the Lutheran party, and to fupprefs by force a doctrine which they were incapable of overturning by argument ; and this defign would certainly have been put in execution, had not the troubles of Europe difconcerted their meafures. The Lutherans, on the other hand, in- formed of thefe hoftile intentions, began alfo to deliberate upon the molt effectual methods of defending themfelves againft fuperftition armed with violence, and formed the plan of a confederacy that might anfwer this prudent pur- pole. In the mean time the diet affembled at Spire, in the year 1526, at which Ferdinand, the emperor's brother, prefided, ended in a manner more favourable to the fr.ends of the reformation, than they could naturally ex- pect. The emperor's ambaffadors at this diet were order- ed to ufe their moft earned endeavours for the fuppreflion of all farther difputes concerning religion, and to infift upon the rigorous execution of tjiefentence that had been pronounced at Worms againft Luther and his followers. The greateft part of the German princes oppofed this motion with the utmoft resolution, declaring, that thesr O coulj i 5 3 LUTHER- could not execute that fentence, nor come to any deter- mination with refpect to the do&rines by which it had been occafioned, before the whole matter was fubmitted to the cognizance of a general council lawfully afTembled ; alleging farther, that the decifion of controverfies of this nature belonged properly to fuch a council, and to it alone. This opinion, after long and warm debates, was adopted by a great majority, and, at length, confented to by the whole affembly. Nothing could be more favourable to thofe who had the caufe of pure and genuine Chridianity at heart, than a refoluticn of this nature. For the emperor was, at this time, fo entirely taken up in regulating the troubled ftate of his dominions in France, Spain, and Italy, which ex- hibited, from day today, new fcenes of perplexity, that, for fome years, it was not in his power to turn his atten- tion to the affairs of Germany in general, and flill lefs to the flate of religion in particular, which was befet with difficulties, that, to a political prince like Charles, muft have appeared peculiarly critical and dangerous. Befides, had the emperor really been pofleifed of leifure to form, or of power to execute, a plan that might terminate, in favour of the Roman pontiff, the religious difputes which reigned in Germany, it is evident, that the inclination was wanting, and that Clement VII . who now fat in the papal chair, had nothing to expect from the good offices of Charles V. For this pontiff, after the defeat of Francis I. at the battle of Pavia, filled with uneafy apprehenfions of the growing power of the emperor in Italy, entered into a confederacy with the French and the Venetians againft that prince. And this meafure inflamed the re- f cntment and indignation of Charles to fuch a degree, that he abolifhed the papal authority in his Spanifli do- minions, made war upon the pope in Italy, laid fiege to Rome in the vear 1527, blocked up Clement in thecaflle of St. Angelo, and expoied him to the mod fevere and contumelius LUTHER. r 59 contumelius treatment. Thefe critical events, together with the liberty granted by the diet of Spire, were pru- dently and induitrioudy improved, by the friends of the reformation, to the advantage of their canfe, and to the augmentation of their number. In the mean time, Luther and his fellow-labourers, particularly thole who were with him at Wittenberg, by their writings, their in- iirucYions, their admonitions and counfels, infpired the timorous with fortitude, diipelled the doubts of the igno- rant, iixed the principles and refolution of the floating and inconftant, and animated all the friends of genuine Chriitianity with a fpirit fuitable to the grandeur of their undertaking. But the tranquillity and liberty they enjoyed, in confe- quence of the refolutions taken in the firft diet of Spire, were not of a long duration. They were interrupted by a new diet afTembled, in the year 1529,111 the fame place, by the emperor, after he had appealed the commotions and troubles which had employed his attention in lever al parts of Europe, and concluded a treaty of peace with Clement VII. This prince, having now got rid of the burthen that had, for fome time, overwhelmed him, had leilure to direct the affairs of the church ; and this the reformers foon felt, by a disagreeable experience. For the power, which had been granted by the former diet to every prince, of managing ecclefiailical matters as they thought proper; until the meeting of a general council, was now revoked bv a majority of votes. This decree was juftly confidered as iniquitous and intolerable by the elector of Saxony, the landgrave of HefTe, and the other members of the diet, who were perfuaded of the necefllty of a reformation in the church. Therefore, when the princes and members now mentioned found that all their arguments and remonftrances againft this unjuit decree made no imprefiion upon Ferdinand, nor upon the abet- tors of the ancient luperftitions, they entered a folemn proteft 160 LUTHER. proteft againft this decree on the 1 9th of April, and ap- pealed to the emperor and to a future council. Hence arofe the denomination of Proteft ants, which from this period has been given to thofe who renounce the fuper- ltitious communion of the church of Rome. The minifters of the churches, which had embraced the fentiments of Luther, were preparing a new embafiy to the emperor, when an account was received of a de- figri formed by that prince to come into Germany, with a view to terminate, in the approaching diet at Augiburg, the religious difputes that had produced fuch animofities anddivifions in the empire. Hitherto, indeed, it was not eafy for the emperor to form a clear idea of the matters in debate, imce there was no regular fyftem as yet com- peted, of the doelrines embraced by Luther and his fol- lowers, by which their real opinions, and the true caufes oi their oppofition to the Roman pontiff, might be known with certainty. As, therefore, it was impoihble, without fome declaration of this nature, to examine with accuracy, or decide with equity, a matter of fuch high importance as that which gave rife to the divifions between the vo- taries of Rome. Luther, in compliance with this order, delivered to the elector, at Torgaw, the feventeen arti- cles, which had been drawn up and agreed on in the con- ference at Sulzbach in the year 1529; and hence they were called the Articles of Torgaw. Though thefe arti- cles were deemed by Luther a fufficient declaration of the fentiments of the reformers, yet it was judged proper to enlarge them ; and, by a judicious detail, to give peripi- cuity to their arguments, and thereby ftrength to their caufe. It was this confi deration that engaged the pro- teftant princes, affembled at Coburg and Augfburg, to employ Melancthon in extending thele articles, in which important work he fhewed a due regard to the counfels of Luther, and expreiled his fentiments and doctrine with the greated elegance and perfpieuity. Charles LUTHER. 161 Charles V. arrived at Auglburg the 15th of June 15 30, and on the 20th, the diet was opened. As it was unani- nioufly agreed, that the affairs of religion mould be brought upon the carpet before the deliberations relating to the intended war with the t Turks, the proteftant members of this great aflembly received from the emperor a formal permiffion to prefent to the diet, on the 25th of June, an account of their religious princi- ples and tenets. In confequence of this, the chancellor of Saxony, read, in the German language, in prefence of the emperor and the affembled princes, the famous con- feffion, which has been fince diftinguilhed by the denomi- nation of the Confeffion of Augfburg* The princes heard it with the deepelt attention and recollection of mind; it coniirmed fome in the principles they had embraced, furprifed others, and many, who, before this time, had little or no idea of the religious fentiments of Luther, were now not only convinced of their innocence, but were, moreover, delighted with their purity and fimplici- The tenor and contents of the confeffion of Augfburg are well known. The ftyle that reigns in it is plain, ele- gant, grave, and peripicuous, fuch as becomes the na- ture of the fubj eel. The matter was, undoubtedly, fup- plied by Luther, who > during the diet, refided atCoburg, a town in the neighbourhood of Augfburg ; and, even the form it received from the eloquent pen of his colleague, was authorifed in confequence of his approbation and ad- vice. This confeffion contains twenty-eight chapters, of which the greateft part are employed in reprefenting, with perfpicuity and truth, the religious opinions of the proteftants, and the reft in pointing out the errors and abuies that occafioned their feparation from the church of Rome. The creatures of the Roman pontiff, who were pre- fent at this diet, employed John Faber ; afterwards biihop O z id 1-6- L . U T H E R. of Vienna, together with Eckius, and another doctor, named Cochlasus, to draw up a refutation of this famous confeffion. This pretended refutation having been read publicly in the affembly, the emperor demanded of the proteftant members that they would acquieice in it, and put an end to their religious debates by an unlimited fub- miflion to the doctrines and opinions contained in this an- fwer. But this demand was far from being complied with. The protectants declared, on the contrary, that they were by no means fatisfied with the reply of their adversaries, and earneitly defired a copy of it, that they might demonftrate more fully its extreme infufliciency and weaknefs. This reafonable requeft was refufed by the emperor, who, on this occafion, as well as on fever al others, mewed more regard to the importunity of the pope's legate and his party, than to the demands of equity, candour, andjuftice. On the 19th day of November, a fevere decree was iffued out, by the exprefs order of the emperor, during the abience of the chief iupporters of the proteftant caufe ; and, in this decree, every thing was manifeflly adapted to dejed the friends of religious liberty, if we ex- cept a faint and dubious promife of engaging the pope to affemble (in about fix months after the reparation of the diet) a general council. The dignity and excellence of the papal religion are extolled, beyond meafure, in this partial decree ; a new decree of feverity and force, added to that which had been publimed at Worms againft Lu- ther and his adherents; the changes that had been intro- duced into the doctrine and difcipline of the proteftant churches, feverely ceniured ; and a folemn order addref- fed to the princes, ftates, and cities, that had thrown off the papal yoke, to return to their duty and their alle- giance to Rome, on pain of incurring the indignation and vengeance of the emperor, as the patron and protector of the church- . No LUTHER. i<% No fooner were the elector of Saxony and the confe- derate princes informed of this deplorable iilhc of the diet of Augfourg, than they aflembled in order to deliberate upon the meafures that were proper to be taken on this critical ©ccaiion. In the year 1530, and the year follow- ing, they met, firft at Smalcald, afterwards at Frankfort, and formed a folemn alliance and confederacy, with the intention of defending vigoroufly their religion and liber- ties againil the dangers and encroachments with which they were menaced. Amidft theie emotions and prepa- rations, which portended an approaching rupture, the elector Palatine, and the elector of Mentz, offered their mediation, and endeavoured to reconcile the contending princes. Many projects of reconciliation were propofed; and after various negociations, a treaty of peace was conclud- ed at Nuremberg, in the year 1532, between the empe- ror and the proteiiant princes, on the following conditions ; that the latter mould furniih a iubfidy for carrying on the war ag-ainft the Turk, and acknowledge Ferdinand lawful king of the Romans ; and that the emperor, on his part, ihould abrogate and annul the edicts of Worms and Augfourg, and allow the Lutherans the free and unmo- lefted exercife of their religious doctrine and difcipline, until a rule of faith was fixed either in the free general council that was to be aflembled in the fpace of fix months, or in a diet of the empire. The religious truce, concluded at Nuremberg, infpired with new vigour and refblution all the friends of the re- formation. It gave ftrength to the feeble, and persever- ance to the bold. Encouraged by it, thofe who had been hitherto only fecret enemies to the Roman pontiff, fpurned now his yoke publicly, and refufed to fubmit to his im- perious jurifdiction. This appears from the various cities and provinces in Germany, which, about this time, boldly cnliited theaifelves under the religious itandard of Luther. About 164 £ tr T H E R. About the beginning of the year 1^27, Luther was attacked by a very fevere illnefs, which brought hini near to his grave. He applied himfelf to prayer, made a confeflion of his faith, and lamented grievoufly his unworthinefs of martyrdom, which he had lb often and fo ardently defired. In this iituation he my.de a will, for he had a fon, and his wife was again with child, in which he recommended his family to the care of heaven : **■ Lord God, fays he, I thank thee, that thou wouldeft M have me poor on earth and a beggar. I have neither u houfe, norland, nor poffeflions, nor money, to leave. " Thou haft given me a wife and children : Take them; " I befeech thee, under thy care and prefer ve them, as (< thou haft preferved me." He bequeathed his detef* tation of popery to his friends and brethren; agreeably to what he often ufed- to fay, i. e. Living, I was the plague of the pope; and dying, I mail -be his death. Luther, from about this period, having laid the great foundation of the reformation, was chiefly employed in railing and completing the fuperftruciure. The remain- der of his life was fpent, in exhorting princes, Hates-, and univerlities, to confirm the great work, which had been brought about through him ; and in publifhing from time to time fuch writings, as might encourage, direct, and aflift them in doing it. The emperor threatened temporal punifhment with armies ; and the pope eternal pains with bulls and»curfes ; but Luther, armed with the intrepidity of grace, over and above his own courageous nature, regarded neither the one nor the other. His friend and affifbftt Melanclhon could not be fo indifferent:; for Melanclhon had a great deal of foftnefs, moderation and diffidence in his conftitution, which made him very uneafy and alarmed at thefe formidable appearances. Hence we find many of Luther's letters were written on purpofe to comfort him under thefe anxieties : " I am (fays " he ; in one of thefe letters) much weaker than you in st private LUTHER. 165 " private conflicts, if I may call thofe conflicts private, " which I have with the devil j but you are much weaker u than me in public. You are all diftruft in the public 11 caufe; I, on the contrary, am very confident ; becaufe H I know it is a juft and true caufe, the caufe of God ■ 4 and of Chrift, which need not tremble or be abafhed. " But the cafe is different with me in my private con- " flicts, feeling myfelf a raoft miferable finner, and there- ay the leaft of all people to 1 the Roman fee, have ihaken off the pope's yoke ; yet c we will take care, that ye fhall be devoured with civil f wars, and perilh in your own blood.' — A pious refo- Jution indeed ! When Luther's bold manner of exprefFmg himfelf was cenfured, he replied; " Almoftali men condemn my tart- " nefs of expreflion ; but I am of your opinion, (fays he r f to his friend) that God will have the deceits of men " thus LUTHER. 6y <* thus powerfully expofed. Far I plainly perceive, that *< thole things, which are foftly dealt with in our cor- « rupt age, give people but light concern, and are pre- << fently forgotten — If I have exceeded the bounds of " moderation, the monilrous turpitude of the times has " transported me. Nor do I tranfeend the example of " Chriit, who, having to do with men of hke manners, *' called them iharply by their own proper names, inch *f as, an adulterous and perverfe generation, a brood of " vipers, hypocrites, children of the devil, who could not " e/'eape the damnation of hell." Eralmus, with all hi 3 refinement, could own, ' That God had lent in Luther 1 a iharp phyfician, in confideraticn of the immenlity of ' the difeafes, which had infected this lad age of the < world/ Luther cauled the Pfalms, ufed inworfliip, to be trans- lated into German. " We intend (fays he to Spalatinns), " after the example of the prophets and primitive fathers' " of the church, to turn the Pfalms, for fpiritual iing- " ing, into the vulgar tongue for the common people- u fo that the word of God may remain among the people " even in their Tinging. Upon this account, we feek " for fome poets j And as you poiTefs the copioufnefs " and elegance of the German, which you have greatly " cultivated ; I would requeft your afliftance in this tl bufmefsi 'Letthefenfe be clear, and as clofe as pof- " iible to the original. To preferve the fenie, when you " cannot render word for word, it may be right to ufe " fuch a phraie as will moft perfectly convey the idea. " I confefs, I am not fuiiiciently qualified myfelf ; and '! therefore would requeft you to try how near you can " approach to Heman, Afaph, and Jeduthun." He ufed to fay of himfeif and the other minifters • V Vve are only planters and waterers, in adoiiniftrinen, did he know " this? Being filled with the Holy Spirit, and endued with LUTHER. 173 « with the true knowledge of God, he was able to de- " termine upon the nature of things — In like manner, «< we ihall be perfectly renewed hereafter through Chrilt ; ** and lhall know, with far greater perfection than ] " be conceived of here, our deareft relations, and indeed " whatever exifts ; and in a mode, too, much fuperior to u that of Adam in paradife." If we would know what was the ground of this won- derful man's magnanimity, it cannot be better exprefled than it is by himielf in a letter to Spalatinus, during the diet of Augfburgh ; " That kings, and princes, and «< people, (fays he) rage againit Chrift, the Lord's ec anointed, I efteem a good fign, and a much belter one " than if they flattered. For it follows upon this, that " he, who dwelleth in heaven, laughs them to fcorn. <> And if our head laugh, I fee no reafon why we iliould # weep before the faces of fuch beings. He does not t( laugh for his own fake, but for our's, that we, putting << the more truft in him, might deipiie their empty de- << figns; of lb great need is faith, that the caufe and u ground of it is not to be perceived without faith. He, " who began this work, began it without our advice and " contrivance ; he hath hitherto protected it.; and hath " ordered the whole above and beyond our couni'els and ci imaginations. He alio, I rnakaWo doubt, will carry u on and complete the fame, withoirt and above all our u conceptions and cares. I know and am allured of this, " for I reit the whole upon him, who is able to do above " all that we can aik or thinlcj Yet our friend Philip " Melancthon will contrive and defire, that God fhould u work according to and within the compels of his puny " notions, that he may have fomewhat whereof to glory. " Certainly (he would fay) thus and thus it ought to be u done; and thus and thus would I do it.' But this is " poor ilnff: < Thus I Philip would do it.j " This (I) " is mighty flat. But hear how this reads; I AM P 2 " THAT 174 L U T H E R. << THAT I AM, this is bis name JEHOVAH : HE, " even HE, will do it But I have done. Be ftrong 4< in the Lord, and exhort Melancthon from me, that he " aim not to fit in God's throne, but fight againf) that " innate, that devilimly implanted ambition of our's, * c which would ufnrp the place of God ; for that am- " bition will never farther our caufe. It thruft Adam " and Eve out of paradife ; and this alone perplexes us, 44 and turns our feet from the way of peace. We muft " be men, and not gods." The proteftant champion knew full well where his ftrength lay — not in himfelf, but in his Sovereign. If deferted by his Covenant-head, he felt the deep conviction, that every reed might make hirn tremble, and every blaft of trial cart him down. He knew (to ufe the *wcrds of a late writer) that * if * God changed from his purpofe of faving a man, when- ' ever the man, left to his own will, would change from 4 the defire of being faved, he rauft renounce the ftrong- ' eft believer upon earth, in five minutes after he bad 4 committed him to himfelf. r# — But Luther had not so learned Chrift. Luther's memorable proteftation, upon the article of juftirication fl muft not be omitted, and with it we mall ciofe this account of his life. " I, Martin Luther, " an unworthy preaoher of the gofpel of our Lord Jefus- 44 Chrift, thus profefs, and thus believe; that this article,, " That faith alone, without works, can jus- 44 TiFY before God, lli all never be overthrown neither " by the emperor, nor by the Turk, nor by the Tartar, " nor by the Perfian, nor by the pope, with all his " cardinals, biihops, facrificers, monks, nuns, kings,. u princes, powers of the world, nor yet by all the " devils in hell. I his article mall, fraud faft, whether " they will or no. This is the true gofpel. Jefus '* Chrift redeemed us from our fins, and he only. This u moft tirm and certain truth is the voice of fcripture, *« though L 13 T HER. *75 though the world and all the devils rage and roar. If Chrift alone take away our tins, we cannot do this with our works: and as it is impollible to embrace Chrift but by faith, it is, therefore, equally impollible to apprehend him by works. If then faith alone mud apprehend Chriit, before works can follow, the conclu- fion is irrefragable ; that faith alpne apprehends him, before and without the coniideration of works : And this fe our justification and deliverance from iin» Then, and not till then, good works follow faith, as its ne- ceffary and infeparable Bruit. This is the doclrine I teach ; and this the Koly Spirit and church of the faithful have delivered. In this will I abide. Amen." f^Li"" ' 11 J -1 j 1 _■ ■ —■■■■II— 1 —ii »>rt*Ltjy^ JOHN CALVIN, THE EVANGELIC REFORMER. THIS eminent reformer was born, on the tenth of July, 1509, at Noyon, a city of France. His pa- rents enjoyed a decent fortune, and beftowed on him a liberal education. In all the branches of literature then known, his Studies were attended with the moft amazing and rapid fuccefs. He was originally defigned for the church, 176 C A L V r N- church, and had actually obtained a benefice ; but the light that broke in upon his religious fentiments, as well as the preference given by his father to the profemon of the law., induced him to give up his ecclefiaftical vocation, which he afterwards refumed in a purer church. Calvin made great progrefs in the civil law ; and pur- fued his private ftudies in the holy Scriptures with equal fuccefs. He was incited to the latter by Melchior WoU mar, who was profefTor. of Greek at Bourges, and fecret- ly a Lutheran. While Calvin was ftudying the civil law at Bourges, he preached feveral fermons in a neighbouring town called Liveria : But his father died in 153^ ; on which account he returned to Paris, in the twenty-third year of his age, with a reiblution to make divinity his principal ftudy. Soon after he came back to Paris, he became acquainted with all thole who profefied the reformed religion; and about this time, he embraced the doctrine of the re- formers, and began publickly to teach it. Calvin was efreemed in the French congregations, as one of the moil able and beft qualified- men to teach and defend the doctrine of the reformation, which had been introduced into that kingdom.. His zeal expofed him to various perils, and the connexion he had formed with the friends of the reformation, whom Francis I. was daily com- mitting to the flames, placed him more than once in imminent danger, from which he was delivered by the good offices of the queen of Navarre. To efcape the im- pending ftorms he returned to Bafil, where he publim- cd his Chrijlian Inftitutions ; and prefixed to them that famous dedication to Francis I. which has attracted the admiration of fucceeding ages, and which was intended to foften the fury of that prince againit the proteftants. The Inititution are a body of divinity, containing the doc- trines of the Christian religion,, in a diflinct and eafy method. It was publifhed in 1535, and afterwards trani- lated into almoft all the languages of Europe. ^ ' . ; When C A L V I ft 177 When Calvin had publimed this book, he made a jour- ney into Italy, to wait on the duchefs of Ferrara, the daughter of Lewis XII. She was a princefs of exemplary piety, and a favourer of the reformation. Calvin met with a very gracious reception from her : But the duke of Ferrara would not fuffer him to continue long with his duchefs ; and he returned into France, to fettle his affairs in that- kingdom, from whence he prepared tofet out for Strafburgn, or Bafil. The war had left no other paflage, but through the duke of Savoy's dominions, which obliged them to take thatcourfe. This feemed a particular direction of Pro- vidence, that deiigned him for Geneva, where he wa*s kindly entertained by William Farel, who detained him there, as it were, by an order from above. Farel was a man of a truly heroic fpirit, and ufed a great many arguments to prevail with Calvin to ftay and ailift him at Geneva, rather than proceed any farther. Calvin was unwilling to continue there, till Farel f aid to him, * Behold, I declare to you, in the name of Almigh- ' ty God, thacunlefs you will here become fellow- labourer ' in the work of the Lord, "his curfe will be upon yoit, ' for feeking yourfelf rather than ChnnV Peter Viret feconded Farel, and Calvin then fubmkted to the judg- ment of the prefoytery and magiftrates; by whofe fuf- frages, together with the confent of the people, he was choien preacher, and divinity profeflbr. He complied with the latter, and would have declined the former ; but he was obliged to undertake both functions. Calvin after- wards called Farel his " fellow-labourer, to whom the " Genevefeowed eventhemfelves; that he was the father " of their liberty, and the founder of their church.-" Hooker has given the full character of Calvin, as head of the Genevan difcipline. ' A founder it had, whom for * mine own part, I think incomparably the wifeit man < that i 7 8 C A L V I N. * that ever the French church did enjoy, finc6 it enjoyed ' him. His bringing up was in the ftudy of the civil law, * Divine knowledge he gathered not by hearing or read- c ing fo much, as by teaching others : For though thouf- ' ands were debtors to him, as touching knowledge in ' that kind ; yet he to none, but only to God, the au- * thor of that blelfed fountain, the book of life ; and of ' the admirable dexterity of wit, together with the helps * of other learning, which were his guides; till being * occafioned to leave France, he fell at the length upon * Geneva, which city the bifhop and clergy thereof had ' a little before foriaken, as fome do affirm; being of ' likelihood frighted with the people's fudden attempt, ' for the aboiiiLment of the popiih religion. At the * coming of Calvin thrther, the form of their civil regi- ' men was popular, as it continueth to this day ; neither * king, ncr duke, nor noblemen, of any authority or * power over them ; but officers ehoien by the people, * yearly out of themfelves, to order ail things with public * eonfent. For fpiritual government they had no laws at * all agreed upon ; but did what the pallors of their fouls * by periuafion could win them unto. Calvin coniidered j * how dangerous it was, that the whole create of that 4 church fhouki hang fall on fo ilender a thread, as the ' liking of an ignorant multitude, if it have power to j * change whatsoever itfelf liketh. Wherefore taking untc* ] 1 him two of the other miniftersfor more countenance of ? the action,, albeit the reft were all againil it, they moved! ' and perfuaded the people to bind themfelves by folemn *" oath, firftj never to admit the papacy among!! them ' again ; and 9 fecotid!y, to live in obedience unto fuch or-*] * ders, concerning the exercile of their religion, and the ' form of their eccleliaftical government, as thofe their j fe true and faithful miniRers of God's word, had, agree- | i able to Scripture, fet down to that end and purpofe.*! Hen ceil CALVIN. 179 Hence it appears, how extremely falfe and nnjuft the ex- clamations of the papifts againft Calvin are, that he fub- verted the government, and turned the ibite of Geneva into confuiion ; whereas the truth is, the biihop of Geneva who, like fome other prince-bifhops in Germany, claimed the office of ruler, was expelled long before Calvin's ar- rival ; and as the government was modelled into its de- mocratic form, previous to his reiideuce, he did not be- lieve that he had any divine authority to alter the civil conuitution, if k had even been in his power. This reformation of doctrines had not removed that corruption of manners which had prevailed in Geneva ; nor that factious fpirit which had lb much divided the principal families. I herefore Calvin, afliited by his col- leagues Farel and Caroldus, declared, that as all their re- monftrances had proved ineffectual, they could not cele- brate the holy facrament while thole disorders continued. They alfo agreed, that they would no longer fubmit to the constitutions that the fynod of Bern had made ; and they defired to be heard in the fynod which was held at Zurick. The church of Geneva made ufe of leavened bread in the communion ; they had removed the baptifmal fonts out of the churches ; and abolifhed all feilivals except Sundays. But the churches of the canton of Bern dis- approved of thefe three things ; and, by an act made in the fynod of Lauianne, required that the ufe of unleav- ened bread, the baptifmal fonts, and the feflivals ihould be re-eftablifhed in Geneva. Thefe were the regulations with which Calvin refufed to comply. The fyndics of Geneva fummoned the people in 1538 ; and Calvin, Farel, and Courant, prefented themfelves be- fore the council, offering to make good their confeflion of faith. The Syndics favoured the difcontented party, and were catholics in their hearts. The council, under pre- tence of preferving the liberties and privileges of the city; and i So C A L V I N. and becaufe Calvin and his friends would not conform to the cuftom of Bern in celebrating the 1 communion, made an order to enjoin thofe three members to leave the city in three days. When this decree was brought to Calvin, he faid, '< Truly, if I had ferved men, I mould have had ei an ill reward : But it is well that I have ferved him, il who doth always perform to his fervants what he hath c< once promifed." Calvin had no maintenance from the city, and lived at his own expence. Be went to Baiil, and from thence to Stralburgh, where Bucer and Capito gave him every mark of their eileem. He was alio careded by Fedio, and other learned men, who procured him permiifion from the ma- giftrates to let up a French church, of which he became the pafior, and had a competent maintenance allowed him there. He was alfo made profeflbr of divinity. While Calvin was abfent from Geneva, cardinal Sadolet wrote an eloquent letter to the inhabitants of that city, to exhort them to return into the bofom of theRomiih church. Calvin anfwered that letter in 1539; in which he mani- fefted his affection for the church of Geneva, and difap- pointed the views which the bifhop ofCarpentras had en- tertained in his fine artful letter to that {late. fit The time was now come for eftablifhing the church at Geneva, by recalling Calvin. The Syndics who had pro- moted the decree of banifliment were dead or banilhed ; and the people were not before fo willing to be rid of their learned paftor, as now importunate to obtain him again from them who had given him entertainment, and were unwilling to part with him, if irrcfiflible folicitati- ons had not been ufed. One of the town minifters, who faw in what manner the people were inclined for the recalling of Calvin, gave him notice of their affeclion in this fort. ' The fenate ' of two hundred being aiTembled, they all defire Calvin. ' The next day a general convocation ; they all cry, we will CALVIN l8l 1 will have Calvin, that good and learned man, the mi- ' miter of ChriuV Wlien Calvin underftood this, he praifed GOD, and judged it was the call of heaven. He faid, It is marvellous in our eyes ; for the ft one which the builders refufed, was made the head of the corner. In his abfence, he had perfuaded them, with whom he was able to prevail, that chough he more approved of common bread to be uied in the eucharift ; yet they mould rather accept the other, than cauie any trouble in the church about it. The people faw that the name of Calvin increafed every- day greater abroad ; and that, with his fame, their infa- my was fpread, who had ejected him with fuch raihnefs and folly, ; He re-entered Geneva, (leaving Brulius to fucceed him in the French church at Strafburgh) on the thirteenth of beptember, 1541, to the infinite fatisfaction of the people and magistracy ; and the firlt thing he did was to eftablifli a form ot difciplme, and a confiltorial jurifdidion, with power to exercife canonical cenfures and punishments even to excommunication. This difpleafed manv, who' urged, that it was reftoring the Roman tyranny : How ever, the thing was executed ; and* this new canon palled into a law, in a general aflembly of the people, on the twentieth of November, 1 C41. He rightly confidered how grofs a thing it was for men Ot his quality, wife and grave men, to live with fuch a multitude, and to be tenants at will under them as their nnnifters, both himfelf and others, had been. For the remedy of this inconvenience, he gave them plainly to understand, that if he became their teacher again, they m u u ? T te , nt t0 admit a c ^nplete form of difciphne which both they, and alfo their paftors, mould be £ lemnly fworn to obferve for ever after. Of which dif upline the principal parts were thefe : A ftanding eccle fiafticai court to be eftabiiihed ; perpetual judges in that a court iSa CALVIN. court to be their minifters, others of the people annually ■chofen, twice So many in number as they, to be judges together with them in the fame court : Thefe two forts to have the care of all men's manners, power of deter- .mining all kind of ecclefiafcical caufes, and authority to convent, control, and punifh, as far as with excommuni- cation, whoever they mould think worthy, none, either -frnall or great, excepted. Both the clergy and laity of Geneva engaged them- felves to a perpetual observance of the new inftitution .^ade by Calvin, whofe inflexible Severity, in maintaining the rights of his confiftory, railed him a great many en- emies, and occafioncd feme diforders in the city. How- ever, he furmounted all oppofition, and alfo governed the proteftants in France, who almoft all held the do&rine of Calvin, and received minifters from Geneva, who pre- fixed in their congregations. Of all the undertakings of Calvin, there was none that involved him in fo much trouble, or expofed him to fuch mminent danger, as the plan he had formed, with fuch resolution and fortitude, of purging the church by the ex- cluiion of pollinate and Scandalous offenders, and inflicting fevere puniihments on all fuch as violated the laws, enact- ed by the church, or by the Confiilory, which was its representative. The party at Geneva, which Calvin cal- led the feci: of Libertines (becaufe they defended the li- centious cuftoms of ancient times, the erection of ftews, and fuch like matters, not only by their difcourfe and their actions, but even by force of arms), was both nu- merous and powerful. But the courage and refolution of this great reformer gained the afcendant, and triumph- ed over the oppolition of his enemies. Dupin fays, < The doctrine of Calvin concerning the ' facrament, is not fundamentally different from that of 1 the Zuinglians ; though he ufes very pofitive words to' 1 exprefs.the prefence of the body and blood of Jefus < Chrift. CALVIN. 1S3 s Chrift. The expreilions which are in Calvin's inftitu- tions, and his other writings, might make us believe, that he did not deny the real and iubftantial prefence of the body and blood of Chrift in the euchariib : \ et, in other places, he clearly rejects not only tranfubftantiation, but alio his real pretence ; by averting, that the body of Jefus Chriit is really and fubftantially prefent only in heaven ; and that it is united to us only by faith, after a fpiritual manner, by the inconiprehenfible working bFthe Holy Spirit, which joins things together that are fepara- ted by diftance of place- Thefe words, this is my body, ought to be underftood after a figurative manner, accord- ing to his notion ; and the fign is jhere put for the thing ligniiied, as when it is faid, ' The rock is Chrift ; the '. lamb is the paflover ; and circumcifion is the covenant. 7 The body and blood of Jefus Chrift are united to- us only by virtue and efficacy ; and his flefh, remaining in heaven, infufes life into us from his fubftance : Laftly, though the fubftance of the body and blood of Jefus Chriit are com- municated to us by the facrament of the eucharift, they are not really and fubftantially prefent there : And* though the body and blood of Chriit are there prefented, and offered to all Chriftians, they are not really received,, except by the truly faithful, and not by the unworthy. Calvin differed not fo much from Luther in other points of doctrine. He held the fame principles as to im-- puted righteoufnefs, and the certainty of our juftification, which he extended to an aifurance of eternal falvation. He alfo added an impoffibility of falling finally from grace ; and he afferted the falvation of the children of believers, who die before they have been baptized. He likewife condemned, with more feverity than the Lutherans, the invocation of faints; the worlhip and ufe of images; vows; celibacy of prielts ; fafting ; holy-days; facrifice of the mafs ; adoration of the eucharift; indulgences; the facraments, except the euchariit and baptifm ; and, in general, i8 4 CALVIN. general, all the rites and ceremonies of the church, which the Lutherans had not entirely abolifhed. The views and projects of this great man were grand and extenfive. For he not only undertook to give ftrength and vigour to the riling church, by framing the wileit laws and the moftfalutary inftitutions for the main- tenance of order and the advancement of true piety, but even propofed to render Geneva the mother, the ieminary of all the reformed churches, as Wittenberg was of all the Lutheran communities. He laid a fcheme for fending forth from this little republic, the fuccours and minifters that were to promote and propagate the proteilant cauie through the moft diftajit nations, and aimed at nothing lefs than rendering the government, difcipline, and doc- trine of Geneva the model and rule of imitation to the- reformed churches throughout the world.. The under- taking was certainly great, and worthy of the extenfive renins and capacity of this eminent man; and, great and arduous as it was,, it. was executed in part, nay, carried, on to a very confiderable length, by his indefatigable afTuluity and in extinguish able zeal. It was with this view, that, by the fame of his learning, as well as by his epis- tolary felicitations and encouragements of various kinds,. he engaged many perfons of rank and fortune, in France, Italy, and other countries, to leave the places of their na- tivity, and to fettle at Geneva; while others repaired thither merely out of curiofity to fee a man, whofe talents and exploits had rendered him fo famous, and to hear the dilconrfes which he delivered in public. Another circum-. itance, that contributed much to the fuccefs of his de- fjgns, was the eltablifhment of an academy at Geneva * which the fenate of that city founded at his requeft ; and in which he himfelf, with his colleague Theodore Beza >; and other divines of eminent learning and abilities, taught thefciences with the greateft reputation. In effect, the luftre which thefe great men reflected upon this infant ieminary CALVIN. 185 feminary of learning, fpre ad its fame through the diftant nations with fuch amazing rapidity, that all who were ambitious of a dillinguilhed progreis in either facred or profane erudition, repaired to Geneva, and that England, Scotland, France, Italy, and Germany, teemed to vie with each other in the numbers of their ftudious youth, that were inceflantly repairing to the new academy. By thefe means, and by the miniirry of thefe his difciples, Calvin enlarged coniiderably the borders of the reformed church, propagated his doctrine, and gained profelytes and patrons to his theological fyftem, in fever at countries of Europe. Calvin, reduced the power of the. magiftrate, in reli- gious matters, within narrow bounds. He declared the church a feparate and independent body, endowed with the power of legiflation for kfdf. He maintained, that it was to be governed, like the primitive church, only by trefryteries and fynods, that is, by ailemblies of elders, compoled both of the clergy and laity ; and he left to the civil magistrate little elie than the privilege of protecting and defending the church, and providing for what related to its external exigencies and concerns. Thus this emi- nent reformer introduced into the republic of Geneva, and endeavoured to introduce into all the reformed church- es throughout Europe, that form of ecclefiaftical govern- ment, which is called Prefbyterian, from its neither admit- ting of the inftitution of biihops, norof any fubordination among the clergy ; and which is founded on this principle, that all minifters of the gofpel are, by the law of God, declared to* be equal in rank and authority.- Inconse- quence of this principle, he ertablilhed at- Geneva 3 confif- tory, compofed of ruling- elders, partly paftrrs, and part- ly laymen, and inverted this ecclefiaftical body with a high degree of power and authority.