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LECTURES ON ROMANISM,
BT

JOSEPH

F.

BERG,

PASTOR OF THE FIRST OERMAN REFORMED CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA'

"VriTH

AN INTRODUCTION,
BT

W.

C.

BROWNLEE,
OF NEW-YORK.

D. D.

Philadelphia:
D.

WEIDNER,

No. 62
I.

NORTH FOURTH STREET.

Printer.

Aahmead,

1840.

Entered according to act of Congress,

in

in the year 1840,

the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District

of Pennsylvania.

i^^

CONTENTS.
PAGE
1

IirrBOBCCTIOK,

PBEFACB

'

'

LECTURE
Infallibility

I.

25

LECTURE
Transubstantiatxon
-

II.
. -

47

LECTURE
Purgatory
"

III.

73
"

'

'

LECTURE
Invocation of Saints
^
.

IV.
'

...
. "

115

LECTURE
Veneration of Images and Relics

V.

151
VI.

LECTURE
Auricular Confession
-

182

LECTURE
Indulgences
-

VII.

207
'

LECTURE

VIII.

227

The Reformation

LECTURE
Persecuting Spirit of Popery

IX.

248
X.
-

LECTURE
Christ and AnUchrist contrasted
. .
1

...
-

270

Concluding Remarks

295

The

reader

is

requested to note the following memoranda:

page 33, read Benedict XII. instead oT Bennet. page 87, instead of Acts iii. 1820, read 1 Pet. iii. 1820 This mistake originated in the Grounds of Catholic Doctrine Two Roman Catholic priests, named Crotty, instead of one have recently renounced Popery; one joined the Presbyterian! the other the Methodist church. Let the reader remember this when he reads pp. 205 and 206, for in this case, truly, " two are better than one !"

On On

INTRODUCTION.

Every one who

has studied the Holy Scriptures,

;

is fa-

miliar with the remarkable prediction the rise and reign of a certain mighty

therein recorded, of

power the greatest and most deadly enemy to the church of God, and the By Daniel, from the lofty mount of liberties of mankind. He is introinspiration, his approach was first descried. '' and his rise little horn;'''' the duced to him, in vision, as
is

fixed in general terms as posterior to certain great politi-

cal events.
first,"

This " horn," or power, " diverse from the we cannot discover in any Pagan or Moslem nation.

Indeed, the attempt to discover it there, instead of a Christian country, would be a positive violation of the truth of the The " little horn" sprung up after the divine prediction. rise of the fourth great beast of Daniel, which is admitted by every sound writer, to be the Roman empire. That was the power which " letteth, and did let, until it was taken out

of the way," of the

the
fall

little

horn.

Hence

of the

Roman pagan

empire.

after the rise of the

" ten horns."

sprung up after it sprung up But there were no ten

it

For

kingdoms in Europe previous to the horns, or ten Hence this new and of Rome. empire pagan fall of the *' country. It Moslem or Pagan no in rose horn," diverse Europe. Christian in sprung up Besides, it is described by the spirit of inspiration as an apostacy, or "a falling away" from the Christian faith. This can be applied to no 1 Tim. iv. 1. 2 Thess. ii. 3. These never were in the power. Mohammedan Pagan or
distinct

church of God. In no sense, therefore, can they be called an apostacy from the Christian faith. Thus we get rid of the argument of the Romish doctors who refer this predicThere is tion to the persecuting power of Rome Pagan. " little horn" plucked The circumstance. identifying another

a2


2
INTRODUCnOJ^.
roots
:

up three of the other horns by the

or, in the

words

of the angel, " he subdued three of the other kings." History points out no other power in Europe " diverse from the first power" which has done this, than that one which seized upon 1st, the consular power of Rome, which was equal to a "horn of royalty;" and 2d, plucked up the royal power of Lombardy, and took possession of it ; and 3d, attained

