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LIBRARY

THE

PARISH CHURCH.

THE

PARISH CHURCH;

OE,

^eliqion in MviUin*

BY THOMAS WOOD, A.M.
AUTHOR OF THE MOSAIC HISTORY, &c. &c.

* * * * ** It warms my heart.
When through the wide-spread provinces I stray
Of this fair realm^ to view the slender spire
And massy tower from deep embowering shades
Oft rising in the vale^ or on the side
Of gently-sloping hillsj or loftier placed.
Crowning the woody eminence. It looks
As though we owned a God, adored his power.
Revered his wisdom, loved his mercy; deemed
He claims the empire of this lower world.
And marks the deeds of its inhabitants.
It looks as though we deem'd he fills all space.
Present throughout; and bends from heaven's high tlirone.
With ear attentive to the poor man's prayer. "

LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, & CO.
AKD
A. CONSTABLE & CO. EDINBURGH.
1825.

MhFEl W8S-

LIVERPOOL;
PRINTBD BY OBO! SMITH, TITHEBABN STHBBT.

PREFACE.

The design of a Preface is to introduce a
work to the attention of the Reader, and is
frequently the means of raising his expectation,
or lowering his hopes concerning it. - Readers
are as different in their literary taste, as in
the main objects of their secular pursuits.
Variety has a powerful charm, and something
new is almost irresistible. Style is what some
look for, and though it may be employed in
decorating a subject of mere imagination, is wel
comed with rapture. Some descriptions of cha
racter are most pleased with details of facts, and

IV PREFACE.
wiU not allow themselves to be decoyed into the
regions of fancy. They whose minds are
deeply embued with polite hterature, are not at
home unless they be conducted into the same
school. There are some elevated geniuses too
towering to pace the earth, which, in their
aerial progress through the heavens, count,
measure, and weigh the stars, as more suited
to their inclination. Others look back into
ancient times, fond of antiquarian research, and
no matter how homely in itself an object may
be, if identified with very distant ages, it is a
prize above aU others most valuable. Some
are involved in political discussions, the rise and
fall of states and empires, bestowing the mead
of praise, or infhcting the lash of censure, on
statesnjen and events. "WhUe others, compar
ing the brevity of human life with the dura
tion of eternity, examining their own personal
responsibility and the doctrine of a future
recompence, and balancing spiritual gain with
the avarice of the miser, view religious prin
ciples and actions as the grand climax in the
excursive range of their understanding and
choice.

PREFACE. V
The Author cannot, with certainty, conjec
ture how far his present work wiU meet the
views and gratify the intellectual taste of the
generality of readers ; but he can assure them,
that in writing it he has anxiously endeavoured
to elicit truth, and constantly aimed at a deve-
loprnent of it. He considers truth as above all
things to be desired, and has not knowingly
deviated from her hallowed path. If a keener
eye should discover any wanderings, he shaU
rejoice to be conducted into the right way.
He is weU aware that the brief method in
which he has treated his subjects, must of con
sequence involve a partial obscurity ; though,
by some, this wiU be preferred before a tedious
prolixity. And the extent of his ministerial
labours may form a sufficient basis on which to
rest an apology, for this condensation of mate
rials, which would seem to be capable of a much
larger extension.
The following pages had their origin in a
train of thought which suddenly entered into
the mind of the Author, while on one occasion,
in the course of a morning's ride, passing in
view of a country Parish Church. Previously,

vi PREFACE.
he had no intention of writing a work of this
nature : but such was the impression then made
upon his mind, that on his return to his study,
he sat down and wrote what constituted the
foundation of the present work. Such as it is,
he now commends it to the candour of a dis
cerning and indulgent public, soUciting the
blessing of Almighty God to render it useful.
March 31, 1825.

itonUnt^*

CHAP. I.
PAQE.
THE ORIGIN, LEARNING, RELIGION, AND CUS
TOMS OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS  1—46
CHAP. II.
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO
BRITAIN— THE IDOLATRY AND CONVERSION
OF THE SAXONS— TSli NATURE AND DESIGN
OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION  47—113
CHAP. III.
THE ERRORS, PROGRESS, AND ASCENDANCY OF
POPERY  114—178
CHAP. IV.
POPERY COUNTERACTED IN ITS DOCTRINES,
INFLUENCE, AND AUTHORITY, BY THE REFOR
MATION AND REVOLUTION  179—243

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAP. V.
PAGE.
THE SACRED OFFICE FREE FROM PRIESTLY
DOMINATION  244—305

CHAP. VI.
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, INCLUDING ITS
FOUNDATION, SUPERSTRUCTURE, AND
BEAUTY  306—352
CHAP. VII.
PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED IN ITS PURITY
AND SIMPLICITY  353—383
CHAP. VIII.
THE GRAVE, OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD  384—411

THE PARISH CHURCH.

€fiapUv $.

THE ORIGIN, LEARNING, RELIGION, AND CUSTOMS OF
THE ANCIENT BRITONS.

•' Majestic Pile ! whose tower'd summit stands
Far" eminent above all ; — through many an age.
With changing form, but renovated strength.
Thou hast maintained thy native site — "
On the site of this sacred edifice it is probable there
once stood a temple for idolatrous worship. Though
now, through the divine clemency, this land is become a
Goshen of light, it was previously covered with moral
darkness, and abounded in habitations of cruelty. Des
titute of the Holy Scriptures, the authorised outward
means of obtaining correct theological knowledge, the
inhabitants lived in awful ignorance of the one only living
and true God, and without any rational hope of a future
state. They had altars, and temples, but not reared for
the Almighty, nor consecrated to his service ; they had
officiating priests, but they were totally incompetent to

ORIGIN OF I'Hli

instruct the people in the way of righteousness ; they
had sacrifices, but they were not appointed of God, nor
acceptable in his sight. They were under the influence
of a blind and degrading superstition, devoid of all
sound principle, and of all spirituality of mind. And in
this state of religious destitution they continued, till the
Gospel of Christ, with its illuminating and renovating
power, reached this island, and a free and present salva
tion was offered to their attention and choice.
One language prevailed among mankind, not only in
the antediluvian world, but even on this side the flood,
to the building of the tower of Babel, in the land of
Shinar. Pride and presumption were' manifested by
those concerned in the erection of that tower ; and so
displeased was the Almighty with this conduct, that he
confounded their language, and by this means discon
certed their measures. The heads of families or tribes,
now speaking different languages, began to form them
selves into separate companies ; and of course became
different people or nations. Moses says, " By these
were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,
every one after his tongue — after their families — ^in their
nations." It is agreed, that the earliest inhabitants of Britain
were descendants of Japhet, the son of Noah. The
posterity of Japhet, by his sons Gomer, Magog, Madia,
Tubal, Meshech, Tiras, exceedingly increasing, under
the names of Gomerians, Celts, Gauls, as well as various
other names, peopled the northern half of Asia, and the
whole of Europe. Thus was accomplished that primitive
promise, « God shall enlarge Japhet." There are many
great authorities for believing that the Celtas were the
descendants of Gomer, the eldest son of Japhet. Our
attention will be directed chiefly to the ancient Briton,s.

ANCIENT BRITONS.

Okigin. — The opinions entertained by different authors
concerning the first colonizers of Britain are various.
The generality of English writers on this subject, think,
with Tacitus, the Roman historian, that they came hither
from Gaul. But Tacitus was never in Britain, and
what he bas written relating to the antiquity of the
Britons, was but contingent to his purpose, the whole
scope of his design being to describe the actions of his
father-in-law, Julius Agricola, during his lieutenancy in
this island, and not to show the ancient state and oriein
of the Britons.
Dr. Stukeley gives it as his opinion, that the most
ancient Britons came by sea from the eastern countries,
Phoenicia, Arabia, Egypt, and that before Gaul Vas
peopled. Theophilus, who was Bishop of Antioch, in
the year 160, says, that the " Asiatic emigrants arrived
in Britain soon after the dispersion from Babel." If this
assertion be correct,, says one, they must have come by
sea : since to have migrated so far westward by land
would have required a much greater length of time.
Hence the population of Britain may have been effected,
whilst the western parts of Europe were absolutely unin
habited. Aylett Sammes, in his Antiquities of Ancient
Britain, contends for a Phoenician origin. He says,
" The language itself for the most part, as well as the
customs, religion, idols, offices, dignities, of the ancient
Britons,, are all clearly Phoenician ; as likewise their
instruments of war, as slings, and other weapons, their
scythed chariots, and their different names, and several
distinctions. Out of the same tongue," he says, " I have
illustrated several monuments of antiquity found out and
still remaining in Britain, which can in no ways be

4 OKIGIN OF THE
interpreted than in the Phoenician tongue, where they
have a plain, easy, and undeniable signification." " It
is true, that the Phoenicians traded to this country for
tin, at a very early period, and we have substantial
proofs of their' having been here ; but it requires more
direct evidence than we at present possess, to demonstrate
that they were the first colony of ancient Britons.
There is a source of information, which appears to
have an equal, if not a superior claim on our attention.
The doctrine of the British bards and triads, is one of
great importance as to the point in hand ; especially If
we reflect, that ' the Welsh have retained their language
for almost three thousand years ! " The aggregate of
information derived from British bards and triads,
according to the statement of a modern author, is this :
" That the original colony, which migrated to Britain,
was conducted hither by a leader named Huysgin ;" —
" that the first settlers of Britain came hither after a
long and devious voyage by sea ;" — " that they came
from the summer country,;" — r" that they anciently
inhabited Dyffro-banu," or more correctly, Dyffryn-
banu, or Dyffryn-albanu, that is, the deep vales or glens
of Albania, a country situated between the Euxine and
Caspian seas ;-^" that they were natives of a country in
" Preface, p. 4.
¦" " That the present Welsh language is the genuine daughter of the
ancient British, spoken in the time of the Romans, cannot be disputed ;
because we have now extant MSS. writ in every age from the Roman
times down to the present, which plainly prove the descent, and are not
unintelligible to the present inhabitants of 'Wsies.".^Mal(ett''s Northern
Antiq. vol. i. Preface, p. 3.
" The Celtic dialects are now principally six ; namely, Welsh, or the
insular British; Cor«is7i, almost extinct ; Armorican, or French British ;
Irish, the least con-upted ; Manx, or the languag-e of the Isle of Man ;
and Erse, or Highland Irish, spoken also in all the western islands of
Scotland." — Toland's History of the Druids, p. 46.

ANCIENT BRITONS. O
Asia ;" and lastly, " that they came to Britain from a city
called Gaf-is," that is, the lower Caf, the Arabic name
of Caucasus, a mountain stretching between the Caspian
and Euxine seas.
M. Pezron states, that the Gomerians possessed them
selves of the provinces east of the Caspian sea, which is a
rich and fruitful country, favoured with a teraperate and
delightful atmosphere. In process of time, increasing to
a vast multitude, they could not always live in repose
and tranquillity ; the seeds of jealousy springing up
among them, produced factions and commotions. Some
of them imbued with the fostering spirit of civilization,
coalesced into societies ; while others, resisting the power
of restraint, vi^ere vagrant and wild. The result was,
that they who were the weakest either in number or
strength, were expelled, and forced to seek for a retreat
elsewhere. Of course, the separatists would direct their
way as inclination, convenience, or compulsion, might
dictate. According to the Triads, mention is made of three
colonies coming from the continent, in some remote age,
to Britain. "And the first is the Cymry, or Cymbrians;
these came over from the German ocean, which they call
Mor Tawch, or the hazy ocean, from the land of Hav,"
or the summer country, which, no doubt, was Asia.
These came under the command of Hu Gadam, who is
styled the pillar of his nation, for he conducted the
Cymry to Britain. Of him, it is said, that he aimed not
at obtaining territory by war and contention, but in the
way of peace and equity. The second was " The
Lloegrwys, Loegrians, or Ligurois, who came from the
land of Gwasgwyn, and were sprung from the primordial
race of the Cymry. The third was, the Brython, or
Britons, who came from the land of Llydaw, (Letavia,

ORIGIN OF THE

Armorica, or Bas Bretagne,) and were also sprung from
the primordial race of the Cymry. These were denomi
nated the three peaceable tribes, inasmuch as they
came by mutual consent and permission ; and the three
were of one language and of one speech." ^ These three,
called benevolent tribes, were the first inhabitants of this
country. 'The venerable Bede, says the Rev. P. Roberts,
appears to have been ignorant of the first colony, but
mentions the second and third as the original ones, and
places them agreeably to the Triads. " It is said, that
the Britons having: sailed from Armorica, took possession
of the southern part of the island, and proceeding from
the south, embarked on the ocean in a few long vessels,
and sailed to Ireland. Being refused a settlement there,
they made for Britain, and began to settle in the northern
parts, as the Britons had pre-occupied the southern." "
The Rev. P. Roberts, in his Early History of the
Britons, says, "The distinction between the Loegrians and
the Brython is remarkable ; the latter were of a common
descent with the Cymry, and evidently descendants of
those who went to Armorica, when Hu and his followers
came to Britain. The Loegrians were not of the sarae
immediate descent, though originally of the same stock.
The latter were Gauls of the Loire, whose territory
from thence to the Pyrenees, appears to have been
denominated Gwasgwyn, that is Gascony, by the Welsh
writers. In what part of the island these Brython were
stationed, does not exactly appear ; but the Gauls,
according to the Triads, were settled partly in Cornwall,
and partly to the north of the Humber." " He also
gives a character of the chieftain of the Cymry, in these
words : " Hu the Mighty appears to have been
" Hughes's Horae Britannicse, vol. i. p. 12  14.
" Hist. Eccl. p. 23. Ed. Cant. 1644. <^ P. 52.

ancient BRITONS. 7
endowed with uncommon qualifications for the arduous
task of conducting a colony to the utmost region of the
then known world. Fortitude and wisdom must form
the basis of the character which at once secures
obedience, commands esteem, and attaches aflfection to
itself. It must be adorned with some ofthe graces of
the exterior, a prompt eloquence, and above all, that
fascinating power, which, arising from a liberal heart and
comprehensive mind, sways the passions to its will, and
gives to compliance the sensations of spontaneous appro
bation. It does not appear with any certainty what was
the fate of this great man after his arrival in Britain.
It is very probable that it was he who afterwards was
worshipped by the Cimbric nations, under the names of
Heus and Hesus ; and this opinion seems to be supported
by an ancient piece of sculpture, on which Hesus is
represented as cutting trees, a position which denotes
either clearing the ground or pruning, either of which
is suitable to the character. In Britain, he appears to
have done little more than to have settled the original
colony, and it is presumed he did not long survive this
transaction, as he must have been far advanced in years
at that time. Nor does it appear where he died. His
memorial is in the records of the nation he established
here." The country having been thus colonized, the second
chieftain, Prydain, recorded in the Triads, who flourished
about one hundred and fifty years after Hu the Mighty,
reduced the whole island into the form of a reg-ular
government, several principles of which remain even to
the present time. To this chieftain the island owes its
appellation of Britain."
' That Britain, at some remote period, and for no short season,
enjoyed a degree of hght and knowledge beyond what its neighbours

origin of the

A popular author, with reference to Caucasus^ whence
it is supposed the first Colony to Britain migrated,
observes, " If mankind were born, as it .were, a second
time, in any imaginable situation, and from thence had
migrated to distant parts, we may naturally suppose,
that where their colonies were settled, they would not
entirely forget their birth-place, but would establish by
consent, at least, some memorial of their original. This
principle is implanted by Providence in the human
mind." " Had mankind been born on a mountain, they would
not have consecrated a -plain, as an emblem of their
native spot ; had they been born on a plain, they would
not have consecrated a mountain." Hence those various
medals or coins that have been made as representations
of Caucasus. He further observes, " As we must
suppose migratory colonies to have been influenced by
natural causes anciently, as they are at this day, so we
cannot but observe, that the courses of rivers must have
been then, as they are now, the guides of settlers and
inhabitants in a state of progress. The reader, by
casting his eye on the map of Asia, will perceive,- that
most of the considerable streams issue from Caucasus ;
and that from this mountain largely taken, the course of
these streams may be considered as marking the course
of mankind to remote parts of this continent. I would,
therefore, for instance, suppose the sons of Japhet to

could boast of, seeras not a little corroborated by certain Sanscrit MSS.
disovered by Major Wilford, which describes the British isles, at periods
of very remote antiquity, under the names of the White Islands, Isles of
the Mighty, and Sacred Isles of the West, ^c. where the gods had their
abode, and where, of course, knowledge and wisdom abounded more than
any where else in the world, and whence even Brahminical - institutions
derived their origin. — See Asiatic Researches, vol. xi. p. 11, &c. Monthly
Magazine for Feb. 1813, and Cambrian Register, vol. iii. p. 6.

AilCIENT BRITONS. 9
have taken a north-westerly course towards Europe,
passing the Caspian and the Black Sea, north, and many
of them crossing the Wolga, and continuing their route,
in process of time, along Poland and Gerhlany, up the
Danube, and other rivers of magnitude." *
If we admit the doctrine of the Triads, " That the
first settlers of Britain came hither after a long and
devious voyage by sea;" in that case we raay assert,
that there did not exist any particular nautical obstacle
to prevent a colony coming from Asia to Britain. A
modern author asserts, that they were the precursors of
the Phoenician mariners. About the period of their
migration from Asia, the art of navigation had attained
a degree of perfection which is astonishing. Sesostris,
king of Egypt, had built, not only a formidable navy of
400 ships for his expedition against Colchis, but also a
very large vessel of cedar 280 cubits long ; being nearly
twice as large as any of the first-rates of Great Britain.
The Phoenicians, as we have noticed, traded in tin from
this country, which article was used by the Midianites
and Arabians, as stated by the authority of the ancients.
The learned Fuller asserts, that the Phoenicians were
well acquainted with the use of the magnet, without the
aid of which the voyage could not easily be performed ;
but the knowledge and use of which they endeavoured by
all possible means to conceal from others. Dr. Hide, in his
Religion of the ancient Persians, shows, that the Chaldean
Jews mention the loadstone in their oldest private
writings, and that the Arabians understood its uses ;
who, at the present day, by the help of it, still traverse
extensive deserts, nor can any of them tell when this
practice commenced. What Homer says is in point :
" Well's Geography, published by Taylor.

10 ORIGIN OF THE
" No pilots' aid Phoenician vessels need.
Themselves instinct with sense securely speed ;
Endued with wondrous skill, untaught they sliai-e
The purpose and the will of those they bear ;
To fertile realms and distant climates go,
And, where each realm and city lies, they know i
Swiftly they fly, and through the pathless sea.
Though wrapt in clouds and darkness, find their way."
Odyss, lib. viii.
The lonians of Asia Proper, the sons of Javan, were
expert mariners, and the first among the Greeks that
undertook long voyages, which they performed in galleys
of fifty oars. In the time of Cyrus the Great, they were
in the bay of Cadiz ; ^ and soon after they defeated the
combined fleets of the Tyrrhenians and Carthaginians,
consisting of an hundred and twenty sail. ^ They were
early acquainted with the coasts and islands of Europe.
The voyagers from Asia to Britain could call and rest
at several places, such as Tan-is in lower Egypt, Algiers
in Africa, Gades in Spain, Lisbon in Portugal, &c. so
that the difficulty of the voyage, with a compass on
board, appears not to have been very considerable.
The eaiact period when this colony came and estab
lished itself in Britain is not agreed among writers on
this subject. Davies, the author of the Celtic Researches,
intimates, that " Spain, and even Britain, were probably
colonized by those who were born within a century of the
flood." Hughes, in his Horae Britannicag, conjectures,
that " the world in general, and its continents and
islands, may be supposed to be well inhabited before the
time of Moses, and our island to have received its first
inhabitants within five centuries of the flood." He
asserts, that the Cymry were in possession of the island,
» Herodot. lib. i. c. 163. " Id. 1. i. u. 167.

ANCIENT BRITONS. H
or rather some part of it, long before the time Homer
flourished in Greece, and Samuel was prophet m Israel,
and Sylvius Mneas was living in Italy. He considers
himself supported in this opinion by Dr. Borlase, in the
Introduction to his Antiquities of Cornwall, where he
says, " We may w^ell suppose that our island renlained
uninhabited, until four or five centuries after the flood."
Mr. Samnes states as his opinion, that it was seven
or eight hundred years after the flood, before any part
of this island was inhabited. Whitaker, who believes
that Britain was originally inhabited by the Gauls, in
his Genuine History of the Britons, fixes the first
migration across the channel about a thousand years
before the advent of our Saviour ; or, about that period
of sacred history which embraces the reigns of David
and Solomon among the Jews. He also supposes, that
the neighbouring continent continued to send suppHes,
as its population increased, during the space of four or
five centuries. The conclusions to which these authors
have come, being so wide of each other, we can only say
with certainty, that the first colony to Britain came at a
very early period.
Religion. — St. Cyril of Alexandria is fully of opinion,
" that all men, from Adam to the days of Noah, wor
shipped that God who by nature is one ;" and the reason
he assigns is, " because no man is by Moses accused as a
worshipper of other gods, and impure demons." The
learned in general consider idolatry to have originated
with Ham, the son of Noah. Nimrod, the son of Chus,
the son of Ham, is represented, says the learned Bryant,
as a powerful monarch of great renown, the founder of
the city Babylon, and the first that instituted among the
Chaldeans the worship of fire. The confusion of lan
guage, and the dispersion at Babel, were remarkable

12 religion of the
events. We cannot suppose this defection general, that
all the sons of men were concerned in it. The
dispersion at Babel, and the confusion was partial, and
related only to the house of Chus and their adherents.
For they had many associates, probably outof every
family; apostates from the truth, who had left the
stock of their fathers, and the religion of the true God,
that they might enUst under the rule of the Cuthites,
and follow their rites and worship. For when Babel
was deserted, we find among the Cuthites of Chaldea,
some of the line of Shem, whom we could scarcely have
expected to have met in such society. Here were
Terah, and Nahor, and even Abraham, all upon
forbidden gt-ound, and separated from the family to
which they belonged. The great fear of the sons of
Chus was, that they might be divided and scattered
abroad ; they therefore built the tower of Babel as a
landmark to repair to, as a token to direct them ; and
it was most probably an idolatrous or high altar, de
dicated to the host of heaven, from which they were
never to be long absent."
Of Abraham, the - father of the faithful, who was
called by Divine Providence from Ur in Chaldea, God
himself says, " I know him, that he will command his
children and his household after him, and they shall
keep the way of the Lord." The correctness of the
faith of Isaac, is also given by divine testimony.
Concerning Ishmael, and the other children of Keturah,
it is said, that Abraham " gave gifts, and sent them away
from Isaac his son, (while he yet lived,) eastward, unto
the east country," that is, Arabia Deserta ; and where,
there is every reason to believe, they adored the God of
." Bryant's Ancient Mythology', vol. iv. p. 43. Third edit.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 13
their renowned father, and established a pure worship.
In Phoenicia, Abimelech, the king of the Philistines
believed in God, was favoured with a heavenly vision,
and pleaded religiously the righteousness of his nation.
Sir Isaac Newton imagines, that the Phihstines continued
in the true religion till the dpath of Melchisedec ; but
that afterwards they began to embrace idolatry, which
spread thitherward from Chaldea, and probably increased
apace after the departure of Joseph's brethren with
their families into Egypt. The king of Salem, a
Canaanite, was the priest of the most High God in the
country where he lived : ahd we have no intimation that
the religion of the inhabitants was different from that of
Abraham. When Abraham went to Egypt, God sent
judgments on the family of Pharoah, because pf Sarah
his wife ; and the king of Egypt appears to haye been
in nowise a stranger to the true God, but to have had
the fear of him before his eyes, and to have been influenced
by it in all his actions. If we search the antiquities of
Egypt, we shall find in their remains as correct notions of
God, as are to be met with in the antiquities of any other
people. Heatlien writers inform us, that the Egyptians
were at first worshippers of the true God." These were
certainly their first principles, and as long as they adhered
to these, .so long they preserved the knowledge of the true
relio'ion. Had not this been really the case, the patriarch
Joseph, long after this time, when he flourished at the
head of the Egyptian ministry, would certainly not have
married into the family he did. With justice, therefore,
has the celebrated Grotius remarked, " That in the
ao'e of Joseph no certain traces of idolatry are to be

• De Iside et Os. p. 359. Eus. Prasp. Ev. lib. i. t. 10.

14 RELIGION OF THE
discerned in Egypt." " It is thought that idolatry was
not established by law in any part of that country, till
Moses fell into disgrace at the court, when he first retired
to his brethren in Goshen : about fifty years before the
Israelites left Egypt."
One of the firkt deviations from revealed truth, was
the worship of the heavenly bodies. Babylon, as has
been observed, is considered to be the mother of this
kind of idolatry ; for Egypt was not a nation when the
sun began to be worshipped in Chaldea. Babylon infected
Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia, and they spread the moral
contagion throughout the world. Then followed the
worship of renowned ancestors, whose spirits they ima
gined had taken up their residence in the heavenly bodies.
Into these two parts idolatrous worship may justly be
divided. Concerning the former of these. Job, who lived about
A. M. 2600, says, " If I beheld the sun when it shined,
or the moon walking in brightness ; and my heart hath
been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand :
this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge ;
for I should have denied the God that is above." As to
the latter, Euhemerus, in the account he wrote on the
gods, shows that they were only men. There is also, to
the same purpose, ample information in the Theogony
of Hesiod, the work,s of Homer, and generally in the
classic poets, which contain a narration of their birth,
genealogies, and lives. Manilius affirms, that the poets,
by their verses, have turned the whole heavens into fable. "
Cicero, in his Tusculan Disputations, intimates, that the
- Vide Poli Synopsin in Gen. xlvi. 34.
'' Cooke's Inquiry into the Patriarchal and Druidical Religion, Tem
ples, &c.
• Astronomicon, lib. ii. v. 37.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 15
whole heavens are filled with mankind ; that if we search
into ancient thinj 5, especially into what the Grecian
authors have recorded, we may find that the very chief
deities, the majorum gentium, Dii, have gone from this
earth to heaven ; and that their sepulchres are shown in
Greece, which they who are initiated into these mysteries
ought to remember. St. Augustin and St. Cyprian men
tion, that Alexander the Great, when in Egypt, having
been told by Leo, the distinguished priest of the sacred
things in that country, that even the gods of the highest
rank, Jupiter, Juno, Saturn, and the rest, were men,
wrote to his mother, Olympias, acquainting her with the
important secret, but at the same time requested her,
after reading the contents, to burn the letter. "
Idolatry, for some time, was pure Sabianism," the
worship of the heavenly bodies, free from the use of
images. Eusebius, in his Evangelical Preparation, on
the authority of undeniable testimonies, states, that
" for a long time neither the ancient Egyptians, nor
Phoenicians, nay, nor even the Greeks, had any images.
He says, the first and most ancient men did not trouble
themselves to build any temples, or make any images,
because the art of painting and carving, and even build
ing, was not then invented, neither was there any men
tion of those who were afterwards called gods, or heroes.
They had then neither Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Apollo,
Juno, Bacchus, nor any other male or female deity ; a
" Apud Augustin. de Civ. Dei, hb. viii. cap. 5.
•¦ " Pure Sabianism," says Faber, " appears to have been the most
ancient idolatry ; but in process of time deified mortals were supposed to
be regents of the heavenly bodies, and were worshipped conjunctly with
them. Ham, from his Egyptian name, p«"Dn, Ham-On, seems to
have been adored in union with the sun, as Nimrod was elevated to the
constellation pf Orion." — Horce Mosaicte, vol. i. p. 195. Cedreni Hist.
comp. foi. 14.

16 RELIGION OF THE
great number of which were afterwards owned' both by
Greeks and barbarians ; yea, there was no good or evil
demon then worshipped, but only the stars which appear
in the heavens."
Herodotus, speaking of the Persians, says, " The Per
sians had neither altars, nor temples, nor statues ; they
laughed at those who worshipped the gods in such a
manner ; they sacrificed on the tops of mountains to the
King of Heaven, whom they caUed Jupiter ; for they
did not take their gods from among men, as the Greeks.
They sacrificed to the sun, the moon, fire, water, and
winds ; to these only they sacrificed from the beginning." "
Plutarch affirms, that King Numa forbade the Romans
to represent God in the form of man or beast ; nor was
there any painted or graven image of a deity admitted
among them for the space of the first hundred and sixty
years ; all which time their temples were free and pure
from idols and images, which seemed too mean represen
tations of God, to whom no access was allowed, but by
a mind raised and elated by divine contemplation. "
Varro, cited by Augustine, assures us, that the ancient
Romans, for more than one hundred and seventy years,
worshipped their gods without images : if they had done
so still, the gods might have been served with great
purity ; and he concludes, that those who first brought
images into worship, took away the fear due to the deities,
and led people into error. "
Athenagorus says, that even among the Greeks, till
the art of painting and statuary was found out, there
was no mention of the images of the gods. Soon after
" Herodot. lib. i. cap. 131.
' Life of Numa, Engl. Edit. vol. 1. p. 24, 25.
' De Civitate Dei, lib. iv. cap. 31.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 17
the images and statues of the gods were framed, we can
relate the names of those workmen who made them. If
they be gods, why are they not from the beginning ?
Why stood they in need to be framed by the art of man ?
Nay, to be sure, they are only earth, stones, and matter
fashioned by curious art. "
Dr. Prideaux, speaking of the Persians, who imagined
that intelligences had their residence in the sun, moon,
and stars, says, " And therefore when they paid their
devotions to any one of them, they directed their worship
toward the planet, in which they supposed he dwelt.
But these orbs, by their rising and setting, being as
much under the horizon as above, tjiey were at a loss
how to address them in their absence. To remedy this,
they had recourse to the invention of images, in which^
after their consecration, they thought these intelligences,
or inferior deities,v to be as much present by their influ
ence, as in the planets themselves, and that all addresses
to them were made as effectually before the one, as before
the other ; and this was the beginning of image-worship
among them. To these images were given the names
of the planets they represented, which were the same by
which they are still called. And hence it is, that we find
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Apollo, Mercary, Venus, and
Diana, to be first ranked in the polytheism of the
ancients ; for they were their first gods. After this, a
notion obtaining, that good men departed had a power
with God also to mediate and intercede for them, they
deified many of those whom they thought to be such ;
and hence the number of their gods increased in the
idolatrous times of the world. This religion first began
among the Chaldeans, to which their knowledge in
* Legatio pro Christiani^, p. 16, 17- Edit. 1C06.

18 RELIGION OF THE
astronomy helped to lead them. And from this it was,
that Abraham separated himself when he came out of
Chaldea. From the Chaldeans it spread itself over all
the East, where the professors of it had the name of
Sabians. From them it passed into Egypt, and from
thence to the Grecians, who propagated it to all the
Western nations of the world." "
It appears that the Jews, when they first turned to
idolatry, following the example of the surrounding
heathen nations, worshipped the sun, moon, and stars,
without images, prostrating themselves before them, or
their emblems of hght and fire. The God of Israel, in
prohibiting this, says, " Take ye, therefore, good heed,
lest thou lift up thine eyes to heaven, and when thou
seest the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven,
should be driven to worship them and serve them."
While sculpture was in its infancy, the images were
made of coarse materials, such as potters' clay, and, after
being burned like our earthen vessels, were painted with
vermilion. Afterwards they used wood, being the easiest
for carving. Hence trunks of trees were formed into gods.
" Thus," says Isaiah, " the carpenter stretcheth out his
rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth with
planes, and he marketh it with the compass, and maketh
it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of
a man ; that it may remain in the house." The Prophet
proceeds, " He heweth him down cedars, and taketh
the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for
himself among the trees of the forest : he planteth an
ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for
a raan to burn : for he will take thereof, and warm him
self ; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh hvekd : yea, he
¦ Connection, &c. Parti, p. 177 — 179. Octavo Edit.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 19
maketh a god, and worshippeth it ; he maketh it a graven
image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof
in the fire ; with part thereof he eateth. flesh ; he roasteth
roast, and is satisfied ; yea, he warmeth himself, and
saith. Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire ; and the
residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven iraage :
he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth
unto it, and saith. Deliver me ; for thou art my god."
The Gentiles, according to their own statement, did
not consider their statues, whether made of clay, stone,
wood, iron, brass, silver, or gold, as really gods, but as
emblems of the deities they worshipped, and only intended
to revive in their remembrance the object of their ado
ration. When pressed on the subject of image- wor ship,
by the arguments of the Christians, they said, " You
err : we do not adore the wood, brass, silver, or gold,
as if these metals were of themselves gods; but we
worship the gods, who,- by virtue of the dedication,
inhabit these images."" To which Lactantius replied,
" If the gods are present, by virtue of the consecration,
what occasion is there for images ? What need have I
for my friend's picture, if my friend be near me in
person ? God, who is a Spirit every where present, never
absent, needs no image to supply his place." ^
The Egyptians, though reputed the wisest of the
Gentiles, carried their system of idolatry so far, as to
include the worship of animals. The Jews being
tainted with it, the prophet Ezekiel says, " Behold
every form of creeping things and abomind,ble beasts,
and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon
the wall round about." The apostle Paul adds, that

» Amobius, lib. vi. p. 229.
^ Institut. lib. ii. cap. 2.

20 RELIGION OF THE
the Gentiles "changed the glory of the incorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
bu-ds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."
The animals sacred to religion among them, were sheep,
cats, bulls, dogs, Cows, storks, apes, birds of prey,
wolves, and several sorts of oxen. Lucian, though a
heathen, sarcastically rails at this monstrous absurdity,
saying, " Go into Egypt, there you will see fine things,
worthy of heaven, forsooth, Jupiter with the face of a
ram. Mercury as a fine dog, Pan is become a goat,
another god is Ibis, another the crocodile, another the
ape. There many shaven priests gravely tell us, the
gods being afraid of the rebellion of the giants, lurked
under these shapes ; they mourn over the sacrifices, but
if Apis their great god die, there is no body so profane
as not to shave his head and raourn, though he had the
purple hair of Nisus. This Apis is but a god chosen
out of the flock. The things seem to require a HeracUtus
or Democritus ; the one to laugh at their madness, and
the other to weep at their ignorance." " Thus have we
taken a short view of the origin and prevalence of
idolatry in general among the nations of the earth,
merely as introductory to what may be advanced con
cerning the rehgion of the ancient Britons. This
measure appeared requisite, as the first colonies that
migrated from Asia to Europe, brought with them
many of the religious sentiments and usages of that
and other countries in the East.
The religious establishment of the ancient Britons, as
well as that of Gaul, though it has a strong resemblance,
was different in some particulars from the systems pre
vailing generally in other nations. Its elementary prin
ciples were probably somewhat similar to those professed
" De Sacrif. Opcriem. torn. i. p. m. 367.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 21
and propagated by Cush, his adherents and descendants.
Mr. Maurice, in his Indian Antiquities, intimates, that
the order of priests, anciently established in this country,
were the immediate descendants of a tribe of Brahmins,
situated in the high northern latitudes, bordering on the
vast range of Caucasus : that these, during that period
of the Indian empire, when its limits were most extended
m Asia, mingling with the Celto-Scythian tribes, who
tenanted the immense deserts of Grand Tartary, became
gradually incorporated, though not confounded, with
that ancient nation ; introduced among them the rites of
the Brahmin religion ; and, together with them, finally
emigrated to the western regions of Europe.
Sir William Jones says, " The first corruption of the
purest and oldest rehgion, which consisted in the worship
of the one God, the maker and governor of all things,
was the system of the Indian theology, invented by the
Brahmins, and prevaihng in those territories where the
books of Mahabad, or Menu, are at this hour the standard
of all religious and moral duties." " In his Preface to
the Institutions of Menu, he states, that the Vedas were
composed about 1580 years before Christ, or about one
hundred years before the time of Moses ; and that the
institutions of Menu were written about three hundred
years after the Vedas, or about 1280 years before
Christ." It is the opinion of Sir William Jones, that the origin
of the Hindoo nation and government is to be looked
for in Iran, or Persia, where a great monarchy was
established before the Assyrian, called by the Oriental
historians the Pishdadian dynasty. In the reign of

" Dissertations relating to Asia, vol. i. p. 199.
I" \''idc Preface, 4, 7, 13.

22 RELIGION OF THE
Hushang, the third of the Pishdadian race, " a refor
mation," he says, " was made in the religious system,
when the complex polytheism of the preceding times
was rejected, and religion was reduced to what is usually
called Sabianism, which consisted chiefly in the worship
of the sun, moon, and stars. The laws of Mahabad were,
however, retained, and his superstitious veneration for
fire. On this, the favourers of the old religion retired to
Hindostan, and their old existing laws forbade them
ever to return, or to leave the country they now inhabit." "
Dr. Priestley remarks, that " all the deviations from
the original Hindoo system retained the same general
principles. The advocates of them all held the doctrine
of the pre-existence of souls, their subsisting and acting
independently of bodies, and their transmigration into
other bodies after death. They had the same low opinion
of matter, and the sarae veneration for the elements of
fire and water, as purifiers of the soul. They had similar
restrictions with respect to food, the same addictedness
to divination, and the same use of corporeal austerities
for the expiation of sin." "
Brucker, in his Historia Critica Philosophise, to use
the abridgement of this celebrated work by Dr. Enfield,
says, that the fables or allegories of the Celtic priests,
were similar to those of the Asiatics, and were delivered
in verse after their manner ; — a circumstance which con^
firms the conjecture, that these nations arose from
colonies which came from the northern regions of Asia ;
and which brought with them the tenets which, in the
remotest periods, had prevailed among the Persians,
Scythians, and, other Asiatic nations.
» Dissertations, &c. vol. i. p. 198 — 200.
^ Comparison of the Institutions of Moses with those of the Hindoos
and other ancient nations, p. 14.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 23
Southey, in his Book of the Church, with reference
to the religious institution of the ancient Britons, says,
" There is reason to believe, that they brought with
them some glimmerings of patriarchal faith, and sorae
traditional knowledge of patriarchal history." To settle
this point in a few words, the Rev. Jonathan Williams,
in his Arnopsedia, is probably, on the whole, correct in
the statement he gives of their religion, when they
migrated to this country, namely — " Founded partly on
patriarchal tradition, and partly by intermixture of
Sabian or Magian philosophy,' it consisted in the acknow
ledgment of one infinite, eternal, omnipotent, and self-
existent Being, whom their priests denominated Duw or
Ddrw, that is, existing, — the supreme, self-existing Cause
of all things : and from this name of God, the Greeks
borrowed their Dios and Theos, and from them the
Romans their Deus.'"
To the above, we shall add the account given by
Davies, in his Mythology and Rites of the Druids.
After a full investigation of the subject, he says,
" Druidism was a system of superstition, composed of
heterogeneous principles ; it acknowledges certain divi
nities, under a great variety of names and attributes ;
these divinities were originally nothing more than deified
mortals and material objects, mostly connected with the
history of the deluge ; but, in the progress of error, they
were regarded as symbolized by the sun, the moon, and
certain stars ; which, in consequence of this confusion,
were venerated with divine honours. And this supersti
tion apparently arose from the gradual or accidental
corruption of the patriarchal religion, by the abuse of
certain commemorative honours which were paid to the
ancestors of the human race, and by the admixture of

24 RELIGION OF THE
Sabian idolatry." From these highly respectable autho
rities, we learn the nature of what was the primitive
religion of Britain,
M. Pezron states, that the priests, among the ancient
Britons, were the true successors of the Curetes, and
preservers of their discipline. After intimating that he
had traced the footsteps of one tribe of Gomerians,
under the name of Sacae, from the countries of Bactriana,
as far as Armenia, and from hence into those parts of
Cappadocia, bordering on the Euxine Sea, where this
famous nation changed its name for that of Titans ;
proceeds to mention particularly the Curetes, who were
the sages and philosophers of that nation, and some of
them of royal descent. The Curetes were the priests
and sacrificers, who had the care of religious matters,
and what belonged to the gods, They were considered
as holding converse with the gods, by way of divination,
soothsaying, and the art of magic, and hence called
magicians, diviners, and enchanters, They were beUeved
to have the knowledge of the stars, of the laws of nature,
and so were denominated astronomers. They were
acknowledged to be physicians, and to cure the sick by
the use and virtue of herbs, and especially by enchant
ments. They were poets, and preserved the memory of
their deified ancestors, their birth, succession, wars, and
great actions, by verses and poems, composed by the
ancients, and which they could repeat exiactly from
memory. They retired into the thickest woods, and
most rugged mountains, and dwelt in caves and other
recesses. They had the care of the education of youth,
even of the children of kings and princes, in the same
way as the Magi among the Parthians and Persians.
In a word, their authority was so great, and so much

ANCIENT BRITONS. 25
regarded, that frequently it exceeded that of their
sovereign." The priests, who taught the principles and performed
the offices of religion among the ancient Britons, were
called Druids, probably from the Greek word l^vs, an
oak ; or, from the Celtic or old British word dm or derw,
oak, for which the Druids had a most superstitious
veneration. Major Wilford, speaking of the Druids,
says, " The little we know of their doctrine is perfectly
conformable to that of the Hindus ; except their wor
shipping under the oak, which they called emphatically
Dru, or the Tree. Dru, in Sanscrit, is a tree in general :
it was so in Greek formerly ; and it signifies a forest in
Russian. It was afterwards restricted to the oak among
the Greeks, and the Celtic tribes. There are no oaks in
India, except in the mountains to the north : but the
Hindus have other trees equally sacred, and the Goths
had a peculiar regard for the ash-tree." "
Mr. Davies intimates, that the name Druid seems to
have extended only where that order was acknowledged.
Caesar states, that the Druidical institution, considered
as to its peculiarity, originated in Britain, and passed
frora thence into Gaul ; and so perfect was it deemed,
that whosoever aspired to be complete adepts in this
magical science, were wont to resort to Britain ; a fact
which the GalKc Druids always had the honesty to
admit. Speaking of the Druids, Toland says, they
" were so prevalent in Ireland, that to this hour their
ordinary word for magician is Druid ;" the magic art is
called Druidity ;^ and the wand, which was one of the
badges of their profession, the rod of Druidism.^
" Pezron's Antiq. of Nations, chap. 13.
¦> Asiatic Researches, vol. xi. p. 129.
" Drui. '' Druidhcacht. " Statnan Diiudheacht.

26 RELIGION OF THE
The Druids were generally of the first families, often
relatives or sons of kings or princes. But they were not
all of equal rank or dignity as to their ofiice ; one being
chief or archdruid, in every country where' the order
prevailed, who acted as high-priest, and whose authority
was absolute over the rest. Strabo distinguishes the
whole order into three classes — Bards, Vates, (or Ovates,)
and Druids. The Bards were the heroic, historical,
and genealogical poets ; who composed hymns in honour
of the gods, which they sung to the music of their
harps as well as other instruments, and at the sacred
solemnities." The Vates were the sacred musicians, the
religious poets, and the pretended prophets of all the
Celtic nations. The Druids were the most numerous,
and performed all the offices of religion peculiar to the
priesthood. Toland observes, that every Druid carried in his
hand, as one of the badges of his profession, a wand or
staff", had what was called the Druid's egg hung about
his neck, enchased in gold. They all wore short hair,
while the rest of the natives had theirs very long ; and,
on the contrary, they had long beards, while other
people shaved all theirs but the upper lip. They like
wise all wore long habits, as did the Bards and Vates ;
» The Rev. Jonathan WilHams remarks, that Bardism was not a
British, but an Oriental institution, and imported into this island by its
first colonizers. The name, therefore, is not resolvable into the British,
but into an Oriental language, which existed at the first formation of the
order, and of which the Hebrew is the basis. Now the Hebrew verb
" Bahar," signifies to light or kindle a fire. If this etymology be
admitted, and there appears no just reason to doubt it, we derive from it a
discovery of no small importance, and which was never so much as guessed
at before. For we hereby ascertain the nature of the Bard's office, which,
like that of the Jewish priest, was to kindle, if not to perpetuate, the
haUowed fire, which blazed in the area of " Cor-Gam," and in all th?
consecrated places of the Druids.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 27
but the Druids had on a white surplice, whenever they
religiously officiated, the emblem of purity and peace ;
the Bards, sky-blue, the emblem of truth ; the Vates,
green, the emblem of the verdant dress of nature, in the
meads and woods.
The Druids had their secret and their public
doctrines. Some writers have asserted, and endeavoured
to show, that the former much resembled primitive
tradition — that, in addition to the unity of God, the
Creator and Governor of the universe, they taught their
disciples many things concerning the formation of man,
his primitive innocence, the creation of angels, their
expulsion from heaven, and the final destruction of the
world by fire." However this be, it is certain that they
held the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Mela
has preserved ope of the Triads, that bids the people
remember — " To act bravely in war ;
That souls are immortal.
And there is another life after death."
And he says, that this secret doctrine they were allowed
to publish, in order to render their hearers more brave
and fearless in war.
Caesar and Diodorus state, that they taught the
Pythagorean doctrine of the Metempsychosis, or the
transmigration of souls into other bodies, which prevailed
almost univerally in the East. This, if they really taught
it, is thought to have been a public doctrine, addressed
to the narrow conceptions of the vulgar. This is beau
tifully described by Lucan :
' Cluver. Germ. Antiq. lib. i. u. 32.

28 RELIGION OF THE
" If dying mortals doom they sing aright.
No ghosts descend to dwell in dreadful night :
No parting souls to grisly Pluto go.
Nor seek the dreary silent shades below :
But forth they fly, immortal in their kind.
And other bodies in new worlds they find :
Thus life for ever runs its endless race.
And, like a line, death but divides the space ;
A stop which can but for a moment last,
A point between the future and the past.
Thrice happy they, beneath their northern skies.
Who, that worst fear, the fear of death, despise :
Hence they no cares for this fraU being feel.
But rush undaunted on the pointed steel ;
Provoke approaching fate, and bravely scorn
To spare that life which must so soon return."
Route's L-ucan, book i. v. 796 — 811.
Others, however, represent them as teaching, that the
soul after death ascended to some higher orb, and there
enjoyed a more perfect felicity : which, perhaps, was
one of their secret doctrines, and expressed their real
sentiment. Their pubhc theology, probably, chiefly consisted of
mythological fables, concerning the genealogies, attri
butes, offices, and actions of their gods ; and included
various superstitious methods of appeasing their anger,
gaining their favour, and discovering their wiU. These
doctrines, couched in verse, abounding with figures and
metaphors, were delivered by the Druids, from little
eminences. With this fabulous divinity, they intermixed
moral precept, for regulating the manners of their
auditors; and they zealously exhorted them to avoid
doing injury to one another, and to fight vahantly in
defence of their country." Diogenes Laertius gives us the
following Triad : —
' Rowland's Mona Antiqua. Dio. Lser. in Proem.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 29
" To worship tho gods,
To do no evil,
And to exercise fortitude."
In this laconic way the Triads were written.
At what period a plurality of gods was introduced
among the Ancient Britons, it is not possible to ascer
tain ; but it is most probable that this gross innovation
was brought in by degrees. They had gods of different
kinds ; as Teutates, whom they called the Father ;
Taranis, the Thunderer; Hu, the Mighty, who conducted
the first colony to Britain ; Ceridwen, a goddess, in whose
rites the preservation of mankind in the ark was figured ;
and Beal or Belinus, — for the Phoenicians had introduced
the worship of their Baal — a Babylonish title appropriated
to the sun, and particularly regarded in Syria and
Canaan. The Supreme Being was worshipped by the
Gauls and Britons under the name Hesus, — a word
expressive of omnipotence. But when a plurality of
gods was admitted, Hesus was adored only as a parti
cular divinity, who by his great power, presided over
wars and armies, and was the same with Mars. The
Germans, Gauls, and Britons, being a warlike people,
were great worshippers of Hesus, whose countenance
and assistance they endeavoured to gain by cruel and
bloody rites.
Suetonius, in his Life of Claudius, charges the Druids
with offering to their gods human sacrifices, as Caesar
also does in his Commentaries ; but Diodorus Siculus
affirms, that it was but rarely, or only on extraordinary
occasions. One article in the Druidical creed was,
" That nothing but the life of man could atone for the
life of man." Whether this was a primitive doctrine,
handed down by oral tradition, and thus corrupted, we
cannot deterraine. However, in consequence of this

30 RELIGION OF THE
maxim, their altars streamed with human blood, great
numbers of wretched men falling a sacrifice to this
barbarous superstition. Criminals, who had been guilty
of robbery and other crimes, were selected in the first
instance, as the most acceptable offerings to the Deity ;
but in case these happened to become scarce, the innocent
were forced to supply their places. Caesar says, that
the Druids placed the victims in a sort of hollow frame
or wicker case, where, after the same had been set on
fire, they were soon suffocated or burnt to death. These
dreadful sacrifices were offered by the Druids, on behalf
of the public, at the eve of a dangerous war, or in a
time of national calamity ; also for persons of high rank,
when they were afflicted with a dangerous disease. By
such acts of cruelty, the ancient Britons endeavoured to
avert the displeasure, and procure the approbation of
their gods. Augustus and Tiberius, it is said, abohshed
the said druidical practice in Gaul, and Claudius in
Britain. It is stated, that such sacrifices were not offered
in Ireland. O'Halloran, in his History of Ireland, says,
"Certain it is, that in the whole Irish history, no
instance occurs of the Druids offering up human
sacrifices." "
The druidical creed contained this article concerning
places of worship, " That it was unlawful to build
temples to the gods, or to worship them within walls, or
under roofs." " Quintus, the brother of M. TuUius
Cicero, in his confidential despatches to him, details the
mode observed in constructing stone edifices in Britain
for sacred use, with as much exactness as if he had been
present at their construction ; and describes, with great
minuteness, the celebration of a religious ceremony, of
which he was an eye-witness.
¦ Vol. i. p. 10. b Tacit, de mor. Germ. ,;. 9.

r

y/ // / /
("/ //// - - /j'^YYi" /y (<: y'J /7?Y/?.j

ANCIENT BRITONS. 31
" From Quintus to M. T. Cicero.
" The temples of the Britons are raised and con
structed in a circular form, with obeHsks of stone, over
which are imposts, all of huge dimensions, untouched
by the chisel ; a peace-offering to Geranius, or Apollo,
the sun. The huge stones," of which they are composed,
lay scattered by the hand of nature on the plain : these,
with myriads of labourers, the high-priest caused to be
rolled up on the inclined planes of solid earth, which had
been formed by the excavation of trenches, until they
had attained a height equal to their own altitude ; these
pits being dug, they were launched from the terrace,
and sunk so as to stand perpendicular, at due and equal
distances in the circle, and over these were placed others
horizontally. After having completed one circle, they
formed another that is concentric at some distance, and
towards the extremity of the area of the inner circle,
they placed a huge stone for the purpose of religious
rites. When the Sun enters into Cancer, is the greatest
festival of the god; and on all high mountains and
eminences of the country, they light fires at the approach
of that day, and make their wives, their children, and
their cattle, to pass through the fire, or to present them
selves before the fire in honour of the deity. Deep and
profound is the silence of the multitude during this
ceremony, until the appearance of the sun above the
horizon, when, with loud and continued exclamations.

^ " Al Janabius observes, that many of the Arabian idols were no
other than large huge stones, the worship of which the posterity of
Ishmael first introduced. To us it seems most probable, that these |;reat
stones were the first public places of Divine worship amongst the Arabs,
on which they poured wine and oil, as Jacob did upon the stones thatr
served him for a pillow, when he saw the vision. Afterwards, they
might worship these stones themselves, as the Phoenicians in aU probabihty
did." — Universal History, vol. xviii. p. 387.

32 RELIGION OF THE
and songs of joy, they hail the utmost exaltation of
that luminary, as the supreme triumph of the symbol of
the god of their adoration." "
Cooke, in his Enquiry, &c. has given us a particular
account of Abiry n'a^? Abiri, Potentes, signifying in
the language of the founders. The ' Mighty Ones ; of
whom the whole was an emblematical representation.
Speaking of this amazing work of Abiry, he says, " than
which a grander and more extensive design scarce ever
entered into the imagination of man ; and which, when
in perfection, was, without question, the most glorious
temple of the kind which the world has ever heard of."
Dr. Stukely, in a letter to Mr. Peter Collinson, F.R.S.
dated March, I766, states, that the immense work of
Abury, cannot be less than 3000 years old : and is so
large, that the whole village of Abury is now contained
within its circumference. Of Stonehenge, Cooke says,
" When you enter the building, and cast your eyes
around on the pawning ruins, you are struck into an
ecstatic reverie, which none can describe, and they only
can be sensible of that have felt it. Other buildings fall
by piece-meal, but here a single stone is a ruin. That the
Druids were considerable adepts in mechanics, we have
very convincing proofs in the stupendous remains of
Stonehenge, and other oftheir works, some single stones,
in which are said to be more than forty tons. weight ! To
accommodate great assemblies, whether on religious or
civil accounts, the place seems peculiarly adapted ; for
which purpose I believe the world does not afford a
nobler spot. Its situation is upon a hill, in the midst of
an extended plain, one hundred miles in circuit ; in the
centre of the southern part of the kingdom; covered
" Cic. Epis.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 33
with numberless herds and flocks of sheep, in which
respect the employment and the plains themselves are
patriarchal ; where the air is perfectly salubrious and
exhihrating, and the yielding turf fine as the surface of a
bowling-green. From almost every adjoining eminence
the prospect is open into Hampshire, Dorsetshire,
Somersetshire, and takes in all the lofty hills between
Marlborough and Sandy-lane, sustaining the long range
of Wandsdyke and the mother church of Abiry. The
meaning of its ancient denomination was Choir Gaur.
TJ, choir in the Hebrew tongue, is the Concha ma/rina,
or round double sea shell, which very exactly compre
hends the idea of circle within circle, and is thence used
to signify any lofty pile of building raised in that form.
"Vi gaur is a gathering together of the people, coUectio,
congregatio. So that the proper signification of "iiJ-T3,
choir gaur, is, the circular high place of the assembly
or congregation.'''' "
The stones of which this temple was composed, accord
ing to Dr. Stukely, undoubtedly were brought fifteen
or sixteen miles ofi^, prodigious as they are, from those
called the Grey Wethers, near Abury on the Marlborough
Downs, all the greater stones, except the altar, being of
that sort ; for that being designed to resist fire, is of a
stiU harder kind ; it is a composition of crystals, of red,
green, and white colours, cemented by nature with
opaque granules, of flinty or stone matter. The stone
at the upper end of the cell, which is fallen down and
broken in two, the Doctor tells us, weighs above forty
tons, and would require above one hundred and forty
oxen to draw it, and yet it is not the heaviest stone to be
found there. He goes on to give it as his opinion, that
' See Cooke's Inquiry.
D

34 ^ religion of the
the building of Stonehenge was not long after the inva
sion of Egypt by Cambyses, when many of the priests
and inhabitants in general dispersed themselves to all
parts of the world ; and some coming as far as Britain,
introduced their learning, arts, and religion amongst
the Druids ; and perhaps had a hand in this very work,
the only one where the stones are chiselled : this was
before the second temple of Jerusalem was built, and
before the Grecians had any history. '
At a place called Biscau-woon, near St. Burien's, in
Cornwall, there is a circular temple, consisting of
nineteen stones, the distance between each, twelve feet ;
and a twentieth in the centre, much higher than the rest.
The circle of Rollrich-stones, in Oxfordshire, and the
Hurlers in Cornwall, are two of those Druid temples.
In Scotland, we meet with numCTOus traces of Druidical
superstition. In the shire of Murray, are many stone
circles. One, in Inerallen parish, is fuU of graves, and
was, in the last age, a burial-place for the poor people,
and still for unbaptized children and strangers." Another
in the Strathspey and parish of Duthell, consists of two
circles of stones, and is called Chapel Piglag, from a
lady of that name. Within half a mile of it is a small
grove of trees, held in such veneration that no one will
cut a branch of it. Several Druidical temples, as the
people call them, and many cairns, he on the east side of
the Spey. Between Fort- WiUiam and Inverness is a
circle of stones. Cairns are found on the top of the hill
of Dunevan in Calder ; to the east of Gateside between
Elgin and Forres, on the muir of Urquhart, and in many
other places, are great broad heaps of stones, surrounded
with stones set on end in the earth, and joined dose — some
of them have a circle of such stones at the top, and one or
raore altar- stones within the inner circle. Such a cairn

ancient BRITONS. 35
is to be seen on the muir to the east of Aviemore, in
Strathspey. In the little shire of Mearns, at Anchincorthie, five
miles from Aberdeen, are two circles of stones, the
exterior twenty-four large paces, consisting of thirteen
great stones, besides two that are fallen, and the broad
one towards the south, about three yards high and seven
or eight paces asunder : the interior about three paces
from the other, and its stones three feet high. Twenty-
six paces east from these circles is a large stone, level
with the ground, having a cavity capable of containing
near a Scots gallon of water. The other monument,
rather larger than this, and about a bow-shot from it,
consists of three concentric circles ; the stones of the
largest are about three yards, and the two others about
three feet, and all close together : the innermost circle
three paces diameter. One of the stones, on the east
side of the largest circle, has at the top a hollow, about
three inches broad, running down the side of the stone,
as if for libations. Another stone, in the same side of
the same circle, standing nearer to the broad stone on
edge, which looks towards the south, has a like cavity.
The general tradition of the country is, that these circles
were places of heathen worship.
On the road from Stonehaven to Montrose, are several
remains' of the ancient Druids to be traced: one is
exceedingly good. In Breadalbane, a part of Perthshire,
there are several scattered Druidical circles, called in the
Erse language, Tibberd. On the left hand of the road,
leading to Taymouth, is a small circle of great stones,
thrown down at the foot of the hills ; a single stone
opposite to it. In Caithness, near Clathron, is a Druid
ical stone, of stupendous size, set on end. In the
highest part of Scotland, there are many traces to be

36 RELIGION OF THE
found among the inhabitants of its ancient customs and
superstitions ; — such as the belief of spectres, fairies, elf
shots, and unlucky days, the third day of May being a dis
mal day; the beltein, a rural festival onMay-day, preceded
by a libation to the evil spirits and noxious animals, a
remain of Druidism ; another sort of beltein is placing
crosses dipped in pottage over the doors of the cattle
hovels, on Thursday before Easter ; the late-wake, or
funeral dance ; the coranich, or funeral howl ; the pre
diction of death by the Benshi, or the cries of the fairy's
wife where a funeral is to pass : superstitious observances
respecting marriage. Much more information on this
subject might be collected from Camden's Britannica, by
Gough. The large stones at Stanton-Drew, near the town of Pens-
ford, a few miles from Bristol, are undoubtedly the remains
of a Druid temple, which seems to be a stupendous model of
the Pythagorean system of the world, constructed with
enormous blocks of marble, taken out of Clay-hole, near
Wells. Three circles, representing the sun, the earth,
and the moon ; together with some stones representing
the planets, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, are still remain
ing ; and it seems highly probable, that the circles of the
sun and moon were used as temples, in honour of those
luminaries.' In the island of Lewis, at the village of Classerniss,
there is a temple extremely remarkable, and another
about a quarter of a mile from it : and commonly two
temples stand near each other. East of Dumcruy, in the
Scottish isle of Arran, is a circular temple ; and south of
the same village is another temple, in the centre of which
still remains the altar ; being a broad thin stone, sup
ported by three other such stones. In the largest island
of Orkney, commonly called Mainland, there are hke-

ANCIENT BRITONS. 37
wise two temples, where the natives believe, by means of
traditional information, that the sun and moon were
worshipped : there is a trench or ditch round each of
these temples, hke that about Stonehenge.
These temples were surrounded by plantations, chiefly
of oak, and these groves were watered by some conse
crated fountain or river, and surrounded by a ditch or
mound, to prevent the intrusion of improper persons.
Lucan has described one of these groves in the following
manner : — " Not far away, for ages past had stood
An old unviolated sacred wood :
Whose gloomy boughs thick interwoven made
A chilly chearless everlasting shade :
There, not the rustic gods, nor satyrs sport.
Nor fawns, and sylvans with the Nymphs resort ;
But barb'rous priests some dreadful pow'r adore.
And lustrate ev'ry tree with human gore," &c. &c.'
It is thought that the ancient Britons had no images of
their gods, at least none in the shape of men, or animals,
in their sacred groves; yet, they had certain visible
symbols or emblems of them. Though Major Wilford
says, " Whether the Druids of Britain had idols or not,
is no where said ; but those on the continent certainly
had, as well as those of Ireland. From a passage in
Gildas, it seems that they had, and that even some
remained in his time. The description he gives us of
them, shows they did not belong to the Romans, as they
looked grim and stiff, hke the mcestra simulachra Deo-
reum of the Germans done without art. There is no
reason why we should beheve them free from the errors
» Phars. Ub. iii. v. 339. Rowe's Lucan, b. iii. 1. 594.

38 RELIGION OF THE
of the other Druids on the Continent." " Maximus
Tyrius says, " All the Celtic nations worshipped Jupiter,
whose emblem or representation among them was the
lofty oak." " The oaks which they used for this purpose
were truncated, that they might be the better emblems
of unshaken firmness and stabihty. Such were those ir^
the Druidical grove, described by Lucan :
— '- " Strong knotted trunks of oak stood near.
And artless emblems of their gods appear." °
Near . to the temple, they erected their carnedde, or
sacred mounts ; their cromlechs, or stone tables, on which
they prepared sacrifices, and other things necessary for
their worship. Of these temples, sacred mounts, and
cromlechs, there are still many vestiges in the British
isles, and other parts of Europe.
Cams. — On the tops of mountains and other eminences
in Ireland, in Wales, in Scotland, in the Scottish islands,
and in the Isle of Man, where things have been least
disordered or displaced by the frequency of inhabitants,
or want of better ground for cultivation, there are great
heaps of stones, consisting of all sorts, from one pound
to a hundred. They are round in form, and somewhat
tapering or diminishing upwards: but pn the summit
was always a flat stone. These heaps are of all sizes,
some of them containing at least a hundred cartload of
stones. Such a heap is, in the ancient Celtic language,
and in every dialect of it, called Carn ; and every Carn
so disposed as to be in sight of spme other. On the
Cam called Crig-y-dyrn, in the parish of Trelech, in
' Asiatic Researches, vol. xi. p. 129.
" Diff. 38.
• Lib. iii. v. 412.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 39
Carmarthenshire, the flat stone on the top is three yards
in length, five feet over, and from ten to twelve inches
thick. The circumference of this Carn at the bottom is
about sixty yards, and it is about sixty yards Jiigh ; the
ascent being very easy, though we may suppose there
was originally a ladder for this purpose. This carn may
serve for an example of the rest. Devotional rounds
were performed by the Druids about the earns ; and any
circle, or turning about, is in Armoric called cern, (the
c being pronounced as A;,) as cerna in that dialect is to
make such a turn.
Toland, in his History of the Druids, gives a circum
stantial account of their festivals. He says, on May-eve
the Druids made prodigious fires on those earns, which,
being every one in sight of some other, could not but
afford a glorious show over a whole nation. These fires
were in honour of Beal, or Bealan, latinized by the
Roman authors into Belenus, by which name the Gauls
and their colonies understood the sun ; and therefore, to
this hour, the first day of May is by the aboriginal Irish
called La Bealteine, the day of Belen'sfire. May-day
is likewise called La Bealteine by the Highlanders of
Scotland, who are no contemptible part of the Celtic
offspring. So it is in the Isle of Man : and in Armoric
a priest is called Belec, or the servant of Bel, and priest
hood Belegietk. Two such fires as we have mentioned,
were kindled by one another on May-eve in every village
of the nation, as wejl as throughout Gaul, as in Britain,
Ireland," and the adjoining lesser islands : between which
fires, the men and the beasts to be sacrificed, were to
pass. One of the fires was on the carn, another on the
ground. On the eve of the first of November, there were
also such fires kindled, accompanied, as they constantly
were, with sacrifices and feasting. On the foresaid eve.

40 RELIGION OF THE
all the people of the country, out of a religious persua
sion instilled into them by the Druids, extinguished their
fires entirely. Then every master of a family was reli
giously obliged to take a portion of the consecrated fire
home, and to kindle the fire anew in his house, which,
for the ensuing year, was to be lucky and prosperous.
He was to pay, however, for his future happiness, whe
ther the event proved answerable or not : and though his
house should be afterwards burnt, yet he must deem it
the punishment of some new sin, or ascribe it to any
thing, rather than to a want of virtue in the consecration
of the fire, or of vahdity in the benediction of the Druid ;
who, from officiating at the Cams, was likewise called
Caimeach, a name that long continued to signify a
Priest. But if any man had not cleared with the Druids
for the last year's dues, he was neither to have a spark
of this holy fire from the Cams, nor durst any of his
neighbours let him take the benefit of their fire, under
pain of excommunication; which, as managed by the
Druids, was worse than death. If he would brew,
therefore, or bake, or roast or boil, or warm himself and
family ; in a word, if he would live during the winter
season, the dues of the Druids must be paid by the last
day of October. Wherefore, we cannot but admire the
address of the Druids, in fixing this ceremony of re-
kindhng family fires to the beginning of November,
rather than to May or midsummer, when there was an
equal opportunity for it. As to this fire-worship, the
Celtic nations kindled other fires on midsummer eve,
and offered sacrifices, which were to obtain a blessing on
the fruits of the earth, now becoming ready for gather
ing; as those of the first of May, that they might pros
perously grow : and those of the last of October, were a
thanksgiving for finishing theh harvest. But, in all of

ANCIENT BEITONS. 41
them, regard was also had to the several degrees of
increase and decrease in the heat of the sun. The festival
of New-year's day, or the tenth of Ma»ch, their fourth
grand festival, was none of the least solemn : it was the
day of seeking, cutting, and consecrating their wonder
working All-heal, or Misseltoe of oak.
With regard to the Carn-fires, it was customary for
the lord of the place, or his son, or some other person of
distinction, to take the entrails of the sacrificed animal in
his hands, and walking barefoot over the coals thrice,
after the flames had ceased, to carry thera straight to the
Druid, who waited in a whole skin at the altar. If the
nobleman escaped harmless, it was reckoned a good omen,
and welcomed with loud acclamations : but if he received
any hurt, it was deemed unlucky both to the community
and to himself. The Sabines, who inhabited Italy before
the arrival of the Greek colonies there, followed most of
the Druidical rites; hence the speech of the consul
Flaminius to Equanus the Sabine, at the battle of
Thraesimenus, thus related by Silius : —
" Then seeing EaUANUS, near Soracte born.
In person, as in arms, the comeliest youth ;
Whose country manner 'tis, when th' archer keen
Divine Apollo joys in burning Heaps,
The sacred Entrails through the fire unhurt
To carry thrice : so may you always tread.
With unscorch'd feet, the consecrated coals ;
And o'er the heat victorious, swiftly bear
The soleran gifts to pleas'd Apollo's altar.'"
Lib. V. ver. 175.

' The mountain Soraole is in the Sabine country, in the district of the
Faliscans, about twenty miles to the north of Rome, and on the west side
of the Tiber. On the top of it were the grove and temple of Apollo,
and also his Cam, to which Silius here alludes.

42 LEARNING OF THE
Nor was it for nothing that they performed this hazard
ous ceremony, since for this they were exempted from
serving in the wars, as well as from the expense and
trouble of several offices. They were called Hikpins.
Virgil, long before the time of Silius, introduces Aruns,
one of that family, forming a design to kill Camilla, and
thus praying for success to Apollo. —
" O patron of Soracte's high abodes,
Fhebus, the ruUng pow'r among the gods !
Whom first we serve, whose woods of unctuous pine.
Bum on thy Heap, and to thy glory shine :
By thee protected, with our naked soles
Through flames unsing'd we pass and tread the kindl'd coals.
Give me propitious pow'r to wash away
The stains of this dishonourable day." " Dryden's Virgil.
Learning. — It is strongly asserted, that the first set
tlers in Britain brought with them from Asia the scientific
attainments as well as theological tenets, by which they,
as a people or tribe, were distinguished ; one of which
was the alphabet, which Cadmus their countryman had
invented ; and this accounts for the knowledge and use
of Greek letters, as mentioned by Julius Caesar. Hence
it may be stated, that as the earhest inhabitants partici
pated in the literature of Asia; so the civihzation of
Britain, however it raight have degenerated in succeed
ing ages, was coeval with the arrival of the first colony.
The Druids ranked high in literature and science.
Diogenes Laertius assures us, (in his Prologue,) that
they were the same, among the ancient Britons, with the
Sophi, or Philosophers, among the Greeks ; the Magi,
among the Persians ; the Gymnosophists and Brachmans,
• /En. Lib. ii. ver. 785.

ANCIENT BRITONS 43
among the Indians; and the Chaldeans, among the
Assyrians. The Druids studiously concealed their
religious and philosophical principles and opinions from
all but the members of their own society : they did not
allow these to be comraitted to writing. In their semi
naries, the pi;ofessors dehvered all their lectures to their
pupils in verse ; and a Druidical course of education,
comprehending the whole circle of the sciences that were
then taught, is said to have consisted of about 20,000
verses, and to have lasted, in some cases, 20 years. The
scholars were obliged to commit all these verses to
memory ; and, when admitted into the seminaries, to
take an oath of secrecy, in which they solemnly swore,
that they would never reveal the mysteries they should
learn there. The encyclopedia of the Druids, is sup
posed to contain natural philosophy, astronomy, astro
logy, arithmetic, geometry, geography, mechanics, medi
cine, anatomy, botany, pharmacy, and rhetoric. These
Druidical academies were very much crowded with
students ; as many of the youth of the first families of
Gaul came over to finish their education in this island.
One of these academies was in the isle of Anglesea, the
ancient Mona. Here is one place, which is still called
Myfyrion, that is, the place of meditation or study ;
another is called Caer-Edris, the City of Astronomers :
and another Cerrig-Brudyn, the Astronomers' Circle.
There is the village of Tre'r Driu, the Town of the
Druid ; next tp which is, Tre'r Beirdh, or Bards-town :
as also, in another place, Maen-y-Druu, or the Druid's
stone. In Merionethshire, there is Caer-Dreuin, or the
City of the Druids. The pupils constantly resided with
their teachers, and were strictly forbidden to converse
with any persons not belonging to their society, till they
were regularly dismissed.

44 LEARNING OF THE
The authority of the Druids was very considerable.
They took cognizance of all causes which came within
their ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and so definitive was their
judgment, that from their final determination there could
be no appeal. In case any person pertinaciously refused
to submit to their authority, he did thereby render him
self hable to excommunication and outlawry ; and from
hence he was ranked among debased culprits, and
shunned by the whole community, as a person infected
with a contagious disease. And such was the extent of
the disabihties to which he was reduced, thai he could not
bring an action, commence a suit in any case, or discharge
the duties of any official situation in the commonwealth.
The professional engagements of the Druids being so
numerous, and the official duties devolving on them so
sacred and weighty, they were, as Cassar informs us,
exempted from all mihtary enterprise and danger, as
well as from the payment pf taxes ; and, also, that they
enjoyed many important immunities. Notwithstanding
the exemption from military prowess, they sometimes
used their great interest with the people to prevent the
effusion of human blood. Strabo says, that they could
stop armies when on the very point of engaging, and
accommodate their differences, so as to effect a hearty
reconcihation. Diodorus Siculus expresses himself to
the same purpose, saying, that the people, paid a great
regard to their exhortations, not only in the affairs
of peace, but even in war ; and that being respected
both by friends and foes, they would sometimes step in
between two hostile armies, while standing with swords
drawn and spears extended, ready to engage ; and by
their eloquence, as by an irresistible enchantment, would
prevent the effusion of blood, and prevail on them to
sheath their swords and be reconciled.

ANCIENT BRITONS. 45
Besides the Druids, the Britons had also Druidesses,
who assisted in the offices, and shared in the honours
and emoluments of the priesthood. When Suetonius
iiivaded the island of Anglesea, his soldiers were struck
with terror at the strange appearance of a great number
of these consecrated females, who ran about the ranks of
the British army, like enraged furies, with their hair
dishevelled, and flaming torches in their hands, impre
cating the wrath of heaven on the invaders of their coun
try. " The Druidesses of Gaul and Britain are said to
have been divided into three ranks or classes. Those of
the first class had vowed perpetual virginity, and hved
together in sisterhoods,- very much sequestered from the
world. They were great pretenders to divination, pro
phecy, and miracles ; were highly admired by the people,
who consulted them on all important occasions as
infaUible oracles. The second class consisted of certain
devotees, who were indeed married, but spent the greatest
part oftheir time in the company ofthe Druids, and in the
offices of rehgion, conversing only occasionally with their
husbands. The third class was the lowest, consisting of
such as performed the most servile offices about the
temples, the sacrifices, and the persons of the Druids.*"
The British Druids were in the zenith of their power
and glory, at the time the Romans, under Juhus Cassar,
invaded this country, before Christ 55. The Romans,
knowing that they could not estabhsh their own authority,
and secure the submission and obedience of the Britons,
without destroying the authority and influence of the
Druids, obliged their new subjects to build temples, erect
statues, and to offer sacrifices, after the Roman manner ;
" Strabo, 1. 4. Died. Sicul. 1. 5. Ammian. Marcellin. 1. 15.
^ Gruttes. p. 62. Relig. de Gaul. L i. t. 27.

46 LEARNING OF THE ANCIENT BRlTONS.
as well as deprive the Druids of all authority in civil
matters, and showed them no mercy when found trans
gressing the laws, or concerned in any revolt : by these
means their power was soon brought low. Many of
them, however, fleeing before the face of persecution,
retired into the isle of Anglesea ; but that isle becoming
the chief seat of disaffection to the Roman government,
and the asylum of all that were forming plots against it,
Suetonius Paulinus, who was governor of Britain under
Nero, A. D. 61, determined to subdue it, which he
shortly accompUshed. So many of the Druids perished
on this occasion, and in the unfortunate revolt of the
Britons under Boadicea, queen' of the Iceni, which
happened soon after, that they were never able, after
this period, to make any considerable appearance in South
Britain. Those, however, who would not submit to the
Roraan governraent, and comply with the new system of
the idolatry and rites of the Romans, fled into Caledonia,
Ireland, and the lesser British isles, where they main
tained their authority and superstition long after their
extermination in Gaul and South Britain. " Thus, as
Mr. Southey remarks, when the Romans established
themselves as conquerors in Britain, the authority of the
Druids was destroyed, and one system of idolatry was
exchanged for. another, as far as Roman civihzation
extended. • Rees's Cyclopedia, Article Druid.

47

(tHptet M*

THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN,
THE IDOLATRY AND CONVERSION OP THE SAXONS,
AND THE NATURE AND DESIGN OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.

** The religion of Jesus comes from God, and is a most glorious dispeusatiOD, not only
for the sUbliine wonders of its doctrine, and the divine purity of its precepts, but that it
excels all other religions in the strength of its motives, the richness of its promises, and the
sufficiency of the divine aid attending it." — Dr. Jennings on Preaching Christ.

Here stands a Church, which has, from a very distant
period, been devoted to the service of God ! This high
and venerable pile has occupied this situation during a
long succession of ages, and still remains a conspicuous
monument of the pious zeal and combined hberality of
our remote ancestors. Time has laid its mouldering
hand on some parts of the stately structure, and others
have evidently undergone partial repairs. There may
yet be discovered numerous traces of fine graphical skill,
but for many generations past the names of those who,
upon these embossments, left striking displays of genius
for the admiration of succeeding ages, have been un
known. They are gone, but their works remain, not to
say who they were, but what they performed.
Remote antiquity sanctions the erection and occupancy
of suitable places for the pubhc worship of Alraighty

48 INTEODUCTION OF
God. The renowned patriarchs had their sacred altars,
though of rude construction, upon which they offered
acceptable sacrifices. The Israehtes, during their event
ful peregrinations through the Arabian desert, had their
tabernacle of meeting, in which the Lord their God
condescended to favour them with visible tokens of his
gracious presence. When conducted to the fruitful land
of Canaan, and settled there according to divine appoint
ment, they erected a magnificent temple, whose form,
dimensions, and elegance, rendered it for many ages the
wonder of surrounding nations. In addition to which,
they built numerous synagogues, over aU the country,
for more general convenience ; as well as constructed
houses of prayer, in which pious persons might assemble
more privately, and there pour forth the warm effusions
of their devout hearts.
The primitive Christians, whose religion was rejected
by the unbeheving Jews, as well as accounted " foolish
ness" by the learned Greeks, were so far from enjoying
splendid temples for religious worship, that they scarcely
had places where to hide their heads, and did frequently
avail themselves of the nocturnal season quietly to enjoy
the communion of saints. As soon, indeed, as the heat
of persecution was abated, and the roaring biUows of
boisterous passions were hushed into silence, so that the
Christians could enjoy peace and security, not only in
the retreats of solitude, but also in their pubhc assem
blies, — then they looked out for better accommodations,
and were industrious in procuring them. Especially,
when Constantine the Great embraced the Christian
faith, and Rome pagan bec^lme Christian : then were
many heathen temples converted into places for Chris
tian worship, and the Christians were protected by the
civil authority in the performance of religious duties.