- He alfo convened fynods, compoled of the ruling elders of different churches,, and in theie conliitories and fynods had laws enacted for the regulation of ail matters of a religious nature ; and among Q 2, othei i86 C A L V I N. other things, reftored to its former vigour the ancient practice of excommunication. All thefe things were doue with the confent of the greateft part of the fenate of Geneva. The abfolute decree of God, with refpect to the future and everlafling condition of the human race, was an effential tenet in the creed of Calvin, who inculcate ed with zeal the following doctrine : That Cod, in pre- Ucrft mating, from all eternity, one part of mankind to ever - irjiinghuppinefs, and another to endlefs mifery, was led to r:- preflion he conftantly ufed, when he heard of the calami- ties which afflicted his proteftant brethren, for which he felt more than for any thing that could befall himfelf. On the twenty- feventh of March he was carried in his chair to the fen ate, when heprefented to them a new rec- tor for the fchool ; then uncovered his head, and thank- ed them for all their favours, and particularly for their great care of him in his ficknefs : u For I perceive, " (faid he), this is the lint time I mall come into this " place." His voice failed him as he lpoke, and the af- fembly took leave of him in tears. On the fecond of April, which was Eafter-day, he was carried to the church, where Beza adminiftered to him the facrametit. He made his will on the 2^rh and on the 27th. died, ' having, by over-much ftudy, brought upon him * feveral diitempers.' He died in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and was buried the next morning, in the common church-yard of the large palace, according as he had defi- red in his will, without any pomp or epitaph. Burnham, in his Pious Memorials, tranflates from Melch. Adam, the following account of his laft will and death ; he dictated his will to the public notary of Geneva in thefe words. " I, John Calvin, minifter of the word " of GOD in the church of Geneva, being fo opprefled * and articled with divers difeafes, that 1 conclude the Lord GOD hath appointed fhortly to \rke me out of " this world ; therefore have determined to make my laft " will and teftament in this form following; ". Firft, I give thanks to GOD, that, taking pity on " me, whom he created and placed in this world, he hath * delivered me out of the deep darknefs of idolatry, into which I was plunged ; and hath brought me into the " light of his gofpel, and made me a partaker of the doc. ' trine offalvatfon, whereof I was- moft unworthy. And '< he hath not only gently and gracioufly borne with my R 2 • " faults 198 CALVIN. f? faults and fins, for which I deferved to be rejected of " him and call out, but hath treated me with fuch meek- l( nefs and mildnefs, that he hath vouchfafed to ufe my . u labours in preaching and publifhing the truth of his " gofpel. And I vvitnefs and declare, that I intend to u pafs the remainder of my life in the fame faith and re- " ligion which he hath delivered to me by his gofpel ; u and not to feek any other aid, or refuge for falvation,. '■' than his free adoption ; in which alone falvation refteth. [' And, with my whole heart, I embrace the mercy * which he hath ufed towards meforjefus ChriiPsfake ; ' recompenfmg my faults with the merit of his death and ;' pafiion, that fat isf action might be made, by his death * for all my fins and crimes, and the remembrance of c them be blotted out. I witnefs alfo and declare, that ' I humbly beg of him, that being warned and cleanfed ' in the blood of that hioheft Redeemer, ihedfor the fins i of mankind, I muft ftand at his judgment- feat, under ' the image of my Redeemer. " Alfo I declare, that I have diligently endeavoured^ 1 according to the meafure of grace received, and the ( bounty which GOD hath ufed towards me, that I 1 might preach his word holily and purely, as well in, ' fermons, as in commentaries, and other writings \ and. ' interpret his holy fcripture faithfully. c< But, alas ! that ftudy and zeal of mine (if worthy : fo to be c?Hed) have been fo remifs and languilhing, i that, I contefs, innumerable things have been wanting 1 in me to the well performing of my duty. And, nn- ' lefs the unmeafurable bounty of GOD had been pre- : fent, my fludies had been- vain and vanishing. For ' which caufes, I witnefs and declare, that I hope for : no other help for falvation than this only ; that feeing ' GOD is. the Father of mercy, I truft he hath mewed : himfelf a father to me, who acknowledge myfelf a : iftiferable {inner. " As a (. C A L V 1 N. 109 " As for other things, after my departure out of this u life, I would have my body committed to the earth, in " that order and manner which is ufual in this church ft and city, till the bleffed day of refurrecftion com- " eth, &c." To the four fyndics, and all the magistrates, who in a body honoured him with a vifit before his death, he fpoke to the following effect : u Honoured urs, I give you great thanks that you have " done me this honour, having not deferved it from you ; *' and that you have fo often borne with my infirmities : " Which, to me, hath always been an argument of your fmgular goodnefsfor me. " Touching the doctrine you have heard from me, I take GOD to wknefs, that I have not raihly and un- " groundedly, but carefully and purely taught the word " of GOD intruded to me : whofe wrath I mould other - * l wife now perceive hanging over me. But I am cer- *' tainly afTured, that my labours in teaching it have not u been difpleafing to him. " And I teftily this the more willingly, both before " GOD and yourfelves ; becaufe, I doubt not but the " devil, according to his cuHom, will raife up wicked, " light, and giddy-headed people, to corrupt the iincere " doctrine which you have heard from me." Then, conlidering the immeafureable benefits which GOD had conferred on that city, he faid; — *' I am a v. very good witnefs, out of how many great dangers the " hand of GOD hath delivered you : Moreover, you fee *' in what eftate you now are. Therefore, whether u your affairs be profperous er adverfe, let this thing be " always before your eyes, that GOD is he alone who u eftabli/heth kingdoms and cities; and therefore will " be worshipped by mortal men." And, continuing his difcourfe, he mewed them at large, the danger of pride and fe$ urity ; the great dangers they were 2oo C A L V I No were alfo in from errors in judgment, and corruptions" in practice. Then he prayed to GOD for the increafe of his gifts and bleflings upon them, and for the fafety and welfare of the commonwealth. After which, giving his hand to each of them, they took their leave ; departing full of for- row, and with many tears, as from their common father. April 23. The ministers of Geneva being with him, he fpiike thus to them- — " Brethren, after my deceafe, {land 64 fad in this work of the Lord, and be not difcouraged ; ei for the Lord will prefer ve this church and common. Ci wealth againft the threateningsof the enemies. When " I came firft to this city, the gofpel indeed was preached, « but the management of things, with refpecl to it, was' ** very troublefome : Many conceiving, that Chriftianitv e< was nothing more than the demoliihing of images. And s( there were not a few wicked perfonsj from whom I 41 fuffered many things. But the Lord our God fo con- tl firmed and nrengthened me, who am not naturally bold, " that I gave not place to any of their attempts. I pro- u fefs, brethren, that I have lived with you in true love e f and fmcere charity ; and thus I now depart from you. il If you have found me any way pettifh under ray difeafe, 11 I crave your pardon ; and give you very great thanks, iX that you have fo borne, on your part, the burden im- " pofed on me, in the times of my ficknefs. ?? Having thus fpoken, he gave his hand to each of them, who then took their leave, forrowing and weeping. A while after, Calvin hearing that Viret, who was eighty years of age, and fickly, was on his journey to viiit him, wrote thus to ftay him. " Farewel, my belt and fincereft brother : And feeing " GOD will have you to out-live me in this world, live " mindful of our friendfhip ; for as it has been profitable " to the church of GOD here, fo the fruit of it tarrieth " for us in heaven. I would not have you weary your- « ielf CALVIN. 20 1 ff felffor my fake. I hardly draw my breath : And I " expert daily when it will wholly fail me. It is enough " that I live and dietoChrift, who is gain to his both in " life and death. Again, farewell. " May 1 I, 1 564. "i et notwithstanding this letter, the good old man came to Geneva ; and, having fully conferred with Calvin, he returned to Newcome. After which, Calvin palfed his re- maining time almoit wholly in prayer, with his eyes to- wards heaven ; while his voice often failed him, by reafon of the fhortnefs of his breath. He died, as we obferved before, May the 27th, A. D. 1564, aged fifty-four years, ten months, and feventeen days. Beza had but juft left him, when Calvin fuddenly altered for death. On which a meffenger was difpatch- ed after Beza to bring him back; but though Beza re- turned prefently, Calvin, without afigh or groan, was fal- len aileep in Jefus before Beza could reach him. He was a man, whofe thoughts were lifted up much above the defire of worldly goods, only feeking how he might moft and belt promote his Matter's fervice in the eftablifhment of his gefpel* When he took leave of the people at Strafburg (as we have mentioned above) to re- turn to Geneva, they would have continued his freedom of the city, and the revenues of a prebend; which had been anigned him : The former he accepted, but abfolutely refufed the latter. When his friends would have difluaded him, in hisfick- nefs, from dictating, and efpecially from writing, he an- fwered ; "What; would you have me idle when my " Lord comes ?" ' It is a ftrong proof of his not having fiudied to heap ' up riches, that all his effects, notwithftanding his li- ' brary was fold very dear, fcarce amounted to three hun- ' dred crowns ; fo that he might very juftly, as well as ' elegantly, in order to wipe oil this monftrous calumny, • uie thcfe words, in the preface to his Commentary on • the aoa C A L V I N. • the Pfalrns; If I cannot In my life time perfuade fome 4 people that I am no hoarder of money, 1 flail convince them 4 at my death. The fenate certainly can witnefs for * him, that, though his ftipend was very fmall, he was fo 4 far from being unfatisfled with it, that he pofnively re- ' fufed the offer of increafing it. ? This is one of the moll extraordinary victories, the magnanimity of grace ob- tains over nature, even in thofe who are minifters of the gofpel. Such a difmtereftednefs is a thing fo extraordi- nary, as might make even thofe, who caft their eyes be- yond the philofophers of antient Greece, fay of him, ' I have not found fo great faith, no not in Ifrael.' The works of Calvin, publifhed at Geneva, compre- hended twelve volumes in folio; which the edition of Amfterdam, 1667, has reduced to nine. His commentaries upon the Bible are the moil confider able part of his works : But he gained moft honour by his " Christian Inftitution," which was wrote in defence of the proteflant religion, and has been always efteemed an incomparable work. This " Inftitution" has not only appeared in French, but alfo in High Buteh, T.ow Dutch, Italian, Spaniih,. and Engliih. Calvin intended it as a complete fyftem t and a full idea of theology. ( *o 3 ) ^^ : — -.— -— g — — ..^ bb^— ggg^ GEORGE WISHART. GEORGE WISHART, was barn in Scotland, and brought up at a grammar-fchool : From whence he went to the univerfity. After which he travelled into feverai countries, and at laft came to Cambridge, where he was admitted into Bennet-Coliege. He was a mod famous and fuccefsful preacher of the gofpel, and in many places of Scotland, through which he preached, he was bleifed with many fealsof his miniflry : And though he was much perfecuted by the cruel car- dinal Beton, he ftiil continued to preach in public, and perfeveringly to go about doing good- He was (fays the excellent Mr. Robert Fleming) one of the moft extraordinary ambaffadors of Jefus Chrift, that can be inftanced. He was alfo the great friend, and (it is believed) fpiritual father of the famous John Knox, to whom we are chiefly indebted for the memorials of Wiftiart's life, that have been tranfmitted down to us. Wiihart fpent a conftderable time abroad for his im- provement in literature, and diftinguiihed himfelf for his great learning and abilities both in philofophy and divi- nity. His defire to promote true knowledge and fcience among men, as is ufually the cafe, accompanied the poirelnon 204 W I S H A R T. poffeflion of it in himfelf. He was very ready to com- municate what he knew to others, and frequently read various authors both in his own chamber and in the public fchools. He appears to have left Cambridge in the year 1544, and to have returned into his own country with the am- bailadors of Scotland, who came into England to treat with Henry the eighth, about the marriage of his ion prince Edward with their young queen Mary. Wifhart fir ft preached at Montrofe, and then at Dundee, to the admiration of all that heard him. In. this laft place, he made a public expofition of the epiftle to the Romans, which he went through with fuch grace and freedom in fpeaking the truth, that the papifts began to be exceffive- ly alarmed. At length, upon the mitigation of cardinal Beton, one Robert Miln, a principal man at Dundee, and formerly a profeflbr of religion, prohibited his preaching ; forbidding him to trouble their town any more, for he would not fuller it. This was fpoken to him in the pub- lic place : Whereupon he muied a fpace, with his eyes lifted up to heaven ; and afterwards, looking forrowful- ly on the fpeaker and people, he faid, " God is my wit- " nefs, that I never minded your trouble, but your com. << fort ; yea, your trouble is more dolorous to me than it " is to yourfelves : But I am allured, to refufe God's " word, and to chafe from you his meiTenger, mall not <( preferve you from trouble, but fhall bring you into it • " For God fhall fend you minifters that mall neither fear " burning nor banifliment. I have offered you the word *:' offal vat ion. With the hazard of my life I have re-' " mained among you : Now ye yourfelves refufe me; " and I muft leave my innocence to be declared by my " God. If it be long profperous with you, I am not led " by the Spirit of truth : But if unlooked-for trouble " come upon you, acknowledge the caufe, and turn to " God, who is gracious and merciful. . But if you turn " not W I S H A R T. 205 f not at the firft warning, he will vifit you with fire and " fword." And then he came down from the pulpit. After this he went into the welt of Scotland, where he preached God's word, which was gladly received by many ; till the archbifhop of Glafgow, at the mitigation of the aforelaid cardinal, came with his train to the town of Air to relilt Wilhart, and would needs have the church himfclf to preach in. Some oppoled it ; but Wilhart laid, " Let him alone ; his fermon will not do much hurt. " Let us go to the market-crofs." And fo they did, where he made fo notable a iermon, that his very ene- mies themielves were confounded. Wiihart remained with the gentlemen of Kyle, preach- ing fometimes in one place, fometimes in another ; but coining to Mauchlin, he was by force kept out of the church. Some would have broken in; upon which he faid to one of them, " Brother, Jefus Chriilis as mighty " in the fields as in the church ; and himfelf often 44 preached in the defert, at the iea-fide, and other places. u The like word of peace God fends by me: The blood u of none (hall be fbed this day for preaching it." Then going into the fields, he ilood upon a bank, where he itayed in preaching to the people above three hours ; and God wrought fo wonderfully by that fer- mon, that one of the moft wicked men in all the country, the laird of Sheld, was converted by it ; his eyes flowino- with luch abundance of tears that all men wondered at it. Soon after news was brought to Wiihart, that the plague was broke out in Dundee ; which began within four days after he was prohibited to preach there, and raged in extremely, that it is almoft beyond credit how many died in the ipace of twenty four hours. This being related to him, he would need?, notwithftandino- the importunity of his friends to detain him, go thither*; faying, " They are now in troubles, and need comfort. S " Perhaps 2o6 W I S H A R T. ff Perhaps this hand of God will make them now to " man? Hitherto CoJ hath ufed my labours for the " inltrucTion of others, and to the difclofmg of dark- " nefs : And now I lurk as a man aihamed to fliew his " face." His friends perceived that his defire was to preach, whereupon they faid to him, ' It's moft com for t- * able to us to hear you, but becaufe we know the 1 danger wherein you Hand, we dare not defire it.' But, faid he, " If you dare hear, let God provide for me as " belt pleafeth him ;" and lb it was concluded that the next day he U.ould preach in Leith. His text was of the parable of the lower, Matt. xiii. The fermon ended, the gentlemen of Lothian, who were earneft profeflbrs of Jefus Chriit, would not fufFer him to flay at Leith, be- caufe the governor and cardinal were fhortly to come to Edinburgh ; but took him along with them ; and fo he preached at Brunftone, Longniddry, and Ormiflone ; then was he requefled to preach at Inverelk near Mufelburgh, where he had a great confluence of people, and amongfl them Sir George Douglas, who after fermon faid publicly, ' I know that the governor and cardinal will hear that ' I have been at this fermon : But let them know that * I will avow it, and will maintain both the doctrine, 1 and the preacher, to the uttermoft of my power.' This much rejoiced thofe that were prefent. Among others that came to hear him preach, there were two gray-friars, who, (landing at the church-door, whil'pered to fuch as came in : Which Wiihartobferving, faid to the people, " I pray you make room for thefe . *< two men, it may be they come to learn ;." and turning to them, he faid, " Come near, for I allure you, you " fhall hear the word of truth, which this day mail leal " up to you either your falvation or damnation ;" and fo he proceeded in his fermon, fuppofing that they would be quiet; but when he perceived that they flill continued to diftuifb all the people that flood near them, he faid to them the fecond time, with an angry countenance ; " O S 2 " miniflers 2io W I S H A R T. " minifters of Satan, and deceivers of the fouls of men ; " will ye neither hear God's truth yourfelves, nor fuffer u others to hear it > Depart and take this for your por- u tion ; God mall fhortly confound and difclofe your " hypocrify within this kingdom ; ye mall be abomin- <( able to men, and your places and habitations mall be *l defolate." This he fpake with much vehemency, and turning to the people, he faid, u Thefe men have pro- " voked the Spirit of God to anger ;" and then he pro- ceeded to the end of his fermon. Ke preached afterwards at Branftone, Langtiedine, Or- miftone, and Inverefk ; where he was followed by a great confluence of people : And he preached alfo in divers other places, the people much flocking after him ; and he, in all his fermons, foretold the fhortnefs of the time that he had to travel, and the near approach of his death. Being come to Haddington, his auditory began much to- decreafe, which was thought to happen through the influ- ence of the earl of Bothwel, who was moved to oppofe him at the mitigation of the cardinal. Soon after, as he was going to church, he received a letter from the weft-coun- try gentlemen ; and having read it, he called John Knox, j who had diligently waited upon him iince he came into Lothian; to whom he faid, "That he was weary of the " world, becaufe he faw that men began to be weary of L of gold under (bine coals in a fecret corner. Then he faid to them ; < Will ye fave my life?' John Lefty arifwered, j It may be, that we will.' ' Nay, faid the cardinal, J fwear unto me by God's wounds that you will ; and 1 then I will open the door.' Then faid John, ' that * which was faid, is unlaid ;' and lb he called for fire to burn down the door; whereupon the door was opened, and the cardinal fat him down in his chair, crying ; ' I i am a prieft, I am a prieft ; ye will not flay me !' Then John Ledey and another ftruck him once or twice : but Mr. James Melvin, a man that had been very familiar with Wifhart, perceiving them both to be in choler, pluck- ed them back, faying; ' This work and judgment of ' God, although it be fecret, ought to be done with 1 great gravity.' And fo prefenting him the point of his 1 fword, he faid, ' Repent thee of thy former wicked life, 1 but efpecially of ihedding the blood of that noble inftru- t ment of God, Mr. George Wiihart, who, though he * was con fumed by the lire before men, yet cries it for * vengeance upon thee ; and we from God are fent to ' revenge it ; for here, before my God I proteft, that \ neither the hatred of thy perfon, the love of thy rich- t es, nor the fear of any hurt thou couldft have done e me, moveth me to ftrike thee ; but only becaufe thou * halt been, and ftiil remained, an obitmate enemy ' againft Jefus Chrift, and his holy gofpel ;' and fo he thruit him through the body, who falling down, fpake never a word, but < I am a prieft, I am a prieft : Fie, fie, all is gone.' The death of this tyrant was grievous to the queen mother, 22o W I S H A R T. mother, as alfo to the Romanics, though the Reformed were freed from their fears in a great meafure thereby. Thefe peribns, with fome others that joined them, held the caitle for near two years. It was at length befieged by the French, and furrendered upon capitulation of having the lives of all that were in it iecured* The conduct, however, of thefe Lefleys is, by no means, to be juftified; for killing men without law, is undoubtedly murder, and a defiance of all civil inftitnti- ons. And, in a Chriftian view, it is flill more unjuftifia- ble ; for we are taught to fufifer, and not to revenge,, but to commit ourfelves to him, who judgeth righteoufly- It was alfo what Wifhart himfelf would have condemned;- as evidently appears by his meek and tender conduct to the prieft, who would have (tabbed him, as we have above related. Vengeance is mine ; I will repay, faith the Lord. The judgment was certainly juft upon the cardinal ; but God, in the difpenfations of his juftice, ufually lets. wicked inftruments looie, and even Satan himfelf, to accomplifli his awful deligns. Chridians have a better bufineis allotted them. Spotfwood in his hiftory, p. 75. tells us, that in gene- ral the priefts in Scotland were fo ignorant that they* imagined the New Tcftament was a compofition of Luther's, and that the Old Teltament alone was the word of God. The fame author, p. 92. tells us a ftory which confirms this character of the popiih clergy in Scotland. It became a great difpute'in the univcriity of St. Andrews, whether the pater [Lord's Prayer] mould be laid to God or the faints. The friars, who knew in general that the reformers neglected the faints, were determined to maintain their honour with great obftinacy, but they knew not upon what topics to found their doctrine. Some held that the pater was faid to God firmaliter, [formally] and to faints mater eallier ; [ma- terially^ W I S H A R T. 221 tferiaHy] others, to God principaliter, [principally] and to faints minus prhicipaliter [lefs principally] ; others would have it ultimate and non ultimate : But the majori- ty teemed to hold, that the pater was faid to God capien- do Jtricle [in a ftricl: fenfe,] and to the faints capiendo large [in a larger fenfe]. A fimple fellow who ferved the fub- prior, thinking there was fome great matter in hand that made the doctors hold fo many conferences together, aflved one day what the matter was? the fub-prior anfwer- iwg, Tom, we cannot agree to whom the pater-nofter foould be faid. lie fuddenly replied, To whom, fir, jhould it be faid, but unto Cod? Then, faid the fub-prior, What fiall ive do with the faints P Ke anfwered, Give them Aves and r enoiv in the devil's name ; for that may fuffice them. T-he anfwer going abroad, many faid, that he had given a wifer decifion than the doctors had done with all their diflincltins. JOHN KNOX, The SCOTCH REFORMER. SCOTLAND had the honour of producing this greac and eminent luminary ; who became the principal in- itrument, in. GOD's hand, of effecting the Reformation T 2 in, 222 K N O X. in that kingdom, at a time when papal darknefs, igno- rance, and fuperftition, had involved the whole nation in fhades of deeper than Egyptian night. He was de- scended of an ancient and honourable family ; and was born in the year 1505, at Giffard, near Hadington, rathe county of Raft-Lothian, in Scotland. He received the firft part of his education in the grammar-fchool of Hading- ton, and from thence was removed to the univerfity of St. Andrews, and placed under the tuition of the celebrated Mr. John Mail*. He applied with uncommon diligence to the academical learning in vogue at that time ; and,. by the advantage of his tutor's inltruclions, foon became remarkable for his .knowledge in fcholaftic theology ; in- fomuch, that he obtained prieft's orders before the time ufually allowed by the canons ; and, from being an auditor of his tutor's inftru&ions, he began himfelf to teach, with great applanfe, his beloved fcience to others- But after fome time, upon a careful perufal of the fathers of the church, and particularly the writings of St. Jerom and St. Auftin, his tafte was entirely altered. He quit- ted the fubtilizing method of theories and the fchoo!men ? and applied himfelf to a plainer and more fun pie divinity* At his entrance upon this new courfe of ftudy, he at- tended the preaching of Thomas Guiiliam, a black-friar 7 whofe fermops were of extraordinary fervice to him- Mr. George Wilhart, coming from England, with the commhTioners fent from K. Henry VIII- our author being of an inquifitive nature, learned from him, the following year, the principles of the proteftants ; with which he was fo pleafed, that he renounced the Romifli religion, and became a zealous proteftants He had left St. Andrews a little before, being appoint- ed tutor to the fons of the lairds of Ormifton and Lang- nidry, who were both favourers of the reformation. Mr- Knox's ordinary refidence was at Langnidry, where he not only inilru&ed his pupils in the feveral parts of lear- nings KNOX. i7 3 rung, but was particularly careful to infill into rhem the principles of piety and the proteiufnt religion. This com- ing to the ear of the bifhop of St. Andrews, that prelate profecuted him with fuch feverity, that he was frequent- ly obliged to abfeond, and fly from place to place. Where- upon, being wearied with fuch continual dangers, he re- folved to retire to Germany, where the reformation was gaining ground ; knowing that in England, though the pope's authority wasfuppreifed, yet the greater part of his doctrir.e remained in full vigor- But this defign being- much difliked by the fathers of both his pupils, they, by their importunity, prevailed with him to go to St. An- drews about Eafrer, 1547 ; and for his own fifety,. as well as that of their children, to betake himfelfto the caiile, which was then held by thefe who had killed car- dinal Beaton^ where they might all befecure from the ef- forts of the papiits, and he be In a condition to inftrticc thefe young gentlemen with greater advantage. Here he began to teach his pupils in his ufual manner. Belkies the grammar and the clafiical authors, he read acatechiiVn to them, which he obliged them to give an account of publicly in the parilh church of St. Andrews. Ke like- wife continued to- read to them the gofpel of St. John, proceeding where he left off at his departure from Langnidry. This lecture he read at a certain hour, in the chapel within the caflle, at which feveral of the place were pre- fent. Among thefe, Mr. Henry Balnaveis, and John Rough, preacher there, being pleafed with his doctrines, (for tlrey were zealous for the new [that is, the reformed] religion), began earneftly to intreat him to take the preacher *s place * but he abfolutely refufed, alledgino;, tc that he would not run where GOD had not called *< him," meaning, that he would do nothing without a lawful vocation. Hereupon, they deliberating the mat- ter in a confutation with Sir David LinoTay, a perfon uf great 224 K N O X. great probity and learning, it was concluded to give Mr.* Knox a charge publicly by the mouth of the preacher. Accordingly Mr. Rough, upon the day appointed, preach- ed a fennon concerning the election ofminifters, wherein- he let forth, c what power the congregation, how final! ' fcever it was pairing the number of two or three, had ( above [over] any man, in whom they iuppofed and- c eipied the gifts of GOD to be, and how dangerous it < was to refufe, and not to hear the voice of iuch as de- c fire to be inflrucled. 7 Thefe and other things being; ' declared in general,, the preacher then addrcfled hirnfelf particularly to Mr. Knox in thefe words: ' Brother, ye * mall not be offended, albeit I fpeak unto you that * which I have in charge, even from all thefe that are- ' here preient ; which is this.- In the name of GOD, ' and of his Son Jefus Chrilt,. and in the name of thefe? 4 that' presently call you by my mouth, I charge you * that ye refuie not this holy vocation ; but, as ye ten- * der the glory of GOD, the- increafe of Chnit's king- * dom, the edification of your brethren, and th£ comfort ' of men, whom ye understand well enough to be op- f preileciby the multitude of labours, that ye take upon * you the pubhc office and charge of preaching, even as. * ye look to avoid GOD's heavy difpleafure, and defire ' that he ihould multiply his graces with you.' Then directing his fpeech to the audience, he faid, * Was not * this your charge to me, and do ye not approve this vo- ' cation?' They anfvvered, * It was, and we approve it. ? At which Mr. Knox abafiied, burft forth into tears, and- withdrew into his chamber. His countenance and be- haviour from that day, to the day he was forced to prefent hirnfelf to the public place of preaching, did fufiiciently declare the grief and trouble of his heart : For no man law any fign of mirth in him, neither yet had he pleafure to accompany any man for many days afterwards. But KNOX. 225 But on the Sunday appointed, attending the pttlpit, ho preached a fermonfroin Dan. vii. 23 — 28. when he proved to the fatisfaclion of his auditors, that the pope was an- tichrift, and that the doctrine of the Roman church was contrary to the doctrine of Chrift. and his apoftlcs. He likewise gave the notes both of the true church, and of the antichriitian church, &c of which he gives a full account in his hiftory ; and alfo of a public difputation which he then had with the dean of St. Andrews upon popery, at the end of which the people unanimously called on him to let them hear the fame doctrine from the preaching place ; which call he accordingly obeyed. This ferrnon made a great noife, and the popifb clergy being much incenfed by it, the abbot of Pai«ey, lately laminat- ed to the fee of St. Andrews, and not yet confecrated, wrote a letter to the fub-prior, exprefiing great furprize, that fuch heretical and fchifmatical doctrines were fuffered to be taught without oppofition.. Upon this rebuke, the fub-prior called a convention of grey and black-friars, to meet in St. Leonard' s-Yard ; where, both our preachers being convened, they were charged with feverai offences. The articles of the charge being read, the fub-prior enter- red into a conference with Mr. Knox, who, after that, difputed with one of the friars upon feverai controverted points between the papifts and proteflants. Popery fen- iibly loft ground by the difpute ; and the fupporters of it found themielves obliged to take another method to main- tain its reputation. An order waspafled, obliging every learned perfon in the abbey and univeriity, to preach in the parifn-church by turns on Sundays, and, in their fermoos, not to touch upon any of the controverted points. But Mr. Knox rendered this caution ineffectual, by preaching en the week-days ; when he took occalion to praije GOD that Jefus Chrift was preached, and nothing faid publicly againft the doctrine he had taught them : Protefting withal,, that if in his abfence they fhould fpeak any 226 K N O X. any thing which they forbore while he was prefent, thar his hearers mould fufpend their judgment till it mould pleafe GOD they mould hear him again. And he was fo fucceisfulin his work, that all the people in the cattle, and a great number in the town, openly profefled the proteftant doctrine, and teftifled it by partaking of the Lord's fupper, in the lame manner as it was admiuiftered in the church of Scotland, after the proteftant religion was eftabliihed by law, in the year 1560. And this, in the year 1547, was, perhaps, the firft time that the facramentwas adminifterecl in Scotland in the way of the reformed churches* Mr. Knox continued thus in the diligent discharge of his miniiterial work, till July that year, svlicri ihr caule was fur rendered to the French, upon terms, that all in the garriibn mould be carried fafe to France ; and, in cafe they were not fatisfied with the con- ditions of their liberty there, they mould be conveyed at the expence of that king wherever they pleafed. Scotland excepted. Mr. Knox with the reft was carried to France, and, from an attentive perufal of this part of his life, in his hiftory of the reformation in Scotland, printed in 1732, it appears that he remained a prifoner on board the gallies till the latter end of the year 1549; when, being let at liberty, he paffed to England ; and going to London, was there licenled, and appointed preacher, iirit at Berwick and next at Newcaiile. In 155 1 , he was appointed chaplain to K. Edward Vi- and, the en fuing year, he had the grant of an annuity of forty pounds, payable quarterly out of the augmenta- tion office, till fome benefice in the church mould be con- ferred or> him. And from fome of Mr- Knox's original letters, it appears, that he enjoyed this annuity of forty poinds till the beginning of Q. Mary's reign. In- a let- ter to Mrs- Bowes his mother-in-law, dated 1553* he tells her, that he was obliged to abfcond by reafon of the fury of the papifts, and adds> " I will not make you privy " how KNOX. 127 * c how rich I am, but off London I departed with lefs 41 money than ten groats : But GOD hath iince provU- < ( ed, and will, I doubt not, abundantly for this life. i{ Either the queen's majeily, or ibme ereaferer, will be *' forty pounds richer by me, for fo meickle lack I. of u duty of my patent ; but that little troubles me." The fame year, viz. 155 1, he came into ibme trouble, on ac- count of a bold fermon preached at Newcaltle on Chrifr.- mas-day, againir. the obftinacy of the papiits. And, about the latter end of the year, 1552, he returned to London ; and being well eiteemed by his majefty and fome of the court, for his zealous preaching againft the errors of the Roman church, he was appointed to preach before the king and council at Weilmiuller, a little before his majefty's departure thence. In this fermon he had feveral piercing glances againft fome great ones, who were fecretly well-wiihers to the popifh religion, though they outwardly fubmitted to the then prefent eitabliih- ment. But notwithstanding it mud have been about this time, that the council fent to Crammer, archbiihop of Canterbury, to beitow the living of All hallows, Bread- ftreet, in London, upon him, which accordingly was of- fered him ; but he refufed it, not cairing to conform to the Engliih liturgy as it then flood. Knox was called before the council, who demanded of him three queflions, 7. - Why he refufed the benefice provided for him in ' London ?' To which he anfwered, that " his confci- *' ence did witnefs, that he might profit more in fome <( other place than in London, and therefore had no plea- " fure to accept any office there." 2. • Whether he * thought, that no Chriltian might ferve in the eccleiiafti- * cal miniftration, according to the rites and laws of the ' realm of England ? * " To which he faid, that many *' things at that time were worthy of reformation in the u minifters of England, without the reformation whereof, " no minuter did or could difcharge his confcience before « GOD; 228 K N O X. " GOD ; for no minilrers in England had authority to " feparate the lepefes from the heal, " [that is, the) had not the full j ower of excommunication,] " which, he laid " was a chief point of his office. " 3. i hey aiked'him, f If kneeling at the Lord's table was not indiiit rent ?' He anfwered, that <( Chrift's action was molt perfect, audit <( was done without kneeling ; and it was moil fure to " follow his example, and that kneeling was man's ad- {< dition and invention. " .About this queftion there was great contention between the lords of the- council and him- After long realbning it was faid to him, that he was not. called of any ill meaning, and that they were forry to know him of a contrary mind to the common order. He anfwered, he *' was forry the common was contrary to te Chrift's infiitution*^ He was difmiiTed with fome gen- tle fpeeches, and they willed him to sdvife with himfelf, whether he would communicate according tG that order.' It is affirmed by feveral writers of good authority, that befides the living of Allhallows, Mr. Knox had the offer of a bilhopric made to him in Edward Vlth's reign, and that he refufed it. Melchior Adam fays, < At that time ' in England reigned Edward VI. who obferving Knox's i piety, had a lingular kindnefs-for the man, and he was * offered a bifhopric by the king's command ; but he re- 1 fufed it with indignation, vehemently condemning thofe c titles, as favouring of the kingdom of antichriit.' How- ever, he frill held his place as itinerary-preacher : and, in the difcharge of that office, going to Buckinghamfhire, was much pleafed with his reception at fome towns, par- ticularly at Amermam, in that county; and he continued to preach there, and at other places, fome time after Q* Mary's acceffion to the throne. But that year, viz. in February 1553, he left England, having croffed the fea to Dieppe in France, he went from thence to Geneva ; where he had not been long, when he was called by the congregation of the Englifh refugees, then eilablimed at Frankfort, KNOX. 229 frankfort, 10 be preacher to them. This call he obeyed (though unwillingly) at the initance of Calvin. Mr. Knox continued at Frankfort, till fomc of the prin- cipal per foils of his congregation, (particularly Dr. R. Cox, K. Edward Vlth's preceptor) finding it impoflible to perfuade him to uie the Englilh liturgy, reiblved to cftccz his removal from the place. In. that view, they accnfed him to the magistrates of treafon, committed both againit the emperor and Oueen Mary. Upon which, rhe magitlrat.es not having it. in their power to lave him, if he mould be required either by the emperor, or in his name by O. Mary, gave him private notice of it ; which he no fooner received, than he fet out for Ge- neva ; where he arrived March 26, 1 555, but itaid there only till Augull following; when, relolving alter lb long an abfence to make a vifit to his native country, he went to Scotland. Upon his arrival there, which was SO the end of harvefi, finding the profeffors of the reform- ed religion much increafed in number, and formed into a fociety under the infpection of the following teachers ; William Harlow, John Willock, Paul MafFy or Methuen, and John Erikineof Dun, he aiTociated himfelfwith them, and preached to them. Prefently after this, he accom- panied one of them, the laird of Dun, to his feat in the north ; where he flayed a month, teaching and preaching daily to conliderable numbers who retorted thither, among whom were the chief gentlemen in that country. From thence returning to Lothian, he reiided for the mod part in thehouie of Calder with Sir James Sandilands, a man of great prudence and worth, where he met with many perfons of the hril rank y with -thefe noble perfonages he converted familiarly, and confirmed them in the truth of the proteilant doctrine. In the winter of 155-5, ne taught , for the molt part, in Edinburgh ; about Cnrhtmas 1556, he went to the Weft of Scotland at the deiire of fome proteilant gentlemen, JJ preached 230 K N O X. preached in many places. In his fermons he infifted much upon the unlawfulnefs of being prefent at mafs, which he maintained to be an idolatrous worfhip. In fome of thefe places he celebrated the Lord's fupper after the manner of the reformed churches. From thefe weftern parts he returned to the eaft, and refided fome time in Calder, where many reforted to him both for doctrine and the benefit of the facraments. From thence he went a fecond time to the laird of Dun's houfe, in the county of Mearns, where he preached more publicly than before, and adminiftred the facrament to many perfons of note at their defire. The popifh clergy being alarmed at this fuccefs of Mr. Knox, in promoting the proteftant caufe, fummoned him to appear before them in the church of *Blackfriars in Edinburgh, on the fifteenth of May, 1556. Several gentlemen of diftin&ion, among whom the laird .-of Dun was none of the lead considerable, refolving to ftand by him, he determined to obey the fummons. But the profecution was dropped, upon fome informality of the fummons, as was pretended, when the biihops per- ceived fuch a confiderable party appearing in his behalf. However, he went to Edinburgh on the day to which he was cited, where he preached to a greater audience than ever he had done before ; in the bilhip of Dunkeld's great houfe he taught, both before and after noon, to a -great number for ten days. At this time the earl of Glencairn prevailed with the earl Marifchal, and his trultee Henry Drummond, to hear one of Mr. Knox's fermons. They were extreme- ly well fatisfied with his difcourfe, and propofed to him to write to the queen regent an earneft letter, to pur- fnade her, if polfible, to hear the proteftant doctrine. He complied with their defire, and wrote to her in May, jrr6. The letter was delivered by the earl of Glen- cairn ; the queen read it, and gave it to James Beaton, archbifoop ofGlafgow, with this farcafiir : ■< Pleafe you, niy KNOX. 231 € my lord, to read a pafquil.' This gave occafion to Mr. Knox to make Lome additions to his letter, which he printed afterwards with the additions at Geneva, in the year 1558. \Vhile our reformer was thus occupied in Scotland, he received letters from the Engliih congregation at Geneva, earneitly intreating him to come thither : For after his expultion from Frankfort, feveral of the congregation went to Geneva. Having feriouOy conlidered this invitation, he determined to return to that people, who had fo great a regard for him. Accordingly, in July 1556, he left Scotland. He had no iboner turned Lis back, than the b ihops fummoned him to appear before them ; and, upon his non-appearance, they paifed a fentence of death againft him for herefy, and burnt him in effigy at the crols of Edinburgh. Againft this fentence he formed, and after- wards printed at Geneva, in the year 15^8, his " Appel- lation from the cruel and mod unjuit Sentence pro- nounced againft him by the falfe Biihcps and Clergy of Scotland ;. with his fupplication to the Nobility, Eftates, and Commonalty of the laid Realm. " On the tenth of March, 1557, the chief promoters of the reformation at that time in Scotland, judging their affairs to be in a pretty good pofture, and being fenfible of the ufefulnefs of Mr. Knox for the purpofe, lent him an exprefs, earneftly defiring him to return home. This letter coming to his hands in May, he immediately com- municated it to his congregation, who were very unwil- ling to part with him ; but having confulted with Calvin and other worthy minifters, they gave it as their opinion that he could not refufe fuch a plain call, unlefs he would declare himfelf rebellious to GOD and unmerciful to his country. The congregation upon this yielded to his return to Scotland, and he wrote back by the mef- lengers who brought the letter, that he would return to them with all reafonable expedition. Accordingly, having 232 KNOX. having provided for his congregation at Geneva, he left them in the end of September, and came to Dieppe, in his way to Scotland, on the twenty-fourth of October. But there he unexpectedly met with letters from thence, con- trary to the former, informing him, that new confukations were entered into, and advifing him to ftay at Dieppe till the final conclufion of them. This was further alfo explained in another letter, directed to a friend of Mr. Knox, in which he was told, that many of thofe who had before joined in this invitation, were becoming incon- Itant, and began to draw back. Upon the receipt of thefe advices, Mr. Knox wrote an expoftulatory letter to the lords who invited him, concerning their rafhnefs ; in which he denounced judgments again It fuch as mould he inconftant in the religion they now profelfed. Befides this, he wrote feveral other letters from Dieppe, both to the nobility and profeflbrs of the reformed religion of an inferior degree, exhorting them to eonftancy in their pro- feifion, and giving fome uleful cautions againft the errors of fectaries, which grew up about this time both in Ger- many and England. Mr. Knox exciting them in tMfe letters to a greater degree of zeal for the doctrine they had efpoufed, they came at laft to this refolution, that ' They would follow * forth their purpcfe, and commit themfelves, and what- * foever GOD hath given them, into his hands, rather * than fufifer idolatry to reign, and the fubjects be de- 4 frauded of the only food of their fouls ;' and that every- one might be allured the more of one another, a common bond or covenant was made and entered into by them, dated at Edinburgh, December 3, 1557- Thofe who joined in this bond were called The Congregation. Mr. Knox returned to Geneva in the beginning of the year 1558, and continued there till April 15^9, when he determined to return to his native country ; and having a flrong defire in his way thither to vifit thofe in EnglanU KNOX. 233 England, to whom he had formerly preached thegofpel, he applied to Sir William Cecil, his old acquaintance, to procure leave for thatpurpoie. But this petition was fo far from being granted, that the mefienger, whom he fent to iblicit his favour, very narrowly efcaped impris- onment. Upon this he made the belt of. his way to Scotland, where he arrived on the fccond day of May, I 559> ;m( l was very active in promoting the reformation there, as appears from the fecond book of his hiftory, which contains a full account of his conduct, till the pro- teltants were obliged to apply to England. For carry- ing on which trania&ion, in July this year, he was pitched upon to meet Sir William Cecil, incognito at Stam- ford ; but his journey being retarded by the danger of palling near the French, who lay at Danbar, he was afterwards lent in company with Mr. 'Robert Hamilton, another protectant minifter, to negociate thefe affairs be- tween the proteilants in Scotland and p. Elizabeth. When they came to Berwick, they remained fome days with Sir James Crofts the governor,, who undertook to manage their bufinefs for them, and advifed them to re- turn home ; which they did- Secretary Cecil lent alio an anfwer to the proteitant nobility and gentry, concern- ing their proposals- to Q. Elizabeth ; wh'^h was fo ge- neral, that they were very near refolving to break off* the negotiation, had not Mr. Knox interpoied with fo much earneitnefs, that they allowed him once more to write to the fecretary. To Knox's letter there was quickly fent an anfwer, de- firing that fome perfons of credit might be lent to confer with the Engliih at Berwick ; and the fame letter informed thern, that there was a fum of money ready to be deliv- ered for carrying on the common caufe, afiuring them that if the lords of the congregation were willing to enter into a league with Q. Elizabeth upon honourable terms, they mould want neither men nor money. Upon this U 2 anfwer. 