by

characteristic enormities, the exarchate, or royal

power

of Ravenna. And that power now wears the triple crown ; one for each of these royalties. And that is the head of the Roman church, the Pope of Rome! This power is identified also with that which St. Paul calls ,"The Man of Sin." 2 Thess. ii. 3. In this character he fulfils the prophecy of Daniel. "He speaketh great words against the Most High; and thinks to change times and laws :" and also of St. John, "a mouth was given to him speaking great things and blasphemies." What " apostate" power has done this? Every papal bull, thundering from the Vatican, proclaims his name and characters! As THE Man of Sin, he makes merchandise of " the souls of men." Rev. xviii. 13. He deals in sin; he traffics in sin at the confessional. By his seven sacraments, the Man OF Sin barters away his ghostly wares to men for money, in granting indulgences, dispensations, and "judicial pardon holding of sins" by his priests, tenentes locum Christie the throne and power of Christ/ There is a book entitled ' Taxe Sacre Penitentiarie ;" a copy of it now lies be* Herein crimes are registered and a regulated fore me. tariff price of each is set down to guide the ghostly tax And from gatherer in his charges for the sins of the soul.* every circumstance it must be manifest to all, that the revenues collected by the Man of Sin will thrive and swell to excess, just in proportion as vices and crimes increase

among

his subjects.

For

the

greater the sin, the greater

* See Mendham's Life of Pope Pius Y. p. 267. An original copy of the Roman Catholic edition of tlie "Taxe," printed by

Leo X. is in possession of Mr. Mendham. This book we must carefully distinguish from the Pope's " ChanDr. Milner and Dr. England attempted to bewilder cery Book.-' their opponents by confounding" them; in order to escape from the overwhelming- fact of the existence of the Taxe Sacre Penilentiarie, and its disg-usting contents.
the authority of Pope

INTRODUCTION.
!

Could there be a more appropriate the price of absolution immoral and lawless power than of this head the title for God, The Man of Sin ? of Spirit the given by this, There is another prominent feature which will help us to identify the Man of Sin with " the Horn" of Daniel.
seats himself on his throne "as God, in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." This prediction is fulfilled to the letter in that court, and in that alone, in which one is seated on his throne as the supreme king and head of the church and receives the spiritual honours of his subjects as they bow down on their knees and kiss his feet, while they give him this salutation The of divine honours, '' Noster Dominus Deus, papa/ fulfilled in is This prediction Lord our God the Pope called in Bitonto him alone, whom Mussus, the Bishop of

He

public, "

Him who

is

to us as

our

the letter in Pope Innocent III., " Papa loworld, that the Pope holds the place of God." Paris Juris, Corpus cum tenet Dei in terris." See Pithon,

God 1" It is fulfilled to who openly declared to the

29, and Cibert. Corpus, Tom. ii. p. 9. It is fulfilled in Pope Julius II. who, in the fourth session of the Council of the Lateran in 1512, received this homage from C. Marcellus, assented to by the other fathers, "Tuenim Thou art the shepherd, thou the physician pastor, &c.
edit,

of 1687,

p.

thou the ruler in fine, thou art another God in the earth ; See Labbei, et Cossartii, tu denique alter Deus in terris.'" It is Paris edit. 1672. 109, XIV. p. Sacra Concilia, Tom himself the to arrogating who, head, fulfilled in the Roman new twelve added has times," and power of" changing laws
;

and five new sacraand has " changed Christ ; by ordained ments to the two the second precept, virtually'abolishing the law" of God by and by rejecting Catechisms, Latin his and excluding it from his breviaries, of One gospel. the of the essential doctrines excluded the has Popes, two sanctioned by lying before me,
articles to the creed of the apostles ;*
It is accomplished in that second commandment entirely. the Council of Trent, in decreed which great apostacy, " one shall say that the any if that (session 14, canon 9,) is not a judicial acty priest the of sacramental absolutions

See Pope Pius's Creed; and Cramp's Text Book of Popery,

pp. 450, 451.