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 49
When they erected places for public worship, the
Jewish temple was the chief model after which they
formed them. A cathedral was an imitation of the
temple, and a village-place of worship, that of a syna
gogue. Hence the idea of a holy end for an altar and
a circle of priests, and an unhallowed one for the com
mon people. Hence the divisions of porches, choirs,
chancels, and other things, answering to the courts of
the temple. The pulpit was in the choir : some were
portable, and very plain ; others fixtures, stretching out
lengthwise, so that the preacher might walk up and
down in them ; some had seats and curtains, others weie
adorned with gold and silver, and resembled the thrones
of princes more than the places for the convenience of
Christian ministers. So says Eusebius, censuring the
vanity of Paul of Saraosata. And ever since, convenient
places for pubhc worship have been provided, which is
very commendable ; only those who occupy them should
always keep in view the proper design and use of such
edifices. Before the advent of Christ, the progress of his reli
gion, and prosperity of his kingdom, had long been the
animating theme of prophetic inspirations. Jehovahj
speaking to the Messiah, says, " Ask of me, and I will
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." The
prophet Isaiah, contemplating the flourishing state of the
Messiah's kingdom, breaks forth in the most lively
strains, as though he had personally reahzed it, saying,
" Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given ; and
the government shall be upon his shoulder : and he shall
be called the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his
government and peace there shall be no end." And
looking forward to the extent and effects of his reign, he

50 INTRODUCTION 0?
adds, " They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain : for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Daniel, in
explaining Nebuchadnezzar's dream, after describing the
Babylonian, the Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman
empires, subjoins, " In the days of these kings," namely,
of the Roman emperors, " shall the God of heaven set
up a kingdora which shall never be destroyed ; and the
kino-dom shall not," like the forraer, " be left to other
people ; but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Again, he
says, " I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like
the Son of Man came to the Ancient of Days, and there
was given to him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,
that all people, nations, and languages, should serve
him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall
not be destroyed."
In conformity to these predictions concerning the
kingdom of the Messiah, our Saviour also declares the
extensive spread of his religion. " The gospel of the
kingdora shall be preached in all the world, for a witness
to all nations." Accordingly, when he gave his apostles
their commission, he said, " Go ye into all the wor;ld,
and preach the gospel to every creature." The Jewish
economy was like a light whose feeble rays are confined
to one house: but Christianity resembles the glorious
orb of day distributing his bright beams to the whole of
the human family. Though it was certain, from the
subliraity of the doctrines of the gospel, the spirituahty
of its precepts, its tendency to humble the pride of man,
its contrariety to the idolatry and superstition which had
for so many ages existed in the world, that the apostles
would meet with much opposition in the faithful and

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 61
zealous discharge of their ministerial duties; yet out
Saviour, in his address to Peter, concerning his excellent
confession, says, " Upon this Rock will I build my
church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." Gamaliel, speaking to his fellow senators, reasoned
wisely and conclusively, " If this counsel, or this work,
be of men, it will come to nought : but if it be of God,
ye cannot overthrow it."
On the first promulgation of Christianity at Jerusalem,
the capital of Judea, its progress was rapid and consi
derable. Our Saviour, at the beginning of his public
ministry, chose twelve persons, to attend him, and then
seventy disciples, whom he sent by two and ' two before
his face into every place whither he himself would go.
The ministry of the seventy disciples was successful, fo^;
he says, " I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven ;"
and they " rejoiced, that the devils were subject unto
them, through his name." At the ascension of our
Saviour, probably the most part of the members of his
church •were present, for " he was seen of above five
hundred brethren at once." On the day of Pentecost,
such was the power of divine grace attending the ministry
of the word, that " there were added about three thousand
souls." Soon after, such was the eflicacy of the gospel,
that the sacred historian uses this language, " Many of
the^i who heard the word, believed ; and the number of
the men," exclusive of the women, " was about five
thousand." Again, he says, " Believers were the more
added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women."
Nay, what is still more remarkable, that " a great com
pany of the priests were obedient to the faith." Thus
the promise of our Saviour to his apostles was accom-
phshed, " I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which
all your a4versaries shall not be able to gainsay nor
rejBst."

52 INTRODUCTION OF
On the death of Stephen, the proto-martyr, many of
the members of the Christian church at Jerusalem,
were " scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea
and Saraaria, except the apostles." Soon after, Saul of
Tarsus, afterwards called Paul, who had been an active
agent in this persecution, became a souiid convert to the
faith of Christ, and a zealous apostle in propagating the
Christian religion among the Gentiles ; to whom our
Saviour sent him, " to open their eyes, and to turn them
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan
unto God." His zealous exertions in the cause of
Christianity were attended with such happy results, that
from the testimony of his enemies it is stated, " Ye see
and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost through
all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away
much people, saying, that they be no gods which are
made with hands." And Such were the effects produced by
the ministry of all the apostles and their associates, in
various countries, that, as Dr. Paley observes, before
the end of thirty years from the death, resurrection; 'and
ascension of our Saviour, the Christian rehgion had
spread itself through Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, almost
all the numerous districts of the Lesser Asia, through
Greece, and the islands of the Mgeau sea, the sea^coast
of Africa, and had extended itself to Rome, and into
Italy. At Antioch in Syria, at Joppa, Ephesus,
Corinth, Thessalonica, Berea, Iconium, Derbe, Antioch
in Pisidia, at Ludda, Saron, the number of converts
is intimated by the expressions, " a great number —
great multitudes — much people." Converts are men
tioned, without any designation of their number, at
Tyre, Cesarea, Troas, Athens, Philippi, Lystra, and
Damascus. Thus the apostles, through the divine blessing, though
destitute of the advantages of birth, education, fortune—

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 53
without secular terrors to affright, pecuniary rewards to
bribe, or dazzling eloquence to enchant — armed with no
thing but faith, truth, goodness — yet encountered the
power of princes, the bigotry of priests, the learning of phi
losophers, the rage ofthe populace, the prejudices of all —
and were honoured with amazing success ! All the literary
acquirements and sarcasm of the Greeks and Romans were
employed to ridicule the gospel, and prevent its progress ;
and the potentates of the earth drew the sword against
it, armed their legions for effecting its overthrow, but
without accomplishing their mahcieus designs ; which
evidently proves an extraordinary interposition of God.
Had the infidel wits of the present age seen the apostles,
when entering on their arduous and unexampled labours,
they would sneeringly have derided the attempt, saying,
as Sanballat did long before, " What wiU these feeble
Jews do .?" But had they seen the astonishing event,
surely they must haye owned, with the Egyptian magi,
in a less illustrious miracle, " This is the finger of
God!" =
Tacitus, in giving a relation of a great fire that
happened at Rome, in the tenth year of Nero, which
coincides with the thirtieth after Christ's ascension,
speaking of the Christians, says, " They had their
denomination from Christus, who, in the reign of Tiberius,
was put to death as a criminal, by the procurator Pontius
Pilate. This pernicious superstition, though checked
for a while, broke out again, and spread not only over
Judea, but reached the city also. At first there were
but few apprehended, who confessed themselves of that
sect ; afterwards a vast multitude was discovered of
them." " The Author's Progress &f Christianity, &c. p. 275.

54 iNTRODUCTION OF
Phny, the younger, in a letter written to the emperor
Trajan concerning the Christians, not quite eighty years
after Christ's ascension, says to him, " Suspending all
judicial proceedings, I have recourse to you for advice ;
for it has appeared to me a matter highly deserving
consideration, especially on account of the great number
of persons who are in danger of suffering : for many of
all ages, and of every rank, of both sexes likewise, are
accused, and will be accused. Nor has the contagion of
this superstition seized cities only, but the lesser towns
also, and the open country." ^
Justin, sumaiiied the Martyr, who embraced Chris
tianity about the year A. D. 132, in his dialogue with
Trypho, a noted Jew, (which he wrote, about thirty
years after Pliny, and 106 after the ascension,) has these
remarkable words : " There is no nation, whether of
Barbarians, or Greeks, or any others, by whait names
soever they are called, whether they live in waggons-,
or without houses, or in tents, among whom prayers
are not made, and thanksgiving offered up, to the
Father and Creator of all, through the name of the
crucified Jesus." ^
Irenceus, who was made Bishop of Lyons in the
year of our Lord 179, states, " This preaching of the
gospel, and this faith, the church scattered up and
down the whole world maintains, as inhabiting one
house, and beheves it with one heart and soul, teaches
and preaches it as with one mouth ; for though there be
different languages in the world, yet the force of
tradition, or of that doctrine that has been delivCTe'd to
the church, is but one and the same." <=
" C. Plin. Trajano. Imp. lib. x. ep. 97.
' Dial. cum. Tryph..p. 346.
• Adversus Hnreses, lib. iii. cap. 3. pag. nn. 39.

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 56
Tertullian, & Presbyter in Carthage, who flourished
about the middle of the second century, and wrote
probably not raore than twenty years after Irenseus,
gives a larger account, and raentions Britain by name.
Quoting the words of David, Psal. xix. 4. as apphcable
to the apostles, " Their line is gone out through all the
earth, and their words to the end of the world."" " In
whom," says he, " have all the nations of the earth
beheved, but in Christ f" Not only Parthians, and
Medes, and Elaraites, and the dwellers in Mesopotaraia,
and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of
Lybia and Cyrene, and strangers at Rome, Jews and
proselytes, and the other nations ; but also the boun
daries of the Spaniards, all the different nations of the
Gauls, and those parts of Britain which were inacces
sible to the Romans, are become subject to Christ."
He goes on to say, after enuraerating other nations,
" In all which the name of Christ reigns, because he
is now come ; before whom the gates of all cities are set
open, and none shut ; before whom doors of brass fly
open, and bars of iron are snapt asunder ; that is, these
hearts once possessed by the Devil, by faith in Christ
are set open." *
Origen, the famous Presbyter of Alexandria, who
flourished about the year of our Lord 220, speaking of
the prophecies which the Jews theinselves allowed to
refer to the advent of the Messiah, and particularly on
the words, the whole earth shall shout for joy, he says,
" The miserable Jews acknowledge that this is spoken
of the presence of Christ ; but they are stupidly ignorant
of the person, though they see the words fulfilled.
• Adversus Judaeos, cap. vii. pag. m. 98.

56 introduction of
' Quando enim terra Britanniae ante adventum Christi,
in unius Dei consensit religionem ;' when, before the
advent of Christ, did the land of Britain agree in
the' worship of one Godf When did the land of the
Moors — when did the whole globe at once agree in this .''
But now, on account of the churches, which are spread
to the uttermost bounds of the world, the whole earth,
with rejoicing, invokes the God of Israel.'''' ^ Origen
tells Celsus what was the cause of this extensive and
rapid spread of the Christian religion : " The first
preachers who planted Christian churches, their sermons
had a mighty force of persuasion above those who taught
the philosophy of Plato, or of any other man endowed
only with the power of human nature; but the persuasion
of the apostles of Jesus Christ was given of God, per
suading men to beheve by the eflicacy and power of the
Holy Spirit ; and therefore quickly and swiftly did their
word run through the world, or rather the word of God,
by their ministry converting many sinners from the evU
of their ways, whom no man could have changed by
whatever punishments, but the word of God converted
them according to the will of God." ''
Eusebius, a learned and inquisitive historian, says,
" Innumerable multitudes of people, in aU cities and
countries, hke corn in a well filled granary, being brought
in by the grace of God that brings salvation. They
whose minds were heretofore distempered and overrun
with the error and idolatry of their ancestors, were cured
by the sermons and miracles of our Lord's disciples :
so after shaking off these chains of darkness and slavery,
which the merciless demons had put upon them, they
" Origen. Op. vol. pag. 370.
* Contra Celsum, lib. iii. pag. 120.

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 5'J
freely embraced and entertained the knowledge and
service of the only true God, the great Creator of the
world, whom they worshipped according to the rites
and rules of that Divine and wisely contrived rehgion
which our Saviour had introduced." In the third book
of his Evangelical Demonstration, having named
Romans, Persians, Armenians, Parthians, Indians, and
Scythians, as people among whom the apostles preached
the gospel of Christ, he mentions particularly, that
some of them passed over the ocean to the British
islands. That some of the apostles preached the gospel
in the British islands, he was probably informed by
Constantine himself, to whom he was well known ; or
received it from some of the emperor's countrymen,
who were then in his court ; or of the British bishops,
summoned to the council of Nice, where, in all likeh-
hood, some of them made their appearance.

At what precise period of time, and by what means,
the Christian rehgion was first introduced into Britain,
are matters which have often engaged the pens of his
torians ; but whose records do not always agree, and
sometimes plainly contradict each other. We shall
collect from various ahd the best sources of information,
what appears the most authentic, both as to dates and
instruments. Some writers state, that St. Paul was the first instru
ment employed in converting the Britons to Christ.
The testimony of Theodoret, a learned and judicious
church historian, is important; for among the nations
converted by the apostles, he expressly names the
Britons. Having mentioned Spain, he affirms, that
» Hist. Eccl. lib. ii. cap. 3.

58 INTRODUCTION OF
St. Paul brought the gospel to the islands that he in the
ocean, that is, to the British islands. And St. Jerome
says, that St. Paul, after his imprisonment, preached the
gospel in the western parts. That by these western
parts, the British islands were chiefly understood, will
appear from the testimony of Clemens Romanus, who
writes, that St. Paul preached righteousness through
the whole world, and in so doing went to the utmost
bounds of the west. This passage will necessarily take
in Britain, if we consider what, among the ancients,
was meant by the bounds of the west. Plutarch,
speaking of Caesar's expedition into Britain, says, he
was the first that brought a fleet into the western ocean,
that is, the British ocean. Eusebius several times calls
this ocean the western; and, elsewhere, he mentions
Gaul, and the western parts beyond it; by which he
means Britain. And Theodoret reckons up the inhabi
tants of Spain, of Britain, and Gaul, (who, says he,
lie between the other two,) as those, who dwell in the
bounds of the west. And among these, the Britons
must be the utmost bounds, because the Gauls lie in
the midst.
Though these testimonies may, in the opinion of
some, be deemed sufficient to prove that there was a
church planted here by some of the apostles, and
that. St. Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, was
probably the individual employed in this great work ;
yet, we may notice some circumstances that will add
weight and evidence to the above-mentioned authorities.
It is certain, therefore, in the first place, that St. Paul
wanted neither leisure nor opportunity to come over into
Britain, and preach the gospel. For Eusebius, St. Jerome,
and others of the ancients agree in this, that he suffered
martyrdom at Rome, in the fourteenth year of Nero. Now

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 59
he was sent to Rome, when Festus was made procurator
m Judea, in the room of Felix, which was, according to
the same authorities, in the second of Nero. But consi
dering the circurastances of his voyage, we will, with
Massutius, allow, that he could not come to Rome till
the third of Nero. We know, from St. Luke, that he
abode there two years. So that in the fifth year he was
set at liberty, probably on occasion of favours showed to
prisoners and exiles, on the murder of Agrippina. Frora
this time till his returning to Rorae, where he suffered,
, (which was about eight years,) he went to various parts
preaching the gospel. Sure we are, from. Scripture,
that he did not return to the East. For in the last of
his three peregrinations, related in the Acts of the!
Apostles, at Miletus, we find him sending for elders of
the church, taking his solemn leave of them, and telling
them, that they should see his face no more. Which
words do not only concern the church of Ephesus, but
all the other churches planted by him in the East : and
this he speaks, not in the way of conjecture, but from
certain knowledge.
Agreeable to this divine testiraony, we have all the
ancient fathers unanimously affirming, that from the
time of his being set at liberty to that of his suffering,
he continually preached the gospel in the western parts
only. We have showed before, that Britain is contained
in, if not the principal place meant by, the western parts.
And we know from Gildas, that the gospel was received
here before the fatal defeat of the Britons by Suetonius
Paulinus, which was, according to Petavius, in the eighth
year of Nero ; so that St. Paul, being at liberty the fifth
year, had time and convenience enough to found a Chris
tian church in Britain.

60 INTRODUCTION OF
That St. Paul had encouragement and invitation to
visit Britain, wiU not be denied, if we consider not only
the vast numbers of people mentioned by Cassar, and the
new settlements that were daily made by the Romans,
after their first success under Claudius ; but, also, the
particular induceraents he might have at Rome to come
hither, from Pomponia Graecina, and Claudia Rufllina,
both Christians, and probably converted by himself
These are supposed to be of the saints that were in
Caesar's household. .However, we learn from Tacitus,
that Pomponia was a Christian; and it is more than
probable that not only Claudia, but Pudens her husband,
are mentioned by St. Paul, in his second Epistle to
Timothy. That these two Christian ladies would excite
the apostle to come over into this island to preach the
gospel, we have reason to believe, because one of them
was wife to Aulus Plautius, the first Roman governor of
Britain, and the other a Briton born, celebrated by
Martial for her admirable beauty and learning. " This
account of the first planting of a Christian church in
Britain, even by St. Paul himself, appears very pro
bable. *
The case of the brave, but unfortunate Caractacus, a
renowned king ofthe ancient British people called ^j^wre*,
inhabiting South Wales, is not unworthy our attention.
Whether the refusal of the tribute which Caesar had

" The learned Archbishop Usher states, that Claudia was the daughter
of Caractacus. It follows, says Mr. Hughes, that Claudia was the
first native Briton who embraced Christianity ; that by her means the
rest of her family were converted ; and that these, in company with cer
tain other disciples of St. Paul, were the instruments of planting the Tree
of Life in Britain.
i" Much of this information may be found in a voluminous work, en- .
titled, Magna Britannica.

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN, 61
appointed the Britons to pay to the Romans, was the
taotive for the expedition of Claudius to Britain, or not,
— the army sent hither, in the year A. D. 43, under the
command of Aulus Plautius, an able general, made it
necessary that the whole strength of the island should
be immediately collected to oppose this invasion. The
celebrated Caractacus was appointed to the chief com
mand. Such were the views the Britons entertained of
his ability, his wisdom, and courage, that when this hero
went to battle, says the Triad 79, " none would stay at
home. They followed him freely, and maintained thera
selves at their own expense. Unsolicited and unsoliciting,
they crowded to his standard." The justice he did to
the choice and appointment, displayed itself in the noble
stand he made in the defence of the liberty of his
country. He maintained an obstinate resistance, and
the Romans made but little progress agaiinst him, till
Ostorius Scapula was sent over, in A. D. 50, to command
their forces. After valiantly defending his country for
the space of seven years against the Romans, he was at
length defeated ; and, flying to Cartismunda, queen of
the Brigantes, (inhabitants of Yorkshire,) was by her
treacherously delivered up to the Romans, and, with
his family, brought captive to Rorae, to grace the
triumph of Claudius over the subjugated Britons, and so
made a spectacle to the citizens ; where his noble beha
viour, and heroic but pathetic speech, obtained him
not only his liberty, but the esteem of the Emperor,
A. D. 52.
In this capital, persons of different ranks, employments,
and offices, might be found; ambassadors, captive princes,
merchants, and mechanics. Many of these would be
prompted by curiosity to make inquiries concerning St.
Paul, a noted prisoner brought to Rome, famed, even

62 INTRODUCTION OF
before his arrival, as an abettor of a new reli^n, the
principal teacher and propagator of the doctrine of Jesus
Christ, who was condemned by Pilate to the death of
the cross. As the apostle was perraitted to live in his
apartments, guarded by a soldier, he was at liberty to
receive all who apphed to him for information and instrucr
tion ; and hereby the gracious purpose of Divine Provi
dence, in spreading Christianity through the world, was
promoted. Disastrous as the fate of Caractacus was to Britain at
the time, says Roberts, HE, whose providence brings
good out of evil, raade his family, even in captivity, a
blessing to their country. His family, captives in Rome,
there learned the great Christian truths newly made
known to mankind ; and Bran, the father of the brave
Silurian prince, returning to Britain, after seven years
captivity, as an hostage for his son, first published them
to his countrymen. Being converted by the gospel, he
became a reformer of the manners of the people, and his
name has the epithet 5f blessed annexed to it. This is
fully recognized in Triad 35. " Bran the blessed, son
of Llyr Llediaeth, who first brought Christianity among
the Cymry from Rome, where he had been for seven
years, as an hostage for his son Caractacus." The asser
tion that Bran was a Christian, and propagated the Chris
tian faith among his countrymen, has not only the sanc
tion of this Triad, but also is stated to be an historical
fact, by Welsh authors of good credit in the present time.
It is stated, that Bran did not return alone to this
country, but mention is made of some Christians who
accompanied him, to preach the gospel, and to form a
Christian fchurch in Britain, particularly among the
Silurians in Wales : these were Hid and Cynvan, who
are said to be Israelites. There is also mention of one

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 63
who is said to be a man of Italy, named Aristobulus,
and who became the first bishop in this island. Hence
it would appear, that Aristobulus was the person whom
St. Paul delegated for the important and interesting
purpose, in company with two other persons, to announce
the glad tidings of salvation to the Britons. Thus we
have sufficient evidence, besides the rational probability
of the thing, that if St. Paul hiraself was not the apostle
of Britain, it was through his interference, and his general
anxiety for the salvation of the Gentile world, that the
gospel was first brought to this country. "
Mr. Hughes says, " How pleasing it is to carry our
views back into those remote ages, and imagine we see
the first missionaries, and their disciples, assembled under
the shade of the wide-spreading oak, instructing the
people in the knowledge of the true God, and of Jesus
Christ, the Saviour of mankind ; disputing with the
Druids, confuting their absurd notions, their gross con
ceptions, their confused and complex mythology. If,
indeed, these men, whoever they were, went forth with
the zeal and in the spirit of the apostles, the truth coul^
not fail of carrying its own evidence, and of producir^
conviction, being accompanied with divine influent^.
The example of genuine purity and innocence displayted
in the lives of such, and the happiness of their disposi
tions, would command esteem and reverence for the
system of religion they professed."
The tradition which has been most generally received
by our ancient historians, and by the nations at large,
says Dr. A. Clarke, is that which attributes the introduc
tion of the Christian rehgion into Britain, to Josifiph of,
Arimathea. The substance of this history is as follows:
' Hughes's Horae Britannicffi, vol. ii. p. 19 — 23.

64 INTRODUCTION OF
About 63 years after the incarnation of our Lord, and
30 after his ascension, Joseph of Arimathea, who had
buried our Lord's body in his own tomb, was furnished
by Phihp the Evangelist, with eleven disciples, and sent
into Britain to introduce the gospel of Christ in place of
the barbarous rites of the Druids. With these rites, as
well as with the character of the people, the Roman
empire had become well acquainted, through the writings
of Julius Caesar.
These holy men, on their landing, applied to Arviragus,
a British king, for perraission to settle in a rude and
uncultivated spot, caUed Ynswytryn by the British,
Avalonia by the Romans, and Glaesting-byrig by the
Saxons, and is still known by the name of Glastonbury.
Their petition was granted, and twelve hides of land were
assigned for their support ; and the place is to this day,
denominated the twelve hides of Glastonbury. Here,
according to this tradition, the standard of the cross was
first erected ; and a chapel made of wicker work, was the
first church, or oratory, of God in Britain ! ^ The walls
of this church, according to Malmsbury, were made of
twigs twisted together. The length of it was 60 feet,
and the breadth of it 26 feet. The roof, according to
the custom of the Britons, was of straw, hay, or rushes.
The extent of the yard was so large, as to contain,
according to Melkinus, who hved in the year A. D. 550,
a thousand graves.
That this nation was converted to the faith of Christ
by those who had been disciples of our Lord, was the
early and constant belief of our forefathers. This runs
through all our histories, and even through some of our
regal acts. In the charter granted by Henry II. in the
year of our Lord 1185, for the rebuilding of Glastonbury
" See Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i.

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 65
church, which had been burnt ; it is styled mater sanc
torum-tumulus sanctorum, quam ab ipsis discipulis
Domini edificatem, " the mother and burying-place of
the saints, founded by the very disciples of our Lord ;"
and adds, •venerabilis habet cmtiquorum, auctoritas, " it
has the venerable authority of the ancients ;" and else
where, in the sarae charter, he adds, quce f ons et origo
totius religionis AnglicB pro certo_ habetur, " which is
incontrovertibly acknowledged to be the fountain and
origin of the whole religion of England." This church
was the head of all ecclesiastical authority in these
nations, till the year 1154, when Pope Adrian IV.
transferred that honour to St. Albans.
It is stated by several authorities, that when the church
built by Joseph of Arimathea, was decayed by time,
Deni, a Welsh or British bishop, erected a niew one in
the same place ; that this also in time falling to decay,
twelve men came from North Britain, and put. it in good
repair. Anti^, lastly. King Ina, donor of the Peter-pence,
pulled down the old one, and buOt a stately church, to
the honour of Christ, and St. Peter and St. Paul, fiUetted
under the highest coping, with heroic verses in Latin,
celebrating the memory of the founder and the saints to
whom it was dedicated. But afterwards, this church
was, by the renowned Dunstan, converted to a monas
tery of Benedictine Monks, himself being sometimes abbot
there ; and so it continued till the reign of Henry VIII.
when it shared in the downfall of abbies.*
The story of Lucius, king of Britain, who, in A. D.
156, is said by the venerable Bede, to have embraced
the Christian faith, and who is called the first Chris
tian king, is generally known. Historians say, that
- Will. Malmesby. Camb. and Matt. West. Aug. 727.
F

66 INTRODUCTION OF
this king sent Elwan and Medwin to Eleutherus, the
twelfth bishop of Rome, praying that he might be
instrudlted in the Christian faith ; which was accordingly
done. The words of Bede are, " that, in the year 156,
in the time of Marcus Antonius Verus, and Aurelius
Commodus, when Eleutherus presided over the Roman
see, Lucius, king of the Britons, sent a letter to that
bishop, requesting that, by his mandate, he might be
admitted into the Christian church. His pious request,
(adds the Anglo-Saxon historian,) was presently granted
him ; and the faith, thus received, was maintained invio
late among the Britons, in profound peace, until the time
of Dioclesian."
It is singular, that neither Irenaeus, Tertulhan, Euse
bius, Jerome, Sulpitius, Severus, Theodoret, Prosper,
OrosiuSj nor Cassiodorus, though learned and inquisitive
men, who have reported what they knew concerning the
propa^tion of the Christian rehgion ; nor even Gildas,
though a Briton, who wrote in the sixth century, nor
probably any other author, before the eighth century,
should mention this circumstance ! And the writers who
have copied from Bede, differ very much as to the time
of his conversion ; the Burton Annals placing it A. D.
137, being the last year of the Emperor Adrian, and
John Harding reckons it to be in the year 190,
in the reign of Commodus, — a distance of 53 years !
Neither do they agree as to the person by whom he
was converted, nor as to the place where he reigned,
whether in the north or south parts of the island. — The
truth seems to be this, says Dr. Adam Clarke, 'that
-although Christianity was introduced into Britain long
before the time of Lucius, yet, he knowing the Christian
religion, and finding the means of propagating it in
his own district were very inadequate, might send to

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 67
Eleutherus for additional help : and from this the zealous
Romanists might take occasion to say, that King Lucius
was converted by Roman raissionaries.
It is stated, that Archbishop Usher found in an old
Saxon Chronicle, that Lucius was king of the Britons
in Wales, in fact, a Silurian prince, beloved by his people,
and on good terras with thfe Romans. The countenance
he gave to religion, and his being supposed to be the
first who estabhshed public worship among the Chris
tians, procured him, in a subsequent period, the appella
tion of Lleuver Mawr, or the Great Light ; so that the
Welsh monks called him Lucius. His territory extended
not beyond the present county of Monmouth, and a part
of Glamorgan. Being descended from a race of princes,
who had in former ages been elected to exercise sovereign
power over the confederated Britons, he might, perhaps,
among his own people, be honoured with the style and
title of king of the Britons.
Such an account of the patronage given to the Chris
tian faith, by a devout prince, says Mr. Hughes, carries
with it no air of iraprobability. Lucius, when convinced
of the truth hiraself, and being confirmed therein by the
preaching of sorae persons well versed in the doctrines of
Christianity, took on him the profession of that religion,
and used his influence for the proraotion of it among
the people, with whom his example must have consider
able weight. Idolatry hitherto prevailed araong the
Silurian Britons ; but now the religion of Christ was
publicly sanctioned, and the idolaters became ashamed
of their practices. The ministers of the true rehgion
were poor and obscure men, and they had no regular
places set apart for divine worship, and their adherents
were in a forlorn and unprotected state. This generous
prince raised the Christians from their low condition.

68 INTRODUCTION OF
erected suitable places for the celebration of rehgious
services, and thus became a nursing-father to the church.
Other testimonies might easily be produced, to show
the early introduction of Christianity into this country ;
but as these fully prove the point, others are not neces
sary. We conclude, therefore, that the gospel was estab,
lished here, as early as even our traditions state ; and,
very probably, by the apostles themselves, or by persons
immediately deputed by them ; for, the primitive disci,
pies of our Lord received his command in the most
literal sense, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature."^'
It would be highly gratifying to us, if we had authentic
documents giving an account of the progress and exten*
sion of the Christian rehgion in Britain, at this early
period ; but, alas ! we have very Jfew remains of the first
Christians in this island. Gildds assigns this reason for
it. He says, " the monume^ of our country, or writ
ings, if there were* any, ^)pfcar not; they were either
burnt by the fire of enemies, or carried far off by our
banished countrymen." He /also states, " that though
the precepts of Christ were rjeceived but lukewarmly by
the inhabitants, yet they remained entirely with some,
less sincerely with others, until the nine years of perse.
cution under Dioclesian."
. Dioclesian, who had risen from being a common soldier
to the rank of general, on the death of Numerian, in the
year 284, was chosen emperor, In about two years
after, he made choice of Maximian Herculius, of low
rank in the army, for his associate in the empire. Five
years after this, each of the two. emperors fixed on a
vicegerent, to enable them better to bear the ponderous
weight of the civil and military affairs of government,
Galerius Maximian, originally a shepherd in Dacia,

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. 69
afterwards a soldier, who had quelled a violent insurrec
tion among the Gaulish shepherds, and Constantius
Chlorus, who had obtained victories in Germany and
Britain, were constituted Caasars; and the highest
honours, next to the imperial sovereignty itself, were
attached to their title, along with the right of succession,
on the demise of the reigning emperor.
The emperor Dioclesian, during the course of a pros
perous reign, had favoured the Christians for the space
of nearly twenty years, in which tirae they had consider
ably sunk into a state of lukewarraness. On his coraing
to the city of Nicomedia, in Bithynia, Caesar Galerius,
who hated the Christians, prevailed on him, in the year
303, to issue orders for demolishing the cathedral church
there, built opposite the imperial palace. He also pub
lished an edict, commanding the Christian churches to
be demolished, the Holy Scriptures to be burned, the
persons who had obtained any ofiice in the magistracy to
be degraded, and the meaner sort to be sold for slaves.
But these proceedings were only the commencement of
the persecution; for, soon after, Dioclesian, with the
consent of his colleague Maximian, published an edict,
ordering the Christian bishops to be bound with chains,
and forced, by all manner of torture, to sacrifice to idols.
This injunction was so rigorously executed, that, in the
space of one month, it is stated, seventeen thousand
Christians were put to death, exclusive of the multitudes
that were banished.
This was the tenth general persecution of the Chris
tians, and exceeded in violence and duration any former
one. Bede says, " Dioclesian commanded the churches
to be spoiled, the Christians to be tormented and kiUed :
which persecution was both longer and also more cruel
than all the other ; for ten years together, it continued

70 INTRODUCTION OF
in burning the churches, in banishing the innocent, in
murdering the Christians, and never ceased." It did
not become general till the 17th year of Dioclesian ; but,
previous to that tirae, Maximian had raised a grievous
persecution in the East. And even Constantius officially
persecuted the Christians in Spain and Gaul, out of
corapliance with the injunctions of the emperors ; for the
CcBsar being only vicegerent of the imperial court, as
such, was entirely subject to their controul. In Spain
and Gaul, the persecution raged to that degree, that the
emperors flattered themselves that they had utterly extir
pated the Christian religion, as appears from certain
monuments, the inscriptions on which are preserved in
Gruterus, containing these words : Nomine Christian-
ORUM DELETo ; on another, Superstitione Christi
uBiauE DELETA. That is. The very Name of Christicm
is destroyed — The superstition of Christ is every where
aboUshed. The Christians in Britain were, for a short time, great
sufferers. It is said, that Maximian almost rooted out
the Christian religion from Britain, and they who suffered
martyrdom were almost without number. Gildas says,
" That their churches were thrown down, and all the
books of the Holy Scriptures that could be found were
burnt in the streets, and the chosen priests of the flock of
our Lord, together with the innocent sheep, murdered;
so that, in some parts of the province, no footsteps of the
Christian rehgion did appear. How many did then flee,
how many were destroyed, how many different kinds of
sufferings some did endure, how great was the ruin of
apostates, how glorious the crown of martyrdom !" Bede
adds, " It made Britain to be honoured with many holy
martyrs, who firmly stood and died in the confession of
their faith."

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. "]!
Owing to the usurpations of Carausius and Alectus,
the British Church escaped the provincial persecutions
raised by Galerius ; and there the amiable disposition of
Constantius contributed rauch to check and abate the
storra, so as to prevent its fury frora being spent here.
In the year 304, on the resignation of Dioclesian and
Maximian, Constantius succeeded to the purple ; and
then having fuU power to act according to the mildness and
equity of his disposition, he immediately put a stop to
persecution in the western provinces. And as he was not
more than two years in Britain previous to his possessing
sovereign power, the Christians here had but for a short
space to drink the bitter cup, not much longer than a
year. This good prince, who continued the latter part
of his life in Britain, would not permit any man to suffer
death in his dominions on account of his religion. "
The Christians, who had fled into woods and caves, to
hide themselves from the destructive scourge of persecu
tion, now resuming courage, appeared openly, and boldly
professed their faith in Christ. Under the auspices of
the emperor, they began to rebuild their demolished
churches, and flourished to a great degree both in peace
and unity. This excellent prince died at York, and was
interred there, in the year 306.
Constantius having declared his son Constantine his
successor in the Western empire, he received the imperial
purple, and evidently appeared favourable to Christianity.
Being always friendly to the Christians, he secured to
them the free exercise of their religion, even before he
himself publicly professed the faith of Christ, which
he did after he had overcorae his rivals in the erapire.
As Christianity advanced, some of the temples of idols
» Hughes's Horse Britannicae, vol. ii. chap. iv.

72 INTRODUCTION OF
were destroyed, and others were dedicated to the worship
of the one only living and true God.
After this remarkable change, the Christians multi-
phed exceedingly, and the island abounded with churches.
There were three British bishops present at the Council
of Aries, held A. D. 314, supposed to be those of Lon
don, York, and Caerleon. There is good reason to
believe, that there were some British bishops present
also at the faraous Council of Nice, held A. D. 325 ; and
that there were several at the Council of Arirainum, held
A. D. 359 ; but so poor, that it is said their expenses
were paid by their brethren. It is evident, therefore,
that there was not only Christianity in Britain, at all
these early periods ; but, also, that there was a regulated
church, with its bishops, who were thought of sufficient
consequence to be summoned to foreign councils, where
matters of vital importance to Christianity, were discussed
and determined.
The great design of the Council of Nice, convoked by
the emperor Constantine, and to which all the bishops
throughout the provinces were summoned to send their
representatives, was to establish the consubstantiality of
the Father and the Son, in opposition to the doctrine of
the Arians, who asserted that the Sort was created. The
creed, drawn up at Nice, has been considered as one of the
main bulwarks of the Church of Christ, in defence of
the Catholic doctrine, or that generally received by
orthodox Christians, concerning the Divine Nature ; and
especially the eternal divinity of the Son, who is here
spoken of as " the only begotten Son of God ; begotten
of the Father before all worlds ; God of God ; Light of
Light; very God of very God; begotten, not made;
being of one substance with the Father ; by whom all
things were made." The Nicean fathers considered the

CHRISTIANITY INTO BRITAIN. ^3
Son, the second Person in the Divine essence or Godhead,
as existing equally from eternity with the Father ; and
therefore equally entitled to divine worship as God, in
conjunction with the Father and the Holy Ghost.
The Rev. Professor White judiciously remarks: —
" If we trace the Christian religion through the various
revolutions of the Church, we shall observe two doctrines,
which, beyond all the rest, mark with a distinguishing
lustre the creed which justly deserves the appellation of
Catholic. Explications of those doctrines may vary ;
but the grand essentials of them seem to be interwoven
with the original texture of Christian faith ; I mean the
doctrines of the Divinity and Atonement of Christ : doc
trines alike unknown to the Koran of Mahomet and the
creed of Socinus." ^ Though an enemy to evangehcal
doctrines, yet even Faustus Socinus, however reluctantly,
by the force of irresistible evidence, is compelled to
acknowledge, " That from the infancy of the Church,
there had been very raany pious, learned raen, martyrs
too, who had embraced this grievous error, namely, that
Jesus Christ is that one God, who created all things, or
certauily begotten of his proper substance." ^ This con
fession, whether extorted by the force of truth, or the
result of temporary conviction, is conceding the point,
and virtually admitting the essential Divinity of Christ.

The introduction of the Saxons into Britain, forms an
important epoch in the ecclesiastical history df this
country ; and was occasioned by the Romans withdraw-
in o- from it. Thev had not much intercourse with
Britain, except in the way of commerce, from the period
of Cassar's last departure, which was nearly sixty years
" Notes to his Sermons, p. 61.
^ Epist. 3rd to Radecius.

74 IDOLATRY AND
before the birth of our Saviour, till the reign of Claudius,
being an interval of about one hundred years. The
Roman armies finally left Britain, in A. D. 446 ; being
501 years from the tirae of their first descent on the
island, and 403 years after their settlement in the coun
try. This last departure, was occasioned by the Goths
and Vandals being at the very portals of their magnifi
cent metropolis ; so that it was with them far more a
matter of necessity than choice, for the loss of it was
afterwards pathetically lamented by an orator, when
addressing the emperor, in these words : — " It was no
small damage to the comraonwealth, to lose the very bare
narae of Britain, to forego a land so plentiful in corn, so
rich in pasture, so full of raines, and veins of metals, so
accomraodated with havens, and for circuit so large and
spacious." * The Roraans being gone, Britain was left
alraost in a defenceless state : and the Picts, knowing
this, entered on a scene of new ravages and devastation.
The Britons, being too weak to oppose immediate resist
ance, had recourse to the desperate measure of calhng in
one barbarous nation to protect them against the invad
ing power of another.
The Saxons being invited by the Britons, Hengist and
Horsa, two brothers, sons of Witigisel, general of the
Saxons, and chiefs, on account of their valour and nobU
ity, embarked their troops in three vessels, and landed
at Ebbsfleet, in the isle of Thanet, in the year 449, and
in the second year of the reign of Vortigern. Being
joined bv the British forces, they met the Picts and the
Scots, who had advanced as far as Stamford, in Lincoln
shire, and, after a sanguinary conflict, finally defeated
them. They were first settled in Thanet, as a residence
' Samnes's Antiq. of Ancient Britain, p. 5.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 'JS
for which their services were pledged, to repel the ene
mies of Britain. A second body of Saxons, in sixteen
large vessels, arrived in A. D. 450 ; and a third, in forty
ships, in A. D. 452. In a word, the Saxons, by policy
and power, ultimately gained possession of this country.
On the arrival of the Saxons in Britain, they were
totally ignorant of letters ; but, in process of tirae, they
acquired much of the learning, as well as most of the
possessions of the Britons : and the alphabet they adopted
was that anciently in use araong the Welsh, and is still
preserved among the Irish. * According to Verstigan,
the narae Saxons is derived frora Seaxes or swords, not
from any distinctive • appellation given thera in their own
country, being Gerraans. And Turner, in his History
of the Anglo-Saxons, says, that the etymology of this
name frora the weapons is most specious, and has the
most numerous supporters.
The Saxons having once established theraselves in
Britain, brought so many Northern people to their aid,
that, before the end of the following century, they drove
out the Britons — some of whom fled to Armorica, or
Brittany, in Gaul, some to Cornwall, sorae to the Picts
and Scots, being forced to throw themselves on the huma
nity and charity of these ancient and avowed enemies for
protection and support. Others purchased their lives by
yielding to slavery ; being compelled by famine they gave
up themselves as slaves to the conquerors. But the most
of them who escaped the sword, fled to the western parts
of Britain, since known by the name of Wales, where
the mountains, the fastnesses, and stern poverty, preserved
the sad remains of the British nation. •>

' Camb. Regis, vol. iii. p. 150.
•' Inett's History of the English Church, vol. i. p. 5.

76 IDOLATRY AND
Having thus overrun the greatest part of the British
Isle, according to the different views and interests of the
adventurers, the Saxons parcelled out their conquests,
Hengist, who was general to the first comers, had the
country of Kent for his share, and settled his kingdom
about the year A. D. 455. The second kingdom, in
order of time, was that of the South Saxons, containing
the counties of Sussex and Surry, which began -under
Ella, about the year A. D. 481. The next was that ofthe
West Saxons, of which Cerdick was the first king, about
the year A. D. 522 ; this kingdom contained the counties
of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, South
ampton, and Berks. The fourth kingdom was that of
the East Saxons, and began about the year A. D. 527,
under the first king Erchewine. The kingdom of North
umberland appears to have the next claim in order of
time, and was erected about the year A. D. 547. This,
at first, consisted of two kingdoms or provinces, one of
which was called Bernicia, containing the country between
the Tweed and the Frith of Edinburgh ; the other was
denominated Deira, including the countries between the
Humber and the Tweed, The sixth kingdom was that
of the East Angles, containing the counties of Norfolk,
Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and the Isle of Ely, and was
erected about the year A. D. 675. The seventh king
dom was that of Mercia, erected about the year A. D.
582, containing the counties of Gloucester, Hereford,
Worcester, Warwick, Leicester, Rutland, Northampton,
Lincoln, Bedford, Nottingham, Buckingham, Oxford,
Derby, Stafford, Shropshire, and Cheshire. *
The Saxons, on their arrival in Britain, were not only
totally ignorant of letters, but were pagan idolaters, and
' Inett's History, &c. vol. i. p. 5, 6.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 77
introduced their gods and worship into this country.
Several authors have made particular mention of this
subject, giving us a description of the objects of their
idolatrous worship. Gildas states particularly the raany
idols to which they offered worship. He speaks of " the
monstrous idols of our country, surpassing almost in
number the very devihsh devices themselves of Egypt ;
of which we behold as yet some, both within and without
the walls of their forsaken temples, with deformed por
traitures, and terrible countenances, after the accustomed
manner, and mouldering away." * From sorae of these
idolatrous objects, connected with the heavenly bodies,
are the days of the week naraed.
The Sun, to which the Romans, as well as several
other nations, paid religious homage, was, in a pecuhar
manner, worshipped by the Saxons.
0 SUNDAY.
" Unto the day dedicated to the idoll of the Sun, they
gave the name of Sv/nday, as much as to say, as the
Sunsday, or, the day of the Sum,. This idoll was placed
in a temple, and there adored, and sacrificed unto, for
that they believed that the Sun in the firmament did
with or in this idoll correspond and co-operate. It was
made like halfe a naked man, set upon a piUar, his face,
as it were, brightened with gleams of fire, and holding,
with both his armes stretched out, a burning wheele upon
his breast ; the wheele being to signifie the course which
he runneth, round the world ; and the fiery gleams, and
brightnes, the light and heat wherewith he warmeth and
comforteth the things that hve and grow." ''
= The Translator of Gildas to the Inhabitants of Britain, p. 6.
Verstegan, p. 68, 69.

78 IDOLATRY AND
The Moon also, engaging the attention of the nations,
was likewise worshipped by our Saxon ancestors.

]) MONDAY.
" The next, according to the course of the dayes of
the week, was the idoll of the Moone, whereof we yet
retaine the narae of Monday, instead of Mooneday. The
forme of this idoU seemeth very strange and ridiculous,
for, being made for a woman, shee hath a short coat like
a man : but more strange it is to see her hood with such
two long eares. The holding of a Moone before her
breast may seeme to have beene to expresse what she is ;
but the reason of her chapron with long eares, as also of
her short coat and pyked shooes, I do not finde."

5 TUESDAY.
" Tuisco or Tuiscou [was] the father and conductor
of the Germans, who, after his name, even unto this day,
doe in their owne tongue call themselves Tuytsh, and
their country of Germany Tuytshland : and the Nether
lands using herein D for the T, doe make it Duytsh and
Duytshland, both which appellations of the people and
country, I doe here write right according as we, in our
English orthography, would write them, after their pro
nunciation." The above is denied by the author of Magna Britannia,
who says, " Thor had a wife, a goddess among his posterity,
whose name was Thisa. She was looked upon to be the
goddess of Justice. From her the third day ofthe week was
called Tijsday, or, as we now pronounce it, Tuesday ;
and not from Tuisco, as Verstegan vainly iraagines."

conversion of THE SAXONS. 79
5 WEDNESDAY.
" The next was the idoll Woden, who was made
armed, and, among our Saxon ancestors, esteemed and
honoured for their god of battell, according as the
Romans reputed and honoured their god of Mars."
The author just alluded to^ says, " Woden was the
first god among the Saxons. He was, according to their
notions, to be appeased by human sacrifices, and to be
made propitious by many barbarous rites. From this
idol, the fourth day of the week received its name of
Wodensdag, or, as we now call it, Wednesday!'^
" Odin [or Wodin'j is believed to have been the name
of the one true God among the first colonies who came
from the east, and peopled Germany and Scandinavia,
and among their posterity for several ages. But at length
a mighty conqueror, the leader of a new army of adven
turers from the east, overrun the north of Europe,
erected a great empire, assumed the name of Odin, and
claimed the honours which had been formerly paid to that
deity. From thenceforward, this deified mortal, under the
name of Odin or Wodin, became the chief object of the
idolatrous worship of the Saxons and Danes, in this island,
as well as of many other nations. Having been a mighty
and successful warrior, he was believed to be the god of
war, who gave victory and revived courage in the conflict.
Having civilized, in some measure, the countries which
he conquered, and introduced arts formerly unknown,
he was also worshipped as the god of arts and sciences.
In a word, to this Odin, his deluded worshippers im
piously ascribed all the attributes which belong only to
the true God. To him they built magnificent temples,
offered many sacrifices, and consecrated the fourth day
of the week, which is still called by his name in England,

80 IDOLATRY AND
and in all the other countries where he was formerly
worshipped. Notwithstanding all this, the founders of
all the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy pre
tended to be descended from Wodin, and some of them
at the distance of a few generations.''

s "a

-21. THURSDAY.
" The next in order was the idoll Thor, who was not
onely served and sacrificed unto of the antient Pagan
Saxons, but of all the Teutonicke people that dwelt
beyond Thule or Island, for in Greeneland was he
knowne and adored ; in memory whereof, a promontory
or high poynt of land, lying out into the sea, as also a
river which falleth into the sea at the said promontory,
doth yet beare his name. This great reputed god, being
of more estimation than many of the rest of like sort,
though of as httle worth as any of the meanest of that
rabble, was majestically placed in a very large and
spacious hall, and there set as if he had reposed him-
selfe upon a covered bed. On his head he wore a
crowne of gold, and round in compasse above, and
about the same, were set or fixed twelve bright bur
nished starres. And in his right hand he held a kingly
scepter. He was of the seduced Pagans beleeved to be
of most maruelous power and might ; yea, and that
there were no people through out the whole world that
were not subjected unto him, and did not owe him
divine honour and seruice. That there was no puissance
comparable to his ; his dominion of aU others most far
thest extending it selfe, both in heaven and earth.
That in the aire he governed the winds and the cloudes ;
" Henry's Hist, of Great Britain, vol. iii, pp. 17.5, 176.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 81
and, being displeased, did cause lightning, thunder, and
tempests, with excessive rain, haile, and all ill weather.
But, being well pleased, by the adoration, sacrifice, and
seruice of his suppliants, he then bestowed upon them
most faire and seasonable weather, and caused come
abundantly to growe, as also all sorts of fruites, &c. and
kept away from them the plague and all other evill and
infectious diseases. Of the weekly day which was dedi
cated unto Jiis pecuhar seruice, we yet retaine the name
of Thursday, the which the Danes and Swedians doe yet
call Thor s-day. In the Netherlands it is called Dunders-
dagh, which being written according to our English
orthography, is Thunders-day ; whereby it may appeare
that they antiently therein intended the day of the god
of Thunder ; and in some of our old Saxon bookes, I
find it to have beene written Thunres-deag. So as it
seemeth that the name of Thor or Thur, was abbreviated
of Thunre, which we now write Thunder^
" Thor, the eldest and bravest of the sons of Odin
and Frea, was, after his parents, the greatest god of the
Saxons and Danes, while they continued heathens.
They believed that Thor reigned over all the aerial
regions, which composed his immense palace, consisting
of five hundred and forty halls ; that he launched the
thunder, pointed the lightning, and directed the meteors,
winds, and storms. To him they addressed their prayers
for favourable winds, refreshing rains, and fruitful sea
sons ; and to him the fifth day of the week, which still
bears his name, was consecrated." ^
9 FRIDAY.
" In her right hand she [Frea or Friga] held a
drawne sword, and, in her left, a bow ; signifying thereby
" Henry's Hist. vol. iii. p. 177-
G

82 IDOLATRY AND
that woraen, as well as men, should, in time of neede, be
ready to fight. Some honoured her for a god, and some
for a goddesse, but she was ordinarily taken rather for a
goddesse than a god ; and was reputed the giver of peace
and plenty, as also the causer and maker of love and
amity ; and of the day of her especiall adoration we yet
retaine the name of Friday ; and as, in the order of the
days of the weeke, Thursday commeth betweene Wed
nesday and Friday, so (as Olaus magnus noteth) in the
septentrionall regions, where they made the idoU Thor
sitting or lying in a great hall upon a covered bed, they
also placed on the one side of hira the idoll Woden, and,
on the other side, the idoU Friga. Some do call her
Frea and not Friga, and say she was the wife of Woden ;
but she was called Friga, and her day our Saxon
ancestors called Frige-deag, from whence our name now
of Friday in deed comraeth."
The author of Magna Britannia says, " Woden's wife,
Frea, Friga, or Frigga, was a noted goddess among the
the Saxons. She has, not without some sort of resem
blance, been compared to Venus. However that be,
certain it is, that Friday, the sixth day of our week, had
its name from her."
" Next to Odin, Frea, or Frigga, his wife, was the
most revered divinity among the heathen Saxons, Danes,
and other northern nations. As Odin was believed to be
the father, Frea was esteemed the mother of all the other
gods. In the most ancient times Frea was the same with
the goddess Herthus, or Earth, who was so devoutly
worshipped by the Angll and other German nations.
But when Odin, the conqueror of the north, usurped tbe
honours due only to the true Odin, his wife Frea usurped
those which had been forraerly paid to mother Earth.
She was worshipped as the goddess of love and

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 83
peasure, who bestowed on her votaries a variety of
delights." "
b SATURDAY.
" The last, to make here the number of seven, was
the idoll Seater, fondly of some supposed to be Saturnus,
for he was otherwise called Crodo. First, on a pillar was
placed a pearch, on the sharpe prickled back whereof
stood this idoU. He was leane of visage, having long
halre, and a long beard, and was bare-headed and bare
footed. In his left hand he helde up a wheele, and in his
right he carried a paile of water, wherein were flowers
and fruites. His long coate was girded unto him with a
towell of white linnen. His standing on the sharp finnes
of this fish, was to signifie that the Saxons, for their
serving him, should passe stedfastly, and without harme,
in dangerous and difficult places. By the wheele was
betokened the knit unity and conjoyned concord of the
Saxons, and their concurring together in the running one
course. By the girdle, which with the wind streamed
from him, was signified the Saxons' freedome. By the
paile, with flowers and fruites, was declared, that with
kindly raine he would nourish the earth, to bring foorth
such fruites and flowers. And the day unto which he
yet gives the name of Sater-day, did first receive, by
being unto him celebrated, the same appellation." •• " It
is not so easy to determine why we call the seventh day
Saturday. We are not unwilling to believe, that it is so
named from Satu/rn, and that Seaten is the Saxon word
for Saturn. For though Verstegan makes Seaten different
» Henry's Hist. vol. iii. pp, 176, 177-
¦> Verstegan.

84 IDOLATRY AND
from the Roman Satum, yet we haVe not been able to
find such an idoll among the Saxons. And we rather
distrust Verstegan in this case." »
Many more deities, of an inferior rank, were wor
shipped by the Saxons. " They had a goddess called
Eostre; and from her festivals celebrated in April,
they gave that month the name of Eostre-Monath.
Some remains of this word we still see in our Easter.
These pagans also worshipped another deity called
Tanfan, thought by some to be the god of lots ; for
TAN in Saxon signifies a lot : and the Saxons were much
given to this sort of divination, if we may so call it.
These idolators sacrificed even to Eloes, which we now
call Fairies. These were supposed to be a diminutive
sort of deities." "
And in this state of awful darkness, these new inha
bitants, generally speaking, continued for one hundred
and fifty years after they arrived in this country, before
they were fully instructed in the nature and design of the
Christian religion. However, several providential circum
stances concurring, a way was opened for their conversion
to Christianity, and they embraced the faith of Christ.
The Franks, the Goths, the Vandals, and the other
northern people, who had planted themselves in Gaul,
Italy, and Sp&in, had, for the most part, yielded obe
dience to the Christian faith.
The Britons, who escaped the fury of the Saxons, had
so far recovered themselves, that, under a wise and regular
discipline, they had re-estabhshed their Church, and
regained some part of the glory, of which, by a cruel and
unjust conquest, they had been deprived. Those Britons,
" Magna Britannica.
¦¦ Blagna Britannica.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 85
who retired into the western parts of the isle, to Cornwall
and Wales, araidst the severities inflicted on them, pos
sessed what lay beyond the reach of enemies, namely,
the consolations of their religion. The Cornish Britons,
who were very numerous, on the whole, maintained their
own rites and usages. As for those who inhabited Wales,
they had their diocesan bishops, under one metropo
litan, the archbishop of Caerleon ; though we have no
documents by which to ascertain their nuraber and dis
tricts. The Christian religion was in a flourishing state in
Ireland. According to the testimony of historians, the
inhabitants of Ireland were converted to Christianity in
the fifth century, by St. Patrick, who was born April
5th, A. D. 373, of a good family, at Kirk Patrick, near
Dunbarton, in Scotland, but then comprehended under
the general name Britain. The saints Kieran, or Kiaran,
caUed by the Britons Piran, Aillu, or Albeus, Declan,
and Ibar, as well as Palladius, had previously attempted
the conversion of the Irish to Christ ; but the great office
of apostle to Ireland was reserved for St. Patrick, who
landed in the country of the Evolein, or at Wicklow,
A. D. 441. He propagated Christianity so successfully
through Ireland, that he converted the greatest part of
the inhabitants ; and his disciples made sjich rapid pro
gress in the Christian doctrine, that, in the next age,
Ireland was called the country of saints : and no men
were equal to the Scotch monks in Ireland and Britain
for sanctity and learning.
The faith and disciphne of the Scotish Churches in
Ireland were the same with the British Churches, and
their friendship and communion reciprocal : only there
was this difference betwixt them, that the Scots in
Ireland escaped the vengeance and confusion which, for

86 IDOLATRY AND
a time, covered the face of the British Church ; by the
grace of God, they preserved their faith and their
country. The venerable Bede speaks of Ireland " as a rich and
happy kingdom, undisturbed by those bloody wars which
harassed the rest of the world during the barbarous
ages; * — as a land to which the nobility and gentry
of Britain resorted for their education ;^— as a nation
which gratuitously afforded maintenance, books, and
masters, to all strangers who came thither for
the sake of learning, '' Camden observes, that the
the English Saxons anciently flocked to Ireland, as to
the mart of sacred learning ; and this is frequently men^
tioned in the hves of eminent men among them. °
" The excellent and learned Archbishop Usher has
clearly demonstrated," says the Rev. Wilham Hamilton,
" that the supremacy of Rome was unknown to the
ancient Irish ; that the worship of saints and images was
held in abhorrence, and no ceremonies used which were
not strictly warranted by Scripture ; that all descriptions
of people were allowed, and desired to consult the sacred
writers as their only rule of conduct. * In short, from
the evidence produced by this learned and faithful
writer, we have the strongest reason to conclude, that
this island enjoyed the blessings of a pure and enlightened
piety, such as our Saviour himself taught, unembarrassed
by any ofthe idle tenets of the Romish Church, and that
it is to the English invaders of the twelfth century we
are chiefly indebted fpr the establishment of a rehgion

= Bede Vita S. Columbi. cap. 1.
" Bede Hist. Gent. Angl. lib. iii. cap. 27.
" Brit, de Hibem. p. 730.
* Vide a curious Treatise of Archbishop Usher on the Religion of the
ancient Irish.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 87
which has deluged the kingdom with blood, and been the
great source of almost all its calamities.
" When we cast our eyes on King Henry the Second,"
he adds, " advancing toward this devoted nation, bear
ing in one hand the bloody sword of war, and in the other
the iniquitous buU of Pope Adrian, granting him unhmited
authority to root out heresy, and to extend the empire of
Rome, * — we see an irrefragible argument to prove,
that this was not originally an island of Popish saints, and
that the jurisdiction of Rome was not unquestionably
estabhshed here.
V " In fine, many and unequivocal circumstances concur
to prove, that during the barbarous ages, when the rest
of Europe was involved in all the horrors of bloodshed,
ignorance, and superstition, this sequestered island enjoyed
the blessings of peace, of learning, and of a pure religion,
and was literally the happy country described in the
following lines, by St. Donatus, Bishop of Etruria, who
died in the year 840 : —
" Far westward lies an isle of ancient fame,
By nature bless'd, and Scotia *¦ is her name ;
An island rich — exhaustless is her store
Of veiny silver and of golden ore !
Her fruitful soil for ever teems with wealth,
With gems her waters, and her air with health.
Her verdant fields with milk and honey flow.
Her woolly fleeces vie with virgin snow ;
Her waving furrows float with bearded com.
And arms and arts her envy'd sons adorn.
No savage bear with lawless fury roves,
No rav'ning lion thro' her sacred groves,
a To Ireland also by King Henry (Le Fitz of Maude, daughter of first
King Henry,) that conquered it for their great heresy — Vide Harding's
Chron. c. 241. .
<> The ancient name of Ireland.

88 IDOLATRY AND
No poison there infects, uo scaly snake
^ Creeps thro' the grass, nor frog annoys the lake.
An island worthy of its pious race.
In war triumphant, and uumatch'd in peace."*
Nor were the British and Irish Churches only in a
flourishing condition, at this time ; but the piety and
zeal ofthe Britons and Irish Scots had contributed greatly
towards restoring Christianity to this land. " Look," says
the translator of Gildas, " into Wales and Comwall, and
see how many towns bear the name of Irish saints, who
resided there, not, as before, to punish the Britons with
death, but to draw them to the rewards of eternal life.
They were excellent and successful instruments in pro
moting the everlasting salvation of those men, whose
fathers had massacred their ancestors, and laid waste
their country."
The southern Picts, who inhabited that part of Scot
land next to the Britons, were converted to Christianity
about the year 412, while Britain was under the
government of the Romans, by Ninian, a British bishop,
who, residing in that country, which is now called Gal
loway, had frequent intercourse with them. At last, by
the blessing of God on his labours, he effected a general
conversion of that people, ordained ministers among them,
and divided their country into districts or parishes, for
the more orderly exercise of the pastoral care, and salu
tary enforcement of Christian discipline. And having
thus formed and settled their church or churches, he
returned to his own residence at Wbittern, where he
died about eighteen years after the conversion of these
Picts to the faith of Christ. "

" Hamilton's Letters, &c. p. 38 — 43.
^ Bishop Lloyd's Historical Account, &c. p.

83.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 89
The Picts, retaining their faith, were zealously affected
in propagating it. The translator of Gildas again
remarks, " Peruse the histories of the countries beyond
the Humber, and you shall read how the Picts, inha
bitants of Scotland, who soraetiraes broke down the
northern fortifications, and invaded the land, did after
wards beat down the bulwark of hell, delivered the souls
which sin had held in bondage, and made them the
blessed captives of Christ ; — men undoubtedly of rare
holiness, and unspotted conversation."
St. Columba, instigated by pious zeal, was a very suc
cessful promoter of the Christian religion. Of royal
extraction, he was born at Gartan, in the county of Tyr
connel, in Ireland, in the year 521. After receiving a
liberal education, he entered the sacred office in the year
546, in which he soon became distinguished for his piety
and learning. His usefulness in his own country was
extensive ; the Irish Annals say, that, next to St. Pa^
trick, he was the chief instrument of estabhshing the
gospel in alraost all Ireland. Nother asserts, that he was
" Primate of all the Irish churches," which he was made
at the Council of Drimceat.
At length, he turned his attention to the Highlands
and Western Isles of Scotland, inhabited by those iiorth-
ern Picts, who were separated by high mountains from
the Picts in the southern countries; who were enve
loped in moral darkness, and covered with gross super
stition. " In the year 563, or 5Q5,'''' his historian says,
" he set out in a wicker boat, covered with hides, accom
panied by twelve of his friends and followers, and landed
in the isle of Hi, or lona, near the confines ofthe Scottish
and Pictish territories." lona, or Icolmkill, is included
in one of the parishes of Mull, an island ofthe Hebrides ;
and which ConaU, King of the Scots, gave to Columba.

90 IDOLATRY AND
The Druids are said to have had a college here, before
the time of Columba. Here he founded a famous
monastery, which became the chief seminary of learning
at that time, and the nursery from which not only the
monasteries of his own island, and above 300 churches,
which he himself had estabhshed, but also many of those
in neighbouring nations, were supplied with learned divines
and able pastors.
In this seminary, the students spent much time in
reading, and accurately transcribing the Holy Scriptures
and sacred hymns. They were taught to confirm their
doctrines by the authority of the Word of God, and to
teach that only to be the divine counsel which was found
there. To those who were under his immediate instruc
tion, Columba explained the difficult passages of Scrip
ture with a happy perspicuity and ease. He inculcated
fasting, and set an example himself of its practical utility.
A fast of three days, on extraordinary occasions, was not
in those times uncommon. In austerity of life, some of
Columba's followers seem to have reached, or even
exceeded th^r master ; as fasting was always one of the
marks in their character.
The Rev. Dr. John Smith, in his Life of Columba,
says, " The zeal of the monks of lona in disseminating
knowledge and true religion, in those dark ages, is indeed
astonishing. It flamed in the bosom of age, no less' than
in the veins of youth. They lived in the most plain and
frugal manner, supporting themselves by the labour of
their hands, and sohcitous only to improve the heart.
Except some cattle, they had no wealth. If they got any
money from the rich, they immediately gave it to the
poor. Their houses were barely sufficient for their own
accommodation ; for they never pretended to lodge or ~
entertain the rich, who had nothing to get from them

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 91
when they came, but the word of God, preached in the
church. If the king, with five or six attendants, chose
at any time to take a refreshment with them after the
service was over, he must have contented himself with
the plain and daily fare of the brethren." Bede adds,
" that they brought rehgion at that time into such repute,
that a clergyman or monk was every where received with
joy as a servant of God ; that when they travelled the
road, pec^le ran to them to get their blessing ; and that
when they went to any village, which they did only when
they had occasion to preach, baptize, or visit the sick,
crowds gathered to hear them. In short," says he, " the
cure of souls was their great concern."
Before Columba died, he had got his chief seminary in
Icolmkill, or lona, put into such a state, says Dr. Smith,
that he was able to speak with confidence of its future
glory and fame. Its disciples accordingly supported its
credit for many ages, and supplied not only their own,
but other nations, with learned and pious teachers. From
this nest of Columba, says Odonellus, these sacred doves
took their flight to all quarters.
The monastery of Bangor was famed for the number
of its monks, and their successful exertions in spreading
Christianity in the world. Dr. Smith says, the other
Columbanus, who, after spending some time in the
monastery of Bangor, passed from thence to France,
afterwards to Germany, and at last to Italy, and fiUed
all those regions with monasteries ; paved the way for
them into all these countries, into which they poured in
such numbers, that both Yper and St. Bernard compare
them to hives of bees, or to a spreading flood.
Wherever the disciples of Columba went, they dissem
inated learning and true religion, of both which they
seem to have possessed the greatest share of any society

92 IDOLATRY AND
then in Europe, and appear to have done more than any
other towards the revival of both, when they were at
the lowest ebb. Among themselves, they seem to have
assumed no other name than that of Famuli Dei, or the
servants of God; or in their own language Gille-De,
which was Latinized into Keledeus, whence the English
name of Culdees. These Culdees, or clergy of the order
of Columba, were generally formed into societies, con
sisting each of twelve and an abbot, after the example of
their master, or of Christ and his apostles ; and their
foreign missions were commonly conducted on a similar
plan. lona continued to be the chief monastery, and its
abbots the heads of all monasteries and congregations of
the followers of Columba in Scotland and Ireland, for
several ages, to which all its bishops were subject. ^
The marriage of Ethelbert, King of Kent, in A. D.
560, to Bertha, who was a pious Christian, daughter of
Caribert, King of France, . but on condition that she
should be allowed the public exercise of her own religion,
is an important link in the chain of providential events.
Accordingly, when she came over to this country, besides
other chaplains, she brought Luidhard, a French bishop,
to attend her. A church, built in the time of the Britons,
and dedicated by the name of St. Martm, near the east
side of the city of Canterbury, was put in repair for her.
Thus far our own and the French historians are agreed.
But the French writers add, that Bertha being a princess
of great beauty and greater virtue, so insinuated herself
into the affections of her husband, that she prevailed on

' For this account of lona, and its learned, pious, zealous, and useful
clergy, the author is indebted to the Life of St. Columba, written by the
excellent Rev. Dr. John.Smith, one of the ministers of Campbelton, in
Scotland : au authority of such weight he could not hesitate to follow.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 93
him to receive the Christian rehgion. It is very reason
able to suppose, that she would endeavour, by example,
entreaty, and every thing amiable and good, to induce
him to embrace a rehgion, which she had found so bene
ficial to herself, and of which, as it related to him, saw
the most pressing necessity. And also, it is highly pro
bable, that the piety and zeal of this princess, would
contribute largely towards the conversion of the English
Saxons to the faith of Christ.
There is some reason to believe, that, at this time, the
Saxons were not only inclined to receive the Christian
faith, but had also signified their desire to the French
people : for Gregory, the Bishop of Rome, censures the
priests for having neglected to exercise the Christian
office they had entreated of them. This much at least
is certain, from the Epistles of Gregory, that the Saxons
were well disposed towards the Christian religion ; and
it is probable, that this disposition of the people had
come to his knowledge by means of Queen Bertha.
If we fix on the Chronology of Mezeray, we have a
period of twenty-six or twenty-seven years, from the
marriage of Ethelbert to the coming of St. Augustin to
Britain : during which time, considering the zeal, interest,
and illustrious example of a princess of such great piety
and goodness, Christianity would certainly gain consider
able influence among the Saxons.
Thus we see, in some measure, the state of the Chris
tian rehgion in Britain, when Gregory the Great came
to the papacy. Having formed a design to attempt the
conversion of the English Saxons, he made choice of St.
Augustin, abbot of St. Gregory's, of Rome, for this
important purpose ; together with about forty monks
to be assistant to him.

94 IDOLATRY AND
The following account of the mission of St. Augustin
to Britain, about the year 597, is given in the Saxon
homily of iElfric, on the birth-day of Gregory the
Great, written about nine hundred years ago, and trans
lated, in a style as literal as possible, by the Rev. Dr.
Adam Clarke : —
Some time before Gregory, Archdeacon of Rome,
was raised to the Papal chair, perhaps about A. D. 584,
passing one day through the streets of Rome, he spied
some beautiful youths, some say only two in number,
exposed to sale : " They were," says iElfric, " white
complexioned, and men of a fair countenance, having
noble heads of hair. Struck with their beauty, he
inquired, of what country they were brought 9 And the
men said to him, that they were of England.
" Gregory asked, whether the people of that country
were Christians or Heathens ? And the men said to
him, that they were heathens. Gregory then, fetching a
deep sigh from the bottom of his heart, said, well away!
(alas I alas !) that men of so fair a complexion should
be subject to the Prince of Darkness.
" He then inquired how they called the nation. ixom
which they came ? — And to him was answered, that they
were named Anglh : then, quoth he, rightly are they
called AngU ,• for that they have the beauty of angels,
and therefore it is fit that they should be companions of
angels in heaven.
" Gregory inquired further, what the shire (or dis
trict) named was, that the knaves (young men) were led
from ? And the men said, that the shire was named
De'iri,"" (a part of the kingdom of the Northumbrians,
between the Humber and the Tees.)
" Gregory answered. Well, they are called Deiri,
because they are delivered (de ira Dei) from the wrath

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 95
of God, and called to the mild-heartedness (mercy) of
Christ. " He inquired further, what is the name of the king
of that shire ? And he was answered, that the king was
named Mlla : therefore Gregory alluded to his words in
reference to that name, and quoth, it is fit that hallelujah
should be sung in that land, to praise the Almighty
Creator.'" Gregory then went to the Pope (Pelagius the lid,)
and begged permission to go and convert England : the
Pope at first consented ; and Gregory departed on his
mission; but the people, with whom he was a great
favourite, tumultuously assailed the Pope with Petrum
qffendisti, Roman destruxisti, quid Gregorium dimis-
isti. " Thou hast offended Peter, thou hast destroyed
Rome ; for thou hast sent Gregory away." The Pope
was, therefore, obhged to recall him, though he had
proceeded three days on his journey ; and Augustin was
sent in his stead. *
Augustin, and about forty Benedictine monks, passing
through France, where they were supplied with inter
preters, arrived at the Isle of Thanet, and landed at
Retesbourgh, in the year 597- Augustin informed
King Ethelbert of this, who allowed them to reside at
Canterbury ; and his queen. Bertha, whp was already a
Christian, provided them with convenient lodgings, and
procured them the liberty of preaching to as many people
as might wish to hear them. Ethelbert himself was bap
tized about a year afterwards, and multitudes of his
subjects followed his example. After this, Augustin
went over to the Bishop of Aries, in France, and being
by him ordained bishop, he returned into England. A
* See Elstob'a Saxon Homily, p. 1 7. and the writers there referred to.

96 IDOLATRY AND
little without the city of Canterbury, on the east side,
had been an idol temple, forraerly used by King Ethel
bert, before his conversion ; this Augustin changed into a
church, and dedicated in the name of St. Pancrace, the
martyr. Afterwards, in the year 605, Augustin obtained
this church, and the adjacent ground of King Ethelbert,
upon which place a new church was built, and dedicated
to the honour of St. Peter and St. Paul. He also, in his
zeal, founded the cathedral church of St. Paul's, London,
about the year 610 ; * and Mellitus, with his assistance,
founded a church and monastery at Thomey, near Lon
don, which was dedicated to St. Peter, in the year 614;
and laying in the west, it was afterwards called West
minster. ^
Some authors would fondly persuade us, in opposition
to all the testimonies aheady produced, that the whole
nation was heathen till converted by Augustin and his
monks. This is the excess of absurdity. That there
might be some districts where heathenism prevailed in
his time, particularly among the Saxons, who had subju
gated several of the northern parts of Britain, is quite
possible ; that the De'iri, the people who dwelt between
the Humber and the Tees, were such,, may be granted;
and that Augustin was the means of converting those
heathens, and others who were tinctured with idolatry,
may be granted also : but, that he first introduced the
gospel into Britain, is insupportable ; because, contrary
to the faith of history, regularly deduced through the
lapse of several hundred years. That Augustin prevailed
on the British churches to receive several of the forms
and dogmas of the Romish church, there can be but
" Bede, lib. ii. cap. 3. Malmsb. p. 235.
' Malmsb. p. 235. Stow's Survey, lib. 6.

CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS. 97
little doubt; and that a new species of idolatry, the
worship of angels, saints, images, and relics, arose out
of this, there is too much reason to beheve : but that he
was the Apostle of Britain, we most positively deny. "
The Scotch monks of St. Columba, had at least as
great a share in the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, as
Augustin and his companions. After Augustin and his
monks had begun to make converts, many of the new
Christians being sunk again into idolatry, the raonks of
Columba were the persons that set them right, or rather
converted them anew. This was the case in the king
doms of Essex, Northumberland, and East-Anglia. As
for the conversion of the Mercians, the Italian mission
aries had no hand in it at all. The people of Northum
berland were converted to the Christian faith in the
reign of Oswald, by Aidan and other pious raonks of lona,
in consequence of which there was much intercourse
between them for a long time after ; and many of the
churches and monasteries throughout England, were
favoured with divines from this seminary. Augustin
preached to the Saxons of Kent, MeUitus to the East
Saxons, particularly at London, Paulinus to the Nor
thumbrians, Birinus to the West Saxons, and the northern
monks to the Mercians. But all these, and, of course,
many others, did not preach with the sarae success :
holvever, in the space of about 60 years after the coming
of Augustin, all England was converted to the Christian
faith. "
The Christian churches in Britain, prior to the Saxon
invasion,, and the arrival of Augustin, had preserved

' See the Bev. Dr.. Adam Clarke's introductory Missionary Speech,
delivered at a public meeting, held at the New Chapel, City-road, Decem
ber 1, 1814, of which the Author has largely availed himself.
'' Rapin's History of England, vol. i. p. 158. oct. edit.
H

98 NATURE AND DESIGN
themselves pure from Popish innovations. The suffer
ings of the Cambrian clergy, on that occasion, are well
known. The Scots clergy preserved their rehgion pure
frora Popish corruption rauch longer ; they retired to the
hills, and were known by the narae of Culdees, from cid,
thin, du, black, from their abstemious lives and grave
habits, gwr-cul-du. " Bede, in what he meant as a cen
sure, commends thera highly, when he says, " They
preached only such works of charity and piety as they
could learn from the prophetical, evangelical, and dpos-
tohc writings," They firmly opposed the errors and
superstitions of the Church of Rome, till, in the 12th
and 13th centuries, the Romish monks pouring into the
kingdom, supplanted the Culdees, and by degrees got
possession of their monasteries : this new rank of monks
were as inferior to them in learning and piety, as they
surpassed them in wealth and ceremonies. '• The Culdees
existed no longer in colleges, but, for a long time after,
they continued to teach true Christianity apart ; so tihat
the reign of error in these lands was very short, and the
darkness of the night was intermixed with the light of
many stars.

\
The introduction of the Christian religion intb Britain,
was an event of the highest importance ; for from it
results our distinguished pre-eminence, as to the national
advantages we enjoy, whether relating to civil, social, or
religious hfe. The transition from heathenism to Chris
tianity, is marked with the return of right reason to het
proper seat, the gradual opening of the mind to the

' Cambrian Register, vol. iii. p. 99,
'' Lcdwick's Antiq. of Ireland.