234 KNOX, anfwer, Mr. Henry Balnaveis, a man well refpefted m both kingdoms, was fent to Berwick, v/ho foon returned with a funi of money, which defrayed the pubhc expence till November ; when John Cockburne of GrmiPton being lent for the fecond fupport received it, but fell into the hands of Earl Bothwell, who took the money from him. In the interim, Mr- Knox was chofen minifter of Edin- burgh in July ; but being obliged to attend the lords, while the agreement was in (dependence, Mr. Willock was left in Edinburgh to officiate in his room. The effect of thefe negociations was the fending of an army under the command of the duke of Norfolk ; which being joined by almofl all the great men in Scotland, at laft a peace was procured and concluded between the two kingdoms, on the eighth of July in the year 1500. Mr. Knox, and the reft who had formed themfelves into congregations, being freed by this peace from anydifturb- ance, made feveral regulations for the farther propagating, and eftabliming the proteftant religion ; and in order to have the reformed doctrine preached through the king- dom, a divifion was made of it into twelve diftri&s (for the whole number of the reformed minifters at this time was only twelve,) and the diitrict of Edinburgh was af- figned to Mr. Knox. Thefe twelve minifters alfo com- pofed a confelfion of faith, which was afterwards ratified by parliament ; they alfo compiled the firft books of dif- cipline for that church. The indignation of the people, which had been excited by the vices of the clergy, was foon transferred to their perfons, and fettled at laft, by a tranfition not unufual, upon the offices they enjoyed ; and thus the effects of the reformation extended not only to the doctrine, but alio to the government of the popifh church. But in Ger- many, England, and the northern kingdoms, its operati- ons were checked by the power and policy of their princes, and epifcopal hierarchy (which appears to be the moft conformable K n a x, 235 conformable to the practice of rhe church, fmce chriiliani- ty became the ettabliihed religion of the Roman empire), was (till continued, in theft countries, under certain limitations. The ecLleliailical government was copied after the civil ; and the ciiocefes and jurifdiccion of patri- archs, archbilliops, and bilhops, correfpondeu with the divifion and constitution of die empire. In Switzerland and the Low Countries, the nature and fpirit of a. repub- lican policy gave fuller fccpe to the reformers ; and thus all pre-eminence of order in the church was deilroyed, and that form of eccleliaftical- government eliablifhed, which has been tince called Preibyterian. The church of Geneva, which received the deciiions of Calvin with an amazing docility, rettored this Preibyterian,. or republi- can form of eccleliaftical policy. Knox ftudied, admired, and recommended it to his countrymen,, and he was fecon- ded by many of the Scotch nobles, of whom force hated the perfons, while others coveted the wealth of the dignified clergy. But, in introducing this fyftem, the Scottilh reformer did not deem it expedient to depart al- together from the ancient form ; but iniiead of bilhops, propofed the eftablifnment of ten fuperintendants, to in- spect the life and doctrine of the other clergy, to prefide in the inferior judicatories of the church, without pre. tending to claim either a feat in parliament, or the reven- ues and dignity of the former bilhops. This propofal was drawn up and prefented to a convention of eitates, which was held in the year 1561 ; and what is contained, in re- lation to eccleliaftical jurifdiclion and difcipline, would have ealily obtained the fanction of that affembly, had not a defign to recover the patrimony of the church, in or- der to apply it to the advancement of religion and learn- ing, been infmuated in it- After this, at certain periods, the name of bilhops was revived, but without the prero- gatives, jurifdiclion, or revenues, that were formerly ap- propriated to that order. They were made fubject to the the general affeniblies of the clergy, and their power was diminifhed from day to day, until their name, as well as their order, was aboliihed, at the revolution in [688, and fve'jhyteriamfm eftablifhed in Scotland by the laws of the its re. In March 1561, Mr. John Spottifwood was admitted fuperintend^nt of Lothian by Mr. Knox. And the fame year, Auguit 20th, 1561, queen Mary arrived at Ufttk from France. From her fir it arrival, her majeily let up a private rcafs in her own chapel, which afterwards, by her protedion and countenance, was much frequent- ed : This excited the zeal of Mr. Knox, who exp relied himfelf with great warmth againft allowing it ; and an act of the privy-council being proclaimed at the market-crofs. of Edinburgh, forbidding any difturbance to be given to this practice under pain of death, on the twenty- fifth of that month, Mr. Knox openly in his fermon the Sunday following declared,, that '< one mafs was more frightful !?* to him, than ten thoufand armed enemies, landed in any " part of the realm." This freedom offpeech gave great offence to the court, and the queen herfelf had a long conference with him upon that and other fubjects. In the year 1562, we find him employed in reconciling the earls of Bothwell and Arran, which is an evidence how much he was regarded by the rnoft eminent perfons of the kingdom, and how much interest he had with them. The fame year, the queen being informed that her uncles were like to recover their former intereits at the court of France, received the news with great joy : Mr. Knox hearing of her behaviour, and apprehending that the power of the queen's relations would produce difmal ef- fects, in prejudice of the reformed intereft in thefe parts, thought fit to preach a fermon, wherein " he taxed the " ignorance, vanity, and defpite of princes, againft all t( virtue, and againft all thofe in whom hatred of vice " and love of virtue appeared." This and other expref- fions, KNOX. i :>7 (ions, in reproof of dancing for joy at the difpleafure ta- ken againft: GOD's people, coming to the ears of the queen, her majefty fent for him, and had a fecond con- ference with him. ThemeiTage was brought by Alexan- der Ooekburae, who had been formerly his fcholar, and the conference ended with the queen's declaring, Ihe had been mil informed. This year he was appointed, by the general aiTembly, commiilioner to the counties of Kyle and Galloway ; and, by his influence, feveral of the raoft emi- nent gentlemen of Kyle, Cunningham, and Carrick, enter- ed into a bond or covenant at Air, either the fame or one fimilar to that entered into at Edinburgh, in the year 1557, which was fubfcribed September the fourteenth, one thoufand feven hundred and fixty-two. Mr. Knox went from the mire of Air to Nithfdale and Galloway, and had feveral conferences about matters o / great importance with the mafter of Maxwell ; and from this county he wrote to the duke of Chatelherault, giving him cautions both againft the bimop of St. Andrews and the earl of Huntley, whofe counfel she judged might prove prejudicial to the reformed intereft. At this time he ac- cepted a challenge made by an eminent perfon among the papifts, a Mr. Ouintin Kennedy, a foil of the ho ule of Caflils, to a public difpute about the mafs, which w 7 as held in the village of Maybole, in Carrick, and continued for the fpace of three days, and was afterwards printed. In 1564, lord Darnley being married to the queen, was .advifed by the proteibnts about court to hear Mr. Knox preach, as thinking it would attribute much to procure the good-will of the people. At their defire he went, on the nineteenth of Augnit, to the high-church, but was fo much offended at the fermon, that he complained to the council, who immediately ordered Mr. Knox before them, and forbad him to preach for feveral days. His text was in Ifaiahxxvi. 13 — 17. Lord our GOD, other lords than tlo'ii have reigned ov?r us t &c* From thefe words he took qc cation* 238 K N O X. occafion to fpeak of the government of wicked princes^ who for the iins of the people are fent as tyrants and fcourges to plague them. And amongil other things, he faid, " that GOD lets in that room, (for the offences " and ingratitude of the people,) boys and women." There were alfo fome oiher words uttered by him which gave great offence to the king, as, " that GOD juflly (i punifhed Ahab and his poflerity, becaufe he would not " take order with that harlot Jezabel." Thefe words the council told him had given great offence to hismajefty, and they defired him to abftain from preaching fifteen or twenty days, and let Mr. Craig fupply the place. He anfwered, that he had fpoken nothing but according to his text ; and if the church would command him either to fpeak or abilain, he would obey fo far as the word of GOD would permit him. The publifher of Mr. Knox's hiffory in 4to adds in the margin, that in anfwering he f aid mere than he had preached ; for he added, "that f* as the king had for pleafure of the queen gone to mafs, u and difhonoured the Lord GOD, fo mould GOD in " his juftice make her an inftrument of his ruin;" and fo it fell out in a very fhort time ; but the queen being incenfed at thefe words, fell into tears, and to pleafe her, John Knox muff abftain from preaching for a time. The general affembly, which met in December this year in their fourth feffion, appointed Mr. Knox to draw up a confolatory letter in their name, to encourage minifters, exhorters, and readers* to continue in their vocations, which many were under great temptation to leave for want of fubilftence, and to exhort the profeffors of the realm to fupply their neceffities. He was alfo appointed by this affembly to vifit, preach, and plant, the kirks of the fonth, till the next affembly, and to remain as long as he could at that work. Mr. Knox requeued the general affembly, which met at Edinburgh in December, 1566, that he might have leave to* KNOX. 239 to go to England to vifit two of his fons, probably then at fchool, and for neceffary affairs in that kingdom. Before he fet out, he had ample teftimonials from the aflembly of hfs life, do&rine, and ufefulnefs, and was by them re- commended to all to whom he ihould come. The affem- bly limited his abode in England to the meeting of the next general aflembly, to be held in June following. The general aflembly being informed, that lbme worthy and learned divines in England were proiecuted by the biihops, becaufe they refuted to ufe the habits appointed by law for church-men, caufed a letter to be written and fent by Mr. Knox, in which with great earneftnefs they intreated, that they might deal gently with fuch ministers as fcrupled the ufe of thofe veftments. In the year 1567, Mr. Knox preached a fermon at the coronation of K. James the fixth of Scotland, and after- wards the firil of Great Britain. This fermon is much commended by Buchanan in his Hiftory of Scotland. This year is very remarkable in Scotland, upon account of the great turn of affairs there by Q» Mary's refigningthe go- vernment, and by the appointment of the earl of Murray to be regent. The firft parliament which was called by the earl met on the fifteenth of December. It was a very numerous convention of all the ftates, and Mr. Knox preached a very zealous fermon at the opening of it; and he was extremly afflicted at the regent's death in 1569. We are told that he apprehending the intereft of religion would be expofed to the utmoft danger by the earl of Murray or regent's fall ; and, on that account, exprefled himfelf with great concern both in public and private. In the year 157 1, the Hamiltons and others, who had entered into a combination againltthe earl of Lenox, then regent, began to fortify the town of Edinburgh. While they were thus employed, a council was held by them in the cattle on the fourth of May, where the laird of Grainge, captain of the cattle, propoied that they might give 24*> KNOX. give fecurky for the perfon of Mr. Knox, which was alfo much defired by the town's-people. The Hamikons an- fwered, that they could not promife him fecurity upon their honour, becaufe there were many in the town who loved him not, befides other disorderly people, that might do him harm without their knowledge. Upon this an- fwer, which plainly (hewed' no good intention to Mr. Knox, his friends in the town, with Mr. Craig his col- league at their head, intreated him to leave the place, by reaibn of the impending danger to him, and to them too upon his account, in defending him from the attempts of the contrary party ; which, being alfo the ftrongeft, would moft probably be able to execute their deiigns againft him. Accordingly, leaving Edinburgh on the fifth of May, he .went firft to Abbotfhallin Fife, and thence to St. Andrews, where he remained till the twenty- third of Auguft, in the year 1572- That year there was a convention of the minifters at Leith, where it was agreed, that a certain kind of epifco- pacy fhould be introduced into the church, which was •zealoufly oppofed by our reformer. The matter itood thus : The courtiers had got the far greater part of the revenues of the bifhoprics, but they could not get a color- able title to thefe rents, as the law then ftood, except they had a conveyance from thofe who had the title of biihops; for this reai'on it was thought a good expedient by the great ones, who had a longing mind to enjoy the profits of the biihoprics, that this fort of bifhops jfliould be brought into the church, and indeed all of them, by certain pactions, conveyed the far greater part of the re- venues to their patrons, refcrving a very fmall part to themfeives. Among the reit, the archbifhopric of St. Andrews coming to the ilia re of the earl of Morton, that nobleman deligned Mr. John Douglafs, reelor of the uni- verfity there, in whom his lordmip had an entire confi- For this purpofe the electors KNOX. 241 electors were convened February 8th, X572, where, after fome oppofition, he was elected archbifhop. Mr. Knox being then in St. Andrews, was much difpleafed with this election ; and the next Lord's-day, being to preach in the forenoon where the earl of Morton was prefent, he not only peremptorily refufed to inaugurate and receive the new-elected bifhop, but publicly denounced an ana- thema both to the giver and receiver of this bimopric. Notwithstanding this oppofition, Mr- Douglafs was ad- mitted archbiihop according to the order for admitting fuperintendants and minifters ; for they had not as yet framed any particular form for admitting bilhops. Mr. J. Rutherford, provoft of the Old-college of St. Andrews, and mellieurs Arch, and John Hamilton, profeflbrs in the New-college, fpread a report next week, that Mr. Knox's oppofition to the bifhops proceeded from a pique that he was not elected himfelf. This coming to his ears, he vindicated himfelf from the pulpit next Lord's-day in words to the following purpofe : u I have refufed a far 4 f greater bifhopric than ever it was, which I might have f* had with the favour of greater men than ever he had <{ his ; I did and do repine, not from malecontent, but iC for the difcharge of my confcience, that the kirk of *■- Scotland be not fubjecl to that order.'' This feems to refer to the offer that we have obferved was made him of a bimopric in England in Edward Vlth's time. The troubles of the country being much abated, and the people of Edinburgh, who had been obliged to leave it, being returned, they lent two of their number, viz* Nlcol. Edward and John Johnfton, fcribe, to St. Andrews to invite Mr. Knox to return to them. Mr. Knox left St. Andrews, Auguft 17th, and came to Leith on the twenty-third. Upon the lad day- of that month, he preached in the great kirk ; but his voice was become very weak, and therefore he deftred another place X t® .242 KNOX. • to teach in, where his voice might be heard, if it werel but to a hundred perfons.; which was granted. Mr- Knox preached as long as he had flrength of body ; j but his health was greatly impaired by the news of the maflacreof the proteftants at Paris about this time. It was brought to Edinburgh about the twelfth of Septem- ber, by Mr. Killigrew, ambaffador from Qj Elizabeth. However, he introduced it into his next fermon, with his ufual denunciation of GOD's vengeance thereon, which he defired the French ambaffador, monfieur La Croque, might be acquainted with. The denunciation was to this I purport, " Sentence is pronounced in Scotland againft that j " murderer the king of France, and GOD's vengeance 4i mall never depart from him nor his houfe ; but hisname M mail remain an execration to posterity ; and none, that 9 mall come of his loins, mall enjoy that kingdom in et peace and cuiietnefs, unlefs repentance prevent GOD's ■" judgment." The ambaffador being told it, applied to the regent and council, and complained that his mafter was called a traitor and murderer of his fubjects, under a promife and trufl ; and defired that an edict might be publiihed, prohibiting the fubjects of Scotland to fpeak any thing to the difhonour of his mailer, efpecially the miniflers in their fermons. This was waved by the council, and the ambaffador was told, that they could not hinder the miniflers from fpeaking even againft them* felves. Cn Sunday, November the ninth, in the year 157a, he admitted Mr. Lawfcn, a minifler of Edinburgh. But his voice was fo weak, that very few could hear him ; he de- clared the mutual duty between a minifler and his flock .; he praifed GOD, who had given them one in his room, who was now unable to teach, and defired that GOD .might augment his graces to him a thoufand fold above that which he had, if it were his pleafure, and ended with pronouncing the bleffing. From this day he haflened to his KNOX. a 43 his end. Upon the eleventh, he was feized with a violent cough- and great pains of the body ; breathing continu- ally with more and more difficulty, till he breathed his laft- When his friends advifed him to fend for fomephy- ficians, he fmilingly confented ; faying, " I would not u either defpife, or neglect, ordinary means ; but of this u I am certain, that GOD will fhortly put an end to my " warfare below.' ' 1 he day after, he ordered his fejrvants to be paid their wages; whom, at the fame time, he earneftly exhorted, i( to walk in the fear of the Lord ; and to live fo, as be- * came Chriftians educated in that family. " His diforder growing worfeand worfe, he was forced to pretermit his ordinary method of reading ; which ufed to be, every- day, fome chapters of the New Teftament, and in the Old, particularly the Pfalms ; and fome ufeful portion ©f ecclefiaftical hiftory. In the mean while, he requeued his wife (Margaret Stewart, a devout woman, and a molt affectionate partner of his faith and cares), and Richard Ballantine, his fervant, who was always very dear to him for his remarkable piety, that they would take care to read to him, every day while he lived, the feventeenth chapter of St. John's gofpel, one or other of the chapters of the epiftle to the Ephefians, and the fifty- third chapter of liaiah : Which injunction they never once emitted. He was always peculiarly fond of the book of Pfalms, GOD having greatly blefled them to his foul. With fome felect portions of thofe admirable compofitions, he was much comforted in life, and Itrengthened in death. The day following, he rofe from his bed by feven o'clock : And being afked, ' Why, when he was fo weak ' and fick, he would not rather chufe to reit himfelf ?' he anfwered, " I have been this whole night taken up " with the meditation of the refurrection of Jefus Chrift " my Lord ; and would with joy get into the pulpit, that *' I might communicate, to others, the comfort I havein- ** wardly •244 KNOX. " war dly enjoyed from reflecting on that blefTed fiibjecl.*' So intent was he on the work of the Lord, even to his laft breath ; and when, for want of ftrength, he could icarce be lifted out of bed by the affiftance of two fervants- A few days after, he fent for all the minifters of the feveral churches in Edinburgh, to whom, being affembled round his bed, he thus addrefled himfelf ; " That day is " now at hand, which I have fo often and intensely * ( longed for ; in which, having finifhed my labours, and ut alio moil gladely to rehgn up his Y 2 life, 256 ROGERS. life, and to give his fiefh to the confirming fire, for a teftimony of the fame. They then again brought him a, pardon, upon condition that he would recant ; but he, with the magnanimity of a true martyr, refufed it ; not preferring life upon fuch terms to the cruel death of burning ; which he fuffered with the greater! patience and fortitude ; waihing as it were his hands in the flames, and ejaculating with his laft breath; " Lord, receive mv « fpirit !" It is remarked of Mr. Roger?, that, during the year and a half that he was imprifoned, he was always chear- ful, but very earneft and intent upon every thing he did. He wrote much ; efpecially his examinations, which were wonderfully preferved : For they frequently made diligent fearch for his writings ; and it is fuppofed, that they refufed his wife vifiting him, left me fhould convey them away. And when he was taken out of Newgate and led to Smithfield, they again fearched his room, but found nothing. They, therefore, readily admitted his wife and fon Daniel into his apartment, upon their return from Smithfield, who looked into every corner, as they thought,, and were coming away, fuppofing others had been before hand with them, when Daniel fpied fomething black in a dark corner under a pair of flairs, which proved to be his examinations and writings, to which the reader has been already referred in Fox's martyrology, where they are inferted at large. He was charitable to the poor pri- foners, agreeing with Mr. Hooper and others, to take but one meal a day, and to give the reft to thofe on the other tide of the prifon that were ready to die for hunger ; but the cruel keeper withheld it from them. The Sunday before he fuftered, he drank to Mr. Hooper, being then underneath him, and defired them to commend him unto him, and to tell him, " There was never a little fellow " would better ftick to a man, than he would ftick to " him j" fuppoting, contrary to what happened, that \ they R Q G £ R S. 259 they fliould have been both burned together — Thus died, triumphant in the faith, this blefled proto-martyr, and proved the reality of the ailtient observation, i that the ' blond of the martyrs is the feed of the church ;' for, initead ot being intimidated, multitudes were encouraged by his example, and thofe, who had no religion before, were put upon inquiries ; IVhat -was the c and the good of the realm ; and he perceived no hopes of amendment while it continued. This he nowfaw happily effected. The 2tf 4 C H A N M E R. The king, wnofe fupremacy was now alnibft as uni- vcrfally acknowledged, as the pope's had been before, locked on the mohanries with a jealous eye; theie he thought were by their privileges of exemption engaged to the fee of Rome, and would prove a body of refer ve for the pope, always ready to appear in the quarrel, and to fupport his claim. This, it is probable, was the chief mo- tive which inclined the king to think of diiTolving them : And Cranmer, being confulted on this head, approved of the refolution. Ke law how inconfiftent. thole founda- tions were with the reformation of religion, which he then had in view ; and propoied, that, out of the reven- ues of the.monaftries, the king ihould found morebilhop- rics ; that the diocefes being reduced into lefs compafs, the bifhops might the better difcharge their duty according to fcripture and primitive practice. He hoped alfo, that from thefe ruins there would be new foundations erected in every cathedral, to be nurferies of learning, under the infpedtion of the bifhop, for the ufe and benefit of the whole d'ocefe. But thtfe noble defigns were unhappily defeated, by the (miiter arts of fome avaricious courtiers, who, without regard to the good of the public, ftudied only how facrilegioufly to ra^jfe their own fortunes out of the church's fpoils. When queen Anne Boleyn was fent to the tower, on a fudden jealoufy of the king, the archbifhop was greatly concerned for her misfortune, and did his utmoft endeavor to ailift her in her diifrefs. He wrote a confolatory letter to the king, in which, after having recommended to him an equality of temper, and refignation to Providence, he put him in mind of the great obligations he had received from the queen, and endeavoured to diipoie the king to clemency and a good humour. Finally,, he molt humbly implored him, that, however unfortunate the iflue of this affair might prove, he would {till continue his love to the gofpel ; left it fhould be thought ; that it was for he; C R A N M JL R. 165 her fake only, that he had favoured it. But neither this letter of the archbiihop, nor another very moving one wrote with her own hand, made the lead impreilionupon the king : For her ruin was decreed, and (alter Cranmer had declared her marriage with the king null and void, upon her confeflion of a pre-contract with the earl of Northumberland) (he was tried in the tower, and executed on the nineteenth of May, 1536. In 1537, the archbiihop, with the joint authority of the biihops, let forth the famous book, entitled, " The " Erudition of a Chriftian-man." This book was com- pofed in convocation ; and drawn up for a direction to the bifliops and clergy. It contains an explication of the creed, the Lord's-prayer, the ave-maria, juitification, and purgatory. This was a great ftep towards the future reformation ; for in this book the univerlal paftorihip of the biihop of Rome is declared to have no foundation in the word of God ; the church of England is averted to be as truly and properly a catholic and apoftolic church, as that of Rome, or any other church where the apoitles perfonally refided ; and all churches are affirmed to be equal in power and dignity, built upon the fame foun- dation, governed by the lame Spirit, and on as good grounds expecting the fame glorious immortality I n the article of the facrament of the altar, though the cor- poral preience isailerted, yet it is only faid, that the facra- ment is to be ufed with •< all due reverence and honour," without any mention of the adoration of the elements. The fuperftitious notions of the people concerning the ceremonies and injunctions of the church, in thinking them offtricter obligation than moral duties, are cenfured. In the expofition of the fecond commandment, bowing down to, pr worfhipping of image9, is exprefly con- demned. The invocation of faints is retrained to beg- ging their interceilion for us ; and health of body and poind; remiflion of fin, grace and future happinefs, are a66 C R A N M £ R. faid to be above the difpofal of created beings, and blei- fings, for the obtaining which, we muft apply only to God Almighty. The clergy are forbid to pretend to tem- poral jurisdiction, independent on the civil magistrate ; paffive obedience is afferted without restriction ; and all rcfjiiance, on what pretence Soever, condemned. The people are cautioned againft mistaking the ave-maria for a prayer, which is only an hymn of praife. Justification is attribwted to the merits and fatisfaction of Jefus Chrift alone, exclufive of the merit of good works : And the pope's pardon, maffes before any celebrated images, are declared unprofitable to deliver fouls out of the middle State of punifhment ; concerning the nature and degrees of which it is affirmed, that we have no certainty from revelation — -All this was doing fomething towards a more perfect reformation, when Providence fhould afford both time and opportunity. ArchbiShop Cranmer, from the day of his promotion to the fee of Canterbury, had continually employed his thoughts on getting the fcripturestranllatedinto EngliSh : He had often folicired his majefty about it, and, at length, obtained a grant that they might betranflated and printed. For want of good paper in England, the copy wasfent to Paris ; and by Bonner's means a licence was procured for printing it there. As foou as fome of the copies came to the archbiiliop's hands, he fent one to the lord Crom- well, defiring him to prefent it in his name to the king, importuning him to intercede with his majeily, that by his authority all his Subjects might have the liberty of -ufing it w ithout conftraint ; which lord Cromwell accord- ingly did, and the king readily afTented. Injunctions were forthwith publimed, requiring an EngliSh bible of the hrgeflfize to be procured for the ufe of svery parifh church, at the expence of the minister and church- war- f S*«is; and prohibiting all difcouraging the people from heading or hearing the fcriptures. The book was received with C R A N M E R. 26*7 Trith inexpreiTible joy ; every one, that was able, pur- chafed the fame ; and the poor greedily flocked to hear it read. Some perfonsin years learned to read on purpofe that they might perufe it ; and even little children crouded with eagernefs to hear it. The archbifhop was not yet convinced of the falfenefs of the abfurd doctrine of tranfubttantiation, but conti- nued a itiff maintained of the corporal prefence ; as ap- pears from his being unhappily concerned in the profe- cution of Lambert, who was burnt, November the 20th, 1538, for denying tranfubllantiation. In 1539, the parliament palled the bill containing the fbc bloody articles; by which none were allowed toiy. againit traniubftantiation, on pain of being burnt as here- tics, and forfeiting their goods and chattels, as in cafe of treafen : It was alfo thereby made felony, and forfeiture of lands and goods, to defend the communion in both kinds, or marriage of the clergy, or thofe who had vowed celi- bacy, or to fpeak againft private mafies and auricular confeflion. The archbimop argued boldly in the houfe againft the fix articles, three days together ; and that fo ffcrenuoudy, that though the king was obftinate in palling the act, yet he defired a copy of his reafons againit it ; and fhewed no refentment towards him for his opposition to it. The king would have perfuaded him to withdraw out of the houfe, fince he could not vote for the bill; but, after a decent excufe, he told his majefty, that he thought him- felf obliged in conscience, to flay and (hew his diflent. When the bill parted, he entered his proteft againft it ; and foon after he fent his wife away privately to her- friends is Germany. The king, who loved him for his probity and courage, fent the dukes of Norfolk and Suf- folk, and the lord Cromwell, to acquaint him with the efteem he had for him, and to affure him of his favour, notwithstanding the palling of the. aft. In 268 C R A N M E R." In 1540, the king iffued cut a commiffion, to the ajcli- biihop, and a felect number of biihops, to infpect into matters of religion, and explain fome of the chief doc- trines of it. The bifhops drew up a fet of articles favor- ing the old popifh fuperftitions ; and, meeting at Lambeth, vehemently urged the archbiihop, that they might be eftabhfhed, it being the king's will and pleafure. But, neither by fear nor flattery, could they prevail upon him to confent to it : no, though his friend the lord Cromwell lay then in the 1 ower, and himfelf was fuppofed to lofe ground daily more and more in the king's affections. He went himfelf to the king, and expostulated with him, and fo wrought upon him, that he joined with the archbiihop againft the reft of the commiflioners ; and the book of articles was drawn and pafied according to Cranmer's judgment. In this year the largeft volume of the Englifn bible was published, with an excellent preface of the archbifliop's prefixed to it ; and the king required all parifhes topro- \ide one of them by the next Afl-kalh'wtide, under the penalty of forty millings a month, till they had got one. The people were alfo charged not to difpute about it, nor to difturb divine fervice by reading it during the mats ; but to read it humbly and reverently for their inftruction. Six of thefe were let up in feveral parts of St. Paul's ; but Bonner, afraid of the effect, poftedup near them an admo- nition, ' that none mould read them with vain glory and 6 corrupt affections, or draw multitudes about them when ' they read them.' - But fuch was the eager defire of the people after this n&w-old treafure (if I might fo fpeak) that great numbers gathered about thofe who read : and fuch as had good voices ufed to read them aloud, in fuc- cefnon, almoft all day long. Many lent their children to fchool, and when they had learned to read, they carried them to church to read the bible. In fliort, the eyes of the people being opened, they began boldly to fpeak a gain ft C R A N M E R. 269 againft thole defines of the church of Rome, which either contradicted or could not be found in the bible ; inlbmuch that Bonner letup a new advertffemeut, threat- ening to take away the bibles, if this ufe were made of them. And upon the complaints he and his brethren prefentcd upon this fubjecl, the free ufe of the fcripturea was afterwards much retrained. After the fall of the lord Cromwell, archbiihop Cran- mer, obferving the reftlels fpirit of his adversaries, and how they lay upon the watch for an opportunity to bring him into trouble ; thought it prudent to retire for a fea- fon, and to live in as great privacy as the duties of his Ration would permit him. Notw ithitanding which, his implacable enemy, bii'hop Gardiner, was daily contriving his ruin ; and he haying procured one Sir John Gofrwicke to ace ufe the archbiihop in parliament, of encouraging novel opinions, and making his family a r.urfery of hereiy and iedition ; divers lords of the privy council moved the king to commit the archbiihop to the Tower, till enquiry ihould be made into the truth of this charge. At length his maieftv refmned fo far to their folicita- tions, as to confent, that if the archbiihop could fairly be proved guilty of any one crime againit either church or itate, he Ihould be fent to prifon : In this the king acted the politician, intending, by thus feemingly giving counte- nance to the profecution, to difcover who wereCranmer's chief aclverfaries, and what was the length of their c'efign againPc him. At midnight he fent a gentleman of his pjrivy -chamber to Lambeth, to fetch the archbiihop; and, n he was come, told him, how he had been daily im- portuned to commit him to prifon, as a favorer of herefy 5 and how far he had complied. The arcbbifliop thanked his majejly £br this timely notice, and declared 'himfelt willing to go to prifon, and irand a trial ; for being con* fcious that he was not guilty of any olTence, he thong 1 * 1 *.. Z 2 that" W C R A N M E R. that the beft way to clear his innocence, and remove all unreafonable and groundlefs fufpicions. The king, admiring his fimplicity, told him, he was in the wrong to rely fo much on his innocence ; for if he were once under a cloud, and hurried to prifon, there would be villains enough to fwear any thing againft him ; but while he was at liberty, and his character entire, it would not be fo eafy to fuborn witnefles againft him. ' And therefore, continued he, fince your own unguarded < fimplicity makes you lefs cautious than you ought to * be, I will fuggeft to you the means of your preferva- € tion. To-morrow you will be lent for to the privy* * council, and ordered to prifon ; upon this you are to J requeft, that fince you have the honour to be one of the 4 board, you may be admitted unto the council, and the * informers againft you brought face to face ; and then, * if you cannot clear yourfelf, you are willing to go to * prifon : If this reafonable requeft is denied you, appeal * to me, and give them this fign, that you have my * authority for fo doing.' Then the king took a ring of great value off his finger, gave it to the archbiihop, and difmifledhim. The next morning, the archbifhop was fummoned to the privy -council ; and, when he came there, was denied admittance into the council-chamber. When Dr. Butts, one of the king's phyficians, heard of this, he came to the archbiihop, who was waiting in the lo£>by amongft the footmen, to mew his refpect, and to protect him from infults. The king foon after fending for the doctor, he acquainted his maje% with the fharaeful indignity put upon the archbiihop. The king, incenfed, that the Primate of all England mould be ufed in {o con- tumelious a manner, immediately lent to command them to admit the archbiihop into the council-chamber. At his entrance he was faluted with an heavy accufation, of having infected the whole realm with herefy ; and com- manded C II A.N M E R, 271 manned to the Tower, till the whole of this charge was thoroughly examined. The archbiiliop defired to fee the informer- againft him, and to have the liberty of defend- ing himfelf before the council, and not to be lent to pri- fon on bare" fufpicion- But when this was abfolutcly denied him, and finding that neither arguments nor in- treaties would prevail, he appealed to the king ; and producing the ring he had given him, put a wop to their proceedings. When they came before the king, he feverely reprimanded them, expatiated on his obligations to Cran- mer for his fidelity and integrity, and charged them, if they had any affection for him, to exprefs it, by their love and kindnefs to the archbiiliop. Cranmer, having efcan- Cu the fnare, never mewed the lean: refentment for the injuries done him; and, from this time forward, had vo great a ihare in the king's favour, that nothing rhrtber was attempted again-it him. The archhiihop's vicar- general and regiter, being found negligent and dilatory, the king Cent doctor Lee privarely to Canterbury, to examine into this conspiracy againft the archbimop, and make his report of what he could difcover. On a ftrict enquiry, he found letters from bifliop Gardiner's fecretary, by which it appeared, that that prelate had been the principal promoter of this profecution againft Cranmer. When thebiihopof Win- chefter perceived, that his defigns againft the archbiiliop were detected, fearing the confequence, he wrote him a very penitent letter, in which he acknowledged himfelf to have been guilty of great folly in giving credit to thofe ftanderous reports, which were railed againit the arch- biiliop, as if he had been a favourer of herely and faife doctrines; declaring, that he was now entirely fatis6ed, that thefe accufat ons were wholly falfe and groundlefs ; alking pardon in moft fubmiffive and affectionate terms, for his great raihnefs and undutifulnefs, and prorn : fmg all future obedience and fidelity to the archbiiliop, whom he / 272 C R* A N' M E' R. on he fliled his good and gentle father. On the- reception of this letter, the archbifhop, laying aiide all refentment againft him, refolved to forget what was pad; and faid, fifcce Gardiner called him father, he would prove a father to him indeed.: And when the king would have laid the biihop of Winchester's letter before the houfe of lords, Cranmer. prevailed with him, not to give the biihop any- trouble about it, but to let the matter drop. The iaKie lenity he ihewed towards doctor Thornton, the fn-fragan of Dover, and doctor Barbar ; who though entertained in his family, and entrutted with his fecrets, and indebted to him for many favours, had ungratefully confpired, with Gardiner, -to take away his life- When he nrft discovered their treachery, he took them afide into his ftudy, and telling them that he had been bafely and falfiy abufed by fome, in whom he had always repoi- ed the greater!- confidence, dcfired them to ad vile him, how he ihould behave himiclf towards them. They, not. i'nfpecting to he concerned in the queftion, replied, that inch vile abandoned villains ought to be proferuted with the utmoft rigor : nay, deferved to die without mercy. At this the archbifhop, lifting up his hands to heaven, cried out, " Merciful God, whom may a man trull!" and then pulling out of his boibm the letters, by which he had difcovered their treachery, aiked them if they knew thofe papers- When they law their own letters produced againft them, they were in the utmoft confufion, and, falling down on their knees, humbly fued for forgivenefs. 1 he archbifhop told them, that he forgave them, and would pra\> for them ; but that they rnuft not expect him ever to truft them for the future. Thus much may fuffice concerning the clemency and charitable forgiving temper of the archbifhop. He was much blamed by many for his too great lenity ; whi was thought, encouraged the popiih faction to make frefh attempts againft him. And C R A N M E R. 273 And new thearchbifhop, finding the juh&ure fomewhat favourable, argued againit the fangninary aft of the fix. articles, in the parliament houfe, and pre (Ted for a mitiga- tion of its feveritv ; and made fuch an imprefiion on the king, and the temporal lords, by his flrong and perfua- iive reaicning, that they agreed to moderate the rigour of the fhitute. Soon after, the king prepared for an expedition agahril France, and ordering a litany to be faid for a bleilingon his arms, the archbilbop prevailed with him to let it be let; forth in Englilh ; the fervice in an unknown tongue mak- ing the people negligent in coining to church. This, with the prohibition of ibme fuperftitious and unwarrantable cuftoms, touching vigils and the worflrip of the crofs,was all the nron-refs the reformation made, during; the reign of king Henry : For the intended reformation of the canon law, was, by the craft of bifhop Gardiner, fuppref- fed for reafons of date ; and the king, towards the latter end of his life, feemed to have a ftrong bias towards the popifh fuperftitions, and to frown on all attempts for a reformation. On the 28th cf January, 1546, king Henry departed this life ; and was fucceededby his fon Edward, who was godfon to the archbiihop, and had been inftructedby men who favoured the reformation. Archbifhop Cranmer was one of thole, whom the late king had nominated for his executors, and who were to take the adminiitration of the government into their hands, till king Edward was eighteen years old. The late king, who died in the Roman communion, (though his imperfections are fo freely charged on the reformation by the papifts) had, in his will, left fix hundred pounds per annum, formaffes for his foul, with provilion for four foleuin obits every year ; but, by the ^influence of the archbifiiop, this, fuperftitious part of his will 274 C R A N M E R. will, notwithftanding his ftritt and folemn charge for its execution, was neglected. On the 20th of February, the coronation of king In- ward was folemnized at Weftminfler Abbey. The cere- mony was performed by archbifhop Cranmer, who made an excellent "fpeech to the king; in which, after a cenfure of the papal encroachments on princes, and a declaration, that the ibJemn ceremonies of a coronation add nothing to the authority of 'a prince, whole power is derived imme- diately from God; he goes on to inform the king of his duty, exhorts him to follow the precedent of good jofias, to regulate the worlhip of God, to fupprefs idolatry, re- ward virtue, execute juftice, relieve the poor, reprefs violence, and puniih the evil doer. This fpeech had fo good an efFeft on the young king, that a royal vifitation was refolved on, to rectify the dif- orders of the church, and reform religion. The viiitors had fix circuits aingned them ; and every divifion had a preacher, whole bufmefsit was to bring off the people from fuperftition, and difpofe them for the intended alte- rations. And to make the impreflions of their doctrine more lafcing, the archbifhop thought it highly expedient to have ibme homilies compofed ; which mould, in a plain method, teach the grounds and foundation of true reli- gion, and corre& the prevailing errors and fuperftitions. On this head he confulted the bifhop of Winchefter, and defired his concurrence ; but to no purpofe : For Gardi- ner, forgetting his large profefTions of all future obedience to t'.ie archbifhop, was returned with the dog to his vomit, und wrote to the protector, to put a Hop to the refor- mation in its birth. "When Cranmer perceived that Gar- diner was obftinate, he went on without him, and fet forth the firft book of homilies, in which himfelf had the chief hand- Soon after, Erafmus's paraphrafe on the New Teftament was translated, and placed in every church for the initruclion of the people. On C R A N M E R. 275 On November 5, 1547, a convocation was held at St. Paul's, which the archbifhop opened with a fpeech ; in which he put the clergy in mind of applying them (elves to the ftudy of the holy fcriptures, and proceeding accord, ingto that rule, in the throwing oil the corrupt innova- tions of popery. But the terror of the fix articles being a check on the majority, the\ ac painted the archbiihop with their fears ; who, reporting it to the council, pre- vailed to have that act repealed- In tins convocation, the communion was ordered to be administered in both kinds, and the lawfulnefs of the marriage of the clergy affirmed by a great majority. In the latter end of January, the archbiihop wrote to Bonner, to forbid, throughout his diocefe, the ridiculous proceflions, which were ufual in the popiih times, on Candlemas-Day, Aih-W ednefday and Palm- Sunday ; and to caufe notice thereof to be given to the other neighbor- ing bifhops that they might do the fame. He was al fa one of the committee appointed to infpecl the offices of the church, and to reform them according to fcroture and the pureft antiquity : And by them a new office for the holy communion was drawn up, and fet forth by authority. This year was alfo published the archbifhop's catechifm, entitled, " A fhort iniiructiou in Chriitian religion, for ** the lingular profit of children and young people," and a Latin treatife of his, againft unwritten verities. From this catechifm, it is plain, that he had now recovered himfelf from thofe extravagant no v ions of the regal fuore- macy, which he had once run into ; for here he ftrenu- oufly aiTerts the divine com million of biihops and prieils, inlarges on the efficacy of their abiblution and fpiritual cen- fures, and earneiHy wiihes for the reftoringthe primitive penitentiary discipline. In 1550, the archbifhop publifhed his iC Defence cf u fhe true and catholic doctrine of the facrament of the " body a 7 6 C II A N Tvl K M. 4i body and blood of our Saviour Chrift." He had now, by the advice and affiftance of biihop Ridley, overcome thofe ftrong prejudices he had fo long laboured under, in favour -of the corporal prefence • and in this treatife, from i'cripture and reafon, excellently confuted it. The po- pifh party were alarmed at the publication of it ; and loon after two anfwers to it were publifhed, the one writ- ten by Dr. Smith, the other by Gardiner. The arch- biihop defended his book againft them both ; and was al- lowed, by all impartial readers, vaftly to have the fupe- riority in the argument. The archbiihop's book was afterwards translated into Latin, by fir John Cheke, and was highly eiteemed by all learned foreigners, for the great knowledge in fcripture and ecclefialtical antiquity therein difcovered- The next material occurrence relating to the archbi- fhop, was the publication of the forty-two articles of reli- gion ; which, with the afiiftance of biffcop Ridley, he drew up for prefer ving and maintaining the purity ^nd unity cf the church. They were alio revifed by feveral other bilhops and learned divines ; and, after their corrections, farther enlarged and improved by Cranmer. Thefe arti- cles were agreed to in convocation in 1552, and in 1553 were publilhed bv royal authority, both in Latin and Englim. The archbiihop had formed a defign, in the reign of the late king Henry, to review and purge the old canon law from its popiih corruptions, and had madefome pro- grefs in the work: But by the fecret artifices of Gardincr •and others, that king was prevailed upon not to counte- nance or encourage it. In this reign he refumed his de- fian, and procured a commiilion from the king, for him* felf, with other learned divines and lawyers, diligently to- examine into the old church-laws ; and to compile fuch a body of laws as they thought moll expedient to be prac- ticed in the. ecclefialtical courts, and rnoft conducive to order e R A N M E R. 177 order and good dikipline. The archbifhop profecuted this noble undertaking with great vigour, and had the principal hand in it : But when a correct, and complete draught of it was iinilhed and prepared for the royal alien?, the unhappy death of the good young king Wafted this great defign, and prevented its confirmation. The book was pubhlhed by archbilhop Parker, in the year 15 71, entitled, Reformatio kgum ecch'fiaj tic arum. Kino- Edward was now far gone in a confumption, not without fome ftrong fufpicions of being brought into that condition by flowpoiion ; aiul, finding himfelf decay apace began to think of fettling the fucceilion. He had been perfuaded by the artilices of the duke of Northumberland, to exclude his fillers, and to bequeath the crown to the lady Jane Grey, who was married to Northumberland's fon. This, the duke pretended, was abfolutely neceifary for the prefervaiion of the reformed religion, which would be in great danger from the fucceilion of the princefs Mary. The archbifhop did his utmoft to oppofe this alteration of the CuccefliOn : He argued againll it with the king, telling him, that religion wanted not to be de- fended by fuch unrighteous methods; that it was one of the grofs errors of the papiib, to juftifythe excluding or depoling princes from their juffc* rights, on account of religion : But his majeity, being over-perfuaded by Northumberland's agents, was not to be moved from his refolution : The will was made, and fubferibed by the council and the judges. The archbilhop was fent for, lafr. of all, and required to fubferibe : He was, after many perfualions, prevailed upon to refign his own private fcruples to their authority, and at lait, not without great reluccancy, he fet his hand to it. On the fixth of Jnly, in the year of our Lord 1553, it pleafed Almighty God to take to himfelf this pious and good prince, king Edward ; and the archbilhop, having fubferibed to the king's will, thought himfelf obliged, A a by 278 CRANMER* by virtue of his oath, to join the lady Jane. But her ihort-lived power ibon expired, and queen Mary's title was univerfally acknowledged, and fubmitted to* Not long after her accellion, a falfe report was raifed, that archbilhop Cranmer, in order to make his court to the queen, had offered to reitore the Latin fervice, and that he had already faid mafs in his cathedral church of Canterbury. To vindicate himfelffrom this vile and bafe afperiion, the archbilhop pnbliiled a declaration, in which he not only cleared himfelf from that unjuft im- putation, but offered publicly to defend die Englifh liturgy, and prove it confonant to fcripture, and the purelt anti- quity ; and challenged his enemies to a deputation. This declaration foon fell into the hands of the council, who fent a copy of it to the queen's comroifhoners ; and they immediately fent for the archbilhop, and questioned him about it. Cranmer acknowledged it to be his ; but complained that it had, contrary to his intent, ftolen abroad in fo imperfect a condition : For his deilgn was to review and correct it, and then, after he had put his feal to it, to fix it up at St. Paul's, and on all the church- doors in London. This bold and extraordinary anfwer fo irritated them, that they fent him, within a week, 'to the Tower, there to be confined, till the queen's pleafure concerning him was known.. Some of his friends, who forefaw this ilorm, had advifed him to confult bis fafety, by retiring beyond fea ; but he thought it would reflect a great dishonor on thecaufe he had efpoufed, if heihould ileiext his ftatkm at fnch a time as -this ; and chofe rather to hazard his life, than give fuchjuit caule of fcandal ?.nd oFente. The fubftance of this remarkable paper was as follows \ That be found the devil was, more than or- dinary, bufy in defaming the fervants of God j and that whereas the corruptions of the mafs had been caft out, and the Lord'*? Supper was again fet. up, according to its £rft iniiitution ; the devil now, to promote the mafs, which CRANMER. 