INTRODUCTION.

but merely a naked ministry of pronouncing and declaring that sins are remitted to the person confessing, provided only

he believes, &c. let him be cursed !" This is fully accomplished in that apostacy from the faith, taught by St. Paul, which " gives heed to the doctrines of devils," by exalting demons, or departed souls, or saints to the rank of gods, and causing his subjects to worship them under the pain of death ; and which " forbids marriage" to his priests and bishops and as a god over the bodies of men, forbids the use of meats on certain days See 1 Tim. iv. 1, 2, 3. We identify with this power also the second beast seen 18. in vision by St. John, in Rev. xiii. 11 It rose in the same place, and in the stead of the first beast of St. John, (chap. xiii. I,) which was Rome pagan. "It had power to give life to the image of the first beast." The papal power has actually put forth this power, and has given life to paganism by raising it up and placing it in its temple For the entire systenn of popery is taganas Ch?'istianityf ISM baptized and perpetuated. From the pagan emperor has the Pope borrowed his title of " Pontifex Maximus, chief
that
!

priest."

The

pots of holy water, the altars, the priestly

motly dresses; the pots of incense, and the the surplice; wax candles lighted up at noon-day the round cakes or wafers of the mass images canonized saints; are all of them borrowed exclusively from " All the the temples and worship of the Roman heathen world was to wonder after the beast" thus revived. The Pop'^'s claims to catholicity and universal power over all churcues and kingdoms, fulfils this to the letter. He was " to cause all men to receive a mark in their foreheads and The Pope's priests put a literal mark on in their hands." the forehead and hands of his slaves with holy water and ashes. It was foretold of him that he would permit none of his subjects to buy, or sell, or traffic in any way with those who had not this mark. This mode of nersecution the cfreat Apostacy borrowed from the heathens. Pope Alexander III. The Council of forbade all traffic with the Waldenses. ;" Constance abrogated all contracts made with " heretics and forbade all conimerce between Papists and Christians. The number of the name of this beast was to be 666 that is, a name set down in letters of the alphabet instead of Arabic figures, which should contain the number 666, would
offices, an,d their

office

of boys
;

in

INTRODUCTION.

5
the letters of the

show who

that beast should be.

Take we

Greek word Lateinos, arrange them in a column, place opposite them the number of each from a Greek Grammar, they make exactly 666 and Lateinos is the Greek word
!

In like manner, Latin church ; or the Latin man RoMiiTH contains that number exactly ; and that is the Hefor
!

brew name for Roman church " The woman seated on the scarlet-coloured beast," seen by the holy apostle, in Rev. xvii. is also identified with this power. She occupies the same seven hills. She is borne along by "the beast" whom she rules and directs; and
!

which, clothed in the appropriate robe of vengeance scar" In she employs in shedding the blood of the saints. Roman Catholic Europe," says Dr. Jortin, " the Pope was judge, and kings were his hangmen !" Each of the " ten" kingdoms of Europe has given its power to the woman on The papal power has declared all civil the seven hills. power and governments inferior to his spiritual power. Taberna. vol. ii. p. 288, teaches that " a priest cannot be forced to give testimony before a secular judge." Emanuel Sa, in his Aphor. p. 41, taught that " the rebellion of priests is not treason, for they are not subject to the civil governlet,

ments.^^

And

this is literally carried out in all the countries

of Europe and South America which are subjugated by Bellarmine, who may be styled the prince of Ropopery. mish writers, declares in his Controv. lib. v. cap. 6, p. 1090, that " the spiritual power must rule the temporal by ^\[ means and expedients when necessary." But by fa^ ihe most sublime claim is put forth by Stanislaus Ozichorius, in " A common It is this his book, the Chimcej'a, folio 99. priest is as much better than a king, as a man is superior to a beast nay, as much as God Almighty excels a priest, so much does a priest excel a supreme magistrate." See Demoulin's Papal Usurpations, p. 19 Morn. Exer. on Popery, St. Thomas Aquinas declares, in his OpuGC. Contra p. 67. Grcecos, that " it is essential to a man's salvation to be subAnd the same saint gives utterject to the Pope's power." ance to the true doctrines of Rome in his book l)e Regim. Princip. Lib. iii. cap. 10 and 19, thus: "The Pope, as supreme king of all the world, may impose taxes on all Christians and destroy towns and castles for the preservation of See Barrow Christianity ;" he means to say Romanism. oa the Pope's Supremacy, N. York edition, pp. 16, 20.
:
:

INTRODUCTION.