OF CHRISTIANITY. 99
knowledge of God, and the haUowed subjection of the
moral powers to his authority and control. This will
fully appear frora a correct view of the nature and
design of the Christian system, as stated in the Sacred
Writings. The Christian revelation, contained in the Holy Scrip
tures, gives instruction in the knowledge of the one living
and true God. That He is an eternal, all-powerful, all-
sufficientBeing — thatHe is the maker of heaven and earth,
and of their innumerable inhabitants — that by Him all
creatures, material and immaterial, visible and invisible,
animate and inanimate, rational and irrational, mortal and
immortal, were made — that he formed raan of the dust of
the ground, and breathing into hira the breath of life,
caused him to become a living soul, a rational or intel
lectual being, a free agent, , capable of a law of rewards
and punishments.
It teaches us, that God, having made the world at
first, still governs it by his providence, insomuch that
the raost fortuitous event does not happen without it ;
a sparrow does not fall to the ground, nor a hair from our
heads, vrithout his permission or direction — that in the
exercise of this his providence, every thing is subject to
his wiU ; no strength can resist his power, no swiftness
can escape from his presence, no secrecy can conceal from
his knowledge, no art can evade his justice, and every
creature participates of his goodness.
It acquaints us also with the origin of sin, and penal
evil ; that our first parents^ at the instigation of Satan,
by transgressing the law, became guilty before God, and
so forfeited their lives, or brought death on themselves
and their posterity: — teaches us a Trinity of persons in
the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, all equal in
nature, perfection, and glory; and that God had so

100 NATURE AND DESIGN
great compassion on fallen men, as to appoint his only
begotten Son to redeem them from the sin and misery
into which they were precipitated ; that to this end, he
promised that the seed of the w'oman should bruise the
serpent's head.
It informs us, that in the fulness of time, the promised
Messiah, the Son of God, voluntarily condescended to
take our nature, with all its innocent infirmities, into
union with his divine nature ; that in this nature, mira
culously conceived and born, he revealed to men his
Father's gracious will concerning them^ and their duty
and happiness in consequence of a sincere performance
of it ; and did many wonderful works, in confirmation of
his divine mission : — that after a hfe spent in doing goodj
he submitted his human nature to a painful and ignomin
ious death, and offered it up, as a spotless sacrifice to
God, to make atonement for the fallen race ; thai afteif
Cdntinuing three days in the grave, by his own almighty
power, he raised himself to life again ; conversed with his
apostles at several different times, for the space of forty
days, instrufcting thein in matters relating to his king
dom ; and, at length, in the presence of a great number
of spectators, ascended visibly and gloriously into heaven^
where, at the Father's right hand, he reigns as King of
saints, resides as an interceding Priest for sinners^ and is
invested with all power and authority in heaven and
earth. In the Scriptures we are also assured, that on his
investiture, he soon sent down the Holy Spirit, the third
person in the ever blessed Trinity, to be the immediate
comforter and director of his apostles, to lead them into
all truth, to inspire them with the gift of tongues, and
such other gifts, as might best qualify them for their
ministry : — that this Holy Spirit still continues with all

OF CHRISTIANITY. 101
good men, and by illurainating their understandings,
rectifying their wills and affections, renewing their na^
tures, uniting their persons to Christ, and helping their
infirmities in the performance of duty, is the great Sanc
tifier of their souls and bodies, in order to make them
acceptable in the sight of God for ever.
And then farther we learn, that Christ shall descend
from heaven, at the end of time, to judge the world in
righteousness ; to reward the pious, holy, and just, with
everlasting rest, joy, and glory ; but to condemn the
wicked and ungodly, the injurious and profane, the insin
cere and hypocritical part of mankind, to everlasting per
dition. — These, together with the doctrine of the immor-
tahty of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and, after
their re-union, an eternal state of happiness and misery
in the other world, are the great and fundamental prin
ciples of Christianity.
These things are revealed in the Bible, and are the
substance of the gospel, which was preached to Adam
after his fall, and to his posterity, by the patriarchs, by
Moses, and the prophets ; but in a special and particular
manner by Jesus Christ and his apostles, and by which
immortal life is brought to light, or discovered to us.
It is now nearly eighteen hundred years since our
Saviour was on the earth ; yet we, in this advanced age of
the world, have equal reason to believe in him, with those
who saw him in the flesh. Our not having seen Christ,
is no real obstruction to our believing in him. This is
evident, partly from the many thousands in every period
of time, who have hved since his manifestation, and
sincerely beheved in him. Especially, the main thing to
be well considered is, that we have sufficient evidence of
the truth of what the Scripture declares concerning
Christ.

102 NATURE AND DESIGN
The matters of fact relating to the birth, hfe, doctrine,
and miracles of Christ ; to his death, resurrection, and
ascension, are told to us by those persons who were eye
and ear-witnesses of them. The apostles were persons
of unquestionable fidelity and unimpeachable integrity,
who could not themselves be deceived, as to these matters
of fact, which were the plainest objects of their senses,
and who have given the most satisfactory proofs that they
had no intention to deceive us. For, in addition to the
testimony of their senses, they confidently declared and
openly published these raatters of fact, in the same age
in which they were transacted, in the face of most invet
erate enemies, who had every possible opportunity, as
well as strong inclination, to convict them of falsehpod,
if that had been possible.
They were, by divine aid, enabled to confirm their
testimony by numerous miracles. The exalted Saviour,
whose gospel they published, poured out on them extra^
ordinary gifts, and miraculous operations of the Holy
Ghost. So that, if we suppose their narratives to be
cunningly devised fables, we must also suppose the God
of truth to be accessary to the propagating ofthe impos
ture, by the most glorious exertions of his power, —
than which, no thought can be more unworthy of him.
What they declared concerning Jesus, was so visible
an accomplishment of the predictions of the Old Testa
ment concerning the promised Messiah, as greatly con- >
firms the truth of their relations ; also the admirable
character they give of him, as the Son of God, and the
Saviour of the world.
The doctrine they declare him to have delivered, is so
worthy of God, so conformable to the highest principles
pf reason, so proper to supply the defects of natural
light, so conducive to advance the glory of God in the

OF CHRISTIANITY. 103
recovery and salvation of men, that it contains in itself
the brightest character of its own divine origin. And
the exemplary piety, spotless purity, distinguished good
ness, and inflexible integrity of his life, were so suitable
to the excellence of his doctrine, as to render it the more
evident, that it carae from heaven to direct us in the
way thither.
In short, no supernatural revelation can be supposed
more worthy of God ; none could be brought by a more
credible messenger than Jesus Christ his own Son ; none
could be more conspicuously attested by numerous and
uncontrolled miracles ; none could be handed down to
us by more unsuspected witnesses ; no witnesses could
produce better and clearer evidences of their own divine
inspiration, and, consequently, of their own veracity ;
and none could give a more solemn confirmation of the
truth of their doctrine, by their steady adherence to it,
under the greatest persecutions, and sealing their testi-
mcMiy with their own blood. So that we cannot disbelieve
their relation of these matters of fact, without destroying
all human faith, and rejecting the clearest evidences that
can ever be expected of a divine revelation.
If any should say. May not these writings, which are
said to be the writings of the apostles, in which we have
the account of those things before mentioned, have been
forged since the time that these things are said to have
been done .? Or, if not altogether forged, may they not
have been greatly corrupted since the tirae they were
written, and made to speak different things now from
what they did at first .>* To this, a very satisfactory
answer may be given. — That the writings we receive, as
the writings of the apostles, were really their writings,
and continue uncorrupted to our times, we have every
possible assurance. They were acknowledged for theirs

104 NATURE AND DESIGN
by the primitive Christians, who were the best judges.
They were immediately transcribed by numerous persons,
translated into different languages, and copies of them
dispersed through all nations, as well as almost innumer
able passages cited from them by the writers of the first
ages of Christianity ; so that it was irapossible to alter
or corrupt any number of copies, without being immedi
ately discovered, and contradicted by other copies.
Whereas aU the ancient copies, and versions, which
we have in great numbers, agree in every material point
The proof, then, of Christianity, may "he brought to
this short issue. The credibility of its doctrines being
supposed, the grand question is. Why we beheve the
records of these facts ? To this, an answer is ready :—
That we have much stronger reason to believe these,
than any ancient accounts of facts whatsoever, recorded
in those writings which are received under the name of
Cicero, Caesar, Seneca, or any other, the most accredited
author, I say, we have stronger reason to believe the
facts related in the New Testament, than to believe those
in any other, even the most unsuspicious author. Be
cause, we have not only the proofs of the genuineness of
these writings, that can be given for any other writii^s;
but this in addition, that the matters related in them are
of such a nature, that aU mankind were concerned to
detect the fraud, th.e forgery, and the corruption of them,
if there had been any. But^ yet, they haye always
passed under the names they bear at this day, namely,
the Writings of the Apostles ; nay, and in every age
since tbe first pubhshing of them, we have authentic
authorities in a continued succession to vouch for
them. Thus it appears, on the grounds now mentioned, that we
have all possible reason to beheve in Christ, for they are

OF CHRISTIANITY. 106
quite sufficient to supply the want of sight. And he who
on this evidence does not beheve in him, would not have
done it if he had lived in our Saviour's "time, heard him
preach, and seen his miraculous operations.
In the gospel history we read, that many of those who
saw Christ, owned that never man spake like him, and
beheld his miracles, yet beheved not in him. At the
first pubhcation of the Christian religion, though it was
accompanied with ample testimonials; yet, both Jews
and Gentiles, indulging criminal passions, perverse tem
pers of mind, and inveterate prejudices, refused to receive
it. They even ridiculed it as an absurd and foohsh
story, repugnant to the established religion, and the rules
and dictates of philosophy. Men of vicious preposses
sions are always opposers of the truth, but never more
unreasonably and violently so, than when these are
rivetted by education, strengthened by prescription, and
countenanced by high authorities : which was the case,
both of Jew and Gentile, at the first propagation of
Christianity. "the Jews were extremely zealous for their law, which
was, indeed, of divine institution ; and fond almost above
measure of the traditions of their fathers, which were
imposed on them under the narae of venerable antiquity.
But so awfully bhnd were they, with all their zeal, that
they overlooked both the true meaning and construction,
as well as the main scope and design of the law itself,
which was " a shadow of good things to come," and
intended to lead them to the saving knowledge of the
true Messiah. And though they lived in the constant
hope of his coming, and their expectation seemed to be
at its zenith about the time that Jesus Christ came into
the world ; and though he appeared with all the distin
guishing marks deciphered by those ancient prophecies.

106 NATURE AND DESIGN
types, and figures, recorded in their own Scriptures:
notwithstanding all this, when they saw the very person
whose presence they had long anticipated, they could
discern " no forra nor coraeliness in him that they should
desire him ;" no power and splendour, no external pomp
and grandeur, in which they expected he would appear,
and with the imagination of which they had been much
pleased. They were perfectly enraged, that a person of
such obscure birth, so mean a condition, should presume
to take on him so exalted a character. They were
inflaraed, when they heard Jesus speak in the manner he
did of their cereraonies and traditions ; and, especially,
to perceive, that their own law and the prophets were
accoramodated to prove even this person to be the very
Christ whora they expected. Thus did their prejudices
betray thera into the raost culpable ignorance, and caused
them to be guilty of the most detestable wickedness, in
rejecting, and then murdering the Lord of Glory.
The Gentiles were also under the influence of very
strong prejudices. They were as much bigotted in their
way, as the Jews ; and, for the same reason, the most
of them were enemies to the Christian religion ; for they
had been educated in polytheism, which they beheved
had the sanction of antiquity and universality, and also
the favour of the gods whom they worshipped. Now
after all, to be told, that amidst their multiplicity of
gods, they were still " ignorant of the true God," that
he " dwelleth not in temples made with hands," that
" no raan hath seen him at any time, but the only begot
ten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him," and that the crucified Jesus is his only
begotten Son, the " brightness of his glory, and the
express imaige of his person ;" I say, for them to be taught
such doctrines, must excite in them a strong dislike to

OF CHRISTIANITY. 107
the Christian religion. That men should be saved by a
person who died an ignorainious and accursed death, was
considered by thera the most absurd and ridiculous thing
in the world ; and so incredible, that very few could hear
it without being shocked at the report. The philoso
phers were great pretenders to deep science and wisdom,
and, therefore, the simplicity of the gospel was contemp
tible in their eyes. When St. Paul, at Athens, preached
Jesus and the resurrection, the Epicureans and Stoics
called him a " babbler," and " setter forth of strange
gods." And all the rest of the philosophers had their
own peculiar tenets, sorae of which were inconsistent with
the chief doctrines of Christianity.
Yet, notwithstanding the prejudices of both Jews and
Gentiles, many of both became early converts to the
faith of Christ. There were " many thousands of Jews
that believed," among whom were some of considerable
rank and learning ; such as Simeon, Joseph of Arimathea,
Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Paul, and Apollos of Alexandria.
And among the Gentiles who erabraced the gospel, there
were raany of the wisest philosophers, eminent artists,
and professional men, — such as Luke, the physician,
Zenas, a learned advocate of the civil law of the Romans,
many learned men at Ephesus, skilful in curious arts,
who coramitted their books to the flames ; Dionysius, the
Areopagite, one of the famous Athenian judges, and
many others.
Infidelity is not the result of honest inquiry, and sober
conviction ; but originates in vicious passions, unwarrant
able prejudices, pride, and ambition, which will not submit
to rule and correction. Immorality is the teeming source
of infidelity, as is evident frora the character of this class
of persons, in ancient as well as modern times. Unbelief
is not only a rejection of the doctrines of Christ, but

108 NATURE AND DESIGN
associated with a disposition of niind at variance with his
authority and government. " We will not have this
man to reign over us," is the spirit of infidelity, and has
for its father the devil, who is the great and indefatigable
promoter of error, insubordination, and wickedness, in
the moral world. To a penitent sinner, Christ is the
most suitable object to which his attention can be
directed; reraission of sins through his blood, is a salva-
tion exactly adapted to his raoral condition ; and the
reception of this blessing through simple faith, exactly
suits his state of unworthiness and helplessness. On
these principles it is, that the " damnation" of unbehevers
" is just;" while they who truly beheve in Christ, "re
ceive the end of their faith, even the salvation of their
souls." This is the estabhshed order of things, as recorded
in the sacred Scriptures, as well as foUowed in the purest
Christian churches. " Almighty God, hath given power
and commandment to his ministers, to declare and pro
nounce to his people, being penitent, the absolution and
remission of their sins : He pardoneth and absolveth all
them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy
gospel." The Christian revelation presents a scheme of grace
and mercy perfectly worthy of God, and exactly suited
to the fallen condition of man. The manifest design of
its doctrines, is to show the method in which he wUl he
reconciled to his rebeUious creatures, consistently with
the honour of his own perfections, and yet without any
such indulgence to men as may enervate and weaken their
obedience to his laws. If he had never made any pro
posals of peace to offending man, the honour of his good
ness would not have been so eminently displayed as now
it is in the gospel. On the other hand, if he had received
men into favour without an adequate compensation for

OF CHRISTIANITY. 109
their crunes, it is not likely that they should have enter
tained, in future, any veneration for his laws. But all
these inconveniences are avoided in the Christian system ;
for God proposes terms of acceptance and salvation to
fallen man, and thereby shows himself to be the " Lord
God, merciful, and gracious ;" yet, at the same time, by
insisting on and receiving full satisfaction from his own
Son, in the stead of sinful man, secures the reputation of
his justice to his own moral government, and an awful
respect to his own laws. And yet, by all this wise and
admirable plan, man is so far from being discharged of
duty to his great Creator, that he is " under the law to
Christ" the Redeemer.
God, who has in infinite goodness appointed the gospel
of his Son to be the means of the salvation of men, to the
end of the world, has certainly furnished it with sufficient
evidence for its propagation, through the successive ages
of time, among all men who are sincere and humble in
their inquiries after divine truth. As the Author of
nature, he knows how much light is necessary both in
the eye, as well as On the object, to produce vision, in
those who are willing to see. He knows also, what
degree of mental capacity is requisite, as well as what
proportion of evidence is necessary to attend any revealed
truth, in order to its being received by sincere and impar
tial persons.
The sum of the Christian religion then is, that gracious
method which God, in infinite wisdom, has devised, and
published to the world, relative to the redemption and
salvation of the human race by Jesus Christ. It informs
us, that though the Divine Being be essentially holy, and
greatly dishonoured by sin, and offended with sinners,
yet, he is pleased to suspend the dreadful sentence of the
law, and treat with them on new terms, on account

110 NATUBE AND DESIGN
of the mediation and death of his own Son : that he
invites them to repent of their sins, accept of the Saviour
by faith, and offers them the assistance of his Holy
Spirit, to render all the means of grace effectual to their
present and final salvation.
This view of .the Christian religion will assist us to
perceive, that it is distinguished from the first covenant,
or law of innocence. That, peremptorily required the
exact performance of the whole extent of enjoined duty
as a condition of life : the mandate of Christianity is to
be considered only as a means by which we are to obtain
gratuitous blessings. That, threatened man with death
and everlasting destruction on the first transgression:
this, calls for repentance on every act of disobedience, and
promises forgiveness to the believing penitent. That,
demanded a ready and perfect obedience to every moral
injunction, even after the commission of sin, but offered
no assistance, and promised no mercy : whereas this
dehghtful systera affords every suitable and necessary aid
for enabling us to practise those iraperative duties, and
perforraing those beneficial services, which it inculcates.
That, proraised rewards only proportionate to the work
done : this religion offers a remuneration infinitely ex
ceeding our most prompt and cheerful compliance with
the will of God, our utmost effort to promote his honour
and interest, — a boon inconceivably rich, glorious, and
eternal. Thus we see tbat Christianity has its own pecuhar
duties and obhgations, which were never enjoined by the
law of innocence, and of which it did not admit, such
as repentance for having sinned, and faith in a mediator.
The terras of the old law of works were, "- Do this and
hve : transgress, and die ;" leaving no room for com
punction, nor hope for salvation. So that when Jesus

OF CHRISTIANITY. Ill
cotnmissioned his apostles, and their successors in the
ministry, to preach repentance, it was by virtue of a new
and better dispensation, originating in the free and effi
cacious grace of God. The help of the Holy Spirit
enables persons to relinquish sin, resist evil, and conform
to the requisitions of the Christian religion : in which
respect, the law fails to grant any ability to lapsed man
to fulfil its obligations. Throughout the Christian sys
tem there is an abundant display of grace, which evidently
accompanies every precept it contains.
We also perceive a striking distinction between the
Christian religion, and what some authors term the
Religion of Nature. It reveals many iraportant truths,
of which the heathen were ignorant, and teaches a purer
morality than any with which they were acquainted.
There were a few honourable exceptions araong them ;
but, viewing them en masse, they were awfully ignorant,
and proverbially wicked. What is feeble reason, without
the pure light of divine revelation ? or, what is passion,
without the grace of the gospel ? Supposing we adrait,
that reason may expatiate on many excellent topics, such
as the being and perfections of God, his providence and
governraent of the world, the immateriality and immor
tality of the human soul, the difference between moral
good and evil, a future state of rewards and punish
ments, the necessity of men being good and useful here,
in order to their being safe and happy in another world :
yet, all this would fall very far short of including the
moral condition of man as a faUen and guilty creature,
and the gracious provision made for effecting his reco
very, as revealed in the Scriptures.
The doctrines of a Trinity of persons in the unity of
the Godhead-^the divine and human natures in the per
son of Jesus Christ — the personality, divinity, and

112 NATURE AND DESIGN
operations of the Holy Spirit — the necessity of divine
influence to enlighten, awaken, and renew the heart —
the indispensableness of combining human agency with
divine energy in the performance of Christian duties, in
order to obtain and secure salvation and eternal life, —
these were not discoverable by the utmost stretch of
unassisted reason, but are perspicuously and comprehen
sively revealed in the Holy Scriptures : yet are they in
no respect absurd, or contrary to the most improved
reason, nor in the least unworthy of the infinite wisdom,
essential rectitude, or any' other of the glorious perfec
tions of God.
The Christian rehgion is also distinguished from the
Mosaic Institution, or the Jewish law of ceremonies.
God was pleased to give his ancient people the Jews
various rites and ceremonies, partly with a design to
prevent them from erabracing the abominable idolatry ,
and blind superstition of the surrounding heathen : but
chiefly to typify those greater and better blessings and
privileges which were to be introduced by the Redeemer,
at his advent. Now, though inscrutable wisdom saw all
these ceremonial usages to be suitable to the Jews under
their dark dispensation ; yet, it must be confessed, that
they were both painful and expensive, a heavy yoke of
bondage hard to be endured.
But the Christian religion exhibits, in a most luminous
manner, these doctrines and blessings, which previously
were represented by obscure types and shadows. It
delivers believers from the difficult yoke of Moses, and
brings them under the light and easy injunctions of the
Redeeraer. It unveils the mystery of the Mosaic Insti
tution, prescribing a mode of worship which is less pomp
ous, and more plain and spiritual. The rites it estab
lishes are few, significant, instructive, and in no respect

OF CHRISTIANITY. 113
unpleasant, or burdensome. The precepts it lays down,
are level to a common capacity, and highly reasonable.
The promises it offers, are large, numerous, and precious.
The motives it furnishes, are most forcible and engaging.
The examples it proposes, are bright and attracting.
The assistance it gives, is mighty and certain. The
reward it ensures, is abundant and everlasting.

114

ortjapt^r IM.

THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,. AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY.

" Let no man decave you by any means. For that day shall not come except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sm be revealed, the son of perdition : who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God. or that is worshipped : so that
he. as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Even him whose
coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders,
and with all deceiveableness of unrigh^usness in them that perish ; because they receive
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie ; that they might be damned who
believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." — St. Paid.

A SACRED edifice assumes different aspects, according
to the difierent mediums through which it is contem
plated. Place a Roman Cathohc and a Protestant
Christian near this church : and, on the ground of reli
gion, whUe they behold it, what a disparity will there
be in their ideas and feelings ! In attending to the sen
timents of the Protestant, an author of considerable
celebrity will much assist us.
This noble eminence was erected by the zeal of
Romanists in days of awful darkness and gross supersti
tion. Hence he says, — -" One of the most striking situ
ations for a religious and reflective Protestant is, that of

THE ERRORS, PROGRESS, &C. 115
passing some solitary hour under the lofty vault, among
the superb arches and columns of any of the most splen
did of these edifices remaining at this day in our own
country. If he has sensibility and taste, the magnifi
cence, the graceful union of so many diverse inventions
of arts, the whole mighty creation of genius that so
many centuries since quitted the world without leaving
even a name, will come with magical impression on the
mind, while it is contemplatively darkening into the awe
of antiquity. But he will be recalled, — the sculptures,
the inscriptions, the sanctuaries enclosed off for the
special benefit after death, of persons who had very
different concerns during life from that of the care of
their salvation, and various other insignia of the original
character of the place, will help to recall him, — to the
thought, that these proud piles were in fact raised to
celebrate the conquest, and prolong the dominion of the
Power of Darkness over the souls of the people. They
were as triumphal arches, erected in memorial of the
extermination of that truth which was given to be the life
of men.
" As he looks round, and looks upward, on the pro
digy of design, and skill, and perseverance, and tributary
wealth, he may image to himself the multitudes that,
during successive ages, frequented this fane, in the
assured behef, that the idle ceremonies and impious super
stitions which they there performed or witnessed, were
a service acceptable to Heaven, and to be repaid in bless
ings to the offerers. He may say to himself. Here, on
this very floor, under that elevated and decorated vault,
in a dim rehgious light like this, but with the darkness
of the shadow of death in their souls, they prostrated
themselves to their saints, or their queen of heaven ; nay,
to painted images and toys of wood or wax, to some ounce

116 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
or two of bread and wine, to fragments of old bones, and
rags of clothing. Hither they came, when conscience,
in looking either back or forward, disraayed them, to
purchase remission with money or atoning penances, or
to acquire the privilege of sinning in a certain manner,
or for a certain time, with impunity ; and they went out
at yonder door in the perfect confidence that the priest
had secured, in the one case the suspensioUj in the other
the satisfaction, of the divine law. Here they solemnly
believed, as they were taught, that, by donatives to the
church, they delivered the souls of their departed rela^
tives from their state of punishraent ; and they went out
at that door resolved to bequeath sorae portion of their
possessions, to operate in the same manner for themselves
another day, in case of need. Here they were convened
to hsten in reverence to some representative emissary from
the Man of Sin, with new dictates of blasphemy or ini
quity to be promulgated in the name of the Almighty ;
or to witness the trickery of some detestable farce, devised
to cheat or fright thera out of whatever remainder the
former impositions might have left to thera of sense, con
science, or property. Here, in fine, there wa^ never
presented to their understanding, from their childhood to
their death, a comprehensive, honest declaration of the
Jaws pf duty, and the pure doctrines of salvation, To
think ! that they should have mistaken for the house of
God, and the very gate of heaven, a place where the
Power of Darl^^ness had so short a way to come from his
appropriate dominions, and his agents and purchased
slaves so short a way to go thither. If we could imagine
a momentary visit from him who once entered a fabric of
sacred denoraination with a scourge, because it was made
the resort of a coramon traffic, with what, aspect and
voice, with what inflictiqn but the rebuke with flame? pf "

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 11^
fire, would he have entered this mart of iniquity, assum
ing the narae of his sanctuary, where the traffic was in
delusions, crimes, and the souls of raen ? It was even as
if, to use the prophet's language, the very ' stone cried
out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber answered
it,' in denunciation ; for a portion of the raeans of build
ing, in the case of some of these edifices, was obtained as
the price of dispensations and pardons.
" In Such a hideous light would the earher history of
one of these miglity structures, pretendedly consecrated
to Christianity, be presented to the reflecting Protes
tant  ." ^
When Christianity was first promulgated, violent per
secutions were raised against it, to prevent its growth,
by Rome pagan — of the reality and fierceness of which,
the ¦pages of Ecclesiastical History give ample informa^
tion. Notwithstanding that bold opposition of the legal
authorities, their penal acts, and profuse shedding the
blood of the pious Christians, the religion of Christ, in
its purity and power, exceedingly fiourished. Great mul
titudes of people embraced the gospel, and openly pro
fessed their faith ; being encouraged so to do by the
holy lives and joyful triumphs of the Christian martyrs,
when enduring the raost cruel tortures that infernal
subtilty could invent, and helhsh malice inflict.
Though that was a season of severe trial, both of bodily
and mental suffering ; yet, concerning the state of reli
gion and its effects, it was one of purity of doctrine, zeal
for Christ, and brotherly affection. Christianity, in its
divine origin, was believed, in its perfect sufficiency was
acknowledged, in its active and transforming energy was
experienced, and in its moral excellence was exemplified.
' Forster's Essay On the Evils of Populai- Ignorance, p. 54.

118 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
Adversity has always proved of more advantage to the
true Church of Christ than prosperity.
Here we may observe, that the Christian rehgion is
entirely contained in the writings of the Old and New
Testament ; here is the canon, the rule, the only rule of
faith and practice ; and should even " an angel frora
heaven" endeavour herein to unsettle men, and preach
" any other gospel," they would have divine authority
to pronounce him " accursed." The gospel contains the
complete, the only rule to Christians, containing aU things
necessary to be believed and practised; the infallible
judge of controversies; the standard to which they are
to appeal in cases of disputes about articles of faith ; and
by which their doctrines are to be directed and settled.
As the Scripture is the only divine rule given to men, so
every raan is at liberty to judge of its meaning for him
self, otherwise it would be no rule to him. At the same
time, he has a right, if he pleases to exercise it, to avail
himself of any human help for this purpose, within his
reach. But no men, nor any order of men, have any
authoritative right, as expositors of Scripture, to impose
any sense of it, or any part thereof, or to require
acquiescence, without impartial inquiry, and dehberate
and free consent, in their determinations.
The doctors among the Jews, having arrogated to
themselves the power of dictators in rehgion, their glosses
on the law, and resolutions of cases of conscience, were
generally, according to the phraseology of the Talmud,
called loosing and binding : when they declared this or
that lawful, they loosed, that is, gave the people hberty to
do it ; when it seemed otherwise to their wisdom, and
they thought fit to declare it unlawful, then they bound,
that is, laid the people under restraint : and this they did
in numerous instances, when there was no scriptural

AND ASCENDANCY OP POPERY. 119
reason for it, but merely their own personal caprice and
humour. *
Our blessed Saviour, aware that ministerial encroach
ments would be made in the Christian Church, has left
on record a clear and pointed caution. " Be not ye,
therefore, called Rabbi : for one is your Master, even
Christ ; and all ye are brethren. And caU no man your
father upon the earth : for one is your Father, which is
in heaven. Neither be ye caUed masters, for one is your
Master, even Christ." He will not allow in his Church
such Rabbi's as these, with authority in matters of faith :
he is the great Prophet, concerning whom it has been
announced with unquestionable authority from heaven,
— " Hear ye him." Thus the authority of Christ, and
the rule of his word, are what are chiefly to influence
and determine Christians. General CouncUs, AssembUes,
Convocations, &c. are not that authority by which we are
to be governed ; neither are creeds, catechisms, canons,
confessions, or articles of faith, drawn up and agreed on,
by this or that Church, our rule. All these are subor
dinate to Scripture, and are of no value but so far as
they are grounded upon and accord with it.
Now it was setting up an exorbitant power in the
pastors ofthe Church, to declare the sense of Scripture,
enact new laws, enjoin prescriptions, &c. without any
divine sanction, that led the way to the great apostacy
from the truth as it is in Christ, and helped Antichrist
to his throne. It was raising the power of the Church
too high, that generated the antichristian apostacy.
This is evident from the visible and extensive change
which took place in the affairs of religion in the reign of
Constantine, the first Christian emperor ; for, under his
' Dr. Whitby on Matt, xxiii. 8.

120 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
government, corruptions in doctrine, and superstition in
worship, were soon introduced, by many ambitious cler
gymen, who, there is reason to believe, valued the Chris
tian religion not much farther than the profession of it
served to promote their teraporal interests. To this
cause, spirit, disposition, motives, and views, it may be
presumed, are owing, as the priraary cause, the numer
ous errors, and shocking idolatries of the Church of
Rome; Constantine, being educated in paganism, and having
observed the pomp of the pagan worship, connected with
the excessive honours paid to their pontiffs, thought fit,-
inhis wisdom, to raise Christianity into an imitation of
them ; thus to show his zeal for the honour of this ftew
religion, as well as to soften down the prejudices of the
pagans against it. These views of honour were worldly,
and this plan of raeeting the pagans on their own ground/
was a debasing the essential purity, simphcity, and
humility of the religion of Christ.
Hence came the magnificence and splendour of their
sacried edifices. Eusebius observes, that the fermer
structures, which, in the time of persecution, had been
demolished, were little and mean ; but the new erections
were spacious, sumptuous, and splendid. * Constantine
took particular care to adorn the chief cities, especially
Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem, with stately
oratories. •" And that nothing might be wanting for the
external magnificence and renown of the Christian
churches, he appointed a solemn consecration of them,
in imitation of the pagan temples.

" Hist. Eccles. lib. *. cap. 2.
' Euseb. Vita Constans. lib. iii. cap. 24 ad 57.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 121
The clergy, meantime, had aU the marks of distinction
imaginable shown them. He directed letters to the
bishops by name, says Eusebius, conferred honours on
them, and gave them large sums of money. They were
made arbitrators in cases of diffetence among the people,
and their decisions rendered final. Their benediction
was esteemed a great privilege, and even emperors
received it, bowing their head. Ambrose states, that
kings and princes did not disdain to bend and bow their
necks to the knees of the priests, and to kiss their hands,
thinking themselves protected by their prayers. ^ The
power and jurisdiction of the bishops being very much
extended, some of thera were raised to a vast superiority
over others of the sarae order, even to the degree of
metropolitans and patriarchs, occasioned by a wish to
form the external polity of the church after the model
of the civil government.
Under these preferments, the spirit of faction and
contention prevailed among the clergy, especially in their
synods, which derogated from the sanctity of their
office, and obscured the glory of the Christian profession.
No sooner were they delivered from the hands of their
enemies, but they began to fall foul on each other ;
which the emperor seeing with regret, atterapted to com
pose and reconcile them. At the council of Nice, he
affectionately and pathetically addressed them, saying :
" I intreat you, beloved ministers of God, and servants
of our Saviour Jesus Christ, take away the causes of
your dissention and disagreeraent ; establish peace araong
yourselves." And it is said, that he burnt the letters
they had written to him, in much severity and bitterness
against one another; that such matter of strife, and
* De Dignitate sacerd. cap. 2.

122 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
instances of their infirmity, might not remain to disgrace
them. But all the endeavours of the emperor were to little
purpose. With zeal and stiffness they entered into un
profitable disputes, about abstruse and sublime points of
faith ; proceeded to estabhsh their own opinions, threat
ening against such as would not submit to them ; who,
in their turn, when an opportunity offered, retahated ;
hence councils against councils, canons against canons,
with anathemas, confiscations, burning of books, &c.
This was too often the issue of their councUs, — tiU, at
last, Gregory Nazianzen, from a just resentment against
such unchristian and discordant proceedings, formed a
resolution not to be concerned any more in the meetings
of the clergy ; giving this as the reason, that he never
saw any good result from them.
Now it was, that their unhallowed zeal was directed to
rites and ceremonies, borrowed from the Gentiles; and
which were soon multiplied to such a degree, that Austin
in his time complains, that they were less tolerable than
the yoke of the Jews under the law. * One reason for
the adoption of these things was, that they might repre
sent Christianity in a light, which would be likely to win
over their heathen neighbours to it. They incorporated
many of their rites and customs into the Church, that
they themselves raight the more easily be induced to join
it : but this carnal policy obscured the exceUence of the
Christian religion, proved a serious injury to Christians,
and became a fatal snare to succeeding ages. ''
" Epist. 19. "¦ The Planting of the Cross at Montpellier.
April 27 — How shall I describe the singular ceremony of the
plantation of the Cross ? Such an elan of popular feeling as it excited is

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 123
The ambition of the clergy became notorious. Their
objects were preferment in the church, and pre-eminence
one above another, in their respective sees. That strife
which Christ once rebuked in his disciples, when they

scarcely to be rendered by description. The procession moved from the
hospital about eleven o'clock ; and we first perceived it, as the foremost
part cajiie winding down the street to the esplanade. A body of cavalry
preceded ; followed by the Penitens blancs, in their white dresses and
veils, with the usual masks, walking four abreast, two on each side of the
road. Among this band were several vases, adorned with flowers, and a
temple, supported by statues representing angels, in the interior of which
were gilded images of the Virgin and Child ; the canopy was ornamented
with white feathers. Next came the Penitens blues, distinguished by a
blue ribbon round their necks ; after them, the boys and men of the
hospital, and the school of orphans. Then followed the body of the
inhabitants, who fonned the great mass of the procession, distributed
according to their respective parishes.
" The unmarried females preceded, amounting to an immense number ;
veiled, and attired completely in white, and each holding a small blue
flag, on which the cross was worked in white satin. Among them were
all the principal young ladies of the city, easily distinguishable by the
elegance of their attire, from those belonging to inferior classes. They
wore caps and veils of gauze or lace ; muslin dresses, beautifully trimmed,
and white satin shoes. They sung psalms and hymns as they proceeded.
When thi.i part of the female procession reached the esplanade, they made
a pause, and the different divisions sung in parts, those behind responding
to those in the foreground. This scene was very interesting : and it was
impossible to see so many elegant young ladies in this bridal attire, and to
hear their harmonious voices chaunting sacred music, without the imagin
ation being transported to ' the multitude having white robes and palms
in their hands,' and to the ' harpers harping with their hai-ps,' which
the Apocalypse presents to the scriptural reader. I felt how strongly the
Roman CathoHc religion addresses itself to the senses ; and how calculated
it is to obtain and preserve power over the multitude, since even I, a
Protestant, am not insensible of the seductive and touching influence ol
some of its ceremonies.
" Each parish was preceded by a band of music, making, by its martial
melody, rather a singular contrast with the religious chaunt which so soon
succeeded to it.
" After this almost countless train of white females had slowly swept
along, came a sable suite, composed entirely of the married women, who
were all in black, with the exception of a white veil. Madame de F.
only, the lady of the first President, wore a black veil, to distinguish her
from the rest. Next followed two companies of men, who had already

124 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
inquired, " Who should be the greatest.!"' was rtOA*"
every day to be seen. This was especially evident in the
Church of Rome. The spirit of Diotrephes early
appeared in the bishops of that Church. An heathen

taken their turn to caiTy the crpss, two hundred in each division : a
third company were relieved by a fourth, at the foot of the esplanade ;¦
the remaining six relieved each other at the various stations appointed for
that purpose. At each of these places was erected a species of canopy,
formed of high posts, festooned with evergreens, and connected with
wreaths of the same, intermixed with artificial white flowers : from many
were suspended crosses formed of lilacs, stocks, Sec.
" Then came the Cross itself, the first sight of which was accompanied
by loud cheers from the assembled mulitude, crying, ' Vive la Croix !
hurra, hurra ! ' It was forty-five feet long ; and the wooden figure of
our Saviour was painted with the blood flowing from the wounds. It
was to me an unpleasant spectacle, and I involuntarily closed my eyes.
The artificers of the image, it seems, thought it really was alive ; and in
consequence, declared to the Abbe Guyon, that they would not nail it to
the cross ; which oflice the missionary was obliged to execute himself.
M. Guyon was, in this part of the procession, marshalling the men,
giving the word of command, now jumping on the cross, then on the
frame work, in the prosecution of his arduous office, and' reminded me
of David dancing before the ark.
" The bishop and clergy followed the cross ; , after them the authorities,
and last of all a regiment of soldiers and band. I have omitted to
mention, that two thin lines of infantry extended throughout the whole
length of the procession, to keep off the crowd.
" The procession took two hours in passing by the spot on which we
were stationed ; it consisted of fifteen thousand individuals ; about sixty
thousand were present, including the spectators assembled in different
parts of the town to view it.
" To this immense multitude, M. Gnyon addressed a few words of
exhortation, first from the cross, and afterwards from a stone pedestal,
which, prior to the revolution, supported a statue. During this short
harangue, which lasted only a few minutes, this extraordinary man
addressed an appropriate word of exhortation to every class of people
present. He spoke to the bishop and authorities, paying them the highest
reverence; to the clergy, the officers, the soldiers, the nobihty, the
merchants, the trades-people, and artizans ; the ladies, the females of the
lower orders ; the young, the old, the rich, the poor. Above all, he
exhorted them to concord, oblivion of parties and past injuries, loyalty,
religion, and universal charity.
' When the cross began to be raised, a general shout of acclamation
burst frora the assembled multitude. A young lady near me (who had

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 125
historian remarks, that they were richly clad, carried in
litters, and profuse in their feastings. ^ Socrates says,
that they affected a dominion beyond the bounds of
priesthood, and began to exercise secular power and
authority. ^ BasU, observing this, expresses himself with
warmth and indignation .against it, saying, " I hate the
pride of that Church."
Dr. Geddes supposes, the bishops of Rome thought it
reasonable, on account of the superiority of their city, that
they should be to Christians what her pontifex maximus
was to the heathen : and he endeavours to prove, that
out of the ruins of the heathen pontificate rose the
papal pontificate in that city. And both St, Jerorae
and St. Paulinus assert, that pride, ambition, .envy, ava
rice, and luxury, at the tirae when the heathen pontifi
cate was dissolved, were as rarapant in the bishops and
clergy of Rorae, as ever they had been before araong any
order of men in that proud city ; for which reason St.
Jerome calls Rome Christian, the spiritual Babylon. "=
The Eastern and Western Churches entering into
warm disputes about keeping Easter, produced unhappy
effects. The latter, particularly that of Rome, were for
celebrating it on the Lord's day, pretending as an
authority, a tradition from St. Peter: the former, in
conformity to the Jews, were for keeping the feast on
the 14th of the month of March, the day appointed for
the Passover, for which they urged a tradition pretended

escaped from the procession, alarmed by the vicinity of the horses)
exclaimed, ' Que c'est edifiant cela. ' I smiled internally, but reflected
that it was well for her if she was edified." — Christian Observer.
Feb. 1823.
" Amian. Marcel, hb. 27.
* Hist. lib. vii. cap. II.
" Geddes's Posthumous Tracts, p. 68.

126 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
to have been received from St. John. Both sides con
tending fiercely for their own opinion, at last Victor,
bishop of Rome, interposed, and resolved to settle the
matter himself, requiring all other, churches to conform
to the custom of his own. And because the Christian
world had not then learned to bow down to an infallible
chair, not knowing of any such universal sovereignty
set up at Rome, they refused to comply with his
imperious injunctions, though ace jmpanied with admo
nitions and threats : he, in the pride and vexation of
his heart, denounced his anathemas, and solemnly excom
municated the bishops of the Eastern Churches. This
was a presage of what might bo^spected at a future
period. The same spirit possessed maS|- ofhis successors, ^
tiU, at last, the bishop of Rome, fron/ being a vigilant
pastor to a single congregation-of devout Christians, over
whom he was a spiritual overseer, and among whom he
laboured, — ^preaching to them, praying with them, and
for them, and teaching from house to house, — serving
the Lord with all humility, and many tears, and
temptations that befell him ; from such a one he grew
up to that haughty sovereign, who exercised authority
over kings and emperors, to our Lord God the Pope.
Dupin, a learned and candid papist, says, " The riches
of the church began to be too burdensome ; contests and
canvassings for obtaining bishopricks were very common,
and many were promoted to them, who had neither
knowledge, merit, nor capacity." => And the progress of
apostacy, from the sixth through the following centuries,
was hke the gravitating properties of heavy bodies,
constantly increasing the swiftness of its motion.
Mattheus de Cracovia, in his work entitled De Squalori-
¦•* Advertisement to History of Sixth Century.

AND ASCENDANCY GF POPERY. 127
bus Romanae Curiae, hesitates not to say, that scarce
any one was so wicked and scandalous but he might be
admitted to holy orders, and allowed to celebrate divine
offices. And Petrus de Aliaco, in his tract offered to the
Council of Constance, affirms, that things are come to
that pass in the church, that it was not fit to be governed
but by reprobates. * Picus Mirandula, in his oration at
the Council of Lateran, gave not only a noble specimen
of/his learning and eloquence, but of his zeal for the
piirity of religion, and deep concern for the corruption
of the times. He says, " Even with the chief men of
oiar religion, there is little or no worship of God ; no
good method of living; no shame, no modesty, no
justice ; keli^m is turned into superstition ; all orders
and degrees of mS& openly sin ; so that virtue itself is
matter of reproach to those that practise it, and
ices honoured instead of virtues." ^
Under Constantine, A.D. 330, the seat of government
as removed from Rome to Constantinople. By the
third canon of the Council of Constantinople, held A. D.
381, the bishop of that city was placed next in rank to
the bishop of Rome. The title of imiversal bishop was
'assumed first by Cjnrianus, patriarch of Constantinople,
in a synod held A.D. 587 ? ^^^i being ratified by the
emperor Mauritus and a synod, held A.D. 595, was
then settled to belong for ever to the bishop of Constan
tinople and his successors. Phocas, by an imperial edict,
A.D. 606, took the primacy from Constantinople, and
settled the supremacy on Boniface I. then bishop of
Rome, and his successors. It was not, however, till

»Pasc. Tom. i. p. 406.
'' The author, in this part of his work, is largely indebted to Bennet's
Memorial of the Reformation, from page — 22.

128 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
A.D. 1095, that the CouncU of Clermont gave the bishop
of Rome that title exclusively.
These swellings of pride, presumption, and ostentation,
in persons professing to be the ministers of Christ, were
soon observed by others who were possessed of a different
spirit, and influenced by sober views, generating in their
minds suspicions that were but too well founded.
Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, A.D. 595, laidit
down as an undeniable maxim, that " whosoever affected
the title of universal bishop, he was Antichrist, or the
forerunner of Antichrist." When John, bishop of
Constantinople, first usurped this title, Gregory said,
«< That by this pride of his, what thing else is signified,
but that the time of Antichrist is now at han*^ The
king of pride approaches: and, what is wicked, togfee
spoken, an army of priests is prepared." Many
Fathers, and Christian apologists, as Justin Martyr
Lactantius, Cyrill of Jerusalem, Ambrose, Jeromel
Austin, St. Chrysostom, apphed these words — the mam, o\
sin, the man of blasphemy, to the Pope of Rome.
Many persons of eminence, within the pale of thei
church of Rome, have agreed in their testimony with the
Fathers. St. Bernard deposed, that " the ministers of
Christ (that is, the Pope and his clergy) served Anti- j
christ, that nothing remained but that the man of sin |
should be revealed, and that the beast in the Apocalypse ^
occupied St. Peter's chair. The famous Abbot Joachim,
of Calabria, in a sermon on the Apocalypse, said, " that '
Antichrist was aheady born in the city of Rome, and
that he would be advanced to the apostolic chair, and
exalted above all that is caUed God, or is worshipped."
And Calmet assures us, that " Antichrist is the name
of the man of sin, who is represented in the Fathers as
the epitome of every thing that is most impious, cruel,

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 129
and abominable." To these names might be added
those of Matthew of Paris, monk of St. Albans, and an
early historian ; WiUiam, of St. Amour, a doctor of the
Sorbonne ; Dante and Petrarch ; MarsUius, a celebrated
lawyer of Padua ; with many others.
This assumption of ecclesiastical authority and domin
ation by the bishop of Rome, has been worked up, by
cunning artifice, daring presumption, and false argument,
into a divine right, first conferred on St. Peter, and then
by him on all his successors in office. The Papists
assert, that our Saviour, before he left our earth, dele
gated his supreme authority to St. Peter, who, by fixing
his see at Rome, and dying there, bequeathed his
supremacy to his successor in that chair to the end of
the world. On which premises they conclude, that
therefore, the Roman bishop is the head of the Catholic
church. Now as a proof, that St. Peter was an entire stranger
to this alleged supremacy over the rest of the apostles,
as well as over the universal church, appears sufficiently
evident from the total sUence on this subject in the
Scriptures ; whereas, if it had been true, the sacred
writers, having the infaUible inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, and who wrote every thing necessary to faith and
salvation, would not on any account, have oraitted a
matter of such vast importance. When the question,
" Who should be the greatest .''" was agitated among
the disciples, there is no intimation that our Saviour
gave the least preference to St. Peter. If our Saviour had
vested such authority in him, he would, of course, some
time or other, have exercised that high function ; but
there is not the most remote evidence in the Scriptures
that he ever assumed any thing of the kind ; therefore it
is fair to conclude that he had no such authority.

130 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
With regard to Peter being bishop of Rome, the Scrip
tures are equally silent : nay, it is not so much as
probable he was ever there : therefore his primacy over
the other apostles, arid his being bishop of Rome, are
mere fictions. St. Cyprian affirras, " The other apostles
are the sarae as St. Peter was, endowed with an equal
fellowship of honour and power;" *
But adraitting, though not granting, both these to
have been true, how does it affect the bishops of Rome "?
They pretend to be his successors, and, consequently, to
have the same pre-eminence and authority. If the Pope ''
succeed Peter, it must be either in his extraordinary
character of an apostle, or as he was bishop of Rome, or
as he was head of the church ; but be cannot succeed
hira as an apostle, for that office ceased with the only
persons who ever enjoyed it, the apostles not constituting
apostles, but only bishops, pastors, &c. Nor could be
succeed hira as bishop of Rorae, or head ofthe church, be
cause Peter hiraself was never either the one or the other.
A raan cannot, with any propriety, be said to succeed
another in an office,, which such other person never
occupied, or had any right to ; therefore, it follows, that
the Pope is not the successor of Peter.
It. is true that the Papists quote those words of Christ
to Peter, as in point, " Thou art Peter, and upon this
rock wiU I build my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it." Though the Church of Rome
owns Christ as a foundation of salvation, yet, she denies
him to be the only one ; frora this passage she builds
upon Peter, and upon- her own merits. The Romanists

" Epist. de unit. Eccles.
>¦ The word Pope is derived from the Latin word Pajia, father, from
which the Roman Catholics arc called Papists, and their religion popery.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 131
»
say, that the church is not founded upon Christ, but
upon Peter, and the Popes as his successors : and that
unless we build upon these, we cannot be saved.
Now, this assertion of the Romanists, that Peter, and
the Popes as his successors, are the true foundation of
the church, is contradicted in the Sacred Writings.
The promised Messiah is called a stone. " The stone
which the builders refused is become the head-stone of
the corner." He is also called a foundation ; " Thus
saith the Lord God, I lay in Zion [the church] for a
foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner
stone, a sure foundation." And that Christ is the only
foundation, is evident from the words of St. Paul,
" Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ." To the Christians at Ephesus,
who formed a part of the spiritual edifice then raised on
that basis, he says, " Ye are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ hiraself being
the chief corner-stone ; in whora all the building fitly
framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the
Lord : in whom ye also are builded together for an
holy habitation of God through the Spirit." Here is
no mention made of a Pope, nor of a Peter, as the
foundation ; for that apostle was only one of the
builders in this sacred structure, who hiraself teUs us,
was, with the other Christians, built upon this foundation.
Therefore, Jesus Christ did not say, On thee, Peter,
but (as a learned Commentator observes) changes
immediately the expresssion, saying, " upon that rock,"
sw( ravT'ri T)j TTsrpa, to show, that he neither addressed
Peter, nor any other of the apostles. So that this
Scripture neither proves th^ supreraacy of Peter, nor the
infallibility ofthe Church of Rorae. The supposition of
Peter and the Popes being the foundation of the church

132 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
of Christ, is one of the greatest extremes of ignorance,
folly, and absurdity. The Romanists would persuade
people to believe, that a mere man, and he sometimes a
master of wickedness, is the foundation and head of the
Church !
The pope, caUing himself Peter's successor, makes
pretensions to things concerning which Peter never gave
the least intimation. Peter did not possess any privi
lege which exempted him from subjection to the rest of
his brethren, before whom he pleaded a certain cause,
and by whom, he was sent as a messenger ; Acts vui. 14.
xi. 13. Nor had he any superiority that rendered him
incapable of error, or prevented him from being withstood
to the face ; Gal. ii. 11. But the pope claims a right to
govern the whole church at his pleasure, and as her only
authorised head, boasts that she is infallible. The doc
trines concerning his supremacy, and the privileges it is
fancied belong to him, even in the highest temporal mat
ters, are such as the deposing of princes, the giving away
their dominions, and absolving their subjects from their
allegiance : and the spiritual powers which he and other
ecclesiastical persons have pretended to possess, are, of
shutting and opening the kingdom of Heaven, of binding
and loosing, of retaining and remitting sins authorita
tively. These doctrines, according to their true mean
ing, amount to nothing less than putting men into a state
of salvation or damnation just as they please.
In confirmation of these bold pretences. Cardinal Zabar,
speaking of the popes, affirras, that they might do aU
things they please, even things unlawful, and so could
do more than God himself. ^ Dominus noster Deus Papa^
" Our Lord God the. Pope," is the frequent comphment of
» De Schism. Int. Gerim. Script, p. 704.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 133
the canonists. The same title is given him by the Coun
cil of Lateran, Sess. 4. So Gratian asserts, that all
mortals are to be judged by the pope, but the pope by
no body at all. Masson us, in the Life of pope John
IX. says, that the bishops of Rome cannot commit sins
without praise. *
With regard to this succession, admitting, but not
granting, that the first bishop of Rome received his
authority from Peter, and Peter from Christ, yet, what
is that to latter popes, who are selected and put into the
pontifical chair, by cardinals ? ^ And whence had the
cardinals that power ? If from God, let them produce
their hcence : if from men, let them say from whom,
and by what authority. Meantime, let us reflect on this
succession. A succession from that heretic John XXII.
who denied the immortality of the soul: from John
XXIII. Gregory XII. and Benedict XIII. who were
all popes at once, and cashiered by the Council of Con
stance as iUegitimate : frora Eugenius, whom the CouncU
of Basil convicted both of schism and heresy: from
MarceUimus, who sacrificed to idols : from Liberius, who
turned Arian : from Anastatius, whom the Roman clergy
excommunicated for being an heretic : from Silvester II.
who sacrificed to the devil : from Formosus, who got the
chair by perjury : from Sergius III. who caused the
body of another pope to be digged out of the grave, and
the head to be cut off and flung into the Tiber : from
Boniface, who in\prisoned his infaUible predecessor, and

" Lib. 3.
•> If it is necessary to salvation to be subject to the pope, it is necessary
to know who is the true one ; but that point ' the world has often been
divided about, when there were sometimes three, and for about forty
years together two popes  Vid. Theod. Niem. de Schism. Univers.

134 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
plucked out his eyes ! How unlike is this Peter the
pope, to Peter the Apostle ! "
If we admit, that the Roman Catholics do not hold an
opinion that the pope himself is infallible ; but only
affirm, that he and the rest of the bishops, in general
council assembled, to settle points of doctrine, or branches
of church discipline, have always been preserved from
error ; yet what shall we say concerning the infallibility
of popes and councils, when we reflect, that these have
not always been agreed and said the same thing .'' If
they had always been led by the Holy Spirit, and
decided under the iraraediate influence of his teaching
and direction, they would have been harmonious, and
neither jarring of sentiment nor opposition in conduct
would have appeared among them. But there are many
instances of popes and councils being contradictory one
of the other. Julius I. decreed, that none of either sex
should marry within the seventh degree of consanguinity.
Innocent III. decreed, that the prohibition shouldnot
exceed the fourth degree of consanguinity and affinity.
The Council of Trent condemned polygamy, and cursed
those who maintain that it is lawful for Christians to
have more than one wife at the same time. Gregory III.
aUowed, in case of the wife's infirmity, the husband to

' Several of the above thoughts have been taken from a short History
of Popery, pubUshed in the year 1678.
Raphael Urbim, when charged by the then pope for laying too much
colour on the faces of Peter and Paul, rephed, he did it on purpose to
prevent them blushing in heaven, on seeing what successors they had on
earth. Thomas Aquinas, when approaching Innocent IV. whom he found
surrounded with heaps of gold, " Lo, Thomas !" said the pope, " the
Church cannot now, as of old, say. Silver and gold have I none.'" " No,''
replied the grave doctor, " nor can she say to the lame, Arise, and
walk."

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 135
tak-e another wife, only he must allow the other a main
tenance. Gelasius II. decreed, that, to distinguish the
Catholics from the Manichees, believers should receive
the sacrament in both kinds. Cardinal Quignonius, at
the instance of pope Paul III. reformed the breviary ;
and instead of legends, set Scriptures for the lessons.
But pope Pius Quintus, who afterwards undertook to
reform it also, prohibited that of Quignonius, " and
instead of the Scriptures, placed legends again, and so
it continues. The Council of Constance cursed those
who exhorted the people to do so. Sometimes mere
enmity in one pope to his predecessor, has occasioned
the reversing of his decrees, as in the instance of Stephen
II. towards Formosus, who repealed his decrees. Ro
manus, as soon as he got into the chair, repealed the
decrees of Stephen ; and Theodorus renewed the acts of
Formosus. And, yet, all these popes and councils, pro
fessed to be infallible, and all their canons must be
received ¦! ''
In the progress of Popery, the ecclesiastics of Rome,
of whatever degree, were exalted to such a height of
authority, as to be beyond the reach of the civU power ;
exempted from the jurisdiction of the secular power, so
that whatever offence a clergyman was guilty of, he could
not be tried by the civU magistrate. Bellarraine maintains
this exemption, aUedging as a reason for it, that secular
princes are not the lawful superiors of the clergy, unless
it be proved that the sheep are better than the shepherd,
the sons than the fathers, and temporals than spirituals. "
Hence it has long passed as a raaxim with thera, that
the rebellion of a clergyraan against his prince is not

" BuUa prefixa Breviar. Jussa Pii v. edit.
*¦ Protest. Fam. Piece, p. 9.
" De Officio Christiani princip. lib. i. cap. 5.

136 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
treason, because he is not hi^ prince's subject. And this
is a matter of faith with them, a necessary principle,
exemphfied in the quarrel between Henry II, and
Becket. The king chastised the disorderly clergy, not
withstanding Becket's remonstrance against it, as being a
violation of the privileges of the church. Becket resists,
and dies in the quarrel, as history states : on which the
pope brings his authority to bear on the king, who, by
way of atonement for his fault, submitted to be stripped
at Canterbury, and whipped by the monks !
This power extended much farther. The Council of
Lateran passed a deposition against heretical princes, or
such as should be remiss in prosecuting those whom the
church' should mark out for heretics. The words of the
Council are these : — " If the temporal governor, being
required and admonished by the church, shaU neglect to
purge the country of heresy, let this be signified to the
pope, that from henceforth he fliay declare his - subjects
free from their aUegiance, and give away his land to be
possessed by Catholics. * And this decree has been
enforced in the actual deposition of many of the greatest
princes in Europe, For instance.
Pope Zachary I. deposed Childerick of France.
Pope Gregory VII. deposed Henry IV. emperor.
Pope Urban II. deposed Philip, king of France.
Pope Adrian IV. deposed William, king of Sicily,
Pope Innocent III. deposed Philip, emperor. •
Pope Gregory deposed Frederick II.
Pope Innocent IV. deposed John, king of England,
Pope Urban IV. deposed Mamvphred, king of Sicil3\
Pope Nicholas III. deposed Charles, king of Sicily,
Pope Martin IV. deposed Peter, of Arragon.
' Sub. Innocent III. an. 1215. Can, 3. de Heret.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. " 137
Pope Boniface VIIL deprived Philip the Fair."
Pope Clement V. deposed Henry, emperor.
Pope John XXII. deprived Lodowick, emperor.
Pope Gregory IX. deposed Wenceslaus, emperor.
Pope Paul III. deprived Henry VIII. of England, &c.
From this assumption of power, and the pretended
infallibihty of popes and councils, have resulted doctrines
that have no foundation in the Holy Scriptures ; but
which are made to serve certain purposes, particularly
the obtauiing of wealth, and supporting a priestly domi
nation over the rights of conscience : some of these we
shall briefly notice.
Transubstcmtiation is an article of faith in the Church
of Rorae. Pashas Radbert, a monk of Corbia, indis
tinctly taught it in the ninth century, (that is, A. D.
835,) not discerning the true sense of our Saviour's
words, " This is my body." During the heat of a
debate, at a synod held at Constantinople, A. D. 754,
concerning images, it was declared, " That our Saviour
had left no other image of himself than the Sacrament ;"
to which the Council of Nice, A. D. 787, replied, that
" the Sacrament was not the image, but was the real
body and blood of Jesus Christ." But this opinion
was not fully adopted till the Council of Lateran, A. D.
1215, in which pope Innocent III. presided: at that
time both transubstantiation and auricular confession
were passed into articles of faith.

¦ On which occasion, to justify what he had done, he published in his
buU, which is now part of the Canon law, the foUowing decree : — " We
declare and pronounce it, as necessary to salvation, that all mankind be
subject to the Roman Pontiff." — Vide Dr. Clumdler's Sermon, Nov. 5,
1714, p. 2».

138 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS, '
Pope Pius IV. in his Creed, article xvii. says, " I do
also profess, that in the mass there is offered to God a
true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the quicle and
the dead ; and that, in the most holy sacrament of the
eucharist, there is truly, really, and substantially, the
body and blood, together with the soul and the divinity
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and that there is a conver
sion raade of the whole substance of the bread into the
body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the
blood ; which conversion the whole Catholic Church call
Transubstantiation!''' The passage of Scripture used in
proof of this point, is those words of our Saviour, " This
is ray body :" which, say the Catholics, clearly demon
strate that the same body which was born of the Virgin
Mary, and is now in heaven, is in the sacraraent. ^ The
Roraan church declares, that, on the priest's pronouncing
these words. Hoc est corpus msumi, " This is my body,"
the bread and wine in the eucharist are instantly transub
stantiated into the natural body and blood of Christ ;
the species or accidents only of the bread and wine
remaining. '' The Council of Florence decreed, " The
priest, speaking in the name of Christ, makes this sacra
ment ; for, by virtue of the very words themselves, the
bread is changed into the body of Christ, and the wine
into his blood ; yet so that the whole Christ is contained
under the species of bread, and the whole species of wine ;
also in every consecrated host and consecrated wine, when
a separation is made there is whole Christ." — The Coun
cU of Trent decreed, " That if any one says, that a true
and proper sacrifice is not offered up to God at the mass ;

» Catech. par. 2. c. 4. n. 26.
' C. Trid. Sess. 13. c. 4. ConcU. Later. 4. Can. 1.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 139
or that to be offered is arty thing else than Jesus Christ,
given to be eaten, let hira be anathema."
The host consists of a wafer composed of the finest
flour and wine. The priest, after consecrating the wafer,
places it on the tongue of the communicant, while de
voutly kneehng. The wafer seen and tasted is the acci
dents only of the bread and wine ; there is the savour,
colour, and quantity of bread and wine, without their
substance ; but under those accidents there is only the
body and blood of Christ. ^ The sarae sovereign wor
ship which is due only to God, ^ is given to the conse
crated host ; the people adore it, " pray to it, ¦* arid who
soever holds it unlawful or idolatrous so to do, is ac
cursed. ^
The doctrine of transubstantiation involves in it this
question, between the Roraanists and the Protestants,
namely, whether bread hefiesh and bones ; whether wine
be human blood ; whether a thin round wafer, an inch in
diameter, is the real person of a man five or six feet
high ; and whether the sarae identical body can be wholly
in heaven, and in a million of places on earth at the same
time !
This article of faith was recently put to a test, as
singular in its nature, as it was successful in the result.
The following relation was given by a person from the
north of Ireland, as a fact within his personal know
ledge : — A Roraan Catholic gentleman was married to a
Protestant lady. Both were in respectable circumstances,
¦ Catech. Rom. n. 37 and 44. Abrid of Christ. Doc. c. 11. § Euchar.
Cone. Trid. Sess. 13. de real, praes. i:. 3.
•¦ CoucU. Trid. Sess. 13. c. 5.
° Missale Rom. Can. Missae.
¦¦ Brev. Rom. Hym. in F. Corp. Ch.
' Coucil. Trid. Sess. 13. Can.

140 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
and moved in the genteeler ranks of society. The priest
ofthe Cathohc congregation, of which the gentleman was
a meraber, frequently visited, and zealously endeavoured
to preserve his charge from an influence in favour of
Protestantism, which he apprehended from the wife.
The good man appeared to be stedfast, and gave him
all the satisfaction he desired. But the spiritual guide
urged the necessity of bringing her over to the Romish
communion, saying, " The Catholic church is the only
true church, and if she die without its pale, she cannot
be saved — she is a heretic." The husband, of course,
assaUed his wife's rehgious creed, and endeavoured to
win her over to his own. But she, being firra, the priest
was introduced. Frequent disputes ensued, and the
arguments were ably maintained on both sides; the
gentleman leaving the point at issue between his wife
and his spiritual director, to be settled by themselves.
The lady, by no means convinced by the reasoning of
the priest, and growing confirmed in her own opinions,
was yet, however, induced, from respect to her husband,
to renew the argument from time to time as the priest
repeated his visits. But the latter becoming impatient
of delay, and anxious to effect the conversion of one
whose politeness he had mistaken for a tenderness and
increasing partiality to his creed, that would soon end in
a profession of its tenets, was for putting the subject to
immediate issue. She, however, delicately avoided this
issue : probably unwiUing to grieve her husband, and
hoping he might be led in time to discover the errors of
popery ; and, on the other hand, fearing to exasperate the
priest, who might find means to ruin the peace of the
family. At the same time, she allowed him to cher
ish the expectation that she would some day declare
herself.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 141
An opportunity for this declaration soon after pre
sented itself. In the course of their discussions, the
doctrine of TraMSubstantiation carae under considera
tion, and the priest insisted on the entire change of the
wafer into the real body of Christ, so that every particle
contained in it was on consecration transmuted or
changed into the actual substance of our Saviour's body.
The lady controverted this sentiment — and the priest
positively insisted on it, always adding, that nothing
could be irapossible to God. The lady then cut short
the subject by promising, that she would receive the
mass on a certain day, if the priest would aUow her to
prepare the wafers herself. This point was conceded,
and a day mentioned in which this business was to termi
nate. The day arrived^the parties met — the wafers were
presented. The lady inquired, whether the wafers would
be really changed by the consecration ? — The priest an
swered, they would. — Entirely ? Yes. — " But, how can a
wafer be changed into a body five feet in length, and that
is in heaven .?" — " Nothing is impossible to God." The
priest proceeded in his offices — the prayer of consecra
tion was said. " Now," said the lady, " are the wafers
changed .«"" " They are."— " Entirely changed ?" " Yes."
— " So that none of the ^ar^ic/es. formerly contained in
them remain .?" " None." — " They are now wholly and
entirely transformed into the body of Christ ?" " They
are." " Then," added she, "we may receive them}
but, I inquired thus particularly, because there was
arsenic- 'in them." " What!" said the priest, "arsenic!
Do you mean to poison me .?" " Oh !" said the lady,
" there is no danger now all the particles are changed.''''
The priest broke out into a rage, refused to receive the
wafers, and left the house. It need scarcely be added.

142 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
the gentleman plainly perceiving that the priest himself
did not beheve in the doctrine of transubstantiation,
left the Romish church, and professed the Protestant
religion. Some of the priests not believing in transubstantiation,
confess their infidehty in this point to one another,
and receive mutual absolution from one another, as
Archbishop Usher declares sorae of thera owned to himself.
No wonder they doubt the reality of a wafer God ! If
we believe transubstantiation, we take away the testiraony
of our senses. And we give up our reason too. For if
every particle of the host is as much the whole body of
Christ, as the whole host is before it is divided, then a
whole may be divided, not into parts, but into wholes.
For, divide and subdivide it over and over, and it is
whole still ! It is whole before the division ; whole in
the division ; whole after the division ! Such nonsense,
absurdity, and self-contradiction, aU over, is the doctrine
of transubstantiation ! These elements of bread and
wine are caUed by the Fathers, the images, the symbols,
the figure of Christ's body and blood.
Purgatory is a doctrine of the church of Rome, of
which we hear nothing till about the eighth century.
The Roman Catholics teach, that the souls of those that
die in a state of grace, but are not sufficiently purged
from their sins, or have not had a plenary indulgence
for the remission of them, go to purgatory, a place of
torment in the other world, near to hell,* where they
are to continue tiU they have made fuU satisfaction for
their sins, and are thoroughly purged and prepared for
heaven, into which no unclean thing can enter.'' They
may be helped and delivered by the suffrages ° of the
• BeUarm. de Pnrg. 1. 2. c. 6. SS. Quinta est.
^ Catech. Rom. par. i. c. 6. u. 3.
- ConcU. Trid. Sess. 25, Deer, of Purgat.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 143
faithful that are alive ; that is, by prayers, alms, and
masses ; ^ and other works of piety, such as indulgences. ''
Whosoever shall say, that there is no debt of temporal
punishment to be paid, either in this world or purgatory,
before there can be an admission into heaven, is
accursed. = And whosoever shall say, the sacrifice of
the mass is not to be used for the dead, is accursed. ^
This is one of the principles, without the belief of which
there is no salvation. *
The Roraan Catholics raake a fourfold hell. 1. The
hell of the wicked, or damned, where there is eternal
punishment, of both loss and sense. 2. Purgatory,
where there is only a teraporal punishraent of both loss
and sense, for venial sins, as they speak ; but the dis
tinction of sins into mortal and venial, is as groundless
as the kind of hell they have invented for the punishraent
of venial sins. 3. The hell of infants, dying without
baptism, which they call Limbus Infantum, where,
according to them, there is eternal punishment only of
loss. 4. The hell of the Old Testament believers, which
they call Limbus Patrum, where there was a teraporal
punishment of loss, but not of sense. They say, that
the souls of the faithful, who died under the Old
Testament dispensation, were thrust down into a kind
df infernal prison, where they suffered the punishment of
loss, and were detained captives, from the time of their
death, till Christ's resurrection from the dead; that
when he died, his soul descended into hell locally, to
show his triumph over devils, and to deliver the souls
' Sess. 22. Can. 3.
•" BeUarm. de Purgat. 1. ii. c. 16. SS. Ad haec.
' Concil. Trid. Sess. 6. Can. 30, et Sess. 24. Decret, de Purg.
* Ibid. 'Sess. 22. Can. 3.
» Bulla Pii. 4ti.

144 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
of the holy patriarchs, out of Limbus ; and that when
he ascended up to heaven, he carried them with hira
thither. To affirm every sin, even the least, sufficient to
expose men to, and to involve them in so severe a
condemnation, has seemed to some unworthy the love
and tenderness of the merciful God, who, as they imagine,
will rather overlook petty faults than thus severely punish
them. Hence, they have taken occasion to invent a
distinction of sins into mortal and venial, reckoning the
more atrocious sins, such as blasphemy, and murder
(provided it be not that of reputed heretics,) mortal sins;
and sins of daily infirmity they reckon venial. This
unhappy distinction has introduced into the Popish
religion a sort of merchandise and traffic in vice; no
sin among the crafty guides of that church is so mortal,
but a sum of money will cancel the guilt, and procure
a pardon. With them all sins are venial, unless the
meanness of the worldly circumstances of the sinner be
added to his other faults.
But Protestants, on Scripture testimony assert, that
there are no venial sins, and that the smallest and
lightest in the esteem of men, is mortal in the sight of
God, and deserves everlasting punishment. Gal. iii. 10.
We allow, indeed, that all sins are not equaUy heinous ;
some in themselves, and by reason of several aggrava
tions, are more heinous in the sight of God than others :
" He that dehvered me to thee," said our Lord to
Pilate, "hath the greater sin." We aUow also, that
there is a vast difference between the coramon infirmities
of the righteous, who indeed in many things offend all,
Jam. iii. 2. and the wilful offences of wicked men ; but
that any sin is in its own nature venial, so as not to
deserve everlasting punishment, we deny. Every sin,

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 146
is a transgression of the divine law, 1 John iii. 4. and
contrary to the holiness of God, as it is either immedi
ately in itself voluntary, or the effect of what was so.
When raen have embraced or fabricated errors, on
purpose to gratify their pride, or serve their own worldly
interest, which is evidently the case of the Papists, they
bring themselves under a kind of necessity of departing
frora the true sense of Scripture. We have clear and
satisfactory evidence in the Holy Scriptures, that heaven
alone is the only place of abode for the souls of the
righteous after death, and that at death they immediately
enter into it. The souls of the faithful, under the Old
Testaraent dispensation, at death, went direct to heaven.
Our Saviour, before he suffered on the cross, said,
" Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the king
dom of heaven." Thus we have an intimation, that the
souls of those patriarchs were in heaven, at the time our
Saviour "spake these words. This passage is directly
against the popish error of a Limbus Patrum. The
translation of Enoch and Elijah into heaven, is another
proof in point. Though their being taken to heaven in
their entire nature, soul and body, was peculiar to them
selves ; yet the translation of their souls thither, was
common to -them with the rest of the faithful. This
extraordinary dispensation seems designed to estabhsh
mankind in the faith of the immortality of the soul, the
resurrection of the body, a gloriou? reward to be enjoyed
by the soul immediately after death, as weU as by the
body after the resurrection, and that heaven alone is the
place where this reward is to be enjoyed.
Under the New Testament dispensation, this point is
fully stated and settled. Our Saviour says most expli
citly, that the soul of Lazarus went immediately to

146 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
" Abraham's bosom ;" and he said to the penitent thief
on the cross, " To-day shalt thou be with me in Para^
dise ;" by which phrase is meant the " third heaven,"
or the " Paradise" into which St. Paul was " caught
up," though the Romanists understand it of their Lim
bus Patrum ; while at the same tirae they acknowledge
Paradise to be the seat of the blessed. ^ Now if there
was a purgation necessary for sinners, he that believed
and repented not till the last moments of his life, might
well be supposed to need it, and should have been sent
rather to purgatory than Paradise. St. Paul asserts,
" There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus." " Whom he justified, them he also glorified."
" Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect .?"
He also says, " We are always confident, knowing that
whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from
the Lord : — we are confident, I say, and wiUing rather
to be absent from the body, and to be present with the
Lord." The apostles knew assuredly, that as soon as
their souls were absent frora their bodies, or separated
from them by death, they should be present with the
Lord, that is, that they should be in the very same place
with him. - And we are sure that he is in heaven. He
ascended up far above all inferior " heavens ;" where he
will remain till he come from thence to judge the world.
— " Whorn the heaven must receive until the time of
the restitution of all things." St. Paul expresses his
lively gratitude for possessing a full preparation for hea
ven, " Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made
us meet to be partakers of the inlieritance of the saints
in light." If men, while in this world, must be made
meet for the inheritance of the saints in light, we have
" BeUarm. de Sanct. Beat. 1. 1. c. 3. Testim. 4.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 147
sufficient reason to explode the popish doctrine of pur
gatory. Since it is urged as a duty, in various parts of
the Scripture, that men, in a diligent use of the means
of grace, are to be made ready for heaven ; and since an
habitual readiness consists in the implantation of saving
grace in the soul, and the actual meetness in the right
exercise of that principle of divine life ; it will follow,
that there is no intermediate state, where we must stop
by the way : no, when the soul leaves the body, it imrae
diately returns to God who gave it, and if it be found,
at the moment of its separation frora the mortal body,
meet for heaven, justified through faith in the blood of
Christ, and sanctified by the Spirit of hohness, it will
enter at once into the joy of its Lord ; but if not, it
will be doomed to hell, where it shall be in unquench
able fire, but never be purified.
The purgatory of the Church of Rome is a raere
bugbear, the creation of the imagination, and is contrary
not only to Scripture, but also to antiquity. Gregory
Nazianzen — " After the night of this life there is no
purgation ; and it is better to be corrected and purged
now, than to be sent to the torment there, where the
tirae of punishing is, and not of purging." * St. Cyprian
 " The end of this life being completed, we are divided
into the habitations of everlasting either death or immor
tality." ^ St. Jerom — " WhUe we are in this world, we
may be able to help one anothelr, either by our prayers,
or by our counsels : but when we shaU come before the
judgment-seat of Christ, neither Job, nor Daniel, nor
Noah, can intreat for any one, but every one must bear
his own burden." " " What shaU be to aU in the day of
= Orat. 15 in plag.
^ AdDemetr. sec. 16.
" Lib. 3. Com. in Galat. o. 6.

148 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
judgment, this is accomplished to every one at the day of
death." =•
Notwithstanding the absurdity of this article of faith,
the priests still avail themselves of it, to serve certain
purposes, imposing on the credulity of the people. The
following circurastance, having recently happened in
France, was stated by a minister worthy of the fullest
confidence. A Roman Catholic lady, anxious to be
happy after death, when dying, was visited by a priest ;
after he had secured her property to himself and the
church, as a remuneration, he promised her a place in
the heavenly world ; and to be explicit in such a momen
tous business, he told her, that, when she had entered
through the gates of Paradise, her mansion was at
number seven on the left hand ! This transpiring, her
surviving relatives, applying to the proper authorities,
recovered the property, and the odious transaction,
.meeting with public censure, has been recorded, and can
be appealed to.
The Roman Catholics offer worship to saints. In the
early part of the third century, the respect paid to the
memory of saints and martyrs was decent and pious ; but,
on the visible decay of vital godliness in the church, the
institution of annual festivals to their honour, the pray
ing at their sepulchres, the translation of their corpse
into churches, led, in course of time, to the attributing
of miracles to their dead bodies, bones, and other relics,
and so contributed towards the support of this supersti
tion. Pope Pius V. says, " I do believe, that the saints
reigning together with Christ are to be worshipped and
prayed to ; and that they do offer prayers to God for
us ; and that their relics are to be had in veneration."
• In Joel. u. 2.

, AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 149
The Romanists pray to the saints as their intercessors,
make confessions to them ; offer incense, and make vows
to them ; venerate their images and relics : that by their
help they may obtain benefits from God, " who does
confer many favours on mankind, by their merit, and
grace, and intercession. They have those forms in their
missals, breviaries, and common books of devotion, which
are particularly and immediately applied to the saints for
obtaining what they want. In a missal printed at Paris,
An. 1520, foi. 51, there is this prayer to St. Agnes,
" O Agnes, woman of the Lamb, do thou enhghten us
within. Destroy the roots of sin, O excellent lady ; after
the grievances of this world, do thou translate us to the
company of the blessed."
The Church of Rome teaches, that angels are to be
worshipped, ^ invoked, and prayed to. " Arid they have
htanies and prayers composed for this purpose. ^ Appre
hending the Virgin Mary to be in glory superior to aU
created beings, they offer a service to her, beyond what
they give either to angels or saints. According to sorae
missals, they ask her to command her Son, by the right
and authority of a mother ; ^ or, as it is in the breviaries
used at this day, " Show, thyself a mother." ^ They
pray to her, that she would loose the bands of the
guUty, bring light to the bhnd, would make thera mild

• Concil. Trid. Sess. 25. de invocat. Catech. Rom. par. 3. c. 2. Sec.
12. Missal. Rom. proprium Missarum de Sanctis.
'' Catech. Rom. par. 3. c. 2. n. 8, 9, venerari, adorare, colere.
' Ibid. n. 10.
* Litanae Angolorum, vid. Horologium Tutelaris AngeU a DrexeUo,
p. 84. Cuac 1623.
• Missal. Paris Anno 1520. FoUo 65.
' Brev. Rom. Test. Assum.