27$ 4hich was his invention, fet his inftruments on work, who gave it out, that it was now laid in Canterbury by the archbilhop' s order : Therefore he protefted, that ic was falfe, and that a diflembling monk (meaning Thorn- ton, fuifragan biihop of Dover) had done it without his knowledge. He alio offered, that he and Peter Martyr, with four or five more whom he would name, were ready- to prove the errors of the mafs, and to defend the doc- trine and fervice fet forth by the late king, as moil con- formable to the word of God, and to the practice of the ancient church for many ages. In the middle of November, archbifhop Cranmer was attainted by the parliament, (which in thoie times yielded to any thing, and to every thing) and adjudged guilty of high treailm, at Guildhall. His fee was hereupon declared void : Archbilhop Cranmer wrote a very fubmiffrve letter to the queen ; in the molt humble manner acknowledging his fault, in contenting to fign the king's will ; acquaint- ing her, what prelling instances he made to the king againft it ; and excufing his fault, by being over-ruled by the authority of the judges and lawyers, who. he thought, underftood the constitution better than he did himlelf.- The queen had pardoned fo many already, who had been far more deeply engaged in the lady Jane's ufurpation, that Cranmer could not for ihame be denied ; fo he was forgiven the treaion : But, to gratify Gardiner's malice, and her own implacable hatred againft him for her mother's divorce, orders were given to proceed againft him for heresy. The Tower being full of prifoners, archbilhop Cran- mer, bifliop Ridley, Latimer, and Bradford, were all put into one chamber ; for v/hich they blefled God, and for the opportunity of converting together, reading and comparing the fcriptures, confirming themfelves in the- true faith, and mutually exhorting each other to conftan- ey in profeffing it, and patience in fuffering for it. In aSo CHAN M E R. In April, 1544, the archbiihop, with bifhop Ridley, and bifhop Latimer, was removed from the Tower to Wind- for, and from thence to Oxford^ to difpute with fome fe- lecl; perfons of both nniverfities. At the firit appearance of the archbifhop in the public fchools, three articles were given him to fubicribe : In which the corporal pre- sence, by tranfubftantiation, was afferted, and the mafs affirmed to be a propitiatory facrifice, for the fins of the living and dead. Thefe, he declared freely, he eHeemed grois untruths ; and promifed to give an anfwer concern- ing them in writing. Accordingly he drew it up ; and when he was brought again to the fchools to difpute, he delivered the writing to Dr. Wefton, the prolocutor- At eight in the morning the difputation began, and held till two in the afternoon ; all which time the archbiihop conftantly maintained the truth, with great learning and courage, againfl a multitude of clamorous and iniblent op- ponents. And three days after, he was again brought forth to oppoie Dr. Rarpsfield, who was to refpond for his degree in divinity : And here he acquitted himfielf fa well, clearly fhewing the grofs abfurdities, ^nd inextrica- ble difficulties of the doctrire of tranfubftantiation, that Weilon himfelt, as great a bigot as he was, could not but difmifs him with commendation. On the twentieth of April, Cranmer was brought to St. Mary's, before the queen's commiilioners ; and refill- ing to fubicribe, was pronounced an heretic, and fentence of condemnation was read agaimr him as fuch. Upon which he told them that he appealed from their unjuft fentence andjudgment, to the judgment of the Almighty ; and that he trufted to be received to his prefence in heav- en, for maintaining the truth of whcie fpiritual prefence at the altar, he was there condemned. After this, his fervants were difmiifed from their attendance, and him- felf clofely ccniined in prifon. The C R A N M E R- 281 The latter end of this year a popilh convocation met ; and did archbiihop Cranmer the honour, to order his book of the facrament to be burnt, in company with the Eng- liih bible and common-prayer-book. Cranmer, in the mean time, fpent his melancholy hours in writing a vin- dication of his treatife concerning the eucharift, from the objections of Gardiner; who had publilhed a book agamft it, under the feigned name of Marcus Antonius Condan- •tius. Many learned men of the Romiih perfuafion came to vifit him in priibn, and endeavoured, by deputations and conferences, to draw him over to their church ; but in vain. In 155^, a new commiifion was fent from Rome, for the trial of archbiihop Cranmer for herely; the former fentence againft him being void in law,becaufe the authori- of the pope was not then re-edablimed. The commif- fioners were Dr. Brooks, bifnop of Gloucefter, the pope's delegate; Dr. -Story, and Dr. Martin, doctors of the civil lav/, the queen's commillioners. On September 1?, they met at St. Mary's church; and being feated at the hicdi altar, commanded the archbiihop to be brought be- fore them. To the queen's commimoners, as reprefent- ingthe fupreme authority of the nation, he paid all due reipect ; but abfolutely refufed to (hew any to the pope's delegate, left: he mould feem to make the lead acknow- ledgment of his ufurped fupremacy. Brooks, in a long oration, exhorted him to coniicler from whence he was fallen, advihng him in the mod earned and pathetic man- ner, to return to his holy mother, the Roman catholic church, and, by the example of his repentance, to re- n thefe whom his pad errors had milled. eh he hadfiniihed his harangue, Dr. Martin, in a fhort fpeech, began to open the trial, acquainting the ifli'op with the articles alledged againit him, and re- quiring his anfwer. The articles contained a charge of perjury, incontinence, and hereiy ; the fird, on account cf A a 2 hi J 282 C R A N M E R. his oppofition to the papal tyranny ; the fecond, in refpect to his marriage; and the Jaft, on account of the refor- mation in the late reign, in which he had the chief hand. The archbilhop having liberty to fpeak, after he had re- peated the Lord's prayer and the creed, began with a justification of his conduct, in relation to his renouncing the pope's fupremacy ; the admiflion of which, he proved by many inftances, to be contrary to the natural al- legiance of the fubject, the fundamental laws of the realm, and the original conftitution of the Chriilian church : And in the dole, he boldly charged Brooks with perjury, for fitting there by the pope's authority, which he had folemnly abjured. Brooks endeavoured 10 vindicate him- felf, and retort the charge on the archbilhop, by pretend- ing, that he was feduced by Cranmer to take that oath : But this, the archbilhop told him, was a grofs untruth ; the pope's fupremacy having received the laid blow from his predeceifor, archbilhop Warham ; by whole advice king Henry had fent to both the universities, to examine what foundation it had in the word of God ; to which they replied, and gave it under their leal, that, by the word of God, the fupremacy was vefred in the king, not in the pope ; and that Brooks had then fubfcribed this determination, and therefore wronged him, in pretend- ing that he was feduced by him. At this Brooks was in a great confufion, and cried, ' We came to examine you ; and, I think, you examine us.' Then Dr. Story began to rail at the archbifhop, in an indecent manner, for excepting againft the authority of his judge ; and moved biihop Brooks, to require from him a direcl anfwer to the articles, whereof he flood accufed; or if he continued to deny the pope's authority, and to de- cline anfwering, to proceed to fentence againft him. After this, doctor Martin had a fhort conference with the archbilhop, about his conduct in relation to the fu- prepacy, and the doctrine of the eucharift j and then they proceeded C R A N M E R. 2 3 3 proceeded to denied his anfwer to certain interrogatories concerning the /times laid to his charge; to which he replied in io foil and fat'jsfa&ory a manner, that B thought himfelf obliged to make another fpeech, to off the impreffion his defence might hive made upon the people. The fpeech was much unbecoming the gravity of a bifhop, confifting only offcurrilous and unchriftian railings, and uncouth and ibphiftical mifapnlications of icripture and the fathers* After this, the archbilhop was cited to appear at Rome, within fonrfcore days, and there to anfwer in perfoo : To which he replied, that he would very willingly cortfentj if the queen would give him leave to go to Rome, and juflify the reformation to the pope's face. But this was only a mock citation ; for he Was kept ail that time clofe confined, and yet at the end of fourfcore days was declared contumax, for wilfully ab- fenting himielf from Rome, whither he was legally fum- nioned; and in confequence thereof was degraded, as we ihall fee hereafter. It is worth while to obferve his lad judgment, con- cerning the extent of the regal fupremacy, as contained hi his anfwer to Dr. Martin. When that doctor aiked him, who was fupreme head of the church of England ? the biihop anfwered ; " Chrif: is head of this member, as he is " of the whole body of the catholic church." When the doctor again demanded, whether he had not declared king Henry head of the church? i( Yes, laid the archbi " of all the people in Engl and 1 aswellecclcnaitical astern-* " poral." ' What, fays Martin, and not of the church?' " No, replied the archbilhop, for Chrift only is head of " his church, and of the faith and religion of the fame." In the February following, 1556, a new commiflion was given to bifhop Bonner and bifhop Thirlby, for the degradation of the archbilhop. When they came down to Oxford, the archbilhop was brought before them, and, after they had read their commiiTion from the pope, Bon- ner 23 4 - C R A N M E R. ner, in a fcurrilous oration, infulted over him, after a moft unchriitian manner ; for which he was often rebuk- ed by biihcp Tbiriby, who had been Cranmer's particu- lar friend, and Ihed many tears upon the occafion. In the commifiTion it was declared, that the caufe had been im- partially heard at Rome, the witnefies on both fides were examined, and the archbiPnop's counfel allowed to make the belt defence for him that they could : At the reading this, the archbiihop could not forbear crying out, i( Good " God, what lyes are thefe ! that I, being continually in " prifon, and not fufFered to have counfel or advocate at reat parts, and an uncommon attachment to bocks from his very childhood. It is a moft remarkable circum- fiance, that his rvo aunts, who were born blind, taught him to read. Uihcr ieenis to have been under the tuition of thefe excellent USHER. 2 9 t excellent women till he was eight years old, when he was fent to a fchool opened by Mr. James'Fullerton and Mr. James Hamilton, two learned young gentlemen of Scotland, who were placed at Dublin by K. James the firfl, then only king of Scotland, in order to maintain a correfpondence with the protellant nobility and gentry there, for the fecurity of his intereil in that kingdom, when O; Elizabeth mould die. That great queen, like moll other great politicians, being very fufpicious, and not at all attached to K. James ; it was thought expe- dient for them to aflame fame difguife : And, for this realbn, they took up the profeilion of fchoolmalters, who were then very much wanted in Ireland. Under thefe extraordinary mailers, he continued live years, and was thoroughly grounded in the elements of learning, to which he applied himielf with all thai zeal and {pint, which are uiually the characterises of genius, and which are commonly crowned with fuccefs, even where there is no genius. He ever after mentioned thefe preceptors with honour, and ufed, to the end of his life, to mention this occurrence, as a (ignal and gracious providence of GOD for his education, which, as Ireland then flood, muft otherwife have been very defective. At the expiration of thefe five years, viz. in 1593, and in the thirteenth year of his age, he was admitted in- to the college of Dublin, which was then finiihed. He was one of the three firft itudents, who were admit- ted : And his name (lands to this day in the firfl line of the roll. Here Mr. Hamilton again became his tutor, under whom he fludied logic and the Ariftotelian philofo- phy, and by whom he was celebrated as the moil extra- ordinary youth of his time. He had £0 much acutenefs and proficiency, that he foon came up with his ihftruc- tors. Here alio he firft began to itudy the Greek and Hebrew tongues, in both of which he afterwards excel- led, and made excuriions into the other walks of fcienee. Though 292 USHER. Though his love of poetry and cards retarded his ftudies for fome time, he foon broke through thefe juvenile attachments, and applied to his leverer ftudies with the clofer application. He is faid to have been wonderfully affected with-that paiTage in Cicero, ' To know nothing of what happened before you were born, is to be always a boy.' Sleidan's book c Of the four monarchies' infpired him with aftrong pailion for the ftudy of hiftory, in which he afterwards became fuperlatively excellent. At four- teen years of age, he began to make extracts from all the hiftorical books he could meet with, in order to fix the fads more firmly in his memory ; and between fifteen, and fixteen he had made fuch a proficiency in chronology, that he had drawn up in Latin an exact chronicle of the Bible, as far as the book of Kings, not much differing from his Annals, which have lince been publiihed, and receive;! with the higheft efteem. The difference chiefly confifls in the addition of observations, and the parallel chronology of the heathens. Before he was fixteen, he- had entered upon theological ftudies, and perufed the molt able writers, on both fides, upon the Romifh con- troverfy. Among the Romanifts, he read Stapleton's ' Fortrefs of Faith ;' and finding that author confident in afferting antiquity for the tenets of popery, and in taxing our church with novelty in what it diffented from the church of Rome, he kept his mind in iufpenfe, till he could ex- amine how the truth itood in that particular. He was perfuaded, that the ancient doctrines bade faireft for the right, being nearer the fountain-head, concluding with Tertullian, that < Truth fir ft appeared ;. and afterwards error. ' But he might have fpared himfelf the trouble }a following the windings of the ftream, when GOD's pro- vidence had put it in his power to recur to the fountain it- felf. The Bible is the only authority ; and the fathers or any other writers, are valuable in proportion as they. approach USHER. 293 approach this rule and are conducted by it. Not that there need no formularies and tells ; for the corruptions of language and human chicane, have made thele of im- portance to the fafety and being of any ecclefiaftical eftablifhraent ; and thole perfons are juftly to be fufpec- ted who wifh to throw them alide under pretence of the Bible being the only rule of faith : But thefe formularies are to be received only agreeably to the fcriptures. However, about the feventeenthyear of his age, Ufher had turned over fever al of the fathers, with other au- thors both practical and polemical upon the Subject of divinity, and even at this early age became critically- acquainted with the whole Romifh controverfy. He reSolved to go through all'the fathers by himfelf, and to trull no eyes but his own, if GOD fpared his life and ttrength. Accordingly, he began this talk, in a regular manner, about the twentieth year of his age, and finilhed it when about thirty-eight years old ; ftrictty confining himfelf to read (o much in a day, and differing no occa- lions whatever to divert him from it. In 159S, he held the part of respondent with great applaufe in the philofopby aft, that was performed in compliment to the earl of Effex, upon his firft coming over lord lieutenant of Ireland, and chancellor of the univerfity of Dublin. Our ftudent the fame year, upon the death of his father, who had defigned him for his own profeifion, the common law, difcovered an uncommon degree of reiblution and firmnefs of mind. The paternal eifate, which descended to him as eldeft fon and heir, he refigned, though of confiderable value, to his younger brother : And referving only lb much of it as was necef- fary to Support him in a Studious life a . the college, he followed his own inclination in devoting himfelf to the profeflioil of divinity, and being thereby qualified by the llatiues, he was admitted fellow of the Society. The B b 2 proficiency 294 U S H E Pi. proficiency he made in this ftudy, was anfwerable to his refolution. In the year, 1600, Mr. Uflier was appointed proctor, and chofen catechetical lecturer of the univeriity. In 1 60 1, he entered into holy orders, and. was in a little time appointed afternoon preacher on Sundays before the ftate at Chrift- church in Dublin. In the courie of his duty, he preached a remarkable ferrnon againft granting a toleration to the papifts. The text was from Eze- kiel iv. 6>- — And thou ft alt bear the iniquity of the houfe of Judah forty days : I have appointed thee each day for a year, which he applied to Ireland. " From this year (fays he) I reckon forty years, and them whom you now em- brace ih all be your ruin, and you fhall bear their iniquity. ' ? This conjecture at that time feemed to be the prefent thought of a young man who was no friend to popery ; but when the Irifli rebellion broke out in 1641, and fo many thoufand proteitants were killed, and the whole nation harafled by a bloody war, fome perfons then alive, who heard the fermon, began to think the preacher a young prophet. Our author was remarkable in fome other fuch predictions, infomuch that there is a treatife extant of the Predictions of Uflier. In 1603, a collection of eighteen hundred pounds being made to buy books for his college library, he was- pitched upon, with Dr. Chaloner, to execute that truftv The money was raifed by the Englifh army, after having defeated the Spaniards that had come to the afliftance of the Irilh at Kinafale : And it was refolved by the bene- , factors that thele two fliould be employed to buy the books. They difcharged the truft to the fatisfaction of the donors and the whole college. Our author always teitified the greateft regard for the benefit of the college in every point, as is evident from many of his letters. He was vicechancellor feveral years, and frequently cor- responded with Abbot and Laud, the two fucceeding chan- cellors* USHER. 295 cellors. Mr. Ufher's diligence hi baying books for his college library brought hiuv into Engiany, where he be- came acq: mi i-ited with Sir Thomas Bodley, who being then upon the like employ for his new erected library at Oxford, they mutually a'.Jiited each other. But it feems to have been during his ahfence upon this occalion that His mother was reconciled to the Romiili reltgioo, a misfortune which gave him the rnoit ai/lici i rig concern, and the more as (he continued obitinate therein to the kill, dying at Droghedain the communion of that church. In 1606, the like buiinefs of purchafmg books and manufcripts relating to the Englifh hiftory (in which ftudy our author was then engaged) brought him |gai» into England. He now contracted an intimate acquaint- ance and friendfhip with feveral learned men, and among others, Mr. Camden, which lad deiig-.iing a new edition of his Britannia, confulted with him about publiihing Ninias, St. Patrick, and Congal, and other things relat- ing to the ancient Hate of Ireland and the city of Dublin, a great part of the anfwers to which were inferted in the edition of the Britannia publiihed in 1607, with thiselogy of our author : ' For many of thefe things concerning Dublin I acknowledge myielf indebted to the diligence and labour of James LJiher, chancellor of the church of St. Patrick, who in various learning and judgment far exceeds his years.' The following year, 1607, he pro- ceeded bachelor of divinity, and was choi'en profeiTor of that faculty in his college. He was alfo promoted to the chancellorfhip of the cathedral of St. Patrick the lame year. This place was conferred upon him by Dr. Adam Loftus, then archbifhop of Dublin. It was his firit ec- clefiaftical preferment ; he had no other till his promo- tion to the bifhoprick of Meath. Dr. Parr obferves, that though he had no particular obligation by this pofr. to preach, yet he would not omit it in the place whence he received the profits, viz. Finlafs, not far from Dublin, which 296 USHER. which he endowed with a vicarage, and preached there every Sunday, unlets hindered by very extraordinary oc- eafions* In 1609, he wrote his treatife about " Her- niage and Corban Lands/' not only in Ireland, but in England, whither he came a third time this year to buy books, and confult manufcripts upon the fubject of hif- tory and antiquities. In which fearch hevifited, among others, the libraries in both the univerfities, and contrac- ted an acquaintance with moil of the literati in that way there. In the fame manner he continued ever after to make ence in three .or four years a vifit to London, palling one month of his ftay in the fummer at Oxford, and another at Cambridge. Thus eager ki the pnrfuit of knowledge, lie declined rheprovcilfhip of his college to which" he was elected in 16.10. Two years afterwards he commenced D. D. and the next year, 161 3, being at London, he publifhed his firft treatife of the Chriftian Church; it was prefented by arehbifhop Abbot to K. James, as the emi- nent firft-fruits of Dublin univerfity. This piece is a continuation of bifhop Jewel's Apology, written in an- i\ver to that captious question of the papifts, Where was your [proteftant] rtligion before Luther F The defign therefore is to prove, that the proteftant tenets are the fame with thofe of the primitive church, in executing which Jewel (hews, that there alio were fome vifible members of this church down to the fixth century, which is here extended to the thirteenth bj our author, who further proves that there were fome perfons in the weft- ern churches, during the darkeft times of ignorance, not tainted with the errors of the Romifh faith. It is divid- ed into three parts : The firft reaches to the tenth cen- tury, when Gregory VII. was raifed to the popedom. The fecond was to have reached from that period to the year 1370. And the third' was planned to. bring it to the reformation. USHER. 297 reformation. The 1 aft edition of 1687, contained like* wife his Antiquity of the Britilh Churches. Returning home a little before MidfuniHier, he mar- ried Phoebe, the only daughter of Dr. L; ike Chaloner. She continued his wife forty years, and was always treated by him with great tendernets to her death, which preceded his about a year and a half. In 1 61 5, he drew up articles of religion for the church of Ireland; which being intirely Calvinistical, in refpect to the doctrine of abfolute predeftination and re- pronation, a handle was made of this ilep to endeavour the ruin of his intereft with K. James, by re.-rei ling him as inclined to puritanifm ; but the impotent malice turned (as is not unufual in fuch cafes) greatly to his ad- vantage. For coming, as his cuftom was, to England, in the latter end of the year 1619, he brought a letter to the privy-council to clear him of that charge ; and he afterwards gave the king, in difcourfe, fuch intire fatis- faclion in the point, that the biihopric of Meath being then vacant, his majefty of his own accord nominated him thereto in 1620 ; foon after which, he preached before the houfe of commons, on February 20 y that year, and printed his fermon at their requeft. He was confecrated to his fee on his return home the following year. In 1622, he publiihed, at Dublin, histreatife concerning The Religion of the ancient Iriih and Britons* In June. 1623, ne was constituted a privy- coun fell or of Ireland; and went not long after to England, by his majefty's fpecial command, in order to carry on a work, which he had begun fome time before, concerning the antiquity of the Britilh churches. This bufmefs keeping him there till the death of Dr. Chriftopher Hampton, archbiihop of Armagh, in January 1624, -made way for his advancement to that fee, upon which occalion he pre- pared to return to Ireland; but being ieized with a quartan ague, which held him nine months, it was An- gull 2c$ USHER guft 1626, when he arrived there. Before he left Eng- land, he had a deputation with a popiih prieft at Dray- ton in Northamptonihire, the feat of lord Mordaunt, afterwards earl of Peterborough, who thereby became a convert to the proteitant religion. He was fcarce recov- ered from his ague, when lord Mordaunt, a zealous Roman catholic, being greatly defirous to bring his lady into the pale of that church, concluded, that there could be no better or more certain way of bringing it about, than to procure a deputation to be held between two learned and principal perfons, one of each fide, at which his lady mould be prefent. In that refolution he chofe, for the champion of his own caufe, the jefuit Beaumont. Againit this antagonifl lady Peterborough chofe our Pri- mate, who, notwithstanding his health was not fuflkient- ly confirmed to engage in fuch a taik, yet from the ar- dent zeal for the reformed doctrine, with which he was conftantly animated, and to fave a foul from falling into the wiles of an artful jefuit, he did not refufe to comply with her ladyfhip's requeft. The place appointed for holding the difputation was my lord ? s feat at Drayton in Northamptonshire, a place very proper for the buiinefs, as being furniilied with a moil copious library of the writings of all the ancient fathers of the church, which were ready at hand, if it ihould happen (which is ordina- rily the cafe) that any of them ihould be referred to in the engagement. The heads of the difpute were agreed to be upon tranfubilantiation, the invocation of faints, of images, and the perpetual vifibility of the church. After it had been held for three days, five hours each day, in which our primate fuftained the part of refpondent, that office for the fourth day lay upon Beaumont, according to the regulation fettled by himfelf. But no jefuit then appeared. On the contrary, he fent a letter to the ba- ron, with an excufe for the default, alledging, ' That all the arguments which he had formed had flipt* out of his U S II E R. 299 his memory, nor was he able by any effort to recollect them ; imputing the caufe of the misfortune to a juit judgment of GOD upon him, for undertaking of his own accord, without the licence of his fuperiors, to engage in a difpute with a perfon of fo great eminence and learn- ing as the primate.' Such a ihameful terglverfation funk deeply into the mind of lord Mordaunt, fo that, after fome conferences with the primate, he renounced popery, and continued in the profeflion of the proteftant faith to the end of his life. Being now at the head of the Irifh church, he omitted nothing which might either reform the abufes, or relieve the wants of it, both in regard to doctrine and difcipline. For that purpofe he made frequent perfonal viiitations, admoniihing thofe of the clergy whom he found faulty, and giving excellent advice and directions to the reft, charging them to ufe the liturgy of the church in all pub- lic administrations, and to preach, and catechife diligent- ly in their refpective cures, and to make the holy fcrip- tures the rule as well as the fubject of their doctrine and fermons. He alfo endeavoured to reform the proctors, apparitors, and other officers of the eccleiiaiTical courts, where there were many great complaints of abufes and exactions in hie predeceflbr's time ; keeping a watchful eye to defeat the reftlefs endeavors of its neareft and moft dangerous enemies the papifts. In thisfpirit, he oppofed vigoroufly a defign which was fet on foot by them in the winter after his arrival for granting a more full tolera- tion to them. At the fame time obferving the daily growth and increafe of Arminianifm, which was looked on by him as a very dangerous doctrine, he. employed lome time in fearching into the original of the predefti- narian controverfy, and meeting with a curiofity upon that fubject, he publilhed it in 1 63 1 . He publifhed alfo ?nother treatife in 1632, concerning the ancient Irifh Jiurch, containing a choice collection of letters out of leveral 3-00 USHER. feveral ancient manuScripts, and other authors, to and from Irifh biihops and monks, from anno 592 to 11 80, concerning the affairs of the Irifh church; which fhew the great efteem, as well for learning as piety, in which the biihops and clergy of that church were held both at Rome, France, England, and elfewhere : With feveral matters relating to the great controversies of thofe times about the keeping of Eatrer, and alfo every thing relating to the ecclefiaftical discipline and jurisdiction of the church of that kingdom. All this while he kept a correspondence in all countries for the advancement of learning, whereby among other tilings, he had procured in 1634 a very good copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch from the Eaft ; beiides one of the Old Teftament in Syriac, and other valuable manuScripts. It was one of the flrfl of thofe Pentateuchs that ever were brought into thefe weftern parts of Europe, as Mr. Selden and Dr. Walton acknowledge; and the Syriac Teftament was much more perfect than had hitherto been feen in thefe parts. The other manufcripts were procured by the means of one Tvlr. Davies, then a mer- chant at Aleppo. The archbimop collated the Samaritan with the Hebrew, and marked the differences ; and not- withstanding the aforementioned neceflary avocations in the diScharge of his epifcopal office, he proSecuted his Studies with indefatigable diligence, the fruits of which appeared in 1638, w hen he published at Dublin, in 4to. his Emmanuel, or a Treatife on the Incarnation of the Son of GOD ; which was followed by his Antiquities of the Britifh church in the enfuing year. This hiftory contains a moSt exact account of the BritiSh church : From the fir ft planting of chriftianity in twenty years after our Saviour's crucifixion, he brings it down both in Britain and Ireland, to the end of the Seventh century. In the beginning oS 164c, he came into England with his family, intending {as before) to return in a.year or two USHER. 301 Two at fartheft. Soon after his arrival he went to Ox- ford for the more convenience of purfning his (Indies ; Bin theie were unhappily interrupted by the urgent necef- fity of the times, which put him upon writing fome pie- ces that were publilhed at Oxford in 1 641, on thefubjecl: of epifcopacy : The defign is to prove, from Actsxix. 17. iupported by Rev. ii. 1 . and confirmed by ecclefiaftical hiftory, that biihops and metropolitans were initituted by the apoftles ; meaning only with regard to their fuperi- prity in degree ; for he did not hold epifcopacy to be a Superior order to prefbytery. He alfo endeavours to prove, that the bilhop of Ephefus was not only the me- tropolitan of the Proconfular Afia, but the primate or Exarch of all the provinces that were comprehended with- in the compafs of the whole Afian dioceie ; and that he acled fuitably to the patriarchal jurifdidion, which was in effect conferred upon him. In the profecution of the argument he ihews : 1. That the Stars de ( *_ribed in the Revelations are the angels of the fevcn churches. 2. That thefe angels were the feveral bifhc^s ofthofe churches, and not the whole college of prelbyters. 3. That each of theie feven churches was at that time a metropolis. 4. That theie biihops were ordained by the apodles as conitant permanent officers in the church, and fo in a fart jure divlm, not to be difpenfed with except in cafes of neceffity. Thefe tracls were printed, with others upon the fame fubjecc, under the following title : " Certain brief Treatifes, written by diverfe learned Men, concerning the ancient and modern Government of the church, wherein both the primitive Institution of Epifcopacy is maintained, and the lawfulnefs of the Or- dination of Proteftant Mi miters beyond the Seas likewife defended. Oxford, 1641, 4to." In the rebellion which broke out this year in Ireland the. popifh party made fpoil of all the effects of. the Pri- mate, except fome furniture in his houie at Drogheda c c and 3 o2 V S H E R. and his library there, which were conveyed thence to Chefvcr. Thus deprived End plundered, he never more few hit. native country, ar.'d had the biihoprick of Carlifle lately vacant by the death of Dr. Potter, given him by the king to hofij in commendam ; but the revenues of it v ere much in v aired by the quartering of the Scotch and Frglilh armies upon it : Neither did he above once or f.\ ice receive the annual penfion of four hundred pounds voted to be given him by the parliament, upon their feizing the bifiiop's lands. In 1642, he returned to Oxford, where, befides his .clofe application to ftudy, he preached every Sunday at fome of the churches. The following year he was no- minated one of the affembly of divines at Weftminiter, but was fofar from complying to it, that he even fpoke againft their authority in fome of his fermons ; upon which he was not only voted out again, but his library feized by the parliament ; yet he met with fome friends who re- deemed it. Upon the decline of the king's affairs, Ox- ford being threatened with a fiege, he left that city, and retired to CaerdifFein Wales to the houfe of Sir Timothy Tyrrel, who had married his only daughter, and was then governor of that garrifon, and general of the ord- nance. Having brought many chefts of books with him, he profecuted his ftudies here undifturbed for fix months, and made a good progrefsin the firft part of his Annals : Till this garrifon was unfurniihed for the king's fervice, and his fcn-in-law obliged to give up his poll:, and quit the pkice. In this exigence, he very gladly accepted of an invitation from lady dowager Stradling to come to the rafile at St. Donate. But in patting thither, he unlucki- ly fell into the hands of the mountaineers, who ilript him of all his books and papers, which yet were afterwards, in a great nieafure, recovered by the kindnefs of the cler- gy and gentlemen of that country ; and he met with an excellent library at St. -Donate, which he did not- neglect to U S II E R. 303 to make ufe of while he was able ; but within a month after his arrival, he was feized with a fit of ficknefs, which reduced him to the laft extremity- Alter his recovery, he went to London by the invitation of the countefs of Peterborough, at whofehoufe he arrived in June, 1646; and, in the beginning of the next year, was chofen preacher to the fociety of Lincoln's-Inn. The ibciety ordered him handfome lodgings/ ready furnithed, and fe- veral rooms for his library, which was about this time brought up from Chefter, being almoit all the remains of hisfubftance that had efcaped the rebels. Mr. (after- wards lord chief juftice) Hale was then a bencher of the fociety, and probably had the chief hand in procur- ing him this place; and it happened that the fociety was well rewarded for it by that treafure lodged in this libra- ry by the lord chief juftice in four volumes, which were extracted from the Primate's manufcripts ; of which Dr. Parr has fubjoined to his life of the Primate a catalogue, confiftingof thirty-three very curious books. This year he publiihed his treatife De Romans Ecclefieen reading PI utarch, and the like authors ; But, after having t amply k d difcourfed 3*4 B E Z A. difcourfed on the fubject of the new king of England, he would often aik, in the fame converfation, whether it was true that £). Elizabeth was dead. His laft fermou was preached in January, 1600, when he was eighty -one years of age, on thefe words ; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven* In his laft illnefs he was afflicted with tedious watchings, lying awake all the night; but he fweetened the time by holy meditations : And (peaking to his friends of it, he ufed the words of the pfalmift : My reins alfo injiru6i me in the night feafon* I have fet the Lord always before me* In his favour is life. My foul is fatisfiedds with marrow and fatnefs, when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches* He often uied the words of the apoflle ; We are his workman- Jhip, created in Chriff Jefus to good works* Likewife thofe of St. Auguftine ; i I have lived long, I have finned long : * Bleffed be the name of the Lord.' He often repeated the following prayer ; " Cover, Lord, what has been : " Govern what mall be.. O perfect that which thou haft i( begun, that I fufFer not fhipwreck in the haven.'