This " woman" of the Apocalypse was seen in vision, as "clothed in purple, and scarlet colour, and decked with gold Whoever has seen the Pope's and precious stones," &c. court, or an inquisitorial, or festival procession, or an assembly of the bishops, vicars, and priests, even among ourselves, in their theatrical dresses, can perceive at a glance, who are figuratively intended by this " woman." She is, moreover, " the mother of harlots," and every nameless "abomination." Rev. xvii. 5. Be this taken in a spiritual or a literal sense,
all

nations unite in

pointing to

Rome

as the power dis-

In spiritual idolatry, and in literal idolatry, and in the leprosy

tinctly

marked out here by

the finger of prophecy.

of pollution, the Roman priesthood and laymen, friars, monks, and nuns, stand forth pre-eminent among the guiltiest nations under heaven Rome stands forth without even the aid of a mask, as " the Mother of Harlots !" The mouth
I

of the Lord had declared

it

strates the truth of the vision of

and impartial history demonJohn

!

And to close the appalling prediction, the apostle saw woman drunk with the blood of the saints and wiih
;

the the

Rev. xvii. 6. The history blood of the martyrs of Jesus." of the Roman court and church is written in letters of fire For several centuries, she has originated the and blood most of the wars in Europe. The number of the victims of her assassination, of her massacres, and the " infernal Pains have inquisition," have never been fully ascertained. indeed been taken by historians to discover the true amount. But the deaths of myriads have never reached the ear of the Our calculation does, therefore, rather fall short historian.
!

These details than transgress the bounds of exact truth. Papal Rome has been " drunk with the fill us with horror blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus," besides the blood Rome has been of millions of others of our fellow-men. " drunk with the blood" of fifty millions of martyred Culdees, Waldenses, Albigenses, Bohemian Brethren, WickRome has been " drunk with the lifites, and Protestants blood" of fifteen millions of Indians, butchered in cold blood Rome has been in Cuba, Mexico, and South America! " drunk with the blood" of three millions and a half of Jews, Thus " the Mother of Harlots," and Moors in Spain seated on the scarlet-coloured beast, is drunk with the blood of SIXTY-EIGnX MILLIONS AND FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND
!

INTRODUCTION.

J
that the holy apostle

HUMAN BEINGS John beholding,

it

No wonder
vision, the

is

it

in

horrid carnage of this san-

guinary power, "did wonder with great admiration." Had been Rome pagan seen in vision by him, or any other barbarian power, he would not have wondered. But who would not have been overwhelmed with astonishment to have seen, in vision, a church, boasting itself the only Christian church, thus " drunk with the blood" of so many millions of men, women, and children! And while the sanguinary church of Rome was to use the words ofDaniel thus *' wearing out the saints of the Most

High God," she was,

at the same time, giving a fresh and painful evidence of her identity with the " horn" of Daniel, and the great " beast" of St. John. To the head of the pa-

was given a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies against the Most High." Daniel vii. 25. Rev. xiii. 6. By his legislators in the Council of Trent, the Pope has solemnly pronounced the Holy Bible to be a prohibited BOOK V^ Thus the Antichrist puts himself between God and his subjects; and ventures to declare in the face of the Almiahty, and in the ears of all men, that he will not allow man to hear God's word as it comes from him that he will 7int allow our Lord to speak to us through any other medium than his priests and only in a garbled and corrupted version of the Bible, if it mvst be allowed at all He creates what he caUs a Hiring teacher, and a living judge. He puts himself and his priests, with his traditions, bulls and canons, in the stead of God's holy word, and his ordinances, and his true gospel ministry the Pope claims to be that living teacher and judge/// Moreover, the prophet says that " he opens his mouth in blasphemies against the Most High." He does not even hesitate to declare it as an article of doctrine, that Mary was that she is " the immaculate that is, born without sin ;^'' Mother of God and that her mother, St. Anna, was, of By the mouth of his course, the grandmother of God //I
:

pal church "

* Cvitn experimento manifestam est, 8cc. It is manifest from experience that if the sacred Bible, translated into the vulvar ton,^ue, be indiscriminately allowed to each one, more mischief than g-ood will arise from it, by the temerity of man, &c. De Lib.