150 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
and chaste, and cause their hearts to burn in love to
Christ. *
" Whatever gifts are bestowed on us by Jesus, we
receive them by the mediation of Mary ; no one being
gracious to Jesus, that is not devoted to Mary. That
the power of Mary in the kingdom of Jesus, is suitable
to her maternity." — " And though the condition of some
great sinners may be so deplorable, that the limited
excellency and merits cannot effectually bend the mercies
of Jesus to relieve them ; yet such is the acceptableness
of the mother of Jesus to Jesus, that whosoever is under
the verge of her protection, may confide in her interces
sion to Jesus." — " That the person devoted to her, is to
beg of her to accorapany him as his sacred guide, advo
cate, and champion, against the assaults of sin and
sensuality." *"
The Church of Rorae have relics of the saints. The
bodies, or reraainders of thera, or particular things belong
ing or relating to them when alive, as an arm, or thighs,
bones, ashes ; * and the part in which they suffered, "* or
the things by which they suffered, as the chains with
which St. Peter was bound. * — By the veneration of them
they obtain the help of the saints, ^ whora the relics
relate to ; and many benefits are thereby conferred by
God on mankind ; for by these the dead have been
raised, the infirm cured, and devils cast out, s

» Officium B. M. in the hymn called Planctus B. M. Antwerp, 1641.
¦¦ Contemplations of the life and glory of the holy Mary, &e. p. T, 8,
9, 14. London, printed anno 1685.
" Ex Decret. Regist. Praefix, Brev. Rom.
¦' Catech. Rom. par. 3. c. 2. n. 15.
" Brev. Rom. par. .^stiv. Aug. Fest. Petri, ad vine.
f Concil Trid. Sess. 25 de invocat.
* Catech. Rom. ibid Breyiar. Rom. ibid.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 151
We shall transcribe an account of one church, from a
modern publication, as a case in point. The church of
St. Sabina, at Rome, is supposed to stand on the site
of the celebrated temple of Diana ; it was built in the
year 425, in the time of Theodosius, and in the papacy
of Celestine the First, by Peter of Savona, a cardinal
priest of Rome. The foUowing account of the relics at
this church, exhibited on solemn festivals, has been given
by a Catholic gentleman, who, whUe residing at Rome,
observed whatever is curious or interesting in that city.
Under the high altar, given by Sixtus V. are the
bodies of the five foUowing saints, which were found
under the ancient altar of Pope Eugenius II. in 1586,
according to the inscription on a leaden chest which
incloses them : —
The body of St. Sabina.
 Seraphia.
 Alexander, pope.
 Eventius, priest to the said pope.
 Theodorius, a companion of Eventius.
In the church also,
An arm of St. Sabina.
Part of the cane with which Christ was beaten and
derided. A rib of one of the holy innocents.
Bones of the 40 martyrs.
Bones of the 11,000 virgins.
Part of the tunic of St. Dominic.
A cross of sUver, in the middle of which is another
cross, containing various relics, viz.
A piece of the true cross of our Saviour ; on the right
arm of this cross are relics of St. Thomas, apostle, and
St. Lawrence.

132 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
In the left arm, of St. Bartholomew and St. Mary
Magdalen. In the top, of St, Peter and St. James, apostles.
In the bottom, of St. Alexander, pope, St. Sabina, St,
Seraphia, St, Agnes, and St. Hypolitus, and his compa-
nions. Part of the stone on which our Saviour slept.
Part of the sepulchre of the blessed Virgin.
Some olives, from Mount Olivet.
Some earth and stones, from the holy sepulchre, besides
other relics of St, Peter, Paul, Matthew, Stephen, Philip,
James, Cosmas, Damianus, Apolhnarius, Catherine, Ce-
cilia, and many more.
In the middle of the pavement of the church is seen ai
black stone, of which it is said that St. Dominic, one
night, praying at this spot, his enemy, the devil, hurled
a stone at him, which touched him shghtly, but forced
its way through the pavement on which he was
kneeling, and buried itself in the earth : upon moving
the high altar to its present spot, this stone was
found, and the miracle is celebrated in a legend inscribed
thereon. There is not, in the whole compass of divine revela
tion, one word to sanction the worshipping of saints and
angels ; but many direct and express passages against it.
Our Saviour says, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God, aiid hira only shalt thou serve." The holy angels
are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to the heirs
of salvation ; but to worship, to pray to them, is what
they themselves refuse and abhor,. Rev. xix. 10. The
Synod of Laodicea does forbid praying to angels: —
" For Christians ought not to forsake the Church of
God, and depart aside and invocate angels, which are

AND -ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 153
forbidden." " " There is one God, and one Mediator
between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave
himself a ransom for all." " Yea, rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us." The Scripture knows no
difference between a mediator of intercession and redemp
tion ; he alone makes intercession for us, that died and
rose, and is at the right hand of God, and he alone has
a right to our prayers, and to him alone we may address
them. So Origen : — " AU prayers, and supplications,
and thanksgivings, are to be sent up to God the Lord of
all, by that High Priest, who is above all angels, being
the hving word of God." *" Again : — " We ought to
pray only to God over all, and his only Son the first
born of every creature, who, as our High Priest, offers
his prayers to his God, and our God. *=
We cannot but wonder at the apphcations made to the
blessed Virgin, in the Church of Rome, concerning
whose acts on earth, and whose power in heaven, the
Scripture is sUent. We read nothing there of her bodily
assumption into heaven, nor of her exaltation to a throne
above angels and archangels. * We read nothing there
of her being the mother of grace, and mercy, ^ the queen
and gate of heaven, the advocatrix of sinners, ^ and of
her power in destroying all heresies in the world, s and
being all things to all. ^ — When we read so much of the

" Cone. Laod. Can. 35.
•¦ Lib. 5. cont. Cels. p. 233, 239.
' Lib. 8. p. 395, 402.
^ Brev. Rom. .^stiv. Fest. Assump.
' Officium parvum B. M. ad Matutin. "I ri .. t, a e n
'^ > Catech. par. 4. c. 5. n. 8.
' Completer. J
e Fest. Assump.
* Missale Paris, ibid, et Le Psaultier de Jesus. Paris 1620. p. 126.

154 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
blessed Virgin in books of this kind, and so httle of her
in the divine writings, we cannot but reflect on what is
said by Epiphanius, concerning a certain sect of woraen,
that, in his time, offered cakes to the Virgin Mary, which
he caUs an impious thing, and altogether " contrary to
the doctrine of the Holy Ghost." " And he further
adds ; " This the Holy Ghost doth warn us of, in that
Christ saith, ' Woman, what have I to do with thee .''
There he calls her woman, and, as it were, prophesying,
to refute those schisras and heresies which he knew would
arise in the world ; and that no one, being moved by a
certain admiration of the blessed Virgin, might turn him
self to those dotages of heresies." And he adds, " Let
the Virgin Mary be honoured, but the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, be adored." * Much more has that Father
there to this purpose.
From the worship of saints, the Romanists proceed to
that of images, which was established by the second
Council of Nice, A, D. 787, and was confirmed by the
general Council of Constantinople, A.D. 869. Pope
Pius V. says, " I do believe that the images of Christ,
of the blessed Virgin, the mother of God, and of other
saints, ought to be had and retained, and that due
honour and veneration ought to be paid to them." — The
kind of reverence or worship required to be given to
images and pictures in the Church of Rome is — ^they
kiss them, uncover the head, and faU down before them ;
offer incense, and pray to them, and use all postures of
worship as they would do to the person or persons thereby
represented, (whether Christ, the Virgin Mary, or other
saints,) if they were present : and whosoever does think
" Haii-es. 78. p. 1054. Par. 1622.
*• Hares. 79. N. 4, 7, &c.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY- 155
otherwise is accursed. * And accordingly the priest is to
direct the people to them, that they may be worshipped.''
They declare that the honour given to images and pic
tures, is referred to the prototypes, "= or the peirsons
represented by them, whether God the Father, Christ,
angels, or saints : and when they fall down before the
image or picture, they worship God, or Christ, the angel,
or saint. They think it lawful to represent God and
the blessed Trinity by pictures and images, and to wor
ship them. Such pictures are not only alraost every
where received in the Church of Rome, but universally
tolerated, ^ and are both recoraraended as expedient for
the people, ^ and proposed to thera to be worshipped. ^
Men are very prone to worship God otherwise than as
he has appointed. The Church of Israel had a most
excellent rule of worship given them by Moses, of imme
diate direction received from God; the ceremonial
worship under the law was commanded and prescribed in
every particular of it : yet, every one who reads the his
tory of that church, will easily find how little they did
observe or adhere to it ; how often they not only deviated
from it, but acted in direct contradiction to it ; and how
severely God animadverted on them for this conduct.
The rule which Christians have for their direction in the
worship of God, under the New Testament dispensation.

» ConcU. Trid. Sess. 25. de invocat. Catech. Bom. par. 4. c. 6. n. 4.
•" Colantur Catech. Rom. par. ?. c. 2. n. 31.
« Concil. Trid. Ibid.
¦i BeUarm. de Imag. 1. 2. c. 8. § ultimo probatur.
' ConciL Trid. Sess. 25. de sacr. Imag. Catech. Rom. par. 3. t. 2.
p. 20.
f Cajetan in Aquin. 9, 25, act. 3.

156 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
is also a plain, clear, and perfect rule ; yet how many
additions, since the apostles' days, have been made of
mere huraan invention. How many various form's and
modes of worshipping God are there at this day : how
many symbolical ceremonies of .mystical signification,
invented by men, and added to the rule of divine insti
tution. Now the addition of these, by whomsoever
devised and commanded, is sinful and dangerous.
Of the impious and absurd practice of image worship,
the Papists are awfully guilty. They make images of
God, and of saints and angels, and then worship God by
them, which is expressly forbidden in the second com
mandment. The excuse the Papists offer for defending
themselves against the charge of idolatry, is vain and
frivolous, namely, that they worship the true God by
images, and not the images themselves, as the objects on
which their worship terminates. But let it be considered,
that the Israelites for worshipping the true God, by the
golden calf at Horeb, and the ten tribes for worshipping
the calves of Jeroboam, at Dan and Bethel, Were charged
with gross idolatry, nay, with worshipping the devU,
Yet these were neither intended to represent false gods,
nor to be worshipped as gods themselves. Representing
God under sensible images, has always a tendency to
lead men into a stupid idolatry, or into a mean, timorous,
and abject superstition, which, for the most part, is
attended with a great corruption of heart, and weakening
all the obligations of true piety. The truth of this may
be very clearly seen, from the event and issue to which
things have been long ago reduced in the Church of
Rome, where, by means of images, which were probably
at first set up in churches only as emblems and historical
memorials, as gross an idolatry and superstition, with all

AND ASCENDANCY. OF POPEEY. 167
the fatal effects of them are to be found, as were per
haps ever known to be in any parts of the heathen
world. *
Indulgences is a doctrine and practice of the Church of
Rome. They were first instituted at the Council of
Clermont, by Pope Urban II. as a recompense granted
to those who went in person on the enterprize of conquer
ing the Holy Land, and taking it out of the hands of
infidels; and afterwards granted to those who hired a
soldier for that purpose. Those that on the motion of
the pope took up arms against the Albigenses, had, by
an indulgence, the promise of an eternal reward. '' In
process of time, indulgences were bestowed on persons
who gave money for accomplishing any pious work en
joined by the pope. Pope Pius V. says, " I do affirm,
that the power of indulgences was left by Christ in the

* In 1781, the late Sir Samuel Romilly visited the principal places in
France. One of his letters of this period contains the following informa
tion. Being at VersaiUes, he says, " The service was very short,
though it was on a Sunday ; for kings are so highly respected in France,
that even religion appoints for them less tedious ceremonies than what it
enjoins the people to observe. The moment his Majesty appeared, the
drums beat, and shook the temple, as if they had been to announce the ap
proach of a conqueror. During the whole time of saying mass, the cho
risters sung, sometimes in chorus, sometimes in single parts. In the front
seats of the galleries were ranged the ladies of the court, glowing with
rouge and gorgeously appareUed, to enjoy and form a part of the showy
spectacle. The king laughed and spied at the ladies. Every eye was
fixed on the personages of the court, every ear was attentive to the notes
of the singers, whUe the priest, who in the mean time went on with the ex
ercise of his office, was unheeded by aU. Even when the host was Ufted
up, none observed it ; and if the people knelt, it was because they were
admonished by ringing of the beU ; and even in that attitude all were en
deavouring to get a glance of the king. How can a king of France ever
be brought to regard his subjects as his equals, when even before the
throne of Heaven he maintains so high a superiority over all around him ?
What an idea must he not conceive of his owh importance when he thus
sees his God less honoured than himself !"
' Baron, ad A. D. 1179.

158 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
church ; and that the use of them is very beneficial to
Christian people."
This great absurdity is founded upon works of superer
ogation, " that is, the overplus of the satisfactions of
Christ and the saints, which is a treasury '' committed to
the custody of the church, " and to be disposed of as she
sees meet. '' It is more fully stated by Pope Leo X, in a
bull which he sent into Germany. He affirms, " That
by the power of the keys given to St. Peter, and to his
successors, the Bishop of Rome had a right to pardon
the faithful all the guUt and punishraent of their sins ; to
wit, the guilt, by means of the sacrament of penance, and
the temporal punishment, by means of indulgences, whe
ther in this life or in purgatory ; and that by these indul
gences he could apply to the living and the dead the
superabundance of the merits of Jesus Christ, and the
saints, either by way of absolution, or by way of suf
frage, so that the living and the dead, participating of
these indulgences, were delivered from the punishment
that the divine justice would inflict on them for their ac
tual sins." — It is said, that the popes and prelates of this
church are judges appointed by God to remit faults and
punishments in his name by an indulgence, if so be jus
tice be satisfied through the application of the satisfaction
of Christ and his saints. ^
There are indulgences to be obtained, by which per
sons, who have good works of their own, sufficient to merit
for theraselves, raay be discharged from the punishment
of sin here and in purgatory : and if any affirm these in-
' BeUarm. de Indulg. 1. 1. c. 2. init.
^ ConcU. Trid. Sess. 21. c. 9.
" So Pope Clem. VI. Constit. extrav. in Bellarm. ibid. § ult.
' BeUarm. ibid. c. 3.
' BeUarm. de Indulg. 1. 1. u. I. 5. ss. lam vero.

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 159
dulgences to be useless, or that the church has no power
to grant them, he is accursed. ^ Pope Alexander VI.
granted to those that recited this prayer to the blessed
Virgin, and St. Ann her raother, 30,000 years indul
gence — " Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord be with
thee, thy grace with me. Blessed be thou among wo-
. men : and blessed be St. Ann thy mother, from whom,
O Virgin Mary, thou hast proceeded without sin and
spot : but of thee hath Jesus Christ been bom, the Son
of the living God. Amen." *>
The popes Paul III. and Julius III. by their bulls,
granted to all such of the fraternity of the Holy Altar,
as visit the church ot St. Hilary of Chartres, during the
six weeks of Lent, T]5,'J00 years of pardon, besides
fourteen or fifteen plenary indulgences. And since that.
Urban VIII. ° and Clement X. * have granted by their
indulgence a plenary reraission of sins.
There are certain principles which clearly show, that
indulgences are absurd, iniquitous, and useless. St.
Paul says, " The sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be corapared with the glory that shall be re
vealed in us." Again ; — " Every one of us shall give an
account of himself to God." If there be no comparison
between the reward and our sufferings for it, then no one
has merit to transfer to another ; and if every man must
give an account of himself, then no man can, be saved by
the raerits of another. But suppose there is a superabun
dance of satisfactions in the saints ; yet, what need is
there of them, when there is such an infinite value in the

" ConcU. Trid. Sess. 25. Decret. de indulg.
' Thesaur. Var. Exercit. in grat. Sodal. B. V. M. Bruxel Edit. 2.
An. 1658, p. 287.
' BuUar. to page 74.
^ A. D. 1671. BuU upon the canonization of five saints.

160 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
sufferings of Christ, or who gave the Church the power
so to apply them .'' The author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, speaking of the virtue and efficacy of Christ's
death, says, " Nor yet that he should offer himself often,
as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year
with the blood of others : for then must he often have
suffered since the foundation of the world : but now once
hath he appeared to put away sin by tbe sacrifice of him
self. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them
that are sanctified." The sense of these words is, that
the virtue of Christ's death extended to all believers who
lived before him, as well as it does to all those who live
after him to the end of time. Christ is declared to be
" the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever ;" not
only in respect of his person and deity, but also of the
virtue of his death. He is the same "yesterday," by
which is meant all the tirae before his coraing, from the
first dawnirigs of grace on fallen men ; " to-day," denotes
the time of his advent or abode on earth ; and " for ever,"
all succeeding ages of the church. The death of Christ
is of the most extensive efficacy, reaching to all times,
past, present, and to come, till time shaU be no more,
and even to all eternity.
The efficacy of Christ's death arises principaUy from
the dignity of his person. Though his human nature
only suffefed, yet the person suffering was God. St.
Paul ascribes the efficacy of Christ's death to his divine
nature in close union to his human — " Feed the church
of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."
" In whom we have redemption through his blood," his
blood who is " the image of the invisible God." Surely
the death of so eminent a person must be in the nature
of it, a sacrifice of unspeakable value and efficacy. This
efficacy also arises from the perfect purity of the sacrifice.

AND ASCElifDANCY OF POtFiRY. 161
Tlie human nature of Christ, which was the sacrifice,
vrks without sin. He was conceived, bom, lived, and
died in spotless innocence. And indeed " such an High
Priest " and sacrifice too, " became us, Ivho is harmless,
Undefiled, separate from sinners." As the lambs under
the law, offered in sacrifice, were to be without blemish.
So Christ redeemed us with his precious blood, " as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot." " Through
the Eternal Spirit, he offered himself without spot to God."
If Christ had bad any sin of his own, he could not have
saved us from our sins.
We learn hence^ that there is but One way of Salvation
from the fall of our first parents to the end of the world,
and that is through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
Accordingly, all believers before Christ's death were saved
in this way; in this way behevers now are saved; and in
this way they ever wUl be saved to the end of time. The
covenant of grace has been substantiaUy the same in all
past ages, is the same now, and wiU be the same in aU
future ages, though various as to dispensation or admin
istration. How false then is the papal doctrine of works
of supererogation, or of an overplus of the satisfactions of
saints committed to the custody of the Church, and to be
disposed of as she sees meet !
The Church of Rome positively denies the Holy Scrip
tures to be a sufficient rule for faith and manners ; and
propounds to herself, as an entire rule of faith, Scri/ptu/re
with tradition. The traditions which this Church pro
fesses to have received from Christ and his apostles, are,
the offering of the mass for the souls in purgatory, the mys
tical benedictions, incensings, garments, and many other
things of the like kind, salt, spittle, exorcisms, and wax
candles in baptism, &c. the priests shaving their head in
the manner of a crown. This Church has increased the
M

162 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
number of canonical books of Scripture, having added to
the canonical books of the Old Testament, Tobit, Judith,
Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Esdras, the two books
of Maccabees, and a new part of Esther and Daniel ;
which whole books, with all their parts, whosoever rejects
as not canonical, she says, is accursed.
The Church of Rome wiU not permit her members to
read the Scripture in a .tongue vulgarly known. They
were for a time permitted to read it, under the caution of
a license, where it could be obtained : but since they are
forbid it, or to have so much as any summary or histori
cal compendium of it in their own tongue. Because, she
says, if it be permitted to be read every where, without
difference, there would more prejudice than profit po-
ceed from it. The Romanists say, it belongs to their
Church to judge of the sense of Scripture, and no
one may presume to interpret the Scripture contrary to
the sense which Mother Church has held and does hold.
But what do the apostles and fathers say on this head.'
St. Paul says, " The gospel which was preached of me,
is not after man, for I neither received it of man, neither
was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you, than that we have preached, let him be
accursed." He affirms. to Tiraothy, " All," or the whole,
" Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor
rection, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of
God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
works." The Scripture, therefore, is a rule sufficient in
itself, and was by men divinely inspired once delivered to
the world ; and so neither needs, nor is capable of any
further addition.
Tertullian says, " Let Hermogenes show that this thing
is written. If it be not written, let him fear the wo pro
nounced against them that add to, or take from Scripture."

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 163
St. Hierom : " The sword of God (his word) does smite
those other things, which they find and hold of their
own accord, as by apostolic tradition, without the
authority and testimony of Scripture." St. CyrU: " It
behoveth us not to deliver, no not so much as the least
thing of the holy mysteries of faith, without the holy
Scripture. That is the security of our faith, not which
is from our own inventions, but frora the demonstration
of the Holy Scriptures," St, Basil : " It is necessary
even for novices to learn the Scriptures, that the mind
may be weU confirmed in piety, and that they may not be
accustomed to huraan traditions,"
Under the law, the people had the Scriptures in a
tongue vulgarly known ; and they were required to read
the law, and to be conversant in it, " These words that I
command thee this day shall be in thine heart," Sec. Deut.
vi. 6. and accordingly our Saviour sends them thither,
" Search the Scriptures," John v. 39. So St. Paul re
quires that his " epistle be read to all the brethren," 1
Thess. V. 27; and if so, it was written in a language they
understood. And so it was in the primitive Church;
therefore, St. Chrysostom exhorts his hearers, though se
cular men, to provide themselves Bibles, the medicines of
their souls, to be their perpetual instructors. Our Sa
viour, perceiving the moral darkness of the Jews, said,
" Ye err, not knowing the Scripture."
That the spirit of popery is the same now as it has been
in former periods, is evident from the late Pope's bull
against Bible Societies, issued from Rome, June 29, 1816,
by Pope Pius VII. to the Archbishop of Grezn, Primate
of Poland; of which the foUowing are extracts. This
bull denominates Bible Societies — " this most crafty de
vice — this pestilence — this defilement of the faith —
wickedness of this nefarious scheme— this new species

164 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
of tares." The effects of such societies are thus stated :
" By which the very foundations of religion are under
mined — most erainently dangerous to souls — snares which
are prepared for them (the people), to their everlasting
ruin." Persons engaged in promoting these societies, are
called " impious — ^innovatprs — enemies — heretics." Mea
sures to be taken " in order to remedy and abolish " Bible
Societies are thus expressed : " We again and again ex
hort you, that whatever you can achieve by power, pro
vide for by counsel, or effect by authority, you will daily
execute with the utmost earnestness." " Openly publish,
that Bibles printed by heretics are numbered among pro
hibited books, agreeably to the rules of the Index, (No.
II. and III.) ; for it is evident frora experience, that the
Holy Scriptures, when circulated in the vulgar tongue,
have, through the temerity of men, produced more harm
than good." (Rule IV.) " It is, therefore, necessary to
adhere to the salutary decree of the congregation of the
Index (June 1,3, 1757) ; that no versions of the Bible in
the vulgar tongue be perraitted, except such as are ap
proved by the Apostolic See, or pubhshed with annota
tions extracted from the writings of the holy fathers of
the church." ^ " Proceed, therefore, venerable brother,
» " Dr. Prcndergast, by birth, as his name indicates, an Irishman, the
new Catholic Bishop of Verapoly, and ApostoUc Vicar of the Pope, was
at AUepie, on a pastoral visit to that part of his flock. We cannot but
hope better things of hira than of most other priests of his persuasion,
when we know, that he is preaching throughout his diocese against the
worship of idols, which is, in reality, the common practice of Indian Ca
tholics ; and that he Recommends to them the reading of the Holy Scrip
tures. He also expresses himself as a warm friend to schools for the poor.
Such conduct wUl little pleSse his present flock; but wUl, it is to be hoped,
benefit the cause of rea! piety.
" As soon as one frugal breakfast was over, we adjourned to the Ubrary,
which contained a number of books, chiefly on polemical divinity, in an
almost ruinous state. There were several heretical works ; but I was not
a little surprised, and indeed shocked, so see among them a New Testa-

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 165
to pursue the truly pious course upon which you have
entered ; viz. dihgently to fight the battles of the Lord
in sound doctrine, and warn the people intrusted to your
care, that they fall not into the snares which are prepared
for them, to their everlasting ruin."
This bull contains the very quintessence of popery,
and virtually sanctions all that has ever yet been done by
a spiritual domination exercised in Roman Catholic coun
tries, as Well as in Protestant lands, in the way of perse
cution, to this day. The " Index," as recently explained,
is a barbarous inquisitorial engine, by means of which
literature has too long been kept down, and made wholly
subservient to the designs of a tyrannical hierarchy ;
Rome has its Index, Madrid has its Index, and Lisbon,
&c. &c. have an Index ; each containing a copious list of
books, which cannot be sold, kept, or read, by people
professing the religion of the pope, without incurring
ecclesiastical penalties, and severe pains, in body, soul,
and property ! This papal and antichristian invention
originated with the Council of Trent, soon after Luther
began to write against the Church of Rome, and his
exertions in promoting the Reformation had very rauch
influenced the hearts of all considerate raen in Europe.
Pope Leo the Xllth, in the first year of his pontificate,
has addressed a " Circular Letter to the Patriarchs,
Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops," of the Romish
Church, much in the same spirit as the bull of his prede
cessor. Pope Pius VII. Its avowed object is to suppress

ment in Portuguese, with the terrible mark of the Inquisition on its back
— ' Novum Testamentum Liber Prohibitus.' Hardly believing it coiUd
be tme, I ventured, in spite of the Inquisition, now no longer very formid
able to a British officer in India, to open it, aud read a few passages.
Several old EngUsh Divines were there, in folio, with the same mark— ,
' Liber Prohibitus.' "—Missionary Register, March 1823.

166 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
the word of God, and restrict the liberties of mankind.
Religious toleration, and the operations of Bible Societies,
cannot exist and flourish together. The Romish Church
being in no small danger from an extensive circulation of
the Holy Scriptures, the pope, of course, is alarmed for
her safety, and has thus called forth aU the active ener
gies of the papistical priesthood, to check or put a stop
to such heretical proceedings of the protestapts. The
places occupied by the Bible, he caUs " deadly and de
structive pastures," and from which the faithful pastors
of the Romish Church are to drive their sheep. And
unhesitatingly, he says, " We openly profess, that out
of the church (the Roman Church, of course,) is no sal
vation !" This is popery in the year 1824 !
To show the anxiety of his Holiness to accomplish
this object of his heart, and to prove how deeply affected
he is at the progress of the word of life and salvation,
he says, " How great and how furious are the contests
against the catholic religion, which have been raised
in these our times, and which are still almost daUy
excited ? What man, after meditating upon them, can
refrain from tears?" Of course. Pope Leo's medi
tations have been of this affecting nature: and he is
perfectly right, for popery can have no greater enemies
than toleration and the Bible,
The documents that have recently issued from the
papal chair, have, no doubt, produced a powerful ex^
citement in the bosoms of the catholic clergy ; especially
those of Ireland, under the influence of which they
have commenced hostihties against Bible Societies and
institutions for promoting the instruction or education
of the poor, * The speeches delivered at the public
= Popery has a direct tendency to shut up the fountains of knowledge,
Gregory the First issued an 0T4er, that the Britons should have no schools,

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 167
annual meetings of those societies at Cork, Kilkenny,
Loughrea, Carrick-on-Shannon, Carlow, by Catholic
priests, which have appeared in the Dublin Evening
MaU, as well as other Journals, are ample specimens of
the truth of this remark. And it is equally clear, that
the speeches dehvered by the Protestant Clergy, on the
same occasion, evinced a decided superiority both in
point of truth and temper, over the Roman Catholic cause.
It would require much time to state and refute all the
peculiar doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome.
We shall only observe, in a brief manner, that these
boasters of infallibility take on them to corrupt the Bible,
to curtail the ten commandments, to multiply sacra
ments, " to withhold from the people the cup of comrau
nion, to enjoin public prayers, to sanctify vice by bulls
of indulgence, and to fix the prices to be paid for the
commission of the most enormous sins. By the impuri
ties of their mass, the merit of Christ's death is denied ;
by their fable of purgatory, the horrors of future punish
ment are defeated— into which souls must pass at death,
and out of which there is no redemption without prayers

only monasteries, for fear of heresies. So Paul II. used to call scholars
heretics ; and exhorted the Romans not to suffer their chUdren to go to
school too long ; nor could he endure the name of an academy. — Platina
in Vita ejus.
' Cassander says, that we shaU not easily find any before Peter Lom
bard, who Uved about 1139, that did define the number ofthe sacraments,
or determine the sacraments to be seven. Art. 13. § de num. Sacram.
St. Austin is very positive that there are but two of divine institution.
Epist. ad Januar. 118. " Our Lord Jesus Christ," says he, " has knit
Christians together, with sacraments most few in number, most easy to be
kept, most exceUent in signification, as are Baptism and the Lord's Sup
per." Now that there should be sacraments of divine institution, that
are neither instituted in the gospel, nor known to be so, tUl 1100 years
after our Saviour, nor be made a matter of faith tiU A. D. 1500, may be
a doctrine received in the Church of Rome, but wUl not easily be believed
by any out of it.

168 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
and masses, and none of these without money. They
teach, that without auricular confession, and priestly
absolution, there can be no forgiveness with God ; and as,
the finishing stroke of ecclesiastical tjrrapny, that aU the
efficacy of the means of grace, and even men's salvation
itself, depend entirely on the inward inteption of the
priest, ^ They would have people to deliver up their
senses and reason in the matters of transubstantiation ; to
bind themselves in matters of faith to the decisions of
popes and councils ; to adore angels, an^ the spirits of
persons departed ; to worship images ; to add human merit
to the satisfaction Christ made for sin ; and to submit to
any penances the priest is pleased to impose, on pain of
damnation. The temper and spirit of the Roman Church is smooth
and courteous indeed, while unarmed with power ; but,
at other tiraes, most intolerable and unrelenting, perse
cuting, with implacable fury, where her power reaches, ;
all, without exception, who dare deny the absurdities she
commands to be beheved, or refuse to practise the super
stitions she enjoins. Persecution is a fundaraental prin-,
ciple, an established article of popery, standing unre
pealed on record. Every weapon the Romanists use is
sanctified, every instance of fraud, every degree of vio
lence is consecrated. Cruelty is not only aUowed, but

" The Church of Rome declares, that " in order to the validity of any
sacrament, it is absolutely necessary the person who administers it, should
doit with a holy intention." For it follows, that wherever there is not
this intention, the sacrament is nuU and void. And so there is no cer
tainty, whether the priest, so called, be a real priest ? For who knows
the intention of him that ordained him ? And if he be not, aU his minis
trations are of course nuU and void. But if he be, can I be sure that his
intention was holy^ in administering Baptism or the Lord's Supper ?
And if it was not, they are no sacraments at aU, and all our attendance oi^
them is lost labour. Who can beUevo this palpable crior ?

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 169
enjoined as a duty, and recommended as meritorious.
No good nature of their own, no obhgation, arising from
amiable dispositions in others, no sanctity of oaths, no
sense of honour, no awe of the Divine Being, are to
restrain them from any thing that is hkely to promote
the temporal advantage of their church. This is known
to all who are acquainted with the 4th Council of the
Lateran, and the Council of Constance. * It is there
solemnly decreed, that faith is not to be kept with here
tics ; and that all whora the pope conderans as such, are
to be delivered up to the secular arm, ahd burnt without
mercy. But how absurd is this principle ! how criminal
is this practice ! The pretence is to promote religion :
but what do they mean by religion ? What, but to repeat
a creed, to subscribe a confession, or to perform a cere
mony. Is this religion ? No, surely ; religion is some
thing better than this; it consists in doing justly, loving
raercy, and walking hurably with God ; in visitrag the
fatherless and widows in theii* affliction, and keeping our
selves unspotted from the world; in a divine nature,
and a divine life. It is a reasonable and voluntary ser
vice, flowing from the full conviction of the mind, and
the approving sentiraents of the inward man. And what
can violence do towards producing this inward convic
tion ? Can fines take away error, and banishment drive
men nearer to truth.'' Can dungeons illuminate the

» The author has chiefly foUowed the authorities " faithfuUy di-awn
out of the aUowed writings of the Church of Rome," as coUected and
arranged by the Rev. John Wesley, who, speaking of his Roman Cate
chism, says, " I am very confident that the quotations throughout are
true, havijig again and again examined them ; and I have been as careful
as I could not to mistake the sense of them, that I might rightly under,
stand and truly represent the doctrine which I profess to censure ; for
without a faithful ahd important examination of an error, there can be no
solid confutation of it." — Preface.

170 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
mind, and shackles free it from prejudice .? Can racking
the limbs rectify the judgment, and burning Jhe flesh
purify the conscience.'' As reasonably might a man
expect to beat down a wall by an argument, or to set a
broken bone by a fine harangue, as to remove the errors
of the mind by threats, or convince the understanding
by tortures. Besides, persecution tramples on the rights
of conscience, invades the prerogative of God, destroys
the liberties of man, and spreads devastation and ruin as
far as its influence reaches.
The doctrine of propagating religion by external force,
has often been put in practice, not only to the laying
sorae negative discourageraents and hardships on men,
but to the subversion of all their most important privi
leges and rights, to the violation of all the order and
peace of the public, to the comraitting the most horrid
outrages and cruelties, and the turning whole countries
into fields of blood. For instance — the barbarous cru
elties of the Spaniards, inthe West Indies only, would
fiU a volume. One of their own writers, Don Casas,
bishop of Chiapa, who was an eye-witness, thus writes
concerning them : " The Spaniards have ruined ten
kingdoms in America, larger than all Spain, by the com
mission of all sorts of barbarities and unheard-of cruel
ties. They have driven away or kiUed aU the inhabi
tants, so that these kingdoms are desolate to this day,
and reduced to the most desolate condition, though this
was formerly the best peopled country in the world. In
the island of Hispaniola there were about three mUlions
of inhabitants, but they are now reduced, by the ravages
of the Spaniards, to less than three hundred. Cuba, a
large and populous island, is entirely a desert without
inhabitants, and nothing but ruin to be seen in it.
Within the space of forty years, they have unjustly put

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. I7I
to death above twelve mUhons of people, counting men,
women, and chUdren. They feU on them with the rage and
fierceness of wolves and tigers, when pinched with hun
ger ; while the poor victims seemed to be inspired by the
Almighty with the meekness and gentleness of lambs.
And in one place they set up a gibbet, and hanged thir
teen of these miserable people, as they, with horrid
blasphemy, expressed it, in honour of Christ and his
apostles." Thus did they sport with huraan blood, and
the miseries of mankind ; and thus abused and profaned
the sacred name of the holy Jesus ! They have dehghted
in blood and slaughter, and, if they repent not, the glori
fied Head of the church has predicted, they " shall have
blood to drink, for they are worthy."
Observe, concerning their murderous conduct, they so
acted, " as they, with horrid blasphemy, expressed it,
in honour of Christ and his apostles!^ Here let us
remark, that such a spirit, is as cruel and destructive in
its operations, as highly displeasing to Christ, and unbe
coming persons professing the Christian rehgion. We
^lave no warrant from Christ to have recourse to methods
hurtful to raen, for promoting his honour in the world.
It is, indeed, the duty of Christians to be zealously
affected in his service, to vindicate his religion, to bear
their testimony against every thing injurious to his name,
truth, and interest ; and, concerning these, he has given
them rules as to the method of proceeding ; and, as he
has done so, it is a contradiction to the very name of a
disciple of Christ to act without his authority, or to
imagine that any plans we may propose should be equally
agreeable to him.
We have a striking proof of the temper and spirit of
Christ in his conduct towards the Samaritans. The
Jews considered the Samaritans as apostates, heretics,

172 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
and corrupters of their religion ; and so when they would
load any one with infamy, they called him a Samaritan,
as they did our blessed Lord. This rancorous spirit in
the Jews, had a tendency to kindle the same in the Sama
ritans, who sufficiently evinced it in peremptorily refus
ing him the hberty to pass through their town, and afford
him any refreshment, because they understood he be
lieved, that Jerusalem, and not Gerizim, was the right
place of worship — ^which was the grand controversy
between them. This Ul usage of our Lord, two of his
disciples, James and John, warmly resented ; this inhu
man treatment of so excellent a person, so inflaraed their
spirits, that they wanted nothing but his consent to
inflict a most severe and exemplary punishraent on the
vile persons who had dared to use hira so basely ; and
therefore solicited leave to consume them by fire from
heaven,^--'' Lord, wilt thou that we coramand fire to
come down from heaven, and consume them, as Elias
did ?" But notwithstanding the zeal which the disciples
manifested in this motion, for the honour of their divine
Master ; and notwithstanding they endeavoured to justify
it by the authority and example of Elijah, our Lord was
so far from approving it, that he rejected it with holy
indignation and abhorrence. He turned quickly, and
rebuked them, saying, " Ye know not what manner of
spirit ye are of; for the Son of man is not come to
destroy men's lives, but to save them." As if our Sa
viour had said, Ye do not consider what a vUe and
unchristian spirit now actuates you, which dictates so
much inhumanity and cruelty, and how impossible it is
for me to comply with your proposal ; since it is utterly
irreconcileable with the end of my appearing in the world,
which is not to do the least harm to mankind, but, on
the contrary, to do them all possible good, not only to

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 173
promote their everlasting happiness in another world,
but to consult their present welfare and comfort — to
establish human society in peace and good order, and to
contribute to the security and true enjoyment of life.
This, every one will perceive to be our Saviour's mean
ing, who considers, that he here speaks of his coming to
save men's lives, in opposition to that destruction which
his disciples intended to bring on those Samaritans,
which was to have its effect in this present world.
To suppose that a cruel, fiery, destructive spirit,
against any of the human family, is necessary to raaintain
the honour of Christ and his religion, is attended with the
greatest absurdities imaginable. If any have but a small
degree of the knowledge of Christianity, it can be
nothing but wilful perverseness and blindness, if they
see not the repugnancy of all fire and flame, rage, and
cruelty, to its design and tendency. And on such a
supposition, how preposterous is the thought, that such
a raethod of acting should be necessary to secure the
honour of Christ, and extend the progress of the Gospel !
— ^is it not a downright contradiction and inconsistency .''
We cannot raore effectually dishonour Christ, than by
acting in a spirit directly contrary to what is exhibited
by his true disciples, and enjoined in his holy word.
The supposition that cruelty and destruction are neces
sary to maintain the honour of Christ, and the dissemi
nation of his truth, is highly profane, and a kind of
blasphemy. To pretend the honour of Christ, as a justi
fication of treating others with . ferocity and death, is to
make the meek and holy Jesus the patron of wrath,
hatred, fury, and violence, which are essentiaUy vicious,
and can never be consecrated by any authority, or any
pretended purpose or intention. To say, that the end

174 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
sanctifies the means, is to speak wickedly for God ; it is
bold impiety ; it is a maxim that may lead persons to
attribute any thing, however vUe, to Christ, and render
him a confederate with the devil. St. Paul mentions this
sentiment with the utmost abhorrence, as an odious slan
der on Christianity, — " We are slanderously reported,
for some affirm that we say. Let us do evil that good
may come ; whose damnation is just." But not to insist,
— it is not Christianity, but popery, that corrupt addi
tion which men have made to it, that needs to be sup
ported by inhumanity and cruelty. To be sure, that is
a bad cause, which requires or admits of men going to
the devil to defend it.
In short, popery is a religion that sanctions all the
methods of deceit and imposition, as is evident from its
false doctrines, intentional equivocations, mental reserva
tions, the lawfulness of breaking faith with Protestants,
and various other things connected with a spiritual do
mination. It declares for aU the methods of violence,
barbarity, cruelty, by which to propagate its dogmas,
and encourage its friends to do evU that good may come.
Consider this system, in a religious view, and it is irra
tional, antiscriptural, and oppressive : but, attend to it
as a pohtical contrivance, by which to enslave- the hberty,
and engross the property of mankind, and it wUl appear
a refined scheme, artfully adapted to answer that pur
pose. To obtain temporal dominion, the Church of
Rome begins with spiritual usurpation ; it enchains the
mind, ip order to reduce the body to a state of servitude.
Give her all your interest on earth, and she wiU readily
comphment you with whatever influence she has in hea
ven. But to caU in question her prerogative, is infidehty
and atheism ; to dispute her decrees, is impudent daring

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 175
presumption ; to disbelieve her doctrines, is heresy ; and
heresy is punished with temporal death, and everlasting
damnation. What a contrast between popery and pure Christian
ity ! The religion of the Church of Rome is supported
and propagated by methods quite opposite to those, by
which the Christian religion at first was raade known and
diffused. The apostles, and their immediate successors,
who extensively planted Christianity, watered it with no
other blood than their own. The gospel had no con
suming heats, but kindly cherishing influences. The
preachers did not make converts with sword and pistol,
but by conclusive arguments, and affecting persuasions.
They did not enlighten men's understanding with fire
and faggot, but with luminous evangelical truth, and
evident reason. The Christian religion has the most
direct tendency to concihate the affections of men, to
compose their jarring passions to harmony, and to pro
mote universal peace. The precepts and motives of
this system of faith discountenance all fierceness and
cruelty, bitterness, and wrath, strife, and variance. The
teaching and example of the Author and founder of our
religion show, that he came not to destroy men's lives,
but to save them ; to take away the hard and stony
heart, and to reconcile them to God, as weU as to each
other. He consented not to the shedding of any man's
blood but his own, and taught no ambition but that of
being great in the kingdom of heaven. He furnished
his disciples with no other commission but miracles and
instruction, and with no other revenge but prayers and
intercessions. The apostles declared, that the weapons
of their warfare were not carnal ; that the servant of the
Lord must not strive ; and that the strong ought to bear
the infirmities of the weak. From the beginning to the

176 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS,
end of their rainistry, both Christ and his apostles
breathed nothing but the purest love, and evinced the
most fervent charity.
These pernicious tenets of popery are quite the reverse
of the righteous and merciful principles of the gospel ;
and, so far as they take effect, entirely destructive of its
design. Nothing, therefore, can be raore grossly absurd,
and shamefully inexcusable, than for any person to
erabrace, and act agreeably to such doctrines, and, at the
sarae tirae, to raake a profession of the religion of Christ.
The persons who do this, may pretend, if they please,
to a more than coraraon zeal for religion, or they may
appropriate it to themselves, which is a general thing
among the members of the Church of Rome : but while
they act in such direct opposition to the great and evident
design of revealed religion, every one of the least consi
deration raust see the raanifest hypocrisy and daring
irapudence of their pretences, and that the spirit which
actuates thera is as different frora that which Christianity
infuses, as hell is from heaven.
While we attend to the spirit of popery, and point out
what has been the practice of its adherents, it is but
justice to say, that many individuals of that community,
have risen above its pecuharities and usages, and imbibed
the gentleness and benevolence of the gospel of Christ.
The pious Fenelon, archbishop of Cambray, with great
fidelity and force, observes, " Had we composed the
gospel, we should, perhaps, have been tempted to soften
it, in order to accommodate it to our own remissness,
but God has not consulted us in writing it, but has given
it to us such as it is, and left us no hope of salvation, but
by fulfiUing that sovereign law, which is equally binding
in all conditions of life. Wo to those priests that dare
to lessen its force, and soften it to us by their glosses !

AND ASCENDANCY OF POPERY. 177
It was not they who made the law ; they are only the
repositories of it. This law is as much to be feared by
them as other men, and more so, because they are
accountable for its being observed by others, as well as
by themselves. Wo to the blind that lead the blind,
they shall both, says the Son of God, fall into the ditch.
Wo to the ignorant, dull, and flattering priest, who
would enlarge the strait way. Broad is the way that
leadeth to destruction.'''' ^
While some of the clerical order would entirely deprive
the laity of the privUege of reading the holy Scriptures,
others are inclined to encourage them in that iraportant
duty. On the distribution of French Testaments, atNew
Orleans, among the Catholics, the distributors were highly
gratified with the following instance of candour and hbe-
rahty in the bishop : — A poor woman caUed on him, and
with much anxiety, presenting him with a book, in
quired — " Good father, what book is this ? " " It is the
history of the evangelists — the gospel." "But is it a
book you would recommend to your people ? " " It is a
protestant version, (rephed the bishop) such as Calvin
would have translated." " Good father (said the woman)
keep the book." " My child, you may retain the book,
if you please. Read it with care, and, should you find
in it any thing contrary to the catholic faith, you will
bear in mind that it is a protestant version." The bishop
regretted that this edition was not taken from the version
printed at Boston, in 1810 ; but added, that he would
" prefer to have the present version in possession of his
people, rather than to have them remain entirely ignorant
of the sacred Scriptures."

Spiritual Works, vol. i. p. 161.
N

178 THE ERRORS, PROGRESS, &C. OF POPERY.
Connect this Christian liberality with the ground of
usefulness of the holy volume, as stated by another pre
late of the same church. Archbishop Fenelon says,
" To what purpose would the outward word of teachers
be, and even of the Scriptures, if it were not for the in
ward voice of the Holy Spirit, which gives them all their
efficacy ? The outward word of the gospel itself, with
out this living efficacious word within, would be but an
empty sound. It is the letter that alone killeth, and the
spirit that alone giveth life. It is not only the outward
law of the gospel, which God shows us inwardly by the
light of reason and faith, it is his Spirit that speaks, that
moves us, that operates in us, and. animates us ; so that
it is this Spirit which does in us all the good we do, as it
is our soul that animates our body, and regulates all its
motions." Wherever these sentiments and temper pre>-
vail, there dwells the Spirit of Christ.

179

euvut 3FF*

POI*ERY COUNTERACTED IN ITS DOCTRINE, INI'LUENCE,
AND AUTHORITY, BY THE REFORMATION AND REVO-
LUTION.

•* whether we consider the seemingly^ accidental causes from which the Reformation
biiginated. the inconsiderable source from whence it flowed, the slow but irresistible
progress it made, ancl the beneficial revolution it effected in the sentiments of mankind,
it is irapossible not to perceive reasons for astonislunent and joy." — Cox^s Life qf Melanc
thon, p. 2.

What a wonderful and interesting change has taken
place in this church, since the commencement of the
Reformation from Popery ! We may very accurately
ascertain what was the aspect of this sacred edifice, when
occupied by papists, from the account given by a modern
traveller of their churches on the Continent.
He says, " Their churches are noble structures ; and
when you enter them, the lofty roofs, the massy piUars,
and the long-drawn aisles, impress the mind with reve
rential awe; and you are led involuntarUy to say,
' Surely this is the house of God !' — But this solemn
feehng is soon painfully disturbed, when you look around.

180 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
and see so many paintings, and statues, and images, and
relics. — Sure I am, that St. Paul's spirit would be stirred
within him, were he now alive, and to witness what now
passes in a Roman Cathohc place of worship : here he
would see one poor suppliant kneeling before a crucifix,
and gazing intently on it, as if it were animated and able
to help him ! — there he would see another bending before
the statue of sorae favourite saint, repeating his prayers,
presenting his offerings, and purchasing, as it were, by
the trinkets that he leaves, and the candles that he
lights, the saints' intercession : he would see different
services going on at different altars, with distinct congre
gations around them, just as the inclinations of the people
lead to the worship of this or that particular saint. — It
is in vain to say, that they worship the Saviour through
the saint, and the invisible God through the visible
image. A few reflecting minds may do this. But, as
human beings, we are strongly influenced by what is
before our eyes ; and the habit of bowing down before
the sign, will lead us in time to venerate the sign itself,
and to give to the saint those affections which are due
to the Saviour only. And I could not but observe,
that the offerings to the Virgin, or some tutelary saint,
for benefits received, or evils averted, often exceeded
those that were presented to the Son of God himself."
When the nations of Europe were overspread with
ignorance, superstition, and idolatry, which had conti
nued for many centuries, it pleased God to bring forth
hght out of darkness. The Reformation began to dawn,
and proper instruments for carrying it on were raised up,
in different countries. Indeed, the Waldenses, * inhabit-

' Peter Waldus or Waldo, of Lyons, was the founder of the sect of
Waldenses. His own convictions of the truth originated from his having

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 181
ing the valleys of Piedmont, were steady and constant
witnesses to the truth, who, though pursued by fire and
s\Vord, never withdrew their testimony, but continued to
prophesy, though in sackcloth.
The confession of an enemy, when truth is the object,
is of importance. Reinerus, their bitter foe, gives this
account of them : " That of all sects that ever were,
none were so pernicious to the Church of Rome as the
Leonists or Waldenses ; and that for these reasons — 1.
For their antiquity and long continuance, even from the
time of pope Sylvester (who was made pope in the year
316,) or, as others have affirraed, from the very
time of the apostles., 2. For the generahty of that sect,
because there was scarce any country where they were
not. 3. When all other heretics, by reason of their
blasphemy against God, were abhorred, the Waldenses
had a great appearance of piety ; because they lived
justly before men, believed all things well of God, and
held all the articles of the creed, only they blasphemed
the Church and Clergy of Rome?'' *
John Wiclif, born in the parish of Wiclif, near Rich
mond, in Yorkshire, in the year 1324, was raised up by
a special providence, to detect and expose the corrup
tions of popery, and was an able and successful instru
ment in this work. He was educated at Oxford, and

employed a priest, Stephanus de Evisa, about the year 1160, to translate
the four Gospels from the Latin into French, with other books of Scrip.
ture, and the most remarkable sentences , of the ancient doctors. He
soon perceived the essential difference between the religion of the Romish
Church and the principles of the Gospel. Uniting with other pious men
who adopted his sentiments, he became a public preacher, in the year 1 180 ;
and religious assemblies were at length formed in France, Lombardy, and
diiierent parts of Europe. — Com's Life of Melancthon, Appendix, No. 1.
* Contra Waldenses, cap. xiv.

182 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
being advanced to the honourable and important situation
of divinity professor, his authority and influence were
considerable, . and he nobly advocated the cause of the
Reformation, both m his serraons and writings, "He
published a defence of Edward III. against the pope,
which introduced him to court. In 13775 papal buUs
were issued, requiring the archbishop of Canterbury and
the bishop of London to secure and imprison him as a
heretic, and the king and the university of Oxford to
deliver him up. Wiclif, however, protected by the
Government, and by the citizens of London, eluded the
persecution. He published a book on the ' Truth of
the Scriptures,' and what he termed ' Sixteen Conclu
sions,' directed against the papacy. But his principal
work was a hteral translation of the Bible from the Latin
Vulgate.'' The Rev. H. H. Baber, in his Memoirs of the Life of
Wiclif, observes, " It was necessity which first occa^
sioned the Scriptures to be generally received throughout
the western world, in a Latin version ; there being no
other language, intelligible to an European, in which the
books of holy Writ were translated, when Christianity
was first planted in our quarter of the globe. As the
Latin tongue became a dead language, the Romish hier
archy were too crafty to encourage any translation of
the sacred volume, which would place the key of divine
knowledge in the power of the people. They plainly
saw, that as long as they had the keeping of this treasure
in their own hands, they could impose upon mankind,
for doctrines of revelation, whatever articles of faith they
pleased, and thus pursue their schemes of interest with
less fear of contradiction. Wichf, who saw the advantage
they enjoyed, and had detected their abuse of it, had
long been persuaded that ¦ if ever the prejudices which

THE REEORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 183
had fastened themselves upon raankind, were to be effec
tually loosened, it must be by laying the Bible open to
the people. To effect this, he had from an early period
of his life, devoted his various learning, and all the pow
erful energies of his mind, and at length, by intense
apphcation on his own part, and with some assistance
from a few of the most learned of his foUowers, he had
the glory to complete a book, which, alone,- would have
been sufficient to have procured him the veneration of
his own age, and the commendations of posterity. To
prepare the world for this production, he not only
asserted, both in his sermons and his writings, the neces
sity, and pleaded, with great force of argument, the right
of the people to read the Scriptures in the vernacular
tongue, but, moreover, reprimanded, with much seve
rity, those who ought to watch over the church for
good, as wickedly withholding, through secular raotives,
this pearl of inestimable price from raankind in general.
Having used every raeans that his bold and prolific
genius suggested, and that his industry could accomphsh,
for creating a longing desire in the people to consult the
inspired records of their religion, he published, in the
year 1380, the translation of the Old and New Testa
ment." *
This learned and judicious man, having translated the
Bible from the Latin into the vulgar tongue, he, in a
large preface to which, openly exposed the corruptions
of the Romish clergy, condemned the worshipping of
saints, denied the doctrine of transubstantiation, and
earnestly exhorted the people to study the holy Scrip
tures. He also wrote several excellent books of divinity.
" Memoirs of the Life of Wiclif, prefixed to a new edition of Wiclif 's
New Testament, p. 20.

184 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
These, under God, were the means of opening the eyes
of many persons to see through the mystery of popery.
Though the Reformation was not perfected tiU upwards
of one hundred and eighty years afterwards ; yet, now,
the seeds of it were sown, which grew up by degrees to
maturity. This distinguished Enghsh reformer, after much labour
and success,' feU a victim to the palsy; it seized him Dec.
28, 1384, whUst attending divine service, in his church
at Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, and, on the third day
after, put a period to his valuable life. The CouncU of
Constance, in the year 1415, not only condemned forty-
five articles of Wichf 's doctrines, but his bones to the
flames. This brutal sentence was not enforced tUl the
year 1428, when Pope Martin V. comraanded Fleming,
Bishop of Lincoln, to execute the decree of the Council.
His reraains were accordingly disinterred, then burnt,
and afterwards cast into the Swift, a streamlet which
runs by Lutterworth.
John Huss, born in Bohemia in the year 1376, edu
cated at Prague', where he became Professor of Divinity
in the University, and ordinary pastor in the church of
that city, was also an eminent instrument in the great
work of the Reformation. It is said that he derived his
light from the writings of Wiclif; which, having been
introduced into Bohemia, he, as Cochlseus says, * " trans
lated into his mother tongue." He exclaimed with vehe
mence against the vices of the clergy, and from the year
1408 exerted his utmost endeavours to withdraw the
University of Prague from the jurisdiction of Gregory
XII. He recommended in the most public manner the
writings of Wiclif, which produced an accusation against
" Hist. Hussit. Lib. i. p. 8.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 185
him in the year 1410, before the tribunal of John XXIII.
by whom he was expelled from the comraunion of the
church. He was burnt alive for his heresy by a decree
of the Council of Constance, the 6th of July 1416, in
violation of a safe-conduct which had been granted him
by the Emperor Sigismund ; which dread punishment,
says Mosheim, he endured with unparalleled magna
nimity and resignation, expressing in his last moments
the noblest feelings of love to God, and the most tri
umphant hope of the accomphshment of those transport
ing promises with which the gospel arms the true
Christian at the approach of eternity." » His enemies
made a crown of paper with three devils painted on it,
and this inscription. The Arch-heretic ; on seeing which,
he exclaimed, " My Lord Jesus, for my sake, wore a
crown of thorns, and shall not I, for his sake, wear this
crown, be it never so shameful ? "
Jerome of Prague heartUy joined Huss, who, by their
united endeavours, kindled a light in Bohemia, which all
the arts and contrivances of Rome could not extinguish.
Jerome was the intimate friend of Huss, and accompanied
him to the CouncU of Constance, with the design of ad
vocating his cause. The same violation of promise of
safety took place in his case, as did in that of Huss.
When on his trial, he vindicated the conduct of Huss,
saying, " he had done nothing against the church of
God, in blaming the abuses of the clergy, the pride of
the popes, and the parade of the prelates. As the re
venues of the church," said he, " are chiefly designed
for the support of the poor, for works of hospitahty, and
for building and repairing of churches, this pious man
would not suffer them to be consumed in debaucheries
" Cox's Life of Melancthon, p. 573.

186 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
with women, in banquets, in dogs, in horses, in furniture,
in superb clothing, and in other expenses unworthy of
Christianity." Being condemned by the Council, " he
walked to the place of punishment with a chearful coun
tenance, and with more intrepidity than any stoic had
ever evinced. When arrived, he put off his garments ;
and, falling on his knees, kissed the stake to which he
was bound. Chained and naked, they bound him at
first with wet cords; and then put round him large
pieces of wood, intermixed with straw. As the execu
tioner approached with the fire from behind, in order
that he might not see it, ' Come forward,' he said with
courage, ' and apply the fire in my presence ; if I had
feared it, I needed not have come here, as I might easily
have avoided it.' The fire having been kindled, he be
gan to sing a hymn, which he never discontinued amidst
the flame and smoke," * till he expired. May 30, 1416.
However, the death of these martyrs was not the exr
tinction of their cause. One circumstance relating to the
death of Huss is very reraarkable. Turning round to
the prelates who were present on that occasion, he ex
pressed himself thus : — " Ye shall answer for this a hun
dred years hence, both to God and me." Some say that
he added, " You roast the goose now, but a swan shall
arise, whom ye shall not be able to burn, as you do the
poor weak goose." Now Huss, in the Bohemian lan
guage, signifies a goose, as Luther does a swan; and
just a hundred years after, Luther was raised up, who
inflicted a deeper wound on the Church of Rome, than
ever she had before received. This being exactly a hun
dred years after, seems to be an accomphshment of the
prediction; for Huss suffered martyrdom in the year
" Letter from John Poggio to Leonardo Areting.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 187
1416, and Luther began to be active, as a reformer, in
1516 ; having received light and encouragement frora a
book written by Huss, sent by some Bohemians into
Germany. Sleiden, in his History of the Reforraation,
relates how this great and good man began, how he went
on with his important work, under the protection and
encouragement of Frederick, Duke of Saxony, and
others, and what vigorous struggles he had with the
pope and his creatures.
This great Saxon reformer was born at Eisleben, in
Saxony, in the year 1483. After receiving a liberal
education in the schools of Magdeburg and Eisenach,
he was sent to the University of Erfurt, where he
studied philosophy and the civil law, and commenced
Master of Arts, at the age of twenty. Walking one day
in the fields with a fellow student, his companion was
struck dead with lightning, which so affected Luther,
that he determined to retire from the world. In 1505,
he accordingly went into a monastery of the order of
St. Augustine, in that place, where he led a pious and
studious life.
" In this University," says Fox, " there was a certain
aged man in the convent of the Augustines, with whom
Luther, being then of the sarae order, a Friar Augustine,
had conference upon divers things, especially touching
the article of remission of sins ; the which article the
aged father opened to Luther after this sort ; declaring,
that we must not only generally believe forgiveness of
sins to be, or to belong to Peter, to Paul, to David, or
such good men alone ; but that God's express command
ment is, that every man should believe his sins particu
larly to be forgiven him in Christ ; and further said,
that this interpretation was confirmed by the testimony
of St. Bernard, and showed him the place, in the ' Sermon

188 POPERY COUNTERACTED EY
of Annunciation,' where it is thus set forth: But add
thou that thou believest this, that by him thy sins are
forgiven thee. This is the testimony that the Holy
Ghost giveth thee in thy heart, saying. Thy sins are for
given thee. For this is the opinion ofthe Apostle, that
man is freely justified by faith. By these words Luther
was not only strengthened, but was also instructed of the
full meaning of St. Paul, who repeateth so many times
this sentence. We are justified by faith. And having
read the expositions of many upon this place, he then
perceived, as well by the purpose of the old man, as by
the comfort he received in his spirit, the vanity of those
interpretations which he had read before of the school
men. And so reading, by little and little, with confer
ring the sayings and examples of the prophets and apos
tles, and continual invocation of God, and excitation of
faith by the force of prayer, he perceived that doctrine
most evidently." " Thus we see a remarkable concur
rence of circumstances in operation, to bring Luther to
the scriptural and experimental knowledge of the doctrine
of the justification of a sinner, through faith in the
atoning sacrifice of Christ, and the assurance of sins for
given by the direct testimony of the Holy Ghost in the
heart of the behever !
About the same time, happening to meet with a Latin
version of the Bible in the monastery, he read it with
the utmost attention and avidity, and was powerfuUy
struck with the manifest difference between the doctrines
of the gospel, and the practice of the Romish Church.
In 1507, he was ordained ; and in the next year was
called by Staupitz, to the professorship of logic, in the
University of Wittemberg. In 1510, he was sent on
" Fox's Actes and Monumentes, ii. pp. 60, 61.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 189
special business to Rome, and after his return was
created doctor in divinity ; and exchanged the philoso
phical for the theolo^cal chair, of the same university.
In the year 1517, Leo X. pubhshed plenary indul
gences for all sins committed by those who should pur
chase them. These pardons were sold in Germany by
the Dominicans, in the most shameful manner, and gave
offence to all religious persons, and to Luther in parti
cular, who pubhshed a Thesis on Indulgences at Wittera-
berg, in which he exposed, in the strongest raanner,
the iniquity of this odious trafiic. The propositions of
Luther's Thesis were opposed by Tetzel, the papal
agent ; but tbe people at large were convinced that the
truth was on the side of Luther. The learned and
amiable Melancthon, who was . a steady friend to the
Reformation, says, " Such were the employraents of
Luther, at the time when those prostitute Indulgences
were first proclaimed by that impudent Dominican
Tetzel. Burning with the love of every thing that was
godly, and irritated by Tetzel's sharaeful discourses, he
published some propositions concerning the nature of
indulgences. The Dominican, in return, publicly burnt
Luther's propositions, and menaced the heretic himself
with the flames. In a word, the outrageous conduct of
.Tetzel and his associates, absolutely compelled Luther
to discuss the subject at length, in support of the cause
of truth." In this manner originated the controversy
between the Reformers and the Papists.
In the year 1521, Luther entered on the important
work of translating the Bible into German. He pub
lished it in parts as he proceeded, and in the year 1534
published the whole complete. The eagerness with
which copies of this translation were sought after," says
Dr. Townley, " called for numerous editions, so that

190 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
beside several printed at Nuremberg, Strasburg, Augs
burg, and other places in Gerraany, editions were printed
under the inspection of Luther, and his learned coad
jutors, at Wittemberg, in 1535, 1536, 1538, 1539, 1541,
1543, 1544, and 1545 ; which was the last edition that
he superintended.
Luther, at different periods, published Commentaries
on particular parts of the Sacred Writings, chiefly in
Latin, which were afterwards translated into German by
his friends. In that on Deuteronomy, he has the follow
ing judicious directions and remarks : — " Let the Chris
tian reader's first object always be to find out the literal
m,eaning of the Word of God ; for this, and this alone,
is the whole foundation of faith, and of Christian the
ology. It is the very substance of Christianity ; the only
thing which stands its ground in distress and temptation :
it is what overcomes the gates of heU, together with sin
and death, and triumphs, to the praise and glory of God.
Allegories are often of a doubtful nature, depending on
human conjecture and opinion ; for which reason Jerome,
and Origen, and other fathers of the same stamp, nay, I
may add, all the Alexandrian school, should be read with
great caution. An excessive esteem for these has gradu
ally introduced a most mischievous taste among later
writers, who have gone such lengths, as to support the
most extravagant absurdities by scriptural expressions.
Jerome complains of this practice in his own time, and yet
he himself is guilty of it. In our days there are some
commentators, who, wherever they find in Scripture a
word of the feminine gender, understand it to mean the
Virgin Mary ; and hence, almost aU the revealed Word
is made to treat of the blessed Virgin. Wherefore, we
ought always to observe St. Paul's rule, not to build upon
wood, hay, and stubble, but upon gold, silver, and pre-

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 191
cious stones ; that is, an aUegory should never be made
the foundation of any doctrine, but be introduced as a
secondary thing, to confirm, to adorn, to enrich a Chris
tian article of faith. Never produce an allegory to sup
port your sentiment ; on the contrary, take care that
your aUegory rest on some just sentiment as a founda
tion, which, by its aptness and simUitude, it is calculated
to illustrate." *
The zeal of this pious and fearless reformer was
crowned, by the great Head of the Church, with a suc
cess equal to his most sanguine expectations ; and he
lived to see the cause of scriptural truth erabraced, not
only by sever&l of the Gerraan States, but by many of
the other nations of Europe^ The papal power, which
had exercised despotic sway over the mightiest monarchs
of the world, was deprived of its extensive influence;
and the thunders of the Vatican rolled over the heads of
the Reformed without exciting the least alarm. The
Scriptures of truth were generally circulated, and placed
in the hands of persons of every rank, and age, and sex,
by translations in to the vernacular dialects, the copies of
which were rapidly multiphed by the labours of the
press ; and the traditions of Rorae gave place to the
Gospel of Christ. But whilst Luther was continuing
his important exertions in favour of religion and truth,
his incessant occupations and intensity of thought were
undermining his constitution, and hastening his death.
Early in the year 1546, he visited Eisleben, his native
place, at the request of the Counts of Mansfeld ; but his
strength was exhausted by the journey ; and on the 18th
of February, 1546, he expired. After the removal of
" Milner's Hist, of the Church of Christ, vol. v. p. 383.

192 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
the body to Wittemberg, Melancthon pronounced the
funeral oration ; and the corpse was committed to the
grave by several members of the University, amid the
most unfeigned expressions of sorrow and regret ; princes
and nobles, doctors and students, mingling their tears
with the thousands of people, who wept over the mortal
remains of the man of God. *
The papal authority had, in the short space of time
from 1516, to the year 1527, declined very perceptibly,
and the doctrines of the Reformation had gained consi
derable ground. The Roman clergy had become exceed
ingly corrupt, and were so grossly ignorant, that they
were generaUy disliked. Several of the German monas
teries had no public hbrary for the use of the monks :
and in some of them, not a single copy of the Scriptures
could be found. Prior to the pubhcation of the Greek
Testament, by Erasmus, not a copy could be procured
in all Germany; so that Conrad Pellican was obliged
to obtain one from Italy. In some churches, Aristotle's
Ethics, and similar works, were read, instead of sermons ;
a practice which in some places had subsisted from the
time of Charlemagne ; in others, the works of Aquinas
were explained ; and in some, lectures on the heathen
poets were delivered, where the word of God ought to
have been preached. The original languages of the
Scriptures were not only generaUy neglected, but the
study of them was despised. Conrad Heresbachius
relates, that he heard a monk declaiming in a church,
who affirmed, " A new language is discovered, caUed
Greek, and is the parent of all heresy.' A book, written
in that language, is every where got into the hands of
" Vide Dr. Townley's Biblical Literature, vol. ii. p. 300.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 193
persons ; and is called the New Testament. It is full
of daggers and poison. Another language has also
sprung up, called the Hebrew, and those who learn it
become Jews." — The grossest ignorance of the Scriptures
prevailed, not only amongst the laity, but also amongst
many of the clergy. Degrees in divinity were conferred
on those who had scarcely ever read the Bible ; and
numbers of divines were far advanced in hfe before they
had ever seen one ! In the year 1510, the University of
Wittemberg registered in its acts, Andrew Carolostad,
afterwards one of the Reformers, as being sufiwientissir-
mus, fully quahfied for the degree of doctor, which he
then received ; though he afterwards acknowledged, that
he never read the Bible till eight years after he had
received his academical honours. Albert, Archbishop and
Elector of Mentz, having, in 1530, accidentaUy found a
Bible on a table, opened it, and having read some pages,
exclaimed, " Indeed, I do not know what this book is ;
but this I see, that every thing in it is against us."
Gerard Listrius, in his Note on the Morice Encomium
of Erasmus, says, " I have known many doctors in
divinity, as they were called, who have candidly acknow
ledged that they were, fifty years of age before they had
read the Epistles of St. Paul ;" and Musculus affirms,
(Loc. Com.) that prior to the Reformation, " many
priests and pastors had not so much as seen a Bible."
Those who devoted themselves to the study of the Scrip
tures were objects of derision, and treated as heretical ;
whUst the advocates of the Aristotehan phUosophy were
regarded as the oracles of wisdom, and the only true
theologians. » Thus they spent theh time and energies

» Dr. Townley's Illustrations of BibUcal Literature, &c. vol. ii. pp.
256—258.

194 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
to as little purpose as those philosophical speculatists,
whom the poet describes as
 " dropping buckets into empty wells.
And growing old in drawing nothing up."
Such was the state of sacred literature, and the morals
of the . clergy were equaUy low and disgraceful. Mean
while, the doctrines of the Reformers were diffusing their
light in every direction, and the minds of many were so
far enlightened as to discern the absurdity of imphcit
faith and blind obedience, as well as the divine authority,
purity, and excellence of the Holy Scriptures, and the
right and privilege of every man reading and judging of
their meaning for himself.
At this period, in England, waS raised up a resolute
and haughty prince, who, as much, if not more out of
mere humour than sound principle, ^at once threw off the
papal tyranny. Henry VIII. desiring to have his queen
Catharine, the sister of Charles V. divorced, and to marry
the beautiful Ann Boleyn, led to a renunciation of aU
alliance with Rorae ; for the pope refusing to grant the
king a dispensation for that purpose, he threw off aU
subjection to papal intolerance. He gave to the church
an Episcopal constitution, and iD which he acted as
sovereign pontiff. " In the year 1534, he was declared
the head of the Enghsh Church by Parliament; the
authority of the pope was completely abolished in
England ; aU tributes formerly paid to the holy see were
declared illegal; and the king was intrusted with the
collation to all the established benefices. The nation
came into the king's measures with joy, and took an
oathj called the oath of supremacy. All the credit which
the popes had maintained over England for ages, was
now overthrown at once ; and none repined at the change,

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 195
except those who were immediately interested by their
, dependence on Rome." Whatever mixtures of views
and motives there were in the king, he was, however, a
fit instrument of Providence to lead the way in so diffi
cult an undertaking. His quarreUing with the pope led
him to a decision, which ultimately proved of incalcu
lable service to the Reformation.
He dissolved the monasteries and religious houses, as
they were caUed, and seized the property belonging to
them. These places v^ere haunts of vice, villany, and
imposture, probably not inferior to any in the world.
Nor did the shrines of the saints escape his rapacious
grasp ; nay, not even Becket's at Canterbury, which was
enriched to a considerable degree by the superstitious
devotion of the times. Soraner, in his Antiquities of
Canterbury, states, that, in one year, no less than one
hundred thousand persons came to the shrine of Becket.
What reputation he had with the saint-worshippers, may
be inferred from the account given of the offerings made
to the greatest altars in Christ's church, which, for one
year, stood thus : —
. At Christ's altar  ^3 2s 6d
At the Virgin's  63 5 6
At Becket's  832 12 6
The year foUowing, when the character of the saint
was more fully known, the account was —
At the Virgin's altar  J'4 Is 8d
At Christ's  0 0 0
At Becket's  954 6 3
This shrine would considerably augment the king's
treasure. By means of the good bishop Cranmer, several holy-
days were abohshed, which, being so exceeding numerous.

196 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
were considered a burden to the people, a hindrance to
business, only serving to nourish superstition, and keep
up an idolatrous regard to the saints. He also succeeded
in getting the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments,
and the Creed explained, and recommended to be read
by the people. Dr. Nichols says, " that in the year
1545, the King's Primer came forth, wherein are con
tained, not only the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Ten
Commandments, but also the Morning and Evening
Prayer in English, not much different from what it is in
our Common-Prayer Books ; with a preface to it, show
ing the necessity of uniformity in prayer, and of young
persons being instructed therein. In this Primer, the
Venite, Te Deum, the Lord's Prayer, Creed, &c. are
the very same translation now used in our Common-
Prayer Book. Some time after this, the Litany was
published in English, soraething different from what it
is now, and permitted to be read in churches on Wed
nesdays and Fridays." He adds, " this was as much as
could be brought to bear in the reformation of liturgical
matters during the king's reign. "
It is asserted, that the king was for having the Scrip
ture in the vulgar tongue, and often recommended it :
but he was, though he had renounced the authority of
the pope, so much swayed by popish councils, that this
important work was not accomplished. By an act of
Parhament, in the year 1549, and of the king 35,
Tindal's translation of the Old and New Testament,
called crafty^ false, untrue, was prohibited to be kept or
read in the King's dominions. Strype says, that about
the year 1526, Tindal's translatron of the New Testament
was first brought into England, being printed in some
foreign parts, but presently it was forbidden by Wolsey ;
" Preface to his Comment on the Common^Prayer, p. 4.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 19?
and soon after Tonstar and Sir Thomas More bought
up the whole impression, and burnt them at St. Paul's
cross. Tindal reprinted the New Testament about the
year 1530 ; in which year, for translating into English
the New Testament and part of the Old, he suffered
martyrdom at ViUefort, in Flanders. These Scriptures
being sent over to England, were dispersed by his
brother John Tindal, and Thomas Patmore, merchants.
But for this presumption, they were adjudged in the
Star Chamber to ride with their faces to the horse-tail,
having papers on their heads, and Testaments tacked to
their gowns, wliich they themselves were to throw into a
fire made for that purpose, and then to be fined at the
king's pleasure, and were actually fined eighteen thou
sand foiir liundred and forty pounds ten shilhngs and
ten-pence, in the year 1531. Stokely, bishop of London,
caused aU the New Testaments of Tindal's translation to
be burnt in St. Paul's Church-yard.
In the year 1537, the whole Bible, called Matthews^
Bible, was printed at Hamburgh, and, at the king's
command, was introduced into all parish churches. But
the Catholics prevailed with the king to deliver the
Scriptures up to them, and they seized the books, and
burnt them as heretical. Notwithstanding this, through
the interest of CromweU, the vicar-general, with the
king, the Bible was again printed, and the king, by
proclamation, ordered it should be provided in every
parish. But in the year 1542 or 1543, the Cathohc
bishops got it suppressed again. And though the Bible
was aUowed under certain restrictions, yet no woraan,
nor artificers, apprentices, journeymen, serving-men,
under the degree of yeomen, no husbandmen, nor
labourers, might read it.
Henry VIII. died 1547, and was succeeded by his
only son, Edward VI. called the Enghsh Josiah, because

198 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
he was the wonder and admiration of the age. This
amiable prince, whose early youth was adorned with that
wisdom, sagacity, and virtue, which would have done
honour to advanced years, gave new spirit and vigour to
the Protestant cause, being its brightest ornament, as
well as its most effectual earthly support. He encou
raged learned and pious men of foreign countries to
settle in England, and addressed a particular invitation
to Martin Bucer and Paul Fagius, whose moderation
added a lustre to their other virtues, that, by the
ministry and labours of these erainent men, in concert
with those of the friends of the Reforraation in England,
he might purge his dominions from the fictions of popery,
and establish the pure and wholesome doctrines of Chris
tianity in this place. For this purpose, he issued out
the wisest orders for the restoration of true religion ; and
he carried on the work begun by his royal father, to the
great mortification of Gardiner, bishop of Winchester,
and Bonner, bishop of London, who, for their opposition
to it, were sent to the tower. The Bible, that had
hitherto been considered a dangerous book, was now
encouraged and recommended to the people to be
diligently read in English. Homihes were published in
English, as a means of instructing the people in the
doctrine of salvation. The clergy were allowed to
marry. Images were taken down. The sacrifice of the
mass was changed to a commeraoration of Christ, and
communion of his body and blood. The whole Common-
Prayer was examined, and in all the offices such alter
ations were made, as the state of things at that time
would bear, retaining still so much of the old service as
was deemed tolerable: the whole being finished and
translated into English, was confirmed by act of Parlia
raent, in the year 1548. •

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 199
This was the first Book of Edward VI. which after
wards was revised, and, with many corrections and
improvements, was published, in the fifth year of his
reign. The Psalms of David, turned into metre by
Sternhold and Hopkins, were aUowed to be sung in the
churches. The altars were changed into communion
tables. , And in the year 1552, the articles of religion
were drawn up, the sarae in substance with the Thirty-
nine Articles of the present Church of England. But
the reign of Edward VI. was too short to accomplish
fully all the great and glorious purposes of his pious
and benevolent heart. In the year 1553, he was taken
from his loving and afflicted subjects, whose sorrow was
inexpressible, and suited to the greatness of their loss.
His sister Mary, the daughter of Catharine of Arra^
gon, from whom Henry VIII. had been divorced,
succeeded him on the throne. This princess, educated
undar her mother in Spain, in abhorrence of Protes
tantism and Episcopacy, had, during the hfe of her
royal father, the resolution to maintain her predilection
for popery, and refused to coraply with his new institu
tions. When scarcely seated on the throne, she married
her kinsman, the sanguinary Philip, afterwards King of
Spain, eldest son of Charles V. Every thing which had
been done by Henry VIII. and Edward VI. was over
turned. Protestants and Episcopalians were all deposed,
disquahfied, and persecuted. She was " a furious bigot to
the Church of Rome, and a princess whose natural tem
per was despotic and cruel." She soon imposed the
arbitrary laws and tyrannical yoke of Rome on the
people of England. Her zeal for popery became furious,
and chains, imprisonments, fire, and faggots, all sorts
of cruelty, raged against the Protestants. Gardiner and
Bonner acted conspicuously in this horrid work. Among

200 POPEBY COUNTERACTED BT
other victims, Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer, fell sacri
fices to the fury of the queen. When at the stake,
Latimer said to Ridley, <' Be of good cheer, brother, we
shaU this day kindle such a fire in England, as, I trust in
God, will never be extinguished." In the short reign of
Queen Mary, bishop Burnet says, that there were two hun
dred and eighty-four burnt, Grindal, who lived in that
time, writes, that, in two years, eight hundred were
burnt, many more imprisoned, and sixty died in prison.
The accession of Queen Mary had hke to have
changed the face of affairs in Ireland as much as in
England ; but her designs were disappointed by a sin
gular adventure, of which the following account has
been copied frora the papers of Richard, Earl of Cork,
" Queen Mary having dealt severely with the Protestants
in England, about the latter end of her reign signed a
commission for to take the same course with them in
Ireland ; and to execute the same with force, she nomi
nates Dr. Cole one of the commissioners. The doctoj;
coming, with the commission, to Chester on his journey,
the mayor of that city hearing that her Majesty was
sending a messenger into Ireland, and he being a church
man, waited on the doctor, who, in discoursing with the
mayor, taketh out of a cloke-bag a leather-box, saying
unto him, Here is a commission that shall lash the
heretics of Jrplemd, caUing the Protestants by that title.
The good woman of the house being well affected to the
Protestant religion, and also having a brother named
John Edmonds, of the same persuasion, then a citizep
in Dublin, was much troubled at the doctor's words, but
watching her convenient time, whUe the mayor took his
leave, and the doctor complimented him down stairs,
shte opens the box, takes the commission out, and places
in lieu thereof a sheet of paper, with a pack of cards

THE REFORMATION AND EEVOLUTION. 201
wrapt up therein, the knave of clubs being faced upper
most. The Doctor coming up to his chamber, suspect
ing nothing of what had been done, put up the box as
formerly. The next day going to the water-side, wind
and weather serving him, he saUs towards Ireland, and
landed on the 7th of October, 1558, at Dublin. Then
coming to the castle, the Lord Fitz- Walters being Lord
deputy, sent for hira to come before him and the Privy-
Council ; who, coming in, after he had made a speech
relating upon what account he came over, he presents
the box unto the Lord Deputy ; who causing it to be
opened, that the Secretary might read the commission,
there was nothing save a pack of cards, with the knave
of clubs uppermost ; which not only startled the Lord
Deputy and CouncU, but the doctor, who assured them
he had a commission, but knew not how it was gone.
Then the Lord Deputy made answer : " Let us have
another commission, and we will shuffle the cards in the
meanwhile. The Doctor being troubled in his mind,
went away, and returned to England, and coming to the
court obtained another commission : but staying for a
wind at the water-side, news came to him that the
Queen was dead, and thus God preserved the Protestants
of Ireland." ^
But, as this reign was marked with blood, so God in
great mercy suffered it to be but short; this terrible
storm happUy soon blew over. After an unfortunate
reign of five years, four months, and eleven days. Queen

» Queen EUzabeth was so deUghted with this story, which was related
to her by Lord Fitz- Walters, on his return to England, that she sent for
EUzabeth Edmonds, whose husband's name vvas Mattershad, and gave
her a pension of forty pounds during her Ufe — Erwyclopadm Britamica,
Art. Refokmation.