-' Likewife from Bernard : ? Lord, we follow thee, through * thee, unto thee : We follow thee, becaufe thou art the c truth ; through thee, becaufe thou art the way : and to 4 thee, becaufe thou art the life.' — On the Lord's day in the morning, October 13, herofe and prayed with his fa- mily ; and then defiring to go to bed again, he fat down on the fide of the bed and afked ; " if all things were " quiet in the city ?" — He was anfvvered, ' They were. 5 And being perceived to be near his end, a minifter was lent for and immediately came; and while he was praying with him, Beza, without the leaft pain or noife, yielded up his fpirit to GOD, in the year 1605, aged eighty-fix years, three months, and nineteen days,. Beza in his younger years, after the Lord had touched his heart by the word, was one day in the church of Cha- renton, where he providentially heard the ninety-firft Pfalm B E £ A. 315 1 Pfalm expounded. It was followed with fuch power to him, that he not only found it Tweet at prefent, but was enabled to believe that the Lord would fulfil to him all the promifeo of that Pialm. At his death, he declared to his chriftian friends, that he had found it fo indeed ! That as he had been enabled toclofe with the fecond verfe, in taking rhe Lord for his GOD, and got a fure claim that he ihould be his rtfuge and fort refs ; fo he had found re- markably in the after changes of his life, that the Lord had delivered him from the fn are of the fowler \ for he had been in frequent hazard by the lying in wait of many to enihare him : And from the noifome pefiilence ; for he was fometimes in great hazard from the peitilence, in thofe places where he was called to relide. And amidft the civil wars which were then fc hot in France, he had molt convincing deliverances from many imminent hazards, when he was called to be prefent fometimes with the- proteitant princes upon the field, where thoufands did fall about him. And thus, when near his end, he found that Pialm fo obfervabiy verified, on which he was cauied to hope, that he went through all thefe promifes, declar- ing the comfortable accomplifhment of them. How he had found the Lord giving his angels charge over him, of- ten answering him when he called itpon him ; how he had been with him in trouble, had delivered him, and had fatis. fed him with long life* w And now (fays he), I have no " more to wait for, but the fulfilling of thefe laft words " of the Pfalm, / will fljexv him my falvation ; which with confidence I long for." He was a robuft man, and of a ftrong constitution ; and, what is very unufual among hard fludents, never felt the head-ach. In his laft will he exprefled his thankfulnefs, " That " GOD had called him to the knowledge of the truth at 11 iixteen years of age ; though he walked not anfwera- P bly to it, till the Lord in mercy brought him home and * 6 carried 3*6 B E Z A- " carried him to Geneva, where under that great man " Calvin, he learned Chrift more fully : That having " returned to Geneva, after many dangers, he was there " chofen paftor, while he deferved not to be one of the " fheep : That not long after, he v/as made colleague " with that excellent man, John Calvin, in reading di- " vinity ; and that God had preferved him in manifold " dangers." He never had any children ; and he left Catharine de la Plane, his wife, who fupported his old age, and placed all her glory in taking the greatelt care of him for feventeen years, fole heirefs of his eftate at Geneva. Ke was interred in St. Peter's cloifter, and not in the bury- ing-place of the Plein-palaix ; becaufe the Savoyards gave out, that they would take up his corps, and fend it to Rome. Beza was a man of extraordinary merit, and very m- ftrumenfal in conducting the reformation. Be was looked upon as the chief of the protectants of France and Switzerland. The Romanifts commonly called him the Hugbnot pope : And pope Sixtus V. caufed tvo confer- ences to be held, at which himfclf waspreient, to delibe- rate about the means of depriving the protectant party of the great fupport they had in the perfon of Beza. 1 hey would have afia (Filiated, or poifoned him, if it had been hie that any enterprize againfc his perfon could iuc- ceed. What could be faid more to the honour of this mmifter, than the reprefenting him as a man who made the pope and cardinals uneaiy, as to affairs of itate ; for there was no controverfy in the cafe? He wrote a great number of books, particularly the (i Memories of illuftrious perfons, who afiifted in the reformation ; and the ecclefiaftical hifbor.y of the refor- med churches." This laft work is very curious, and ex- tends from 152 1, to the thirteenth of March, 1563. His Annotations upon . the New Teftanient have ever been B E Z A. 317 been much efteemed. Our archbifhop Grindal, to whom Beza prefentecl a copy, gave them very particular com- mendations 1 and indeed, for their learning and piety, they are invaluable. - ^^=====— =====*^==^ FRANCIS JUNIUS. LEARNING to grace is a ufeful handmaid, and by no means to be contemned, particularly not by thole, who becaufe they do not know, affect to defpile her: But learning, when indeed (he affumes the room of grace, makes but a poor and proud mifcrefs, and, inflead of leading the foul to GOD and happinefs, turns it into the world after low and fordid objects. The great utili- ty of learning in proper fubfervience is fully exemplified by the life and conduct of Junius. Before he knew GOD in truth, his great knowledge only led him to confider himfelf: But, after the gracious change had palled upon him, he feemed to value all his attainments from theu'.es. alone to which they might be applied in the caufe of GOD and falvation. This extraordinary man was defcended of a noble fa- mily in Trance, and was born at Bourges in the centre of that kingdom on the firftof May, in the year 1545- His D d 2 mother 3 i8 JUNIUS. mother had a moft difficult labour ; and her life, together with that of her moil: valuable fon, was for fome time quite defpaired of. He was long afterwards fo infirm and weakly, that his friends never expecled his continu- ance to manhood ; though, as it proved, he furvived moft- of his family. His conititutional infirmity was increaied by an exceffive and over-weening care in nurfing ; and, at length, the morbid matter, either the caufe of his inceflant diforders, or the confequence of them, termina- ted in an ulcer of the leg, which, though healed, was always affected by any occurring ailments to the end of his days. Under a very kind and learned father, who gave him as much time as he could fpare, he received the rudiments of his education. His parents did not choofe to venture him at a public fchool, on account of his weaknefs and infirmity. Yet, with all this weight of diforder, in his moft tender age he discovered great wit and parts, and a certain hilarity of difpoiition, which often created much amulement, as well as expectation to his friends. He difcovered early a highfenfe of honour and love of fame, a great quicknefs of temper, and for his age a very folid judgment in matters which came before him, infomuch that his mother ufed jeftingly to lay of him, ' that he ' certainly would be another Socrates. 7 He had likewiie fuch an invincible modelty, that, throughout his life, he appeared to common observers under a peculiar diiadvan- tage, and could fcarce fpeak upon the moft common fub- jects with ftrangers without afuffufion in his countenance. In this refped he feems to have equalled the famous Mr. Addifon, who like wife was at once one of the great- eft fcholars, as well as the moft abaihed and modeft man of his time. About the twelfth year of his -age, Junius quitted the private education of a tender father for the public one c£ a fchool j as a preparation for the ftflidy of the civil law, JUNIUS. 319 law, for which he was defigncd. His friends, indeed, wilhed him for ro profetiue his fortune at court ; but his love of learning and the balhfuhiefs of his temper foon di- verted that deiign. He had the happinefs of impetuous and tyrannical preceptors, who, if his love of letters had not been uncommonly ardent, were fufficient to have ex- tinguifned it ; as hath been too often the cafe in many others. The lead fault or error, which Junius commit- ted (and which the Brft geniufes in the world cannot but commit) in attaining knowledge, was only to be atoned for by {tripes ; and with fuch itupid and illiberal feveritv was this conduct purfucd, that one of the moil hopeful boys of the age was often flogged feven or eight times in a day, and often beat upon the ground too in the harfh- eft manner- Such brutes of teachers are fit only to pre- fide over the galleys, or to difciplme mifcreants in a r.ri- fon, fnftead of training up the tender mind to the love of fcience and truth ! Yet all this did not abate the ardor of Junius's mind for knowledge, nor tempt him once to difclofe his fevere and barbarous ufage to his friends. After fome time, he was removed to Lyons for his far- ther improvement in knowledge- Here he had great lei- fure, and as many books as he could denre, which he began to read with immenfe avidity ; not felfefiing his authors, but taking them indifcriminately as they fell in his way. The prefident of the college, Bartholomew Anulus, obferving this wild purfuit, took an opportunity of hinting to him its impropriety and wafte of time, af- furing him, ' that he would rather injure than inform his * mind by that mode of reading ; that, on the contrary; * he ihould have fome propofed end before his eyes in the ' courfe of his frudies, to which they ihould be princi- ' pally directed ; and that neither the life of man, nor * the mind of man, would iufilce for all kinds of learning 1 at once, but the attempt might ihorten the one while « it 329 J U N I U 3/ 4 it only confounded the other.' This caution he ne\ 7 ei* forgot^ but found it of ufe to him ever afterwards. Lyons was then, as well as fmce, a -very diflblute city • and tiie placing a raw youth there, without the authority of parents or guardians, who could take care of his morals (as was the cafe with Junius), was expofing him .to a torrent of temptations. Two women, in particular, having conceived a regard for his perfon, haunted him with oblique testimonies of their affection, and, forgetting the modeily of their fex, purfued him with their folicita- tions. Whether from averiion to their indecent conduct, or from the natural baihfuinefs of his temper* GOD's providence however preferved him from fedueVion ; and he overcame this temptation. But he fell under a fad temptation of another kind, till the mercy of GOD re- ilored him. This evil was neither more nor lefs than downright Atheiim. into the efpoufal of which he was 'drawn by the fophiftry of a bad companion, and his own uadifcretion or inexperience. Junius was reading Tully's book upon laws, in which the vile proportion of Epicu- rus is cited, < That God is without all care both for his * own affairs, and for thofe of other beings.' His evil counfellor had adopted this maxim, and by every argu- ment of a wicked wit inculcated it upon Junius. He had fo inculcated it, that his young friend became rooted in the principle, and as complete an Atheift as himfelf. For more than a year, did our Atheift maintain his prcfellion, and with fo much opennefs, that it appears to have been known by all who knew him. A tumult that occurred at Lyons, firft fbggered him in his new opi- nion. He was wonderfully preferved in the commotion ; and he began to fee, that there was plainly fomething that looked very much like an over-ruling providence. About the fame time, his father,, bavin g'been informed of the alarming ftate of his fon's mindj fent for him, and, with the utmeft tendernefs, learning, and piety, invited him JUNIUS. 3 ax him to read over the New Teftament with attention, and confer with him upon it. He obeyed his father's direc- tion ; and it pleated GOD to open his eyes to a full view of the abominable notions, which he had aiopted. The firit chapter of St. John's gofpel, which he began upon, was made the happy means of this revolution of mind, lie was (truck with the dignity of the expreilion, and the weight of the matter, lie fays of himfelf, " I " read part of the chapter, and was fo improved with " what I read, that I could not but perceive the divini- " ty of the fubject and the authority and majedy of the " fcriptures, to furpafs greatly all human eloquence. I " Ihuddered in my body with horror at myfelf ; my foul " was aftoniihed ; and I was foitrongly affected all that day, that 1 fcarce knew who, or what, or where I was. But :bou,0 Lord my God, dkitt remember me in thy wonderful mercy, and didil receive a loll and wander- ing fiieep into thy flock ! From that time, when the Lord had granted me fo great a portion of his holy Spirit, 1 began to read the bible, and treat other books- n << a << << a " with more coldnefs and indifference, and to reflect " more upon and be much more converfaot with the M things that relate to falyation.' From that time, the world and its purfuits appeared vain and infipid to Junius ; and the things of GOO and of heaven engaged his whole concern. His father was rejoiced enough at the happy change, but iiill intended hi .1 lor the civil law and human affairs. The inclination of the fon ibared higher ; and, by permiilion and con- lent of his father, he went to Geneva, with a view of iludying divinity and the languages, about the time of thefirft breaking out of the civil war in France. He was difmiffed with a fupply of money, fufficient for his pre- fent occallons ; and his father promiied to remit him in future, what might beneceffary, but was not able through pi j u n i v g, the public commotions. Thus ill-provided with fubfinv ence, he could onlypurchafe four books ; and thefe were, the holy bible, Calvin ? s inditutes, Beza's confeffion, and Cevallerigs's Hebrew grammar ; which engaged him for a year. Within this fpace, he was prevailed upon to- accompany a party, who were making an excurfion into Switzerland, juft when his little ftock was almoft ex- hausted. In this tour, which larted three weeks, Junius made an acquaintance with Mufculus, Haller, Peter Martyr, Eullinger, Farrel, &o who were all at that time in the cantons. When he returned to Geneva he had fcarce any money left, and for leven or eight months afterwards he received none from his friends. His ex- ceihve modefty forbad him to borrow, and therefore he formed a fcheme of living hard. He determined with himfelf to employ one day as a labourer on the fortifica- tions, for his fubfiftence, the other to engage in hi* Stu- dies. What a fight f to look upon a burgher of fordid views and attainments wallowing in the fulnefs of bread, contrailed with one of the moft learned and pious, and valuable of men, deflitute of neceffaries, and working like a flave for thrs burgher's fecurity ! If the faith of Juni- us had not been fecured on the rock, the devil might probably have furniihed him with an argument from hence for his atheifm, by which he has puzzled thoufands. But if providence tried Junius's faith upon this account^ k did not leave him long without a teftimony of its care» For a countryman of his was put in his way, whole mo- ther, being left a widow with a numerous offspring, had often been aiMed in her neceifities by Junius's pa- rents ; and this man very gratefully embraced the op- portunity of acknowledging his obligation. Here indeed was bread f own upon the waters, and found again after ma- ny days. He lodged, he boarded, and did for his benefac- tor's fon, all that was in his power to do. . On the other hand, Junius, feeling for the burden and inconveriiences- whichi j v n i a &. 323 -which his grateful friend chearfully underwent upon his account, endeavoured to make that burden as light as poflible ; and, out of a quick fenfe of delicacy, ahnoft wholly abllained from the food procured by the laborious induitry of his hoft. He abode with him near ieven, months ; and, for four of the ieven, conitantly took care to be from home at dinner-time, which he fpent in walkng, meditation, and prayer. In the evenings he eat a couple of eggs, and drank a fmall cup of the petit inn or low wine, which is the common beverage of that country, as beer is with us ; and all this, that he might not be too chargeable to his kind benefac- tor. His modefty and extreme delicacy, however, coil him dear ; for by this over abitemicus kind of life, he contracted a decline, which almoft dehroyed his tender frame. Providence again interpofed in this emergency ; for, by the alfutance of his friends, and, at length, by the remittance of a fum of money from his father, he was enabled to adopt a better regimen and to life iuch means as wholy recovered him. Mr. Leigh, in his treatife of religion and learning, quotes from Junius himfelf, that he received a mod cour- teous entertainment from a countryman (and perhaps the countryman above-mentioned) in the time of his diitrefs, and adds another circumftance which is wholly omitted by Melchior Adam and other biographers. He relates it ia Junius's own words : "Here (O wonderful wifdom of God!) " my mailer had prepared for me the beft fchool of true u religion I ever found in my life. For God fo wrought " upon my foul by the ardent and zealous piety of this x< poor good man, that a portion of the fame divine fer- " vor was imparted through him to me ; while I, in the u comparifon, a very indifferent chriilian, was made ufe- " ful to him in the communication of other knowledge. fi Upon both of us, at one and the fame time the Lord u beilowed an increafe of his mercy and grace ; upon my « iimple 324 J U N I U S. ** fimple countryman, by enabling me to enlighten lifs "* head; and upon me, by enabling him to kindle a flame ** of zeal in my heart." 1 he tranfparent piety, humi- lity, and mooefty of this acknowledgement needs no com- ment. This man of learning had, through grace, fol- lowed the ap of tie's rule, and became a fool in his own eyes, that be might be wife indeed, not for the puny con- cerns of time and the world, but to everlafting falvation. It being contrary to the plan of life, which Junius's father had intended, that he mould Itudy divinity, he wrote for him to return home. He vvilhed his ion might be religious ; but he did not wim him to be a preacher. This recjuced Junius to a difagreeable dilemma, out of which he was much relieved by the mterpcfition of a pious and learned friend of his father, who explained to him the neceflity of hisfon ? s remaining longer at Geneva, for the fake of his frudies. In the interim, an awful providence determined the affair. At IiToudon in Aqui- tain, a murdering banditti let upon Junius's father, and barbaroudy bereaved him of his life. Upon this fad new s, Junius had no heart to return to his country, but wrote a moft affecling and affectionate letter to his mother, condoling with her upon their mu- tual lofs, and at the fame time begging her to indulge no anxiety upon his account, becaule he was refolved to be no burden to her, but to truft in GOD's blei'ling upon his own induilry for h ; s future maintenance and fupport. In this generous and tender refclution, he took upon him to ailiil in a fchool, under a minifter of the goipel at Geneva ; where, in the day time he taught Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and, for great part of the night, puriued his own proper ftudies in divinity and philofophy. But his feeble conftitution could not endure a long con- tinuance of fuch unremitted labours, which at once emaciated his body, and tended to impair his mind. About this period, the head- m after of the fchool at Geneva died, and the chaplain of the hofpital fucceeded to JUNIUS. -25 to him. Thechaplainfhip was offered to Junius ; but he declined it, parti) left it ftioald hinder his itudies, and partly becaufe he did not wiih to Hk liimlelf for the pre- lent at Geneva. In the year 1565, however, he was made minuter of the Walloon church at Antwerp, which became a troublefome and dangerous (ituation to him. The Spaniards, wlio then poflciled the Lo.< Countries, were about to eltabliih the inquifition, to which the prin- cipal people, of Bruffels in particular, were very averfe, and had a meeting to confer upon the bed mode of pre- venting the erection of that diabolical tribunal. To this meeting our Junius was called, and readily gave his ::ance, both by his prayers and advice. - His wi'cioai always inclined him to moderation ; and he oppofed not the malicious attempts of the papiils, but the un- bridled zeal of his proteftant friends, who were fame- times difpofed to go lengths, which neither religion nor reaibn could juitify. When he returned to Antwerp he publiihed fome " Political Admonitions," which gave great offence to the papiih. A reward was offered for the difcovery and apprehenfion of the author; though, it feems, in this very paper, he had blamed the intem- perance and indifcreticn of the reformed, as well as con- demned the violent proceedings of the Roman catholics. By the ilyle and manner, Junius was fufpected to be the author, and very narrowly cfcaped from the deilgns of his enemies. With all this love of moderation, and his earneii en- deavours to inculcate peace among others, he could find none for himfelf. He was perfeeuted every where, and encountered difficulties and dangers, which way foever he turned. But it pleafed GOD wonderfully to preserve him, for his own glory and the good of fouls. A rape of reformation (as an affair of novelty) among the mob. not the fober zeal of true religion, over-ran the Lo^v Countries about this time, and drave all before it. The E e outr^eo^ 3 26 JUNIUS. outrageous multitudes brake into the churches, and f wept away all the images., and paintings, and every " rag of " the whore of Babylon," before them. All this was done with the furj of madmen, inftead of the orderly fpirit pf Chriftiaus* This conduct difpleafed Junius, who was concerned for the difgrace of the proteitant caufe ; and he, by oppoling it, dii plea fed many among the re- formed, who joined with the papifts themfelves in perfe- .cuting him- Wife and good counfels, oppofed to popu- lar outrage and tumult, are but as declamations to waves in a ftorm, which drown all other founds by their own noife, and dam upon every thing indifcriminately which •refills .them. Men of peace and moderation (and truly religious men muft be fuch) may expect this treatment in all ages. If they will not efpoufe the caufe of a party with the rege of the party ; the furious partizans will not thank them for a fober adherence and advice, but perhaps will be the firft to condemn them. Thus the works of the flejh are mingled with the things of GOD, and are generally fo conducted by the devil, as to bring a difgrace upon them. When Junius afterwards returned to Antwerp, he founjd himfelf excluded from the duties of his profellion, by an ordinance of (late, which enjoined, that, for the prevention of fedition, only two minifters mould be al- lowed to preach there, and thofe two to be natives of the country, who mould take an oath of allegiance to the prince. Junius was .an alien, and could not be natural - zeu 1 he would. From Antwerp he went to Limbourg, but found, like the great apoille, that, wherever he went, perfecutions attended hkn. He loft his library and all his goods by the removal. His labours here were attended with fuch fuccefs, that new and new dangers arofe upon him on every fide. In the mien: of which, he went on as long as JUNIUS. 327 he could with any degree of fafety ; but at laft wal obliged to fly, to preierve his life. While he lived here, he was made atS inilrument of gracious relief to a poor widow, who had been for thir- teen years exerciied with fpiritual conflicts, almoli to defperation. The papiits, imagining that ihe was pof- feiled, plied her with e.x.orcifms : Her friends, believing. her mad, laid on blows and bonds. She broke from her bonds, and tool,; to the woods," avoiding the light of man, leit ihe ihould undergo a repetition of this fort of difcip- line. At length ihe was caught and brbnght to Junius, who footi difcovered the cauie of her diibrder, which arofe from the fear of perdition : And this fear fprang from the exceilive attention and care the had been obliged to pay to her nine fatherlefs children, which had takea her otffrom all religious duties, and in particular fro: 1 the Rials, which ihe had once conilantly frequented. Our Divine, perceiving the difeafe, recurred to the bible for a medicine, from which he ihewed her the vain pagean- try, idolatry, and corruption of the papiitical ndafs, and at the fame time, after laying open the gofpel of falvation to her mind, ihewed to her, that her honeft induftry in behalf of her children was far more acceptable to GOD, being commanded of him, than ten thoufand idle mafTes, wiwch never were commanded. In inert, lie was enabled tc-quiet the woman's horrors, and to give that balm to her conicience, which foon difpelled all her melancholy, to- the no imall aftoniihment of thole who had known her before. After fome time, he made a vifit to his mother and fa-' mily in France ; and from thence returning to Heidel- berg, was appointed minifcer of the church of Schoon. 1 his was but a final! congregation; and, in the follow- ing year, the plague appeared among the people and made it lets. In the interim, he was lent by the elector to the prince of Orange's army, during the unfuaJetsful cam- 32-S j U N I U S. paign of 1568, and continued his chaplain till the elector's troops returned home, when he refumed his church, and continued in it till 1573. The elector feveral times wifhedhim to return to his chaplainlhip in the army, but it was fo much againft Junius'* inclination, that he con- ftantly excufed himfeiffrcm that fervice. He continued labouring, with the divine blefling, in the Palatinate till about the year 1592, and, for fome years before that period, had been engaged with the learn- ed Tremeliius, by the electors command, in a new trans- lation of the Old Teftanient into Latin — a v.crk, which will do them honour, asfcholars and divines, to the end of time. About the year 1581, he had been appointed divinity profeilbr of the univeriity at Heidelberg; and he continu- ed in thatftation, till he took the opportunity of revifit- ing France, his native country, under the patronage of the duke de Bouillon. He was introduced toFenry the fourth, who lent him with a commiifion into Germany, when took an opportunity of paying his grateful refpects to the elector, and of resigning inform his profeffor's chair. In his return to France, he panned through Holland, partly for the fake of his children, and partly for the con- venience of the way and facility of correspondence. When he arrived at Ley den, the univerfity and the magistracy gave him a molt earneft invitation to fix himfelf among them, and offered him the divinity-chair ; which, by the permilfion of the French king (who had been a proteftant and was then believed to be one in difguife), he finally accepted in 1592. In this office he continued till his death, filling it with great reputation for ten years. It was a ftation of labour and eminence ; and he laboured in it by teaching and writing moftincefiantly- At length, GOD was pleated to remove this faithful fervant, after a life of trouble and difficulty, by the plague ; which ra- vaged through Holland,' and had jufl before carried off his U N IJU S. 329 his wife. He died on the thirteenth of October, in the year 1602, and was followed to the grave, with the tears of the univerfity and the concern of all good men. In his lait hours he had great compofure and confola- tion. He died, as he had lived, fall of faith in the fal- vation of Jefus. When the celebrated Francis Gomar, his friend and colleague, viiited him near his end, and propofedfeveralfcriptures to him by way of comfort; he aniwered, " that he gave himfelf up entirely to GOD — " to that GOD who would gracioufly do what was beft " for him and for his own glory. " When his diforder permitted, he fpent his remaining moments in hearing particular pailages of fcripture-read to him, and in pour- ing out his foul in ardent prayers. And when his friend Gomar called upon him on afubfequent day, and exhorted him, { that, in his lait extremity, he would draw for 1 himfelf out of that treafury of comforts, out of which 1 he had fo happily drawn for others ; and that, in par- S ticular, he would remember, that God was his tender 1 father in heaven, ready to receive him ; that Chriitwas ' his Saviour ; that heaven was his country and inherit- ' ance ; that the holy Spirit in his hear: was a pledge of '' all this; that death was only the way to this heaven ' and life immortal ; and that by faith and hope he ' mould rejoice in what was before him ;' Junius very earnefiiy aniwered, " that he well remembered and ob- " i'erved thofe things, which he had taught to others ; f* drat his only conhdence and flay was in the free grace " of God ; and that he was allured, God would perfect (t what remained concerning his future fai anon." Upon being afked, if he had any thing particular to fay about his affairs, he aniwered, " that he could think but very iS iittie of periihing things at that time;" and, afcer lav- ing that in his public duties he had aimed, as far as he could, at the glory of GOD and the good of men, he added, " that with refpect to all other things he entire) v " committed them to the divine providence." E e 2 ( 330 ) Sir MATTHEW HALE, Knt. LD. CH. JUSTICE of the KING's BENCH. THIS great luminary of the law was bora at Aldcr- ly in Glouceflerihire, on the nrft of November, 1 609. Ke was.foon deprived of the happinefs of his father's care and inftrucYion, for as he loft his mother before he was three years old, fo his father died before he was five • thus early was he caft on the providence of GOD,. Great care was taken of his education by his guardian, Anthony Kingfcot, of Kingfcot, Efq \ who intended him for a divine, and, being inclined to the way of thofe cal- led puritans, put him to fome fchools that had mafters of that fide. In the feventeenth year of his age, he was fent to Magdalen-hall in Oxford, where Mr- Obadiah Sedgwick was his tutor. He was an extraordinary pro- ficient at fchool, and for fome time at Oxford : bat the ftage-playens coming thither, he was fo much corrupted by feeing many plays, that he almoft wholly forfook his itudies. By this he not only loft much time, but found that his head was. thereby filled with vain images of things ; and being afterwards feniible of the mifchief of this, he j reiolved upon his coming to London, never to, fee a j play I HALE. play again, to which he conitantiy adheri cor- ruption of a \oung man's mind, in one partici rally draws on a great many more after it ; fo He now taken off from iris ftucUc.% and from the portnient, which was formerly eminent in far beyond his years, fet himielf to many vai incident to youth, but flill preferred his outward pari:/, with great probity of mind. Pie loVed fine clothes, and delighted much in company : And being of a robuil body, he was a great matter at all thn'e exercifes that required much ftrength. He alio learned to fence, and became fo expert that he wonted many matters of thofe arts. He now was fo taken with martial matters, that in- ftead of going pn in his dehgn of being a fcholar or a divine, he refolded to be a foldier : And his tuto: . Obadiah Sedgwick, going into the Low Countries chaplain to the renowned lord Vere, he refolved to ?q along with hin], and to trail a pike in the prince of Orange's army ; but a happy (top was put to this refoltftion, which . have proved {o fatal to himfelf, and have deprived the age of the great example he gave, and the bfeful far he afterwards did hi:- country. He was engaged m a fuit of law, and was forced to leave the univerhty, after he had been there three fears, and 20 to London. He was recommended toferjean* Glanvtlle for his coimfeilor, and he observing in him a clear apprehension of things, and a iblid judgment, and a great fitnefs for the ftudy of the law, took pains to periuade him to forfake the thoughts of being a foldier, and to apply to the feud y o c the law. He was prevailed on, and on the eighth of November 1629, in the twenty-firft year of his ago, he was ad- mitted into Lincoln's-inn : And being then deeply fenfibfe how much time he had loft, and that idle and vain things had over-run and almoit corrupted his mind, he refolved to redeem the time. • his ftudies with 33* H A L-L. with a diligence, which could fcarce be believed, if tne' fieri al effects of it did not gain credit to it. He ftudied for many years at the rate of fixteen hours a day : He threw afide all fine clothes, and betook himfelf to a plain falhion, which he continued to ufe in many points to his dying day. It is related, that palling from the extreme of vanity in his apparel, to that of neglecting himfelf too much, he was once taken when there was a prefs for the king's fervice, as a fit perfon for it.- But fome that knew him coming by, and giving notice who he was, the prefs* men let him go, and he returned to more decency in his drefs, but never to fuperfluity or vanity. Yet he did not at firlt break off from keeping too much company with fome vain perfdns, till a fad accident drove him from it. He was invited, with other young ftudents, to be merry out of town, and one of the company called for fo much wine, that, nctwithftanding all Mr. Hale could do to prevent k, he went on in his excefs-, till he fell down as dead before them, fo that all that were prefent were not a little affrighted at it, who did what they could to bring him to himielf again : This particularly affected Mr- Hale, who thereupon went into another room, and {hutting the door fell on his knees, and prayed earneitly to GOD, both for his friend, that he might be reitored to life again, and that himfelf might be forgiven, for giving fuch countenance to fo much excefs : And he vow- ed to GOD, that he would never again keep company in that manner, nor drink a health while he lived : His friend recovered, and he mod religiouily obferved his vow to his dying day ; though he was fometimes rough- ly treated for this, which fome hot and indilcreet men called obftinacy. '. .Cow was an entire change wrought on him ; trow he forfook all vain "company, and divided himielf between the duties of religion, and the ftudies of his profeflion ; in the former he was fo regular, that for- fix aad thirty r years a HAL E. 333 5*ears, he never once failed going to church on the Lord's day ; this obfervation he made, when an ague firft inter- rupted that conitant courfe, and he reflected on it as an acknowledgement of GOD'S great goodnefs to him, in i'o long a continuance of his health. It is obferved, that Sir Matthew Hale, from the firft time that impreilions of religion fettled deeply in his mind, ufed «n*eat caution to conceal it — for he fold, he was a- fraid, that he mould at ibme time or other, do lone en- ormous thing, which if lie were looked on as a very reli- gious man, might cae king. In that capacity he did good fervice, by ad- vifmg them, efpecially the general, Fairfax, to preferve that famous feat of learning from ruin. Afterwards, though the barbarous death of K. Charles I. was a great grief to him, yet he took the oath called the Engage- ment. And, on the twentieth of January 1651, was one of thofe appointed to coniider of the reformation of the law. Oliver Cromwell, who affected the reputation of honoring and trufting perfons of eminent virtues, and wanted fuch a man as Mr. Hale to give countenance to his courts, never left importuning him, till he accepted of the place of one of the juftices of the com-mon- bench, as it was then called. For which purpofe he was by writ made ferjeant at law, on the twenty- fifth of January 1653.* In that ftation he a&ed with great ' H A L E. W* ■ airtl fuitnblc courage He had at firfll g* eat I cerning the authority under which he And, after having gone two or three circuits, berefnfed to ii: any more on the crown tide; that is, to judge criminals; He had indeed fo carried bimfelf in !l '™" ; - the powers then in being were not un- willing he fbould wkhdraw from meddling farther in them ; oi which Dr. Burnet gives the following inihnces : Not long after lie w.as made a judge, when he went the cir- cuit, a trial was brought before him at Lincoln, concern- ing the murder of cne of the townfmen, who had been of the king's party, and was killed by a foldfer of the garnion there. Ke was in the fields with a fowling- piece on his moulder ; which the foldier feeing, he came to him, and faid, it was contrary to an order which the protedor had made, f That none who had been of the king's party mould carry arms •> and fo he would have forced it from him. ' But as the other did not reaard the eraer, io Demgilronger than the foldier, he threw him down, and having beat him, left him. The foldier went into the town, and told one of his fellow-foldiers how he aad been ufed, and got him to go with him. and fyein wait: ior the man, that he might be revenged on : n, fhey both watched his coming to town, ai d of them went to him to demand Ills gun ; which he refuting, the foldwr ftruck at him ; and as they were ftruffgrlin^ the other came behind, and ran his Tword into his body • of which he prefently died. ' It was in the. time of the affizes, fo they were both tied: Againft the one there was no evidence of fore- thought felony, fo he was only found guilty of mar- flaugnter, and burnt on the hand ; but ^the other was found guilty of murder : And though colonel Whallev tnat commanded the garrifon, came into the court, and urged, f his age- JOHN ( 349 ) vffi ' I7 ■— » ^Xy JOHN OWEN, D. D. THIS very eminent Divine was born at Stadham in Oxfordihire, where his father was minifter, in the year 1616. He had fuch an extraordinary genius, and made fo quick a proficiency in hisftudies at fchool, that he was very early ripe for the univerfity, being admitted in- to Queen's- college at about twelve years of age, and when he was but nineteen, commenced mafter of arts, 1635. He purfued his (Indies with incredible diligence, allowing himfelf for fever al years not above four hours fleep in a night ; fo that he icon had made a confiderablc progrefs in learning. Sometimes he would, for the be- nefit of his health, ufe fome recreations, but chiefly fuch as were violent and robuft, as leaping, throwing the bar, ringing of bell?, and fuch like exercifes. While he con- tinued in the college, his whole aim and ambition was to raife himfelf to fome eminence in church or ftate, to either of which he was then indifferent. It was his own ack- nowledgment fince, concerning himfelf, that being natu- rally ot an afpiring mind, affecting popular applaufe, and very defirous of honour and perferment, he applied him- felf very clofs to his itudies, to accomplilh thefe ends he G g had 35« J- OWE N. had fo much in view ; and he was ready to confefs with ihame and forrow, that then the honour of God, or ferv- ing his country, otherwise than he might thereby ferve himfelf, were moft remote from his intentions. His fa- ther having a large family, could not afford him any con- siderable maintainance at the univerfity, but he was lib- erally lupplied by an uncle, one of his father's brothers, a gentleman of a fair eftate in Wales ; who having no children- of his own, defigned to have made him his heir. He lived in the college nil he was twenty-one years of age, from which time he met with extraordinary changes, which through the unfearchable wifdom of GOD, turned ;o his great' advantage, and made way for his future ad- vancement, and eminent ufefulnefs. About this time Dr. Laud, archbifliop of Canterbury, and chancellor of Ox- ford, impofed feveral fuperftitious rites on the univerfity upon pain of expuliion. Mr. Owen had then received fucli light, that his conference would not fubmit to thofe impofitions ; however temporal intereil might plead for his compliance, yet other more weighty conliderations of a religious nature prevailed ; for now GOD was forming impreiiions of grace upon his foul, which infpired him with a zeal for the purity of his worlhip, and what he thought to be reformation in the church. This change jof his judgment foon difcovered itfelf upon this occafion, and was obferved by his friends, who thereupon foribok him as one infecled with Puritanifm ; and upon the whole he was become fo much the object of refentment from the Laudenfian party, that he was forced to leave the college. We rauft remember that about this time he was alfo exercifed with many perplexing thoughts about his f pi rit- ual flate, which joined with outward difcouragements, -threw him into a deep melancholy, that continued in its extremity for a quarter of a year ; during which time he avoided almoit all manner of converfe, and very hardly, could be induced to fpeak a word, and when he did fpeak, it. J. OWE N. 35 I it was with fuch diforder as rendered him a wonder unto many. Though his diitrefs and melancholy did not abide in that violence, yet he was held under very great trou- ble of mind, and grievous temptations for a long time, and it was near live years before he attained to a fettled peace : in which fpace the all-wife God, who detigncd him for fuch eminent fervice, was perfecting his convcr- iion, and at lafl brought forth judgment unto victory. His very great troubles and diilrefles of foul were fucceeued with a great degree of lading ferenity and joy, which more than recompenfed his pair forrows and difficulties. When the wars in England broke out, he owned the parliament's caufe, which his uncle, who had maintained him at the college, being a zealous royali(t> fo vehement- ly relented, that he turned him at once out of his favour, fettled his eftate upon another, and died without leaving him any thing. He lived then as chaplain with a perfon- of honour, who, though he was for the king, ufed him with great civility; but he going at 1 aft to the king's army, Mr. Owen left his houfe, and came up to London : Re took lodgings in Charter-houfe Yard, where he was a perfect Granger. At this place we muft confider him. as not yet freed from his melancholy and fpiritual trou- bles ; but now we may obferve the wonderful method G ;-D rook to work a perfect cure on his mind, and eafe him of all his fears and forrows : And it was thus. Ke went one Lord's day with a Mr. Owen, a coufm of his, to Aldermanbury church, with expectation of hearing Mr. Calamy. He waited for his coming up into the pulpit, but at length it was known that Mr. Calamy was prevented by fome extraordinary occafion ; upon which many went out of the church, but Mr. Owen refolded to abids there, though his conlin would fain haveperfuad- ed him to go and hear Mr. Jackfon, then an eminent preacher in the city ; it not being certain wfc ether there would be any perfon to fupply Mr. Calamy ? s place.