Prohit. Regula.

iv.

INTRODUCTIOP/.

servant, called St. Liguori, he has put forth as solemn trutha of Rome, the following unparalleled doctrines and forms of

And here devotion.* place for three reasons

been canonized
besides, the
;

let
:

me

say, that
is

quote him

in this

St. Liguori

the last saint that has

in

this
is

having taken place

little

1831, or 1832
lastly,
it

book

known among us; and

proves that the doctrines and enormous idolatry of Rome at this day are precisely, in all points, what they were in the Dark Ages. The Pope, by his sainted servant Liguori, has taught that " as God the Father so loved us, that he gave his only beso may we express the love of Mary. gotten Son for us, Yes, says St. Bonaventure, Mary has so loved us, that she gave us her only son." Chap. i. Sect. 3. Again : " The king of heaven has given us his mother for our mother; and in her hands he has, if we may say so, resigned his Chap. iii. Sect. 1. onmipotence in the sphere of grace!" Again: "The Lord, O Mary, says St. Anselm, has so exalted you, that his favour has rendered you omnipotent! Yes, says Richard of St. Lawrence, Mary is omnipotent! For, according to all laws, the qveen enjoys the same privileges as the king; and that power may be equal between the son and the mother, Jesus has rendered Mary omnipothe one is so by nature, the other by grace !" Chap, tent, 1. Sect. Again: "The Virgin Mary was assumed up vi. into heaven (bodily) to intercede confidently for us. Hence she is the arbiter of our lot. As an arbiter decides between two parties, thus Jesus permits his mother to decide between him and vs" Chap. vi. Sect. 3. Again " O how many

sinners would

have persevered
:

in

their

wickedness, and

damned eternally, but for Mary^s intercession!'*^ Once more " We can say of the saints, that God was with them but to Mary it is given not only to conform herself to the will of God; but that God liimself has been conformed to her will. And while we say that
thence had been
;

virgins follow the

Lamb we
;

can say of Mary on earth, that

the

Lamb

know

followed her." Chap. vi. Sect. 1. God except by you, holy virgin, says St.

"Who

could

Germa-

* St. Liguori*s Book. The Glories of Mary, the Mother of God, translated from the Italian, and revised by a Roman priest. Dub-

hn: printed by John Coyne, 1833.

INTRODUCTION.
nus
;

9 by

who

could be saved,

all

powerful Virgin, except

" Holy Virgin, I your intercession !" Chap. v. Sect. 2. shall no longer apprehend my sins since you can repair them, nor the devils since you are more powerful than hell nor your son (Jesus) when justly irritated, since one word " O my from you will appease him/" Chap. ii. Sect. 2. sovereign Mary, says St. Francis of Sales, be my advocate with your son I dare not recur to him." " When Christ said on the cross, Behold thy mother,' this means, no one shall be made partaker of the merits of my blood but by the intercession of my mother. My wounds are fountains of grace; but Mary is the canal through which they flow,"&c. " To this question of David, Who, O Lord, shall stand in thy holy place?' St. Bonaventure replies, he will stand in thy holy place who devotes himself to Mary! If she " By you, O wills our salvation, it is already secured." Mary, says St. Bernard, heaven has been opened hell has given up its prey the celestial city has been peopled and Chap. viii. eternal life given to those who deserve hell."
; ' ' ;

Sect. 3.
is a specimen of" the great things and blasphemies, by the mouth of this antichristian power. And, to crown the whole, this new-made saint adds " All power, O Mary, is given to you in heaven, and on earth." " All are subject to Mary's empire, even God himself, imperio (Chap. vi. Virginis omnia famulantvr, etiam Deus ! ! /" And if there be "a lower deep, in this Sect. 1, p. 131.) lowest deep," we find it in the following unique effusion of St. Bonaventure; "O Felix puerpera, nostra plans scelera, "O holy Mother of God, jure matris impera Redemptori I"