202 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
Mary died of a lingering fever, in the forty-third year
of her age, leaving no issue.
Queen EUzabeth next succeeded to the throne. She
was the daughter of Henry VIII. by Anne Boleyn, and
was scarcely three years old when her mother suffered
death. She was, by an act of Parliaraent, declared ille-
gitiraate, and excluded, and passed through a series of
sufferings ; yet, on the death of Queen Mary, she was
called from a prison to a throne, at the age of twenty-
five years. When she heard of her sister's death, and
that she was proclaimed queen, it is said she fejl on her
knees, and, after a short silence, expressed her agitated
feelings in the words of the Psalraist, " This is the
Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes." Which
words she afterwards used as a motto on some of her gold
coin. As she was carried through the acclamations of the
people, in Cheapside, she received the holy Bible, kissed
it, put it to her breast, and said, " This is my chief
delight, and shall be the rule of my government !" The
bishops met her, whom she graciously received, with the
exception of Bonner, looking on hira as one defiled with
blood ; concluding, that to show countenance to a person
so polluted, would seera to give sanction to his crimes.
She re-estabhshed the Reformation, while she preserved
Episcopacy. ViUers says, the new ecclesiastical system
was modeUed at London, by a national council, in the
year 1563, and called the act of uniformity. It was
intended by this act to form a union between the
different parties. It was too late. The separation of
the Non-conformists, the Puritans, and the Presbyterians,
from the Episcopal Church became hence the more
decided. The Irish remained Cathohc. There Philip of

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 203
Spain, who hated Ehzabeth, because she had refused his
hand, and supported his rebeUious subjects in the Low
Countries, eraployed his intrigues, scattered his gold,
and excited rebellion. The same was done by Rome,
France, and Mary, Queen of Scotland, who perished
afterwards under the axe of the executioner. ^
The reign of Elizabeth was long and steady : during
which the Papists were constantly atterapting to deprive
this nation of the Protestant religion and its civU liberties.
The pope anathematized her as an heretic, absolved her
subjects from their oath of aUegiance to her, and then
prevailed on the King of Spain to assist him in an inva^
sion, that they might by force of arms root out the Pro
testant religion. Welwood, in his Memoirs, &c. says,
that the vast preparations that were making for a consi
derable time in Spain, kept all Europe in suspense, and,
whatever the general opinion might be, it was not certain
against whom they were designed. Elizabeth, enter
taining' some apprehension that she might be aimed at,
thought fit to be on her guard, constructed fleets, formed
saUors, and placed herself in a condition to raeet PhUip
on that element. Sir Francis Walsingham at length
found out the secret. Philip having written a letter to
the pope, acquainting him with the real design of his
preparations, and asking his blessing on it, Walsingham,
by means of a Venetian priest retained at Rome as his
spy, procured a copy of the original letter, which was
stolen out of the cabinet by a gentleman of the bed
chamber, who took the keys out of the pocket of the
pope whUe he was asleep.

" ViUers on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation of Luther,
translated by MiU. p. 228.

204 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
Accordingly, a prodigious armament was prepared,
called the Spanish Armada, and Philip and those con
cerned so prided themselves in this grand undertaking,
that they styled it invincible. This arraada consisted of
the greatest fleet of ships that had ever at any former
period appeared on the British seas. Lord Bacon men
tions one hundred and thirty, of which seventy-two
were like floating castles. Others reckon one hundred
and fifty large ships, besides a great number of small
vessels. They were manned with thirty thousand soldiers
and mariners, who expected to have been joined and
assisted by fifty thousand soldiers from the Netherlands,
under the Duke of Parma. On information being
received of this terrible armada being under sail against
England, nothing could exceed the alarm and consterna
tion which pervaded all ranks of people in this country.
But, now, when huraanly speaking, nothing could
be expected but the ruin of the nation, God, the alraighty
Governor of the world, who has the winds and the seas
at his disposal, in infinite goodness, gave them a commis
sion against these approaching enemies, in the execution
of which they shook their vain confidence, and accom-
phshed their destruction. The duke de Medina Sidonia,
who had the coramand of the expedition, being utterly
inexperienced in marine affairs, had its use in frustrating
the bold design. The day after leaving the port of
Lisbon, these formidable enemies met with a consider^
able repulse ; for a violent tempest arose, which sunk
some of the ships, and obhged the rest to put back into
the harbour. When refitted, they again put to sea,
directing their course towards Plymouth. Effingham,
the English admiral, was just got out of port, when he
saw the armada coming full sail towards him, disposed
in the form of a half moon, and extending seven miles

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 205
from one extremity to the other. The Enghsh admiral,
seconded by Sir Francis Drake, Hawkins, aiid Ftobisher,
attacked this mighty foe. Soon after. Lord Charles
Howard, fiUing eight of his smaller ships with combus
tible materials, sent thera into the raidst of the eneray,
which produced the desired effect. In short, they Were
driven on rocks, and against each other, by tempest, and
BO dispersed and shattered, that not more than fifty-
three ships returned to Spain ; which was a terrible
wound to her^naval strength. Thus He who sitteth in
the heaven laughed thera to scorn, and derided their
vain boastings ! Frora the epoch of this hostile disposi
tion and atterapt, the navy of England is dated.
To the long and successful reign of Elizabeth succeeded
James VI. King of Scotland, and the First of England.
He was the son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darriley, by Mary,
daughter of James V. who died in the yeetr 1545, leaving
his crown to her. James I. was a weak prince, whose
errors and measures paved the way for the miseries of
succeeding reigns. Hostile to the Presbyterians, who
predominated in his dominions, by his attempts to place
them on the footing of the Episcopal Church, he raised
them against himself. He married his son to a Catholic
princess of the house of France, after having offended
the nation by a project of marriage between the same
son and a Spanish princess.
After such disastrous circumstances, as have been
ahea;dy narrated, it was reasonable to expect that the
papists would have declined any further attempts against
this nation : but, behold, in the reign of James I. the;
most monstrous of aU their efforts, the very master-piece
of infernal pohcy and cruelty was produced, namely^
the Gunpowder Plot, in the year 1605 ! No sooner did
they perfceive that King James did not coincide with

206 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
their projects, than they devised, the most horrid and
compendious scheme of ruin ever conceived, which was
to destroy at one blow the very strength and flower of the
kingdom, the King, the Lords, and the Commons, when
sitting in Parhament, by thirty-six barrels of gunpowder;
and so to murder the whole nation in its representatives !
This was a contrivance of desperate mahce, complicated
mischief, expeditious and extensive ruin. Were we to ran
sack the records of time, and memorials of all ages, it
would be very difficult to find any thing in history equal
in horror and guUt, and so dreadfully shocking and
detestable as the Gunpowder Plot ! This contrivance
was of such a nature, as neither wisdom could foresee,
nor power defeat : there was no possibility, humanly
speaking, of guarding against it. The preparations being
wholly out of view, none could be apprized of it before
hand ; and the execution being so quick, and fatal, hke
hghtning, an escape was utterly impossible. The ruin
would have been diffusive, taking in friends as weU as
' enemies, which, consequently, was, under God, the very
means of preventing its execution.
This proposal, to blow up the Parliament-house, when
the three states of the realm were assembled there, was
approved by our enemies as a noble and extraordinary
project. This diabolical scherae originated with„Catesby :
he comraunicated it to Percy, a descendant of the iUus
trious house of Northumberland, who, being charmed
with the raeasure, they cautiously developed their views
to a few individuals, and secured their interest. They
sent over to Flanders, in quest of one Guy Fawkes, an
officer in the Spanish service, of whose zeal and resolu
tion they entertained no doubt. Three noted Jesuits
were consulted on the raeasure, who not only told the
conspirators that they might do it with a good conscience.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 207
but also much applauded the enterprise. Hereupon they
took the following oath of secrecy, which they confirmed
by hearing mass and receiving the sacrament together :
" You shall swear by the blessed Trinity, and by the
sacrament you now purpose to receive, never to disclose,
directly or indirectly; by word or circumstance, the matter
that shall be proposed to you to keep secret, nor desist
from the execution thereof until the rest shall give you
leave !" And then they expected very shortly to effect
this prodigious wickedness.
They next hired a house in the name of Percy,
adjoining that in which the Parliament asserabled ; and
finding that a cellar was to be let under the House of Lords,
they seized the opportunity of renting it, and forming a
communication between Percy's house and it, deposited
there thirty-six barrels of gunpowder, which they covered
with faggots and billet-wood. The doors of the vault
were then boldly thrown open to prevent any appearance
of danger ; and nothing remained but to watch the
opportunity of rendering their horrible malice complete.
The King, the Queen, and Prince Henry, were all
expected to be present at the opening of Parliament ;
but Prince Charles, on account of his tender age, would
necessarily be absent, and hira it was intended to assassi
nate. The Princess Elizabeth alone reraained of the
royal faraily, whom papistical vengeance had not de
voted; and it was resolved to seize her, and proclaim
her Queen immediately after the catastrophe.
The day so long wished for, now approached, on which
the Parhament was appointed to asserable. The dread
ful secret, though comraunicated to above twenty persons,
had been strictly kept, during the space of near a year
and a half. No remorse, no pity, no fear of punishment,
no hope of reward, had, as yet, induced any one

208 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
conspirator, either to abandon the enterprise, or make a
discovery of it. The internal fury had extinguished in
their breast every proper motive and correct feehng.
Sir Henry Percy, one of the conspirators, wishing to
save the life of his intimate friend and companion. Lord
Monteagle, a Catholic, son to Lord Morley, sent him the
foUowing anonymous letter, which was delivered to his
servant by an unknown hand, and which, on his return
to town, he received, ten days before the meeting of
Parhament : —
" My Lord,
" Out of the love I bear to some of your friends, I have
a care 'of your preservation. Therefore I would advise
you, as you tender your hfe, to devise sorae excuse to
shift off your attendance at this Parliament. For God
and raan have concurred to punish the wickedness of this
tirae. And think not slightly of this advertisement;
but retire yourself into your country, where you may
expect the event in safety. For though there be no
appearance of any stir, yet, I say, they will receive a
terrible blow this Parliament, and yet they shall not see
who hurts them. This counsel is not to be contemned,
because it may do you good, and can do you no harm :
for the danger is past, as soon as you have burned this
letter. And I hope God wiU give you grace to make
good use of it, unto whose holy protection I commend
you." Lord Monteagle, not knowing what to think of this
letter, though inclined to believe it a foolish attempt to
frighten and ridicule him, judged it safest to carry it to
Lord Sahsbury, Secretary of State. Though Lord Sahs-
bury, too, was inclined to pay little attention to it, he

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 209
thought proper to lay it before the king, who came to
town a few days after. To the king it appeared not so
slight a matter ; and from the serious style of the letter,
he conjectured that it implied something dangerous and
important. A terrible blow, and yet the authors con
cealed; a danger so sudden, and yet so great; these
circumstances seemed all to denote some contrivance by
gunpowder ; and it was thought advisable to inspect all
the vaults below the houses of Parliament. This care
belonged to the Earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain ; who
purposely delayed the search till the day before the
meeting of Parliaraent. He remarked those great piles
of wood and faggots which lay in the vault under the
"upper house, and he cast his eye on Fawkes, who stood
in a dark corner, and passed himself for Percy's servant.
That daring and determined courage, which so much
distinguished this conspirator, even araong those heroes
in viUainy, was fuUy painted in his countenance, and was
not unnoticed by the chamberlain. Such a quantity also
of fuel, for the use of one who lived so little in town as
Percy, appeared a little extraordinary; and on com
paring aU circumstances, it was resolved that a more
thorough inspection should be made. About midnight.
Sir Thomas Knevet, a justice of the peace, was sent
with proper attendants ; and before the door of the vault
finding Fawkes, who had just finished all his prepara
tions, he iramediately seized him, and turning over the
faggots, discovered the powder. The matches and every
thing proper for setting fire to the train were taken in
Fawkes's pocket ; who finding his guilt now apparent,
and seeing no refuge but in boldness and despair,
expressed the utmost regret that he had lost the oppor
tunity of firing the powder at once, and of sweetening
his own death by that of his enemies. Before he suffered

210 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
the penalty of death, he made a full discovery of aU the
conspirators. Catesby, Percy, and other conspirators, on hearing
what had happened, and that the whole plot was disco
vered, hurried down to Warwickshire ; where Sir Everard
Digby, thinking himself assured that success had
attended his confederates, was already in arms, in order
to seize tbe princess Elizabeth, who had escaped into
Coventry. The conspirators^ with all their attendants,
never exceeded the number of eighty persons ; and being
surrounded on every side, could no longer entertain hopes
either of prevailing or escaping. Having, therefore,
confessed themselves, and received absolution, they boldly
prepared for death, resolving to seU their hves as dear
as possible to the assailants. But even this miserable
consolation was denied them^ Some of their powdef
taking fire disabled them for defence. The people rushed
in upon them, Percy and Catesby were killed by one
shot. Digby, Rookwood, Winter, and others, being
taken prisoners, were tried, confessed their guilt, and
died, as well as Garnett, by the hands of the executioner.
And the lords Mordaunt and Stourton, two Catholics,
were fined ; the forraer ten thousand pounds, the latter
four thousand, by the Star Chamber; because their
absence from Parhament had excited a suspicion of their
being acquainted with the conspiracy. The Earl of
Northumberland was fined thirty thousand pounds, and
detained several years prisoner in the tower ; because,
not to mention other grounds of suspicion, he had
admitted Percy into the nuraber of gentlemen pensioners,
without his taking the requisite oaths. =*

• Hume's Hist, of England, vol. vi. pp. 33—38. 8vo. ed. 1802; and
Time's Telescope, for 1814, pp. 281—285.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 211
Thus while the diabolical contrivance was frustrated,
many of the conspirators were seized, and punished for
their treason. The hand of God was evident in the
discovery, for it was accoraplished by the most unlikely
means. A cardinal, with the subject fully in view, said,
that it was not discovered without a miracle of Providence,
If this plot had taken effect, it has been stated, that the
Papists intended throwing the odium of it on the
Puritans, The Protestant succession is very rauch owing, under
divine Providence, to this deliverance from the gunpow
der conspiracy, for by means of the discovery and defeat
of the plot, the Princess Elizabeth was preserved. The
Papists designed, if that project had succeeded according
to their wishes, to have seized the young princess in the
country, where she was at that time, and to have married
her to a Popish prince. But Providence frustrating their
purpose, provided much better for her : she was after
wards Queen of Bohemia, and grandmother of King
George I.
If the Papists had succeeded in this shocking design,
what rapine, what barbarous murders would have imme- '
diately foUowed throughout the kingdom ! But a wise
and gracious Providence discovered the execrable plot,
at the very time when it was to have been executed, to
the great confusion of its sanguinary authors, and the
inexpressible joy of the nation. If this scheme had
succeeded, in all probabihty it would have proved the
ruin of the Protestant interest throughout Europe.
This memorable deliverance ought never to be for-
o'otten by all who love religion, especially the Protestant
reformed religion, and liberty ; and the fifth of Novem
ber was declared, by act of Parhament, to be a day of
thanksgiving to God for ever ! Thug was the curse,

212 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
intended to be suddenly executed on this nation, wonder
fully turned into a perpetual blessing ! It is a day to
be had in continual remembrance, for preventing a plot,
which, had it succeeded, would probably have entailed
Popery on this land for many generations. On this day,
God delivered the nation from men whose tender mercies
were cruel, and rescued it from a power that has very
often triumphed either in the slavery or slaughter of
those over whom it has prevaUed. To be delivered from
Popery, as it has existed in many countries, is to be
exempted from racks, gibbets, gridirons, murders, massa
cres, apostolical dragoons, cruel deaths, or a life worse
than death : together with something under the name of
rehgion, that is still worse than all the rest, — a religion,
as to its form and spirit, absurd, bloody, and dangerous,
tending so much to the future ruin of the soul, as well as
to its present misery.
The hope of destroying the British constitution, and
the Protestant religion, gave birth to this horrid plot ;
the real spring of all Papistical treasons in this country.
Though had they certainly known how small a share of
zeal James I. had against Popery, and could they have
foreseen how little hurt his immediate successors would
have done them and their religion, possibly they might
not have been so forward to destroy him and his poste
rity. For the chief design apparently pursued in that
and the three foUowing reigns, appears to have been the
changing our limited monarchy into an absolute govern
ment, and tbe Protestant rehgion into Popery, at least a
French Popery. And when we reflect, for how long a
period that design was carried on, we have reason to
wonder that it was not effected, and that we continue a
free Protestant nation.

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 213
MiUar, in his Historical View of the English Govern
ment, says, « During the whole reign of James, the
behaviour of the Commons was calm, steady, and judi
cious, and does great honour to the integrity and abilities
of those eminent patriots by whora the determinations
of tbat assembly were chiefly directed. Their apprehen
sions concerning the prevalence of Popery were, perhaps,
greater than there was any good reason to entertain ;
but this proceeded from the prejudice of the times ; and
to judge fairly of the spirit with which, in this particular,
the members of Parliament were animated, we raust
make allowance for the age and country in which they
lived, and for the occurrences which were stiU fresh in
their memory. Though placed in circumstances that
were new and critical, though heated by a contest in
which their dearest rights were at stake, and doubtless
alarmed by the danger to which, from their perseverance
in their duty, they were exposed; they seem to have
kept at an equal distance from invading the prerogatives
of the crown, and betraying the hberties of the people.
They defended the ancient governraent with vigour ; but
they acted merely on the defensive ; and it will be diffi
cult to show that they advanced any one claim which was
either illegal or unreasonable. The conduct of James,
on the other hand, was an uniform system of tyranny,
prosecuted according to the scale of his talents. In parti
cular his levying money without consent of Parliament,
his dispensing with the laws against Popish recusants,
and his imprisoning and punishing members of Parlia
ment for declaring their opinions in the house, were
manifest and atrocious violations of the constitution."
After the death of Queen Ehzabeth, the Enghsh
honour was greatly tarnished under a series of inglorious
reigns, and a race of misled princes, who seemed to

214 POPEBY COUNTERACTED BY
make themselves little, and their kingdoms contemptible.
In the reigns of James I. Charles I. and Charles II,
there were frequent alarms and perpetual struggles for
public liberty.
Charles I. was the second son of James I. by Anne,
daughter of the King of Denmark, On the accession of
his father to the Enghsh throne, he was created Duke of
York ; and on the death of his brother Henry, he was
made Prince of Wales. When Prince of Wales, he took
a journey to Spain, " in the hope of marrying Donna
Maria, the daughter of Philip III. King of Spain ; who
was the son of Philip II. the crudest and most tyrannical
king in Europe; who had invaded England with a
powerful fleet and army, in the year 1558, with a view
of thoroughly reducing it under his dominion, and re
establishing in it the Papal religion, with its usual ap
pendage, the persecution of Protestants and heretics.
Into this most bigotted Popish royal faraily, was this
prince, at that tirae, ambitious of entering, though the
match was afterwards broke off by some accident or other ;
and then he married another Popish princess, named
Henrietta Maria, the sister of Louis XIII. King of
France, who was very much bigotted to the Popish
religion, and very desirous of introducing it into Eng
land ; and who, by her pernicious advice to her husband
in matters of religion and government, in which he was
weak enough to let himself be guided by her, led him
into many of the bad measures that gave rise to the mis
fortunes of his reign. There was, therefore, good reasons
for the suspicions that many of his subjects entertained
of his being himself a Papist, though he always declared
himself a Protestant, and even at the approach of death.
But at least, it is certain that, if he were a Protestant,
he was not such a sort of Protestant as, for the good

THE REFORMATION AND BEVOLUTION. 215
of the English nation, and the preservation of their
religion, a king of England ought to be ; or it would
never have corae into his head to raarry a Popish prin
cess-"" MUlar says, " The first fifteen years of the reign of
Charles I. presented nearly the same view of pohtical par
ties, which had occurred in the reign of the father. In the
history of tJie world," continues he, " we shall perhaps dis
cover few instances of pure and genuine patriotism equal
to that which during the reign of James, and during the
first fifteen years of the reign of Charles, was displayed
by those leading members of Parliament, who perse
vered, with no less temper than steadiness in opposing
the violent measures of the court. To the illustrious
patriots who reraained unshaken during this period,"
he adds, " we are indebted, in a good measure, for
the preservation of that freedom which was banished
from raost of the other countries of Europe."
" Favourable, like his father, to the Cathohcs," says
ViUers, " and by consequence more partial to the Epis
copalians than the Presbyterians, he endeavoured to
accomplish, in Scotland, the work of James I. by estab
hshing in it episcopacy. By this proceeding, he drove
the inhabitants of that kingdom into open rebelhon, and
made war upon his Scottish subjects with an army of
English almost equaUy disaffected to him; leaving
behind him in London a Parliament not much less the
object of his fear than the Scottish Convention. From
this fermentation, political and religious, arose a powerful
sect of Independents, who obtained the ascendancy in
the House of Commons, djrove the Lords from the upper

" Baron Masere's Preface to his edition of Ludlow's Three Letters
from the Hague.

216 POPEBY COUNTERACTED BY
house, and began by obliging the unfortunate Charles,
already at bay, to deliver up to the executioner his faithful
minister, Strafford."
A raost inhuman and bloody persecution took place in
Ireland, in the reign of Charles I. when, according to the,
Irish accounts, ,above one hundred and fifty thousand
Protestants were butchered in cold blood: but others
say, double that number then fell, by the barbarous
hands of the Papists. And, indeed, the confusions and
distractions which accompanied nearly the whole of that
reign, gave the Papists great advantage against the
Protestants. History informs us, that " the Papists of
Ireland fancied they found a convenient opportunity of
throwing off the Enghsh yoke, and accordingly resolved
to cut off aU the Protestants of the kingdora at a stroke ;
so that neither age, sex, or condition, received any pity.
In such indiscriminate slaughter, neither former benefits,
nor aUiances, nor authority, were any protection; num
berless were the instances of friends murdering their
intimates, relations their kinsmen, and servants their
masters. In vain did flight save from the first assault ;
destruction, that had an extensive spread, met the
haunted victims at every turn." *
" " In the reign of King Charles I. after Ireland had been reduced to
a state of peace and obedience to the authority of the Crown of England,
by the suppression of two successive very formidable rebeUions, by the
victorious arms of Queen Elizabeth ; in consequence of those successes, a
numerous colony of Protestants from Scotland had, in the first part of
King James's reign, received grants of land from the king, in the province
of Ulster, in Ireland, (which is the northern province of tbat island, and
the nearest to Scotland ;) and had settled themselves on the said lands,
and cultivated them with great industry and success ; in like manner,
many Protestants from England had, about the same time, gone to diifer-
ent parts of Ireland, and settled themselves upon several tracts of land
which they obtained there, and had, Uke the aforesaid Scottish colonists,
cultivated the said lands with industry and success. Both these sets of

THE REFORMATION AND BEVOLUTION. 217
In this reign, the impolitic favours shown the Papists
by the court, and the bold invasion of civil rights,
inflamed the nation, threw it into a state of convulsive
disorder, and led on to a civil war and general confusion ;
which awful state of things ended not, but with the
beheading of the sovereign ! Besides which, the severities
exercised towards the Puritans, drove many of them to
seek a settlement in the deserts of Araerica. These
emigrations, by an over-ruhng Providence, have proved
a raeans of spreading the gospel of Christ in that part of
the world.
The restoration of Charles II. to the throne, intro
duced a general corruption of manners. This was
foUowed with severe judgqients. A plague broke out in
London, in the year 1665, which destructive scourge
swept off a prodigious number of inhabitants ; aiid the
year following, a fire destroyed a great part of that city.
The king favoured Popery in secret, and professed his

colonists had, by their success in the cultivation of their respective tracts
of land in Ireland, diiring a space of more thkn thirty years, greatly
increased the riches and civiUzation of that country, aiid had, during aU
the said time (Uved upon terms of friendship and famiUarity with the
native Iris^,^ in their several neighbourhoods, (who were, for the most .^art,
Roman JathoUcs, or Papists,) and had intermarried with them, and let
lands to them upon leases, and taken leases of land from them, and had
done, and exchanged all sorts of offices of good neighbourhood with them ;
yet after aU this peaceable and happy intercourse between these Scottish
aud English Protestant colonists, and their Popish neighbours, for so
many years, the Popish inhabitants of Ireland paid such an impUcit obe.
dience to the wicked suggestions of their priests, as to enter into a general
conspiracy, that extended over almost all the island, to massacre, , on a
certain appointed day, namely, the 23rd day of October, in the year 1641,
aU their Protestant neighbours, both Scotch and EngUsh, without sparing
women and children. And this most abominable resolution they did, in
a great degree, execute on the appointed day, and for many weeks, and
even months afterwards, tiU the Parliament of England sent an army to
resist them." — Baron Masere's Preface to his recent edition of Sir John
Temple's History of ihe Irish Rebellion.

218 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
attachment to Episcopacy in public : while violent mea
sures were pursued against Protestant Dissenters, who
had largely contributed to place him on the throne. He
married the Catholic Princess of Portugal, who drew a
multitude of foreigners of that profession into the king
dom. He made war upon Protestant Holland, the
ancient ally of England. During his exile he had been
privately reconciled to Rome, though he thought it not
ht fully to declare his sentiments. Though he had aban
doned the worship of the Church of England, it was
accounted a heinous offence to assert he was a Roman
Catholic ; and some persons were fined in large sums of
money for having published it, when every one knew it
to be a fact, Huddleston, the priest, stated his conver
sion to Popery to be real. If he entertained any design
of introducing this religion into this country, he knew
the temper of the nation too well to iraagine it could be
accomplished in a short time, or by open and prominent
methods. The truth seems to be, that Charles II. was
neither bigot enough to any rehgion, nor loved his ease
and pleasure so little, as to embark in any enterprise that
would have disturbed his personal quiet, if not hazarded
his crown.
The Romish emissaries knowing this, and the king
having no prospect of issue by the queen, they were
resolved to secure one of the family, and fixed on his
brother, the Duke of York, to whom they offered their
early devotions. At the restoration, he returned to
England, and raarried secretly Anne Hyde, daughter of
the Earl of Clarendon, by whom he had two daughters,
Mary, and Anne. On the death of his first wife, he
married the Princess of Modena. He had, during his
banishment, and after his restoration, acquired the repu
tation of being brave and skilful in the art of war ;

THE EEFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 219
having coraraanded the Spanish horse in Flanders,
and the English fleet on the ocean. From a prince
possessed of these qualifications, and firmly attached
to the See of Rome, it could excite no surprise
that the Roman Catholics expected, and the Pro
testants feared a change in the affairs of England,
if ever he should wear the crown. And, therefore,
as it was the interest of the Catholics to have him
seated on the throne, so it was equally the wish of
the Protestants to have hira excluded frora it. In
a word, this led to the Bill of Exclusion,^ which, it
is supposed, the king sanctioned, or seeraed to do ; how
ever, he dissolved both that and the next Parharaent
at Oxford, merely to ward off the blow that threatened
his brother. There is one circumstance of prime irapor
tance concerning the king, and which entwines the mead
of praise round his brow. His brother advised him,
and sohcitations were made to him from abroad, to

» Lord William Russell, who carried up the Bill from the Com-
mons to the Lords, the object of which was to exclude the Duke from the
crown, as a Papist, but was lost in the Upper House, afterwards feU a
sacrifice for his attachment to the Protestant religion. In the paper which
Lord RusseU deUvered to the sheriffs, he says, " For Popery, I look on it
as an idolatrous and bloody religion, and therefore thought myself bound in
my station, to do aU I could against it ; and by, that, I foresaw I should
procure such great enemies to myself, and so powerful ones, (alluding to
the duke,) that I have been now for some time expecting the worse ; and
blessed be God, I fall by the axe, and not by the fiery trial. I did
believe, and do stiU, that Popery is breaking in upon this nation, and
that those who advance it, wiU stop at nothing to carry on their design.
I am heartily sorry tbat so many Protestants give their helping hand
to it, but I hope God wUl preserve the Protestant reUgion, and this nation,
though I am afraid it will fall under very great trials, and very sharp
sufferings." — Lady Russell's Letters.
Lord Russell's coUeague, Sidney, who suffered in the same
cause, entertained more encouraging hopes : " God wiU not suffer this
land, where the Gospel has of late so much flourished, more than any
other part of the world, to become a slave of the world. He wiU not
suffer it to be made a land of graven images."

220 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
marry his two nieces to princes of the Romish religion ;
but in spite of these entreaties, and in comphance with
others of an opposite nature, he married the eldest to
the Prince of Orange, and afterwards the youngest to
the Prince of Denmark, both Protestants ; one of the
happiest actions of his life, and by which he made
amends for the errors of his reign.
James II. the second son of Charles I. born at
London, in the year 1663, in which year he was created
Duke of York, succeeded Charles II. on the throne of
England. In tbe first speech he made as king, he said,
" That since it had pleased Almighty God to place him
in that station, and that he was now to succeed so good
and gracious a king, as weU as so very kind a brother,
he thought fit to declare to them, that he would endea^-
vour to follow his example, and especially in that of his
great clemency and tenderness to his people ; and that
though he had been reported to be a man for arbitrary
power, yet he was resolved to make it his endeavour to
preserve the government of England, both in church
and state, as it was then estabhshed by law. That he
knew the principles of the Church of England were for
monarchy ; and that the members of it had showed them
selves good and loyal subjects ; therefore he would
always take care of it, and defend it, and support it.
That he knew the laws of England were sufficient to
make the king as great a monarch as he could wish ; and
that as he would never depart from the just rights and
prerogatives of the crown, so he would never invade any
man's property ;" concluding, " That as he had often
hitherto ventured his life in defence of this nation, so he
was resolved to go as far as any man in preserving it in
all its just rights and liberties." These pretensions and
promises appeared very fair and satisfactory ; and which

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 221
if he had fulfilled, he would have immortalized his
name ; but in a very short time, he gave manifest proofs
that they were false and delusive.
Thus, at length, the Papists of England having got
a prince on the throne who was confessedly of their own
sentiments, they now ventured to pull off the entire
mask which they had hitherto worn, and made such
hasty, open, and violent advances, on both civil and
religious liberty, that the Reformation lost ground daily.
They had, within the space of four years, nearly demol
ished that comely structure which had been upwards of
one hundred years in rearing. Black clouds appeared
gathering every where through England, Scotland, and
Ireland, and assuraed a terrible aspect. Rorae was
caressed, and a Roman prelate appeared publicly at
London, as the Pope's nuncio, though by law it was
high treason. The Earl of Castleraain was despatched
to Rorae, as extraordinary arabassador,^ with a magni-

" " Innocent XI received this embassy as one that saw further than
those who sent it. The ambassador had but a cold reception of the holy
father, and none of the cardinals, but those of a particular faction, and
the good-natured cardinal of Norfolk, took any further notice of it, than
good manners obliged them. The Court of Rome were too refined
politicians, to be imposed upon with sftow and jjojse, to expect great mat
ters from such hasty, iU-timed advances as were made to them.
" Castlemain had several audiences of the pope, but to Uttle purpose ;
for whenever he began to talk of business, the pope was seasonably
attacked with a fit of coughing, which broke off the ambassador's dis
course for that time, and obliged him to retire. These audiences and fits
of coughing continued from time to time, while Castlemain remained at
Rome, and were the subject of diversion to aU but a particular faction at
court. At length he was advised to come to threats, and to give out that
he would be gone, since he could not have an opportunity to treat vrith
the pope about the business he came for. Innocent was so Uttle concerned
for the ambassador's resentment, that when they told told him of it, he
answered with his ordinary coldness, Well! Let him go, and tell him. It
is fit 'he rise early in the morning, that he may rest himself at noon ; for in
this country it is dangerous to travel in the heat of the day. — Welwood's
Memoirs, &c.

222 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
ficent train, and a most sumptuous equipage, with a
design, no doubt, to reconcile England, Scotland, and
Ireland, to the Holy See. Then did the nation swarm
with Jesuits and Papal emissaries of every sort. Father
Peters, a Jesuit, was sworn of the privy council. Jesuit
schools and seminaries were erected in most of the largest
towns. Bishops were publicly consecrated in the royal
chapel, and appointed to exercise their episcopal func
tions in their respective dioceses. Their pastoral letters,
directed to the lay Catholics of England, were printed
by the king's printer, with public hcense, and openly
dispersed in every direction. The privileges of both
Universities were invaded, and Popish priests were seen
occupying the pulpits of the Protestant clergy.
Now Popery dared every where to appear openly, and
the doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance
were preached boldly ; and, to produce the greater
effect, inculcated on the conscience under pain of dam
nation. The Papists declared, that it was a great evil
to say any thing in defence of the Protestant religion and
hberties ; and some of those who had the courage to vin
dicate these, were presently imprisoned, as offenders
against the king's person and government. The bishop
of London was suspended for not suspending Dr. Sharp,
who had preached against Popery. Seven bishops were
iUegaUy imprisoned for doing their duty.
In this reign, the corporations were fiUed with Popish
magistrates, the benches with Popish judges, the army
with Popish officers, or persons so inchned. An army
was raised without the consent of Parhament, to main
tain an arbitrary prince in all his lawless pretensions, and
to force a free people into slavery and a false religion.
The Earl of Clarendon was removed from the office of
privy seal and the government of Ireland, to make way

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 223
for the Earl of Tyrconnel, in the one case, and the Lord
Arundel in the other. The whole government of Ireland
was actually put into the hands of Papists, an absolute
power was assuraed in Scotland, and the tyrant of
France was ready to give 'our bigotted prince all pos
sible assistance in his black and destructive designs, with
large arraies and iraraense treasure. No less than thirty
thousand raen, with vast supplies of raoney, were offered
King Jaraes II. by the French king, to support this
design, of preparing chains for all the Protestants in
Europe. AU the fences of our rights, our hberties, and
our rehgion, were thrown down ; blood was prodigiously
shed in the west of England ; a power of dispensing with
laws was clairaed and exercised ; charters were demanded
and resigned ; property was rendered precarious ; an
high coramission court was erected, to humble " or ruin
those who opened their mouth against Popery ; freemen
were dispossessed of their franchises, without any just
pretence ; an Irish army was brought over to dispirit a
free people, and dragoon them into slavery and Popery ;
and a great part of the militia of the kingdora was put
into the hands of professed Papists. In a word, the
royal prerogative was advanced above law ; liberty and
property were lost ; the Protestant religion itself was on
the point of ruin ; under all these heavy grievances, it
was a crime to complain, and the calling a legal Parlia^
ment to redress them, was impossible in the then circum
stances. Now our enemies thought their work was done,
and indeed a Protestant had a strong faith that did not
think so.
Thus King James II. under the influence and con
troul of Popery, immediately broke his coronation oath,
trampled on the laws, both civil and ecclesiastical, broke
in on the most sacred parts of the constitution, allowed

224 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
and encouraged the free and pubhc exercise of the
Popish religion, and gave undeniable evidence, by a
notorious course of actions, that he fully intended to
bring the nation under the intolerable yoke of Popery. *
Under a sense of those miseries, which they feared being
rendered perpetual, the hearts of aU serious and think
ing Protestants, to adopt the prophetic style, began to
melt, and to fail them, for fear of those things that were
then apparently coming on them.'
When the civil and rehgious liberties of this nation
were thus on the point of being taken away by the
Papists, and deliverance seemed to be impossible ; then
the good and righteous Governor of the world inter
posed, opened a way for escape, and gave a sudden over
throw to tyrannical power. He snatched Europe from
slavery, dehvered Protestants from spiritual bondage,
and stamped the broad seal of his displeasure on papal
intolerance, gross idolatry, destructive error, and barba
rous actions. He rescued us out of the hands of bloody
enemies, secured our religion, drove the spirit of perse
cution before him, and became a repairer of our breaches,
and a restorer of paths to dweU in.

• Rapin gives the foUowing account of the debate in the House of
Lords, on the BiU for excluding the Duke of York, (afterwards James
II.) from the succession to the crown: "The Duke," says he, "spoke
on the BiU, for excepting himself, ivith tears in his eyes, protesting that
whatever his religion might be, it should only be a private thing between
God and his own soul, and no effect of it shovld ever appear on his govern
ment  Tindal's Rapin, vol. xiv. p. 147. edit. 1731.
When this same duke became king, as an author has remarked, we
have seen how he kept his word : so far from his reUgion being " a private
thing," he strove to make it the pubUc reUgion of England ; and so far
from it not affecting " the government," he would, in a short time, have
completely overturned the government of the realm, both in church and
state, had not the nation discovered that Popery in power, and a Pro
testant constitution, were things that could not exist together.

THE REF0RMATI01|J AND REVOLUTION. 225
He, in infinite mercy, opened the eyes of the nation,
and brought many to renounce in practice what they had
previously too much asserted and pressed as their
favourite principle. He put it into the hearts of the
chief persons in the nation, to implore the assistance of
the Prince of Orange, the sovereign's son-in-law ; who,
as Bishop Burnet asserts, carried in his heart the words
he ordered to be put on his standard — The Protestant
Religion, and the Liberties of Englanjj ! This
great and noble-spirited prince, did, at the earnest and
reiterated entreaties of the most enlightened and best
friends of the nation put his life in his hand, and expose
hiraself, for our rescue, not only to the perUs of the sea,
but also to those more dangerous storms which Popish
fury and revenge would not fail to raise against him on
the shore. And God was pleased to bless the generous
enterprise with the desired success.
This prince set sail from Helvoetsluys, with a fleet of
more than four hundred vessels, and an army of above
fourteen thousand raen ; and, after a voyage of two
days, landed at Broxholrae, in Torbay, on the fifth of
November, 1688, which was the anniversary of the gun
powder plot. The manner in which this deliverance
was effected, proves that the hand of God was in it.
Though it was not rairaculous, yet, without contradiction,
it was marvellous. A wind blew which exactly served
the Prince of Orange, and, with this wind, there was a
fog which prevented his ships from being discovered by
the English fleet, then consisting of thirty-seven men of
war, and seventeen fire-ships, which lay ready near Har
wich to attack, the Dutch, had they seen or. met with
them. Thus the fleet, which brought over our dehverer,
large as it was, made its way without being discovered !
Bishop Burnet observes, that as soon as the wind had
Q-

226 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
landed the Dutch at Torbay, it presently wheeled about
into another quarter ! Indeed, many more wonderful
instances of the interference of a superintending Provi
dence, in this enterprising undertaking, might be
noticed. This deliverance was accomplished with singular dis
patch ; for, from the landing of the Prince of Orange at
Torbay, to the abdication of King Jaraes II. was only
forty-three days ! And though so soon completed, yet
it was effected with the effusion of very little blood. It
is remarkable, that no more divine severity was mixed
with so great a raercy. This much enhanced the blessing,
and put an early credit on the honoured instrument
eraployed ; for the amazing facility with which the whole
was managed, served to illustrate the goodness of his
cause. The chief reason of this was, that God took the
hearts of men into his own hands, and turned them as he
pleased : he animated the friends of the Revolution, and
dispirited its enemies ; so that, from the aspect of the
whole progress of things, it became evident to the world
it was the Lord's doing.
This astonishing event filled the hearts of aU Protes
tants with a lively joy. King James II. found himself
intimidated, his counsels broken, his armies unfaithful,
and his people resolved, at any rate, to get rid of a
Popish prince, and the religion of Rome together. Soon
after which, the unhappy king, who bad been grossly
misled by Popish councils, and those superstitious and
tyrannical ]>rinciples which had been infused into him,
during his exUe among Papists, abdicated his throne,
and fled to France. Hereupon, the Lords and Commons
of England, regularly convened, did, in gratitude, make
their dehverer their king, and placed him on the throne
as the guardian of British liberty, and the defender of

the eeformation AND REVOLUTION. 227
the Protestant faith: from whence we date the
Revolution. Thus, in a short time, the Protestant
religion and legal constitution, which lay bound as
a sacrifice on the altars of Popery, . were rescued and
restored ; and Protestants were delivered from the fright
ful prospect of either dying at the stake, or living slaves.
The Prince of Orange became our Williara III. of
iraraortal meraory ! At whose approach, dangers van
ished, Popery stole away in silence, the throne was filled
with the consent of a free people, and the laws returned
to their regular course. King WiUiara's undertaking
was crowned with alraost miraculous success, and the
voice of the nation proclaimed the mercy of the de
liverer. King William was averse from persecution. He there
fore began his reign by attempting to repeal those laws
which enjoined uniformity of worship ; and though he
could not entirely succeed in his liberal design, yet a
toleration was granted to such Dissenters as should take
the oath of allegiance, and hold no private conventicles.
Many were the blessings enjoyed under his reign, for he
always continued a prince of known justice, honour,
clemency, and goodness. If the Dissenters did not
enjoy all the advantages they eXpected, this was owing
more to the iniquity of the times, than to any inclination
in the king. Those whom he had obhged, by putting
them into a capacity of serving him, and promoting the
interests of the nation, abused his favour to quite a
contrary end; they often disconcerted his raeasures,
betrayed his purposes, and clogged the wheels of
government. The apprehensions of the Papists concerning the Revo
lution, were very unpleasant to themselves. It could
not be expected that they would view it without an evil

228 POPERY counteracted by
eye. They soon exerted themselves to represent it as an
odious thing, and united their energies to deprive the
nation of the blessings resulting from it. So early as the
27th of February foUowing, King James sailed from
Brest with a considerable number of French troops, for
Ireland, and he landed at Kingsale on the 12th of
March. Here the Papists carried on their designs for
sorae tirae with a high hand : but, afterwards, by the
good hand of God on King Wilham, he beat King Jaraes
in the field, and drove hira again out of the kingdom.
But the spirit of Popery and rebellion continued to
work: the Papists used all their arts and influence to
restore the abdicated king, and replace hira upon the
British throne. Hence it was, that when King William
was in Ireland, the Jacobites in England concerted mea
sures with France to restore King James, and laid a plan
¦for that purpose, which had much the appearance of
succeeding. They agreed that part of the French fleet
should sail up the river Thames ; the Jacobites in London
at that instant should make an insurrection, seize the
queen, and some of the chief ministers. Another part of
the fleet was to land eight thousand men at Torbay, and
then sail into the Irish seas, and prevent the return of
King William and his forces. But, under God, the vigi
lance of the queen defeated this design.
Various methods were taken by the Papists and Jaco
bites to subvert the happy Revolution ; some of which
were vile and odious. Many falsehoods were -contrived
and spread abroad, to create jealousies in the minds of the
people. ' Honest and brave actions were misrepresented,
and seeds of discontent sown every where. Seditious
libels were scattered in every direction through the
kingdom, and large sums of money artfully applied to
gain such as loved the wages of unrighteousness. At

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 229
length, things arrived at such a crisis, that the Jacobites,
thinking of nothing less than an invasion, in 1692,
attempted it. King James, in pursuance of their scherae,
came to La Hague, with a considerable army, and there
lay ready to embark for England. To facihtate this,
the French king gave orders to Marshal Torville to fight
the English fleet, before it was joined by the Dutch ;
and on the success they proraised theraselves in this
engagement, the fate of England seemed to depend.
And here God signally interposed, for the Dutch and
English fleets providentially joined ; and on the 19th of
May, engaged the enemy, burnt and shattered their
ships, and obtained a decisive victory. Admiral Russel
was so successful, as to pursue great part of the fleet into
the harbour of La Hague ; and having possessed himself
of such of their ships as lay nearest the shore, he drove
the French, with their own guns, from their platforms
and batteries ; and did all this in sight of the camp which
lay ready to invade England.
This disappointment was sensibly felt by King James ;
and now alraost any one would have thought the Revo
lution established. But after various unsuccessful efforts,
in the 7th year of the reign of King WiUiam, there was
formed the raost execrable conspiracy of assassinating the
king's person, and invading the kingdom. This villany
had been more than once attempted abroad, but now it
was to be performed at horae. Sir George Barkley came
over from France, with a comraission frora King Jaraes,
to attack and seize the king in his winter quarters. Se
veral more carae over, and conspired with others in this
country, how to effect this bloody design. At last they
agreed that a lane near Brentford should be the scene of
this tragedy, and that it should be perpetrated when the
king returned from hunting. But the ever-blessed God

230 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
discovered this treason, and it ended in the destruction of
the conspirators. A stop was put to the intended inva^
sion, and a warm association of the Enghsh Parliaraent
broke the hearts of some friends of the abdicated king,
and confounded the measures of all of them.
King WUliam was a hero in the field, , and on the seat
of government remarkably mild and gentle ; always
steady in his principles of religion, and ardently attached
to the cause of liberty. Through the whole of his reign
he manifested a fervent zeal for securing the Protestant
interest ; and in nothing did he give a clearer proof of
this, than in settling the crown on the iUustrious House
of Hanover ; a famUy, he was confident, that would
pursue the same generous and- noble designs which had
influenced his own views and conduct. On the death of
Queen Mary, and the young hopeful prince, the Duke
of Gloucester, he saw the entail of the crown reduced to
the life of the Princess of Denmark, and that there was
after her death, next in succession, a long train of Popish
princes. That he might make his care of us live, after
he himself was dead, he rested not tiU the illiistrious
Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of
Hanover, was, by act of Parliaraent, declared next in
succession, in the Protestant ,line, to the crown of Eng
land : which establishment was confirmed by a bill,
signed with his own hand a little before his much
lamented death, and several posterior acts. This is that
invaluable legacy King William left us, and such it truly
is : for if there had been no revolution, humanly speak
ing, there had been no Protestant succession !
The next reign was that of Queen Anne, the second
daughter of James II. when Duke of York, by Lady
Anne Hyde, daughter of the great Earl Clarendon. In
1668, she raarried Prince George of Denmark, by whom

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 231
she had several children, but aU of them died young.
In the eight first years of which, our success against a
Popish monarch and interest abroad, was Very great ;
but in the latter part of that reign. Popish bigots were
busy plotting, and contriving how to deprive this nation
of the Protestant religion ahd civil liberties. So great
was their influence with that queen, that she at last was
prevailed on to send an invitation to the Pretender to
come and take on him the crown of these kingdoms.
But through the over-ruling conduct of Divine Provi
dence, this invitation became the ruin of their scheme ;
for the person who was sent with the invitation, instead
of going to the Pretender, went to the Elector of
Hanover, and by that means all their designs were
rendered nugatory.
The French king was ready on all occasions to attempt
a restoration; what could not be done for the royal
father, he now tried to do for the pretended son ; and
having proclaimed him King of England, attempted, in
the 6th year of the reign of Queen Anne, to make him
so. The Pretender, with a body of French troops,
embarking at Dunkirk, sailed for Scotland : but how
ready soever they might imagine the Scots were for a
revolt, they soon found themselves disappointed, and
were forced to return to the same port in a shattered
condition. In the 9th year of this reign, a melancholy catastrophe
happened. The contention of party threatened to throw
the nation into confusion. All on a sudden the ministry
was changed, the Parhament dissolved, our credit sunk
at home, our reputation abroad, and the most successful
war ended in the most inglorious peace ; at a time also,
when the honour of England had never been greater
abroad, nor the satisfaction at home more perfect and

232 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
entire. Now, among the best people, the general opinion
was, that the Revolution was never at any previous
period so near expiring. At this critical and most
gloomy juncture, the Providence of God wonderfully
interposed for the protection of the Revolution. On the
first of A ugust, 1714, the queen died, in the 50th year
of her age. George I, the son of Ernest Augustus, Duke
of Brunswick Lunepbprgh, and Elector of Hanover, as
the direct descendant of James I. by his daughter Eliza^
beth. Queen of Boheraia, succeeded to the throne of
Great Britain, in virtue of an act of Parliaiment, passed
in the latter part of the reign of King Wilham III.
liraiting the succession of the crown, after the demise of
that monarch, and Queen Anne (without issue) to the
Princess Sophia of Hanover, and the heirs of her body,
being Protestants. Thus, through the bounty of Heaven,
we received King WiUiam's blessed legacy. God's own
arm brought salvation, in the most seasonable and peace
ful accession of the renowned King George I. to the
throne of these kingdoms, to which he had an indisputable
right. He had descended, in a direct feraale line, from
the Kings of England. His royal mother, the Princess
Sophia, was grand-daughter to King James I. and
sister's daughter to King Charles I. He was also grand
son to the King of Bohemia, by his royal father. So
that, by his royal mother, he was next Protestant heir
in consanguinity to the imperial crown of Britain : be
sides his Parhamentary right, which is sufficient, and,
indeed, the best claim to the crown of these realms, he
had also that of proximity of blood in the Protestant
hne. How seasonable was this very interesting event ! King
George I. carae to the throne when the truest friends to
the late queen and our country, who deserved best of

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 233
both, were all on a sudden incapacitated for advancing
either her honour, or the good of the country : when
those who might justly be suspected of being friends to
the Pretender, were promoted in their room : when
treasonable books and paraphlets were dispersed araong
the people for the support of the Pretender's claim ;
when men were enlisted by Papists and nonjurors to
assert the mock-king's title, and dispatched into France
the more to be animated in the service of.their master,
hy his own presence, and conversation with foreign friends.
What frowns had the true friends to the Protestant
succession to bear ! What heads were at work ! What
consultations were behind the curtain, for accomplishing
a design at which the sun would have blushed ! When
these things were near a crisis, though many were insen
sible of their danger, as well as others were unwilling to
believe it, and all were unable to prevent it, — then did the
Protestant succession take place without opposition,
notwithstanding the number of its enemies. The hands
of the Popish and Jacobite party were immediately tied,
their power was restrained, their designs were defeated,
and a di^eadful scene of misery and woe was happily
prevented. The regency was put into the hands of wise
and faithful men : the big expectation of Rome and the
Pretender was sunk at once; the faces oftheir advocates
and abettors, on their sudden disappointment, were
covered with shame. The hearts of the righteous leaped
within thera for joy, on the prospect of a present redress
of their grievances, and the hope of a future and more
ample security. The happy accession of King George I.
to the throne of Great Britain, on the meraorable first of
August, 1714 ; his peaceable proclamation throughout
his dominions, his safe arrival in this country on the 18th
of September ; and his coronation on the 20th of October,

234 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
are days that shine with a meridian brightness in the
Enghsh Calendar. This was a truly interesting period,
inasmuch as the death of our miseries, and the birth of
our mercies, in a great measure bear date from that time :
this joyful event stopped a current of tears, filled the
mouths of Protestants with laughter, and their tongues
with singing !
As to the character of King George I. much might
be said to his praise. The endowments of his mind
were as remarkable as the greatness of his birth. He
possessed a generous and public spirit, always seeking
the common good of his "subjects. He conferred valua^
ble favours on his subjects in his foreign dominions,
before he 'left them ; and for the loss of his presence they
testified the most unfeigned sorrow. He was a prince of
remarkable courage, mangnanimity, and justice. He set
his subjects an excellent example of moderation, tem
perance, and sobriety ; the exact order and seasonable
hours observed at court bore ample witness to this truth.
He was a hearty weU- wisher to the Protestant interest ;
what he suffered for the sake of this cause, and his pre
ferring the crown of Britain to that of Bohemia, afford
ing sufficient evidence. He carae to this country to save
us from Popery and slavery ; for what else could be an
inducement ? He was a high and mighty prince before
he came among us ; had large dominions, and abundance
of honours, being the Grand Standard-bearer, Arch-
treasurer, and Prince Elector of the Roman empire. He
soon issued a proclamation for the encouragement of
rehgion and virtue, and discountenancing vice and im
morality. These things prove, beyond contradiction,
that he was sincere and ardent in his attachraent to
Protestants. Soon after he ascended the British throne,
he was heard to say, " My maxim is, never to abandon

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. ¦ 235
my friends, to do justice to all the world, and to fear no
man." In this reign, the attempts of the British Jacpbites
and the French Papists, caused to break out an unna
tural rebellion ; but the rebels were conquered in both
parts of the island, namely, at Preston and Durablain,
in the year I715, on the Lord's day, when his people,
in their several congregations, were jointly offering up
prayers to God, for the success of the king's arms. A
conspiracy against the king was discovered a few years
afterwards. George II. in the year I714, carae to England, with
his father, whom he succeeded in 1727- He married
Princess Caroline, of Brandenburg Anspach, who died
in 1737. On being desired to abridge the rehgious
liberties of his subjects, he returned an answer worthy of
a king, yea, the king of a free people : " I teU you,
whUe I sit on the Enghsh throne^ no man shall be perse
cuted for conscience sake ;" and it is certain, he made
his proraise good, from the beginning of his reign to the
end. Religious liberty is the birth-right of Britons, and
is one of the invaluable blessings we enjoy. O how
many nations are there where this privilege is not known,
where the people are living in ignorance, and under the
blinding influence of degrading superstitions !
The same enemies as before, were at work in this
reign. The year 1745, is a period well known in
English history. The Duke of Cumberland attacked
the rebels on the plains of Culloden, and totally routed
the presumptuous'invaders. The Pretender fled away,
and wandered araong the frightful wilds of Glengarry,
for nearly six months, during which period he passed
through an affecting scene of danger, wretchedness, and
distress. At length, a privateer of St. Maloes, hired by
his adherents, arrived at Lochnanach, in which he em-

236 POPERY COUNTERACTED EY
barked, in the most tattered attire ; and after having
been chased by two English men-of-war, he arrived in
safety at Roseau, near Morlaix, in B/etagne. As the
rebels, in the reigns of both father and son, took much
the sarae route, so they raet with a simUar fate Their
attempt, in both reigns, was to set up a Popish prince
on the throne of these kingdoms ; but the Governor of
the world blasted their schemes, and confounded all
their measures.
How surprising was the speedy and effectual suppres
sion of this unnatural rebellion ! The Divine goodness
exceeded raen's warraest wishes, for scarcely could any
have iraagined, that such a prodigious coramotion would
so soon have lost not only its terrors, but even its exist
ence. Previously, people were filled with most dismal
apprehensions of losing every thing worth contending
for ; every thing dear to thera as men, as Christians, and
as Protestants. In the midst of these alarming fears,
how wondrously did the hand of God interpose, in many
instances, but especially in raising up a general, who
was to the whole array what the soul is to the body ;
and, at length, by turning the suspended balance in our
favour, in the raeraorable field of Culloden ! Hence,
we raay date our deliverance from a train of prodigious
evils, under which the nation would certainly have
fallen, had Popish eneraies succeeded in their attempts.
Adored for ever be the Divine goodness ! The snare
was broken, and his people escaped. The wicked were
snared in the work of their own hands, and fell into the
pit they had digged for others.
And Divine Providence has ever since signally watched
over this nation, and guarded our privileges, both sacred
and civil, against the secret designs and open attempts of
our enemies. It is evident, that the designs of the Papists

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION 237
have ever been to take away our religion, our laws, and
our hberties ; but the wisdom, the power, the goodness,
and the sovereignty of God, have been gloriously dis
played, in the whole progress of these important affairs,
and erainently in our salvation. The arrows let fly at
the Revolution, have hitherto fallen short of the mark,
or rebounded on them that shot thera. The abdicated
king was never restored. The pretended prince, with
his raiserable followers, wandered in exile. Invasions
and conspiracies were unsuccessful. Nay, the wisdom
and power of God did not only resist and rebuke the
attempts of these eneraies, but over-ruled thera to our
advantage. The atterapts of France to invade England,
greatly weakened their naval strength, and equaUy
"Strengthened that of ours. The plot to assassinate the
king occasioned a national association. The four years
of confusion in Queen Anne's reign, was a trial of raen.
The disturbances in the reign of George I. and George
II. without any thanks to the authors of them, tended
to promote our union, and render the government yet
more safe and steady.
If any of these attempts had succeeded accord
ing to the wishes and designs of our enemies, then we
should have been deprived of the inestimable privileges
of the Revolution. What could have been expected
from Rome, but Romish superstition and will- worship ?
What from France, but French tyranny and oppression ?
What from an arbitrary monarch, an Italian Papist, but
the ruin of all our established rights, and the entail of
misery on posterity .'' But, thank God ! the snares are
broken, and we are escaped.
George III. grandson of George II. was proclaimed
King on the 25th of October, I76O. In a speech which
he himself dehvered from the throne, on the 18th

238 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
November following, to both houses of Parhament, are
these memorable words: "Born and educated in this
country, I glory in the name of Briton, and the peculiar
happiness of my life will ever consist in promoting the
welfare of a people, whose loyalty and warm affection
for me, I consider as the greatest and most permanent
security of ray throne ; and I doubt riot, but their steadi
ness in those principles will equal the firmness of ray
inviolable resolution to adhere to, and strengthen this
excellent constitution in church and state. The civil
and religious rights of my • loving subjects, are equally
dear to me, with the raost valuable prerogatives of my
crown ; and as the surest foundation of the whole, and
the best raeans to draw down the Divine favour on my
reign, it is my fixed purpose to countenance and encou
rage the practice of true religion and virtue."
So anxious was the king to preserve the rights and
privileges of the constitution, as far as his royal prero
gatives could enable him, that Lord North frequently
said, " The king would live on bread and water, to pre
serve the constitution of his country. He would sacrifice
his life to raaintain it inviolate." His Majesty's views
of Protestantisra and rehgious liberty, extended so far,
that when the royal patronage was intreated in support
of an estabhshment for the education of the poor, he
replied, " he hoped to see the day when every poor child
in his dominions should be able to read his Bible !" This
is British liberty, and a sovereign cherishing these bene
volent sentiments, is emphatically the father of his
people. One of our journahsts observes, " Numerous attempts
have been made, during his late Majesty's reign, to
obtain the emancipation of the Catholics, by removing
the disabilities under which they labour, and confer upon

THE EEFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 239
them various offices in the army and navy ; and although
the enlightened and hberal spirit of toleration, by which
our revered king was actuated, prompted him to grant
them several concessions, yet his conscientious regard to
the solemnity of an oath, effectually deterred him from
yielding to any further demands." Of, his adherence to
his engagement, the foUowing declaration of his Ma-jesty
to Lord Granville, when applied to on the Catholic
bill, March 1807, contained in a letter frora Sir Henry
Harper, to the Rev. J. Eyton, his chaplain, affords a
striking example ; " My Lord,-^I ara one one of those
that respect an oath. I have firmness sufficient to quit
my throne, and retire to a cottage, or place my neck on
a block or a scaffold, if my people require it ; but I have
not resolution to break that oath which I took in the
most solemn manner, at my coronation."
There is a great difference between tolerating the
Roraan Catholic religion in this country, and introduc
ing the Catholics, not only into high official situations
under Government, but also incorporating them with the
legislative authorities of these realms. It is true, there
exists a difference of opinion on this point, even among
eminent statesmen, as weU as other persons of consider
able learning and genuine piety ; but the, above declara^
tion of the king, gives us his conscientious views, and
fixed determination. In addition to which, a gentleman
of unquestionable veracity, who held an official and im
portant situation near the king's person, has asserted,
that the king repeatedly declared to hira in private, he
never would grant the Cathohc claims, and urged the
dictates of his conscience, as well as the solemnity of his
coronation oath, as the reasons why he could not do it.
Though the king beheved, that granting the Cathohc
.claims would interfere with his conscience and oath, yet

240 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
it is evident, he wished his Catholic subjects to enjoy
religious liberty. Lord Mansfield, on raaking a report
to the king, of the conviction of Mr. Malowny, a
Catholic priest, who was found guilty, in the county of
Surrey, of celebrating raass, was induced, by a sense of
reason and humanity, to represent to his Majesty the
excessive severity of the penalty which the law imposed
for the offence. The king, in a tone of the most heart
felt benignity, imraediately answered, " God forbid, my
Lord, that religious difference in opinion should sanction
persecution, or admit of one raan within my realms suf
fering unjustly ; issue a pardon immediately for Mr.
Malowny, and see that he is set at liberty." This
interesting circumstance clearly shows that George III.
was the enlightened friend of religious toleration.
Usurping a power over conscience, by denying sub
jects the liberty of judging for theraselves in matters of
religion, is a measure that can never be reconciled to
either truth or justice. Truth, as it bears a near relation
to human happiness, is the object of universal concern;
and therefore every man must naturally think, he has a
right to inquire after it. It is on this persuasion, men
hecome inquisitive into the nature of truth, not thinking
it safe to receive things, in which their happiness is
concerned, on the raere ipse dixit of others. And from
the different views with which men examine, from the
different exertions they make, and from their different
capacities, it unavoidably happens, that they embrace
opinions in some respects different from one another.
This variety of sentiments, which, in the present state of
things, is probably unavoidable, might be innocently
permitted, if men would agree to differ. But some men
grow peevish and angry, when others contradict their
rehgious opinions; nay, break into the persecution of

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 241
those who differ from them. Thus it is, that Christians
are divided against Christians, and the religion of Jesus,
which was intended to preserve the lives and liberties of
men, is made the instrument of slavery and death. It
is owing to this magisterial tyrannical spirit, that raany
learned and pious raen have been destroyed, to serve the
interest or ambition of a party. Some, perhaps, raay
object, that persons who dissent frora the established
religion and worship of their country, are justly perse
cuted for their opinions, when they interfere with the
welfare of society ; and so the calling in the assistance of
the civil magistrate to restrain those opinions is not de
signed to break the peace, but to raaintain it. In answer
to this we may observe, that men are sometimes punished
for opinions which do not in the least tend to injure
society. Experience sufficiently shows, that raen have
been punished, in- some way or other, raerely for their
principles, though at the sarae time their persons and
characters were blameless ; they lived faithful subjects,
quiet neighbours, pnd in all respects weU-wishers to
raankind. But admitting it lawful to punish men on
account of such opinions as do indeed interfere with the
welfare of the community ; yet the magistrate ought not
to exert his power till these principles are reduced to
practice : for mere opinions can do no harm, unless they
are industriously propagated, and rudely imposed on
others. But, to speak properly, it is the actions, not the
thoughts of man, into which the civil magistrate is
concerned to inquire. The mind of raan is in its own
nature free, and not to be controuled by outward force.
' The body may be imprisoned and tormented even to
death ; but all this can never make any man think other
wise than as things appear to his understanding. The
mind owns no sovereignty but that of God, and will

242 POPERY COUNTERACTED BY
still assert its hberty, in opposition to all the restraints
that raen vainly attempt to put on it. So that to usurp
a power over the understanding and conscience, is no
less foolish and ridiculous, than unjust and destructive.
Kings should not therefore treat any of their subjects
with rigour, merely because they are of a different
opinion from others ; for if men have a natural right to
judge for themselves, in matters of religion, the conse
quence is plain, they have the same right to think dif
ferently from others ; and if this difference of sentiment
in lesser matters, as all differences araong orthodox
Protestants are, is not patiently tolerated, the bands of
society will inevitably be broken.
After reigning fifty-nine years, three months, and
nine days, George III. died 29th January, 1820.
" Sacred by lengthened years.
And venerable by sufferings, he hath reach'd
In Heaven's appointed time, his last abode^
The Paradise of God, where every tear
Is wip'd from every eye.''
A journalist has very appropriately observed on the
affecting occasion, " All of us, except the very old,
were born beneath the sceptre of George III. The
¦whole people of this country, with still fewer exceptions,
were formed and educated since he began to govern.
His narae and iraage had identified themselves with our
earliest remembrances, and made part of our happiest
associations. He was the great, the living — almost the
sole remnant of our loved forefathers — of all that hal
lowed generation of parents and instructors, who had
given us life, and fostered our infancy, and sowed i:^
our youtliful minds the seeds of loyalty and piety— of
truth and honour. To us, the offspring of his reign,
therefore, the death of our aged monarch" is an event

THE REFORMATION AND REVOLUTION. 243
which cannot but deeply interest our best feelings, and
excite in our hearts a sympathetic condolence.
George III. was succeeded by his son George IV.
whose coronation-day will long be remembered by a
loyal, a free, and a grateful people. He breathes the
spirit of his royal ancestors of the Brunswick family. .
He has hitherto guarded our rights and privileges, both
civil and sacred, a"nd we believe he will continue to do
the same to the end of his reign ; which, may it please
God, of his great goodness, to render both long and
happy !

244

ortjapt^t V.

THE SACRED OFFICE FREE FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION.

** Apply yourself, with special diligence and vigilant guard over your thoughts, and
earnest prayer, to correct the self-exalting imaginadons and the anti-Christian frame of
soul, which the merely scientific or classical reading is of itself apt to generate." — Bishop
Ryder's Third Charge, p. 94.

Many ministers, both -Roman Cathohc and Protestant,
have officiated in this church since its erection ; who
possessed a diversity of talent, and performed the sacred
functions with different degrees of fidelity and success.
Each had his day of service and responsibility ; and on
being reraoved from this field of labour by the hand of
death, iramediately entered on a suitable recompence in
the invisible state.
Of those who once had the pastoral care of this parish,
how many of them saved their own souls, and were the
honoured instruments of saving those who heard them ?
This is the grand question concerning them now, how
ever it might affect them when resident in this world,
attending to the important duties of their high station.
How raany huraan souls now occupying heavenly man-
si(ins, were within this sacred pile instructed in the way

THE SACRED OFFICE FREE, 8sC. 245
of righteousness, and scripturally trained up for everlast
ing life ? How many of them have met their spiritual
guides before .the heavenly throne, saying, — Under
God, I owe iny salvation on earth, and my happiness in
heaven, to your wisdom, piety, zeal — to your sound
heart-gfearching sermons and warm and appropriate appli
cations — to your vigilant attention. Christian benevo
lence, and undeviating faithfulness — ^to your upright
walk, conscientious integrity, and godly conversation ?
To all such, this language, next to the approbation of
their divine Lord and Master, must fill them with extatlc
joy, and swell their songs of holy triumph while eternal
ages roll !
But if any of those ministers were mere hirelings who
thrust themselves into the priest's office solely that they
might obtain its honours and enjoy its emoluments,
anxiously seeking the fleece, while careless and uncon
cerned about the flock — ^not only losing their own souls,
but totally regardless of those of their hearers, whose
blood will be required at their hands : they raust now
feel the terrible effects of their pride, ambition, carnality,
and presumption, where the most awful consequences
cannot be counteracted, but must be endured without
the least mitigation or interruption. What must be the
rebukes of their own conscience, as well as the dreadful
execrations of those inconceivably wretched souls, whom
they have, if not as active agents instrumentally, yet, at
least, by living without the spirit and power of vital
rehgion, connected with an unfaithful discharge of minis
terial duties, negatively damned !
The present incumbent has been preceded by many
who were once in the occupancy of his pulpit : but in
Christian graces, theological knowledge, ministerial
ability, success in winning souls to Christ, and the

246 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
sincere esteem and cordial attachment of his parishioners,
may he be exceeded by none ! His charge is vastly
important, requiring constant attention, unwearied dih
gence, prudent zeal, and impartial fidelity. " Who is
sufficient for these things .''" exclaims the apostle of the
GentUes, who, feeling the weight of his own personal
responsibility, was anxious to be found faithful ; and he
thus resolves the soleran question — " Our sufficiency is of
God." A Christian poet, with reference to the Estab
lished Church, " Entreats that setrants may abound
Of those pure Altars worthy ; Ministers
Detached from pleasure, to the love of gain
Superior, insusceptible of pride.
And by ambition's longings undisturbed 5
Men, whose deUght is where their duty leads
Or lixes them ; whose least distinguished day
Shines with some portion of that heavenly lustre
Which makes the Sabbath lovely in the Ught
Of blessed angels ; pitying human cares." *
Connecting the sacred office with the throne of Heaven,
opens a wide field for investigation, and suggests raany
particulars for serious consideration.
Piety. — Genuine piety is essential to the character of
gospel ministers, and requisite for the right discharge of
their official duties. The first preachers of Christianity,
were men born of the Holy Spirit, washed frora their sins
in the blood of the Lamb, and possessed of the spiritual
kingdom of God in their hearts. St. Paul says, " God
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." This
" Wordsworth's Excursion, p. 251.

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 247
inward demonstration of the truth and power of the
gospel, not only constituted them real Christians, but
essentially prepared them for acting as preachers. And
in this day, considered as Christians, ministers are
required to have an interest in Christ, to possess the
unction of the Holy One, to be holy in heart, and righ
teous in life : and viewed in their ministerial capacity,
they are to teach this by precept, as well as example ;
they are to be not only sound in doctrine, but also
renewed in heart, and righteous in life. "
One question proposed by the bishop to candidates for
holy orders in the Church of England is, " Do you trust
that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to

^ ," The late Rev. William Fancourt, Rector of Bletsoe, and Vicar of
Melchbourn, Bedfordshire, bore his dying testimony to his gracious
Saviour, and recommended Him as the hope, the only fountain of peace
and satisfaction, both to the living aud the dying.
" To his Curate, who was quite a young man, and not deeply ac
quainted with that ' experience' which gives a ' Uvely hope' of the enjoy
ment of ' things not seen,' he gave ministerial counsel and fatherly advice.
He spoke to bin) of the depravity of human nature, and of the necessity
of being born again ; of repentance from dead works, and faith in tlie living
God. He partioularly impressed upon his mind the absolute necessity of
changing his naode of preaching, if he hoped to do his hearers good, and
' save their souls aUve.' ' Your present manner of instnicting,' said he,
' wiU not avaU. Men must be made new creatures ; they must be sancti
fied by the Holy Spirit, who must dwell in their hearts by faith. You
must preach Christ, and him crucified. '
" To the Physician who attended him, he spoke freely of the grace of
Christ, of his own interest iu his blood, and of the blessed hope which now
bore up his soul while every earthly hope was receding. This conversa
tion appeared to leave an impression on the mind of that gentkman,
creditable, we might hope, both to his patient and to himself. He after.
wards declared, ' I have now, indeed, seen the death-bed of a Christian,
a true Christian.' Were medical gentlemen to witness more frequently
such scenes as thrs, they might, peradventure, be induced to beUeve that
there is a reality in reUgion ; and that it is not the disgrace, but the honour
of persons of understanding, science, and refinement, to worship one God
in one Saviour Jesus Christ." — Christian Guardian, for Februarg, IJil'J,
p. 46.

248 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
take upon you this office and ministration, to serve God
for the promoting of his glory, and the edifying of his
people .?" To which this answer is returned, " I trust
so." Here is a tacit acknowledgraent of the personality,
divinity, and operations of the Holy Spirit, his special
influence in the heart, and distinct call to the sacred
office ; they of his selecting being inwardly moved by
HIM to engage in this important work of the ministry.
And we may confidently assert, that the Holy Ghost
never inwardly moves an unregenerate and wicked man
to take on him this sacred office. Unrighteous men have
entered the office of the ministry, but they were not
moved by the Holy Ghost to do so, but by other
motives. " The history of the pulpit," says a popular author,
" is curious and entertaining. It has spoken all lan
guages, and in all sorts of style. It has partaken of aU
the customs of the schools, the theatres, and the courts
of all the countries where it has been erected. It has
been a seat of wisdora, and a sink of nonsense. It has
been filled by the best and the worst of men. It has
proved in some hands a trumpet of sedition, and in others
a source of peace and consolation : but on a fair balance,
collected from authentic history, there would appear no
proportion between the benefits and' the mischiefs which
mankind have derived from it, so much do the advan
tages of it preponderate ! In"a word, evangelical preaching
has been, and yet continues to bte reputed foolishness :
but real wisdom, a wisdom and a power, by which it
pleaseth God to save the souls of men." " The preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But it
pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe : because that foolishness of God is
wiser than men."

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 249
We have a short, but beautiful description of the
manner of Ezra's preaching, the reformer of the church
at the return from the captivity, and the happy effects it
produced on his numerous and attentive hearers. * Up
wards of fifty thousand people assembled in a street, or
large square, in Jerusalem, near the Watergate. It was
early in the morning of a Sabbath-day. A pulpit of
wood, in the fashion of a small tower, was placed there
on purpose for the preacher, and this turret was sup
ported by a scaffold, or teraporary gallery, where, in a
wing, on the right hand of the pulpit, sat six of the prin-
cijj&l preachers, and in another, on the left, seven. Thir
teen other principal teachers, and many Levites, were
present also, on scaffolds erected for the purpose, alter
nately to officiate. When Ezra ascended the pulpit, he
produced and opened the book of the law, and the whole
congregation instantly rose up from their seats, and
stood. Then he offered up prayer and praise to God,
the people bowing their heads, and worshipping the Lord
with their faces to the ground ; and at the close of the
prayer, with uplifted harids, they soleranly pronounced
Araen, Amen. Then, all standing, Ezra, assisted at
times by the Levites, " read the law distinctly, gave the
sense, and caused them to understand the reading."
The serraons delivered so affected the hearers, that they
wept excessively, and about noon the sorrow became too
exuberant and immeasurable, that it was thought neces
sary by the governor, the preacher, and the Levites to
restrain it. They, therefore, by a little expostulation,
calmed their troubled hearts, and dismissed them. Plato
was alive at this time, teaching dull philosophy to cold
academics : but what was he, and what was Xenophon,
• Nehem. viii.

250 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
or Demosthenes, or any of the pagan orators, in compa
rison with these men ! "
Preaching may be defined, " the power of persuading
men by the fittest means." The late excellent Dr. Clau
dius Buchanan, says, " This was that kind of pulpit
address which prevailed in our own church in her better
days, from the time of the Reformation to the reign of
Charles I. and which filled the churches at the Univer
sities with willing auditors. And when a corrupt taste
was at length introduced, and preachers began to read
their sermons, the innovation was checked, for a time, by
the following mandate from King Charles II.
" Vice Chancellor and Gentlemen,
" Whereas his Majesty is informed, that the practice
of reading serraons is generally taken up by the preachers
before the University, and, therefore, sometimes conti
nued even before himself : his Majesty hath comraanded
me to signify to you his pleasure, that the said practice,
which took its beginning frora the disorders of the late
times, be wholly laid aside ; and that the said preachers
deliver their sermons, both in Latin and English, by
memorv, without book : as being a way of preaching
which his Majesty judgeth most agreeable to the use of
all foreign churches, to the custom of the University
heretofore, and to the nature and intention of that holy
exercise. And that his Majesty's commands, in these
premises, may be duly regarded and observed, his further
pleasure is, that the names of all such ecclesiastical per
sons as shall continue the present supine and slothful
way of preaching, be, from time to time, signified to
' Robinson's Dissertation on PubUc Preaching.

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 251
me, by the Vice-Chancellor, for the time being, on pain
of his Majesty's displeasure.
" Monmouth." *
Being in a special manner the lights of the world, their
¦doctrine and example axe so to shine before men, that
others seeing their good works, may be induced to
glorify their heavenly Father. The apostles, who were
scrupulously exact in their conversations, could thus
appeal to the understanding and conscience of those
among whom they lived and laboured, "Ye are witr
nesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and un-
blameably, we behaved ourselves among you that believe."
St Paul insists on it, as a necessary qualification of all
candidates for the ministry, that their behaviour should
be " blamel,eSSi''i,,^ , Jle urges it on Timothy, that he,
personally, should be " an exaraple of the behevers, in
word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in
purity." He presses it on Titus, that in " all things"
he should " show hiraself a pattern of good works." St.
Peter enforces it on the elders in general, on all ministers
of the gospel, that they should conscientiously discharge
their official, dujties, " not as being lords over God's
heritage, but being exaraples to the flock."
The eyes of the people are on their rainisters, who,
being public persons, are " a city set upon a hill."
Notice is taken of what they do, as well as what they
say : if they say, and do not, teach well and live ill, their
bad conduct will evince their want of piety, as well as
seriously injure the interests of religion : their outward
actions will be considered the true interpreters of their

* Extracted from the Statute-book of the University of Cambridge,
p. 301. Car. II. Rex.