- Mr-,- ■ 5 2 J. OWE N. Mr. Owen being well feated, and too much indifpofed for any farther walk, he refolved after fome ftay, if no preacher came, to go to his lodgings. At 1 aft there came up a country minifter to the pulpit, a ftranger not only to Mr. Owen, but to the parifh ; who having prayed fervently, took for his text thefe words, Why are ye fear- fid, ye of little faith P Matth. viii. 16. The very reading of the words furprized Mr. Owen, upon which he fecretly put up a prayer, that GOD would pleafe by him to fpeak to his condition : and his prayer was heard ; for in that fermon the minifter was directed to anfwer thofe very objections which Mr. Owen had commonly formed againft himielf : And though he had formerly given the fame anfwers to himfelf without any efFecl, yet now the time was come when GOD defigned to fpeak peace to his foul ; and this fermon (though otherwife a plain familiar difcourfe) was bleft for the removing of all his doubts, and laid the foundation of that folia! peace and comfort which he afterwards enjoyed as long as he lived. It is very remarkable, that Mr. Owen could never come to the knowledge of this minifter, though he made the moft diligent enquiry. During his abode at the Char- ter-houfe he wrote his book called, " ADifplay of Armi- nianiim ;" which met with fuch acceptance, as made way for his advancement. It came out in 1642, a very fea- fonable time, when thofe errors had fpread themfelves very much in England ; fo that the book was the more taken notice of, and highly approved by many. There were fome confiderable perfons who had a juft fenfe of the ilue uf this work, and did not fail to give real and particular marks of their refpect to fo learned an Author. For food aft« r the publishing of it, the committee for pi the arch of fcandaious minifters, paid fuch a re d o it, that M; . \. hite, chairman of that commit- tee, lent a fpecial meflenger to Mr. Owen, topreient him the J. O W E N. 353 the living of Fordham in Eflex ; which offer he the more chearfully embraced, as it gave him an opportunity for the ftated exercile of his mmiftry : He went thither to- the great fatisfaction, not only of that parifh, but of the country round about. He continued at this place about a year and a half, where his preaching was fo acceptable, that people reforted to his mmiftry from oilier parilhes ; and great was the fuccefs of his labours in the reforma- tion "and coaverfion of many, through the hand of the- Lord that was with him. Soon after he came to Ford- ham, he married a gentlewoman (whole name we know not) by whom he had fever al children, all which the doctor outlived. In 1644 he published his diicourfe, . " Of the dut) of pallors and people." Upon a report that the fequeflred incumbent of Ford- ham was dead, the patron, who had no kindnefs for Mr— Owen, prefented another to the living; whereupon the people at Coggelhall, a market town about five miles from thence, earneitly invited him to be their miniiter ; and- the earl of Warwick, the patron', very readily gave him the living ; which favour of opening a door for preaching the gofpel, in that place, he thankfully acknowledged ; for here he taught a more numerous and judicious con- gregation, feldom fewer than two thou kind, where he found the people generally fober, religious, and difcreet- A very fervent affe&ion was cultivated between miniiter and people, to their mutual joy and Satisfaction ; and here alfo he met with great fuccefs in his minifhy, and with the univerfal approbation of the inhabitants, and of the country round about. Hitherto Mr. Owen had fol- lowed the prefbyterian way ; but he was put upon a more diligent enquiry into the nature of church government and discipline. After a due fearch and ftudy upon this head, he was fully convinced that the congregational way was mod agreeable to the rule of the New Teftament- His j udgment in this matter has been printed, with the O g % fever al 354 J. O W E N. feveral reafons for it, in two quartos. He had formed a church at Coggefhall upon thefe congregational principles, according to his own light, which continued long. The worth of fo great a man, fo eminent a light, could no longer be concealed ; his fame and reputation fpread both through city and country. He was fent for to preach before the parliament : This fermon is entitled, " A vifion of free Mercy, &c" on Acts xvi. n. April 29, 1646. He pleads for liberty of confcience and mo- deration towards men of different perfuafions, &c. in an *' Effay for the practice of church-government in the country," which he fubjoins to that fermon. In the year 1643 he publiihed his book, entitled " The death of death in the death ofChrift." He dedicated this book to Robert earl of Warwick, where he pays his tribute of thanks to his lordfhip for that privilege of opening the door for his preaching the gofpel at Coggefiiall ; and in his preface to the reader he tells us, " That this per- formance was the refnlt of more than feven years ferious enquiry into the mind of GOD about thefe things, with a perufal of all which he could attain, that the wit of men in former or later days hath published in oppofition to the truth. " It is a noble undertaking; carried on with all the vigour of argument and learning, of which he himfelf was fo confcious, that though the molt modeft and humble of all writers, yet he fcrupled not to declare, that " He did not believe he fhould live to fee a folid anfwer given to it." Colcheiier was about this time befieo-ed, and lord Fair- fax, general of the parliament's forces, quartering at Coggefiiall fome days, he became acquainted there with. Mr. Owen, and likewife four commiilioiiers fent by the. houfe down into Effex, to look after their affairs in that county, entered into ?. converfation with him. About this time alio he became known to Cromwell, who hap- pened to hear him. preaxfh and folicited .his friendftnp- He J. O VT E N. 355 Ks acquainted Mr. Owen with his intended expedition into Ireland, and deiiretl his company to reiide there in the college at Dublin ; but he anfwered, the charge of the church at Coggeihall would not permit him to coujply with his requeit : Cromwell was not fatisfied with the objection, and would have no denial ; but at laft from defircs he proceeded to commands, and reiolvedhe iiiould go : at the fame time telling him, that his younger brother (whom he dearly loved) was to go as il-andard- bearer in the fame army : He not only engaged his bro- ther to perfuade him to a compliance, but alio wrote to the church at Coo;o;ei::all, to defire leave that he mi^ht go with him to Ireland ; which letter was read publicly amongft them, yet they were utterly unwilling to part with him on this occafion : but at length Cromwell told them plainly, he mud and mould go. Mr. Owen con- ' iulted feveral minifters about it, and they all agreed in their advice for his going ; upon which he prepared for Ins journey, not with the army, but more privately. He arrived at Dublin, and took up his lodgings in the col. lege, preaching there, and overfeeing the affairs of that eminent fchool of learning. Here he (laid about- half a ! year, and, with Cromwell's leave, returned into Eno-land, and went to Coggefhall, where he was joyfully received. He had fcarce time to take breath there, being foon after called to preach at Vv'hitehall, which order he obeyed. In September, 165c, Cromwell required Mr. Owen to go with him into Scotland, but he being averfe to this jcurney alfo, the general procured an order of parlia- ment, which left no room for any objections. He ftaid at Edinburgh about half a year, and then returning into England, he went once more to his people at Coggefhall. He hoped upon his return to Coggeihall after this jour- ney, to have fpent the remainder of his days there; but he mult now leave his private fervice of being overfeer to s-eongregation in the country, to prefide over a col- lege 3 56 J. O VT E N. lege in Oxford, and after that over the univerfity then The firft intelligence he had of this matter was by one of the weekly newipapers at Coggefhall ; and foon after he received a letter from the principal ftucents of that college, fignifying their defire of his coming, and their great fatisiaclion in the choice the houfe had made of him to be their dean. With the confent of his church he went to Oxford, and fettled there, in the year- 1 651, and in the following year he was chofen vice-chancellor of that univerfity ; and admitted September 26, 1652, in which ofKce he continued fucceiUvely five years. About this time alfo he was diplomated doctor of divinity. He took care in managing this truft, to retrain the loofe, to encourage theibberand pious, to prefer men of learn- ing and induflry; and under his adminifixation • it was viiible, that the whole body of that univerfity was reduced into good order, and flour iftied with a number of excel- lent Icholars, and perfons of diftinguiihed piety. When men are advanced to places of power and autho- rity, they often difcover a magifterial air, and fever ity of temper towards inferiors, and generally incline to be partial in the diftribution of their favours; but we find a very different temper and carriage in the doctor while he fat in this chair of honour : Among the feveral inftan- ces of his moderation, fweetnefs of difpolition, and with- all of his wifdom and gravity, which adorned him in the difcharge of his office, we may take thefe few. It is well known that then the prefbyterian way was generally embraced and practifed, and the perfons with whom he mod of all converfed in the univerfity, were of that judgment : The vice-chancellor has a power of difpofmg of feveral vacant livings, and at that time there were many fuch ; and thofe that fell into his hands he general- - ly gave to prelbyterians : Nor was he ever wanting to-*; oblige even the epifcopal party, whom he fuffered to meet . quietly, about three hundred every Lord's day, over- againfti J. O W E N. 357 ao-ainft: his own door, where they celebrated divine fer- vice according to the liturgy of the church of England ; and though he was often urged to ir, yet he would ne- ver give ihem the leaft diiturbanse ; and if at any time they met with oppofition or trouble on that account, it was from other hands, and always againfl his mind. This moderation of temper in the exercife of power, gained him the love and refpect of the moft ; yet we muft oblerve aifo, that he would not fuffer authority to be flighted, when there was occafion to alTe # rt it. Bat while he retrained the loofe and diforderly, he failed not to mew kindnefs to the fober and ingenious. He was hofpitable in his houfe, generous in his favours, charita- ble to the poor, efpecially to poor fcholars, fome of whom he took into his family, and maintained them at his own charge, giving them academical education. The doctor's government, as vice-chancellor, took up a great part of his time, together with other avocations which daily attended him in that {ration ; yet notwith- ftanding he redeemed time for his ftudies •, preaching every other Lord's day at St. Mary's, and often at btad- ham, and other places in the country, and moreover he wrote fome excellent books, of which we mall take notice in their order. In the year 1654 he publilhed his book of " The Saint's Perfeverance," in ani'wer to IMr. John Goodwin's book, Redemption Redeemed. It is a mafter- piece of this kind, full of clofe. and itrong reafoning, whereby he has enervated all the fubtle arguments, and anfwered all the objections of the adverfary, confirming the truth by the force of fcriptnre evidence ; and in the whole has given the world an example of a rare chftf- tian temper in the management of controverfy. His preface gives us an account of the entertainment this doc- trine has had in all ages ; what acceptance or oppofition it has found among the prcfefTors of chriflianity, down to the time when he wrote : There is a great variety in this 358 J. OWE N, this preface very ufeful, but chiefly calculated for the learned world. In 1655 he publifhed his book, Vindic'uz Evangelic* ; Or, iC The Myftery of the Gofpel vindicated, and Soci- nianifm examined," which was chiefly defigned againft John Biddle, a Socinian. It is a work that may be jnft- ly efteemed very accurate and elaborate, wherein he has cut the finews of the Socinian caufe, and {tabbed it to the heart. Hitherto the eminent learning, prudence, and piety 0/ this great man, had difplayed their luftre in a public and honorable ftation ; but the time was now come when he mud retire to a more private capa- city, wherein he failed not to preferve and improve the iame excellent qualifications, and fpread his ufefulnefs both from the pulpit and the prefs. About this time he pubiifhed that excellent book, entitled, " Commu- nion with GOD," of which we need fay the lefs, fince it has for fo many years recommended itfelf to the fpirit- ual taile of ferious and judicious chriftians : He was vice-chancellor of the univeriity till 1657, when he gave place to Dr. Conant ; and in the year 1659, Dr. Ed- ward Reynolds, afterwards biihop of Norwich, fucceed- ed him in the deanry of Chriit- church : Nor can we wonder at thefe changes that happened to a particular perfon, when fo great alterations in the whole govern- ment were moving on, till they iflued in the reiteration of K. Charles II. It would be beyond the defign of thefe Memoirs to en- ter upon the difputes which arofe between the Doctor and Mr. Baxter, relative to certain political affairs : The purpofe of this volume is to to reprefent to view what was moft valuable in good men of feveral denominations burying in oblivion (if poHible) all thofe altercations, which, could we now know their minds, they would wiili to be buried too. We may reflect with comfort, that they are all of one mind in their Father's houfe above, and are O W E N. 359 r>re now eternally iuperior to thofe little differences and ilHtinctions, which perhaps too much occupied their in- firmities below. The doctor had now quitted his public itation at Oxford, and retired to Btadham, the place of his birth in that county, where he was pofiefied of a good eftate : fere he lived privately for fome time, till the perfecution grew fo hot, that he was qblfged to remove from place to place, and at lail came to London. All which time he was not idle, but employed his talents like a faithful fervant of Chrift, in preaching as he had opportunity, and in writing feveral valuable and ufe- ful books, to ferve the common intereft of religion and learning. The year 1662 came out a book, called Fiat Lux, writ- ten by John Vincent Lane, a Francifcan friar ; wherein, under the pretence of recommending moderation and charity, he with a great deal of fubtilty invites men over to the church of Rome, as the only infallible cure of all church diviiions ; two impreflions of this book were printed oft before the doctor had feen it; at length it was lent him by a perfon of honour, who delired him to write an anfwer to it ; which he did in a fhort time : This anfwer bears the title of " Animadversions on Fiat Lux by a proteftanf ;" which being generally accepted, made the friar very angry, fo that he publiihed a meet or two by way of reply, which produced the doctor's an- fwer, entitled, " A Vindication of Animadverfions on Fiat Lux," to which never any reply was given. There was fome difficulty in obtaining a licence for this lait book, when the biihops who were appointed by act of parliament the principal licencers of divinity-books had examined it: They made two objections againft it. (1.) That upon all occafions when he mentions the evange- liih and apofiles, even St. Peter himfelf, he left out the title of faint. (2.) That he endeavours to prove, that it could not be determined that St. Peter was ever at Rome. 360 J. OWE N. Rome. To the firft, the doctor replied, that the title of evangelift, or apoflle, by which the fcripture names them, was much more glorious than that of Saint ; for in that i name all the people of GOD were alike honoured; yet to pleafe them he yielded to that addition ; but as to the other objections, he would by no means confent to any alteration, unlefs they could prove him to be miftaken in his afiertion, and rather chofe his book mould never fee the light, than to expunge what he had written upon that fubjecl ; and in all probability it had never been printed, had not Sir Edward Nicholas, one of his majei- ty ? s principal fecretaries of flate, who was informed of this matter, wrote to the bilhop of London to licenfe it notwithilanding this objection. But notwithstanding all the good fervice he had done the church of England in his anfwers to Fiat Lux, he was flill persecuted from place to place, which perpetual trouble inclined him te think of leaving his native country, having received an invitation from his brethren in New-England to come thither; and in 1665 he made preparations for that voy- age : But the providence of GOD diverted him from that purpofe : For now the dreadful plague was begun, which iwept away above one hundred thoufand ; and the lamen- table fire broke out in London, that confumed fo great a part of it. The inhabitants of the land were ftartled by thefe awakening judgments of GOD, fo that there was a ceiTation for fome time from the profecution of the laws againft the diilenters ; v and not long after his majefty's declaration of indulgence to his proteftant-diffenting fub- jects came out, and licences were granted to all, that de- liredthem, for public aflemblies, all penal laws being fuf- pended. The doctor, who had lived privately in Lon- don for fome years, went to vifit his old friends at Ox- ford, and to attend fome. affairs of his own eftate not far /rom thence 5 but ; notwithilanding all his privacy, he was J. OWEN. 361 was obferved, and intelligence was given of the very houfe where he lay : Upon which iome troopers came and knocked at the door ; the miitrels of the honfe came dowa and boldly opened the door, afking, What they would liave ? Who thereupon enquired of her, Whether me had -any lodgers in her houfe? Inftead of giving a direct an- fwer to the quefiion, ihe afked, Whether they were feek- ing for Doctor Owen? Yes, faid they; me told them, He went from my houfe this morning betimes. Then .they immediately rid away : In the mean time the Doc- tor, who Ihe really thought had been gone, (as he told Jier he intended) arofe and went into a field near the houfe whither he ordered his horfe to be brought, and fo rode away prefently to London. Frefli invitations were now given him to go to New-England, but he had too great a love for his native country to quit it,fo long aslthere were any opportunity of being ferviceable there ; whilft the liberty- continued, he was afliduous in preaching ; and it was no -fmall encouragement, that now the people who had been awakened by the feveral judgments they had felt in fo fenfible a manner, and convinced of the peaceablenefs of the nonconformifts, of enemies now became their friends and advocates ; being ready to protect thofe whom thejr ufed to perfecute. Now the Doctor had opportunity of preaching publicly, and fetting up a lecture, to which many perfons of quality and eminent citizens reforted ; and his time was filled up with other ufeful ftudies r which produced feveral valuable books, both learned and practical. We have taken notice of fome of the moft confiderable, and intend to give an account of feveral others in their order, which may deferve a more particu- lar obfervation. In the year 1668 he publifhed his excellent expofition of the cxxx Pfalm. It was calculated for the fervice of poor diftreffed fouls in their depths of fpiritual trouble ; there he had treated largely of gofpel forgivenefs ; and in Jtf h the #62 j. O W EN. •the whole he has with all plainnefs, yet with a moil pen- etrating fpiritual judgment, confnlted the relief of fuch fouls, who all of perfons in the world (land mod in need of companion ; and we mall only add, that it is a book .that has been bleft for the advantage and comfort of ma- ny, and ever grateful to the fpiritual cafe of all good per- sons. In this year alio he published the firft volume of his expofition on the epiftle to the Hebrews, and the /hree other followed in their order, the la ft coming out So 1684. It is noteafy for us to give a full account of the value and ufefulnefs of this work, it is filled with a great variety of learning, particularly rabbinical, which he has made fer vice able to give light into the fubjecl mat- ter chiefly treated of in this epiitle ; and withall he has taken care to adapt his cxpofition to the fervice of the faith and comfort of chriftians, and to recommend the •practice of the fubftantial duties of religion, fo that it is hard to fay, whether the fcholar or the divine fliine brighteft, through this excellent work. He fpeaks of it himfelfin thefe words. " It is now fundry years fincel purpofed in myfelf, if GOD gave life and opportunity, to endeavour, according to the meafure of the gift receiv- ed, an expofition of the Hebrews ; and in the whole xourfe of my ftudies have not been without fome regard thereunto : But yet I mud now fay, that after allfearch- ing and reading, prayer and afiiduous meditation on the! text have been my only relerve ; careful I have been as of my life and foul to bring no prejudicate fen fe to the words, to impofe no. meaning of my own, or other mens; upon them, nor to be impofed on by the reafonings, pre- tences, or curiofiti.es of any ; but always went nakedly to the word itfelf, to learn humbly the mind of GOD in it, and to exprefs it as he fhali enable me." Befides the , expofition itfelf there are very learned and accurate exer- citations, which ferve to illuftrate many difficult parts of; fcripture, and to anfwer the defign of the whole ,work.;i we J. OWE N. >6k we fhall only obferve farther, that here the doctor has* enumerated all the arguments, and anfwered all the main objections of the Socinians, overthrown entirely their whole icheme, and driven them out of the field ; fo that: whoever reads this work needs fcarce any other for the" aiTailing of their pernicious errors. There was nothing done the ieffion of parliament i(56o/ againft the diflenters, but at their, next meeting they drew' up a ieverer bill than ever, which with fome difficulty was at length paft : When the bill was fent up to the lords and debates arofe upon it, the doctor was defired to draw up fome realbns againft it in the intended feverity of it : He did fo, and it-was laid before the lords by fe~ veral emyient citizens and gentlemen of diftinction : This paper is called, 1 he State of the Kingdom, with re- fpeft to the prefent bill againft conventicles ; but it did' not prevail : The bill was carried, and paft into an ad ; all the bifoops were for it but two, viz. dodtor Wilkins biihop of Chefter, and doctor Rainbow bimop of Carlifle, whofe names ought to be mentioned with honour for their great moderation. This was executed with feverity to the utter ruin of many perfons and families. His difcourfe concerning the Holy Spirit which he pub- limed in 1 67 8 comes next under our particular observa- tion ; " It is a fubject very difficult to manage, being in itfelf abftrufe and myfterious (as he himfelf obferves irt the preface) and beiides the oppofition to it has been car^ ried on with much fcorn and public contempt. 7 ' At that: time the oppofition to the deity, and personality of the Holy Ghoft, and all his operations with refpeel: to the new creation rofe to a very great height, and happy it was for the church of GOD, that this excellent perfort was railed up, who was fo well fitted to explain and de- fend this docVine. He has told us in the preface, that her knew not of any, that ever went before him in the de- fig n of reprefenting the whole ceconomy of the Holy Spi- rit, 3$4 j. OWE N. rit, w*ih all his adjuncts, operations, and effects; The- necefiky and importance of treating thus fully of that fubjecl is evident from the nature of it; for in all the difpenfations of GOD towards his people there is no good communicated to them, nothing of worth or excel- lency wrought in them but by the Holy Spirit. It is the doctor's own obfervation, " That though the contradic* lions of fomein former ages had been fierce and clamor- ous, yet all that has fallen out of that kind has been ex- ceeding mort of what is come to pafs in the d2ys where- in we live. For not to mention the Socinians who have gathered into one head, or rather ulcerous impoftume, all the virulent oppofitions made to his Deity, or grace, by the Photinians, Macedonians, and Pelagians of old, there are others who profefiing no enmity to his divine perfon, yea admitting and owning the do&rine of the church concerning it, are yet ready on all occafions to> defpile and reproach the whole work, for which he is promifed under the Old Teftament, and which is exprefly afiigned to him in the New. Hence it is grown among many a matter of reproach and fcorn for any one to make mention of his grace, cr to profefs that work of his, as his, without which no man fhail fee GOD, if the ieripture be a faithful teitimony." Thus we fee with what faithfulnefs and diligence this great man employed his excellent talents for the fervice of the church ; he was frequently writing fome book or other that might contribute to that noble defign : And though it might feem too tedious in the biilory of his life to take notice of every one of them, yet we judge it very ncceflary to illuftrate his character in giving a particular account of thofe which have defervedly gained a great intereft in the efteemof learned and good men* Among which we mult reckon that incomparable treatife he pub- limed in 1677, entitled, " The Doctrine' of J unification by Faith through the Imputation of the-Righteoufnefs of Chrift J. O W E N- 365 Chriit explained, confirmed and vindicated ;" wherein he has purfueel a method and deiign that required a more than ordinary judgment and (kill. He tells us in the preface, " That though he has neceffarily taken fome pains in the explication of that doctrine, which has been, involved in lb many and very intricate difputes among men of different opinions, yet he has iniifted chiefly on the interpretation of fcripture teftimonies, with the ap- plication of them to the experience of them that believe, and the ftate of them who feek after falvation by Jelus Chritt. To declare and vindicate the truth to the initruc- tion and edification offuchas love it in fmcerity ; to ex- tricate their minds from thofe difficulties in that psrticu- lar inftance, which fome endeavour ta eaft on all -the my- fleries of the gofpel ; to direct the coniciences cf them that inquire after abiding peace with GOD, and toeftafo- lifli the minds of them that do believe, are the things herein aimed at." In this performanse he has avoided the unprofitable jangling of perverfe dilpntaiion, where- with this doctrine of j unification has been generally per- plexed, and all reflections on perfons thatdiiter from him. " He profeffes to have written nothing but what he be- lieves to be true, and alfo that he has defigned herein the practical direction of the conferences cf men in their application to GOD by Jefus Chriit, for deliverance from the curfe due to the apoitate ftate, and peace with him,, with the influence that this way of juftification- has upon univerfal gofpel obedience." Whereby he has effectual- ly removed the old fcandalous objection againft this doc- trine, as if it were no friend to holinefs, end did giv& encouragement to loofe practices, which is as old as the delivery of it by the apoftle Paul himfeif, and is by him fully refuted. It was not poflible the real worth of fo excellent a perfon fhould be concealed ; and in many inftanceshis repu- tation fhone out with fuch luftxe as drew the admiration H h a and 3 66 J. O W E N. and refpe&s of feveral perfons of honour and qualit upon him, who very much delighted in his converfation particularly the earl of Orrery, the earl of Anglefea, the lord Willoughby of Parham, the lord Wharton, the* lord Berkley, Sir John Trevor, one of the principal fe- cretaries of irate ; and even king Charles himfelf and the duke of York paid a particular refpeft to him. When the doctpr was drinking the waters at Tunbridge, the duke- of York being there, fentfor him into his tent, and feveral difcourfes palTed between them about the diffen- ters and conventicles ; and after he returned to London, the king himfelf fent for him, and difcourled with him about two hours together, alluring him of his favour and refpecl, and telling him, he might have aceefs to him, as he would. At the fame time the king was pleafed to alfure the doctor how much he was for liberty of confer- ence, and how fenfible of the wrong that had been done to the diffenters ; and as a teftimony hereof gave him a thoufand guineas to diftribute among thofe who had fuf- fered mod by the late feverities. The doctor could do no lefs than thankfully accept his majenVs generofity, and did faithfully apply it to that purpoie. When this was known, a clamor arofe among the churchmen, who reported he was in penfion, to ferve the papal intereft ; but the doctor to. wipe off this vile afperfon, declares fo- lemnly, in his preface to the firft part of his " Enquiry into the Original of Evangelical Churches," " That never any one perfon in authority, dignity, or power in this nation, nor any one that had any relation to public affairs, nor any af the papifts or proteitants did ever ipeak one word to him, or advife with him about any in- dulgence or toleration to be granted unto papifts, and challenges , all the world to prove the contrary if they can." 'i he doctor had fome friends alfo among the biih- ©ps ; particularly doctor Wilkins biihop of Chefier, who was. J. OWE N, 367 was very cordial in his refpecls to him, and Dr. Barlow, formerly his tutor, then bilhop of Lincoln. It is not to be wondered that a life filled up with fo many labours mould decline under the weight of infirmi- ties which now began to grow upon him. Some few years before lie died he was often ill, and lbmetimes con- fined to. his bed or chamber, whereby he was taken off in a great meafure from his miniiferial function, but not alto- gether difabled from ferving the church of GOD ; and whenever he was able to fit up, lie would be continual- ly writing, when not prevented by company, and ieveral excellent books were compofed by him ; which might de- ferve a particular notice in this hiftory ; but we chooie not to fwell it with fuch accounts. There is one book which claims a diitinct regard viz* " A Declaration of the glorious Myflery of the perfon of Chrifr, GOD and Man," publillied 1679. The defign of this treatife is declared in a large preface full of learning, wherein he mews what oppofition has been in all ages made to the perfon of Chri'ft, by Neftorians. . Arians, So- cinians, and others ; that this doctrine is the rock on which the church is built, and the gates of hell mall ne* vcr prevail againft in ; and through, the whole book he pleads the caule of the glory of Chrift, his deity as coef- fential and coeternal with the Father, and irrefragrably proves, that divine honour and religious worfhip is due to him, againft all thefubtle evasions of that icheme which is in our days afrefli advanced to the contempt of his glo- rious perfon : In one word, there is fuch a {train of piely, and zeal, and' learning running through the whole, as renders it worthy of the moit ferious perufal, and will endear bis memory to all that love our Lord Jefus in fin- cerity. Before we clofe our account of his* works,, we cannot forbear taking notice of another excellent treatife nubliihed by him 1681, intitled, " The grace and duty cf 3&S J. O W K N. of being fpiritually minded." It was compofed out of his own deep andfpiritual meditations originally defigned • for his own ufe, not long before his death ; and in it he breathes out the fentiments and devotion of a mind full of heaven, and the glories of that better world* " He wrote it (as he tells us) in a feafon wherein he was every way unable to do any thing for the edification of others, and far from expectation that he ever ihould be able any more in this world.' 7 And after he had communicated them to a private congregation, being convinced how necelTary and feafonable thefe difcourfes were to thepre- fent Hate of profefibrs, their temper and carriage, he was induced K> fend them forth to the benefit of the church. He bewails the carnal frames and lives of profeiTocs ? and was very fenfible that if the prevalence of the world over the minds and affections of chriftiarrs be not pre- vented or cured, it would eat out the very heart and life of true religion. This difcourfe was defigned as an an- tidote againft this growing evil, and calculated to promote afpiritual and heavenly frame in the minds of profelfors ; end we cannot but recommend it to the diligent perufal of all chriftians at this day, wherein this dangerous dif- eafe of worldly mindednefs abounds. We might alio mention with great efteem his meditations on the glory of Chrifr. in two parts, which give us an ample teftimony of that pious and heavenly frame, that clear and intimate knowledge of the glory of Chrifr, and that fervent love to Chrift's perfon, which filled his foul ; there he thinks and- writes like one that was in a full and near view of that unveiled glory. Now the time drew near when he muft die, and after all his labours and fufferings enter into the joy of his Lord. His infirmities of body grew on him apace, which obliged him to retire into the country for the benefit of the. air. He went to Kingfton and lived there fome time : One J. O W E NT. 369 One day as he was coming from thence to London in. the Strand, two informers feized upon his coach and horfes, upon which, a mob gathered about him : The providence of God fo ordered it, that Sir Edrnond Bury Godfrey came by at that time, and feeing a mob, aiked what was the matter? And being a juftice of the peace, he order- ed the informers and Dr. Owen to meet him at a juftice of the peace near Bloomibury-Iquare upon a clay appoint- ed, and lie would get fome others of his brethern to be there and hear the caufe : They met accordingly, and Sir Edmund being in the chair, upon examining the whole matter they found the informers had acted fo very ille- gally, that they difcharged the doctor, and feverely re- primanded them ; after which he was no more difturbed. by them. . From Kenfington he went to Ealing where he had a Loufe of his own ; where he finiihed his courfe. During which time he employed his thoughts in the contempla- tion of the other world, as one that was drawing near to it every day ; which produced his meditations on the glory of Chrift beforementioned ; in which he breathed out the devotion of a foul that was growing continually into the temper of the heavenly ftate*. He died in the 67th year of his age, Augufl 24, 1683, Mr. Payne being intruded by Dr. Owen to put his lafl performance to the prefs, came in to fee the doctor the morning of that day on which he died, and told him, Doctor, I have been juft putting your book "On the Glory of Ghrift" to the prefs; to which the doctor anfwered, " I am glad to hear that that performance is put to the prefs •" and then lifting up both hi$ hands and his eyes, as in a kind of rapture, he faid, " But, O brother Payne, the long- looked for day is come at lafl, in which I (hall fee that glory in another manner than I have ever done yet, or was capable of doing in this world." ^As to his perfon, his ftaturc wss tail his vifage grave, majeftic, 370 J. OWE N. niajefuc, and comely : He had the afpecl and deportment of a gentleman, iuitable to his birth. He had a very large capacity of mind, a ready invention, and good judgment, a great natural wit which. being improved by education, rendered him a perfon of incomparable abilities : As to his temper he was very affable and courteous, familiar and iociable ; the meaneft perfons found an eafy accei's to his converfe and friencHhip. He was facetious and plea- iant in his common diicourfe, jefting with his acquain- tance, but with fobriety and meafure ; a grea: mailer of his paliions elpecially that of anger : He was of a ierene and even temper, neither elated with honour, credit, friends, or eftate, nor depreft with troubles and dimcul- ties. His carriage was genteel, in nothing mean : He was generous in his favours. His'great worth drew on him the refpedts of very confiderabie perfons, fome of the beft quality at home, and of Grangers from foreign parts who reforted to him, to whom he always carried himfelf in fo obliging a manner, that he was greatly val- ued beyond fea. It is a lofs to the public much to be regretted, that none of his letters can now be found. He was a per- fon of great moderation in his judgment, and of a chari- table fpirit ; willing to think the beft of all men as far as he could ; not cenlorious ; a lover of piety in men of dif- ferent profefiions, not confining Chriftianity within the narrow compafs of any one party in the. world ; a ilndier of peace, and a promoter of it among profeffed Chriitians. As for his learning, he was one of the brighteft ornaments of the univerfity, a perfect m after of the Latin, Greek and Hebrew tongues. He was a great philofopher ; and alfo well read in the civil law. A great hiftorian ; hav- ing a great comprehenfion of church hittory in particular. He was thoroughly verfed in all the Greek and Latin po-^ ets; well {killed ,in the rabbins, and made great ufe of them as there was occaiion. He was an-excellent divine. J. O W EN. 37I .05 appears by his writings ; unwearied he was in his ftu- dies, and his proficiency was anfwerable ; his labours both in writing and preaching, and other fervices peculiar to his function as a minifler of the gofpel, and pallor of a church, were incredible. He. was well (killed in polemi- cal divinity, as appears in his learned works againft the papifts, focinians, arminians, &o His piety and devotion were very eminent, his experimental knowledge of fpirit- ual things very great, as his difcourfes on mortification, temptation, indwelling-fin, communion with God, his expofition on the cxxxth Pialm, &c do Sufficient eyince. In all relations he behaved himfelf as a great Chriftian, a faithful and a loving hufoand, a tender father, a good mailer, and a prudent governor when he was in places of honour and fervice ; and a very dutiful, peaceable fubject- He was well acquainted with men and things, and would give a fhrewd guefs at a man's temper and defigns upon the firft acquaintance. He was an excellent preacher, having very good elocution, graceful and affectionate. He could on all occafions, on a iudden without any pre- meditation exprefs himfelf well and pertinently on any Subject; yet were his Sermons moftly well Studied and digefted ; nor did he generally ufe notes in the pulpit. He was indeed richly furnifhed with all the (tores of learning, which admirably fitted him for the defence of the truth againft the mod Subtle adverfaries ; and it plain- ly appears by his writings that he was railed up by di- vine providence to be an inftrument of diffufing a very clear knowledge of gofpel truths, and of preserving them from the defigns of corrupt and perverfe men : And, with all this treafure of human learning, there was ano- ther almoft lingular qualification in him ; that he was able and ready to apply himfelf to all practical cafes of confcience, and had a rare faculty of fpeaking a word in feafon to thofe under temptation, defertion and affliction- A nio'ft happy conjunction indeed of great learning and Spiritual 372 J. OWE N. fpiritual experience, which he. had the wifciorri and faith- fulnefs to apply to the belt purpofes ; and when he handled any polemical fubjecf in divinity., he was always careful, where the cafe would admit, to confult the be- nefit and comfort of believers, and the advancement of the power of godlinefs : Nor can we pafs over his admira- ble christian temper in managing controverfy ; for though perfons are generally apt to be warm in throwing out reflections and farcafms againft their adverfaries, yet fo gjrave and meek a difpofition did he preferve throughout his writings, that there has fcarce any thing dropped from hjs pen but what becomes the character of a folid divine, arid an excellent chriftian. There is fomething fo pathetic in the Doctor's loft com- ■pofition, that the ferious reader will certainly be glad t» perufe it-: u To Charles Fleetwood, Efq. ■* Dear Sir, < c ALTHOUGH I am not able to write one word ?«yfelf, yet I am very defirous to fpeak one word more to you in this world, and do it by the hand of my wife. The continuance of your intire kindnefs, knowing what it is accompanied withal, is not only greatly valued by me, but will be refrelhment to me, as it is even in my xlying hour. I am going, to him whom my foul has lov- ed, or rather who has loved me with an everlafting love, which is the whole ground of my confolation. The paf- fage is very irkfome, and wearifome, through ftrong pains of various forts which are all iflued in an intermit- ting fever. All things were provided to carry me to London to-day, according to the advice of my phyficiansj but we are all difappointed by my utter difability to un- dertake the journey. I am leaving the ihip of the church in a ftorm ; but whilft the great Pilot is in it, the lofs of a poor P L A V E L. 373 a poor undcr-rower will be inconfiderable. Live, and pray, and hope, and wait patiently, and do not deipond ; the prom iie itands invincible, that God will never leave us, nor for fake us. I am greatly afflicted at the diftemp- ers of your dear lady ; the good Lord Hand by her, and. fupport and deliver her. My affectionate refpects to her, and the reft of your relations, who are fo dear to me in the Lord. Remember your dying friend with all ferven- cy ; I reft upon it, that you do fo, and am Auguft 22, 1683. Yours entirely, John Owen. N. B. The ©odor -died Auguft 24th, ttvo days after- :er\vards. g&===*======= '■ =======^5 JOHN FLAVEL, MR. JOHN FLAVEL was born in Worcefterfliire. He was religioufly educated by his father, and, having profited well at the grammar fchools, was fent early to Oxford, and fettled a commoner in Univerfity- 1 ■ College 374 FLA V E X. College. He plied his ftudies hard, and exceeded many of his contemporaries in univerfity learning. Soon after his commencing bachelor of arts, Mr. Wal- piate, the minifter of Deptford in the county of Devon, was rendered incapable of performing his office by reafon of his age and infirmity, and fent to Oxford for an aflif- tant ; Mr. Flavel, though but young, was recommended to him as a perfon duly qualified, and was accordingly fettled there by the ftandin g committee of Devon, April 27, 1650, to preach as a probationer and aflifbnt to Mr. Walplate. Mr. Flavel, confidering the weight of his charge, ap- plied him 1 elf to the work of his calling with great dili- gence ; and being afiiduous in reading, meditation, and prayer, he increafed in ministerial knowledge daily, fo that he attained to an high degree of eminency and repu- tation for his ufeful labours in the church. About fix months after his fettling at Deptford, he heard of an ordination to be at Salifbury, and therefore ■went thither with his teftimonials, and offered himfelf to be examined and ordained by the prefbytery there : They appointed him a text, upon which he preached to their ^general fatisfaction ; and having afterwards examined him as to his learning, &c. they fet him apart to the work of the miniftry, with prayer and impofition of hands, on the 1 7th day of October, 1 650. Mr. Flavel, being thus ordained, returned to Dept- ford, and after Mr. Walplate's death fucceeded in the rectory. To avoid all incumbrances from the world, and avocations from his ftudies and minifterial work, he chofe a perfon of worth and reputation in the pariih (of whom he had a good afiurance, that he would be faithful to him- felf, and kind to his parifhioners) and let him the whole tithes much below the real value, which was very well plcafmg' to his people.. By this means he was the better able F L A V E L. • jyf able to deal with them in private ; fince the hire of his labours was no way a hindrance to the fuctefs of them. Whilft he was at Deptford he married one Mrs- Joan Randal, a pious gentlewoman, of a good family, who died in travail of her iirtt child, without being delivered. His year of mourning bemg expired, his acquaintance and intimate friends adviied him to marry a fecond time, wherein he was again very happy, Her name was Eliza- beth Morrice. Some time after this fecond marriage, the- people of Dartmouth (formerly under the charge of the reverend Mr. Anthony Hartford, deceafecl) unanimoudy chofe Mr. Flavel to lucceed him. They urged him to accept their call, (i.) Becaufe there were exceptions made ap-ainit all the other candidates, but none a late, a finccre gofpcl penitent, and found believer. Mr. Flavei prayed with him accordingly, and it pleated GOD exceedingly to melt the young man's heart during the performance ol" that duty. He was very loth to part with Mr. Flavei, but the duty of the day obliged him to be gone; in a few words he fummed up thole counV lels that bethought moft necefiary, and fo took his fare-- wel of him, never expecting to fee him any more in this world. But it pleafed GOD to order it otherwife ; the ' young man continued alive, contrary to all expe6tation, panted earneftly after the Lord Jefus, and no difcourfe was pleating to him, but that of Chriil and faith. In this frame Mr. Flavei found him in the evening ; he re- joiced greatly when he faw him come again, in treated him to continue his difcourfe upon this fubjec~t, and told him^ 4 Sir, the Lord hath given me repentance for this, and c for all my other fins ; I fee the evil of them now, fo as f I never faw them before ! O I loth myfelf ! I do alfo ' believe, Lord, help my unbelief ! I am heartily willing ' to take Chrift upon his own terms ; but one thing trou- ' blesme, I doubt this bloody (In will not be pardoned, f Will Jefus Chrift, faid he, apply his blood to me, that ' have ihed my own blood?' Mr. Flavei told him, (i That the Lord Jefus had fiied his blood for them that o to an academy taught .by Mr. Rowe. Some Latin effays, fuppoied to have been written as exerciies at this academy, inesv a degree of knowledge, both ph'dofophical and theological, fuchas very few attain by a much longer courie of itudy. He was, as he hints in his mifcelianies, a maker of verfes from fifteen to fifty, and in his youth he appears to have paid attention to Latin poetry. His verfes to his brother in the gylconic meafure, written when he was feventeen, are remarkably ealy and elegant. 6 His method of itudy was to imprefs the contents of his books upon his memory by abridging them, and by interleaving them to amplify one fyftem with fupplernents from another. With the congregation of his tutor Mr. Rowe, who were, I believe, independents, he communi- cated in his nineteenth year. At the age of twenty he left the academy, and lpent two years in itudy and devo- tion at the houi'e of his father, who treated him with great tendernefs ; and had the happlaefs, indulged to few parents, of living to fee his ion eminent for literature and venerable for piety.- He was then entertained by Sir John Hartopp five years, as domeftic tutor to his fon ; and in that time particularly devoted himfelf to the iludy of the holy fcriptures ; and being chofen allifbnt to Dr. Chauncey, preached the firft time on the birth-day that compleated his twenty-fourth year ; probably coniidering that as the day of a fecond nativity, by which he entered, on a new period of exiltence.' In January 1701, he re- ceived a call .from that church to fucceed Dr. Chiauncy in the pafloral office, of which he fignifiedhis acceptance on the 394 W A T T S. the day that king William died. This circumftance is particularly noted by Dr. Jennings as an act of chriftian heroifm, becaufe of the difcouraging profpect which that event gave to men of his profefiion, and the fears with which it filled the hearts of protectant diffenters at that time, when toleration was fo infecurely eitablifhed that the* existence of it depended on mere cafoality. But he had " fet his hand to the plough, and would not look back." Accordingly he was ordained on the 1 8th of March 1702. * Scon after his entrance on his charge, he was feized by a dangerous illneis, which funk him in fuch weaknefs, that .the congregation thought an ailiitant neccffary, and appointed Mr. Price. His health then returned gradu- ally, and he performed his duty, till (17 12) he was fei- zed by a fever of fuch violence and continuance, that, from the feeblenefs which it brought upon him, he never perfectly recovered. This calamitous ftate made the compadion of his friends neceffary, and drew upon him the attention of Sir Thomas Abney, who received him into his houle ; where, with a constancy of friendship and uniformity cf conduct not often to be found, he was treated for thirty-fix years with all the kindnefs that friendihip could prompt, and all the attention that refpect could dictate. Sir Thomas died about eight years afterwards ; but he continued with the lady and her daughters to the end of his life. The lady died about a year after him. ' A coalition like this, a ftate in which the notions cf patronage and dependence were overpowered by the per- ception of reciprocal benents, deferves a particular me- morial ; and I will not withhold from- the reader Dr. Gibbons's representation, to which regard is to be paid as to the narrative of one who writes what he knows, and what is known like wife to multitudes beiicles. * Our «gxt obfervation (lays Dr. Gibbons) foall be made WATT 5.- 395 •Ynade upon that remarkably kind providence which brought the Doctor into Sir Thomas Abney's family, and continued him there till his death, a period of no lefs than thirty-fix years. In the midft of his facred labours for the glory of GOD, and the good of his generation, he is feized with a moil violent and threatening fever, which leaves him opprefled with great weaknefs, and puts a iiop at leait to his public Services for four years. In this diftreiling feafon, doubly fo to his active and pious fpirit, he is invited 'to Sir Thomas Abney's family, nor ever removes from it till he had nnifhed his days. Here he enjoyed the uninterrupted demonstrations of the truefl friendship. Here, without any care of his own, he had every thing which could contribute to the enjoyment of life, and -favour the unwearied purfuit of his Studies. Here he dwelt in a family which for piety, order, harmo- ny, and every virtue was an houfe of GOD. Here -he had the privilege of a country recefs, the pure air, the retired grove, the fragrant bower, the Spreading lawn, the flowery garden, and other advantages to foothe his mind, and aid his refroration to health, to yield him whenever he chofe them moft grateful intervals from his laborious Studies, and enable him to return to them with redoubled vigour and delight. Had it not been for this moSt happy event he might, as to outward view, have feebly, it may be painfully dragged on through many more years oflangeurand inability for public fervice, and even for profitable Study, or perhaps might have funk into his grave under the overwhelming load cf infirmities in the midftof.his days; and thus the church and world would have been deprived of thofe many excellent fer- mons and works, which he drew up and published during his long refidence in this family. In a*tfew years after his coming hither Sir Thomas Abney dies^ but his amiable confort furvives, who Shews the doctor the fame refped and friendihip as before, and mod happily for him, and -great 396 W A T T S. great numbers befides; for as her riches wfcre great, her generoiity and munificence were in fall proportion, her thread of life was drawn out to a great age, even beyond that of the doctor's, ar.d this excellent man through her kindnefs, and that of her daughter, the prefent Mrs. Elizabeth Abney, who in a like degree efteemed and ho- noured him, enjoyed all the benefits and felicities he ex- perienced at his firtt entrance into this family till his days were numbered and iinilhed, and, like a (hock of corn in its ieafon, he afcended into the regions of perfect and immortal life asd joy.' From the time of his reception into his family, his life was no otherwife diverfihed than by fuccelfive publica- tions. The feries of his works I am not able to deduce ; their number, and their variety, ftiew the intenfenefs of his induflry, and the extent of his capacity. He continu- ed to the end of his life the teacher of a congregation, and no reader of his works can doubt his fidelity or dili- gence. In the pulpit, though his low ilature, which very little exceeded five feet, graced him with no advan- tages of appearance, yet the gravity and propriety of his* utterance made made his difcourfes very efficacious. Such was his flow of thoughts, and fuch his promptitude of language, that in the latter part of his life he did not precompoie his curfory fermons ; but having adjufted the heads, and Sketched out fome particulars, trufted for fuc- cefs to his extemporary powers. Ke did not endeavour to aflift: his eloquence by any gefticulations ; for, as no] corporeal actions have any correfpor.dence with theologi- cal truth, he did not fee how they could enforce it. At the conclufion of weighty fentences he gave time, by a fhort paufe, for the proper imprellion.. To ftated and public inftruction he added familiar vifits and perfonal, application, and was careful to improve the opportuni- ties, which converfatian offered, of ditfufing and increaf- ing the influence of religion. I5y WATTS. 