This

uttered

atoning for our crimes, exercising the rights of a mother, lay thy commands imperatively on the Redeemer; impera ReAgain: "Jure matris impera dilectissimo tuo demptori." " Command thy beloved filio Domino nostro Jesu Christo." Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!!!"* And I add, these superlative specimens of blasphemies have been sanctioned by the present Pope, Gregory XVI. In his "Encyclical Letter," or bull, issued in 1832, he says, in the close, " Now, that all these events may come to pass
* St. Bonavent. Cor. B. M. Virg. Tom. on Popery, p. 523.
vi.

Morn. Exercises

10

INTRODUCTION.

happily, and successfully, let us lift up our eyes, and our hands to the most holy Virgin Mary, who alone has destroyed all heresies, and is our greatest confidence^ even
the whole foundation of our hope ! ! P'' Such are the predictions of the rise and establishment of the great and fierce power which was to wage war against

And such Messiah, and the liberties and lives of mankind. in the letter, has been the fulfilment of them, even to the But Church. rise and establishment of the Roman Catholic assurance our blessed Lord comforted his church with the that the ghostly and temporal reign of this sanguinary and idolatrous power is limited to " time, times, and the dividing of a time,''^ that is, three and a half prophetical years; or, And multiplyin the words of St. John, forty -two months. ing 42 by 30, the number of days assigned by the ancients to each month, we discover its correspondence with the other form of expressions by St. John, namely, 1260 days. And opening this mystery by the key given to us by the Lord to the prophet, Ezekiel iv. 6, namely, " I appoint thee each day for a year," we arrive at the true time of the enemy's duration, namely, 1260 years. Now, our Divine Master his pronounced blessing on those who read and underhas Hence, while we search into this, it is delightful to stand. derive courage and consolation from the assurance of the approaching downfall of this Man of Sin. From the year 260 or 270, down to the close of the reign of Constantino, the great Antichrist was born and cradled. Certain rites and superstitions, which were derived from paganism, and peculiar to popery, were introduced into the Christian world, by several individuals. Add the 1260 years to these respective dates, and we arrive at the times of the glorious Reformation when the Man of Sin received what may be But the year 606 is the date of called his first death-blow. He was the consummation of the Pope's spiritual power. then made universal bishqp, or Pope. These two numbers being added, brings us to the year 1866 when we expect a glorious deliverance from his spiritual tyranny. And, finally, the Pope became, in prophetic language, " the
;
;

Beast,"

in 756, when he gained the triple crown, and became a temporal and ghostly power. Adding these two numbers, we arrive at the year 2016, when he will be ut-

INTRODUCTION.
terly destroyed in the light
lenial

11
in Mil-

and glory of the ushered

day

It is generally understood, I believe, by all judicious commentators, that this fierce and sanguinary power will put forth its desperate, persevering, and last struggle, for some time preceding its final overthrow. I am inclined to believe that our readers will admit that we are now living in

that very period.

tinent of Europe,

The

struggle

is

simultaneous on the con-

and the United States. The reckless desperadoes of the Jesuit sect, revived by Pope Pius VIL, in 1814, are now enacting in Europe, and in our republic, the very scenes which formerly convulsed every nation in Europe. The present struggle is a desperate one. are in the midst of it, and it is high time that each one of us should, like our brother Berg, buckle on our armour, in good earnest. This anomalous and persecuting power is pouring in upon our republic its colonies, and invading armies. It must be obvious to every intelligent person, who examines it carefully, that it is not, strictly speaking, a Christian church, if it or, a religious system, derived from the Holy Bible were, we should not apprehend danger from it, to our free institutions, and our holy religion. apprehend no danger whatever from any one of all the various denominations of the Christian world. The spirit and pursuits of all these are essentially different from those of the Roman Catholic sect. It is a great POLiTiCALengine,cunningly contrived, and put together by the genius of the mere men of the world, and men of pleasure for the purpose of obtaining power and dominion Hence it is admirably adapted to abstract the over men. wealth of communities, and nations, and turn it into its own treasuries. Two results follow the steady and continued operation of this political religion. On the one hand, the lay population of the nation under it, waxes poorer and and that " church" waxes richer and richer. It poorer
in Britain, Ireland,