252 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
inward state of mind. Some persons, when they see
how little those are governed by rehgion, who are sup
posed to understand it best, will be apt to reason for such
loose examples to its great disadvantage, as though it
were only a cheat and imposture. At least, such immoral
behaviour wiU give encouragement to vicious characters;
and its influence will be seen, as attested by general
experience, to be more powerful than the authority of
wise and good precepts. Nay, this baneful result is so
certain, that in the Scripture it is brought forward as a
kind of proverb, " Like priest, like people." So that
such a minister is really a pubhc mischief, and likely to
ruin raore souls by his bad example, than be the instru
ment of saving by the sanction of his doctrine. Some
while ago, a person, on being asked if he had been at
the house of God, replied, " No ; I see the minister too
often to go hear hira." There are no greater pests in
the Christian church than vicious and scandalous min
isters ; by their unprincipled deeds, they grieve the pious,
discourage the weak, embolden the profane, and harden
the eneraies of our holy rehgion in their prejudices against
it. However splendid the acquisitions and accomphsh-
ments of men may be in other respects, without holy
habits they wUl raake very poor ministers: unrigh
teous actions will epervate the strength of their argu
ments, and an unholy conversation wUl spoil the charms
of their eloquence.

' Speaking of the " ministry of evil men," the present exceUent bishop
Ryder, in a charge delivered to his clergy, says, " What our people thus
hear, wiU rarely, indeed, counterbalance the effect of what they see ; and
the vices, the dissipation, the worldUness, and the lukewarmness of the
man, wiU generally render utterly vain the prayers and the preaching of
the priest, however solemnly set apart for his office. His words must
come from the heart, or they wiU never reach the heart. The precept

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 253
Evangelical principle and moral character are so essen
tial to the honour and success of the ministerial function,
that we need not hesitate to say, a minister who livesin
the practice of any vice, has really no mission, no autho
rity from Christ to officiate in his church. It would be
absurd to suppose, that Christ should authorize an enemy
to take care of his interest, or set an infidel at the head
of believers. Had we no direction as to this point, the
unreasonableness of the thing would be a sufficient indi
cation of his mind ; for whatever may preclude a man
from entering into the sacred office, will as certainly
thrust hira out of it again : it is so in other instances of
delegated power, rauch more in this where the conse
quences are so vastly iraportant. But, indeed, our
Saviour has deterrained on this case, and we cannot but
know his decision. To his disciples, who were to be
eraployed in propagating Christianity in the world, he
says, " Ye are the salt of the earth ;" that is, by raeans
of sound doctrine and exemplary conversation, they were
to bring men to experiraental piety and outward regula
rity, and so preserve them from putrifying in their sins :
" but if the salt hath lost its savour," that is, if rainisters
theraselves becorae immoral, how impossible it is that
they should be instruments of good to others, in seasoning

must be accompanied and recommended by the exempUfication : the
picture deUneated must have its counterpart, in some measure, in the
picture embodied. The preacher's doctrine must be confirmed by the
daily and hourly lesson of his conduct. He must be able, in his measure,
to say with St. Paul, ' Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ,'
or he wiU make no ' proof of his ministry ;' the very seal of his office,
the charge he undertook, the title he assumed, the privUeges and oppor
tunities he enjoyed, the powei>.and means of usefulness he possessed, wiU
rise up in judgment against him— not only his own, but has people's
blood wiU be upon his ' head,' and he wiU inherit double condemnation !"

254 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
them SO as to relish practical rehgion : " it is thence
good for nothing, but to be cast out." Awful result !
To the same purpose, St. Paul advises Timothy to
" lay hands suddenly on no man, neither (says he,) be
partaker of other men's sins : keep thyself pure." He
would not have him be precipitate, and the reason is,
lest he should put an unconverted man into the sacred
office, which if he did, for want of proper exaraination
and due deliberation, he must be considered as accessary
to the mischief he should do.
" I venerate the man, whose heart is warm,
Whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and whose Ufe,
Coincident, exhibit lucid proof
That he is honest in the sacred cause.
To such I render more than mere respect.
Whose actions say, that they respect themselves.
But loose in morals, and in manners vain,
In conversation frivolous, in dress
Extreme, at once rapacious and profuse 
Ambitious of preferment for its gold,
And well prepar'd, by ignorance and sloth,
By infidcUty and love of world.
To make God's work a sinecure ; a slave
To his own pleasures and his patron's pride ;
FroA^jSuch apostles, O ye njiteed heads,
Preserve the church ! 'Si^^kiaftiiOit careless hands
On skuUs that cannot ^$t€S|^fcl wiU not learn."
.-¦*" /;¦¦ Cowper's Task.
If these passages go tci' profe any thing, it is, that
ungodly men have nothing to do in the ministerial office,
and that they can act under no commission from Christ,
who is the fountain of all authority in the church. To
a wicked minister now, as well as to an immoral priest
formerly, God says, " What hast thou to do to declare
my statutes, or that thou shouldst take my covenant in
thy mouth."

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 255
" Like him, how many! could we make the search,
M'ho, while they hate the gospel, love the Church !"

So that we may argue, as Cicero did in the case of
Clodius, and such enemies of his country. Those whom
the laws of Rome condemn to banishment, are really
exiles, though they do not stir one foot out of the
country. So those ministers, whom the laws of Chris
tianity remove out of the sacred office, are in truth desti
tute of all authority from Christ, how presuming soever
they may be to act in his name. A person being in a
place will not give him a right to be there, when in the
due execution of established laws he ought to be else
where. Some may probably object, and say. Who was a worse
man than Judas, whom, yet the omniscient Jesus admitted
into the ministry ? Judas was indeed joined in com
mission with the rest of the apostles ; but then, it is
deserving of our particular attention, he continued no
longer in this ministry than while his wickedness was
speculative, and in his heart. As soon as his inward
dispositions and sentiments became notorious in his out
ward actions, he was degraded from his office ; he " feU
from his rainistry," not by death, but " by his trans
gression." As a rainister of loose morals has no commission frora
Christ, so he is unworthy of any countenance from the
church. It cannot be expected that he can be well
affected to the cause of religion, that he wiU faithfully
declare it to others, and press its important truths horae
on their conscience : no, for its doctrines being " accord
ing to godliness," are decidedly against his conduct.
Every arguraent for a holy and virtuous life, is a
reproach to his own behaviour ; and therefore, he wiU,

256 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
as much as possible, avoid every thing of the kind. He
who can flatter and deceive his own soul, who can palli
ate and excuse his own sins, will undoubtedly make no
scruple to do the same by those of his hearers.
Now in such circurastances as these, what people can
make themselves easy "i What must be the feelings of
parents, who have, a sincere wish for the preservation
and welfare of their children.? What raust be the
anxieties of those who have the care of youth, being in
a great raeasure araenable to parents and guardians for
the rectitude of their conduct while at school .' When
vice is sanctioned by persons of learning, and high in
office, the foundation of good raorals seems to be
destroyed. To whom are the people to look for prac
tical religion, if not to their ministers, who by their
character and work are bound to exhibit a fair example .P
If any of this order of raen are regardless how they
behave, they must be equally void of the fear of God,
and all concern for the purity of rehgious worship.
Christians ought also seriously to consider, that they
cannot reasonably expect the Divine blessing to attend
the labours of such ministers. In this point also, the
Scriptures will be our guide. Under the Jewish dispen
sation, concerning wicked ministers, God says, " They
shall not prosper ;" which certainly intimatesj that he
wUl not use them as the instruments of his grace and
blessing. Nay, he expressly says, " They shall not
profit this people at all ;" words too plain to require any
comment. Under the Christian dispensation our Saviour
is no less clear, when he cautions against false prophets,
stating, that we raay "judge of them by their fruits ;"
adding, that we may as well expect to gather " grapes
of thorns," and " figs of thistles," as to receive spiritual
benefit from a carnal ministry. Yet we are not to sup-

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 257
pose, that the efficacy of rehgious ordinances depends
solely on the sanctity of those who administer them ;
but that it wUl be suspended, as well for the personal
fault of the people in countenancing and adhering to
such enemies of the cross of Christ, as it would not com
port with the rectitude and honour of the Suprerae
Being, to promote his gracious designs by such immoral
instruments. Some objectors may press the direction given to them
by our Saviour into their service, where he addresses the
multitude, and his disciples, saying, " The Scribes and
the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat ; all, therefore, whatso
ever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but
do not after their works, for they say and do not."
They may affirm, that here our Saviour authorises his
disciples to attend on the ministry of the Scribes and
Pharisees, who were bad men, and to observe their doc
trine, but warns them not to imitate their base conduct.
The best answer to this objection, wUl be giving the
true sense of these words. Surely our Saviour's mean
ing cannot be, as if he had said, Mind what doctrines
these wicked ministers preach, but not their actions how
they live ; for this sense would not be consistent with
the frequent cautions he gives his disciples to guard
them against the injurious effects produced by their
doctrine. He says, " Take heed, and beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees. Then understood" his dis
ciples, " that he bade them beware of the doctrine of the
Pharisees." Speaking of their doctrine to them, he says,
"Ye have made the commandment of God of none
effect by your tradition. In vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Let
them alone : they be blind leaders of the bhnd. And
if the bhnd lead the bhnd, both shaU faU into the ditch."

258 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
Hence it is evident, that he did not recommend the
doctrine of the Pharisees to his disciples.
Concerning the " seat of Moses," it was the seat of
justice, in which he acted as a civil magistrate. Moses
was not an ecclesiastical person, and, on the supposition
that he was so, by his " seat" cannot be meant the pul
pit. The Jewish form of government was originally a
theocracy, which might seem to infer, that their civil
and ecclesiastical policy were one : but then we ought
to consider, that this form ceased when the kingdom
became hereditary, and then there ensued as remark
able a difference between civil and religious matters, as
in other nations. Nay, while the theocracy subsisted,
there was an obvious distinction of their civil courts,
as will appear, whether we consider their origin, or the
persons who presided in them. They were first insti
tuted on the advice of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses,
in the wilderness ; and, probably, the existence of the
great Sanhedrim afterwards was the effect of this coun
sel ; at least, the seventy who composed it, were of th,e
number of the rulers and judges before instituted ; so
that here is an evident difference between these judges
and the priesthood. The persons also, who sat in these
courts were laymen ; it is true, some priests sat on the
bench of justice ; yet, as Cuneus, and other writers on
the Jewish republic, observe, they did not sit there in
right of their priesthood, but by virtue of their election,
as laymen did. Now, it being so, our Saviour must
here be understood, to enjoin obedience to civil magis
trates ; as if he had said to his disciples. Though bad
men happen to be in authority, yet if they give a true
interpretation of the judicial laws, and impartially admin
ister justice, do you obey them as magistrates, but do
not imitate them as private men. Hence no apology

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 259
whatever can be derived from these words, for sanction
ing immoral ministers.
We might add the judgment of the primitive fathers
of the Christian church, and the opinions of modern
divines ; but we shall only mention the sentiments of
Bishop Bull, given in a visitation sermon. This able
prelate says, " That presbyter who is not clothed with
righteousness, though otherwise richly adorned with all
the ornaraents of human and divine literattire, is yet but
a naked, beggarly, despicable creature, of no authority,
no interest, no use, or service in the church of -God."
Ministers under the gospel dispensation, should endea
vour to have their peculiar glory shining forth in their
hearts and lives ; what the high-priest under the law
wore in his crown as his motto, mn''? iffip Kodesh Lay-
hovah. Holiness to the Lord."
Authority. — The sacred office has frequently been
abused, by rainisters assuming a power which never was
delegated to them from heaven. Their authority is only
ministerial and directive, not legislative and coercive;
they have no dominion over the faith of their hearers.
Nay, the apostles, those extraordinary ministers of
Christ, disclaimed all pretensions of that kind. The
people are under no obhgation to receive with a bhnd
submission whatever ministers may deliver to them,
however august their appearance, or high and estabhshed
their reputation ; but, on the contrary, they have an
inahenable right to try their doctrines by the infalhble rule
of the word of God. This right the noble Bereans claimed
and exercised, even when St. Paul was their preacher,
who brought with him credentials of apostohc authority.
Directions to this purpose are given in the Holy Scrip
tures : " To the law and to the testimony ; if they speak
not according to this word, it is because there is no hght

260 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
in them." The apostle enjoins, " Prove all thingiti ;
hold fast that which is good." The people wiU not do
justice to themselves, unless they act in this raanner.
As ministers have no dominion over the faith of their
people, so much less have they power to impose any
arbitrary laws on them. All they have in commission
is, that they put in execution the laws of Christ, relating
to worship, discipline, and government of the church ;
and this they are to do by no other force than what
they derive from the Scriptures, and the nature of their
office, which is a ministry, not a domination. They
have no judicial power : they are not to rule by the sword
of the civil magistrate, but by the " word of God,"
which is the " sword of the Spirit." The power of
" binding" and " loosing," means no more than their
pronouncing things to be lawful or unlawful, according
to the lively oracles. The power of " remitting" and
" retaining" the sins of men, is to be understood of their
publishing and applying the promises of the gospel to
penitent sinners ; also, the threatenings to impenitent
persons in general, and to obstinate offenders in parti
cular. In the exercise of the sacred office, they are strictly to
adhere to the simplicity of gospel worship, guarding
against the introduction of every thing that would corrupt
or blemish it. This is necessary to be constantly observed,
as well as purity of Christian doctrine is to be received
and faithfully inculcated. For any person, however
learned and distinguished, to attempt to worship God
otherwise than he has appointed, a daring intrusion,
and a presumptive boldness, very sinful and dangerous.
Yet to this very thing men are strangely addicted, and
therefore ministers have the more need to be on theit
guard against it. The Jewish church had a most exact

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 261
rule given of worship, which Moses received immediately
from God, and faithfuUy communicated to the people.
The ceremonial worship under the law was of Divine
appointment, and every particular of it was prescribed
and comraanded.
The law of God concerning public worship is, " What
thing soever I comraand, observe to do it : thou shalt not
add thereto, nor dirainish from it." This command
relates to the rules for worship he had been prescribing.
Here is an exact obedience, to be performed with care
and watchfulness, demanded — " observe to do it." The
authority on which this exact obedience is enforced, is
the divine comraand — " observe to do what thing soever
I coramand you." And the completeness and perfection
of both — " thou shalt not add thereto, nor dirainish from
it." To add to his prescribed worship, is usurpation
and invasion ; and to diminish frora it, is the worst sort
of sacrilege and conterapt. Though the rules of wor
ship, to which this scripture iramediately relates, were
peculiar to the Israelites : yet this injunction is as raoral
in its^'nature, as any other of the divine commands, and
of as long, duration : it guards against the corrupting
of God's institutions, and enjoins the exact observance
of them without the least alteration, to the end of the
world. God is very tender of this part of his prerogative.
He would not have any thing in the tabernacle or
temple but what had his special authority. To Moses
he said, " Look that thou make them after their pattern,
which was showed thee in the mount." Nothing was
left to his own invention, though a man of letters and
science, nor to the fancy and choice of the people ; but
the revealed wiU and high authority of God miist be
religiously observed in every particular. Directions are

262 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
given concerning the altar, under the law, which was to
be of rough or unhewn stone. "If thou wilt make
me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn
stone : for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast
polluted it."
Yet every one who reads the history of that church,
may easily perceive that little attention was paid to the
word of God, and that often the people and priests not
only deviated from it, but acted in direct contradiction
to it ; which conduct frequently brought down on them
the awful effects of divine displeasure. One of the most
affecting instances of this, we have in the sin and punish
raent of Nadab and AbUiu, the sons of Aaron. Aaron
and his sons were solemnly consecrated to ^he priestly
office ; immediately after the seven days appointed for
their consecration were ended, they entered on the
execution of it ; which consecration and entrance on
their holy function, God ratified by sending fire from
his presence, which consuraed the burnt-offering on the
altar. "And there carae a fire out from before the
Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering,
and the fat : which when all the people saw, they shouted
and fell on their faces." This fire is said to " come out
and from before the Lord;" whether it carae from
heaven, or out of the holy of holies, or of that visible
appearance of the glory of God, which all the people
¦saw, we cannot determine. However, of this we are cer
tain, that it was a manifest token of the ratification of
their consecration, and acceptance of their sacrifices.
This fire tney were never to suffer to go out. " The fire
shall ever be burning upon the altar ; it shall never go
out." And, therefore, as some imagine, this fire was
carefully carried, in a vessel prepared for that purpose,
when they journeyed in the wilderness. And so it con-

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 263
tinned, tUl the temple was built by Solomon, and then
fire came down again frora heaven, which continued till
the Babylonian captivity.
It belonged to the priest's office to burn incense every
morning on the altar of incense. "And Aaron shall
burn thereon sweet incense every morning ; when he
dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense upon it." This
altar stood within the holy place, near to the vail which
separated it frora the holy of holies. This incense was
to be burnt with sacred fire, taken off the altar of burnt
offering, that is, with the fire which "carae out from
before the Lord." Now, these newly consecrated priests,
rashly and presumptuously, in the very first exercise of
their office, neglected this sacred fire, and took common
fire in their censers, and putting incense thereon, put
it on the altar of incense, and so offered strange fire
before the Lord, which he coraraanded thera not'. Now,
though they were not expressly, in so many words,
forbidden to put strange fire in their censers; yet it
was crirae enough that God had not coramanded it :
it is not a sufficiMit reason to introduce any thing
into rehgious worship, because it is not expressly prohi
bited. Nadab and Abihu sinned greatly, because they
offered what was not commanded. In this sense, what
ever is not commanded of God, is forbidden by hira ;
who will accept of no homage from us, in the matter of
religious worship, unless it be enjoined by him, and by
him only.
The punishment inflicted on them was sudden and
awful. " There went out fire from the Lord, and
devoured them, and they died before the Lord." The
enormity of their sin was visibly expressed in the
exemplary punishment they suffered ; by fire they
sinned,^ and by fire they died. They expired "before

264 THE SACfiED OFFICE FREE
the Lord," that is, at the altar of incense ; there they
were immediately struck dead, and died after the manner
men do who are killed by lightning, for neither their
bodies nor clothes were burnt to ashes. God thus
punished them for this sacrilegious interference with his
own institution, to show how jealous he is in matters of his
own appointed worship ; as well as for a warning to all,
both ministers and people, not to alter and corrupt his
worship, by ipixing with it their own vain imaginations,
and unnecessary and foolish inventions. Bishop Hall
very judiciously observes, " It is a dangerous thing to
dechne from divine institution in the worship of God,
for we have to do with a God who is wise to prescribe
his own worship, just to require what he bas prescribed,
and powerful to revenge what he has not prescribed."
Under the New Testament dispensation, the rule
-which Christians have for their direction and govern
ment in the worship of God, is also plain and perfect ;
spiritual in its nature, simple in its form, and easy of
comprehension. Yet how many additions, since the
primitive times, have been made to it, of mere human
invention and authority ; and imposed on the people, by
false assertion and assumed power, as the unquestion
able injunctions of God himself. How many different
forms and modes of worshipping God, are there practised
at this day ! How many symbohcal cereraonies of mystical
signification, invented by men, and appended to the rule
of divine institution ! The simphcity of Christian wor
ship, is ahnost totally obs.cured by human rites and cere
monies, and the spirituality of the rehgion of Jesus CJirist,
nearly lost and discarded, as in the Romish Church, by a
vast heap of superstitioiis obseryancps. A sincere inquirer
after the truth as it is in Christ, attending a mixed and
deformed worship of this kind, might with great pathos

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 265
and grief of heart exclaim, " They have taken away my
Lord, and I know not where they have laid him."
Now these additions to divine worship, by whomso
ever devised and iraposed, are the results of an unwaj--
rantable assumption of power, and are not at all binding
on conscience, which in the right exercise of its proper
functions, in religious matters, can acknowledge and bow
only to the revealed will and authority of God. Mix
ing human invention with divine institutions, and impos
ing them on ignorant and credulous Christians, as mat
ters of religion, is usurping the sovereign empire over
conscience, which God has reserved wholly to himself.
He has not given man a power over his own conscience,
much less a power over the conscience of other men.
The conscience, in all things purely religious, is subject
only to God ; and for any to devise and irapose their own
contrivances on it, is to usurp his prerogative, and set
side his authority ; which is the very spirit of antichris-
tianism ; for antichrist " exalts hiraself above all that is
called God," by making hiraself absolute lord of conscience.
Our blessed Redeeraer, the divine Head of the church,
did not raake his apostles lords over God's heritage, to
have dominion over the faith, and prescribe rules affect
ing the conscience. They did indeed receive a minis
terial power from him, but not a magisterial authority
to enact laws and enforce them on Christians. This
they renounced. " Not that we have dorainion over your
faith, but are helpers of your joy." They were restricted
by Christ to gospel institutions, as well as Moses was
to the Levitical prescriptions of divine appointraent. —
" Go, and teach" Christians " to observe aU things
whatsoever I have coramanded you." This is the
standing rule, and the extent of ministerial authority, in
the church of Christ.

266 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
These impositions have proceeded, in many cases,
from the moral darkness of the human mind. The
right mode of divine worship is but one, if men had
hght to discern it : it has unity, not diversity, much less
contrariety in it. But it is, in nuraerous instances, from
ignorance of the Scriptures that men entertain a variety
of perplexing and contrary opinions and practices about
it. Hence they are bold either to forsake, or to cor
rupt and defile the worship of God.
The pride of huraan nature has no smaU share in this
matter. Not willing to submit to the simplicity of pure
Christian worship, men who are vain of their learning,
or proud of their office, devise what appears to their
carnal raind to be considerable iraprovements, having
rauch external pomp and show. So it was in the days
of Constantine. These additions depend entirely on the
will of raen, in a contrariety to the declared will, posi
tive institution, and direct appointment of God; pro
ceeding from a fleshly mind, puffed up, and daringly
intruding into these things by which they rebel against
their sovereign Lord, and moral ruler and governor.
They may attempt to cover their pride, by making a
pretence of decency and good order ; but that is only
to varnish over their proud conceit that they can mend,
pohsli, or render more acceptable what Christ has insti
tuted — which if they had only wisdom to see, and
humUity to acknowledge it, needs none of then- improve
ments. Carnality of disposition leads men to invent and intro
duce these things into the instituted worship of God.
Regenerate behevers "walk by faith," and "not by sight ;"
they " look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen;" they are "born of the
Spirit," and therefore they delight in spiritual things.

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 267
particularly in the simplicity and purity of rehgious
worship. But unregenerate raen " walk by sight," are
led by sense, and prefer only such forms and modes of
worship as best suit their carnal hearts. They like
none but a pompous worship, agreeable to their impure
dispositions and corrupt fancies, such as raay please the
eye with splendid appearances Such are the sources
whence all this will-worship, which ^^has been especially
in the Romish church so many ages, has arisen — of all
the gilded images, glittering altars, magnificent rites and
ceremonies, with which the institutions of Christ have
been corrupted and disfigured.
Qualifications. — Ministers of the gospel have no
suitable qualifications for their important work, but
what are given them from above. Whatever excellency
is found in any eminent minister, it was coraraunicated
by Christ, who is made " Head over all things to the
church," and is the special effect of the operation of the
Holy Spirit, who with uncontroUable sovereignty " divid-
eth severally to every raan," and every rainister, " as he
will." Ministers are said to minister " as of the ability
which God giveth." If any of them are forraed with a
superior degree of natural talent, either as to quickness or
largeness of comprehension, solidity of judgment, warmth
of affection, or strength of memory ; if they are favoured
with a good natural elocution, volubility of speech, viva
city in utterance, even these endowments are bestowed by
" the Father of lights, frora whom every good as weU as
perfect gift coraes." If ministers have made any con
siderable progress in the necessary and useful parts of
huraan learning, such as | raay afford them much assist
ance and advantage in the right understanding of the
Holy Scriptures ; why this, and all opportunities for
improvement, with all the success of their studious

268 THE sacred office free
endeavours, were at the disposal, and under the direc
tion of God, through whose blessing and grant they
obtained them. If they are enriched with any distin
guishing light, with a clear insight and penetration into
the spiritual, future, and eternal concerns of the gospel,
it is because the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Christ, has taken of these sublime and
heavenly things, and made them manifest to them,
according to our Lord's promise to his disciples. " He,"
that is, "the Spirit of truth, shall take of mine, and
show it unto you," and because the same Spirit has
taught them " to know the things that are freely given
to them of God." And that the natural capacities,
learned acquirements, with all the spiritual gifts, of
pious ministers, may be sanctified, and rendered suc
cessful, they are made pa,r takers of the grace of God in
truth. All this, in every degree and measure of it, is
the gift of Christ. It is of " his fulness" alone they can
" receive grace for grace." And if they possess any fit
qualifications for service and usefulness in the great work
of the ministry, they must, every one for himself respec
tively, humbly acknowledge, as St. Paul did, "by the
grace of God, I ara what I am ;" for they have nothing
that can either be useful for themselves, or beneficial to
others, but what they have received, according to the
merciful, gracious, and sovereign distribution of Christ,
their divine Lord.
When ministers are well furnished with the most suit
able qualifications for their work, yet they can do nothing
in it to purpose, without continual assistance from the
Lord : they cannot exert themselves, or use their talents
in any profitable manner, to the spiritual benefit or real
edification of their hearers. As the abUlty of ministers
comes frora God, so the useful employment of their gifts

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 269
depends on his powerful and gracious aid. St. Paul, who
acknowledged that his fitness for the sacred office was an
effect of the grace of God, readily confessed that in aU
his diligent and successful labours, it was this grace that
was the operating cause. " Whereunto I also labour,
striving according to his working, which worketh in me
mightily." Without this divine aid he himself was not
" sufficient," neither can any minister of Christ be able,
to " think a good thought," to teach the truth as it is in
Jesus, or to " speak as becometh the oracles of God."
If divine assistance be withheld, then, instead of speaking
in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit, or
preaching with power, it will soon be perceived, by per
sons of piety and spiritual discernraent, that ministers of
the first-rate talents are sadly straitened, and soon becorae
dead and lifeless in their ministrations ; for aU the spiri
tual activity, vigour, and fervour in their work, depend
entirely on assitance from above.
Ministers, besides the afflictions incident to them as
men and as Christians, have their peculiar difficulties
and trials, to which their office exposes them ; and they
can bear nothing, but as they are supported and upheld
by a divine hand. Their work is to preach down the
kingdom of sin and Satan, and to preach fully the spiri
tual kingdom of a crucified Saviour. The enmity which
exists between the two seeds, is a constant ground of
controversy and opposition; and when persecution or
trouble arises, the sharpest and hottest part of the storm,
is generally directed against the ministers of Christ, and
they must bear it. It is often their lot to be despised
and trampled on by men of sceptical, infidel, or supersti
tious minds ; to be troubled on every side, perplexed,
persecuted, and cast down. If they wiU be dUigent,
faithful, and zealous, in the work of the Lord, they must

270 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
expose themselves to the displeasure and fury of the
adversary. And since they are but raortal men, when
the enemy rages, if God did not then have them in his
keeping, they raust be speedily subdued and destroyed.
Under the Increase or long continuance of their troubles,
if left to themselves, their hearts would faint, and they
would utterly fail and sink down discouraged. They
might easily be ensnared into the like temptation with the
prophet, to quit their post, and resign their labour. —
" Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor
speak any more in his name." If, under heavy discou
ragement, such frail men are kept close to their duty,
sure it must be, because, though weak and feeble in
themselves, they are strong in the Lord — " for," says
the apostle, " when I ara weak, then am I strong," weak
in myself, strong in the Lord. For it is only when the
grace of Christ is raighty in thera, that they can sur
mount formidable difficulties, and conquer their own
distressing fears.
Ministers have infirmities and defects, such probably
as would defeat the design of their ministry, if the Lord
did not mercifully interpose to prevent it. They, as
well as other men, are involved in the physical and moral
calamities of the fall; and they are equally with them
exposed to the snares, wiles, and devices of the wicked
one, as weU as to the allurements and temptations of the
world. They nave also to attend to their own salvation.
Concerning the personal rehgion of a godly minister,
" His warfare is within ; there, unfatigued,
His fervent spirit labours ; there he fights,
And there obtains fresh triumphs o'er himself.
And never- withering wreaths ; compared with which
The laurels that a Csesar reaps are weeds." CoWPER.

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 271
Ministers have also to cultivate the vineyard of the Lord,
watching over the trees of righteousness of his own right
hand planting ; and in taking the oversight of the church
of Christ, they have often to do with unreasonable and
wicked raen. Considering all these things, can it be
matter of surprise if a keen-eyed enemy sometimes disco
vers failings in thera, which he is disposed to magnify into
moral blemishes and crimes ? The apostle says, " The
law made men priests that had infirmity :" and if, under
the gospel dispensation, none were to be ministers but
such as were absolutely perfect, none in this world could
be found to preach Christianity, Even among the first
preachers of the gospel, there were found some personal
defects. Paul blamed Peter, on just grounds, for hav
ing, through fear, given way to " dissimulation." It
seems also, that Barnabas was not to be wholly acquitted,
concerning the " sharp contention," which happened at
Antioch, between him. and Paul. It is true, some, like
Judas, who " was numbered with the apostles, and had
obtained part of this ministry," have, like him, " by
transgression'"' fallen from it It is owing, therefore, to
the care of Christ, who " holds the seven stars in his
right hand," and " walks in the midst of his golden
candlesticks," that the ministry is not more frequently
blamed than it is, even to the defeating the gracious de
sign of the gospel, through the defects and blemishes of
its ministers.
Ministers are clothed with mortahty, hke the rest of
mankind. They are hable, as others are, to the decay
of nature, to diseases both of body and mind, to painful
casualties and occurrences, and to the infirmities of age.
But besides these things, they have their peculiar disad
vantages, such as closeness of application and intenseness
of thought in the study ; a frequency, painfulness, and

272 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
fervour in preaching ; and the want of opportunity for a
due measure of bodily exercise. These, as well as other
peculiar difficulties in their case, are such as naturally
tend to exhaust their spirits, and wear out the strength
of their constitution faster than what is usual in the
common circumstances of life. And they will shortly
be broken, laid aside, and silenced by death. They
must needs die, and be as water spilt upon the ground,
that cannot be gathered up again. " Your fathers,
where are they ? and the prophets, do they live for ever!'"
But the gospel does not die with them. " All flesh is as
grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass wlthereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever." This
world is not the everlasting residence of ministers and
people, where they are always to live together : and,
therefore, they that preach, and those that hear, should
consider themselves, and each other, as dying, that so
" what their hands find to do, they may do it with their
raight : for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
nor wisdora in the grave, whither they go." Thus we
see the weakness of the persons eraployed in so great a
work as the Christian ministry ; as weU as the necessity
of the constant assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Scriptural Knowledge. — When we consider the
elevated character of ministers, the relative connection in
which they stand to their people, it is evident that their
minds ; should be weU furnished with a correct know
ledge of the essential doctrines of Christianity ; other
wise it is impossible for them rightly to divide the word
of truth. If they themselves are not sufficiently instructed
in the system of revealed religion, it is impracticable for
them to impart correctly divine truth to others. This
quahficatlon is not attained in schools of hterature and

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 273
science ; but by making the Holy Scriptures their con
stant study, endeavouring to know the mind of God as
revealed therein : " without acquiring this knowledge,
they may pronounce a doctrine to be founded on the
sacred word, which is directly contrary to it ; and thus
lead people out of the way. Instead of giving light to
their path.
Ministers possessed of the saving grace of God, who
wish to be faithful in the discharge of their several
iraportant duties, very gladly avail theraselves of all the
means of divine knowledge afforded them. They are
far from depreciating the aid of reason, but they much
more highly estimate the light of surpernatural revela
tion ; concluding that the former would be of little avail
without the assistance of the latter. From the Scriptures
they derive the scheme of Christian doctrine, as well as
obtain the model of the Christian hfe ; and these they
are thus enabled to exhibit to their hearers, with all the
exactness and fidehty of which they are capable. In
this volume of divine Inspiration, they trace their official
duties as ministers of Christ, and learn their responsibi
lity for the souls comraitted to their care. Studying to
show themselves approved, they seriously, with much
prayer for the aid of the Holy Spirit, and with assiduous
application, consult the sacred page, anxious that their

* Dr. Buchanan says, " It must be evident to every man who is
.acquainted with the history of Christianity from the first ages, that in the
present circumstances of our church, and in the warfare in which she is
engaged, it is not eminent advances in science or classics, that are chiefly
required, but advances in the knowledge of Christian doctrine, and in the
abiUty of communicating it to the people. It must be equally evident,
that whatever plan of duty wUl bring the Bible most into view, wiU bo
the most conducive for this purpose. The state may have the defence of
the sword, and the shield of the law. against its assaUants ; but the church
has no defence, in this era of light, but the Bible." — Sermons on Inter
esting Siibjecti, p. 68, 69.

274 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
minds raay be established in right and worthy notions of
God, whose approbation they most ardently seek. Hav
ing done this, they proceed with more certainty in
storing their minds with the knowledge of the several
distinct parts of Christian truth, till they happily suc
ceed in comprehending the great outline of the whole
system of revealed religion. This knowledge is a source
of much personal gratification, as well as directs and
assists them in the choice and discussion of proper
and interesting subjects, suited to the different states of
the people araong whom they labour. For want of lay
ing this foundation well, some, who should be Instructors
of the ignorant, instead of being so, unhappily mislead
their people, or confirm them in absurd and dangerous
notions, which, in their natural tendency, are subversive
of the true doctrines of the Christian faith.
It is expedient that ministers should fix on some
general rules, in giving the sense of the Scriptures, from
which, in addressing their people, they wiU never depart.
For instance : Example 1. That every doctrine be agree
able to the natural and raoral perfections of God, and a
Trinity of personal subsistences in the Unity of the Divine
Nature ; particularly to the great Author of salvation,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who, in his personal character, is
declared to be the Son of God, " the brightness of his
Father's glory, and the express image of his person,"
exalted " above all principality, and power, and might,
and dominion," the " Lord of lords, and King of kings,"
who " was in the beginning with God," and " thought
it no robbery to be equal with God," — who, when he
made his public appearance in our nature, opened his
Father's coramission, produced his credentials, testified
that God sent him to be the Lord and Saviour of men,
and proved his divine mission by numerous and uncon-

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 275
tested miracles. The doctrine he taught, was the raost
noble systera of heavenly truth, infinitely honourable to
the perfections and governraent of God, and most useful
and beneficial to men, suited to relieve them under their
tormenting fears and heavy burdens, and to dispel their
moral darkness ; to remove their guilt, to purify them
from defilement, and to raise them to the animating
hopes of a glorious and blessed imraortality. And that
he might act up to his character, as the Captain of salva^-
tion, he showed them, under all discourageraents of their
Christian course, to fix the eye of the mind on him, as
the " Author and finisher of their faith." And then, as
the utmost exertion of his own infinite compassion and love,
laid down his life, that he might redeem them to God by
his blood, and open a new and living way for them into
the holiest of all. After which, he arose from the dead,
and entered into heaven as their forerunner, received the
honours that were the just rewards of his victory and
triuraph, leaving these admirable words for the encou
ragement of all his faithful foUowers : " In the world ye
shaU have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world."
And now, what character ever appeared among men,
that deserved universal attention and regard, if this does
not .'' Here is the highest dignity, and the most exalted
office united, in the same person, who carae on the raost
wonderful, as well as gracious design, in which our ever
lasting welfare is iramediately concerned. May not God
justly expect, that the Redeemer's person and character,
doctrine and example, resurrection and ascension, should
engage us seriously to consider whether we are to treat
him as a magician and impostor, or as the Son of God
and Saviour of raen. Can contempt and disregard of the
comraand' to beheve on the Lord Jesus Christ, be inno-

276 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
cent and justifiable, or is it not becoming the Majesty of
God to punish so high an indignity offered to his own
Son.? And therefore that any doctrine which tends to cast a
reproach on his essential glory, or on the personal glory
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, ministers
wlU studiously avoid, as aUogether contrary to the Scrip
tures, the manifest design of which is to set these forth.
Enlightened and pious ministers wUl be careful not to
dehver any thing but what is agreeable to the analogy of
faith. There are several great and important truths
plainly revealed in the Bible, and which are to be found
in every part of it ; to deny these, would be to recede
from the well-known and generally received interpreta
tion of this book. It is supposed, that Christian ministers
believe these doctrines, and, in some measure, understand
the raind and wlU of God in thera ; and, therefore, such
opinions as are not consonant to these, are contrary to
the analogy of faith, and have a tendency to sap its foun
dation. The Holy Scriptures being the only and sufficient
rule both of faith and practice, whatever is not contained
in them, nor may fairly and clearly be proved thereby,
is not to be required of any man as an article of faith,
or be deemed requisite to salvation and eternal life.
Example 2. That they will not separate living faith
in Christ and a present salvation in the behever, but hold
and maintain them consistently, according to the testi
mony of the Holy Scriptures. Faith, in the primary
signification of the word, is nothing more than the assent
of the mind to the truth of a proposition, on reasonable
evidence: and behevlng in Christ, in this sense, is a
persuasion of the truth of what is related and declared of
him in the Scriptures. But the faith generally meant in
the New Testament, and which is connected with salvation,

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 277
and said to be the fruit of the Holy Spirit, is something
more necessary and valuable than a mere faith of assent ;
it includes those right affections and gracious dispositions
of mind, which a conviction and behef of the truths of
the gospel might reasonably be expected to produce.
This notion of faith may be illustrated by considering it
with regard to the different objects with which it is con
versant, whether past, present, or future. If future
things be the objects of our faith, it represents them
according to their real importance, and impresses them
on the mind as if they were present. Hence, says the
apostle, " Faith is the viroTaa-is subsistence of things
hoped for, the cXiyy^os conviction of things not seen." —
Again : if a God of Infinite perfections is the object of
our faith, we shaU then admire and adore his wisdom,
esteem and celebrate his goodness, and fear and reverence
his power ; when we consider his authority, we shall
submit to it, and his grace, we shall glorify it. Thus
again ; if the Lord Jesus Christ be the object of our
faith, it produces in the mind those devout affections and
high regards that are correspondent to those several
characters that he bears ; and that gracious state of mind
leads to a holy and obedient life. In the case of a real
Christian, this truth is plainly exemplified ; in his feelings
and actions resulting from living faith in Christ. From
hence it evidently appears, that the faith necessai:y to
salvation, or that bdieving in Christ which is connected
with our being saved, includes those dispositions of mind
which a hearty and thorough persuasion of his being a
divine person, and commissioned by God to be the
Saviour of men, and of the truth of his gospel, is suited
to produce.
The salvation connected with faith undoubtedly refers
to the recovery of mankind to the favour of God, and

278 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
their qualification for enjoying hira as their portion and
happiness. It supposes the fall of raan by the trans
gression of our first parents, the guilt we have personally
contracted, and the misery to which we are exposed :
and being born under the power of a depraved nature,
and continuing to indulge corrupt inclinations, we gra^
dually increase our aversion from God, and all that is
holy and heavenly; for " the carnal mind is enmity against
God ; it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be." And during the prevalence of this disposition,
we are unavoidably objects of divine displeasure ; and
before we can be capable of that exalted happiness,
which consists in the favour and enjoyment of God, there
must be a removal of his displeasure against us, and of
our disaffection to him : in order to which, our Lord
Jesus Christ was appointed a mediator between God and
man. Our Saviour removes the displeasure of God. For
his rights, by our manifold transgressions, had been so
impiously invaded, that he thought it not honourable to
his perfections to pardon our iniquity without a sacrifice
of atonement, and judged no other besides that of his
own Son worthy his acceptance. Him, therefore, "he
set forth to be a propitiation," and " has reconciled us to
himself " by Jesus Christ. Christ, as mediator, removes
also the disaffection on our part, by the operation of his
Spirit, enlightening the mind, awakening the conscience,
subduing the power of sin, and subjecting the whole
heart to God. In order to this, he has appointed proper
raeans and institutions, for the reraoval of their enraity
to God, who are under divine teaching and Influence,
and for forraing them to sentiments and dispositions that
are heavenly. The apostle Paul says, " After that the
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 279
appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour." And at last our salvation becoraes
complete, in the favour, likeness, and enjoyment of God.
'It is this salvation the gospel holds forth to us, in its
free, full, comprehensive sense, the more effectually to
impress our hearts, interest our affections, and secure our
regards to it ; and we are obliged seriously to consider,
and thankfully to erabrace it, in all the variety of repre
sentation that is there given us of it.
Now, there is a connection between faith, as before
explained, and conscious salvation — also a peculiar fitness
in that connection. The most solid foundation is laid,
and sufficient evidence offered, for such a faith as is
required of us. So the objects of this faith are raost
worthy of our regard, and therefore if we give not the
attention which is due to their Iraportance, and which is
requisitei to render the evidence attending thera effectual
to our conviction, we raust be unworthy of the- salvation
that is graciously offered us. All the objects of our
faith, as Christians, which are necessary to salvation, are
of the highest importance, and deserving of aU imagina^
ble attention and regard.
Let us consider, that believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ is connected with salvation, because it is in its
own nature absolutely necessary, as a condition, to
qualify us for partaking of the blessings of the gospel.
What pretence can we make to salvation, while we are
destitute of that disposition of mind, which is essentially
requisite for enjoying it.? And surely no man wUl
deny, that while we continue in a state of disaffection
to God, and are enemies to him in our minds, by

280 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
wicked works, we are unprepared for the enjoyment of
his gracious presence. While destitute of faith in Christ,
we cannot apply to God for pardon and acceptance, in
the way that the gospel prescribes ; for we shaU never
draw near to his throne in Christ's name, as the gospel
directs, till we give credence to his commission, nor ever
think of making use of his mediation, unless we esteem
him appointed and authorized of God to the office of
mediator. The gospel is very properly called "the
grace of God that bringeth salvation," as it " teaches us
to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts," and that " we
should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present
world." But it cannot bring salvation, if it do not thus
teach and instruct us ; and how ' can it be said to teach
and instruct us, whilst we do not believe it ? And what
is the powerful motive, by which these instructions are
to be enforced on our minds, but the expectation of the
"glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ." But what foundation have we for such
an expectation, if we disbelieve the gospel ? Men may
pretend that the light of reason is sufficient to satisfy us
of a judgment to corae, and a state of everlasting recom
pense : but ir has never yet been found in experience,
to give men such a satisfaction of these things, as to
engage them to deny ungodliness. Whereas nothing
can be a more effectual motive to every branch of pure
and undefiled religion, than the firm and unquestionable
assurance ofthe appearance of the great God and compas
sionate Saviour, " who gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works." Accordingly, we
find faith, with the highest reason, spoken of as the influ
encing principle of every other grace and virtue. " Add
to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 281
knowledge temperance, and to teraperance patlence,~and
to patience godhness, and to 'godliness brotherly-kind
ness, and to brotherly-kindness charity." We are
required to add these as a superstructure to faith, as a
foundation. Thus now we see, in these considerations,
the connection there is between faith and salvation,
together with the fitness of that connection.
Hence we may infer, that the right understanding and
serious consideration of the Scripture doctrine of faith
in Christ, is of great importance both to rainisters and
people.* If faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is necessary
to salvation, nay, is the sum and substance of every
thing that is necessary to it, ministers should not be
ashamed to preach according to this model, nor people
be offended at such preaching. But ministers should
take care to preach faith in Christ in its true hght, not
as a notion in the head, not merely as an act of the
understanding, but as a gracious disposition of the heart,
receiving and embracing the Lord Jesus Christ, in aU
his characters and offices, and desirous of obeying all his
commands, and imitating his example. This is the only
way of being saved by him. Faith in Christ is the
spring and principle of divine life in the soul ; it is
designed to support and cherish, to animate and invigo
rate, all the other Christian graces. And it is certain.

* Bishop Horsley, Dr. Priestley's successful antagonist, throws great
light on this subject :• he says, " As to preaching moraUty, it is true that
it is the duty of a preacher of the gospel to press practical godliness upon
the consciences of men, but I never hear it without extreme concern from
the lips of a divine, that practical religion and morality are one and the
same thing ; this is reducing practical Christianity to heathen virtue, and
sermons to mere moral essays ; but, on the contrary, let ns make a proper
use of our high commission ; let us pubUsh the word of reconciliation
through our Redeemer, and propound peace and pardon to the penitent
by him, and whUe we inculcate moral duties upon scriptural motives, we
properly unite faith and practice together."

282 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
that all moral duties have the most firm and lasting
foundation, when they are built upon a sincere behef of
all the essential doctrines of Christianity ; and are raost
hkely to be regarded, when recoraraended on Christian
principles, and enforced by Christian raotives.
When faith in Christ is scripturally preached, then, I
would say, let the hearers be excited to the most solicit
ous concern for their own salvation. In order to this,
let them beware of Infidelity, of treating faith in Christ
as a useless and unnecessary thing ; this is the reigning
vice among many of the present age. Natural religion,
so called, is thought to be sufficient, and therefore the
gospel is superseded. Let us suppose, for argument's
sake, that the main branches of our duty to God and
man are discernible by the light of reason, in such a
nation as this ; yet are they so, where the gospel never
came ? Have not the deists among us settled and
adjusted, refined and iraproved their notions of raorality
by the Christian revelation ? and is it grateful and
honourable in them to reject it, after receiving so great
a benefit from it ? But whatever notions of morality our
modern infidels may pretend to have, it is visible in expe
rience, that very few, if any of them, conscientiously
regard the duties of either the first or second table, after
they have renounced Christianity. Nay, it is evident,
that they generally run the utmost lengths of licentious
ness and immorality, when they have got rid of the
restraints they are laid under by the Christian religion.
But, for the sake of argument, if we should suppose our
obedience to the raoral law ever so perfect, yet if God
has appointed, we should approach him, and expect
grace from him only in and through the Lord Jesus
Christ, and has given us undeniable evidence of such
appointment, how can we hope for acceptance any other

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 283
As we have forfeited aU just claim to his favour, by
our manifold transgressions, he raay certainly dispense
his mercy on such terms as he judges honourable to his
own infinite perfections ; and if we were truly sensible of
the vast weight and importance of our salvation, we
should humbly and thankfully receive it on these terms ;
especially, as we are assured if we do not, it will be
awfully resented, as the raost daring affront of the divine
wisdora and mercy. " He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him." — " He that beheveth not shall be damned."
Example 3. That they will never deliver any doctrine
which has not a tendency to promote practical godliness.
Operative piety is declared to be one great end for which
Christ, the Divine author of the Christian religion,
came into the world. St. Peter says, " Unto you first,
God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless
you, in turning away every one of you from his iniqui
ties." St. John declares, " For this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of
the devil." This heavenly teacher, in the whole course
of his ministry, always prosecuted this end. By his
private and public discourses, he exhorted aU to repent,
saying, " I am not come to caU the righteous, but sinners
to repentance." In his admirable serraon on the Mount,
he has taught men the raost pure and sublime raorality.
All his doctrines and precepts have a tendency to promote
inward holiness, and were undoubtedly delivered by him
with the design to make people virtuous. What can raore
directly tend to promote a holy life, than those notions
of God with which the Christian religion furnishes us ?
He has taught us to believe in one God, who is an im
mense Spirit, perfectly holy, as well as infinitely good ;
who views all our thoughts and actions, and is " of purer

284 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity."
Frora such premises, St. Peter says, " As God, there
fore, who has called us, is holy, so ought we to be holy
in aU manner of conversation." No doctrine of the
Christian rehgion is merely speculative, but is designed
to produce in us a holy disposition, and lead us to a
regular practice. In particular, the doctrine of the
resurrection and a future judgraent, suggests to us the
necessity of keeping our bodies undefiled, and to be
upright in bur whole conduct. St. Paul, considered
both as a Christian and an apostle, states the doctrine of
the resurrection, and then mentions how it influenced
and governed his own conduct. " There shaU be a resur
rection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
And herein do I exercise myself to have always a con
science void of offence toward God, and toward men."
As for the precepts of Christ, there is not one of them
but what forbids some sin, or coraraands either the prac
tice of some particular virtue,* or substantial piety in
general. This is so obvious to every one, that it is unne
cessary to bring forward particular instances. And what
can be the design of such pure doctrines and laws, but
to make all those who profess the Christian religion holy
in heart and life ? Our Saviour gives no encouragement
to any man to hope for salvation by him, unless he
observes his laws, and obeys his precepts.
As our Saviour has by his doctrine and precepts taught
us to be practical Christians, so he has by his example
allured us to it ; his conversation was agreeable to his
instructions, and tended to promote a sincere regard to
the will of God. He set a most perfect example of all
private, social, and moral virtues, and has therefore by
his spotless life shown us the nature, necessity, and prac
tice of true godhness ; and that we ought to walk as he

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 285
walked, and not vainly hope to enter into his glory,
without imitating his heavenly conversation.
The principal end Christ had in view in dying for us,
was to make atonement for sin, but he connected with it
the purification of jhe soul from raoral evil. " He gave
hiraself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works." This is declared by St. Peter : " Who his
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness."
His intention, therefore, in dying for us, was to deliver
us from the power and dominion of sin, and to engage
us to walk in newness of life. In whatever view we con
sider the death of Christ, his design was to make us per-
•sonally holy, as the only means of rendering us acceptable
to God now, and preparing us for a state of blessedness
hereafter. For' this end also, he rose again, ascended
into heaven, and sent down the Holy Spirit, to raake the
ministry of the gospel successful, in turning men from
idols to God, and from sin to holiness.
The same object is Inseparably associated with the
sanctions of Christianity, namely, the rewards promised
to those who obey bis laws, and live righteously ; and
the punishments denounced against unbelievers and im
moral persons. A purified state is declared to be the
end of Scripture promises. " Whereby are given unto
us exceeding great and precious promises ; that by these
we might be partakers of a divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust." What
their tendency is, and what influence they should have
on aU Christians, is plain from St. Paul's exhortation to
the Corinthians. " Having therefore these promises, let
us cleanse ourselves from aU filthiness of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting hohness in the fear of God." The

286 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
design of those threatenings, which in the Scriptures are
denounced against the disobedient and unholy, is to pre
serve us from sin, by overbalancing all the allurements
and terrors of this world. " Fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather
fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell." Thus we see, that practical holiness is most
evidently the design of these parts of the Christian
institution ; and indeed it is adrairably fitted for promot
ing this great and good end, as it furnishes us with the
best rules for holy living, and proposes the most proper
and prevaUing motives to a chearful and constant com
pliance with the will of God.
The religious experience and outward deportment of
all true believers in Christ, harmonize with these decla^
rations of Scripture. True faith in Christ is always
productive of inward purity, and good works. Hence
we read of " the obedience of faith." Faith receives
Christ as a prince or king to rule, and bow the soul to
his authority ; as well as a Saviour from guilt and con
demnation. The true believer is no less willing to be
sanctified and made obedient, than to be justified and
made righteous. These are necessarily joined together,
as hfe and motion in a man. Where there is life there
will be action ; so where there is faith there will be holy
obedience. Where the fruits of practical piety are not
to be found, it is impossible there can be any true faith,
because actions always follow life. Faith, which is a
principle of the most noble kind of hfe, must produce
congenerous actions, or fruits peculiar to it. The fruits
of faith unfeigned, are a pure heart, and a holy life.
Wherever faith exists, it works ; it wlU discover itself
in the will, by a strong desire to please God in the way
of sincere obedience ; and wiU raise a heavenly flame in

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 287
the affections, whereby they will evidently appear to
centre in him as the chief good.
As genuine Christians, they at first received Christ by
faith ; so by a life of holy obedience they afterwards grow
up into him, become conformable to his will, and gain a
resemblance to their blessed Lord and Saviour. Having
surrendered themselves to him, they account themselves
obliged to live in his fear, to promote his glory, and
delight in his service. Being redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ, and regenerated by his Spirit, they are
determined, through grace, for the future, to be the
servants of God, that their fruit being unto holiness,
their end may be- everlastiag life. They acknowledge
themselves obliged to study the will of God, and in all
things seek his honour and glory ; and resolve not to live
in any known sin, but to yield an unreserved obedience
to every scriptural injunction. And though while in
this mutable state, their love to God, and zeal for his
service, meet with raany irapediraents from the various
temptations and allurements which surround them, so
that they cannot be perfectly at rest ; yet they hope soon
to obtain a complete victory. It is their habitual care
to abstain from every appearance of evil ; they set the
Lord alwavs before them, walk as in his presence, and
serve him with holy awe and reverence. Their hearts
are fixed, trusting in God ; and they have firmly resolved,
through grace strengthening thera, that they will con
scientiously serve the Lord in holiness and righteousness,
all the days of their life. They are ready to iraitate the
conduct, and adopt the language of good old Joshua,
when, at a raoraentous crisis, he declared in the presence
of the tribes of Israel, " As for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord." They consider, that as religion is
a matter of the highest moraent, therefore it is their

THE SACRED OFFICE FREE'
duty and interest to hold fast the profession of their
faith without wavering ; for they are aware, that only
they who " endure to the end shall be saved ;" who are
" faithful to death, can receive a crown of hfe." They
know that it is as much their duty to hold on in the nar
row way, as it was to enter into it.
Thus we see the complexion and tendency of the
gospel of Christ, not only as recorded in the Scriptures,
but also as enjoyed in the heart and exemplified in the
life of all genuine Christians. Evangelical obedience
combines divine agency and huraan effort. God " work
eth in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure ;"
and then we are " to work out our own salvation with
fear and trerabling." Every opinion or sentiment, there
fore, that leads to disobedience, is false and dangejrous.
Ministers, in discharging public duties, cannot be too
careful in guarding against whatever would, in the least
degree, give countenance to sin; nor too zealous and
faithful in insisting on the preceptive wiU of God, as well
as the necessary and important doctrine of faith in Christ.
St. Paul proposes a most interesting question to the reli
gious world, and then returns a very highly satisfactory
answer : — " Do we then make void the law through faith ?
God forbid: yea, we establish the law;"/ — sentiments
which ought to live in the minds of all Christian minis
ters, and be interwoven through all their discourses.
Example 4. That they will always attend to perspi
cuity in arrangement and expression, for the better under
standing and profit of their hearers. Ministers should
study to prdach intelligibly, clearly, and convincingly,
not with wisdom of words, for then the cross of Christ
would be made of none effect, but in the demonstration
of the Spirit, and of power. Such a preacher was St.
Paul, who spake for " edification, exhortation, and

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 289
comfort ;" and chose rather to " speak five words with
understanding, than ten thousand in an unknown
tongue." St. Ambrose on 1st Cor. xiv. says, " It is
evident that the mind is ignorant where the tongue is
not understood. The unskilful person hearing what he
does not understand, knows not the conclusion of the
prayer, and does not answer Araen." Cowper ably
describes the character of Paul : —

" Would I describe a preacher, such as Paul,
Were he on earth, would hear, approve, and own,
Paul should himself direct me. I would trace
His master-strokes, and draw from his design.
I would express him simple, grave, sincere ;
In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain.
And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste.
And natural in gesture ; much impress'd
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge.
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
May feel it too ; affectionate in look.
And tender in address, as weU becomes
A messenger of grace to giulty men."
Ministers should speak the things that become sound
doctrine, in words which the Holy Ghost teaches, namely,
as much as may be in the simphcity of the Scripture style
and language; for in those words they are brought
home to the understanding and conscience with greater
energy both to convince and comfort,
A distinct and clear method, a due mixture of argu
ment and pathos, plain, easy, and scriptural language,
that the meanest capacity may take in and understand
what is said, is what all ministers should closely and con
stantly attempt. Some preachers, like cannon mounted
too high, shoot over the heads of their hearers, instead
of aiming at their hearts ; they get into the clouds, soar
u

290 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
on high, so that they are beyond the reach of the people, ¦
and soraetiraes lose themselves. They affect lofty ex
pressions of their ovm devising, swelling words of vanity,
trim phrases, puerUe flourishes, which amuse the meaner
part of their auditory, who often most admire what they
do not understand. This method only feeds the vanity
and gratifies the itching ears of men, but will never
rouse their conscience, or savingly profit' their immor
tal souls. It has long been observed, that those minis
ters who aim at adorning their discourses with the flowers
of rhetoric, and atterapt a display of literature in preach
ing, have in every age had the least success in awakening
and converting sinners. Such a manner of preaching,
however it may amuse the weak, and command the
applauses of the superficial, yet to persons of better
judgment, and deeper penetration, who desire to have
their minds enriched with sound knowledge, and their
hearts replenished with saving grace, it is tedious and
despicable. Good sense and substantial divinity, clothed
with proper and familiar language, delivered vrith unaf
fected vivacity and seriousness, raeekness and gentleness,
yet with boldness atid authority, as every way becomes
the oracles of God, is a method that tends to make an
agreeable and useful minister,, and a judicious and im
proving auditory.
Happy Effects. — The effects produced by the min
istry of the gospel when it is attended with success, are
really wonderful. The better these are understood, the
more will they be admired. By reason, indeed, of their
sublirae and heavenly nature, their greatness and excel
lence cannot be rightly discerned by carnal persons ; but
how abtruse soever they may seem to be to such, (for
says St. John, " The world knoweth us not,") yet real
Christians, from their own personal experience, under-

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 291
Stand and feel enough in them to raise their admira
tion. The strong-holds of sin and Satan are thereby demol
ished. St. Paul, writing to the Christians at Corinth,
says, " The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the puUlng down of strong
holds ; casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth Itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ." These strong-holds are ignorance and errors
of the mind, doraineerlng and tyrannical lusts of the
flesh, unbelief and prejudices of the heart against Christ,
and the way of salvation by him, with aU those worldly
maxims and carnal reasonings that have gained the
ascendancy over fallen man : these are evils to which,
in his degraded condition, he is unhappily subjected.
But when the gospel prevails, what a gracious deliver
ance is effected from these hurtful and alarralng conse
quences of sin ! Then they who previously loved dark
ness, and hated light, are instructed, and made wise to
salvation. They who had made a mock at sin, and a jest
of serious religion, have now changed their sentinients,
and can no longer call evil good, and good evil. They
who were full of prejudice against the doctrine of Christ,
have been so far changed, that they make an open pro
fession of those evangelical truths which they once
denied, and contend earnestly for the faith which, with
much bitterness and rancour, they once reproached.
They who formerly were so fond of their secular interest,
that they thought no exertions too great to be made,
nor scarcely any secret fraud too vile to be practised,
so that they raight but accumulate riches, and appeal*
with distinction in the world, have been brought by the
power of the gospel to prefer an interest in Christ,

292 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
adoption into the family of God, and the witness of the
Holy Spirit, before all temporal honours, and worldly
ehjoyments whatever. In short, when the gospel min
istry is efficacious, errors are roofed out of the mind ;
prejudices against God and godhness, against the Lord
and his Christ, are removed ; the love of sin, which is the
support of Satan's kingdom, is slain ; and all the worldly
and sinful politics are exchanged for the wise counsels
and holy rules of God's word. Thus has the sound
ministry of the gospel, in former days, been effectual to
the demolishing the strong-holds of the Prince of dark
ness ; and na doubt, very many among Christians in
modern times, can testify, that they have felt its power
to produce in them similar effects.
The successful ministry of the gospel is the means of
bringing awakened sinners to the exercise of faith in
Jesus Christ. To bring persons to Christ, and to unite
them to him by faith, is one special and grand design of
preaching the gospel. When successful, people are pre
vailed on to come to Jesus, to receive hira, and to trust
in hira as their only hope and Saviour. And what a
wonderful effect is this ! What a combination of super
natural and human agency producing surprising acts
included in the faith that truly justifies and saves — acts
of the deepest humihty, and strictest self-denial — acts of
the highest reverence for God, and of the most endeared
affection to Jesus, who was once tbe object of the sinner's
greatest" aversion! Is it not strange to see a man
renounce the law as a covenant of works, since our very
nature, as St. Paul speaks, is wedded to it, and married
to another ! He says, " Wherefore, my brethren, ye
are becorae dead to the law, by the body of Christ ; that
ye should be married to another, even to him who is
raised from the dead, that ye should bring forth fruit

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 293
unto God." There is nothing that a man is more unwill
ing to relinquish than a secret dependance on his own
righteousness, though his best specimen, since the fall,
is utterly contemptible in the sight of God. Who can
tell the difficulty there is of persuading men to lay aside
their expectation of obtaining future happiness, for the
sake of their own merit or obedience ? which, of course,
sooner or later must issue in the most complete disap
pointment. How difficult it is to persuade those especi
ally to do this, who have had a religious education ; who
from their youth have led a moral hfe, been regular and
sober in their habits and behaviour, just and honest in
their deahngs, and constantly engaged at proper seasons
in the external performance of the sacred duties of
the Christian religion ; who, on these accounts, have
been ready to think within themselves, that they had
much wherein to trust, and soraething perhaps whereof
to boast and glory. How hard is it to .prevail with such
entirely to renounce their own iraaginary goodness, and
to give their unfeigned, hearty, fuU consent to depend
wholly on the sufficiency of anotiber, as their only sanctu
ary, and the solegroundof their justification before God,
acceptance with him, and eternal life. Is it not astonish^
ing to see those who had been long, with the greatest
earnestness, seeking righteousness by the works of the
law, brought at length to apply for it by faith in Christ
alone, and with admiration and gratitude submit to his
obedience and death, as infinitely meritorious., which
previously they could not at aU approve of in their
hearts I Wonderful it is, that the crucified Jesus should
become precious and inestimable to those, to whom,
during the former period of their life, he bad been as " a
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence."

294 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
Another effect of a successful gospel ministry, is a tho
rough renewal of the soul, with an entire renovation in
life and conversation. The inward change of the heart,
effected by the grace of God, resulting from faith in
Christ, though to many it raay be secret and invisible, is
nevertheless real and universal. Regeneration is not a
feigned but a genuine work, as many thousands, who have
had the happy experience of it, car, with a sacred plea
sure, testify. In a metaphorical, spiritual sense, the blind
have been made to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to
speak, the lame to walk, yea, to leap for joy. Not only
have the diseased been healed, the lepers cleansed, but
the very dead in trespasses and sins have been quick
ened, and raised to a truly Spiritual and divine life.
This change is also universal ; it is the exalted privilege
of those who are born from above, to be sanctified
throughout in spirit, soul, and body. They are renewed
in all their moral powers and faculties — the understand
ing is correctly enlightened, the will is wholly renewed,
and all the affections are regulated and made holy.
" All things are become new" — ^they have new desires,
new hopes, new fears, new joys, new sorrows, new alms,
and new endeavours. They love the good things which
they once hated and studiously shunned ; and they hate
the evil things which before they loved and eagerly pur
sued. They ai'e introduced into a new state, and accord
ingly resolve on new measures, objects, exercises, and
enjoyments. And the Inward renovation of the nature
is always attended with an universal change in life and
conversation. The corrupt affections being healed, and
the image of God restored, the heart is set right for the
faithful performance of every duty. In a word, raen
are made not barely nominal, but true Christians, who,
influenced by a vital principle, follow after holiness, and

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 295
practise religion as weU as profess it. Now how admi
rable is this effect, for vile sinners to be ma^e new crea
tures ! Would it not be very surprising to see the
Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots — ^to
behold adamant melted and dissolved — to observe wolves
turned into sheep; yea, lions and tigers into lambs!
Was it not wonderful to witness the Red Sea divided,
and become a safe passage for the many thousands of
the Israelites-^to watch Jordan driven back, and its
streams caused to run upwards .'' Yet events as great
as these, nay, in sorae respects greater, certainly take
place — when profligate sinners are converted and
turned to the Lord — when, with their own consent and
prayer, their hearts are divorced from bewitching idols,
and inordinate attachments broken off — ^when they, who
all their days had been trampling on the authority of
God, and wilfully neglecting their own salvation, are
now made to look to their Maker, and their eyes
have respect to the Holy One of Israel, aiming in all
things to please hira, whatever raay be the censure,
reproach, or sufferings which on that account they
may meet with from the adversaries of God and pure
and undefiled religion.
Such admirable effects as a successful ministry of the
gospel produces, must be the products of a divine power.
Of the utter insufficiency of ministers of the greatest
abilities, to produce these effects, by any power of their
own, we may be soon convinced. They cannot bind the
strong man armed — quicken dead sinners — ^brlng them
to bow to Christ's sceptre — ^renew their hearts, and reform
their lives ; these mighty works must be resolved into
the operations of a divine agency.
Ministers, even of the highest rank, cannot, by any
talents of their own, come up to a due use of the means

296 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
appointed, that such effects might be produced. The
work of the study is reading, meditation, and prayer,
that they may receive their instruction from God, that
they may be well acquainted with the mind of Christ,
standing in his counsel ; and that having themselves a
clear understanding of the economy of human redemption
and salvation, they may, without perplexity and ambi
guity, preach and publish these things to others. As to
this point, it is well to recoUect, that though St. Paul
was placed in the highest office in the church, and was
favoured with the richest qualifications that perhaps were
ever bestowed on any of the ministers of Christ on earth,
yet he acknowledged that of himself he was not sufficient,
any more than any of his fellow apostles, to think any
thing as of himself, which might be likely to promote the
benevolent design of the gospeh How then shall the
ordinary ministers of Christ, who, both as to gifts and
graces, fall so vastly short, every way, ofthe least ofthe
apostles, be able, without the help of God, to come at
those holy thoughts, those sublime and spiritual medita^
tions, which may be instructive, awakening, and quick
ening to the people ? Or, after the most careful prepa
ration in private, when they corae into the pubhc congre
gation, if the Lord does not grant them his gracious
assistance, how shall they be able to preach the truth as
it is in Jesus.? Or, if this be done with that soundness of
speech which cannot be condemned, yet how shall they
speak, so speak, that multitudes shaU believe; so speak as
becomes the oracles of God, with that reverence and
awe, which is suitabje to the majesty of God, from whom
the message comes, and in whose narae it is to be deh
vered ; or with that fulness and hberty which suit the
infinite goodness of the Saviour, whose amazing love and
condescension is to be proclaimed ; or how shaU they

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 297
speak with that seriousness and solemnity which becoraes
the vast importance of the eternal things which are to be
declared ; or with that holy vehemence and living fervour,
that vigour and boldness of spirit, as shall show them to
be in earnest, and that they really believe, and are fully
assured of the certainty of what they preach, and would
gladly have the people persuaded of it too ? Who, by
his own strength, is sufficient thus to preach Christ, and
teach every man, " in all wisdom," aiming, in singleness
of heart, " to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus ?"
What ministers, without special assistance, and remark
able help frora the Holy Spirit, can do this, with diligence
and constancy, with pureness, knowledge, and long-suf
fering ; and this under strong opposition, heavy affiiction,
and formidable discouragements ; behaving at all times,
and acting on all occasions, with that humility, condes
cension, and self-denial — with that gravity, simplicity,
and godly sincerity — ^wlth that resolution, faithfulness,
and zeal, in the cause of Chrigt, as shall make it manifest
that the exalting the grace of God, by gaining souls to
him, is truly the end of their preaching, and of their
conversation ? If any should be so stupid, or abomin
ably conceited and vain, as to pretend they are of them
selves sufficient for such difficult service as the work of
the ministry is, they do at once hereby demonstrate that
they have not Christ to be their Master ; for it is one of
the fundamental principles in the doctrine which he has
taught, that " without him" his disciples and ministers
" can do nothing." These remarks are surely sufficient
to convince any candid person, that rainisters of the
greatest ablhties cannot, by their own energies, come up
to a due use of the means appointed, so that such effects,
as those already mentioned, may be produced.

298 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
As a proof of the doctrine, that the success of the
gospel must unavoidably redound to the glory of God,
whatever may be the ability and assiduity of those who
preach it, we may state, that the salutary effects of the
gospel ministry are above the power of any means within
the reach of ministers, though they should be used in the
most regular and perfect manner. When ministers have
exerted themselves to the very utmost, yea, though they
could perforra aU the parts of their duty with the greatest
exactness, even to perfection ; yet, after all, the conver
sion of a soul is a work infinitely above their power. For
the gospel itself, the preaching whereof is the grand
instituted means to be used to that end, has no natural
efficacy in it to produce so marvellous an effect. If it
had, then it might be expected that it would at aU times
have the same success on all who hear it, which it has
not ; for while some believe, others believe not ; and
they who have been abundantly refreshed in their souls
by the gospel at one season, have felt httle or nothing of
its cheering, reviving influence at another, though the
matter preached was the same.
The utter insufficiency of the best ministers, and of
the gospel itself, to convert and renew sinners, may be
illustrated by several passages recorded in Scripture,
which, though they were not immediately designed, yet,
they are remarkably suited to give us this instruction.
We raay instance particularly, in the waters of the pool
of Bethesda, which could never heal but when inipreg-
nated with a supernatural virtue by the descent of an
angel from heaven. Also in Ezekiel's prophesying on
the dry bones. There is naturally no more virtue in the
letter of the gospel, or in the voice of them that preach
it, to quicken sinners dead in trespasses and sins, than

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 299
there was in the words of the prophet to make the dry
bones live. Nor was the sounding of the trumpets, in
the days of Joshua, and the mighty shout of the army,
the natural adequate causes of the sudden fall of the
strong and impregnable walls of Jericho. Nor yet again,
had the light of many laraps discovered at once by the
breaking of pitchers, nor the addition of the loud shout
ings of the soldiers, when, without striking a blow, they
imraediately cried, " The sword of the Lord, and of
Gideon," any direct tendency or force in themselves to
work the utter overthrow of the mighty bost of Midian.
No more have the dihgent endeavours of the most eminent
ministers any natural efficacy in them, to demolish the
strong-holds of Satan, to proraote the Interest, and build
up the kingdom of Christ. If any raeans could, in a
natural way, have produced those beneficial effects, it
must surely have been the personal ministry of our Lord
himself ; and yet to teach his people, in the present state,
to esteem his spiritual presence above that of his body,
he was pleased to bless one sermon, preached after his
ascension into heaven, by St. Peter, with more success
than, as far as appears in the New Testament, ever
attended aU the ralnisterial labours of his own life. The
gospel is expressly said, to be " the power of God to
salvation." And St. Paul, speaking of the success of the
gospel among the Thessalonians, says, " Our gospel
came not un1;o you in word only, but also in power, and
in the Holy Ghost^" or in the power of the Holy Ghost.
If, therefore, the labours of ministers do at any time
become useful to the good of souls, it must be because
their ministry in the gospel is accompanied with the
power of God ; for it is only through the exceUency of
his power that the foolishness of preaching can become
effectual to the salvation of sinners.

300 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
Concluding Observations. — What has been said
concerning the insufficiency of persons employed in the
important work of the ministry, may serve to furnish the
people who hear the gospel with much important
instruction. 1. That no more is to be expected from ministers
than what their weak condition wiU fairly authorize.
When the people raise their expectation too high, it is
in many instances the frequent occasion of disappoint
ment. When the Israelites depended too confidently on
the ark, saying, " It shall save us," it was just and right
that it should then fail to be of any service. Nor is it to
be expected that preaching should be beneficial to any
who overlook and neglect the Divine Author of this
exceUent institution. Who is Paul, or who is ApoUos,
but ministers whom Christ has sent, and who, after aU
their diligence in planting and watering, can give no
efficacy or success to their own endeavours. The apostle
speaks thus, " Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos,
but ministers by whom ye beheved, even as the Lord
gave to every man ? I have planted, ApoUos watered :
but God gave the Increase." None, unda* the preaching
of the best ministers, will beheve, but as the Lord shall
be pleased to give the Holy Spirit for that purpose. All
that ministers can do, whatever their gifts are, is to plant
and water ; Paul, with all his learning and fervour, and
Apollos, with aU his melting eloquence and powers of
persuasion, could do no more. Ministers, when at the
fuU exercise of all their powers, are but instrumental
means, not efficient causes of believing : not authors of
faith, only ministers by whom men believe. God does
not require the increase at their hands ; he never enjoined
it as the condition of their acceptance and reward, that
they should of themselves convert sinners to him, or

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 301
persuade them to believe in Christ, any further than as
instruraents. Hearers should well consider this, and
cease from expecting, even from men of the most splendid
talents, beneficial effects of their ministry from them
selves, and look to God alone for success, which depends
altogether on him, and is entirely owing to his blessing.
DUigence and faithfulness belong to rainisters, but vital
energy and saving efficacy to God. It is only when the
arra of the Lord is revealed, that the ministry becomes
effectual to the salvation of sinners. It is in the day when
God sends his word arraed with his own power, that they
are awakened, humbled, and made a wilhng people. —
But, then, as the expectation of the hearers should not
be raised too high, so neither should it be suffered to
fall too low, since ministers have a dispensation of the
gospel committed to them, and it is by means of their
preaching that God will save sinners. People are to
regard the gospel, " not as the word of men, but, as it
is in truth, the word of God, which worketh effectuaUy
in them that believe ;" and " they are to esteem the
ministers of it very highly for their work's sake."
2. That the hearers should not weaken the hands of
ministers, but do aU in their power to encourage them in
the work of the Lord, They should be very watchful
that they be not a hindrance to them, by any uneasy
disputes, warm debates, or evil dissensions ; by any envy
ing or strife, variance or emulation among themselves. *

» " It not unfrequently happens, tbat a man loses the spirituaUty of
his mind in the labyrinths of metaphysical disputation, and returns with
the wreath of victory upon his brow as a theological disputant, but dread-
fuUy wounded in his peace and mangled in his character as a disciple of
Christ. The heat of polemical discussion and the glow of ardent piety
agree not weU together ; and he is the best Christian and the happiest

302 THE SACRED OFFICE FREK
Every one should guard against disorderly walking, for
in whatever degree such conduct is found among the
professors of religion, they cast a reproach on the gospel,
and must therefore be the occasion of grief and sorrow
to upright and zealous ministers : who know that if
iraraoral works be not graciously over-ruled by the infi
nite wisdom and goodness of God, their prayers and
labours will be thereby greatly obstructed.
Instead of this, they should be careful so to behave,
that ministers may be happy in their work, yea, rejoice
in its extensive success. It is the duty of the people to
pray daily and earnestly for the ministers of Christ in
general, and for those especially under whose ministry
God has providentially cast their lot. They should pray
that they may be blessed with divine assistance in all the
parts of their work, and that they may meet their
congregations from time to time " in the fulness of
the blessing of the gospel of Christ." Every one should
for himself be constant also in the secret but necessary
duty of meditation, dwelling seriously on the word of
faith which is preached, praying to the Lord to give it
efficacy, and waiting for the Holy Spirit. Those who
are heads of families should be careful to converse at
home on the truths they have heard delivered in the
congregation. They who profess to be the disciples of
Christ should endeavour to encourage faithful ministers,
by maintaining a temper of mind truly heavenly and full
of goodness, raanifested by a humble, holy, circumspect
conversation ; thus showing, that the ministers, whose

man, who is most contented with the simple declarations of holy writ,
and least agitated by the desire of knowing what God has not conde
scended to reveal, or the human mind is inadequate to comprehend."—
Dr. Raffles's Lectures, p. 64, 65.

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 303
labours are owned to the conversion of sinners, and the
edification of believers, have certainly received their com
mission frora God. Hence, says St. Paul to the Chris
tians at Corinth, " Do we begin again to commend our
selves .'' or need we, as some others, epistles of commen
dation to you, or letters of commendation frora you ? Ye
are our epistles, written in our hearts, known and read
of all men : forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to
be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not
with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in
tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart."
3. That they should bless God for employing such
feeble instruments as men in the work of the rainistry.
He could, no doubt, have spoken to mankind by pure
spirits, have employed holy angels, who excel in wisdora
and strength, oii this vastly important errand. But this
plan would not have been so much to our advantage, or to
bis own glory. Their excellence would, in all probabi
hty, have excited fear ; and we are sure they could not
have given any more success to their message than what
the weakest ministers can. Or, might not their eminent
brightness have so dazzled our eyes of sense, that the
glory of God might not have been so distinctly observed,
or humbly and gratefully admired, in the success of the
gospel, as now it is, when it is preached by dying men.
AU, then, should be fuUy reconciled to the dispensation of
God in employing those of like passions with ourselves to
preach Christ ; yea, be very thankful for it, for it is cer
tain that ministers can speak to their own species in a
way that the angels of heaven never could ; that is, in
such a feeling, experimental, and sympathizing manner
as their exalted and perfect condition could not admit of
at all. They might, indeed, have certified us of the

304 THE SACRED OFFICE FREE
pardoning grace of God in Christ, as a faithful declara
tion ; but could not have borne a testimony concerning
it from their own experience, as now Christian ministers,
who have the truth in them, can,
4. That they should thank God for rendering the
message he sends by such \freak instruments effectual.
The saving effects produced under the ministry of the
gospel, do, in a very illustrious mannerj spread abroad
the glory of the mighty power of God. Have the spiri
tual " weapons" of ministers been successful " to the
pulling down of strong holds f^ — It is because they were
" mighty through God." Have people been " made
obedient ?"¦ — It was not by what ministers did, but what
God " wrought by them," that made them so. Have
persons been " filled with joy and peace in believing .?"
Still it must be acknowledged that they " abound in
hope only through the power of the Holy Ghost." And
this power is exercised in the way of righteousness, for
respect being had to the mediation of Christ, it is now a
righteous thing with God to pardon the sins of all
believers. He is " just" in " justifying the believer in
Jesus." " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrigh
teousness." There cannot be, in aU his deahngs with us,
a more expressive or distinguishing instance either of his
goodness and raercy, or of his wisdom and holiness, right
eousness and sovereignty, than there is in " delivering
us from the power of darkness, and translating us into
the kingdom of his dear Son ;" or, than in his beginning
and carrying on the " work of faith with power." The
Scriptures assure us, that his " begetting any again to a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead," is an evidence of the " abundance of his mercy,"

FROM PRIESTLY DOMINATION. 305
and of the sovereign " good pleasure of his goodness,"
as well as of the " exceeding greatness of his power." All
should then adore and bless God for the astonishing
excellence of his power, which, in the success of the gos
pel, is exercised in the most glorious way of righteousness
and love. To God alone, all the glory of all the success,
of all the labour of ministers, belongs.