397 * By his natural temper he was quick of refentment ; but, by his ellabliihed and habitual practice, he was gen- tle, modeft, and inoftenlive. His tendernefs appeared in his attention to children, and to the poor. To the poor, while he lived in the family of his friend, he allow- ed the third pare of his annual revenue, though the whole was not an hundred a year ; and for children, he conde- fcendedto lay afide the fcholar, the philoibpher, and the wit, to write little poems of devotion, and fyurems of in- ilruction, adapted to their wants and capacities, from the dawn of reafon through its gradations of advance in the morning of life. Every man, acquainted with the com- mon principles of human action, will look with veneration on the Writer, who is at one time combating Locke, and at another making a catechifm for children in their fourth year. A voluntary defcent from the dignity of fcience is perhaps the hardeft leilbn that humility can teach. As his mind was capacious, his curiofity excurlive, and his in- duftry continual, his writings are very numerous, and his fubjecls various. With his theological works I am only .enough acquainted to admire his meeknefs of oppofition, and his mildnefs of cenfure. It was not only in his book, but in his mind, that orthodoxy was united with charity. Of his philofophical pieces, his logic has been received into the univerfities, and therefore wants no private re- commendation : If he owes part of it to Le Clerc, \t mult be confidered that no man, who undertakes merely to methodize or illuftrate a fyftem, pretends to be its author. In his metaphyfical difquifitions, it was obferv- ed by the late learned Mr- Dyer, that he confounded the idea of /pace with that of e?npty fpace, and did not confider, that though fpace might be without matter, yet matter being extended, could not be without fpace. Few books have been perufed by me with greater pleafure than his " Improvement of the Mind," of which the radical prin- ciples may indeed be found in Locke's ' Conduct of the L 1 Underfiandaig;' 398 W A T T 6. Underftanding •' but they are fo expanded and ramified by Watts, as to confer upon him the merit of a work in the higheft degree ufeful and pleafing. Whoever has the care of inftructing others, may be charged with defi- ciency in his duty, if this book is not recommended. 1 I have mentioned his treatifes of theology as diftinct from his other productions ; but the truth is, that what- ever he took in hand was, by his mediant folicitucle for fouls, converted to theology. As piety predominated in his mind, it is diffufed over his works : Under his direc- tion, it may be truly faid, Theologize Pbllofophia ancillatur, philofophy is fubfervient to evangelical inftruction ; it is difficult to read a page without learning, or at leaftwiib- ing, to be better. The attention is caught by indirect instruction, and he that fat down only toreafon, is on a iuddsn compelled to pray. It was therefore with great propriety that, in 1728, he received from Edinburgh and Aberdeen an unsolicited d'ploma, by which he became a doctor of divinity. Academical honours would have more value, if they were always beftowed with equal judgment.' ? Tis not often poffible to bellow them with equal pro- priety; for men, like Dr. Watts, the christian world doth not often enjoy. It is however, a true obfervation, made by another writer (Mr. Toplady) upon this article that ' Learned feminaries would retrieve the departing refpectability of their diplomas, were they only preferr- ed to (I will not fay, fuch men as Dr. Watts; for few fuch men are in any age to be found: But to) perfons of piety, orthodoxy, erudition, and virtue.' ' Ke continued many years to fludy and to preach, and ,to do good by his indirection and example ; till at lafl the Infirmities of age difabled him from the more laborious part of his ministerial functions, and, being no longer capable of public duty, he offered to remit the falary appendant to it ; but his congregation would not accept -rhe refignation. By degrees his weaknefs increafed, and W A T T S. 399- at laft confined him to his chamber and his bed ; where he was worn gradually away without pain, till lie ex- pired November 25, 1748, in the feventy-nfth year of his age. Few men have left behind fuch parity of cha- racter, or fuch monuments of laborious piety. He has provided inftruction for all ages, from thofe who are lif- ping their firft leffons, to the enlightened readers of Male- branche and Locke ; he has left neither corporeal nor fpiritual nature unexamined ; he has taught the art of reafoning, and the fcience of the liars. His character, therefore, mult be formed from the multiplicity and di- verfity of his attainments, rather than from any Tingle performance ; for it would net be fafe to claim for hirn the higheit rank in any fmgle denomination of literary dignity ; yet perhaps there was nothing, in which he would not have excelled, it he had not divided his powers to different purfuits.' Thus far Dr. Johnfon. But, glad as we are to confult brevity in our accounts of gracious perfons in order to admit as many as poifible Within theprefcribed limits of our work, we cannot dif- inifs this article, without a few edifying additions to the memorial of this excellent Man. What feme critics have obferved upon the moil valuable circumitance of his cha- racter, which they have been pleafed to ftyle f the en- thufiafm of his heart, operating on a fanatical creed, which harried him too often into extravagance and abfur- dity -/ only proves, that they are not Welled with a mind like his, capable of underftanding the fame intellectual good, and that confequently they are too incompetent to decide upon what is (o much above them. Whatever ril- es in the leart degree above earth and fenfual compre- hension ; is to men, who know no happiriefs (if it deierve the name) but what comes from earth., altogether fanati- cal, entnuhaftic, and abfurd. The logic cf their dec ifion is, ( We know it not ; therefore, it is not to be known 3 We feel no influence of grace : therefore, there is none ; therefore,, 4 co WATT 8. therefore, it is all chimera ; therefore, we have a right to ridicule. ' But, omitting the reflections of men, whole abftifdhies are more dangerous to themfelves than preju- dicial to the caufe of truth, we fubjoin a- few of the dying layings of this bleffed man, which were preferved and communicated to the world by Dr. Jennings, who preached his funeral fermon, about a fortnight after the body had been interred at Bunhill-Fields. u I bids GOD, fays he, I can lie down with comfort at night, unfolicitous whether I wake in this world or another !" His faith in the promifes was lively and unihaken : " I believe them enough to venture an eternity on them !" Once, to a religious friend, he expreffed himfelf thus ; " I remember, an aged minifler ufed to fay, that the moil learned and .knowing chriftians, when they come to die, have only the fame plain promifes for their fupport, as the common and unlearned. And fo (continued the Doctor) I find it. 'Tis the plain promifes of the gof- pel that are my fupport : And, I blefs GOD, they are plain promifes, which do not require much labour and pains to underftand them: For I can do nothing now, but look into my bible, for fome promife to fupport me, and live upon that." On feeling any temptations tt> complain, he would remark, u The bulinefs of a chri/tian is, to bear the will of GOD, as well as to do it. If I were in health, I could only be doing that : And that I may do now. The beft thing in obedience is, a regard to the will of GOD : And the way to that, is to get our inclinations and averfions as much mortified as we can." With fuch a calm and peaceful mind, and with fuch a lively hope did this faithful fervant wifbfor the fummons, and enter into the joy of his Lord. As a man, Dr. Watts was certainly a moft amiable and excellent character. Could applaufe cherilhthe lau- rels which candor and piety have placed on his brow, they would flourim. with immortal verdure. Pure and undiffembled W ATT S. uncliflembled piety waa the fettled habit of his mind. 1 hough he loved and enjoyed much retirement, yet he did not contract any thing of an affected ftiffhefs or monkiih aufterity ; but on the contrary, the pleafure and fatisfaction which he found in communion with GOD in folitudc, made him the more eafy and cheerful in his 1 converfe with men. » His humility was like a deep made to fet off his other- virtues, and made them ftiine with a brighter luftre*. Though by his natural temper he was quick in relent- ment, yet by his fixed habh he was gentle and inoffen- five. This acquired habit had no fmall effect informing; his fentiments. For he thought he could not be laid too - low, as a creature or a finner, that he might do bono- r to the perfections and grace of GOD. From this prin- ciple, in a great meafure, rofe that high eileem which he had for the chriftian difpenfation, fo apparently calculat- ed to exalt GOD and to humble man. Nor was his humility lefs confpicuous in Ins outward behaviour to- wards others. Hence flowed that condefcenfion, human- ity and kindnefs, which could not but endear him to all who had the pleafure of converting with him, and which rendered him truly venerable in a much higher degree, than all the honours and applaufes which he received from the world. In clofe connection with the grace of humility were to be feen his candor and charity, for which he was remark- ably eminent. The love which he bore to his Saviour induced him cordially to embrace whom he efteemed his genuine difciples. No party names, no variety of fenti- ments in matters of doubtful difputation, nor of practice in the mode of worftiip, could divide him in affection from i'uch as he had reaibn to hope loved Chrifl in fincerity- He therefore maintained a free and friendly correfpon- dence with chriftians of various parties and denominations Though he judged the principles of the moderate non- Ltl % eonformiiis 4 o2 WAT T S. Gdnformiiis mod favourable to chriftian liberty, and the rights of confcience, and their forms of worihip mofi agreeable to the fimplieity of the gofpel, yet he had a high veneration for the perfons and writings of many niinifters and chriflians of the eitablifhed church, as many of them had for him and his works. His own account of his fermons is, this u I have not entertained you with lectures of philofopy iniiead of the gofpel of Chrifr ; nor have I affected that eafy indolence of ftyle, which is the cold and infipld pleafureof men who pretend to pclitenefs. You know it has always been the bufmefs of my miniftry to convince and perfuade your fouls into practical godlinefs, by the cleareit and ftrong- eft reafons derived from the gofpel, and by all the molt moving methods of fpeech of which I was capable ; but ftUI in a humble fubferviency to the promifed influences of the Holy Spirit. I ever thought it my duty to prefs ihe conviction with force on the confeience, when light was fidl let into the mind. A fiatue hung round with moral fentences, or a marble pillar inferibed with divine truth, may coldly preach to the underftanding, whilft devotion freezes at the heart; but the prophets and apoitles were burning and mining lights. They were taught by infpiration to make the words of truth glitter like fun-beams, and to operate like a two-edged fword. The movements of facred pafiion may be the ridicule of an age which pretends to nothing but calm reafoning. Life and zeal in the miniftry of the word may be defpifed by men of lukewarm and dying religion. Fervency of fpirit in the fervice of the Lord, may become the fcofi and jefr of the critic and the profane ; but this very life and zeal, this facred fervency will remain a bright charac- ter of a chriftian preacher, till the- names of Paul and Apollos pcriih 'from the church, till the Bible and the heavens be no more." PHILIP [ 4°3 ] PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D. D. l UIS eminent divine wasthefon of Danid Doddridge, an oilman in London, where he was born June the c6th, ijz2> He was the twentieth and laft child of his parents : The reft, except one daughter, died very young. He was brought up in the early knowledge of religion b/ his pious parents, but was firft. initiated in the elements of the learned language* under one Mr. Scott, a minifter, who taught a private fchool in London. In the year 1712, he was removed to Kingfton upon Thames- About the time of his father's death, which happened in the year 171 5, he was removed to a private fchool at St. Albans, under the care of a worthy and learned mailer, Mr. Nathaniel Wood. Here he happily commenced an acquaintance with Dr Samuel Clark, minifter of the dif. fenting congregation there, who became not only the instructor of his youth in the principles of religion, but his guardian, when a helplefs orphan, and a generous and faithful friend in all his advancing years; for, by his own and his friends contribution; he hirnifiied him with means to 404 WATT S. to purfue his ftudies. The duchefs of Bedford, being-. informed of his circumftances, character, and ftrong in- clination to learning, by his uncle Philip Doddridge, then fleward to that noble family, made him an offer, that, if he chofe to be educated for the miniftry of the church of England, and would go to either of its univerfities, flife would fupport the expence of his education; and, iffhe ihould live 'till he had taken orders, would provide for him in the church. This propoial he received with the warmeit gratitude, but in the moft refpectful manner de- clined it ; as he could not then fatisfy his conlcience to comply with the terms of minifterial conformity. Yet he continued for fome time in great diftrefs from an ap- prehenfion, that he fliould not be able to profecute his ftudies for the miniftry : And Dr. Edmund Calamy, whom lie confulted, increaied his affliction, by advifing him to turn his thoughts to fome other profeflion. Ac- cordingly, he actually was engaging himfelf in the ftudy of the law ; when his friend, Dr. Clark, hearing of his difficulties, generoufly offered to remove them. la October 1719, he was placed under the tuition of the reverend Mr. John Jennings, who kept an academy at Kibworth in Leiceiterihire, a gentleman of great learn- ing and piety; and, during the courfe of his ftudies at this place, he was noted for his diligent application to his proper bufmefs, ferious fpirit, and extraordinary care to improve his talents. He was fir ft fettled as a miniiter at Kibworth, where he preached to a finall congregation in an obfeure village, and where he had much time to apply himfelf to fcudy, which he did with indefatigable induftry. On Mr. Jennings's death, he fucceeded to the care of his academy, and foon after was called to the care of a large dilfenting congregation, whither he carried his academy ; and the number of his pupils increafed. Here and at Market Harborough juft by, and la Illy at Northampton, he DODDRIDGE. 405 he fpent his life, in his clofet, in his academy, and in his congregation. A journey which Dr. Doddridge took to St. Alban's for the purpofe of preaching Dr. Clark's funeral ferrnon, laid the foundation of his own death. In that journey, which, was in December. 1750, he unhappily contracted a cold, that hung upon him during the remainder of the winter. When the fpring advanced, the diforder con- liderably abated ; but in the fummer it returned again with great violence. In this itate of his health, he was advifed by his phyficians and friends to lay afide his public work for a time, and to apply himfelf to the life of pro- per medicines and exercife for the removal of his com- plaint. With the former part of his advice he could not be prevailed upon to comply ; for, in his eftimation, to beufelefs was worfe than death. Whilft he apprehend- ed that there was no immediate danger, he could not be induced to decline, or even leiTen, the various facred em- ployments in which he fo much delighted. The nearer he approached to his difTolution, the more plainly was obferved his continual improvement ia a fpiritual and heavenly temper. Indeed, he feemed to have gotten above the world, and to be daily breathing after immor- tality. This difpolition of his mind was ardently expref- {ed in leveral of his letters, and is manifeft from his will, which was made at this time, and is prefaced in the fol- lowing language : " Whereas it is cuftomary on thefe " occasions to begin with commending the foul into the " hands of GOD throuo-li Chrift ; I do it, not in mere " form, but with (incerity and joy ; efteeming it my iC greateft happinefs, that I am taught and encouraged to " doit, by that glorious gofpel, which, having moit ai- u furedly believed, I have fpent my life in preaching to Ci others ; and which I eiteem an infinitely greater trea- " fure than all my little worldly ilore, or poiteilions ten (i thoufand times greater than jaaine." The / T c6 DODDRIDGE. The laft time that Dr. Doddridge adminiftered the Lord's Snpper to his congregation at Northampton, was on the fecond of June, 1751. In the fermon which he delivered previoufly to the celebration of the ordinance, and which was from Hebrews xii. 23, he expatiated on theillufirious and innumerable ailembly that would meet together in the celeftial world ; and in the conclufion of the whole fervice, he mentioned, with marks of uncom- mon pleafure, the authority of Chritl over ministers and churches. He dropped, likewiie, fome hints of his ap- proaching deceafe, and fpoke with great tendernefs and affection to his people on the profpeet ef their final repara- tion. After this he fpent lome weeks in London, where the hurries and fatigues he went through contributed to increafe his diforder. On his return from the metropolis which was nearly the middle of July, he determined, not- withstanding the earnefl entreaties of his friends to the contrary, to addrefs his flock once more from the pulpit. The difcourfe, which proved in fact to be his farewelier- mon, was from Romans xiv. 8, and was well adapted, not only to the ftateojf his congregation, but to that of his pupils, for whofe future improvement and welfare he was tenderly concerned. He died at Lifbon, where he went for the recovery of his health on the 26th of October 1751, in the fiftieth year of his age : And his remains v. ere interred in the burying ground belonging to the Eritifh factory there. A handfome monument was erec- ted to bis memory in his meeting place at Northampton., at the expence of the congregation. A few days before liis death he wrote to his afliiiant at Northampton, giv- ing him a mort account of his voyage, of the magnificent appearance which the city made from the fea, and of what he obfervecl in pafiing through the ftreets* After mentioning his great weaknefs and danger, he added, " Neverthelefsy J blefs.GOD, the moil undiiturbed " ferenity continues in my mind, and my strength holds " proportion DODDRIDGE. 407 proportion to my day. I {fill hope and truft in GOD, " and joyfully acquiefce in all he may 00 with me. (( <( tt H ti U iC u When yon lee my dear friends of the congregation, in- form them of my circumllances, and allure them, that I cheerfully fubmit myielf to GOD. If I delire life may be reiiored, it i; chieily that it may be employed in ferving Chriit among them ; and that I am enabled by faith to look upon death as an enemy that ihall be dedroyed; and can cheerfully leave my de.ir Mr$. Doddridge a widow in a ftrange land, if fuch be the u appointment of our heavenly Father. I hope I have " done my duty, and the Lord do asfeetneth good in his " fight." As to his perfon, he was rather above the middle fea- ture, extremely thin and {lender : Ke had a very remark- able fprightlinefs and vivacity in his countenance and manner, which commanded attention both in private and in the pulpit. Mr. Job Orton, who hath drawn up an excellent ac- count of his life at large, relates many very edifying para- ges concerning the Doctor's ftudies, engagements, and conduct, which cannot fair of giving fatisfaction to every pious reader. Speaking of him, in his miniiierial office, Mr. Orton Cays, ( That the vital truths of the gofpel, and its duties, as enforced by them, were his favourite topics. He confidered hirafelf as a minifter of the gofpel, and therefore could not fatisfy himfelf without preaching Chrlfi and him crucified. He never puzzled his hearers with dry criticifms and abftrufe difquiiitions : nor content- ed himfelf with moral effays and philoibphical harangues, with which the bulk of his auditory would have been un- affected and uneditied. He thought it crueity to GOD's children to give them (tones, when thay came for bread. i( It is my defire, faith he, not to entertain an auditory with pretty lively things, which is comparatively eafy, but to come clofe.to their confeierxes, co awaken them to a 4 oS DODDRIDGE, a real fenfe of their fpiritual concerns, to bring them ts GOD, and keep them continually near to him ; which, to me at leaft, is an exceeding hard thing.''" He feldom meddled with controveriial points in the pulpit ; never with thofe, with which he might reafonably fuppoie his congregation was unacquainted ; nor fet himfelf to con- fute errors, with which they were in no danger of being infected. When hisfubject naturally led him to mention ibme writers, from whom he differed, he 1 poke of them and their works with candor and tendernefs ; appealing conftantly to the fcriptures, as the flandard, by which aU doctrines are to be tried. He always fpoke with abhor- rence of pailionately inveighing againft our brethren in the pulpit, and making chriitian ordinances the vehicle of malignant paffions. He thought this equally affront- ing to GOD and pernicious to men ; poifoning inftead of feeding the Jheep of Chrlfh Viewing hi-s conduct as tutor, we are told, that one of the firft things he expected of his pupils, was to learn Rich's fhort hand, which he wrote himfelf, and in which his lectures were written ; that they might tranferibe them, make extracts from the books they read and con- fulted, with eafe and fpeed, and fave themfelves many hours in their future compositions. Care was taken in the firft year of their courfe that they iliould retain and improve that knowledge of Greek and Latin which they had acquired at fchool, and gain fuch knowledge of He- brew, if they had not learnt it before, that they might be able to read the Old Teftament ; a care very important and neceffary to this end. Belides the courfe of lectures in a morning, claffcal lectures were read every evening, generally by his afnftant, but tornetimes by himfelf. If any of his pupils were deficient in their knowledge of Greek, the feniors, who were beft Ikilled in it, were appointed to inilruct them at other times. Thofe of them, who choie it, w ere alfo taught French. Svftems of DODDRIDGE. 409 of logic, rhetoric, geography, and metaphyfics, were read during the firft year of their courfe, and they were re- ferred to particular paflages in other authors upon thefe fubjecls, which illuftrated the points on which the lec- tures had turned. To thefe were added lectures on the principles of geometry and Algebra. After thefe ftudies were Hniflied, they were introduced to the knowledge of* trigonometry, conic fedions, and celeftial mechanics. A fyftem of natural and experimental philofophy, compre- hending mechanics, ftatics, hydroftatics, pneumatics, and aftronomy, was read to them ; with references to the bed authors on thefe fubjecls. This fyftem was illuftrat- ed by a neat and pretty large philosophical apparatus, part of which was the gift of lbme of his friends, and the remainder purchafed by a fmall contribution from each of the {Indents, at his entrance on that branch of fcience. Some other articles were touched upon, efpecially hiftory, natural and civil ; as the ftudents proceeded in their courfe, in order to enlarge their under {landings, and give them venerable ideas of the works and providence of GOD. A diftinft view of the human body was given them, as it tended to promote their veneration and love for the great Architect of this amazing frame, whole wonders of providential influence alfo are fo apparent in its fupport, nourilhment and motion ; and all concurred to render them agreeable and ufeful in converfaiion, and to fubferve their honourable appearance in the miniftry. A large fyftem of Jewiih antiquities, which their tutor had drawn up, was read to them in the later years of their courfe, in order to illuftrate numberlefs parages in the fcriptures, which cannot be well underftood without a knowledge of them : They were alfo referred to the beft writers upon the fubjecl. But the chief object of their attention and ftudy, during three years of their courfe, was his fyftem of divinity in the largeft extent of the word ; including what is molt material in pneuma- M rn tolqgy 4 io DODDRIDGE- /tclogy and ethics. In this compendium were contained, in as few words as perfpicnity would admit, the molt material things which had occurred to the author's obser- vation, relating to the nature and properties of the hu- man mind, the proof of the exiilence and attributes of GOD, the nature of moral virtue, the various branches of it, and the means fubfervient to it, and the fanctions by which its precepts, confidered as GOD's natural law, ire inforced : Under which head, the natural evidence of the immortality of the foul was largely examined. To this was added fome furvey of what is, and generally has Jbeett, the (late of virtue in the world. From whence the tr.anfition was eafy to the need of a revelation, the en- couragemei^t to hope for it, and the nature of the evi- dence which might probably attend it. From hence the work; naturally proceeded to the evidence produced in proof of that revelation which the fcriptures contain. The genuinenefs, credibility, and infpiration of thefe facred books, were then cleared up at large, and vindicated from the raoft confiderable objections, which infidels have urged. When thefe foundations were laid, the chief doctrines of fcripture were drawn out into a large detail ; thofe relating to the Father, Son and Spirit ; to the original and fallen ftate of man ; to thefcheme of our redemption by Chrift, and the offices of the Spirit, as the great :gent in the Redeemer's kingdom. The nature of the covenant of grace was particularly ft ated ; and the feveral precepts and inilitutions of the gofpel, with the views which it gives us of the concluding fcenes of our world, and of the eternal itate beyond it. What feemed moifc evident on thefe heads, was thrown into the propofitions ; fome of which were problematical ; and the chief conr.ro- verfies, relating to each, were thrown into the fchotia, and all illuftrated by a very large collection of references ; containing, perhaps, one lecture with another, the fub- j lance DODDRIDGE. 4 n fiance of forty or fifty octavo pages ; in which the fen r timents and reafonings of the molt confiderable authors, • on all thefe heads, might be feen in their own words. It was the butinefs of the Undents to read and contract: theie references, in the intervals between the lectures ; of which only three were given in a week, and fometimes but two. This was the author's capital work as a tutor ; he had Spent much labour upon it, and was continually enriching it with his remarks on any new productions upon the Several Subjects handled in it. This fy Item his pupils transcribed : It is now publiihcd, and the world will judge of its value and fukablenefs to anfuer the end propoled. Critical lectures on the New Teffament were weekly delivered, which the Students were permitted and encouraged to tranferibe, to lead them to the better knowledge of the divine oracles. Thefe contained his remarks on the language, meaning, and deiign of the facred writer*, and the interpretations and criticifms of themoit conaderable commentators. Many of thefe he has infer ted in the " Family Expofitor." In the lail year of the courfe, a Set of lectures on preaching and the paftoral care, was given : Thefe contained, general direc- tions concerning the method to be taken to furnilh them for the work of preaching ; the characters of the beft practical writers and commentators upon the Bible, ma- ny particular rules for the compofition of fermons, their proper Style, the choice and arrangement of thoughts, and the delivery of them ; directions relating to public prayer, expolition, catechizing, the administration of the Sacra- ments, and paftoral viiits : To thefe were added many- general maxims for their conversation and conduct as mi- lliters, and a variety of prudential rules, for their be- haviour in particular circumstances and connections, in which they might be placed. While the Undents were jwrfuing thefe important ftudies, fome lectures were giv- /|i2 D O D D R I D G £. en them on civil law, ihe hieroglyphics and mythology of the ancients; the En glim, niftory, particularly the hiitory of nonconformity, and the principles on which a repara- tion from the church of England is founded. The tutor principally infilled upon thole laid down by Dr> Calamy, in his introduction to the fecond volume of his defence of moderate nonconformity. One day in every week was fet apart for public exer- cifes; at thefe times the tranflations and orations of the junior Undents were read and examined ; thofe, who had eutered on the ftudy of pneumatology and ethics, produc- ed, in their turns, thefe on the feveral fubjects amgned them, which were mutually oppofcd and defended. Thole who had finilhed ethics delivered homilies (as they were called, todiftinguifii them from fermons) on the na- tural and moral perfections of GOD, and the feverai branches of moral virtue ; while the fenior ftudents brought analyfes of fcnpture, the fchemes of fermons, and afterwards the fermons themfelv.es, which they fub- mitted to the examination and correction of their tutor- In this part of his work he was very exacl, and friendly ; efteeming his remarks on their compofitions more ufefut to young preachers, than any general rules of compofi- tion, which could be offered them by thofe, who were themfelves molt eminent in the profeflion. In this view he furnimed them with fubordinate thoughts, and proper fcriptures for proof or ill u ft ration, retrenching what was fuperfluous, and adding what was wanting. It was his care, through the whole courie of their ftudies, that his pupils might have fuch a variety of lectures, weekly, as might engage their minds without detracting them. While they were attending and ftudying lectures of the greateil Lnportance, fome of lefs importance, though ufe- ful in themfelves, were given in the intervals; thefe had generally fome connexion with the former ; and all were adapted to make the man of GOD 1>erfe£l h thoroughly fur- tufhed DODDRIDGE. /;///:c d unto all good works. He contrived that they fhonld Dave as much to read between each lecture, as might keep them well employed, allowing due time for necelFary . ■■■ laxations, and the reading practical writers; he recom- mended it to them, and ftrongly infilled upon it, tbtet they mould converfe with fome of thefe daily, efpecially on the Lord's day, in order to fubferve, at once, the im- provement of the chriftiah and the minister: And he fre- quently reminded them, that it argued a great defect: of understanding, as well as of real piety, if they were neg- ligent herein. He often examined what books they read, betides thofe to which they were referred in their lec- tures, and directed them to thofe which were beSt Suited to their age, capacities, and intended profdilion, and in this refpect they enjoyed a great privilege; as they had the ufe of a large and valuable library, confuting of feve- ral thousands of volumes; manv of them the Doctor had purchafed himfelf, ethers were the donations of his friends, or their feveral authors ; and each Student, at his admif- fion, contributed a fmall fum towards enlarging the col- lection ; the Student's name was inferted in the book or books purchafed with his contribution ; and i: was con- sidered as his gift. To this library the Students had accefs at all times, "under fome prudent regulations as to the time of keeping the books. The tutor was feniible, that a well furnished library would be afnare rather than a benefit to a Student., except he had the advice of a more experienced friend in the choice of thofe he Should read ; as he might throw away his time in thofe which were of little importance, or anticipate the perufal of others, which might more properly be refer ved to fome future time. To prevent this, he Sometimes gave his pupils lectures on the books in the library, going over the Several Shelves in order, in- forming them of the character of each book and its author, if known ; at what period of their courfe, and with what Mm -2 fp- 4*4 DODDRIDGE. ich fpecial views particular books mould be read, and whi< of them it was deferable they mould be moil familiarly ac- quainted and furnifhed with, when they fettled in the world. His pupils took hmts of thefe lectures, which at once displayed the extent of his riding and knowledge, and were in many refpects very ufeful to them. The Doctor's manner of lecturing was well adapted to eno-ape the attention and love of his pupils, and promote their diligent fcudy of the lectures. When the clafs aSlemb- led, he examined them in the lait lecture, whether they understood his reafoning • what the authors referred to laid on the fubject : whether he had given them a jufr. view of their fentimencs, arguments, and objections ', or omitting any that were important. He expected from them an account of the reafoning, demonftrations, fcfip- tures or facts, contained in the lecture and reference;. He alios', ed and encouraged them to propcfe any ob- jections, which mioht arife in their own minds, or which they met with in the authors referred to, cf which they did not think there was a fuflicient folution in the lecture ; cr to mention any texts that were misapplied, or from which particular confequences might not be fairly drawn, and to propofe others, which either confirmed or con- tradifted what he had advanced ; and, it at any time their objections were petulant or impertinent, he patiently heard, and mildly anfwered them,. He was folicitous that they fliould thoroughly underiland his lectures, and what be faid for the it'uftration of them : If he obferved any cf them inattentive, or thought they did not iufficiently un- dcrflaud what he was laying, he would alk them what he had faid, that he might keep up their attention, and- know whether he exprefTed himfelf clearly ; he put on no magifterial airs, never intimidated nor difcour,aged them, but always addrefied them with the freedorn and tendemefs of a father; He never expected nor deiired, that they mould blindly follow his femiments, but per- luitteclt. DODDRIDGE. 415 ted ami em d them to judge for tfremfelves. To alTift them herein, he laid before rhem wh irehend- ed to be the truth, wkh all perfpicutty, and i ..: ib.rcd all objecTions to it ; he never concealed the difficul- ties which affi A, but referred them to ters on both tides, hiding any from their in- fpection. lie frequently and warmly urged them not to take their fyftem cf divinity from any man, or body of men , but from the word of GOD. The Bible was al tfays referred and appealed to upon every point in quqftion, to which it could be fuppofed to give any light. The only proper controverfy that he was ever engag- ed in, was with the author of a treatife, entitled, ' ChriU tianity not founded en Argument/* &c. pubiiihed in the year 1742, to whom he wrote three letters, which were published foon after one another, in 1 743- The author of this treatife, under the form of a molt orthodox and zealous chriftian, pretends to cry up the immediate tef~ tirncny of the Spirit, and aflerts its abfolute neceihty in order to the belief of the gofpel : while at the fame time he endeavours to expofe all kind of rational evidence by tkrh it could be fupported, and advances feveral very cunning mfmuations again ft the truth of it, in the mod pernicious view. Dr. Doddridge, therefore, chofe to publiih feme remarks upon it, not only to defend Chris- tianity in general, but to explain and fupport fome im- portant troth? of it, particularly the agency of the divine opirit, which fome had denied, becaufc others had mifre- prefented. 'tie thought this treatife affected the founda- tion of natural as well as revealed religion, and that the crous turns given to ■ icriptures in it, and the air of bnrlefque and irony which runs through ir, were very unbecoming a wife and benevolent man, or the infinite Bent of the quefdon in debate- In 1747 he publiihed fome remarkable pafoges in the James Gard'mer, who was flam by the re- bels ;io DODDRIDGE'- bels at the battle of Prefton Pans, September 21, 1745. He defigned by this work, not merely to perform a tri- bute of gratitude to the memory of an invaluable friend, but ol duty of GOD and his fellow-creatures, as he had a chearfui hope that the narrative would, under a divine bleiling, be the means of fpreading a warm and lively fenfe of religion. The firft practical piece he publifhcd, was " Sermons on the Education of Children, 1732." This he intended principally for the life of his own con- gregation ; to iuppiy, in fome meafure, that want of more frequent perfcnal infrxuclions on the fubj eel, which his care of his pupils neceiTarily occafioned. Thefe dif- courfes contain a variety of important advices and affec- ting motives, in a little compafs, and have been very ufe- ful to ailift parents in this difficult work. His tender concern for the rifmg generation {hewed itfelfin his " Sermons to Young People," publiihed in 1735; and in his " Principles of the Chriftian Religion," in verfe, for the ufe of children and youth," publiihed in 1743. In this composition, which was drawn up by thedefire of his friend, Dr. Clark, he hath happily united eafe, plain- nefs, and elegance. In 1736, he publiihed (i Ten Ser- mons on the power and grace of Clirifr, and the evidenc- es of his glorious gofpel." Thefe three laft, on the evidences of the gofpel, were, in fome later editions, by the particular delire of one of the firft dignitaries of the church of England, printed fo as tobahad feparate from the former. They contain a fufficient defence of chrif- tianity, and are well adapted to the ufe cf thofe whofe oliice calls them to defend it. It gave the author ang- ular pleafure to know that thefe fermons were the means of convincing two gentlemen of a liberal education and diftinguifhed abilities, who had been deiits, thatchrif- lianity was true and divine ; And one of them, who had fet himfclf zealondy to prejudice others againfi: the evi- dences and contents of the gofpel ; became a zealous preacher, DODDRIDGE. 417 preacher, and an ornament of the religion he had once denied and defptfed. In 1 741 , ihe Doctor publifbed fome Practical difcourfes on Regeneration, in 1745, he pub- limed another practical treadle, entitled, " Hie Rift and progrefs of Religion in the Soul, illuftrated in a courfe of ierious and practical addreffes, fuitedto perfons of every Character and Circumftance ; with a devout Meditation and Prayer added to each chapter." Dr. Watts had projected fuch a work hiinfeif, but his grow- ing infirmities prevented his execution of it. Fie recom- mended it, therefore, to Dr. Doddridge, imagining him the fitteft perfon of his acquaintance to execute it in a manner that would be acceptable and ufeful to the world. It was with fome reluctance he undertook fuch a work, amidfl; his many other weighty concerns. But Dr. Watts' s heart was (o much fet upon the detign, and he urged his undertaking it with fo much importunity, th. J .t he could not deny his requerc, after having been honoured with his friendihip for many years, and receiving much aftif- tance and encouragement from him, in feverai of his undertakings for the good of the church. After this work was rimmed, Dr., Watts reviled as much of it as his health would admit. It is, indeed, a body of practical divinity and chriftian experience, and contains, as it were, the fubftance of all the Author's preaching; and, conli- dering how comprehensive it is, there is hardly any (in- gle treatife which may be more ferviceable to young mim- ilers and (Indents. His " plain and ferions addrefs to the mailer of a family, en the important fubject of Family Religion/' de- serves particular notice, as it has patted through feverai editions, been very ferviceable to miniiters, who, by put- ting it into the hands of matters of prayerlefs Families, might excite them to their duty, without being expofed to thofe inconveniences, which a perfonal admonition ffiight, in fome cafes and with fome temper?, be attend- ed: 4i3 DODDRIDGE. ed : And the Author's reafoning is fo plain and forcible, as to leave thofe inexcufable, who, after reading it, will continue in this (hameful and pernicious neglect. Since his deceafe, his leiTer pieces have been reprinted, in three imall volumes : But his capital work was, " The Family Exporter," containing a Verfion and Paraphrafe of the New Teftament, with critical notes, and a practical Im- provement of each feclion, in fix volumes 8vo He had been preparing for this from his entrance on the miniftry, and kept it in view in the future courfe of his ftudies. It has been already obferved, that his works have been much read and elleemed ; I would add, that the moft con- siderable of them have been translated into foreign lan- guages, and publifhed abroad. In 1748 he reviled the expofitory works and other remains of the excellent archbiihop Leighton, and tranfiated his Latin prelections, which were printed together in two volumes at Edin- burgh. The archbifhop's commentary upon the firft epiitle of St. Peter hath fince been reprinted, under the iufpection of the reverend Mr. Fofter, at London. ( 4^9 ) Cffi^=== =» ~T^~e~t-±a~i%g Rev. JONATHAN HOWARDS. BIOGRAPHY is confeffedlv a very agreeable ftudy, and when eminent and good men are the iubjecis of it, no lefs inftructive and improving. W e contemplate with pleafure thofe who have attained degrees of virtue or knowledge which ourfelves are feeking ; and there is a voice in acts of piety and benevolence, like that of the Redeemer, < Co thou and do likewife :' but Chriitian Biography has another end in view ; we are taught to conlider believers as ' The workmanihip of Chrifr Jefus, * created anew unto good works:' and certainly thelree- nels and power of divine grace are no lefs conspicuous in thele, tlum are the other attributes of Deity in the works of nature and providence. Or, to borrow another me- taphor of infpiration, they are the living epiftles of Jefus Chrifr, and have thefe particular advantages over thofe infcribed with ink and pen, that they are both more du- rable and more legible — they are living, and as durable as eternal life ; they are ' feen and read of all men :' for the moft illiterate can read the language of a holy life, though 420 EDWARD S. though they may not be able to read a line or a letter of* the infpired voldnie. Prelident Edwprds, was one of the wifeft, beft, and mofr, ufeful preachers this age has produced ; his writings exhibit a remarkable ftrength of intellect; the perfpicuity of thought and depth of penetration difcovered in his vindication of the great doctrines of Chriftianity, prove him to be a good Icholar, a bright genius, and a great divine. This learned and moil excellent man was born at Windibr, in the province of Conr.ecticut, October ctb, 1703 ; was entered at Yale College in 1716, and Tiade bachelor of arts in 1720, before be was feventeen years of age. liis mental powers opened themfelves fo early and fo vigcrouily, that he read Locke's EiTay upon hu- man understanding with uncommon delight at thirteen years of age: even at that period difcovering a depth, folidity, and penetration of mind, which found nothing fo pleafant to itfelf as the exercife of its own powers. He lived at college near two years after taking this flrft degree, preparing himfelf, principally, for the facred function. After pafling the ufual trials, he was licenfed, according to the cuftom of the college and the form of religion in the province, to preach the gofpel as a can- didate. In Auguft 1711, he received a call to preach to the Engliih Prefbyierians at New York, where he continued with approbation above eight months. This fociety was then too fmall to maintain a minifter ; and therefore, in the fpring of the year 1723, he returned to his father's houfe in Connecticut, where, during the following fum- mer, he followed his ftudies with the clofeft application. It appears, ' however, that he had a deep fenfe of the chriftian and minifterial profeflion upon his mind during his abode at New York, that the people he watched over became E D VT A ft D S. 421 became very dear to him, and that he left them, at hit with great regret. In the ipring of the year 1724, having taken his maf- ter's degree in the year before, he v. as chofen tutor of Yale College, and he followed this duty above two years. It mult be owned, that this was an engagement of great confequence for a young man of twenty. one, who, by his early introduction into the miniftry, and other avoca- tions, could not have found too many opportunities for his own improvement ; but the ftrength of his mind over- came what are ufually infuperable difficulties in the way of the generality ; and perhaps his genius acted more forcibly from its not being confined with academical fet- ters, which elevated geniules can feldom endure. In September, 1726, he refigned his tutorihip, in con- fequence of the invitation of the people at Northampton, in Connecticut, for afliftance to his mother's father, Mr- Stoddard, who was the fettled minifter of the town. He was ordained colleague on the 15th of February, 1727, in the twenty-fourth year of his age, and continued in the minifterial fervice there till the 22d of June, 1750, when he was difmiiTed for attempting to reform the church. What feems at firft to have rendered Mr. Edwards an object of hatred, was a circumftance, which mould have made him, and certainly would, among perfons tru- ly religious, an object of love. Some young perfons of his flock had procured iome obfcene publications, which, they commented upon among themfelves for their own proficiency in lafcivioufnefs, and propagated, with the ufual decency of fuch perfons, for the infection of others. This came in a fnort time to Mr. Edwards's ears ; and therefore taking occafion after a fermon upon Keb. xiU 15, 16. preached for the purpofe, to call the- leading members of his charge together, he informed them of what he had heard, and procured a confent that the N n matter 4 22 EDWARDS. rffatter fhould be examined. A committee was appoint- ed for this purpofe, and to aflift the paitor. When this was -done, Mr. Edwards appointed a time of meeting, and then read a lift of the names of young perfons^ accus- ing and accilfed, without Specifying under which predica- ment rhey flood, who were deiired to come together at his houie. Upon the declaration of names,- it appeared that almoft ~;il the families in the town had fome relation or other concerned in the matter ; and therefore a great num- ber of the heads of families not only altered their minds : bout-examination, but declared, that the : r children, &c ihould not be called to account for fuch things as thefe. The town was immediately in a bla7e : and this fo ifrengthened the hands, .or hardened the f?.ces of the guilty, that they let their paftor at defiance with the great- eil infolence and contempt. Thus Mr. Edwards's hands were weakened ; and we •tre told, that he afterwards had but little fuccefs in his mini/fry ; but, on the contrary, that fecurity and carnali- ty much increafed among his people, and the youth in particular became more wanton and diflblute. All this paved the way for iomsthing more. It had been a Handing opinion among this, people for fome time, countenanced alfo by their late paflor, " That uncon- verted perfons," known to be fuch by the nngodlirefs of their lives, or their ignorance of divine- truth, " n ^d notwithstanding a right in the fight of God to the Sacra- ment of the Lord's fupptr; and that, therefore, it was their dutv to partake of it. even though they had no ap- pearance of the grace and holinefs, which the gofpel ibtes to be infeparable from true believers. It \ as fuf- ficient if they were outward and vifible members ; io that they, who really rejected Jefus iJhrift, and didikea .the gofpel- way of falvation in thtr hearts, and kn w r -hat this was true of themselves, might (inconceivable E- I> W A R D 3. 