306

ori^apt^r vh

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED IN ITS FOUNDA
TION, SUPERSTRUCTURE, AND BEAUTY.

" I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the house ofthe Lord. Our feet shall
stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact toge
ther ; whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to
give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are set thrones of judgment, the
thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that
love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren -
and companions* sakes, I will now say. Peace be within thee. Because of the house of
the Lord our God 1 will seek thy good." — David.

Approaching an edifice sacred to religion, the mind
is naturally irapressed with a solemn awe. This church,
an ornament to the surrounding country, has long been
dedicated to the worship of the " living God." Its
ancient appearance creates a wish to walk its aisles, and
survey the work of former days.
"As chanced, the portals of the sacred pile
Stood open, and we entered. On my frame.
At such transition from the fervid air,
A grateful coolness fell, that seemed to strike
The heart, in concert with that temperate awe
Arid natural reverence, which the place inspired.
Not framed to nice proportions was the pile,
But large and massy ; for duration huilt.

the christian church considered. 307
With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld
By naked rafters, intricately crossed.
Like leafless underboughs, in some thick grove,
All withered by the depth of shade above.
Admonitory texts inscribed the walls.
Each, iu its ornamental scroll, enclosed, 
Each also crowned with winged heads  a pair
Of rudely painted cherubim. The iloor
Of nave and aisle, in unpretending guise,
Was occupied by oaken benches, ranged
In seemly rows ; the chancel only showed
Some inoifensive marks of earthly state
And vain distinction. A capacious pew
Of sculptured oak stood here, with drapery lined ;
And marble monuments were here displayed
Upon the walls ; and on the floor beneath
Sepulchral stones appeared, with emblems graven.
And foot-worn epitaphs, and some with small
And shining effigies of brass inlaid.
—The tribute by these various records claimed,
Without reluctance did we pay ; and read
The ordinary chronicle of birth,
Office, alliance, and promotion — all
Ending in dust ; of upright magistrates.
Grave doctors strenuous for the mother church,
And uncorrupted senators, alike
To king aud people true."
A church is generally called Navls Ecclesiae, built long
like a ship, representing Christians as tossed with the
waves of this world. Some are built in the form of a
cross, in allusion to that on which Christ suffered ; and
but few are buUt circular or round, as St. Sepulchre's at
Cambridge, one at Northampton, and the Temple in
London. The position of most churches is from east to
west, and the chancel is at the east end, in conformity
to the primitive manner of devotion ; from which quar
ter of the globe the Sun of Righteousness once arose,
and from which we look for the second coming of Christ.

308 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED.
A few churches there are of Gothic architecture that
have the tower or steeple at the east end. The Papists
first introduced the figure of a cock at the top of the
steeple or tower, to impress the raind of the worshipper
or passenger with the enorralty of Peter's sin, in denying
his Lord with oaths and curses, as well as the sincerity
and raeasure of his iraraediate repentance ; and some
of the ancients say, that in aU his future life he never
heard a cock crow but he wept bitterly.
As to the origin of church bells, Mr. Whitaker, in
his History of Manchester, observes. That bells being
used, among other purposes, by the Romans, to announce
the times of bathing, were naturally, applied by the
Christians pf Italy, to denote the hours of devotion,
and summon the people to church. The first applica
tion of thera to this purpose, is by Polydore Virgil and
others, ascribed to Paulinus, bishop of Nola, a city of
Campania, about the year 400, Hence, it is said, the
naraes nolce and campancB were given them ; the one
referring to the city, the other to the country. Though
others say they, took the latter of these names, not from
their being invented in Campania, but because it was
here the manner of hanging or balancing them, now in
use, was first practised ; at least that they were hung on
the model of a sort of balance invented or used in Cam
pania. In Britain, bells were used before the conclusion
of the seventh century, in the monastic societies of
Northumbrla, arid as early as the sixth in those of Cale
donia, ^nd they were, therefore, used from the first
erection of parish churches among us. Bells, in Eng
land, as formerly at Rome, were frequently made of brass.
And as early as the ninth century, there were raany cast
of a large size and deep note. Matthew Paris observes.
That anciently the ringing of beUs was prohibited in

BELLS, SEATS, AND PEWS. 309
time of mourning ; though at present they make one of
the principal ceremonies at that season. MabiUon adds,
that it was an ancient custom to ring the bells for persons
about to expire, to give notice to the people to pray for
thera ; whence our passing-bells. The passing-bell,
indeed, was anciently rung for two purposes ; one, to
engage the prayers of all good Christians for a soul just
departing ; the other, to drive away the evil spirits who
stood at the foot of the bed, and were about the house,
ready to seize their prey, or at least to molest and ter
rify it in its passage ; but by the ringing of that bell (for
Durandus asserts, evil spirits are much afraid of bells !)
they were kept at a distance ; arid the soul, hke a hunted
hare, gained the start, which of course, according to the
notions of the people of that time, was of great advan
tage to it in its flight. Hence, perhaps, exclusive of the
-additional labour, was occasioned the high price demanded
for tolling the greatest bell of the church ; for that being
louder, the evil spirits must retreat the further, to be
beyond the reach of the sound, by which circurastance
the agitated soul got so much raore the start bf thera ; be-
sides,belng heard further off!, it would likewise procure the
dying person a greater number of prayers. In the times
of Popery, bells were baptized and anointed ; they were
exorcised and blessed by the bishop ; from a belief, that
when these cereraonies were performed, they had power
to drive away the devil out of the air, calm tempests,
extinguish fire, and re-create even the dead. The ritual
for these ceremonies is contained in the Roman pontifi
cal ; and it was usual, in their baptism, to give to bells
the narae of some saint. By an old chartulary, once in
the possession of Weever, the antiquary, it appears that
the bells of the priory of Little Dunraow, in Essex, were,
A. D. 1501, new cast, and baptized by the following
names : —

310 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED.
Prima in honore Sancti Michaells Archangeh.
Secunda in honore S. Johannis Evangehsti.
Tertla in honore S. Johannis Baptisti.
Quarta in honore Assuraptlonls beatae Marias.
Quinta in honore sancti Trinitatls, et omnium sanc
torum. — Ibid 633.
This custora of baptizing beUs was recently attended to
in France ; but in England the days of such dotage and
superstition have long since passed away.^
Seats and Pews. — Churches were always furnished
with seats of sorae sort, for the ease and convenience of
the people ; but they were frequently guilty of claraour
and indecent behaviour in atterapting to obtain them.
For regulating the ancient seats, such as they were, a
synod was held at Exeter, by Peter Wivil, bishop of
that diocese, in the fifteenth year of Edward III.
" Whereas we are given to understand, that the parish
ioners do oftentimes quarrel about the seats, to the great
scandal of the Church, and disturbance of divine ser
vice, frequently two or more chaUenging the same seat ;
we do ordain, that from henceforth none shall claim any
property in any seat in the church, except noblemen and
pastors ; and if any corae into the church to say their
prayers, let thehi do it in any place they please."'' From
this as well as other reasons, it is supposed that
before the reign of Henry VIII. or the Reformation,
there were no pews in our churches, except some appro
priated to famihes of property and distinction. The
people were accustomed to crowd together near the
priest, without respect to the condition and quality of
persons. Some would take a station near to an altar,
' Encyclopaedia Britannica, article Bells ; and Staveley's History of
Churches in England, chap. xiv.
" Synod Exon. A. D. 1287. cap. 12.

SEATS AND PEWS. 311
plUar, or tomb, with the accommodation of a mat, cush
ion, smaU stool, or' form to rest on. But when the
service of the mass, performed generally at the high
altar, was laid aside, and divine service was ordered to
be read in a desk, then both that and the pulpit were
placed the raost conveniently for the people to hear, and
the churches were furnished with forms or pews for that
purpose ; and this usage has continued to this day.
Churches were for sorae tirae sanctuaries, or places
privileged by the grant of princes or sovereigns, for sav
ing the life of persons who had coramitted some heinous
crime, even treason, murder, felony, rape, and such
like.* In the reign of Henry VIII. a statute was made
to take away all sanctuary for high treason.*" After
wards, in the same reign, it was enacted. That all sanc
tuaries and places privileged, should be extinguished
and annulled, except parish churches and their church
yards, cathedral, collegiate, and all churches dedi
cated, and the sanctuaries to them belonging;" and
except Wells, Som. Westminster, Manchester, North
ampton, Norwich, York, Derby, and Launceston.*
That none of these places should give protection to per
sons who had comraitted murder, rape, burglary, rob
bery, burning of houses, or their accessaries ; he that
took sanctuary in church or church-yard, to remain there
forty days, within which time the coroner was to see
him, take his abjuration to any of the aforesaid places
that was not full of twenty before, there to remain during
his natural life. But at last, by a statute made in the
reign of James I. it was enacted. That no sanctuary
or privilege of sanctuary, frora that time, should be
" Stamf. Placit. Coron. cap. 28. Cook 3. Instit. cap. 51.
" Stat. 26. " Stat. 32. * Stat. 1. Edw. vi. cap. 12.

312 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
admitted or allowed in any case ; and then those sanctu
aries and privileges were totally abolished.*
However deserving of attention this venerable edifice
may be, the people who assemble together in it for reli
gious worship, excite a far more lively interest. Real
Christians constitute the spiritual temple, which shall stand
for ever ; whereas this outward fabric, composed of mate
rials which are injured by the action of the elements of
nature, will ultimately sink in ruins. We should always
make a distinction between the material erection and the
people ; and not sufffer insensible matter to mislead us in
the use of an important term.
Speaking of places of worship, " It is not," as Dr. A.
Clarke observes, " a ceremonial consecration of a place
to God that can make it peculiarly proper for his wor
ship ; but the setting the place apart, whether with or
without a ceremony, for prayer, praise, preaching, and
the administration of the Lord's supper. By this means
it becomes properly the house of God, because solely set
apart for rehgious purposes. The lax teaching that has
said, every place is equally proper, has brought about
with thousands that laxity of practice which leads them
to abandon every place of worship, and every ordinance
of God. Innovation is endless ; and when it takes place
in the worship of God, it seldom stops till it destroys
both the power and form of rehgion. The private house
is ever proper for family worship, and for public wor
ship also, when no place set apart for the purposes of
religious worship can be had; for in ancient times,
many of the disciples of Christ had a church in their
houses, (see Rom. xvi. 5. Phllera. il.) and in these God
manifested his power, and showed forth his glory, as he
* Stat. Jac. I. cap. 28.

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 313
had done in the sanctuary ; but I would simply state,
that such dweUings should not be preferred, when, by
the consent of any religious people, a place is set apart
for the purposes of divine worship." *
Under the gospel dispensation, the Supreme Being
may be worshipped acceptably in any place. Outward
circumstances of worship, such as tirae, place, habit,
gesture, &c. are comparatively of little importance ; and
to lay a great stress on such things, is the very essence
of superstition. When the difference that existed
between the Jewish and Samaritan worship was men
tioned to our Saviour, he took occasion to put all religi
ous worship on such a foundation, that the outward cir
cumstances of it should be of but rainor consideration,
in coraparison with its matter and manner.
The Christian Church consists of a company of per
sons selected, gathered, and called out of the wicked
world, by the preaching of the pure doctrines of the Gos
pel, and the powerful operations of the Holy Spirit, to
know, and love, and worship the one only living and
true God, through Jesus Christ the Mediator, accord
ing to the rules laid down in the sacred Scriptures. In
a large sense, this church includes the faithful of all
tunes, countries, conditions, ages, and sex ; in a hraited
one, we read of particular churches, as the church in the
wUderness, the church of God at Corinth, the seven
churches of Asia, the church in the house of PriscUIa
and Aquila.
Foundation. — In architecture, it is absolutely neces
sary that a foundation be well laid, otherwise the whole
superstructure raised upon it would be in the utmost
danger. In a building designed for use and duration,
" Discourse on the Eucharist, pp. 99'— 101,

314 THE CHEISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
it is indispensable that the foundation be strong, as weU
as the edifice similar and proportionate. Apply this to
rehoion, which the Scriptures direct us to do, and we at
once perceive the vast importance of having a proper,
sufficient, and lasting foundation, on which to build our
faith, our present salvation, and our hope of happiness
for eternity.
An adequate foundation is provided for us. When
the first father of our race threw down the holy taber
nacle which had been buUt with the most adrairable skiU
and contrivance, God was graciously pleased to lay ano
ther foundation, on which to build it anew, and make it
stand securely, that it raight be a glorious habitation for
himself to occupy and fill with his presence. He laid
his own eternal Son as the foundation of the sacred
structure, who is fully competent to support its weight,
and thus render it perfectly secure for ever. " Thus
saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a founda
tion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure
foundation." St. Peter, quoting this passage from
the Septuagint, applies it expressly to Christ; "To
whom coming as unto a living stone, disaUowed, indeed,
of men, but chosen of God and precious. Wherefore
also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in
Zion, a chief corner-stone, elect, precious." Thus it
clearly appears, that this stone, which God has laid as a
foundation for the comfort and stabUity of his church,
is Christ, in his mediatorial character.
Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Church of God
in his person. The happiness of raan did originally
depend on a perfect obedience to the moral law, and the
revealed will of God : but by wilfuUy violating the law
and wUl.of his Creator, he forfeited his favour, lost his
moral image, and became obnoxious to his just displea-

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 315
sure. Now, if a plan had not been devised by infinite
wisdom and goodness, for harraonizing the raoral perfec
tions of God, and vindicating his righteous government,
both of which were highly dishonoured by man's trans
gression — a plan to show the divine displeasure against
sin by punishing it, and restore the sinner to the dignity
and happiness he had forfeited, — ^he must have continued
guilty and miserable for ever. It was, therefore, neces
sary, that he who was to be the Author of our salvation
should both obey and suffer, and by these means satisfy
Incensed justice, and thus repair the honour of the divine
law and government : that the sarae nature which had
sinned should also suff'er, and that satisfaction should
be raade in the same nature by which the transgression
came; and that he should be more than a creature,
because a raere creature, though perfectly holy, could
never be adequate to the claims of infinite justice for the
sins of mankind. Therefore, when no mere creature,
however exalted, in heaven or earth, could be found
equal to this stupendous work, the Son of God was
appointed, and freely undertook it, who, " being in the
form of God," and " thinking it no robbery to be equal
with him," yet, for the accomplishment of this magnifi
cent and gracious design, " took upon him the forra of
a servant, was made in the likeness of man, and, being
found in fashion as a man, humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." —
Though he " was in the beginning with God," and
" all things were made by him," yet " it behoved him
to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful
and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to
make reconciliation for the sins of the people." He
then, being both God and man in one person, was capable
of obeying the law we had by transgression broken, of

316 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
suffering its penalty in out stead, and dying for our sins;
and by his mediation, of satisfying divine justice, and
obtaining redemption and salvation for us. He, there
fore, is every way sufficient to be the foundation of our
acceptance with God, holiness, and happiness, both for
time and eternity.
Jesus Christ is also the foundation of the Church of
God, with respect to his merits. However excellent and
glorious in his person, as the Son of God, yet, if he had
not assumed our nature, and in that nature obeyed,
suffered, and died for us, we, as fallen guilty creatures,
could have derived no benefit from him. But he came
into the world on our accovint, and by his obedience and
death, has merited all the spiritual blessings we need to
constitute us happy. In the covenant of redemption,
there are four things requisite for efl^ectlng the salvation
of fallen guilty raen ; all of which we recognize in the
mediatorial character and work of Jesus Christ.
Sin expiated. — Sin is so great an evil, being opposed
to the moral governraent and adorable perfections of the
Divine Being, that without the proper and full expiation
of it, man can never be pardoned, accepted, and saved.
What the prophet says is applicable to all our race,
" Your Iniquities have separated between you and your
God, and your sins have hid his face from you." But
Jesus died on the cross to make atonement for our sins,
offering up himself a sacrifice for them. When man, by
transgression, had exposed himself to the curse of the
broken law, the sovereign lawgiver was pleased to adrait
of an expiatory sacrifice, instead of the penal death of
the sinner. Of this the Jews were informed by their
many sacrifices, which were typical representations of the
great sacrifice of atonement that was In due time to be
offered up. Therefore, when atonement was made by

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 31^
those typical sacrifices, the sins of the transgressors were
blotted out. " He shall do with the bullock as he did with
the bullock ofa sin-offering, so shaU he do with this : and
the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall
be forgiven them." « And the priest shaU make an
atoneraent for the soul that sinneth Ignorantly, when he
sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atone
ment for him ; and it shall be forgiven him." Now that
which was done typically under the law, was done reaUy
and perfectly by Jesus Christ, when he was lifted up,
suffered, and died on the cross. " Him hath God set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to
declare his righteousness for the reraission of sins — and
that he might be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus." And whereas the legal sacrifices
were appointed for the expiation of sorae sins only, Jesus
has, " by one offering, perfected for ever them that are
sanctified," and " his blood cleanseth frora all sin."
Reconciliation made.-^'By reason of our sins God was
justly offended, and we were ,become children of wrath.
The apostle says, " the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
raen," So that all raankind, as connected with the first
Adara, are obnoxious to the just displeasure of God.
And if the eternal Son, in the capacity of Mediator, had
not Interposed between us guilty rebels, and the offended
Majesty of Heaven, meritoriously turned away his anger
by dying in our stead, and thereby obtaining reconcilia-
tion for us, we raust for ever have endured the punish
raent due to our sins. The blood of Jesus has reraoved
the flaming sword that guarded the entrance into Para
dise, and opened a new and living way for us. His
blood being sprinkled on the sacred throne, has rendered

318 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
it a mercy-seat. God is now reconciled and propitious
to all that come to him in the name of his Son, trusting in
his raerit alone for salvation. Thus we are reconciled
by the death of Christ — the blood of the cross. Jesus
" having made peace through the blood of his cross, it
pleased the Father by him to reconcile all things to him
self." " When we were enemies, we were reconciled to
God by the death of his Son." The doctrine which the
apostles were commissioned to pubhsh through all
nations was, " that Godi was in Christ reconciling the
world unto hiraselfi, not Iraputing their trespasses unto
them." Redemption effected. — By our transgressions we became
not only obnoxious to the displeasure of God, but the
captives and bond-slaves of Satan. We had sold ourselves
to him for nought, and he had taken possession of his
own. Such was our awful condition, that if our blessed
Lord and Saviour had not given his own hfe a ransom
for us, by dying and rising again broken the head of the
old serpent the devil, andsthereby obtained deliverance
for those who were his captives — we might have reraained
under his dominion, and by him have been tormented in
the regions of darkness for ever. For the Son of God
assumed our nature, that " through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the
devil ; and deliver them, who, through fear of death,
were all their life-time subject to bondage." " In him
we (all believers,) have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins." We are " justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ."
By his obedience, death, and resurrection, he has obtained
a right to open the prison doors of the Prince of Dark
ness, and let his captives go free ; and a period wlU

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 319
arrive when he wiU chain him in the bottomless pit, that
he may never more afflict or tempt his righteous ser
vants. Sanctification secured: — By the first transgression of
Adam we lost not only the possession of perfect happi
ness, but the excellent adorning of holiness. The moral
image of God, in which man was created, was utterly
defaced. The recovery of this is so indispensably neces
sary, that the apostle asserts, " without hohness no man
shaU see the Lord." Happiness also, even in the present
life, depends, on the acquisition and enjoyment of a re
newed nature. But Jesus has, by his blood shedding,
procured for us not only a right to happiness, but the
means by which to obtain it. He has highly exalted our
nature by taking it into personal union with his divine
nature, and by his death has merited personal sanctifica
tion for us. His inward tempers and outward actions,
so far as imitable, exhibit a glorious pattern for us to
copy ; and by the energy of his Spirit he produces in
behevers a raoral resemblance of himself, that " as he is,
so are they in this world." Thus the apostle [speaks,
" Jesus, that he might sanctify the people with his own
blood, suffered without the gate." " By which wUl we
are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
once for all." By virtue of his death he not only obtained
gifts for men, but bestows his Spirit on all those who
believe in his narae, to sanctify and make thera " meet
to be partakers of the Inheritance of the saints in light."
Thus we see what Jesus, by dying in our stead, has
purchased, that he might obtain salvation for us ; and
aU this he has donie meritorloiisly. In his death there
was proper merit ; for his obedience and sufferings were
coraplete: he omitted nothing that either God or the
moral law re(Julred. He di-ank the whole of that cup.

320 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
mixed with the most bitter ingredients, which the Father
put into his hand. As he carae to do his will, so he did
it perfectly ; and, as became him, " fulfilled aU right
eousness." His death was not of debt, or what he was
corapelled to undergo, but entirely free and voluntary.
It was more than could have been required at his hand
antecedently to those engagements relating to our salva
tion, into which he entered with his Father. He obeyed
the law, and suffered its penalty in his own strength, and
of himself was in every respect competent to accomplish
the work he undertook, " He laid down his life," and
" no man" by irresistible violence " took it from him :
he had power to lay it down, and to take it up again."
There was ari exact proportion between his unparalleled
sufferings, and the invaluable reward they obtained.
With his own precious blood he procured salvation for
us. St. Peter says, " Ye were not redeemed with cor
ruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious
blood of Christ." Thus Milton introduces God speak
ing to the Messiah, on the subject of Adam's sin, and his
own merit ;

" His crimes make guilty all his sons ; thy merit
Imputed shall absolve them, who renounce
Their own, both righteous and unrighteous, deeds ;
And live in thee transplanted, and from thee
Receive new life."

Therefore, on these different accounts, his obedience and
death were meritorious.
We may further observe, concerning Christ as the
foundation of the church, it is said that he is a chosen
stone. As corner-stones, on which the weight of the
vhole building rests, are usually chosen with much care

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 321
by the chief architect ; so Christ is a stone chosen and
approved by the Supreme Being. " A hving stone, dis
allowed of men, but chosen of God." And Infinite wis
dora always makes the best choice. Jesus is chosen by
God the Father as having every requisite qualification
to mediate between God and raan, satisfy divine justice
in all its claims, and effect eternal redemption for sinners.
Was he disallowed by the Jewish rulers .'' It was
because their state of mind could not relish his character,
the purity of his doctrine, and his pointed manner of
applying his word ; therefore " they would not come
to hira that they might have life," They looked for a
secular dehverer, a pompoiis Messiah ; evidently pre
ferring temporal to spiritual and heavenly things ; and
for this reason they stumbled and fell on him, and were
broken. He was to them " a stone of stumbling, and
rock of offehce, because they were disobedient."
He is a tried stone. Christ is a foundation that has
long been tried by raen ; and has always been found a
sufficient support. Abraham, the father of the faithful,
good old Jacobj pious Job, and David, the man after
God's own heart, as well as many others under the Old
Testament dispensation, had large experience of the
Redeemer's ability, care and faithfulness ; in all their
trials and sufferings they always found him near to help
them. And he has beenjhe sarae to those who have
trusted in hira in all, ages, none of thera being con
founded. Many, in circumstances of great suffering,
have been much comforted with his gracious presence ;
and have left the world, bearing their dying testimony
to his goodness, faithfulness to his proraises, and that
in all their temptations ahd difficulties he had never for
saken them.

322 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
He is a precious stone. Jesus is possessed of aU excel
lencies both of the human nature, and of the infinite
perfections of the Godhead. A. man who rehnquishes
all he has, in order to gain this pearl of great price,
raakes a most wise bargain, and shall be for ever pos
sessed of unsearchable riches. Every thing is valuable
according to the relation it bears to Christ. As all
excellencies are united in himself, so he is dear to God,
to holy angels, and to real Christians. He is dear to his
Father, as one brought up with him, and always his
delight. Angels pay him religious reverence, and per
forra cheerful obedience to all his commands. He is the
joy of the sons of men, but especially to all " them that
believe." It is true, that there were some in the days of
his flesh who saw no form nor comeliness in him ; but
they despised, rejected, and were offended at him : while
others perceived him to be fairer than the sons of men,
having " all grace in his lips," and being " altogether
lovely." He is a sure foundation. Christ is a strong rock, the
rock of ages ; that rock on which he said, " I wUl build
my church, and the gates of hell shaU not prevail
against it." " Temples may fall, with sects and states.
But Truth's imperishable gates
Resist each hostile shock !
The Church of ChUist' can never fall ;
Strong stands her heaven-protected wall ;
'Tis built upon a rock."
Ever since God made known to Adam, in the first pro
mise, his gracious purpose of buUding his Church on this
foundation, the combined energies of hell have been
employed and directed to overturn it : but aU the rage

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 325
and malice of evil spirits have hitherto been in vain.
The sacred structure yet stands, and shall continue to do
so, through all the ages of time, and to eternity. For
this foundation is laid in the wisdom of God, too deep
for these enemies to undermine, and too strongly built
for them to destroy. He who is the foundation of our
hope is the Mighty God, the Father of the everlasting
age ; the government of the church and the world is on
his shoulders, and he will uphold in safety aU those who
build their salvation on him. He will defend them
against all the rage and hostile attacks of every mahclous
foe, support their faith and hope in the hour of death,
and bear them triumphant to the heavenly world.
And though St. Paul says, " Other foundation can no
man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ ;" yet men
have been in all a,ges for laying other foundations than
that laid by Infinite wisdom and goodness in Zion, the
church of the living God. He has laid no other : all
that are saved of the human race raust be saved by Christ.
There is salvation in no other ; " for there is none
other name under heaven given among men^ whereby we
must be saved." Christ was laid as the foundation of
our salvation in that early gospel promise made to our
first parents, " The seed of the woman shall bruise the
serpent's head." And all good men before his advent,
were saved through faith in him : aU true believers among
Christians are built on him : if there are any saved
among the heathen, it raust be through his raediation ;
and yet foolish and presumptuous raen pretend to lay
another foundation, of which we have several instances.
The Jews. — They were first favoured with the gos
pel. The blessed Redeemer commanded his disciples,
saying, " That repentance and remission of sins should
be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at

324 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
Jerusalem." They were told that Jesus was the Son of
God, the promised, the expected Messiah, by whom
they were to be saved, and that he was the head comer-
stone, which was by them and their rulers despised and
set at nought. , But they refused to comply with this
method of salvation ; would not own the humble, meek,
and suffering Saviour. The apostle describes them thus :
" They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and
going about to establish their own righteousness, would
not submit themselves to the righteousness of God."
And to this day these unhappy people tread in the steps
of their unbelieving forefathers, reject the gospel as a
fable, vilify the blessed Author of it as an impostor,
look for a great deliverer yet to come, endeavour to
work out a righteousness for themselves, and build their
hopes of happiness on their birth, privileges, and a strict
observance of those legal ceremonies, which once were
comraanded, but have been long since antiquated.
The Mahomedans. — They have the gospel revelation
among them, and believe it to be a true history. They
esteem our blessed Lord a great Prophet, superior to
Moses, one who wrought many miracles, and preached
excellent doctrine, for reforming the manners of the age
in which he lived. But after all this, they will not admit
him to be the only Saviour, the only foundation of man's
everlasting happiness. They deny that he died on the
cross, say that a phantora was crucified while he ascended
into heaven, and consequently set aside his being a propi
tiatory sacrifice for sin. They prefer a base irapostor
before hira, as being much higher in the favour of God ;
and account the Koran a much surer guide to heaven
than the Scriptures, and on that they build their hopes
of eternal happiness.

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 325
'The Roman Catholics. — Though they have the
gospel in their hands, and believe it the last and best
revelation of God's will given to the world ; yet they
shamefully corrupt it with many human traditions, false
interpretations, and a strange mixture of superstitious
ceremonies. They acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah
and Saviour, but join with him many other intercessors,
saints and angels of their own selecting, to whom they
make their prayers and supplications. They own his
death as the great propitiation for sin, and yet affirm
their sacrifice ofthe mass to be equally expiatory. They
profess the merits of the Son of God to be infinite, and
yet assert the necessity of obtaining a part in the church's
stock of merit. So that they reject the only foundation
of God's laying, and buUd their hopes on sandy founda^
tions of their own, on their masses, ave-marias, external
purifications, penal pilgrimages, the absolutions of the
priests, and the merit and good works of other saints,
more holy and righteous than themselves.
The Protestants. — Many among Protestants fre
quently build on weak foundations. Some lay for their
foundation a false morahty without faith in Jesus. Some
of this number have disowned the Christian revelation,
or, at least, have considered it as no other than a repub
lication of the law and rell^on of nature. But, besides
these, others have pleaded their good intentions, their
moral honesty, their owing no man ill-will, wronging and
defrauding no man, relieving the poor and necessitous,
as sufficient excuses for neglecting the house and worship
of God, absenting themselves from the table of the Lord,
and as tbe ground of their hopes of pardon and eternal
blessedness. They deny the Almighty those rights of
worship, love, reverence, and obedience, which are most
justly his due. They have no regard to .Tesus the

326 the christian church considered
Mediator, the only Saviour of lost men. They never
pray for the assistance ofthe Holy Spirit. And yet they
expect everlasting happiness after death, for their good
meanings, their honest deahngs, and their benevolence
and charities towards men.
Some lay for their foundation a pretended faith without
morality. It is to be feared, there are some hypocritical
professors who call themselves Christians, have been
trained up in the principles of the Christian faith, enter-r
tain an abhorrence of the corrupt errors of Antichrist
and his foUowers, yet are unjust in their deahngs, false
to their word and promise, and dishonourable and unholy
in their lives. But how far are such persons frora the
kingdom of God.? There were sorae persons of this
character even in the apostolic age, called Gnostics, or
I^Jicolaitanes, who boasted of their great knowledge in
the mysteries of religion, and of the purity of their faith,
while, at the same tirjie, their lives were full of injustice,
juncleanness, and yiplence. j^nd they have had disciples
in almost every age of J;he Christian church, men whose
eyes have been full of adultery, their hearts fraught with
covetous desires, and their hands filled with unjust gains ;
yet have presumed to think themselves la a safe state,
and in the way to endless happiness, because they be
heved in Jesu?, adhered to aU the doctrines of the
Christian faith, and were not chargeable with any error
or heresy. Our Saviour informs us, that there wiU be
many such self-deceivers in the Jast da,y, who will say to
him, " Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name .''
and in thy name ^have cast out devils ? and in thy narae
have done many wonderful works .?" to whom he will say,
" I never knew you : depart from me, ye that work
iniquity."

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 327
Some build their hopes on the Christian name and
profession. There were some in the days of the prophet
Jeremiah, who said, " The teraple of the Lord, the
temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these."
They were caUed by his name, were his peculiar people,
and therefore trusted in these " lying words," hoping
they should be saved, notwithstanding they oppressed the
stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed inno
cent blood, and walked after other gods, to their hurt.
So the Jews, in our Saviour's time, boasted that they
were the children of God, his peculiar peopl^, caUed by
his name, taken into covenant with him, and, as such,
were interested in numerous exceUent and glorious privi
leges. And here they built their hopes of the divine
acceptance, though they were unjust, malicious, cruel,
and did the work of their father the devil, in crucifying
with bloody hands the blessed Son of God. Our Lord
says of the church of Sardls, that though she was dead,
that is, in a declining, dying condition, yet pleased lierself
in her fair name, she had a name that she;hved, and she built
her hopes on it. And have not many others of the sarae
character thanked God, with an air of confidence, that
they are neither Heathens, nor Jews, nor Mahomedans,
but Christians, have been baptized into the church, have '
renounced all alliance with the flesh, and the world, and
the devil, and therefore doubt not but they shall be
admitted into the Redeemer's heavenly kingdom?
Some buUd their hopes on the mere externals of reli
gion, without that internal holiness which is essentially
necessary to fit them for a world of unspotted purity.
There were such persons inthe church at Corinth, who,
having forsaken their ido^latries, and taken on them the
Christian profession, joined in all the external parts of
religious worship, though they were at t'lc same time

328 the CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
unclean, unjust, and covetous. And, therefore, the
apostle warned and admonished them, saying, " Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not Inherit the kingdom
of God .'' Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor ido
lators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit
the kingdom of God." The Pharisees gloried in their
exact obedience to the ceremonial law, in observing aU
the exterrial rites of religion, in being circumcised, in
paying tithes of raint, anise, and cummin, in keeping
many feasts, and making long prayers ; while our Lord-
reproved them for being destitute of Inward sanctity of
heart and life, which only could denominate them reli
gious persons, and fit tlT[em for the heavenly world. — And
it is to be feared, that there are raany persons at present
in the tents of Christianity, who do as raiserably deceive
theraselves, thinking that if they be but baptized into the
Christian church, frequent the pubhc worship, be out
wardly civil and reformed, aiid free from any scand^pu^
pr gross impieties, aU will be well with them, and they
shall be heard when they cry, "" Lord,, Lord, openljQ.
us," notwithstanding they are false, envious, covetous,
-revengeful, proud, injurious, and far removed from: thafi
meek, humble, holy temper of mmd, which the gospel
requires, in all the disciples of Jesus, and have no Inward
love to God, or real dehglit in his ways and worship^
Some lay foj: their foundation the absolute mercy of
God, without any regard to the mediationi of Jesus, The
Scriptures represent God as mecciful and gracioug, long-
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping
mercy for thousands, and forgiving iniquity, transgreSr
sion, and sin : as gracious, and fuU of compassion, slow
to anger, and of great mercy ; and as having no pleasure

IN ITS FOUNDATION. 329
in the death, the final misery and ruin of sinners ; but
desiring the salvation and happiness of all men. From
whence sorae have drawn very unjust and dangerous
conclusions, flattering theraselves that they shall be saved,
though they should not break off their sins by repent
ance — that a corapassionate God wlU have mercy on the
work of his hands — that if he has been kind to them all
their days, he wUl not forsake them at the last — that the
threatenings pronounced in his word raay be proper to
awe sinners, but were never designed to be Inflicted on
them,— and that they doubt not but to have time enough
in their last moraents to repent and ask forgiveness, and
hope, on this ground, to be adraitted into the heavenly
Paradise. But such sinners do, alas ! sadly deceive them
selves, while they forget that the Lord is a just, and
righteous, and jealous God — that he is angry with the
wicked every day — that, after all his patience, if they
continue in their sinful ways, " he that made them wlU
not have raercy on them, he that formed them wUl show
thera no favour ;" — and that if they neglect the great
salvation which Jesus has purchased with his blood,
they cannot escape a just and severe condemnation.
These are some of those weak and sandy foundations
©n which ignorant, erroneous, prejudiced, proud, or wick
ed persons build, who reject and despise that only foun
dation which God has laid in the Scriptures. The insuf
ficiency of aU other foundations besides, besides that
which God has laid, to bear the weight of the everlasting
salvation of raen, is very evident. No man has a right
to attempt to lay any other foundation, and no man can
lay any other that wlU support his hopes and happiness.
For none of those things on which ungodly persons build
their hopes have any strength or suitableness in them for
supporting the weight of their immortal souls. Can the

330 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
blood of bulls or goats, slain on Jewish altars, take away
sin, or purify the conscience.'' Can the prayers and
intercessions of Romish saints obtain for us the pardon
of our sing, and all those spiritual blessings we need ?
Will the most exact moral obedience, without faith in
our blessed Redeemer ; or, faith in the doctrines of the
gospel, without obedience to the precepts of it, give us a
title to a crown of glory .'' What wlU the name or pro
fession of religion avail us, if we are destitute of the vital
power of it ? And, as to mere form and cereraony. Dr.
Watts observes, " these are so easy a way of getting to
heaven, that God would never allow thera to be a sufficient
title, lest his palace should be crowded with ten thousand
hypocrites." None of these things are suited to the
moral condition of an Immortal soul, nor capable of
answering its wants or supplying its necessities. They
can neither expiate sin, nor purify the conscience, nor
satisfy the offended justice of God, nor renew and sanc
tify the soul, nor give a legitimate claim to a glorious
immortahty. •
As none of these things are ordered or appointed of
God to be the foundation of the happiness of men, he
has purposed to save lost sinners in a way agreeable to
his infinite wisdom. And it is his sanction, his ordinance
and appointment, that gives virtue and efficacy to any
means : and no means, not of his appointing, can have
any efficacy to so great an end. If any thing could be a
suitable support of the eternal salvation of men, it must
be the infinite mercy of God. But God has determined,
in his unsearchable wisdom, to extend his mercy to lost
sinners only through his blessed Son, and has ordained
him to be the foundation of all our hopes, and aU our
blessings. Therefore, to neglect and despise him, is to
despise the wisdom and mercy of God ; is to forsake him

IN ITS SUPERSTRUCTURE. 331
•who is the fountain of living waters, and to hew out
cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. For
Christ is the only way to the Father, the only way in
which we can be saved, and other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Superstructure. — Having made these reraarks on the
true and substantial foundation God has laid in Zion, or in
his church, we shall proceed to notice the superstructure to
be erected on it. As it is the intention of an architect, in
laying a foundation, to erect an edifice on it, so God has
been graciously pleased to lay Christ crucified as the
only foundation on which we are to build our salvation
and happiness, — and we are not to delay this necessary
and Iraportant work. A distinguished theologian wisely
observes, " It is not less necessary to build on the foun
dation than to lay it. Many grievously err on this
point. They are ever laying the foundation, and never
building on it : and, strange to tell, this only is allowed
by some to be preaching Christ ! As if one should say.
He who is determined to build a proper 'and convenient
house for himself to dwell in, can never effect his purpose
but by laying the foundation every day as long as he
hves ! Who does not see that this man can never have
a house ? He has no more than its foundation, and can
never be its inhabitant. As the foundation should be
laid, and kept lying, once for all, and the buUding raised
upon it ; so Christ Jesus, as the foundation-stone, as the
only name through which men can be saved, should be
laid once for aU : and when it appears that this founda^
tion is laid, from that moment the rainister of God, who
understands his work, and attends to it, will proceed to
raise the superstructure."
The Church of God is, in the Scriptures, frequently
compared to a house. St. Paul says to Timothy, " That

332 THE CHRISTIAN CHUECH CONSIDERED
thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself
in the house of God, which is the church of the living
God." AU true behevers, regenerated by the Holy
Spirit, are, by St. Peter, denominated " lively stones" in
this sacred building, " bulH up a spiritual house," on
Christ the divine foundation. Behevlng Jews and
Gentiles,, says St. Paul, " are buUt upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being
the chief corner-stone ; in whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the
Lord ; in which you (Gentiles) also are builded together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
St. Paul speaks of preachers who lay Christ as theur
foundation-doctrine, but buUd other doctrines on it, not
simUar or agreeable to it. While some build on this
precious foundation gold, silver, and precious stonesi,.
those gospel doctrines that magnify the grace of God,
and the merits of Christ, and tend to perfect Christians
in faith, holiness, and love ; there are others that build
on it wood, hay, and stubble, weak and unsound doc
trine, nothing suitable to the foundation, but doing
dishonour to it, and which wiU be destroyed in that day
when God shall try men's works, though they themselves^
being upright, shall be saved : but he that builds good
doctrine on Christ, the only foundation, shaU receive a
rich and endless reward.
The soul of man, often represented in Scripture under
the figure of a building, is, in consequence of sin, in a
state of ruin, the form and comeliness of the original
structure being passed away. Yet, " to follow the meta
phor, not one of the first materials is lost, the stones and
timbers are still in existence : but they are all displaced
and disjointed ; and none but the divine Architect can
revive these out of the rubbish, and restore the shape

IN ITS SUPERSTRUCTURE. 333
and beauty of the edifice. When the ruined soul is built
up, on, through, and after him, the excellence of the
materials, the regular adjustment of the parts, the forra,
beauty, magnificence, and utility of the whole, at once
proclaim the infinite skill, unlimited power, and eternal
love of the great Master-Builder."
The apostles preached Christ crucified, as .the only
foundation of a sinner's hope and salvation, endeavoured
to build their hearers on it, and their arduous labours
were crowned with distinguished success. They ad
dressed their understanding, as well as their will and
affections ; and required the assent of the one, as well as
the obedience of the other, to the important doctrines
and precepts they delivered. They constantly endea
voured to bring them to the right foundation, and
establish them on it. Many, through believing, received
Christ, and rested on hira for salvation and eternal life.
Thus it is with all genuine Christians : renouncing all
dependance on themselves or others, they place all their
trust on Jesus Christ, expecting to receive from him
constant supplies of grace and endless felicity. But this
believing is not a bare credence that there once hved in
the world such a person as Jesus, who did and suffered
all that is recorded concerning him by the Evangelists,
but comprehends a conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit —
the scriptural knowledge of the mediatorial character of
Christ — and an entire devotedness of body and soul to
him, to be completely and for ever saved.
A deep and painful sense of our moral depravity and
personal guilt, of our danger and misery by nature and
practice, is antecedent to our receiving Christ, so as to
build our salvation on him as the only foundation.
Every man born into the world is naturaUy depraved,
and if the grace of God prevent not, as he grows in years

334 THE CHRISTIAN CHUECH CONSIDERED
his sinful inclinations will strengthen into habit ; he will
be averse from good, disposed to evil, and obnoxious to
avenging justice. Of this sinful and dangerous state a
raan must be made sensible, before he can have any
sincere desire to come to Christ for salvation. He who
thinks himself whole, wlU not come to this heavenly
Physician for healing. He who is not convinced that he
is " naked, blind, and poor," but imagines that he is
" rich, and increased with goods," and has " need of
nothing," will not come to him for " white raiment" to
cover his nakedness, for " eye-salve" to cure his bhnd-
ness, and for " refined gold" to enrich hira. But all
they who have been made sensible of their weakness,
poverty, and guiltiness, who have seen all their former
presumptuous hopes blasted, and been alarmed with the
apprehension of Impending wrath, will be ready and
anxious to escape to Jesus, when revealed to them as the
only secure refuge for a guilty sinner, and rest on him
as' the only rock of their salvation.
There is an inexpressible evil in sin, as committed
against God. It is robbing him ofhis glory ; " through
breaking the law, we dishonour God." It is virtually a
denial of his wisdom, as if he knew not how to raake
laws proper for the governraent of his inteUigent crea
tures. It is an Irapeachment of his righteousness and
equity, as if he required a subjection and homage that
are not his due. It is a reflection on his goodness, as if
he denied raen the privilege of sorae beneficial enjoyment.
It is a contempt of his power, as if he was not able to
support the sanction of his laws, by the performance of
his promises, and execution of his threatenings. It is a
disparagement to his authority, as if he was not worthy
to be regarded and obeyed. It is a contradiction of his
sovereignty, by giving the preference to our own vrill

IN ITS SUPERSTRUCTURE. 335
above his. And it is a direct contrariety to his holiness^
which is the beauty and glory of all his perfections. All
this malignity there is in sin, and before a person can
build on Christ for salvation and heaven, he must be
made sensible of the evil of sin, as sincerely to grieve and
mourn for having been in so many instances guilty of it.
Conviction of the evil of sin is not the same in all peni
tents as to the measure of it ; but it is obvious, that a
humbling sense of it, more or less, is essentially necessary
to prepare and dispose persons to build on Christ.
Suitable views of the ability of Jesus to save those
who put their trust in him, must accompany a peniten
tial sorrow for sin. A man cannot believe in one of
whom he knows nothing. The salvation of sinners by
Jesus Christ is such a mystery of godliness, that reason,
in its highest state of improvement, could never have
contrived it. We know that the Supreme Being ought
to be worshipped and obeyed : but we have sinned
against him most daringly and wickedly : an atoneraent
for sin raust be made before our offences can be for
given : but what raan, however cultivated his reason,
could ever have imagined that the Son of God in our
nature, must, by obedience and death, satisfy infinite
justice, in order that divine mercy may be displayed in
the salvation of sinners !
This shows us the great necessity and unspeakable
advantage of the revelation contained in the holy Scrip
tures. Here Christ is revealed to true believers, not only
in the Inspired volume, but by the Spirit of truth.
Though they have not seen him with the eye of sense,
yet they believe the record God has given of his Son.
A penitent sees himself polluted and guUty, under sen
tence of condemnation, and exposed to the terrors of

336 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
vindictive justice : but he perceives Jesus to be every
way adapted to the pressing necessities of his unhappy
condition. He discovers in him almighty power, perfect
righteousness, infinite goodness, boundless compassion,
inviolable truth, and never-falling faithfulness. He
" beholds his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth ;" one in whom it
has " pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell."
He looks to Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Saviour
appointed to redeem and save the fallen race, and through
whose mediation alone eternal life is to be obtained. He
believes him to be the rock of ages, the only sure foun
dation of his hope, his confidence, and his joy.
A surrender of the soul to Christ, to be saved by him,
is the next Iraportant step in the line of this spiritual
progress. When persons are convinced that they are in
danger of everlasting perdition, and have been. instructed
by the gospel that their only help is in Jesus, they will
not only desire to be saved from their sins, but in the
exercise of faith give themselves to him, to be justified by
his blood, cleansed by his Spirit, strengthened by his
grace, and kept by his power to the end of life. They
are anxious to be saved according to his plan of free
grace and rich mercy, devised by infinite wisdom, not to
prescribe to him, but submit entirely to his gracious
constitution and righteous government, that he may have
all the glory of this salvation. Being convinced that
foundations of human contrivance are certain to disap
point the expectation, they venture their souls for time
and eternity on this rock, believing that Jesus is faithful
to keep whatever is " committed to his trust." He has
declared, that " whosoever beheveth in him shall not
perish ;" that he wiU " give to his sheep eternal life, and

IN ITS FOUNDATION, 33/
they shall never perish, neither shaU any pluck them out
of his hand." And here belie'i^ers repose their trust and
all their confidence.
We are not only thus to build on Christ, but also to
proceed with the superstructure, till the " head-stone is
brought forth with shoutings, crying,' Grace, grace
unto it. " To build scripturally on Christ, is the build
ing up of the soul in the knowledge, loVe, and image of
God. And this " implies a constant growth in grace —
a dally increase of those graces which constitute the mind
of Christ — a constant addition to the former stock, so
that he who believes, and continues faithful, increases
with all the Increase of God. Thus, to his faith is added
virtue ; to virtue, knowledge ; to knowledge, temperance,
brotherly-kindness, and charity ; pure universal love to
God and man. As every new stone that is laid in the
building, adds something to it, and brings it nearer to its
perfection; so every sermon, every act of faith — of
prayer — of mercy and kindness, becomes a mean in the
hand of the Lord, of increasing the light, life, and love
of the behevlng soul.
" As every individual thus builded up by the grace of
Christ, becomes a temple of God, so the whole church or,
assembly of the first-born, forms a vast and grand build
ing, in which Jesus lives and reigns; each who was
individually a temple of God, becoming a stone, or part
of this general building. Therefore, fully to understand
what the apostle says on this subject, " Ye also as living
stones, are built up a spiritual house," &c. we must form
the idea of a nuinber of souls built up in faith and love,
in Inward and outward hohness — united in the bands of
Christian feUowship, and walking in the consolations of
the Holy Ghost. These are the lively stones, instinct
with the living virtue of the hving God, These are

338 THE CHEISTIAN CHUURCH CONSIDERED
buUt up a spiritual house ; each is considered a stone in
the sacred edifice, and a necessary and beauteous part of
the building. Their places may be different — some
within, sorae without; some in the back-part of the
building, others in the front ; some cornerstones, unit
ing and strengthening the building ; others head-stones,
finishing and perfecting the work. All are arranged,
and employed, not only according to their several degrees
of grace, but also according to their various talents:
nevertheless, the whole collectively form but one build
ing, the genuine Catholic or universal Church, whose
creed is ^the Bible, and whose inhabitant is the MOST
HIGH GOD.""
Beauty. — The beauty of the church is a subject truly
interesting. An architect, in raising an edifice, aims not
only at order and strength, but also endeavours, accord
ing to his taste and skill, to render it pleasing to the eye.
As there is reason to fear that many persons have no
correct ideas of the real exceUence of the church of
Christ, let us, therefore, inquire in what it consists.
Not in the multitude of her members. These may be
numerous, who, instead of adding to her strength and
beauty, may, by a conduct contrary to reason, revelar-
tion, the dictates of an enhghtened conscience, the
welfare of civil and religious society, weaken her power,
diminish her lustre, and cause her to appear as forsaken
of God, and under the influence of the worst dispositions
and principles. But it should be observed, that such
persons are not her real members, and their friendship is
in name only ; for they that are " in Christ, walk not
after the fleshy but after the spirit." " They that are

» The Rev. Dr. A. Clarke's Sermon on the Christian Prophet and his
Work.

IN ITS BEAUTY. 339
Christ's, have crucified the flesh with its affections and
lusts." Large numbers are very imposing. Persons who,
influenced by popular applause, and not directed by the
authority of Scripture, will be considerably affected by
the appearance of a crowd. Sometimes a creed is deemed
orthodox, because it has the sanction of a multitude.
Popular opinion with many is a sufficient criterion of
truth ; what so many profess to beheve, they imagine
must be right. Believing in this way is an easy thing,
for it requires no exertion of the mental powers, no deep
and impartial investigation. Evidence is not sought
after ; nay, by some, to hesitate would be considered
dangerous, if not heretical. Thus men are born to
orthodoxy, and inherit local opinions. Apply, on a
general scale, this mode of believing, and see what pal
pable absurdities would be the result. Religion would
change with climate, and man be metamorphosed accord
ing to his associates, dress, habits, and residence.
" The common cry is still Reh'gion's test ;
The Turk's is at Constantinople best ;
Idols iu India ; Popery at Rome ;
And our own worship's only true at home. "
Thus a multitude is no certain criterion of the excellence
of the church of God, but may exhibit prominent fea
tures of moral deformity.
Nor the riches and grandeur of her members. Riches,
considered as the gifts of divine Providence, are fre
quently distributed to persons who make no pretensions
to piety, and serve to distinguish those who possess them
from others in the lower walks of hfe. It seldom hap
pens, that many opulent persons, from principle, attach
ment, and choice, unite themselves to the church of

340 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
Christ ; but they who do, considering their exalted
station, and the difficulties they have to surmount, are
entitled to due attention and high respect. But the
moral splendour of the church does not consist in such
external badges ; for if it did, that would leave her when
she ceases to be railitant, whereas she wiU then " shine
as the sun for ever and ever." Riches, considered simply
in theraselves, do not starap any worth on those who
possess thera ; they add nothing to their stock of either
intellectual or spiritual treasure. The church is com
posed of materials infinitely more excellent than silver
and gold. When the professors of religion are wealthy,
those in the lower circles of society, influenced by merce
nary motives, may be induced to join them in the exter
nals of religious worship. Those in trade may calculate,
that a connection with such a community would be con
ducive to their pecuniary advantage. But this is following
Christ for " loaves and fishes ;" and can have no connec
tion with the approbation of God. To form a union on
the basis of trade, and for the benefit of commercial
intercourse, is proper, and can be vindicated: but to
assurae a religious profession, chiefly with reference to
pecuniary emolument, is acting the hypocrite with a
witness. This is bringing merchandize into the temple
of the Lord, profaning the sacred place, wearing a mask
in the Divine presence, and inverting the order of things.
This is acting over again Simon Magus, who, having
enteted among the primitive Christians, wished to pur
chase the gifts of the Holy Ghost with money, that he
might use them to his own temporal advantage. When
a person enters into the sacred office from motives of
worldly interest, he is guUty of simony in the sight of
God. Probably this is the master-piece of the Priftce of
Darkness. Judas, after seUing Christ Jor money, said.

IN ITS BEAUTY. 341
" Hail, Master, and kissed him :" but mark his fate ;
" falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and
all his bowels gushed out." Riches have never been of
essential use to the church of Christ. When Peter could
say, " Silver and gold have I none ;" he could also add,
" In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and
walk." Those who have abundance of earthly goods,
are in general no better on that account. There are
many instances of such persons being proud, self-wiUed,
dictatorial, soon offended, and thus very seriously injure
the real interests of true religion. Men of wealth wish to
exercise power in the church, and they who are carnal
are very unfit to interfere with spiritual concerns. There
are some honourable exceptions, persons who rejoice that
they are " brought low" in humility, and that the poor
are " exalted" to a participation of equal fellowship and
privilege. Nor in beautiful edifices for the public exercise of
religion. Under the gospel dispensation, public worship,
rightly performed, is acceptable any where ; in an upper
room, a cave, a dark cell, or in any other place, as well
as in the most sumptuous building. The prophets fore
told that this should be our privUege ; " From the rising
of the sun to the going down of the same, my name shaU
be great among the Gentiles, and in every place Incense
shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering,; for my
name shaU be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of
Hosts." Our Saviour says, " Believe me, the hour
cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain (Gerizem)
nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father ;" that is, the
period is at hand, when aU places consecrated with the
Divine presence shaU be equaUy pleasing to God, and
your sacrifices be as acceptable in one place as another.

342 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
Of our Saviour a late author says, " He never paid
any regard to place, where he dehvered his sermons ; he
taught in the temple, the synagogues, public walks, and
private houses ; he preached on mountains, and in barges
and ships. He was equaUy indifferent to the posture ; he
stood, or sat, as his own ease and the popular edification
required. The time also was accommodated to the same
end. He preached early in the morning, late in the
evening, on Sabbath days and festivals, and whenever
else the people had leisure and inchnation to hear," The
promise of Christ extends to all places where his people
are met together ; " For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,"
Hence the apostle gives this direction, " I wiU that men
pray every where, lifting up holy Jiands."
If the beauty and glory of the church had partly con
sisted in magnificent edifices, our Saviour would have
given some intimation of it, and ponfined himself to them.
At the same time, there is a danger of carrying this senti
ment too far, so as to set aside convenient and decent
places for the worship of Almighty God. Sober views,
connected with a temperate disposition of mind, are
requisite to prevent a person from passing the line of
truth and duty : whereas a bold speculatist, unawed by
the sanctions of religious fear, is likely to push on into
theories of dangerous error, and practices of destructive
consequences. Nor in a ppmpous and gay mode of worship. Exterior
splendour indicates Inward pride, which, viewed as cause
and effect, cannot be pleasing to God, nor is any part of
the excellence of the church of Christ, The church,
composed of Christ, his apostles, and a few other disci
ples, was the purest that ever was on the earth, although

IN ITS BEAUTY, 34$
these things were wanting. The real excellence of the
church is not discoverable by a carnal eye, for it is spiri
tual and invisible : she is truly " glorious," but it is
" within." Her outward condition is sometimes raean
and despicable, yet inwardly she is adorned with purity
and goodness. On which account she thus speaks of
herself, " I am black, but comely, as the -tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Solomon." External q)lendour may
attract attention, and secure the superstitious regards of
the Uliterate and vulgar^ who are far more affected by
sensible objects, than persuaded into the calm exercise of
their rational powers. Nay, even men of learning and
opulence, who are devoid of all serious intentions, will
submit to a religion so arrayed ; let it only adapt itself
to their senses, and they will submit to become its vota
ries. A worldly spirit, vain glory, and popular applause,
led to the introduction of such things into Christian
worship : but these things never gained an ascendancy,
till the spirit of simplicity and godly sincerity had in a
considerable degree disappeared.
Such things as pomp and parade are not even the
form of godliness, but the extravagant and unhaUowed
additions of carnal men ; and are neither regarded by
the Almighty, nor esteemed by truly pious persons.
They may amuse, gratify, and deceive men of no reli
gious principle, who, by attending to them, may imagine
that they serve God, and may awe the illiterate into a
superstitious reverence. But such symbols of pride and
vanity, are quite opposite to the nature and sanctity of
Christian worship. " God is a spirit, and they that
worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth."
The Jews, indeed, had numerous ceremonies; but
these were of Divine appointment, and aU significant
emblems or typical representations of good things to

344 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
come. When Christ came into the world, he put an end
to that shadowy dispensation, and introduced a more
simple and spiritual worship. Under the Christian dis.
pensation, types and shadows are not only unnecessary,
but prohibited, and the worship, as stated in the New
Testament, is plain and easy. Pompous ceremonies only
disgrace it, concealing its native dignity, beauty, and
sublimity, The apostles considered the ceremonial part of
the Mosaic dispensation as " beggarly elements," low, and
adapted to a state of ijonage.
An attempt to interfere with Christian worship, as
prescribed by our Saviour, by appending to it what is
merely human, and resulting from bad principles and
passions, is daring arrogance. The spirituality of accept
able homage, requires an abstraction from such things.
The divinity of ojir Saviour is the altar on which his
humanity was offered up; the Holy Spirit taking a live
coal from this consecrated place touches the heart and
tongue of a spiritual worshipper ; and under this hallow
ing influence he worships God according to his own
nature and perfections, as weU as his revealed will in his
sacred word, This sort of worship is infinitely better
than whole burnt-offerings and costly sacrifices, — Having
thus pointed out negatively in what the beauty and ex
cellence of the church does not consist ; it is proper to
show positively what does constitute her glory and per
fection. The purity of the principles she embraces and defends,
The church ha§, recourse to the Holy Scriptures, as the
only and sufficient rule both of faith and practice, What
ever is not contained in the canon of Scripture, nor may
be fairly and clearly proved thereby, is not to be required
of any man as an article of faith, or be deetoed necessary
to salvation. Divine revelation is the infallible standard

IN ITS BEAUTY. 345
of religious truth, and what it contains is binding on the
conscience. It gives us the most exalted, spiritual, , and
becoming ideas of God, setting forth his infinite perfec
tions and blessedness ; as well as his relation to man,
dominion over his creatures, providential dispensations,
and gracious influences. It presents the most exact and
affecting account of man, showing our dependance on
God, revolt from him, obligations to him, as well as
requires and directs our worship and obedience suitable
to such discoveries. It opens the amazing counsels of
God concerning man, unveils his glory in the face of
Christ Jesus, displays the riches and extent of his free
grace, draws out the glorious scheme of human redemp
tion, exhibits the admirable, concurring, and yet distinct
parts which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
have undertaken and performed respecting it ; and in
structs us how to render these divine persons or subsist
ences in the Godhead acceptable religious worship and
horaage suitable to the manifestations they have made of
themselves to us. It gives affecting descriptions of this
world, as well as that which is to come, and insists on our
rendering different regards to them respectively, that all
things may be managed with a steady and explicit refer
ence to eternity, and a subserviency to a safe and abun
dant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ.
In short, the Scripture teaches us all that we are con-
cei-ned to know and believe, all that we ought to avoid
and practise, for proraoting the glory of God, and secur
ing our present and future happiness. While we are
thus instructed, in the full extent of doctrine aud duty,
the sacred volume also leads lis to the sufficiency of
divine grace, which is necessary to enable us to perform
the will of Gbd, and shows us the true w'ay in which aU

346 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
our works of obedience become acceptable to him. All
this it states, recommends, and urges, by the most
persuasive arguments, and enforces by the most indis
pensable necessity that a divine order can enjoin.
The noble system of divine truth contained in the
Bible, is infinitely honourable to the perfections and
government of God, and raost intelligible and beneficial
to men. It is suited to dispel the darkness in which sin
has involved them, to relieve them from tormenting fears,
to remove the heavy load of accumulated guilt, to impart
to them a delightful assurance of divine favour, to purify
their hearts from aU the defilement of sin, and to elevate
their minds to the joyful hope of a glorious immortality.
These things are set before us with the greatest advan
tage ; and shows nobler principles and ends, obliga
tions, motives, and assistance, for the right observation
of them, than ever the light of reason would suggest. —
The knowledge of doctrines, precepts, and promises, as
contained in the Scriptures, is an intellectual and moral
excellence adorning the church of Christ.
In the holiness of her members. A religion that does
not inculcate holiness of heart and life, is not of God,
because it does not accord with his raoral perfections
and the rectitude of his governraent. He cannot be the
Author of such a system, nor give it the sanction of his
approbation. A community who profess the true rehgion,
but are not practicaUy holy, are not his people. These
are the words of our Saviour, " Not every one that saith
unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which
is in heaven." The religion of Christ is adapted to our
condition and circumstances, as fallen, ruined, helpless
creatures, and is wonderfuUy constructed to show us the
nature and turpitude of sin, give a new bias to the wUl
and affections, humble us under a sense of guUt, cancel

IN ITS BEAUTY, 347
our numerous offences, introduce principles of hohness
into the heart, cause them to operate effectually, and
enable us to walk before God " in righteousness and
true holiness all the days of our life."
Observe this religion, in the cause that gave it exist
ence, in its design and capability to answer the beneficial
end so freely proposed, and it will appear a system
admirably adapted to deliver us frora sin, and bless us
with holiness ; that, regaining the image of God, we may
enjoy him. This is its avowed design, and on this ground
it is asserted, that " he that commltteth sin is of the
devil," and " he that is born of God sinneth not." A
real Christian, being born from above, is the subject of a
great moral change : his disposition, tempers, principles,
apprehensions, pursuits, enjoyments, associates, are all
changed; he is created anew in Christ Jesus. He
ascribes this to the free grace of God in Christ Jesus, as
is the case with all genuine Christians, forming the true
church. " Christ loved the church, and gave himself
for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, with the
washing of water by the word, that he might present it
to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and with
out blemish."
This holiness of Christians is the most essential part of
the beauty and excellence of the church of Christ. God,
who is " glorious in holiness," says, " Ye shall be holy :
for I the Lord your God am holy." True behevers are
made " partakers of his holiness ;" having the'" Spirit of
hohness," they bring forth " fruit unto holiness ;" the prac
tical path in which they walk, is the " way of hohness ;"
and they are to " continue in hohness," even " perfecting
holiness," tUl they are " unblameable in holiness." This

348 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
is the indelible impression, the broad seal, which God
puts on bis own church. " The foundation of God
standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them
that are his ; and, Let every one that nameth the narae of
Christ depart from Iniquity." There can be no alter
ation as to this Important point, and by this mark is the
true church distinguished.
In their unity and iove. Divine love is a principle of
union, which not only harmonizes discordant passions in
the human raind, but forms the most powerful cement
among men, especially our fellow-Christians. Love is
the sura and abridgeraent of the moral law, which contains
two general coraraandraents : — " First, Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart : secondly, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself : on these two cora
raandments hang all the law and the prophets." What
ever men may pretend to in Christianity, if they lack this
principle, they are nothing, and their religion is vain.
The apostle says, " He that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law." St. Paul gives it the preference to all other
graces and virtues, and urges it thus : — " Above aU
things put on ayajOTv love, which is the bond of perfect-
ness." St. Peter thus exhorts Christians to secure it, as the
crown of all other virtues, " Above aU these things have
fervent ocyamv love among yourselves." St, John, in
exalted strains of rhetoric and oratory, presses mutual
love. He introduces it as the great and solemn message
which the Son of God came to deliver to mankind ; " This
is the raessage that we heard from the beginning, that
we should love one another." The primitive Christians
were so reraarkable for this invaluable grace, that the
heathen saw and confessed its prorainence, saying, " See
how these Christians love each other !" and their ardent

IN ITS BEAUTY, 349
love to each other, very much supported the credit of
their profession, and tended greatly to promote the pro
gress of Christianity.
The principles of this holy religion disarm man of aU
offensive and injurious passions. Its benevolence destroys
animosities, causes angry resentments to subside, and
stamps on our moral nature " good-will towards men."
Peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who
made peace through the blood of his cross, lays a solid
foundation for establishing peace araong men. They
who enjoy a sense of the love of God, will, influenced
and directed by that divine principle, love each other.
Our Saviour makes this the distinguishing badge of his
followers : " By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another." St. John pro
duces this as a mark of a sound conversion : " We know
that we have passed from death unto life, because we
love the brethren : he that loveth not his brother abideth
in death." This union of love is thus admirably expressed
by the Psalmist, " Behold, how good and pleasant it is,
for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is hke the
precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the
beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts
of his garraents." This love perfumes the whole body.
Believers, joined to Christ their living Head, are his
mystical " body, fitly joined together, and compacted by
that which every joint suppheth, according to the effec
tual wopking in the measure of every part, maketh in
crease of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love."
For this important purpose, the great Head of the
church, " gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ;
and some, evangehsts ; and some, pastors and teachers ;
for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the min
istry, for the edifying of the body of Christ : tiU we all

350 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure
of the stature of the fulness of Christ." This mutual
love is a part of the glorious exceUence of the Church of
Christ. In the enjoyment of the divine presence. God is
essentially present every where, filhng the utmost extent
of space. He is present with all his works, however great
in magnitude, or minute in their dimensions ; wherever
situated, near or remote ; however numerous, and past
finding out. He is
" In the wide waste, as in the city full."
Several of the heathen philosophers and poets acknow
ledge this truth. Pythagoras states, that God is, as it
were, a soul passing through and inspiriting universal
nature. Seneca, the morahst, says, that God is every
where present, and at hand : God is nigh thee, with thee,
within thee, my Lucihus. Homer asserts, that God is
always present with us. Virgil adds, that all things are
full of God, In this sense, the Supreme Being is every
where, filling all space with his presence. But this apphes
to all created thiftgs, throughout the vast fabric of nature,
whether animate or inanimate, rational or irrational,
spiritual or material, angel or man. Hence there is ano
ther meaning of the presence of God, and one that is
peculiar to his church. " The Lord hath chosen Zion :
he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for
ever : here wlU I dwell, for I have deskedit." He " loves
the gates of Zion more than aU the dwellings of Jacob ;"
that is, public worship more than private. He regards
both, and accepts of both, when performed in spirit and
in truth ; but public more than private, because he is

IN ITS BEAUTY. 351
more honoured by the former than the latter. God is
graciously present with his church by his ministers ; these
are his representatives in his house. As princes are
represented in foreign courts and distant countries by
their ambassadors, so is Christ on earth, and in the reli
gious assemblies of Christians, by his ministers. That
God will treat with us, in the matter of our salvation, by
men like ourselves, shows his gracious condescension to
our weakness. We could not hear what he should speak
to us immediately himself, nor that he should speak to us
by angels ; had it been thus, we must all have said, as
the Israelites to Moses, " Let not God speak to us, lest
we die."
He is present also by his Spirit, concurring with the
administration of the public ordinances of his own ap
pointment, to render them successful to the salvation of
men. The ministry of the word is only effectual as the
Spirit of God raakes it so. Hence the Gospel is called
" the ministration of the Spirit." The apostle says, " I
have planted, Apollos watered ; but God gave the in
crease." Our Saviour asserts,' " Where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them." Which manner of expression imports,
that his presence in the assemblies of Christians is their
glory and ornament, their security and protection. With
reference to the church, God declares, " I will be the
glory in the midst of her," which promise not only refers
to the Jewish church, but concerns Christians in every
period of time. Hence that prophetic language, " Cry
out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion : for great is the
Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." It likewise
imports, the pleasure that he takes in being among his
people, when gathered together in his holy name for
public worship: " The Lord taketh pleasure in his

352 THE CHEISTIAN CHURCH CONSIDERED.
people," and holds communion and feUowship with
them. The consideration of this, when we draw nigh to God
in public worship, should affect us with holy awe and
reverence of the Divine Majesty. " God is greatly to
be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in
reverence of all them that are about hira." He is our
strict observer wherever we are, but especially he is so
when we approach him in his worship. Our Saviour
says, " All the churches shall know that I am he who
searcheth the heart and reins." The gracious presence
of God with his people, the manifestation of his love to
them, and holding communion with them, elevates their
minds, exercises and strengthens their graces, gives vigour
to aU their acts of worship, and renders " his service
perfect freedom." Such are the characters of the true
Church of Christ on earth, and such are the incomparable
blessings and privileges of real Christians.

353

euvtet vm.

PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED IN IfS PURITY AND
SIMPLICITY.

'* Where the Scripture is silent, the church is my text ; where that speaks, it is but my
comment; where there is a joint silence of both, I borrow not the rules of my religion
from Rome ox Geneva,\}v.t tbe dictates of my own reason. " — Browne* s Religio MedicU p. 8.

This church was erected, that pubhc worship might be
performed in it by the inhabitants of this parish, from gen
eration to generation. What a valuable privilege to have
the house of God araong them ! What can be more sub
lime and interesting than God and man holding Intercourse
in an edifice erected for divine worship ? Well may a
sincere worshipper devoutly exclaim, " WUl God Indeed
dweU with men.''" Yet, in astonishing condescension
and goodness, he says, " To this man will I look, even
to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word." Such is the open declaration of infinite
benevolence to sinful and fraU man !
The way to this sacred pile is a trodden path. It has
been frequented from a remote period to the present
time . but under what motives and views, in what spirit
and with what advantage, we haye not the means of
ascertaining. A day is approaching, however, when the
secrets of all hearts shall be laid open, when there shall
2a

354 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
be a full developraent of character ; and then the sincere
and acceptable worshipper shall meet the avowed appro.
bation of the righteous Judge, as well as a gracious and
everlasting reward — and the raere formal professor, as
well as the disguised hypocrite, receive a recompense
suited to their moral condition and behaviour. Heaven
and hell are connected with the services performed in this
church, as the final results ; and these considerations
ought to engage the understanding and affect the heart
of every parishioner, whether worshipping here, or else
where. The plain stanzas of good old Herbert on this
subject, erabodying much useful raatter, are deserving of
serious attention.
" Though private prayer be a brave design.
Yet public hath more promises, more love ;
And love's a weight to hearts, to eyes a sign.
We all are but cold suitors ; let us move
Where it is warmest. Leave thy six and seven ;
Pray with the most ; for where most pray, is heav'p.
" When once thy foot enters the Church, be bare.
God is more there than thou : for thou art there
Only by his permission. Then beware,
Aud make thyself all reverence and fear.
Kneeling ne'er spoil'd sUk stocking : quit thy state.
All equal are within the Church's gate.
" Resort to sermons, but to prayers most :
Praying's the end of preaching. O be drest,
Stay not for th' other pin. 'V^Tiy thou hast lost
A joy for it worth worlds. Thus hell doth jest
Away thy blessings, and extreamly flout thee.
Thy clothes being fast, biit thy soul loose about thee.
" In time of service seal up both thine eyes.
And send them to thine heart, that spying sin,
They may weep out the stains by them that rise.
Those doors being shut, all by the ears comes in.
Who marks in church-time others symmetry.
Makes all their beauty his deformity.

tN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 855
" Let vain or busy thoughts have there no part ;
Bring not thy plough, thy plots, thy pleasure thither,
Christ purg'd his Temple ; so must thou thy heart.
All worldly thoughts are but thieves met together
To cozen thee. Look to thy action well.
For Churches either are oUr Heaven or Hell.
" Judge not the preacher, for he is thy judge :
If thou misUke him, thou couceiv'st him not.
God caUeth preaching folly. Do not grude
To pick out treasures from an earthem pot.
The worst speak something good : if all want seiis^,
God takes a text, and preacheth patience.
" He that gets patience, and the blessing which
' Preachers conclude with, hath not lost his pains.
He that by being at Church, escapes the ditch.
Which he might fall in by companions, gains.
He that loves God's abode, and to combine
With saints on earth, shall one day with them shine.'*
Preliminary Qualifications, — The public worship
of God is so solemn an act, that the mind should be
rightly prepared for it. As it is an act or the exercise
of the rational and moral powers of the soul, knowledge
is essentiarto it ; and as God is the alone object to be
worshipped, the knowledge of Him is requisite. The
knowledge of God is the first principle of aU true reh
gion ; and necessary to direct us how we may worship
him acceptably. His existence is the truth that is first
to occupy the raind — " He that cometh to God must
beheve that he is." The evidences of his existence within
the reach of our observation, are Innumerable. What a
wide and glorious field opens to our view, in the vast
extent of the universe, the magnitude, variety, and stabi
lity of the heavenly bodies, the swiftness and constancy
qf their motions, their beauty, order, and harmony, and

356 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
the relation of one part to another ! The earth on which
we live, is every where furnished to be the habitation of
Innumerable species of creatures. The formation of the
human body, and its adaptation for serving the important
ends of life, carried irresistible conviction of the existence
of a First Cause to the highly cultivated mind ofa Galen.
Above aU, the endowments of the human soul, its powers
of perception, reason, judgment^ liberty, a consciousness
of moral good and evil, the approbation of the one and
dislike of the other, not to mention several other things,
are clear proofs, and incontestible evidences of the exist
ence of God.
The knowledge of the perfections of God, which are
called natural and moral, is the next step in this line of
intellectual progress. The former of these include his
unity, spirituality, eternity, immensity, omnipotence, om
niscience, imrautabUity : the latter, his holiness, justice,
truth, and goodness. His perfections are displayed in
the works of creation, in the operations of Providence,
but especially in the sacred Scriptures. Here we must
read, and understand, to come at the right knowledge of
God. And this knowledge must be practical. Being
deeply impressed with a sense of his existence and glo
rious attributes, we are to cultivate an inward temper
of lively devotion towards him. Our knowledge, under
divine aid, should generate faith, and we should justify
our faith in God, by external acts of religious worship.
We should take care that our tempers and behaviour be
suitable to those sentiraents which, from divine revela^
tion, we have conceived of him. If God is the greatest
and best of Beings, we should, both mentally and practi
cally, acknowledge that he is so ; and if we are his crea
tures, and dependent on him for all things, we ought to

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY, 357
confess that also, and give glory to Him op whom we
depend. It is scarcely possible, that a man, having a
proper sense of the Divine Majesty impressed on his
mind, believing him to be infinitely great and good,
regarding him as his Creator and Preserver, having an
inward veneration for hira on account of his unsearchable
perfections and wonderful works, should forbear express
ing these sentiments of his mind outwardly.
The doctrine of a Trinity in Unity, being of divine
revelation, is intended to occupy the understanding of
man : as a. fact, not as to the mode of it, far that not being
revealed is inexplicable. " The doctrine of the Trinity,"
says a «iodern author, " as professed in the Christian
church, is briefly this : — That there is one God, in three
distinct Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; the
term Person here characterizing the mode of subsistence
in the Essence, which the Greek Fathers called Hypos
tasis. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are beheved
to be three distinct persons in the divine nature, be
cause the Holy Scriptures, in speaking of these three,
do distinguish them from one another, as we use, in
common speech, to distinguish three several ^rsons ; and
each of these several persons are .affirmed t-o be God,
because the names, properties, a^d operations of God, are,
in Scripture, attributed to eafilf, <rf them." * Or, in other
words, " the .Catholic faith is this, — ^that we worship one
God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity : for there is one
person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of
the Holy Ghost. But tlie Xjodhead of the Father, of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one ; the glory
equal, the majesty eo-eternal." ¦' This mode of existence
» Adam's Religions World Displayed, vol. ii. p, 107.
'' Athanasian Creed.

368 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
being essential to the Godhead, is expressly revealed^ as'
a fact, in the Scriptures, and consequently is a point of
theological knowledge essentiaUy important to the Chris
tian. The* knowledge of the will of God concerning our duty
is equally requisite. As he unquestionably requires that
we worship and serve him, his wisdom and goodness, we
may very rationally conclude, will induce him to make
known to us, how and in what manner he will be wor
shipped. Reason aloiie has been found to be weak and
dim, at the best very feeble and scanty in its directions
to this purpose, not suflicient to keep the heathen from
idolatry, superstition, and all sorts of impiety and wick
edness ; nay, for want of the Scriptures, they have intro
duced the worst and most degrading principles of huraan
nature into their reli^oii, and made these a part of their
worship. This shotvs us the necessity of a clearej and
mote perfect light, to conduct us into the right Way and
manner of worshipping God. This is graciously afforded
us in the Christian revelation, in which the object of
divine worship is fully settled ; the rules of it are clearly
stated, the grounds, reasons, motives, and obligations to
it, are recommended and enforced ; the manner of per
forming it directed; its highest end declared; and the way
of its acceptance laid open to the meanest capacity^ In
short, in the Christian records, the whole of our dutyj
both to God and man, is most painfully taught, and the
noble rewards of life and immortality set in a perspicuous
light before us. No raan, who has eith^ eyfes to readj
or ears to hear, the word of God, in this land of Bibles,
and Ministers, aild Sabbaths, can be ignorant of the duty
God requires him to perform, and the beneficial results
of a conscientious and cheerful compliance.

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 359'
We should never forget, that our real happiness con
sists not in a mere notional or speculative knowledge of
these things, but in a hearty practical attention to them.
We never find in Scripture that men are pronounced
happy on account of their Intellectual Improvements,
however splendid they raay be, if there be not a con
sistent practice resulting from them. Our Saviour says,
*' If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."
The apostle James enforces the same sentiment, " Whoso
looketh into the perfect law of hberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of
the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." If a
man possessed the extensive knowledge of an angel,
without the required example of holy obedience, it would
not be of any avail to him ; nay, it would aggravate both
his sin and punishraent. This appears evident from what
our Saviour said to the Pharisees, who entertained
exalted notions of their theological attainments, " If ye
were bhnd, ye should have no sin ;" that is, ye should have
no sin in comparison with what ye now have in sinning
against so much light. So again, to the same purpose,
he says, " If I had not come and spoken unto them,
they had not had sin : but now they have no cloke for
their sin." Their ignorance would have been some
excuse, but now, knowing their duty, and yet neglecting
to practise it, they have nothing to allege, no apology
to make by which to diminish their sin. It has also a
bearing on punishment. " The servant who knew his
Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did accord
ing to his wiU, shall be beaten with many stripes." To
sin in such chcumstances, is to traraple on the authority
of God, affront his wisdom, defy his justice, disgrace his
hohness, despise his mercy, and abuse his patience.
Those persons who are thus guilty, have nothing good to

360 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
expect, but the severest vengeance to fear. Our know
ledge of God, which we may have attained, should
preside and govern in our hearts, and produce in the
life a conformity to his good, acceptable, and perfect
wlH. The assistance of the Holy Spirit, is as necessary to
our worshipping and serving God aright, as any of the
other prehminary qualifications. St. Paul, speaking of
human nature in a fallen state, says, " The carnal mind
is enmity against God;" the inference he draws from
this is, '' so then they that are in the flesh," in an unre
newed state, " cannot please God ;" he and his laws being
the objects of their aversion. The Holy Spirit has
•infused into the soul of the regenerate a principle of
spiritual life, which qualifies theni for performing holy
worship and acceptable obedience. Men in a natural
state, are " dead in trespasses and sins ;" and therefore,
in order to their worshipping God in a spiritual manner,
a vital principle must be communicated to them. Hence
real Christiaiis are said to be " quickened," by the infu
sion of this heavenly principle of life, a change froiii
nature to grace is produced vrithin, by which they are
disposed to serve God, and their actions are well-pleas
ing to him, through Jesus Christ. This moral change
is caUed a " new birth,''' a " new heart," a " new spirit,"
an " heart of flesh," the " hidden man of the heart,"
" Christ formed in believers." The production of this
principle of life is the work of God alone, and it is called
the effect of his power, the greatness of his power, the
exceeding greatness of his power ; such as God put
forth " when he raised Christ from the dead, and set
him at his own right hand in the heavenly places." And
as this grace is communicated by the Holy Spirit, so the
energy of the same Spirit afterwards is necessary to its

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 361
continuance and actings. The depravity of our nature
needs no external agency to rouse it to action, it is capa
ble of exerting itself without foreign aid, being a self-
mover : but so is not grace, for that depends on the con
stant influence of the Holy Spirit. Christians cannot
act in a spiritual manner without the Spirit of Christ ;
he who is the spring and fountain of their life and
energy. St. Paul adds, « We are not suflicient of our
selves, as of ourselves, to think any thing," or do any
holy and good work. And therefore, in the Scriptures,
we perceive that prayers are offered up for divine assist
ance, in order to serving God acceptably ; and the ade
quate aid of the Holy Spirit is contained in that gracious
promise, "Your heavenly Father will give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him."
Worship. — The dignity of human nature appears
in its being capable of rendering worship to the Supreme
Being. Moral powers form a prominent hne of distinc
tion between man and the mere aniraal world ; and, in
the right exercise of these, we rise to a state of rectitude,
subliraity, and happiness. We never so truly fulfil the
wUl of our adorable Creator, or answer the benevolent
design of our creation, as when we are conscientiously
and zealously employed in serving him. He has not
left us to vague conjecture, or the wanderings of a vain
imagination, concerning religious obhgations ; nor to the
weakness of our fallen condition, in the discharge of
them ; but freely granted us the infaUible hght of super
natural revelation, and favoured us with the suflicient
aid of his Holy Spirit. He has not permitted our mani
fold offences to become an insurmountable barrier in the
way to his throne, as he justly might have done ; but
has graciously opened a new and living way of access,
through the incarnation, life, sufferings, and sacrifice of
his own Son.

362 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
Public worship necessarily supposes an assembly com
posed of a nuraber of Christians, met together by divine
appointraent, not for any political purpose, to injure or
alter the kingdoms of this world, but for the due observ
ance of those holy ordinances which Christ, as Lord of
his own house, and Head of his church, has appointed
to be observed. No determinate number of Christians
is any where, in the records of Christianity, prescribed ;
but so many there raust be as will constitute it public
worship. The ordinances which are appointed to be adrainis
tered in these asserablies, are reading the Holy Scrip
tures, and preaching the word, that is, expounding and
applying it, hearing attentively the word read and
preached; praying to God for aU necessary blessings,
both for soul and body, for ourselves and others ; sing
ing hymns and making melody in our hearts to the
Lord, and administering and receiving the sacraments of
baptism and the Lord's supper. These are the several
parts of public worship which are of divine authority ;
and no man, nor any body of men, have power to add
to or take from them-^for any to pretend to have a
power to do either, is a bold invasion of the just right
and prerogative of Christ.
Some persons think, that preaching, or instructing men
in the principles and duties of rehgion, administering bap
tism, and partaking of the Lord's supper, are iraproperly
termed acts of divine worship. And indeed, according
to the Strict notion of religious worship, this may appear
very true ; but as these are duties to which we are to
attend, in obedience to the wUl of God, and designed
instrumentally to produce in the heart a temper of piety,
or raise those affections there which are properly religi
ous, they may also, in a general sense, be considered^ as

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICrTY. 363
they commonly are, as parts of the religious worship
required by Christianity ; which probably may justify
the speaking of them as duties of the Christian worship,
though, in other places, they are distinguished from them.
The public worship of God is performed under the
conduct of a gospel ministry — both of which are of
divine institution. Ministers, duly quahfied and author
ized, are to preside in these religious asserablies, to be
guides to private Christians in aU the parts of public
worship, to see that every thing be perforraed decently
and in order, with becoming solemnity. They must be
careful to dispense the ordinances of gospel-worship
purely, without mixing human inventions with them,
and with that reverence and decorum which becomes
those who act in the name, and have to approach God,
who " wlU be sanctified in them who come nigh him, and
before all the people he will be glorified."
The stated time for public worship, according to the
New Testament^ is the first day of the week. The reli
gious observance of one day in seven to the honour of
God the Creator, is as ancient as the creation of the
world. The same institution was renewed to the people
of Israel in the wilderness, in the law of the Sabbath.
This is a very judicious proportion of tirae to be conse
crated for the public worship of Almighty God, as it
neither encroaches too much on the temporal business
and commerce of life, nor leaves too great intervals for
the impressions of rehgion to wear away. The fixing
of public worship to the first day of the week, in honour
of our Redeemer, is as old as the Christian church. It is
true, we have not an express syllabical precept for the
religious observation of the first day of the week, as the
Christian Sabbath ; but this may be deduced ^rom the
New Testament, by necessary consequence. Our

364 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
Saviour sanctified this day by rising from the dead on
it. The apostles, for reasons satisfactory to themselves,
observed it. Their constant custom was, from the time
of his resurrection, and in honour of it, to appropriate
the first day of the week to public worship. CoUections
for the poor were ordered by St. Paul to be made on
this day ; and why should it be chosen for this purpose,
but only because their assemblies for public worship
were held at that time. So far then, at least, as the
exaraple of the first preachers of Christianity, and prac
tice of the most early Christians, can lay an obligation
on us, we are bound to apply this day to the duties of
public worship. A modern poet beautifuUy describes
Sabbath-days, in the following lines : —
" Types of eternal rest — fair buds of bliss.
In heavenly flowers unfolding week by week —
The next world's gladness imag'd forth in this —
Days of whose worth the Christian's heart can speak !
Eternity in time — ^the steps by which
We cUmb to future ages — lamps that light
Man through his darker days, and thought enrich,
Yielding redemption for the week's dull flight.
Wakeners of prayer in man — his resting bowers
As on he journeys in the narrow way.
Where Eden-like, Jehovah's walking hours
Are waited for as in the cool of day.
Days fix'd by God for intercourse with dust,
To raise our thoughts, and purify our powers-
Periods appointed to renew our trust —
A gleam of glory after six days' showers !
A milky way mark'd out through skies else drear.
By radiant suns that warm as well as shine —
A clue, which he who follows knows no fear.
Though briars and thorns around his pathways twine.

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY, 365
Foretaste of heaven on earth  pledges ofjoy
Surpassing fancy's flights, and fiction's story—
The preludes of a feast that cannot cloy.
And the bright out-courts of immortal glory !"
Barton's Poetic Vigils.
The account which we have of the apostles and the
disciples of our Lord, who, immediately after his ascen
sion, waited at Jerusalem, according to his direction,
for the accomplishment of his promise concerning the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, is, that they " continued with
one accord in prayer and supplication." And when, by
the rairaculous descent of the Holy Ghost, as well as
the preaching of St. Peter, in a few days afterwards,
three thousand new converts were added to their nura
ber, and adraitted raerabers of the Christian church, by
the initiating ceremony of baptism, administered accord
ing to divine direction, "in the name of the^ Father, and
the Son, and the Holy Ghost," we are inforraed con
cerning them all, that they " continued stedfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayer." They all together made one
church or Christian assembly, they hved together in one
visible communion, hearkening to the instructions of the
apostles, partaking of the Lord's supper, and offering
their united prayers to God, in the name of Christ.
Agreeably to the pattern of this primitive church,
many others, as the number of Christians daily increased,
were soon formed and modelled, in each of which the
pubhc worship of God, in the duties of adoration, prayer,
and thanksgiving, was solemnized; the doctrines of Chris
tianity were explained and enforced; baptisra was
administered to new converts, and the Lord's supper
was celebrated. These are facts sufliciently evident and
certain from the history of the Acts of the Apostles, and

366 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED.
the contents of the Epistles of the New Testament. In
which we perceive, that the apostles, wherever they had
success in propagating the knowledge of Christ, founded
a church for rendering pubhc homage to God, as well
as for instructing and edifying one another, and had
a stated communion among themselves in the several
duties and rites of the Christian worship. And to con
duct the public worship of God among themselves with
greater regularity and effect, some persons were chosen
and set apart for the purpose of presiding in their rehgi
ous asserablies, conducting the exercises of their devo
tions, imparting information in every part of Christian
duty, and encouraging the faithful and constant practice
of every enjoined precept.
Now there is nothing in all these things that was any
way pecuhar to the early times of Christianity ; nothing
but what should be observed and practised by Christians
in all succeeding ages ; because neither the nature of these
external duties of religious worship, which were performed
by the primitive Christians, nor the direction of our
Lord and the apostles concerning them, confine them
to one period more than another. The most of them
should always be attended to on account of their appa
rent good tendency and natural aptitude for promoting
the great and beneficial ends of the Christian religion.
The two rites of baptism and the Lord's supper, which
depend purely on the positive wlU and appointment of
Christ, are declared to be standing institutions in the
Christian church, our Saviour having promised his dis
ciples to be with jthem, in preaching the gospel, and in
the administration of baptism, to " the end of the world;"
and the apostle Paul, concerning the Lord's supper,
having told us, that the death of Christ is to be com
memorated in the church "till he come."

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY, 367
Beneficial Results. — The wise and good ends
which wiU be served by a conscientious attendance on
pubhc worship, are numerous and valuable. The pre
servation of the knowledge and profession of Christianity
in the world, is one of no sraall importance. Without
the aid of pubhc worship, it would have been Impossible
for the Christian religion to have subsisted for any
length of time, in any large extent, among men.^ The
miracles which were performed by our Lord and his
apostles, would perhaps have been suflScient for intro
ducing and supporting Christianity in the age in which
they were performed ; but when Aese had ceased, when
no methods were instituted or used for propagating it,
in any degree proportioned to the circumstances and
capacities of mankind, there is suflicient reason to believe
it would soon have been on the dechne, and probably in
succeeding periods would in most places have become
extinct. The external institutions of Christianity, therefore,
must be of the greatest use for preserving and propa
gating the knowkdge of God. Preaching is designed
for instructing men in the doctrines, precepts, and pro
mises of Christianity ; and all the other parts of Chris
tian worship are apt, as often^as they are used, to recaU
its principles, and make them familar to the mind. So
that they are methods of propagating Christianity which
are suited to the capacity and situation of the meanest
persons ; and if any thing wUl be effectual for diffusing
the knowledge of evangelical truth among all sorts and
orders df men, these institutions will. In fact, to these

» The truth of this remark has been exemplified in Ceylon, where, ,aft{!r
CtaJstian. churches had been raised, %lf.e public worship of God heing.neg-
lected, some of them soon degenerate^d into heathenism : an important
factbroiight to light by the labours of Christian missionaries.

368 PUBLIC worship CONSIDERED
it is owing that many of the lowest ranks of mankind, in
Christian and Protestant countries, have always had
some understanding of the principles and doctrines of
our holy rehgion. As public worship has hitherto been
effectual for preserving the knowledge, and supporting
the profession of the Christian reh^on ; so it is not to
be doubted, but that, under the blessing of God, it will
be the means of conveying and transmitting it to all
succeeding generations.
A due attendance on public worship also fixes a deeper
impression of the doctrines of Christianity, and the prin
ciples of moral goodness, in the minds of men. This
institution will not only furnish us with speculative
notions of the doctrines of Christianity, but will elevate
and enliven our perceptions of them, and consequently,
through the blessing of God, will give them the greatest
influence for engaging us to seek salvation, and practi
cally to walk in obedience to the divine will. This,
therefore, is a matter of great moment ; every one may
know, that the perception even of the most important
truths, which are not impressed on the mind by the
Spirit of God, will have but little or no force on the
heart and conduct. But when we dweU on the consi
deration of them, " mark, learn, and inwardly digest
them," and have them habitually in our thoughts, they
will then govern our affections, and become the seeds
and principles of a spiritual and divine hfe.
We may, as a general rule, venture to say, that if
men are ever brought to a true and deep sense of their
fallen and guilty condition, to the right exercise of faith
in Christ, to the possession of scriptural holiness of heart,
and to hve under the direction and influence of the prin
ciples of Christianity, it must be by such means ; which
wUl check their natural levity, put a stop at proper

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 369
seasons to the hurry of their worldly affairs, change the
whole course of their thoughts, fix their attention on
spiritual and raorally good objects, and engage them in
a train of devout and profitable refiection. And it is
evident, that the various parts of public worship are
extremely well adapted to the promoting these benefi
cial effects ; for what can be more proper to abstract,
compose, and elevate the powers of the human mind,
to fix them on the noblest objects, and to produce the
most serious Impressions, than solemn addresses to the
God of heaven and earth, which bring raen under the
most iraraediate influence of his presence, and engage
them in the most attentive consideration of his nature
and perfections.? What can be better calculated for
supplying raen, naturaUy inconsiderate, and too apt to
be diverted from aU serious thoughts, by the pleasures
and cares of hfe-— for supplying sUch, I say, with mat
ter of rational and useful reflection, and giving them a
taste and relish for spiritual and divine things, than the
obhging them, at stated times, to suspend their worldly
or coraraercial pursuits, and to apply themselves to the
exercises of devotion, and meditations on religious sub
jects ; to receive Instructions in the doctrines and duties
of Christianity, and to have the several motives which it
proposes earnestly and affectionately pressed home on
them .''
What will lay good principles deeper in the heart, aiid
give them a more complete possession of it, than men
being frequently reminded of their having taken on
them the profession of the Christian religion, and oblig
ing themselves to the several duties it requires, by the
solemn and significant rite of baptism ? What can be
more apt to inspire men with the most subhme senti
ments, and the most generous and heavenly affections,
2b

SyO PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
than commemorating our Saviour's sufferings, agony,,
and death, by that expressive ceremony of the Lord's
supper ? Certainly, if our nature is at aU susceptible of
good impressions, we cannot but be very tenderly and
deeply affected with the inestimable love of the Father,
and the sufferings and death of our blessed Redeemer,
which in that gospel ordinance are exhibited to our con
sideration ; and we must feel the most ardent gratitude
and love towards the Trinity in Unity prevailing in our
hearts, disposing and constraining us to dedicate and
resign ourselves most cheerfully and entirely to the ser
vice of true religion. *
We may appeal to the reason of every candid person,
whether the different parts of pubhc worship have not
the plainest tendency to introduce, strengthen, and im
prove right principles, and to form a temper of solid
piety and pure virtue in all who, with judgment and
affection, attend to them. We may further appeal to the
experience of men in general, whether these things are not
always the means of maintaining a sense of religion and
of moral obligations in a much stronger degree than
could otherwise be expected in the great mass of society.
So that the institution of public worship is not only cal
culated for giving men lively impressions of religion^
and improving them in the practice of it, but actuaUy
produces these effects, in some considerable degree,
among a great part of mankind.
By performing the duties of public worship, a mutual
esteem, friendship, and love, is promoted among Chris
tians. This may be expected to foUow as a consequence ;
for by aU having the same hberty of access to the throne
of grace, and offering up our coramon supphcations and
prayers, with thanksgivings, to the one God and Father
of all, in the name of his incarnate Son, the only Media-

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 371
tor between himself and men, we cannot but perceive
that we all stand on one common foundation of present
ing ourselves to his merciful regards ; and by aU par
taking of one baptism, we are not only engaged in the
same holy profession, but, on fulfilling our engagements,
or as the apostle expresses it, " the answer of a good
conscience," aU are entitled to the sarae blessed hope of
salvation. And by all eating of one bread, and drinking
of one cup, in the Lord's supper, we acknowledge our
selves, with our fellow-Christians, to be one body under
Christ, the coramon head.
From whence we raay very naturally conclude, that we
ought to have the sincerest esteem for aU our brethren, and
that a spirit of mutual love is, according to the will of God,
to animate the whole society of Christians ; that all who
are really members of the mystical body of Christ, are
to be dear to one another, on account of these spiritual
and high relations which they have in comraon to the
blessed God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our raerciful
Saviour ; that the weakest and meanest of them are not
to be despised on account of their low condition in the
world ; that those of them who are most highly raised
and dignified in society, should be always ready to
stoop to the lowest acts of humility and condescension,
for the good of a poor or afflicted Christian brother.
*«Be ye," says the apostle, " ofthe same mind one towards
another ; mind not high things, but condescend to men
of low estate." And that all should rejoice in the hap
piness of each other, the language of the same apostle is,
" Rejoice with them that do rejoice," and should take
every opportunity of promoting it — " Seek every raan
another's welfare.
Excuses. — It follows very plainly frora what has been
advanced on this important subject, that the neglect of

372 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
attendance on pubhc worship, enjoined by the direct
sanction of Christianity, is very criminal and inexcusable
in all who profess to believe in this holy religion. Though
we saw no particular advantage to be obtained by attend
ing to the duties of publi<; worship, and had no sub
stantial reason to induce us to observe them, but a raere
declaration of the will of God that we should do so ; yet
this surely would be a suflicient ground for showing a
particular regard to them, and we could not evince a
careless indifference concerning them, without being
guilty of presumption, and a failure in the submission
which we certainly owe to him, who is the suprerae Lord
and Governor of all things. But when we consider, that
these duties are not only required by the positive will
of God, but besides, that they are of the greatest use for
supporting the profession of the Christian religion in the
world, and for promoting experimental piety and prac
tical morality among men, what sentiments must be en
tertained by all sober persons, of the daring presump
tion of neglecting them ? Is not such a conduct raost
evidently bad, as it shows not only a want of due regard
to the Supreme Being, but a stupid unconcern about
the things which are of the utraost importance for pro
moting the happiness of raankind.
Sorae plead in excuse of this neglect, that they can
spend their time as profitably at horae, that, if they pray
in private, read the Scriptures, and meditate on divine
things, it is in their esteem equally as good as attending
public worship. It is to be wished, that they who speak
in this manner would thus employ their absence from
public worship ; but that is much to be doubted. Yet
admitting they do, we may observe, in answer to this
plea, If it be as well to worship God in private as in his
house, why was a particular day appointed for pubhc

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 373
worship ? Why are we, as Christians, required to make
an open profession of our faith, to confess Christ before
men, and to join in the communion of the saints, or the
assemblies of Christians, in offering up to God our united
prayers and praises, in hearing his holy word, and par
taking of the sacraments .'' It is certain, that there is no
possibility of being a true Christian without being a
member of Christ's body ; and it is expedient to our
being a member of Christ's body, that we be members of
his church, which is mystically styled his body. How
then can any person be a meraber of the church, who,
having an opportunity, wilfully refuses to join in the
public worship performed in Christian assemblies, and
partake in all the solemn ordinances of religion, which
are essential to their membership, and are the distin
guishing mark and badge of it ?
Besides, the public ordinances of religion are not in
their nature indifferent, or insignificant; they are the
means appointed to assist us in attaining the unspeakable
benefits tendered in the gospel : and how any man can
hope to attain these, without conscientiously joining in
those instrumental duties of religion, which God has
instituted for this purpose, it would be difficult to con
ceive from any thing which Christianity teaches, from
whence alone we must learn the knowledge and measure
of our duty.
Whatever pretences they may make, who habitually
neglect an attendance on public worship, it is very much
to be questioned, if they have any true religion, or ever
sincerely served God in private, since they have no regard
to that institution which is as expressly coraraanded as
are the duties ofthe faraily and closet. Not to say, how
great injury they do theraselves, in refusing to make use
of the ordinary raeans of grace ; and how little reason

374 PUBLIC WOUSHIP CONSIDERED
have they to expect it, from their own private endeavours,
though admitting them to be zealous, whUe they not only
neglect the best, the fittest, and most certain method
prescribed for the obtaining of it, but also live in an open
and wilful breach of one of God's express commands.
But notwithstanding this, or any other excuse, which
some may make to countenance this shameful conduct,
public worship ought not, however, to be neglected,
unless on some particular and urgent occasions, for there
are anjl may be reasons sufficient to justify a person for
sometimes absenting himself; but then we should not
admit of trifling pretences, or raake use of such excuses
as will not bear examination, but be careful that they are
such as God will accept, when we come to appeai> before
him in judgment. It is surely very absurd to make that
a plea for absenting from pubhc worship, which, in cases
of pleasure and business, would be thought none ; and
yet things of this sort are frequently brought forward in
the way of extenuation, and thought to be sufficient.
Such persons should seriously ponsider how little sueh
feigned pretences wiU avail with God! How many
persons slumber away their time when the season requires
their dutiful attendance in God's house ! How many
talk, or saunter away the sacred hours in the fields, or
gardens, in paying or receiving visits, rather than attend
the solemnities of divine worship. How easily are many
kept from public worship by every little frivolous inci
dent, such as a slight indisposition, a sprinkling of rain, a
little more than ordinary heat or cold, the call of a friend,
or any thing equally of no moment : however, the cause
that is deemed sufficient for not attending the house of
God, does not prevent them from pursuing their secular
affairs.

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. .375
There are some persons, indeed, who have entirely
given up all pubhc means of grace ; men, whose revolt
from religion began in renouncing that article of the
Christian creed, « the communion of saints ;" and the
truth IS, that this retreat is the comraon inlet to apostacy.
Then- former zeal for God's house is become the matter
of their own profane jest They laugh at all their past
devotion, and wonder they should have been so silly as
lo attend sermons and sacraments ^ and being, as they
imagine, grown wiser, they have left ;l;heir seats in the
sanctuary of the Lord, and placed themselves in the seat
of the scornful, turning all religion into banter and ridi
cule. Such is the profaneness of these persons, that they
have an utter contempt of sacred ordinances, the ministers
of the gospel, and the day set apart for public worship.
They prefer their licentious liberty and sensual pleasure
to all the privileges and advantages of religious worship :
but this will most assuredly be attended with bitterness
in the end.
Among those who attend the house of God, there are
evidently some who feel no interest in the services per
formed ; their countenance shows their uneasiness, and
plainly manifests that they take no delight in being there.
It would be easy to mention a great many indecencies
in which persons allow themselves in the time of public
worship, who, though they attend on it, yet have no
regard to the solemnities ofthe place, and show no reve
rential awe of the Presence in which they are. They
come, possibly, to fill up the vacuity of an idle hour, to
serve some secular convenience, or else, perhaps, to exer
cise their noble talent at cavilling and scoffing ,• but, to
be sure, to give disturbance and scandal to the serious
part of the congregation, by the indecency of their beha-

376 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
viour. Such are guilty even of a greater profanation,
than those who totally absent themselves.
Manner. — It is requisite, that they who attend wor
shipping assemblies take great care that their hearts be
not absent from the holy exercises of rehgion, when their
bodies are present there. The main point that God
looks at, and always expects, is the heart. This is a
qualification absolutely necessary for rendering their acts
of worship acceptable to hira, and for deriving any benefit
frora thera to themselves. God complained of the Jews
of old, that when they drew near to him with their
raouth, and honoured him with their lips, their hearts
were removed far from hira. So far will the most specious
expressions of devotion, in which the heart has no concern,
be from honouring and pleasing God, that he wUl rather
deem them to be an impious mockery and contempt of him.
And so far will a raere custoraary performance of the
duties bf public worship be, for contributing to their
establishment and iraproveraent in piety and virtue, that
it will be the raeans of hardening their hearts, and ren
dering them insensible of the most powerful impressions
and motives to religion. So that it very much concerns
such persons to bring a serious and attentive mind to
their devotions, to pray and give thanks to God with
earnestness and warmth of affection, and to attend to' the
several institutions of (;he Christian religion with a sincere
desire to be further iRformed and iraproved by thera in
the whole system of doctrine, experience, and practice.
They should be deeply sensible of their own insufficiency
for the right and spiritual peformance of religious duties,
disclaira all confidence in their own strength, and depend
entirely on the assistance of the Holy Spirit, which God
has promised to them that ask him, to help their in|ir-

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 377
mlties; and, with it, see that they depend on the
Redeemer's raerit, for the acceptance of aU their religious
duties. They are to asserable together for religious
services in his name ; they raust ask every blessing they
want in his name, with faith in him, and a reliance on his
intercession with the Father. " Whatsoever ye do in
word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God, and the Father by him." Thus
they will be favoured with his gracious presence, have
audience and acceptance, and glorify God in the way in
which he delights to be honoured.
Where the heart is wanting in the worship offered to
God, nothing else is valued, and accepted by him, He
will not bo satisfied with an outward show, or with mere
bodily worship, with the labour of the lip, the honour of
the tongue, and the devotion of the knee — these will not
do. This, how laborious soever, where there is no more,
where the heart is not engaged^ is never pleasing to God,
nor profitable to the worshipper. To worship God with
the body only, without the spirit or soul, is as unsuitable
now, as it would have been under the law, to have offered
a dead carcase instead of a living aniraal in sacrifice.
The spirituality of God's nature renders it necessary that
men worship him with their spirit ; thus it did even
when he required a material worship, in modes, rites, and
ceremonies, of his own prescribing. But now, under the
gospel dispensation, a more spiritual worship is expected.
The worship of God Includes, that our thoughts are to
be duly employed in acts of divine worship. God has
made us thinking beings ; what we call thought is the act
of the mind, or spirit within us, for matter is incapable of
thinking. We worship God, when we exercise our power
of thinking in his service, when we compose ourselves
seriously to consider, who He is whom we worship, what

378 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
we ourselves, the worshippers, are, and the relations in
which we stand to him as his creatures, and especially
redeemed creatures, together with the obligations we are
under to him and his service. When we engage in the
worship of God, we are neither to be thoughtless, nor
careless of our thoughts, but are obliged to keep our
minds in proper exercise, and the Object we worship
within view, in all the several parts of worship in which
we are concerned. If we should appear outwardly very
devout, yet, if, in the mean time, our thoughts were
distant from God, or employed on some other thing than
the object of worship ; whether by allowance or indul
gence, or by accident and without design, we could not
be said, in that instant, to worship him — we 'should not
then be with him, or properly worshipping him. But
here we may observe, that if this wandering of the
thoughts in acts of worship be by allowance and indul
gence, it renders our worship not only unacceptable to
God, but a mere mockery ; it is a virtual denial of his
spirituality and omniscience : but if it be owing to some
unavoidable cause, as to indisposition of the body, which
frequently much affects the mind ; or to some particular
unforeseen accident, and be contrary to the habitual
disposition of the heart, though it should tend to humble
us, yet it ought not to discourage us ; for He, whom we
worship, knows our frame, our state of frailty, and
remembers we are dust ; and, according to the grace of
the gospel, we may hope for acceptance of our upright
designs and attempts, to worship him with the best of
our powers, notwithstanding such unaUowed and be
wailed interruption of thought.
To worship God acceptably, is to have a due esteem
of him, love to him, desire after him, and delight in hinj,
on the account of his glorious perfections. These several

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 379
acts of the soul must be put forth in his worship, and
our doing so, supposes that we have affecting apprehen
sions of bis transcendent exceUencies, and a sense of our
deep obligations to him. When we employ our thoughts
on God, and consider hira as most amiable and excellent,
having every perfection in the highest degree, as origi
nally, necessarily, perfectly, and unchangeably good;
that he is a Being of unerring wisdom, almighty power,
inexhaustible goodness, unblemished truth, and spotless
holiness, — ^in a word, who is light, and in whom Is no
darkness at all : — when we farther think, in how many
instances he has been gracious to us, the innumerable
blessings of his providence in securing us from many
dangers, in conducting us safely through numerous
snares, in supplying us with all those teraporal favours
we now enjoy ; — and more especially, when we meditate
on the suitable and effectual provision he has made,
through the mediation of his beloved Son, for the pardon
of our sins, the acceptance of our persons, the sanctifica
tion of our souls, and our perfect and endless happiness
in a future state : — such thoughts as these will lead us to
entertain the highest esteera of him, as most worthy of
our regard, affection, and cordial^ adoration, and to
desire a special interest in him, as our reconciled Father
through Christ, and to love and delight in hira as our
satisfying portion. If we have obtained an interest in
Christ, we shaU be no strangers to the language of the
apostle, " We joy in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom we have received the atonement." Now,
such acts as these, of esteem, love, desire, and delight,
are a part of that worship we owe to God ; and as these
are acts pecuharly belonging to the mind, they may very
properly be called spiritual worship.

380 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
Worshipping God in a right manner includes, that we
entertain a holy, reverential, filial fear, awe, and dread
of him, as a Being who dweUs in inaccessible light, and
is clothed with unspeakable majesty. His greatness and
glory demand this from all intelligent creatures, and he
has on that ground expressly required it. " Serve the
Lord with fear." " God is greatly to be feared in the
assembly of his saints." " Sanctify the Lord of hosts
hiraself ; and let him be your fear, and let him be your
dread." This is required under the gospel, as well as it
was under the Jewish economy. " Let us have grace,
whereby we raay serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear :" and this is expected of those who are
at peace with him, for it is added, " Our God is a con-
suraing fire" — a jealous God. The holy angels, who
cannot fear him as sinners, having no sin, yet worship
hira with a profound reverence and religious fear : this is •
signified by their being said to cover their faces with their
wings before God, Isa. vi. 2. and falling on their faces
before his throne worshipping him. Rev. vii. 2.
As God is a Spirit, and the God of truth, our worship
of hira raust be spiritual, unfeigned, reverential, and
include admiring, adoring, and awful thoughts of him.
Whenever we think of God, or make mention of his
dreadful and glorious narae, or engage in any particular
duty of his worship, we should seriously reraeraber what
he, is, and what we ourselves are, with whom he graciously
condescends to hold converse. We should consider the
infinite distance there is between him and us, as we are
creatures the work of his hands, and the raoral distance
between him and us, as we are sinful apostate creatures,
and so ought greatly to fear before him ; not with a
slavish fear, or such an excessive dread, as would keep

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 381
US at too a great a distance from hira, and be an obstruc
tion to our paying hira religious regards. That worship
of God which proceeds raerely from this principle and
temper of mind, may better be called superstition than
worship, because it is founded on mistaken unworthy
notions and apprehensions of him, and has a tendency
to no good, but to much evil. We then worship God
with a right kind of fear and reverence, when, at
the same time, we hope in his mercy, on the foundation
of the merits of Christ. — " The Lord taketh pleasure in
them that fear hira, in those that hope in his raercy :"
when his goodness, as well as his greatness, influences
our fear — they " shall fear the Lord and his good
ness :" when our reverence of him is attended with
a hearty affection to him, and reserables the re
verence which a dutiful chUd shows to a wise and
kind parent, whom he fears, and at the sarae time truly
loves. Right' worship includes faith and trust in God. It
is to have an inward conviction, and firm persuasion of
the truth of the revelation of himself, with which he has
favoured us, a holy confidence in him grounded thereon,
relying on him in the way of duty as an almighty, all-
sufficient Being, able and wlUing to do for us " exceeding
abundantly above aU that we ask or think;" and on
his inviolable truth and faithfulness, for what he has
proraised, behevlng he cannot lie or deceive, but wlU
certainly accomphsh aU his promises, whereby he has
given us encouragement to hope, in his own time and
way, how unlikely soever some of them may appear
to us. " I know," said the apostle, " whom I have
beheved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have comraitted unto him against that day."
This trust is an act of worship, and being an act of

382 PUBLIC WORSHIP CONSIDERED
the soul, we may thereby be said to worship God
spiritually. The worship pleasing to God, includes a disposition
to imitate him in his moral imitable excellencies. Then
we worship God, when we sincerely desire and endea
vour to resemble him in the temper and disposition of
our minds, so far as we are capable ; when, on the
consideration of his divine perfections and properties,
that come within the reach of our notice and admiration,
we have a holy ambition to reserable him in our low
measure, and endeavour to be " imitators of him as
dear children," — imitators of him in Cathohc love, in
universal goodness and beneficence, in truth and faith
fulness, in mercy and forgiveness, in patience and long-
suffering, and in every other of his amiable attributes
coming within the reach of our minds. Such an inward
temper and disposition, raised and cultivated in our
souls, by an admiration and esteem of God's infinite
excellencies, and regard to his precepts, is an instance of
supreme respect to him ; and this exercise may weU
be called true worship, inasmuch as the soul is the subject
of it, and engaged in it.
Scriptural worship includes, that we worship God in
a dependance on the merits of Clirist, and on the grace
and infiuence of the Holy Spirit. We are required, that
" whatever we do in word or deed, we do all in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the
Father," or to God even the Father, " by him." And
the apostle Jude requires Christians to " pray in the
Holy Ghost," This we are to do in every act of worship,
as well as in that of prayer. This is to worship God in
a right manner, in opposition to rendering him a service
merely external, which it is to be feared is all the worship
with which multitudes endeavour to satisfy themselves.

IN ITS PURITY AND SIMPLICITY. 383
This is the true worship which God requires, and which
is infinitely more valuable in his estimation, than aU the
pompous and costly appearances of devotion, which so
much affect the imaginations of weak people, and which,
for the most part, are very imperfect expressions of those
dispositions and affections, which are the hfe and soul of
all genuine piety and acceptable worship.

384

€fimn vmi^*

THE GRAVE, OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD.

" Death will be to the real Christian the end of his earthly troubles, and the beginning
of his heavenly joys ; while to the wicked and impenitent it will prove the end of all their
hopes, and the beginning of their eternal desperation."—" Many of them that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and 'some to shame and everlasting
contempt." — Daniet.

Connected with this Church is an extensive church
yard, in which the dead of this parish for many genera
tions have been deposited ; " the grave is the house
appointed for all living." Both Jews and Gentiles, in
ancient days, burled their dead not within the walls of
their cities, but in fields or gardens. The same usage
was followed by Christians, till the time of Gregory the
Great, he himself, as well as several other popes, being
buried in the outside porch before the church of St. Peter.
Cuthbert, the eleventh archbishop of Canterbury, being
at Rome in the year 798, and observing this way of
burial there, obtained from tbe pope a dispensation for
making church-yards within towns and cities throughout
England, and particularly for himself, that he might be
interred in his own church. Afterwards, by degrees, it
became customary to bury certain persons in the churches;

THE GRAVE, OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 385
but under this restriction, according to a canon of King-
Edgar, That none but good and religious persons should
be buried in churches, as only worthy of such sepulture.
At that period, generally speaking, the churches be
longing to abbles and monasteries were held in higher
repute than ordinary parochial churches, especially con
cerning the matter of sepulture. Many desired ¦ to
be buried in a inonastery rather than in a parish
church, being confident, according to the persuasion
of those times, that this situation would confer some
benefit on their souls, by means of the offices and prayers
usually performed for such as were buried there. Sel-
den, from the authority of a synod of Ireland, held at
an early period of the English church, observes, that a
man might bequeath his burial to any abbey he pleased ;
and as a remuneration, such abbey should have the
apparel of the dead, his horse and his cow, for a mor
tuary.^ And as the rehgious"persons of all orders were
much employed in making wills and testaments, they
had seasonable opportunities to prompt persons dying to
acts of charity, and particularly for a good legacy to
accompany their corpse to their convent.
Monuments and Graves. — The erection of monu
ments in churches, in memory of persons there Interred,
is of ancient date. No one can grant hcense to bury a
corpse within the church, or to put up such memorials,
but the rector only, because the soil and freehold is
invested in him, and in no other. Such erections have
in aU ages been held in great veneration. Among the
Romans, defacing or violation of them was severely
punished, by pecuniary mulcts, cutting off hands, ban
ishment, and sometimes by death. Solon, the famous
• Seld. Hist, of Tithes, cap. 9. fpl, 263. Stanley's Hist, of Churches
in England, p. 261—265.
2c

386 THE grave,
Athenian lawgiver, made a special law for this purpose.
Lewis, king of France, on being prompted by sorae of
his courtiers to demolish the monuraent and disturb the
bones of the renowned Duke of Bedford, who, in his
tirae, had been the scourge of France ; answered much
in the same language as that of Pausanlus, king of
Sparta, who having slain in battle Mardonius the Per
sian general, and being advised by Larapon, one of his
followers, to hang up the body of Mardonius, as Mar
donius had done to King Leonidas ; said. No, for in so
doing, I should show myself a right barbarian, and no
true Grecian. Our King John, being advised to un-
tomb the bones of an enemy, replied, O, no ! I wish all
my enemies were so at rest. At the beginning of the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, when many relics of popish
superstition were demolished in churches, abuses were
offered to some costly and innocent monuments of the
dead, by covetous and ignorant persons ; for preventing
any further proceedings of that sort, the queen imme
diately sent forth a proclamation,* prohibiting all such
disorders, under pain of fine and imprisonment, besides
the repairing of all things broken or spoiled ; and to
give greater effect to this measure, though the procla
mation was printed, the queen signed every copy of it
with her own hand, which were very numerous, to be
circulated throughout all her dominions. And in the
fourteenth year of her reign, she charged the judges of
assize to inquire concerning abuses of this kind, to see
that due punishment was inflicted on delmquents, and so
effect a reforraation. Profanely disturbing the ashes of
the dead, is a crime deserving to be punished severely,
without any mitigation. » Proclam. An. 2. Eliz. Sept. 17.

OR SEPULCHRE OP THE DEAD. 387
The Rev. Legh Richmond, Rector of Turvey in Bed
fordshire, has very judiciously touched on a subject,
concerning church-yards, which bas often offended the
eyes and ears of intelligent and pious Christians : — " I
have often laraented," says he, " when indulging a con
teraplation among the graves, that some of the inscrip
tions were coarse and ridiculous ; others, absurdly flat
tering ; raany expressive of sentiments at variance with
the true principles of the word of God ; not a few, barren,
and unaccompanied with a single word of useful instruc
tion to the reader. Thus a very important opportunity
of conveying scriptural admonition was lost. I wish
that every grave-stone might not only record the names
of our deceased friends, but also proclaim the name of
Jesus, as the only name given under heaven, where by
man can be saved. Perhaps, if the ministers of religion
were to interest themselves in these matters, and accus
tom their people to consult them, as to the nature of the
monumental inscriptions which they wish to Introduce
into churches and church-yards, a gradual improvement
would take place in this respect. What is offensive,
useless, or erroneous, would no longer find admittance,
and a succession of valuable warning and consolation to
the living, would perpetuate the raeraory of the dead.
What can be raore disgusting than the too coraraon
spectacle of trifling, licentious travellers, wandering about
the church-yards of the different places through which
they pass, in search of rude, ungrammatical, Ul-spelt,
and absurd verses, araong the grave-stones ; and this for
the 'gratification of their unholy scorn and ridicule !
And yet how much is it to be deplored, that such per
sons are seldom disappointed in finding raany Instances,
which too readily afford them the unfeehng satisfaction

388 THE GRAVE,
which they seek ! I, therefore, offer this suggestion to
my reverend brethren, that as no monument or stone can
be placed in a church or church-yard without their ex
press consent and approbation, whether one condition of
that consent being granted, should not be a previous
inspection and approval of every Inscription which may
be so placed within the precincts of the sanctuary."
A cemetery attached to a church or edifice set apart
for public worship, is a measure productive of moral and
religious advantages. The grave perpetuates the memory
of the dead. Survivors " pass it on their way to prayer ;
it raeets their eyes when their hearts are softened by the
exercises of devotion; they linger about it on the Sabbath,
when the raind is disengaged from worldly cares, and
most disposed to turn aside from present pleasures and
present loves, and to sit down among the solemn memen
tos of the past."
To this sacred ground let the pride of beauty, the
vigour of youth, the boldly presumptuous on long life,
repair. Let those advance hither, who are industriously
accumulating wealth, ambitiously chmbing the danger
ous ascent of honour, or grinding the face of the poor,
that that they may hoard up the spoils of oppression,
whUe they stop their ears at their loud and heart-rending
cries : those who are walking in circles of gaiety and
carnal mirth, seizing the cup of intoxication, and rioting
in scenes of luxury and vice ; I say, let all such resort
to this repository of the ashes of the dead, where are
given moving lectures on the Important subjects of
religion and mortality. The dead are sUent orators, that
speak with ari eloquence far superior to, and more affect
ing than that of a Cicero or a Demosthenes, the glory of
Greece and of Rome !

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 389
Struck with religious awe, and solemn dread,
I view these gloomy mansions of the dead ;
Around me tombs in mix'd disorder rise.
And in mute language teach me to be wise !
Time was these ashes liv'd; — a time must be
When others thus must stand — and look at me ;
Alarming thought ! no wonder 'tis we dread
O'er these uncomfortable vaults to tread.
Where, blended, lie the aged and the young.
The rich and poor, an undistinguish'd throng ;
Death conquers all, and time's subduing hand
Nor tombs nor marble statues can withstand.
The grave has eloquence, — its lectures teach.
In silence, louder than divines can preach."
See there is one opened for the reception of another
inhabitant ; the grave is never satisfied ! There he parts
of a human skeleton ! on one side is a skull ; the hair
and muscular substance are gone ; and its front, which
was once enlivened with intelligence, presents a humiliat
ing appearance. Those sockets, once containing spark
ling eyes, whose expressive looks were indications of the
lively sentiments of the soul, have perhaps been eaten
away by devouring worms. Those ivory teeth, stiU
preserved, were beautifully enclosed with rosy lips,
which assisted the modulation of the voice, and sealed
the bond of friendship and loye. That mouth had a
tongue, the instrument of speech and mental intercourse,
intended to supplicate mercies, and return the tribute of
grateful praise — which, faltering in sickness, was sUenced
by death. That large cavity, once containing the
brain, was the seat of understanding, judgment, and
memory, but the rational tenant being fled, behold it is
now an empty ceU ! Surely, these fragments of a human
form ought at least to morahze the mind.
Here, all worldly plans are terminated, earthly pos
sessions resigned, warm disputes settled, triumphs of

390 THE GRAVE,
wickedness interrupted, the sweUings of pride, birth,
rank, and fortune, brought low, and persecutions for the
sake of righteousness are at an end. Here the prince lays
down his sceptre, the statesman his power, the warrior
his shield, the navigator his compass, the lawyer his
brief, the minister his charge, the banker his cash, the
merchant his accounts, the scribe his pen, to resume
them no more. Here all relative connections between
the sovereign and his subjects, the land-owner and the
occupier, the husband and his wife, parents and children,
master and servant, are dissolved. Hither let the living
corae, and learn what perhaps their Bible, their minis
ters, their conscience, their afflictions, have not yet
effectuaUy taught them, concerning religion, death, and
another world.*
Death. — The subject of death should be considered
on the spot where his triumphs are so nuraerous, and
practically improved for the durable interests of the
soul. The frequent consideration of death, though it
be one most essentiaUy requisite in this life, yet is what
most persons wilfully iieglect, and put away from them
as a melancholy speculation. There is no glass less
looked in than that of our mortality ; some studiously
shun aU thoughts of dying, as if they could exempt
themselves from being mortal, by forgetting that they
are so. But what reason can they give for such a con
duct, or how can they justify it by any rule of prudence.'*
Supposing death to be an enemy, and the greatest they
» " A church-yard ought to be a school of morality. Itis on such a spot
that the contemplation of the mighty, the rich, and the wicked, humbled
nto dust, makes human passions disappe^, and suspends, for a time at
east, tlie influence of pride, ayarice, and envy. It is on such a spot that
the dearest affections of our nature revive at the remembrance of children,
parents, friends, and conjugal partners." — St. Pierre's Harmonies of
Mature, vol. i. p. 208.

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 391
dread in the world ; yet surely, the looking through a
perspective on the motions of an enemy, does not in the
least accelerate his approach ; it only puts us into a bet
ter state of readiness to receive him ; therefore, no one
has just cause to banish the subject of death from his
recollections. The two constituent parts of the coraposltlon of raan,
are matter and spirit, or body and soul. The latter is the
principal part, the proper agent, the animating and active
principle. The former is only the habitation, the instrument
by which it acts, or executes its purposes. Moses, the sacred
historian, represents the imraaterial part as a principle of
life. " The Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breathy nn
ruach, spirit of life ; and man became a living soul ;" the
dust of the ground was animated by a hving soul, capa
ble of thought, understanding, and choice. Elihu says,
" There is a spirit in man ; and the inspiration of the
Almighty giveth them understanding." The spirit is
the grand principle both of natural and religious actions.
It is by this that we live, and move, and worship God.
St. Paul, speaking of himself, says, " I serve God with
my spirit in the gospel of his Son."
In the Scriptures, a plain distinction is raade between
the soul and the body. " The dust shall return to the
earth as it was ; and the spirit shaU return unto God
who gave it." Our Saviour addressing his disciples,
says, " Fear not them which can kill the body, but are
not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear him which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell." In this
scripture, the body and the soul are distinguished from
each other, what is affirmed of the one, is denied of the
other ; the one may be kiUed whUe the other is alive.
Again, after his resurrection, when his disciples were

392 THE GRAVE,
terrified, thinking they saw a spirit, he said, " Behold
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me,
and see : for a sphlt hath not flesh and bones, as ye see
me have." The soul, therefore, being distinct from the
body, is not capable of being handled or seen, nor does
it come within the reach of any of the bodily senses, St,
Paul states, " For which cause we faint not ; but though
our outward man perish, yet the inward raan is renewed
day by day." That is, though the body, suffers and
decays, by means of afflictions and persecutions, yet the
soul receives advantage. Increasing in strength under
them ; is supplied by the Holy Spirit with larger mea
sures of faith, love, hope, and courage — ^the one perishes,
the other is renewed — which clearly demonstrates they
are distinct things. The apostle, in his Epistle to the
Hebrews, makes an evident distinction between the
fathers of our flesh, and the Father of our spirits, say
ing, "'We have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected
us, and we gave them reverence; shaU we not much
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and
live?" The apostle John, in the Epistle to his welU
beloved Gaius, wishes that he did enjoy bodily health iix
proportion to the prosperity of his soul ; but this would
have been a vain wish, if the one had not been distinct
from the other,
The nature of the one is quite different from, that of
the other. The body is wholly material — ^the., soul,-
being a spirit, is wholly immaterial. It thinks, reasons,;
judges, doubts, and has a power of beginning and con^
eluding an action. It is allowed, by competent autho
rities, that we haye no idea, conception, or knowledge of
the intrinsic abstract essence of any being, whether
material or immaterial, corporeal or incorporeal, but
only of |;he essential properties and distinguishing qasM-

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 393
ties and modes which relate to it. From whence we
infer, that our not having an idea of the uitrinsic essence
of any substance, is no argument against its existence ;
since the existing properties or qualities show the exist
ence of their substratum, or the substance which is their
support, and in which they adhere. For instance,
we have clear ideas of the properties, qualities, and
modes of the human body, such as bulk and figure,-
solidity and extension, impenetrability and dlvislbUity ;
and, on the other hand, of the properties of the soul,
such as sensation, thought, reason, and spontaneous
motion ; but have no idea of the abstract intrinsic essence
of any substance of either body or soul, in which the
fore-mentioned properties Inhere — ^yet, for want of that,
we have no reason to deny the existence of one or the
other. Though we can form no idea of the abstract
essence of the body, yet we know it to be a material sub
stance, by the properties of solidity and extension ; and
though we can form no idea of the intrinsic essence of
the soul, yet we know it to be a spiritual or immaterial
substance from the qualities of thinking and reasoning,
of which it is the substratum. We might here notice,
that such qualities as sensation, thought, reflection, rea^
son, volition, spontaneous motion, are neither essential
to matter, nor can arise from, or be produced by any
motion or modification of it, however refined or nicely
organized. These qualities are Incompatible with mat
ter, and relate to a substance of a quite different nature
and kind frora it, namely, to a spiritual substance, such
as the soul of man is, which is therefore frequently
called spirit.
The soul being of a spiritual nature, is immortal.
There is a two-fold immortality ; one is essential, which
imports an absolute necessity of existence : this is pecuhar

394 THE GRAVE,
to God, who is said " only to have immortality." The
meaning of which is, that his hfe, which includes his
being and all his perfections, is necessary and indepen
dent : but, in this respect, no creature is like him, their
lives being raaintained by his will and providence. The
other is, a natural immortality, dependent on the will,
power, and providence of God. This is the Immortality
of angels and the souls of raen. There is nothing in the
huraan soul that tends to its dissolution ? in the constitu
tion of its own nature there is no principle of corruption,
it cannot be destroyed by second causes. God, Indeed,
the Creator of the soul, could easily annihilate it, but
this he has declared he will not do ; he purposes that It
shall continue in being for ever, and its everlasting dura
tion depends on his will and conservative infiuence.
That the soul is iraraortal, was the general sense of the
wisest and best of the heathen philosophers and raorallsts,
it appearing the raost agreeable to the light of their own
understanding, and the evident reason of things : but it
is clear and certain, from the testiraony of divine reve
lation. The disposal of the soul at death is fully developed in
the sacred writings. Great is the difference between the
death of a man and a mere animal. The spirit of an
animal depends on and perishes with the body ; but the
soul of raan does neither result frora the body, nor perish
with it, but remains alive when the material form is
reduced to its original dust. Men may live like beasts,
a mere sensual life, yea, in some respects, may die like
them — a stupid death. But in this there wiU be found a
vast difference, — death destroys both the spirit and form
of aniraals : whereas it reduces to its first principles the
body of man only, dislodging the soul, but cannot affect
its existence.

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 395
It is, indeed, said, " That which befalleth the sons of
men befaUeth beasts ; even one thing befalleth them :
as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all
one breath ; so that a man hath no pre-erainence above a
beast. All go unto one place ; all are of the dust, and
aU turn to dust again." This is one of those texts which
the materialists would press into their service : but aU
that the pen of divine inspiration intends here is, only to
inform us that aU material bodies, favoured with aniraal
life, are hable to dissolution, that the body of one dies as
certainly as the other, and that as they were both orlgln-
aUy raade of the dust, so to the dust they must return.
But there is a remarkable difference made between the
man and the beast in the following words : " Who
knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the
spirit of the beast tbat goeth downward to the earth .f"
Here we may remark, that at death the soul is separated
from the body, and immediately enters into the invisible
world, the residence of departed spirits, to have its final
destiny fixed.
Resurrection. — These graves shall be opened, and
the dead shall rise to life. The resurrection of the dead,
so raentioned in the Scriptures, is to be understood only
of the body, because that is the only part of man that
dies, while his soul continues active and ahve. God,
speaking of hiraself, says " I am the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," long after they
were dead : yet our Saviour says to the Sadducees, that
" God is not the God of the dead, but of the living :"
therefore Abrahara, Isaac, and Jacob, were, in a certain
sense, living — they were so as as to their souls, though
their bodies were dead. A sensible proof that the soul
subsists, after the death of the body, was given in the
case of Moses, who appeared with Christ at his transfigu-

396 THE GRAVE,
ration, which was long after his body was buried "no
man knew where." The souls of all men, departed this
life, subsist after the death of the body, and are happy
or miserable in the invisible world, according as they
hved weU or wickedly while here. To press this on our
attention, was the design of our Saviour, in the parable
of the rich raan and Lazarus. The resurrection, I say,
is to be understood only of the body.
The resurrection is of the same body. The body that
dies shall be raised again: this the word resurrection
implies. For if God should give to the soul at the last
day a new body, this could not be called the resurrection
of the body, because here is no reproduction of the same
thing that lived before : this would rather be a creation
than a resurrection. The Scriptures declare, in plain and
express terms, the resurrection from the dead of the same
body ; " Though after ray skin worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God." St. Paul says, " This
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality." Again ; " He that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Nay, this is
what the exact justice of God requires.
The resurrection of the dead to life is one of the great
mysteries of the Christian revelation, which the Athenian
sages derided, and atheistical persons to this day ridi
cule. A mystery. Indeed, it is, that the same body which
is laid in the grave, and moulded into dust, and that dust
dispersed, perhaps, far and wide, should be raised again !
Some men dying at sea, their bodies are thrown into the
ocean, are eaten by fishes, these fishes are eaten by others
of larger size, these again are eaten by men, and these
men are eaten by worms — yet, every such body, under
going so many changes, shaU be raised again, and re-

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 397
united to the soul that dwelt in it, and actuated it in a
state of trial. This is. Indeed, a wonderful mystery,
which the hght of unassisted reason can not discover,
much less comprehend. Hence that saying, so common
with the heathen philosophers, who would be esteemed
oracles of reason. There is no restoration of the same
body after its total corruption and dissolution. And
because the doctrine of the resurrection of the same body
seemed contradictory to this, they judged it to be con
tradictory to comraon sense, and exploded it as ridiculous
and irapossible. Hence, says the apostle, " Why should
it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should
raise the dead .-'" However great a mystery it be, the
thing itself is plainly revealed, and therefore must be
believed on pain of contracting that great guilt which
the apostle raentions, " He that believeth not God, hath
raade hira a liar." Whatever seeraing Irapossibilitles raay
be found in the way of the resurrection, we ought to
believe it on the testimony of God, whose veracity is
infinite. The resurrection of the dead is a work of almighty
power ; none but God can perform it. And, indeed,
nothing less than a full conviction of his ability to accom
plish the Scripture doctrine of the resurrection, can
remove all prejudice against it; as Christ intimated,
when he stated the errors of the Sadducees, in denying
it, to be the result of their " not knowing the Scriptures,
nor the power of God." Infinite wisdora and knowledge
attends all the exercises of almighty power, and must of
course, the resurrection in particular. Accordingly, the
consideration of God as performing this work, is often
spoken of in Scripture as the firmest ground of faith in
his omnipotence, and as its surest relief in cases of the
greatest apparent impossibility. Thus Abraham beheved

398 THE GRAVE,
God " who quickened the dead," that he should have a
son according to the promise, notwithstanding the natural
impossibilities of the case were such, that it was a " be
lieving in hope against hope." When he had received
this son of promise, and was afterwards called to offer
him for a burnt-offering ; which had the raost shocking
appearance of defeating the promise of what that son
should be ; yet he readUy attempted it at the comraand
of God : and the only ground on which his faith rested,
with respect to the accomplishment of the promise, was,
" that God was able to raise him up even from the dead."
And when St. Paul, and others with him, " had the
sentence of death in theraselves," and could see no way
of escape, they " trusted in God who raiseth the dead,"
as infinitely able to deliver thera, if he judged right. So
that we may say, that raising the dead gives us the most
exalted apprehensions and satisfying demonstration of
omnipotent energy.
Judgment. — We read in the Scriptures of two signal
appearances of Christ ; the one is past, the other is to
come ; and how great soever the distance of time may be
between these, they ought to be united in the view of
the Christian. That the Lord Jesus Christ wUl come
again, is no less certain than that he came the first time,
and dwelt among men ; but the time is a secret to us, and
to all intelligent creatures. " Of that day and hour
knoweth no man, no not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father :" but the thing itself is
most certain. He will come again, at the time appointed
in the counsels of Heaven ; as Peter observes, in one of
his first sermons, after the descent of the Spirit, " whom
the heaven must receive untU the times of the restitution
of all things." At the very instant of his ascension, his
disciples were expressly assured of it by two angels;

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 399
" This same Jesus which is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him
go into heaven." Our Lord hiraself often spake of it to
his disciples, and with the fullest certainty of the event.
" I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive
you unto myself ; that where I ara, there ye raay be also."
But he never acquainted them with the time of his com
ing again, because,''for wise reasons, that is kept secret;
and therefore he frequently exhorted thera to watchful
ness and circuraspection — " Watch, therefore ; for ye
know not what hour your Lord doth corae." " Take
heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the tirae
is." " Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when
he cometh shall find watching." But though the time is
unknown, the second coming of our Lord is no less the
object of God's people now, than his first coming was of
the righteous under former dispensations ; and the fulfil
ment of ancient predictions in his first coming, confirras
the hope of his appearing again ; and, indeed, the great
design of his first coming into the world is not yet
accomplished; he will, therefore, certainly come once
raore to complete the work he has begun.
The second appearing of Christ wiU be very different
from his first, in a variety of circumstances. At his first
coraing, he appeared in the forra of a servant ; when he
comes again, it wiU be as " God over aU, blessed for
ever." He wUl appear to be quite another person than
men considered him, whUe he dwelt among them. At
his first coming, he was " made sin for us," and offered
himself to God an atoning sacrifice ; but, at his second
coming, he wlU " appear without sin unto salvation."
The second glorious appearing is what every sincere
lover of him rejoices to thmk on, and is ready to exclaim.

400 THE GRAVE,
in the ecstacy of passion, " Come, Lord Jesus, come
quickly." The faithful Israelite, under the Jewish dis
pensation, was characterized by his earnest expectation
of the first coming of the Messiah ; and the true Chris
tian is designated by his firm belief and joyful hope of
his second coming — ^by his looking, longing, waiting,
preparing, and praying for it. When our Lord comes
again, it wiU be to judge the world, and to reward every
man according to his works. As the apostle writes to
the Christians at Thessalonica, who suffered persecution
for the gospel, " It is a righteous thing with God to
recompense tribulation to thera that trouble you ; and to
you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ; in
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not
God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ : who shall be punished with everlasting destruc
tion from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory
of his power ; when he shaU come to be glorified in his
saints, and to be admired in all them that believe :" that
is, when he shall come to be glorified in the eyes of the
whole world, in the punishments inflicted on the final and
irreconcileable enemies of God and true religion ; and in
the glorious and happy circumstances of those who have
sincerely embraced the truth, and lived under its power
and influence.
Christ will come on the clouds, with an innumerable
corapany of angels, and aU the glorified souls in heaven
in his train ; and many awful appearances there wUl be
to increase the-grandeur and solemnity of that day. But
now more especially, there will be a display of the glory
of his own person, suited to his real dignity, and the
great characters he sustains, of Head of the Church,
and Judge of the world. Once when he was on earth.

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 401
in the days of his humUiation, he was gloriously trans
figured and transformed in the view of his disciples Peter,
James, and John ; his face did shine as the sun, and his
raiment became white as tbe light. The description
given of that one transient glorification, may help us to
some imperfect ideas of the present glory of the human
nature of Christ, in his state of exaltation, and of that
in which he wUl appear when he coraes again. But
though we cannot now distinctly conceive of it, we may
be sure it will be such as wUl excite the wonder of all, and
afford every believer a most pleasing surprise and extatlc
joy. Each saint will have a glory of his own, with which
be wUl be perfectly satisfied ; but aU the many miUions
of believers will admire and be delighted with the tran
scendent personal glory and majesty of Christ, their
common Lord and Head.
When Christ comes again, the happy and advantageous
circumstances of the saints will reflect honour and lustre
on bis mediatorial character and work. The perfection
of their holiness. They wlU be owned, acquitted, and
applauded by Him, as such as had believed in him, and
served him faithfully in this world, and their graces and
virtues, which here had some imperfections, wUl there
evidently appear completed. Then shaU appear the
bright scene, which the apostle Peter represents as the
final event of sore trials, when their faith has been tried
in the fire of tribulation, and is " found more precious
than gold," it shaU "shine " tothe praise, and honour, and
glory" of the saints, and especially of Christ himself, at
his appearing. The " Church" which " he loved," and
for which " he gave himself, that he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word," wUl
then be presented to himself a glorious church, not hav-
2d

402 THE GRAVE,
ing spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, " being holy and
without blemish." O what an alraighty arm is this, shaU
behevers say, that has borne up so many thousands of
poor sinking creatures, and hfted our heads above the
waves ! The measure of grace that existed many years
in a flood of temptation, and was not quenched, shall then
appear very conspicuous to the glory of Christ, who
Implanted and maintained it in their hearts, and at last
perfected it.
The external glory of the saints, or lustre of their per
sons, their bodies being then raised up immortal, and no
raore liable to death or disease, will reflect honour on
Christ at his appearing. Soul and body being then
united, will be for ever free from all the infirraities of
weak and raortal flesh. They will have enlarged capa^
cities, fitted for the noblest services of celestial minds,
and bodies that will no longer be clogs or burdensome
weights to the soul in its divine employments, but made^
fit for a partnership with it, in uninterrupted and endless
praise and happiness. The representations which are
given us in the Scriptures of this glory of the bodies of
the saints, are such as these — " It is sown in dishonour,
it is raised in glory ;" and " as we have borne the iraage
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the hea
venly." " We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shaU change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto his glorious body." The apostle says,
" It does not yet appear what we shaU be : but we know
that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him ;" and
if like him. We shall be very glorious. It is said of the
saints, that they " shall shine as the sun in the kingdom
of their Father." A representation of which, as we have
already noticed, our Saviour gave us in his transfigura.-

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 403
tion on the mount, when his face was bright as the sun,
and his raiment white as light. In a word, the saints
wiU appear in that day as so many images of his person,
and as so many significant monuments of the success of
his ofiice.
The great multitude of his saints wiU do honour to
Christ hkewise. Our Saviour once spake of his disciples
as a " little flock," and then it. Indeed, was so. There
were but few who beheved in hira, fewer stUl who had
the courage to own hira publicly in the face of the world.
Most men, while he was among them, were ignorant of
him, or offended at him ; and oftentimes his visible fol
lowers have made but a small and inconsiderable appear
ance, in comparison of the rest of mankind. But in that
day, the number of the saints will appear to be a great
multitude : when aU who have held the faith of Jesus,
or died in the hvely hope and confident expectation of him,
in any age, shall be gathered together from all the ends
of the earth, shall come from the east and the west, from
the north and the south, to meet their triumphant Re
deemer. The apostle John, in the book of the Revela
tion, says, " I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which
no man could number, of aU nations, and kindred, and
people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in then-
hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying. Salvation to
our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb." If the followers of Christ should not then
appear to be so numerous as those of his eneraies, who
would not submit to his authority and doctrine in this
world; yet they may, nay certainly wUl, be a great
number, exceeding what the contracted charity of some
now admit of and suppose. There may be many among

404 THE GRAVE,
the saints in that day, not only out of aU nations, but also
out of aU parties ; there wiU be many of aU ranks, and
of different gifts and attainments ; some of distinguished
learning, and exalted capacity, who prefer the knowledge
of Jesus Christ and him crucified above aU other science,
as best suited to secure the practice of hohness and
advance it to the greatest perfection, and to support the
mind under all the afflictions of this life. Others there
will be of meaner capacities, who were not able, in their
present circumstances, by the exercise of theu- own
powers, to trace out the principles and obhgations of
religion and virtue ; who, from the doctrines, miracles,
example, conspicuous and well-attested death and resur
rection of Jesus Christ, have learned the nature and
obhgations of true religion, as consisting in the love of
God and of their neighbours, and the certainty of future
recompence, and have been engaged thereby to perfect
holiness in the fear of God. Some there wiU be in the
number of the saints, who had gone far from God, and
been great sinners. The apostle brings forward a cata
logue of the blackest crimes, committed by the children
of iniquity, who at last were made heirs and possessors
of heaven, 1 Cor. vi. 9 — 11- Such they were in the
days of their ignorance and heathenism, but they were,
through the rich grace of God, washed from their sins in
the blood of Christ, and renewed by his Spirit, and shall
appear in white garments of hohness and glory at the
last day. There will be a great number who here on
earth were despised of men, lived in a raean condition,
who wiU be owned by Christ at his appearing for his
people, as having been resigned, contented, and thankful
in the circumstances allotted them by Divine Providence.
Again ; there will be many who had honoured the Lord

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 405
with their substance, who clothed the naked, fed the
hungry, visited the sick, and spake comfortably to those
that were cast down. There wlU be an iUustrious com
pany of martyrs and confessors, who took joyfully the
spoiling of their goods for Christ's sake, or laid down
their lives in testimony of the truths In short, there wlU
be many found aniong the saints in that day who wUl be
a wonder to each other, as well as to themselves. Now
this great multitude of such persons wlU reflect honour
on Christ, by whom they were redeemed, by whose grace
they were saved, and by whose Spirit they were con
ducted safe through all the temptations of this world,
and enabled to persevere to the end of life, notwithstand
ing the difficulties they met with in the way. Every
individual in that triumphant army shall ascribe his con
quest to the grace of the Captain of his salvation, and
cast his honours at the feet of his Lord and Saviour,
with grateful acknowledgments and shouts of praise.
Particularly we may observe, that at the second com
ing of Christ, his wisdom will a/ppear illustrious. The
preaching of the cross has by many in this world been
deemed foohshness. But then it wUl be manifest, beyond
the possibihty of further doubt and question, that the
" foohshness of God," that divine dispensation which
many had counted foohshness, and despised, was wiser
than aU the " wisdom of men." Some, indeed, yea, not
a few, do now perceive and acknowledge it to be a well-
laid design, admhably suited to the weakness and dege
neracy of human nature ; and they are ready with the
apostle to say, " O the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God !" and that " he hath
abounded towards us in aU wisdom and prudence." But
at Christ's second appearance, the contrivance of this
dispensation wiU appear stUl more wonderful. It wlU be

406 THE GRAVE,
manifest, particularly in the great number of the saints,
then collected and brought together in one assembly
from the several parts of the world, to whom the crucified
Saviour has been " made of God wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption." Then shall these words
of Scripture shine in ^full glory — " For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedi
ence of one shaU many be made righteous. That as
sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord." It is, indeed, a vast and dehghtful scene
of contemplation which will then be open to the saints,
to observe the origin of the design, the several steps, the
continued progress, and the final completion, of the
recovery and salvation of so many fraU and sinful men,
by Jesus Christ ; and to observe the extent of the
government of his church, and the world in general,
in its several parts and ages, from the time of his exal
tation to the right hand of God, to that great and glo
rious day when aU intelligent creatures are brought
before, his tribunal.
His poiver, displayed in the resurrection of the dead,
especiaUy his saints, performed by his word, will appear
astonishingly great and p)onderful. This is what our
Saviour raentions as so marvellous, in answer to some
false or frivolous objections of the Jews, "For the
Father loveth the Son, ahd showeth him all things that
himself doeth ; and he wUl show him greater works than
these, that ye may marveL For as the Father raiseth
up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son
quickeneth whom he will." Now, says he, " Marvel
not at this; for the hour is coming in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth,
they that have done good unto the resurrection of life,

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 407
and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of dam
nation." His power will be displayed also in the activity
and agihty given to their raised bodies, by which they
wlU be able to ascend and meet the Lord in \he air, and
to move from place to place with an inconceivable swift
ness, and perhaps be capable of ascending with the same
freedom and ease as they now descend. Those skUled
in philosophy tell us, that the present weight of our
bodies is not an absolute inseparable property of them,
but only tbe effect of the Creator's wiU. Then wiU that
prophecy be hterally fulfilled, " They that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount
up with wings as eagles; they shaU run and not be
weary ; and they shall walk, and not faint."
His truth and faithfulness will shine forth with
amazing lustre. This is the day for the full accomplish
ment of all his great and precious promises, on which
his people have depended, and by which they have been
animated in the whole of their religious course. Here,
in this world, by his law and gospel, he dehvered rules
of life, and made gracious proraises to thera that were
practically obedient. He encouraged men, at his call,
to forsake all earthly goods for his sake ; assuring them
of abundant recompense hereafter. In his preaching
he publicly declared, with the greatest solemnity, " This
is the Father's wiU, which hath sent me, that of all
which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the
will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the
Son, and believeth on hira, may have everlasting hfe ;
and I wiU raise him up at the last day." Now, on the
ground of a clear conviction of his divine authority and
character, which he claimed, and a persuasion of the
truth of aU his declarations and proraises, behevers have

408 THE GRAVE,
given themselves up to him, and therefore obey his
injunctions ; they have been induced to seek principaUy
such things as are now distant and unseen, and not to
prefer, but sometimes to forego the pleasures, posses
sions, and honours of the present world, and every thing
desirable therein, in hope of being raised up by him
to immortal life and happinesss. So they, having
acted, believed, and trusted in him, he makes his truth
manifest in the event, by putting them in possession of
what he promised. Those things which were once the
objects of their faith, their hope and desire, are, at his
appearance, possessed and enjoyed by them. His faith
fulness was believed before, and they who depended on
it acted wisely and rationally ; but now it is even seen,
that not one jot or tittle of his word has fallen to the
ground, but all is exactly and punctuaUy fulfilled ; not
one of those who trusted in him is lost, but aU are
brought to glory and placed on his right hand.
His truth and faithfulness may be further Ulustrated
at that time, by the peculiar degrees of honour and
glory conferred on those whose piety has been great
and tried by great difficulties and sufferings here. Many
indeed are the encouragements which he gave in the
course of his public ministry, to those who should be
eminent, stedfast, and constant in his service. And
future rewards wiU certainly be granted, accordingto
those encouraging deplarations, and the hopes he has
excited in them, He says, " Blessed are ye when men
shaU revUe you, and persecute you, and shall say aU
manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice,
and be exceeding glad ; ' for great is your reward in
heaven." When his disciples desired to know who should
be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he did not deny

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 409
that there would be distinctions there, but intimates,
that he who should be most humble, and for the sake
of truth, and the good of mankhid, should most abase
hmiself, would, in the end, be most exalted, and be
greatest m the kingdom of heaven. I say, the truth
and faithfulness of Christ wiU be most manifest at his
appearing, m rewards proportioned to his declarations
and promises, and the large hopes he had thereby raised
in the minds of his sincere and upright servants. The
course of piety and vhtue wiU then be completely vindi
cated by hun, every instance of righteous conduct be
recompensed, and the most eminent goodness receive an
equal reward.

The final judgment wiU be terrible only to them that
live and die in an unregenerate state. The finaUy im
penitent sinner, and he alone, is concerned in the terrors
of that day. And O, what a dreadful scene wUl it be
to aU the wicked! How wiU the guilty be alarmed
when the last trumpet shaU sound! How wiU they
appear aghast to hear that tremendous voice, which caUs
them from the grave to the severe tribunal ; with what
reluctance will they obey the summons, which they
cannot resist! What anguish and horror vriU seize
them, when they behold the slighted Saviour, coming in
his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and with aU
the hosts of heaven attending him. What trembling
will take hold of them, when they hear the shoutings of
those bright attendants of the Judge, who shall descend
with him, not only to grace his triuraph, and aid the
splendour and magnificence of his appearance, but to be
employed by him as the ready dispensers of his favours.

410 THE GRAVE,
and swift executioners of his vengeance. With what
horror may we suppose these sinners re-assuming their
bodies, not to repeat their forraer sensualities iji them,
but that they may become the instruments of their
greater shame and heavier punishment ; and when lifting
up their eyes, they see the inexorable Judge seated on
his throne, having his eye firmly fixed on them, so that
they can find no possible way of escaping his notice !
With what eagerness and importunity will they then cry
" to the rocks to fall on them, and to the mountains to
hide them from the face of him that sitteth on the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great day of
his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand.?"
But their cries wiU be in vain ; for as they cannot escape
the notice of his eye, so they cannot resist the power of
his hand, but are forced to the bar. The books are
opened, a loud and dreadful catalogue of sins are set in
order before them, in all their odious colours. What
terrors wiU seize their guUty consciences, when they see
the secrets of their impious hearts revealed, and all the
aggravated crimes of their vicious lives published before
the asserabled world, and themselves made the scorn
and derision of saints, angels, and devils. But O, what
heart can conceive, or tongue describe, the overwhelm
ing horror of their rainds, when they are cast at the great
tribunal, and hear the Judge pass sentence on them ;
pronounce their doom in these awful words : ¦" Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." When they
see themselves seized by devils, and forcibly hurried
into those regions of despair, where every thing that
might tend to alleviate the anguish of their tortured
minds is for ever banished, and are plunged into the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone, " where the worm

OR SEPULCHRE OF THE DEAD. 411
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." And does not
even now the representations of these "terrors of the
Lord," fill us with horror ? But, alas ! what must the
feeling of them be ! If there is any thing in the reach
of our understanding, that deservedly claims the cha
racter of awful and terrible, it is such as we have
now stated. Let the sinners in Zion therefore be
alarmed and tremble, repent and believe, love and
obey, and thus be persuaded to " flee from the wrath
to come."

THE END.

LIVERPOOL :
PBINIED BY GM : SMITH, TITHEBAEN-STBEET.

Also, hy the same Author,

THE

ifWosaw mi^twn

CREATION OF THE WORLD;
Illustrated by Discoveries and Experiments derived from the present
enlightened state of Science. To which is prefixed, the Cosmogony of
the Ancients : with Reflections intended to promote Vital and Practical
Religion. Second Edition. Much enlarged and improved, with a
Portrait of the Author, Svo. 12s.

TESTIMONIES IN FAVOUR OF THIS WORK,
CHARACTER OP THE FIRST EDITION,
" This Volume consists of a very agreeable Mid interesting detail of the general facta
of Astronomical Science and Natural History; in which are intermingled moral and
religious reflections, tending to excite the feelings of gratitude and devout admiration.
On subjects of this nature Mr. W. seeras to be at home ; and we highly approve the
attempt of supplying spiritual improvement of philosophical investigations. The doctrine
of the Trinity is here scripturally defended, and its authorities clearly adduced. The
religious sentiments, it is scarcely necessary to add, are uniformly scriptural and devout"
— Eclectic Review, CHARACTER OF THE SECOND EDITION.
" M^my years since, when perusing Mr. Ray's well-known Treatise on ' The Wisdom
of God in the Creation,* Mr. Derham's celebrated Works, entitled • Physico-Theology,'
and ' Astro-Theology,' in which the wisdom of the Deity is displayed in a very pleasing
manner, we were led to wish for a popular work, in which the numerous progressive
important discoveries iu science should be brought togel^ier on a similar pl^i. Such a
work, but much more copious, we now have the pleasure to introduce to our readers.
** This large and handsomely printed volume embraces every topic that can interst or
claim the attention of the inquiring mind. Not a single important discovery has been
omitted, so that the work may be confidently resorted to as a valuable digest of inforraation
concerning astronomical and chemical science, as well as natural history. The moral and
religious improvements are both natural and scriptural, and cannot fail to be read without
producing corresponding sentiments of devout gratitude, blended with admiration. Inde
pendently of its value, as an iUustration of the Mosaic History of the Creation, Mr. Wood's
Treatise deserves to be considered as a book of permanent reference from the number of
curious and important facts which he has here collected. AU classes of readers may peruse
it both with advantage and with edification; but it is peculiarly adapted to lead the minds
of youth io ' look through nature up to nature's God.' " — lAterary PanoraTnafor Jwne, 1818.
*»* For a character of this work, see also the very exceUent " Introduction to the
Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures." By the Rev. Thomas HartweU
Home, M. A. Fourth Edition, vol. ii. Appendix, p. 68.

3 9002 08203 1270

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