4 ^> as it appears) make the profeifion without lying and hypocrify." To the common inconveniences always attending a national church, where' it is impoifible to examine every man's profelhon, or to keep him from disgracing it, here is- an addition becoming the dileip'ies of Ignatius of Loyola by which men may be hypocrites without the guilt of hy- pocrify, and lyars without the imputation of iin. A convenient fort of principle indeed to men cf a certain cafl ; but by no mean* to thofe, who are never to forget, that ' Fornication and all uncleannefs, tilthineis, or fool- * i:h talking, mould not be even named amongft them, * as becometh faints.' [See Eph. v. 3 — 7- J • Mr. Edwards had Ion g been uneafy upon the preva- lence of this principle, (one of the moil ftrange that ever any church of Chrift avowed) and upon his own yield- ing to the example qf his predeceilbr and to a practice fettled before he car thiiher. His doubts and untafi- nefs, as might be exrected from fo good a man, increaf- ed upon him, and drove him at length to a thorough in- vestigation q£ the fubjecl ; the refult of which -was a clear conviction of the error, and a firm determination to ex- pole it. He was convinced, that " To be avijibk Chrif- tian was to put on the appearance of a real one; that the profeffion of chriftianity was a profeilion of that, in which real chriitianity confifts ;" and that, therefore, as the Lord's fupper. was intendeufor realChriitians, noneoughs to come to it, who were not at leaft profeflprs of real chraianity,. and to whom no imputation of allowed ungod- liuefs could juilly be made. The declaration of his mind upon this head, among fuch a kind of men, raifed an immediate clamour, and put the town into as great a ferment as the preaching of an holy apoftle had long before occasioned at Ephefus. They were all in an uproar : and * Difmifs him, difmifs 4 him/ was the liniverfal cry of men, women, and elders. He 4*45 EDWARDS. He had touched a favourite fin, and a favourite principle which protected it : and (what was a very great truth, though not in their fenfe of it) he was no longer fit to be their paftor. He attempted to reafon with them calmly \ but it was oppofmg his breath to the winds, the general cry was to have him difmifled. Mr. Edwards, when they would not hear him, wilhed to refer the matter to fome neighbouring minifters ; but this being rejected, he attempted to difcufs the matter in a courfe of lectures, which he began' for the purpofe ; but although numbers came from the adjoining parts, very few of his own congregation would attend. So in- toxicating is the nature of human prejudice, when once indulged, that men will rather renounce their reafon than refume their temper. Mr. Edwards, finding all methods ineffectual to re- strain the torrent of virulence, (lander, and falfhood rol- ling upon him, at length yielded to the artifice of thefe men in packing a council, compofed chiefly of their own friends ; thefe, after fome unavailing attempts for a reconciliation, paffed a refolve, by the majority of one voice only, to this effect. That it was expedient that the paftoral relation between Mr. Edwards and his church mould be difTolved, if they perfifted in requiring it. This being reported to the people, they immediately voted his difmiilion by a majority of two hundred againft twenty r and he w as accordingly difmified June 22, 1750. Thus had thefe people the infamy of endeavouring to ruin the' moft able and celebrated divine, who hath as yet been born in America. But they knew not their own mercies. 1 he few abhorrers of this atrocious act entered an unavailing proteft againft it. The good man, mock- ed rather for his enemies than for himfelf, preached a moft folemn and affecting farewell difcourfe, which was after- wards published, 021 2 Cor. i. 4. on which he raifed this doctrine, " That m'mifters, and the people who have been under E D W A R I) 3. Wilder their tare, mull meet one another at the tribunal of ChriiV The malice of his enemies did not ftop here , fur when at times there was no preacher to i'upply the pulpit, he cheerfully gave them his fervice, rather thart it mould he empty,. This kindnefs, which would have conciliated more ingenuous minds, only mcrealcd the unhappy flame kindled in theirs, inlbmuch that they cal- led the town together and voted that he flrauld pr< among them no more. And fo they frequently wer/ without preaching, rather then have the fi'ee miniifrati- ons of a man, of whom the world itfclf 'was mi worihy.— But thefe are bleiTmgs of an abiclnte democracy i Thus ended his fervice of near four-and-twenty-yea-. to an undifcerning and ungrateful people, -who had bet i much upon his heart, and for whom he had always ex prefled a very tender concern. " For their good he was always writing, contriving, and -labouring; for them he had poured out ten thoufand fervent prayers • and hi their welfare he had rejoiced as one that findeth great ipoih" Yet all their deteftable conduct did not alter the frame of his mind. " He was calm, fedate, and humble under the mod injurious treatment- his relblution and conduct in the whole affair were wonderful, and cannot be fet in fo beautiful and affecting a light by any defcri ra- tion, as they appeared in to his friends who were e m - witneffes." J This incomparable man was how in the decline of lift -, with little or no income befides bis ftiperd ■ >and this throws the grcateft light upon his faithfulnefs' and fined* rity : nor had he any view of fupport from another ap- pointment ; for he knew not how far the malice of ifs people might extend, to prevent it, ofehe prejudice of his Uiimiliion operate againft him-elfewhefe : neither was he capable (alas, what pity he ihould be driven to think of it!) to take up any other bufmefs for a fupport. Thud poverty and difgrace were before him. But he kne^ N n l - that 4*6 EDWARD S. that he had a good mafter. He had divine comfort in his foal ; and in a fliort time providence provided for both him and his family. Amamed of this unparalleled bafenefs to fo excellent a man, his friends, or rather the friends of godlinefs, ad- miniitered to his relief: and he was foon after appoint- ed to the million at Stockbridge ; hut not before fome^ ibme orher infolent and bitter attempts had been made to ruin his reputation, as well as to deprive him of bread. Jt may not be improper here to add, that one of the ringleaders in this iniquitous bufmefs was fo ftung with his conduct towards Mr. Edwards, that he afterwards made a public confeilion of his guilt, in a letter to the Rev. Mr. Hall, of Sutton, which letter, after having enu- merated the particulars of his oppofition to that good man, concludes thus, il In thefe inftances, Sir, of my conduct, and others (to which you was not privy) in thecourfe of that moft melancholy contention with Mr. Edwards, wherein I now fee that I was very much in- fluenced by vaft pride, felf-fufficiency, ambition, and vanity, I appear to myfelf vile ; and doubtlefs much more fo to others who are more impartial ; and do, in the re- view thereof, abhor myfelf, and repent forely : and if my own heart condemns me, it behoves me folemnly to remember, that God is greater, and knoweth all things ; and I hereby own, Sir, that fuch treatment of Mr. Ed- wards, as is herein before mentioned, wherein I was fo deeply concerned and active, was particularly and very aggisvatedly linfu'i and ungrateful in me, becaufe I was not only under the common obligations of each individual of the ibciety to him, as a molt able, diligent, and faith- ful paftor ; but I had alfo received many inftances of his tcndemefs, goodnefs, and generofity to me, as a young kinfman, whom he was difpofecl to treat in a moft friend- ly manner. Indeed, Sir, I muft own, that by my con- duel E D W A R D 6. 427 duct in confulting and a&ing againft Mr. Edwards, with- in the time of our molt unhappy difputes with him, and efpecially in and about that abominable remonftrance, I have fo far fymbolh'.ed with Balaam, Ahithophel, and Ju- das, that I am confounded and filled with terror often- times when I attend to the moft painful (imiiitude. And 1 freely confefs, that en account of my conduct above mentioned, I have the gteateft reafon to tremble at thole moft folemn and awful words of our Saviour, Matt, xviii. 6. and thofe in Luke xih, at the 16th : And I am moft forely fenfible that nothing but that infinite grace and mercv, which laved fome of the betrayers and mur- derers of our blelled Lord and the perfecutcrs of his martyrs, can pardon me : in which alone I hope for par- don, for the fake of Chrift, wbofe blood (biefled be God) deanfeth from all fin." Mr. Edwards, who was able to fame in the feats of learning, and fome time hence was called to prefide over one, was now delegated to the infcruclion of favage In- dians at Stockbridge. This place is in the weftem part of Maffachufetts Bay, and about fix miles from Mr. Edwards's former refidence at Northampton. He was fixed here on the 8th of Auguft, 1751 ; and here he continued his labours, in more peace and quietnefs than he had ever known before, for fix years. In this interval, though much in years, he made greater attainments in knowledge, and wrote more for the church of God, than he had ever been able to do, within the fame fpace of time, during the former part of his life. In this retirement, he cempofed his deepeft and moft valuable works ; fo that when, in his own judgment, as well as that of others, his ufefulnefs feemed to be cut off, he found greater op- portunities of fervice than ever.' A pleafing calm, after fo grievous a ftorm, to his troubled mind! On the death of Mr. Aaron Burr, prefident of New- College, which was on the 2/. :h of September, i757>the truftees 428 E D W* A R D S. tfnftees of that feminary unfolicited chofe Mr. Edwards to fucceed him : but our excellent author was with dif- ficulty prevailed upon to accept it ; modeftly alledging his own infufficicHcyj ill health, and difufe to that kind of life. At length, upon the arguments and periuafions of his brethren in the miniftry, he accepted of this presiden- cy, and went from Stockbridge to Prince-Town in Janu- ary, i 758. But the end of his labours was approaching ; he had only preached two or three fermons, and had not entered fully upon the duties of his new office, when he was called to glory. The fmall pox, which has always been unufually fatal in America, had infected Prince Town, which induced thephyfician of the place to advife him to be inoculated, with theconfent of the corporation. Accordingly he was inoculated on the 13th of February, and his diibrder at nrft feemed to be favourable ; but a fever coming on, and the pufiules laying much in his throat, no proper medicines could be adminifiered, and therefore the violence of it raged, till it put an end to his ufeful life, on the 22d of March, 175B, in the fifty- fifth year of his age* When he was ienfible that death was approaching, he called his daughter (who was the only part of his family which had yet removed with him,) and addreiTed her in the following words : * Dear Lucy, it feems to me to be * the will of God, that I muft fhortly leave you : there- * fore, give my kindeft love to my dear wife, and tell her,. •' that the uncommon union, which has fo long fubfifted *■ between us, has been of fuch a nature, as I truft is fpi- 4 ritual, and therefore will continue for ever. I hope - me will be fupported under fo great a trial, and fubmit 6 cheerfully to the will of God. And as. to my children, 4 you are now like t© be left fatheriefs, which I hope will * be an inducement to you all to feek a father, who will * never fail you.' He defired that his funeral might not be attended with parade (as is ufual in America,) .but ra* ther E D W A R O S. 429 ther fomething be given to the poar. He could fay but little in his ficknefs, owing to the nature and feat of his diforder ; but juil at the lr.it, when furrounded by friends lamenting their own lofs and that of the church and col- lege, he laid, to their great furprize, as they did not ima- gine he heard them or was able to fpeak, ' Trull in God, and ye need not fear^ ? and then, almoft literally, fell afleep in Jefus. We are perfuaded our readers will be abundantly gra- tified with the account of our author's experience as writ- ten by himfelf ; and therefore fliall make no apology for fubioining a great part of it. In this narrative we find our great and celebrated di- vine relating the manner of God's dealings with his foul, in a ftile that breathes all the humility and fimplicity of a little child. «' It is peculiarly fweet to obferve," fays an evangelical writer, ** that in matters of fpiritual con- cern, the philofopher and the ploughman, if truly rege- nerated, have the fame feelings, and fpeak the fame language : they all i eat of the fame fpiritual. meat, and drink of the fame fpiritual rock, which follows them, and that rock is ChrinV Hence that fimilitude of expe- rience or (to fpeak figuratively) that ftrong and {hiking family likenefs, which obtains among the converted people ■of God, in every period of time, and in every nation un- der heaven. They all without exception frel themfelves totally ruined by original fin ; they all without exception take refuge in the righteoufnefs and crofs of Chrift; and unite in afcribing the whole praife of their falvatkm to the alone free grace and fovereign mercy of Father, Son, and Spirit. " " I had," fays Mr. Edwards, " a variety of concerns and exerciies about my foul from my childhood ; but had two more remarkable feafons of awakening, before I met with that change by which I was brought to thofe new difpofuions, and that new fenfe of things, that I have 43^ EDWARD $ have fince had. The firft time was when I was a bc^- iome years before I went to college, at a time of remark- able awakening in my father's congregation. 1 was thea very much affected for many months, and. concerned about the things of religion, and my foul's falvation j and was abundant in duties. I ufed to pray five times a day in fecret, and to fpend much time in religious talk with ether boys ; and ufed to meet with them to pray together. I experienced I know not what kind of delight in religi- on j my mind was much engaged in it, and had much felf-righteous pleafuxe ; and it was my delight to abound in religious duties. I, with fome of my ichool-mates, joined together and built a booth in a fwamp, in a very iecret and retired place, for a place of prayer. And, be- fides, 1 had particular fecret places of my own in the woods, where T ufed to retire by myfelf, and ufed to be, from time to time, much a/ected. 3My affections feeined to be lively and eafily moved, and I feemed to be in my element, when 1 engageain religious duties : and I am ready to think, many are deceived with fuch affec- tions, and Juch a kind of deKgUt, as I then had in religion and miitake it for grace. c( But in procefs of time, my convictions and -affections wore off, and I entirely loft all thofe affections and de- lights, and left off fecret prayer, at leaf: as to any con- flant performance of it : and returned like a dog. to -.his vomit, and went on in ways of iin. " Indeed I was at {bine times very uneafy, efpecially towards the latter pa$t of the time of my being at -college. Till it pleaied God, in my laft year at college, at a time \\ hen I was in the midit of many uneafy thoughts about the flate of. my foul, to feize me with a pleurify ; in which he brought me nigh to the grave, and ihcok me over the pit of hell. «< But yet, it was not long after my reepvery, before I fell again into my old ways of iin. But God would net EDWARD S. 43 * not fuffer me to go on with any quietncfs. My concern now wrought more by inward itruggles and conflicts, and felf-reiiections : I made feeking my falvation the main btiftheft of my life; but yet it feems to me, I fought after a miferable manner ; which has made me fometimes fince to quellion, whether ever it ifiued in that which was Caving ; being ready to doubt, whether fuch miferable feeking was ever fucceeded. But yet I was brought to feek falvation in a manner that I never was before; I felt a fpirit to part with all things in the world for an intereit in Chriit. My concern continued - and prevailed, with many exercifmg thoughts and in- ward druggies ; but yet it never feemed to be proper to exprels the concern that I had, by the name of terror. " From my childhood up, my mind had been wont to be full of objection l againft the doctrine of God's fove- reignty, ih choofing v horn he would to eternal life, and rejecting whom he pleafed ; leaving them eternally to perim. It ufed to appear like a horrible doctrine to me; but I remember the time very well, when I feemed to be convinced, and fully fatisfied, as to the fovereignty of God, and his juftice in thus eternally difpoling of men according to his fovereign pleafure ; but never could give an account how, or by what means, I was thus convin- ced ; not in the leaft imagining, in the time of it, nor a lung time after, that there was an extraordinary influ- ence of God's Spirit in it ; but only that now I law far- ther, and my reafon apprehended the juftice and reafon- ablenefs of it. But I have oftentimes, lince that firfl conviction, had quite another kind of fenfe of God's fovereignty than I had then. I have often fince, not only had a conviction, but a delightful conviction. The doctrine of God's fovereignty is a fweet doctrine to me; and abfolute fovereignty is what I love toafcribeto God. JBut my firit conviction was not with this." ■ u 1 he firft that I remember that ever I found any thing 43* EDWARD S. thing of that fort of inward fweet delight in God and di- vine things, that I have lived much in fince, was on rea- ding thofe words, [i Tim. i. 17.] 'Now unto the * king eternal, immortal, invifible, the only wife God, ' be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen.' As I read the words, there came into my foul, and was as it were difFufed through it, a fenfe of the glory of the Di- vine Being ; quite different from any I ever experienced before. Never any words of fcrip- ture feemed to me as thefe words did. I thought with myfelf, how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I mould be, if I might enjoy that God, and be wrapt up to God in heaven, and be as it were fwallowed up in him. I kept faying, and as it were (inging over thefe words of fcripture to myfelf ; and went to prayer, to pray to God that I might enjoy him ; and prayed in a manner quite different from what I ufed to do ; with a new fort of affeclion ; but it never came into my thought that there was any thing fpiritual or of a laving nature in this. " From about that time, I began to have a new kind of apprehenlions and ideas of Chritt, and the work of re- demption, and the glorious way of falvation by him. I had an inward fweet fenfe of thefe things, that at times came into my heart, and my foul was led away in pleai fant views and contemplations of them ; and my mind was greatly engaged tofpend my time in reading and medita- ting on Chrift, and the beauty and excellency of his perfon and the lovely way of falvation by free grace in him. I found no books fo delightful to me, as thofe that treated of thefe fubje£ts. Thofe words, [Cant. ii. 1.] ufed to be abundantly with me, c I am the rofc of Sharon, ' and the lily of the vallies.' The words feemed to me fweetly to reprefent the lovelinefs and beauty of Jefus Chriit. And the whole book of Canticles ufed to be pleafant to me, and I ufed to be much in-reading it about that . EDWARD S. 433 that time ; and found, from lime to time, an inward fweetnefs that ufed, as it were, to carry me away in my contemplations. The fenfel had of divine things, would often of a fuddeu, as it were, kindle up a fweet burning in my heart, an ardour of my foul, that I know not how to exprelV. " After this my fenle of divine things gradually in- creafed, and became more and more lively, and had more of that inward fweetnefs. The appearance of every thing was altered ; there feemed to be, as it were, a calm, fweet caft, or appearance of divine glory, in alnioft every thing. God's excellency, his wifdom, his purity and love, feemed to appear in every thing ; in the fun, moon, and ftars ; in the clouds, and blue iky ; in the grafs, flowers, trees ; in the water, and all nature ; which ufed greatly to fix my mind and fcarce any thing, among all the works of nature, was fo fweet to me as thunder and lightning ; formerly, nothing had been fo terrible to me. I ufed to be a perfon uncommonly terrified with thunder, and it ufed to ttrike me with terror when I faw a thun- der-ftorm riling : but now, on the contrary, it rejoiced me. I felt God at the firit appearance of athunder-fiorm, and ufed to take the opportunity, at fuch times, to fix myfelf to view the clouds, and fee the lightnings play,. iind hear the majeiiic and awful voice of God's thunder, which oftentimes was exceedingly entertaining, leading me to fweet contemplations of my great and glorious God. " I felt then a great fatisfaction as to my good eilate : but that did not content me. I had vehement longings of foul after God and Chrift, and after more holinefs, wherewith my heart feemed to be full, and ready to break ; which often brought to my mind the words of the Pfalmift, [Pfa. cxix. 28.] ' My foul breaketh for the * longing it hath.' I often felt a mourning and lament- ing in my heart, that I had not turned to Gcd fooner, O o than 4j4 E D WARDS. that I might have had more time to grow in grace. My mind was greatly fixed on divine things ; 1 was almoin perpetually in the contemplation of them : fpent moft-of my time in thinking of divine things, year after year g and ufed to fpend abundance of my time in walking alone in the woods and folitary places for meditation, foliloquy, and prayer, and converie with God : and it was always ray manner, at fuch times, to fing forth my contempla- tions ; and was almoft conftantly in ejaculatory prayer wherever I was. Prayer feemed to be natural to me, as the breath by which the inward burnings of my heart had vent. u The delights which I now felt in things of religion were of an exceeding different kind from thofe fore-men- tioned, that I had when I was a boy ; they were totally of another kind • and what I then had no more notion or idea of, than one born blind has of pleafant and beau- tiful colours : they were of a more inward, pure, foul- animating and refrefhing nature. Thofe former delights never reached the heart ; and did not ari'fe from any light of the divine excellency of the things of God : or any taite of the foul-iatisfying, and life-giving good, there is in them." " My fenfe of divine things feemed gradually to in- crease, till I went to preach at New York, which was about a year and a half after they began. While I was there, I felt them, very fenfibly, in a much higher de- gree than I had done before : my longings after GOD and holinefs were much inereafed ; pure and humble, holy and heavenly chriftianity, appeared exceeding amiable to me. I felt in me a burning defire to be in every thing a complete Chriftian ; and conformed to the blefled image ofChrift; and that 1 might live in all things according to the pure, fweet, and blelTed rules of the gofpel. 1 fought an increafe of grace and holinefs, and that I might »ive an holy life, with vaftly more earnefhiefs than ever ' I fougjhs EDWARDS 435, ught grace, before I had it. My experience had not- then taught me, as it has done fince, my extreme feeble - nefs and impotence, every manner of way ; and the in- numerable and bottomlefs depths of fecret corruption and • deceit that there were in my heart. However, I went on with my eao-er purfuit after more holinefs, and fweet- conformity to Chrift. '* The heaven I defired was a heaven of holinefs ; to be with God, and to fpend my eternity in divine love, and holy communion with Chrift. My mind was very much taken up with contemplations on heaven, and the enjoyments of tliDfe there ; and living there in perfect ho- linefs, humility, and love. And it ufed at that time to appear a greac part of the happinefs of heaven, that there the faints could exprefs their love to Chrift. It appeared to me a great clog and hindrance, and burden to me that what I felt within, I could not exprefs to God, and give vent to, as I defired ; the inward ardour of my foul feemed to be hindered and pent up, and could not freely flame out as it would. I ufed often to think how in heaven this fweet principle mould freely and ful- ly vent and exprefs itfelf. Heaven appeared to be ex- ceeding delightful as a world of love. It appeared to me that all happinefs confided in living in pure, humble, heavenly, divine love. u I remember the thoughts I ufed then to have of ho- linefs. I remember I then laid fometimes to myfelf, I do certainly know that I love holinefs, fuch as the gofpel prescribes ; it appeared to me, there was nothing in it but what was ravifhlngly lovely : it appeared to me to be the higheft beauty and amiablenefs, above all other beau- ties, that it was a divine beauty, far purer than any thing here upon earth ; and that every thing elfe was like mire, filth, and defilement, in companion of it. " There was no part of creature-holinefs that I then, and at other times, had fo great a fcrSs oi the lovelinefs of, 436 EDWARDS. of, as humility, brokennefs of heart, and poverty of fpi- rit ; and there was nothing that I had fuch a fpirit to long for. My heart, as it were, panted after this, to lie low before God, and in the duft, that I might be no- thing, and that God might be all ; that I might become, as a little child. (l While I was there, at New York, I fometim'es was much affected with reflections on my paft life, confider- ing how late it was before I began to be truly religious, and how wickedly I have lived till then ; and once fo, as to weep abundantly, and for a coniiderable time toge- ther. " On January 12, 1722-3, 1 made a fclemn dedica- tion of myfelf to God ; and wrote it down ; giving up myfelf and ail that I had to God; to be for the future in no refpect my own : to act as one that had no right to^ himfelf in any refpecl ; and folemnly vowed to take God for my whole portion and felicity ; looking on nothing elfe as any part of my happmefs, nOracYmgas if it were ; and his law for the conftant rule of my obedience, en- gaging to fight with all my might againft the world, the flefh, and the devil, to the end of my life. But have reafcn to be infinitely humbled, when I confider how I have failed of anfwering my obligation. " I had then abundance of fweet religious converfation in the family where I lived, with Mr. John Smith, and his pious mother. My heart was knit in affection to thole in whom were appearances of true piety ; and I could bear -the thoughts of no other companions, but fuch as were holy, and the difciples of the bleiled Jefus. iC I had great longings for the advancement ofChrifVs kingdom in the world ; my fecret prayer ufed to be in great part taken up in praying for it. If I heard the leaft hint of any thing that happened in any part of the world, that appeared to-me, in fome refpect or other, to have a favourable afpecT on the ihtereft ef ChrifVs king- dom. £ D W A II D dom, my foul eagerly catched at it, and it w animate and refrefti me. I nfed to be earneft to read public news letters, mainly for that end, to ice if] could not Hud fome news favourable to the intereit of religion in the world. (i 1 had then, and at other t'r.ues, the greatcft delight in the holy fcripttfres of any book w-hiatToyrer ; oftentimes in reading it, every word feemed to touch nry heart. I felt a harmony between foinething in nry heart, and thofe fwect and powerful words : I feemed often to iee io much light exhibited by every fentence, and fuch a re- frelhing food communicated, that I coold not gee along in reacting : ufed oftentimes to dwell long on one len- ience, to fee the wonders contained in it ; and yet almoft every fentence feemed to be full of wonders. "I came away from- New York in the month o£ April 172^, and had a moft bitter parting with Madam* Smith and her fon : my heart feemed to link within me, at leaving the family and city, where 1 had enjoyed' fo many fweet and pleafant days. It W3S fweet to me to think of meeting dear Chriltians in heavenf, where we fhonld ne«?er part more. At Say brook went afhere to lodge on Saturday, and there kept Sabbath; where 1 had a fweet and refreshing feafbn, walking alone in the fields. After I went to New Haven I- funk in religion, my? mind being diverted from my eager and violent pur- fnits afrer holinefs, by fome affairs that greatly perplex- ed- and diiira-ited my mind. " In September 172^., was taken ill at New Haven, and endeavouring to go home to Windfor, -was fo ill ai. the North Village, that I could go no further ; where L lay Pick for about a quarter of a year. And, in this lick- nefs, God was pleafed to .vifit me again with the fv/e?: influences of his Spirit- My mind was greatly en - I was i'eized with a moil violent fever, which came to a crifis in a week, and now it is much abated, though I am Hill confined to my chamber- In this mattered ftate my trembling hand can write but: little to you, and what I write will be languid and con- futed, like its author. But as the Virginia fleet is about; to fail, and I kno\v not when I iliall have another op- portunity, I cannot avoid writing fomething. I would lit down on the grave's mouth, and talk awhile with my favourite friend'; and from my iituation you may foriee what fubjects my converfation will turn upon — Death — ■ Eternity — the fupreme tribunal. BleiTed be my Mailer's name, this diforder found me employed in his fervice. It feized me in the pulpit, like a foldier wounded in the field. This has been a bufy fummer with me. In about two months' I rode about five hundred miles, and preach- ed about forty fermons. This affords me feme pleafure in the review. But, alas ! the mixture of fin and of many namelefs imperfections, that run through a::U corrupt ail F p 1 fiiy 450 D A V I E S. my fervices, give me fhame, forrow, and mortification. My fever made unufual ravages upon my underftanding, and rendered me frequently delirious, and always ft lipid - But, when I had any little fenfe of things, I generally felt pretty calm and ierene_, and death, that mighty terror was difarmed. Indeed the thought of leaving my dear family dcftitute, and my flock fhepherdlefs, made me of- ten itart back and cling to life;, but in other refpecb death appeared a kind of indifFerency to me. Formerly I have wifhed to live longer that I might be better pre- pared for heaven, but this confuleration had but very lit- tle weight with me, and that for a very unufual reafon, which was this. After long trial, I found this world is a place (o unfriendly to the growth of every thing divine and heavenly, that I was afraid, if I ihould live longer, I ihould be no better fitted for heaven than I am. In- deed I have hardly any hopes of ever making any great attainments in holinefs while in this world, though I ihould be doomed to ftayin it as long as Methufelah. I fee other chriftians indeed around me make fome pro- grefs, though they go on with but a fnail-like motion r But when I confider tha&I (ez out about twelve years old,, and what fanguine hopes I then had of my future pro- grefs, and yet that I have been almoft at a ftand ever fmce, T am quite difcouraged — O my good Mafter, if I may dare to call thee fo, I am afraid I mall never ferve thee much better on this ikle the region of perfection. The thought grieves me : It breaks my heart, but I can hardly hope better. But if I have the leaft fpark of true piety in my bread:, I mall not always labour under this complaint. No, my Lord, I mall yet ferve thee — ferve thee through an immortal duration — with the activity, the fervour, the perfection of the rapt feraph that adores and burns. I very much fufpect this defponding view of the matter is wrong, and I do not mention it with ap- probation, but only relate i: as an unufual reafon for my willingnefs D A V 1 E S. 45 £ wiHingnefs.fo die, which I never felt before, and which I could not fupprefs. " In my tickne{'.> I found the unfpeakable importance of a Mediator in a religion for finners. O ! I could have given you the word of a dying man for it, that that Je- i"us whom you preach is indeed a neceffary, and an all- fufHcient Saviour. Indeed he is the only fupport for a departing foul. None but Chrilf , none but Chriit. Had I as many good works as Abraham or Paul, I would not have dared to build my hopes upon fuch a quickfand, but only on this firm eternal rock. I am riling up, my bro- ther, with a deli re to recommend him better tomyfellov- iinncrs, than I have done. But, alas ! I hardly hope to accompli lh it. Kc has done a great deal more by me already than ever I expected, and infinitely more than I defer ved. But he never intended me for great things. He has beings both of my own and of luperior orders that can perform him more worthy fervice. O ! if I might but untie the latchet of his fhoes, or draw water for the fervice of his fanctuary, it is enough for me. I am no angel, nor would I murmur becaufe I am not My ftrength fails me, and I muft give over— pray for me — write to me — love me living and dying, on earth and in heaven — and hope the fame from, u dear Sir, ." Your heart-united friend and-fervant." E 452 1 C O N C L US I O N, S' the hiftory of 'particular perfons always throws ; light upon the age in which they lhed; it is pre- sumed, that the preceeding Memoirs alfo, which relate to eminent men in the church of Chrift, from the sera of the reformation (and a great number more might have been produced, if our limits had allowed) not only difeov- er their own character, but the characters of the feveral times in which they appeared. • Ponibly, therefore, thefe accounts, will be not only edifying to the faith, but in- fcruciive to the mind, of our ferious readers, and of thofe younger perfons efpecially, who wiJh to" be acquainted with our ecclcfiaftkal hifiory. The intelligent Chriitian may perceive, that we have ftudioufly avoided any undue predilections to any particu- lar party or profefiion ; knowing, that the grace of God is confined to no party, and entailed upon no one profef- iion of Chriftianity in the world. Thefe Memoirs, if they prove any thing, abundantly prove this truth. And though the compiler mud naturally have his predilections and paffions, or he w 7 ould not be a fallen fon of fallen A- dam ; yet he can truly fay, that he has watched over theft CONCLUSION. 453 thefe infirmities of human nature, and has been above all things detirous, that the glory of God may be feen to triumph over the tfarrownefs vA' men, and that the grace of God in his molt excellent lervants, may alio appear to be one and the fame bleifmg; notwithstanding the preju- dices of birth and education ; which do indeed ifrike the mind with much Wronger iinpreilions, than perhaps any of us are readily apt to imagine. In reviewing the work, our readers may probable per- ceive, that fome of the following confideracions prefent themiclves to the mind, and that they are juitified by ma- ny particular circumiiances in thefe Lives ; The reformation of the Proteitant church from po- pery proceeded chiefly upon^ what are juitly enough call- ed, The Doctrines of Grace, in oppoiition to a variety of corrupt opinions, and to a greater variety of antifcriptur- al fuperftitions which had been grounded upon them. Thole doctrines were not mvdi'us (as fome of the Papiits affected to treat them) becaufe they were not only as an- cient as divine revelation itfelf, but were alio maintained more or lefs in all ages of the chr-uiian churcli ; though, for fome centuries before the reformation, but by com- paratively a few fcattered ptrfons, who ihone as itars a- midil the gloom of darknefs which generally pervaded Europe. The mofr confiderable body of people profelTing fcrip- ttiral and unfophiilicated divinity, were the Albigenfes in the fouth of France, and the Waldenfes in Piedmont. The later name, however, became the general one, up- on the great fpread of their do-itrine, which was one and the fame, after the junction of the pious Peter Waldo or Valdo, about the ye^r 1170, from whom this appella- tion was taken.. From thefe real chriitians, living for the molt part in mountainous and almoft inacceilible' plac- es becaufe of their enemies, was derived the primary irootofall the fubfequent reformations. Their origin is carried 454 carried up very high into the pureft ages of the church. It is certain that a Romiih council at Tours in 1 163 con- demned them as maintainers of an herefy, long since fprung up in the territory of Thouloufe, i. e. among thoie called Albigcnfes. " This feet," fays Cave, from Reirierius, fa monkifh adversary, who wrote againfi them about the year 1254) " foon increafed to an immenle " number of followers, and prevailed every where ; and * Jotne liave affirmed, that it exifted in the clays of Pope " Sylveiter, (i. e. in the year 314) or rather from the " Acoilolic age itfelf, and that there is no country in Eu- " rope -'into which it hath not extended itieliV It is not improbable, that they were dependents of thofe ex- cellent chrjflians, who wrote from Lyons in France the very remarkable Epiftle to the Allan churches, in the fe» cond century after Chrift. They continued likewife, as well as fpread ; for when Luther and the other reformers appeared in the fixteenth century, the defrend uk: of tneie perfecuted people (who were called by abirid. trice of nick names) held a cordial cm re fpor. deuce with Lhem, aftonilhed on both fides to find the clofenefs of their (Imiharity. Hence Gretzer the Jefuit called them, ' the great anceftors of the Calvin- ' iics- * Of the moii remarkable individuals, who fupport- ed the great truth* of the gofpel, with more or leis clear- neU, from the days of the fathers, feveral rcipeclable names maybe adduced in fucceifiye ages; but in this place we cannot give even their names, though their hiftory defer res the ainpleii consideration. BleiTed be God ! his truth fhall (land to the end of the world, and his gofpel till the laft of the redeemed is rea- dy for glory. -There is a spiritual church, confiding of ChriiVs faithful people, and of them only, gathered, perhaps, out of all denominations; and this Church, founded on the everlaftjne Rock, is iiirnregnable to every aflauty. CONCLUSION. 455 aiTauk of its enemies. No weapon, formed againft it, can profper. This conlkleration mould afford every true believer great confohitioir, under all dark appearances ei- ther in vilible churches or in the world. *Tis God's t:aui"e, and not man's : the Arm, tnerefore, which fup- ports it, is omnipotent and divine. The Lord of hosts is with us (may this church of the- firjt-bcrti triumph;) the Cod of Jacob is our refuge ! And may God, whole goodnefs extends from age to age, and whofe favour is the life of fouls, blei's and unite this holy church at all times in fpirit and in truth, that it may be eftablifhed and profper upon earth, and that many of all nations may flow unto it. May difcord and every work of the fleih be far removed from among brethren ; and may they love, and Itudy to love more and more, all of all denominations, who love our Lord Jefus Chrift in fmcerity. .May the falvaticn of the re- deemed fpread farther and wider by all manner of holy means ; till the kingdoms of the world become the king- doms of the Lord, and or his Chrift, and till every tongue mall confefs with joy, the LORD GOD OMNI. POTENT reigseth! Amen. & f N 1 & CONTENTS. J OHN WICKLIFFE, the firft reformer. T3 John Hufs, D. D. The Bohemian reformer. 41 Je'rom of Prague, the lay-reformer. 64 Patrick Hamilton, the firft Scotch reformer. 77 Ulricus Zuinglius, the reformer of Switzerland. 104 William Tindale. 120 Martin Luther, the great reformer. 134 John Calvin, the evangelic reformer. 175 George Wiihart. 203 John Knox, the Scotch reformer. 221 John Rogers, the proto-martyr under Q. Mary. - 250 Thomas Cranmer, D. D. The firft proteftant Archbiihop of Canterbury. 359 James Uiher, D. D. Archbifliop of Armagh. 290 Theodore Beza. 306 Francis Junius. 317 Sir Matthew Hale, Chief Juftice of the King's Bench. 330 John Owen, D. D. 349 John Flavel. 373 Ifaac Watts, D. D. -• 391 Philip Doddridge, D. D. 403 Rev. Jonathan Edwards. 419 Samuel Davies. • 440 Conclufion, 452 W. M'CULLOCII BOOKSELLER AND STATIONER, No. 306, MARKET-STREET, PHILADELPHIA, HAS FOR SALE, Among other Articles, the following Books. Retail American Lady's receptor, Avcnia, a tragical poem on slavery, Addington's collection of Church Music, Adams's Lectures on Natural and Experimental Phil- osophy, 4 vols. Booth's Reign of Grace, Glad Tidings, Brackenridge's Gazette Publications, Rinnan's Pilgrim's Progress, cuts, '■ Holy War, Broken Heart, Visions, Boston's Fourfold State, ■ Crook in the Lot, Buck's Miscellaneous Works, 2 vols. Theological Dictionary, 2 vols. Burder s Oriental Customs, 2 vols. . "Village Sermons, 2 vols. 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