and especially

We

We

cost Spain

fifty m.illions,

annually, to support this ghostly

and tyrannical power; which sat as an incubus on her. The old Mortmain law of England was enacted for the express purpose of pj*eventing the Pope's tax-gatherers, the Roman priests, from gaining to " the church" the whole

landed property of England On the other hand, wherever

!

Romanism

gains the ascen-

12

INTRODUCTION.

dency, pure religion, and sound morals, wither and die under its blighting doctrines, rites, and priesthood. Were it a true Christian church, the diffusion of its spirit and influence, would make man happy, industrious, steady, temperate, and thence above want. The true church of God has, usually, been poor. The world's church the Pope's church is rich. Were Rome a Christian church, it would revive, and sustain Christianity, sound doctrine, genuine godliness, and pure morals. But, no, it is merely a great political engine, moved and propelled by men of the world, who feel it necessary, for profitable ends, to wear the mask of religion. The great leading sects of Romanism are waked up.

The

Jesuits take the lead. They are all in full operation, in our republic, and in Europe. Those emissaries of Rome, the successors of those who have convulsed every nation in

Christendom, and shed the blood of the saints in torrents, are all now labouring in the one only thing in which they can all agree; namely, to undermine, and ultimately, destroy, the Protestant religion ; and Protestant liberty, and, with these, our republican institutions. implore the candid, and very earnest attention of every liberal-minded man, who abhors every thing like "a persecuting religion" to this subject. This denomination of

We

political religionists are absolute exclusives in the hopes of salvation. No man under heaven is right but themselves! All except themselves are hopeless reprobates It is a boldly avowed dogma of Romanism, that not one s&ul can he saved out of the pale of their sect ! This is not an unjust imputation. Pope Pius's creed thus closes, after an enumeration of the novel doctrines, idolatrous rites, and marvellously superstitious ceremonies of the Romish church " This is the true Catholic faith out 6f which no one can
1

be saved,' extra quam nemo salvus esse potest." Hence no charity can be cultivated by the genuine Romanist. In proportion as he rigorously clings to his faith, he hates all his
dissenting fellow men, with a zeal proportioned to the strength of his faith in his church. Hence his unsubdued bigotry. He reasons not. There is no use in his hearing reasons. His church is infallible. She cannot err; she

never has erred. All, of course, who differ from her, are ^ in MORTAL sin! Hence a thorough bred Romanist, under the zealous training of his priest, looks on the Protestant, just as

IJfTRODUCTION.

J3

one who meditates slaughter and death, looks on his intended victim, who is soon to perish Hence, instead of
!

that liberal charity, he nurses the deepest bigotry.

Instead

of that open-hearted and heaven-born benevolence, entering into his soul, and urging him forward in overcoming evil by doing good, he is taught to nurse a gloomy misanthropy, and a cruel and unchristian bitterness of heart, toward all who differ from his priests, and his religion. Hence, that characteristic, and prompt disposition to resort to personal violence and bloodshed, when truth and argument from a Protestant arrow, happens to penetrate their dark and gloomy hearts In the bosom of every bigot and priest-ridden fanatic, in all false religions, and in the bosom of all idolaters, there burns a hidden, but fierce flame, which nothing but blood can quench The murderous crusades against the Waldenses, the atrocious massacres of Ireland and France, and the dungeons, the racks, and fires of the Inquisition, are melancholy demonstrations of this. To this, we beg a hearing from every generous and high-minded man, whose soul is deeply imbued with the spirit of our republican liberty, in this land where every thing like persecution, and an overbearing haughtiness of claims over the rights of This, we others, are viewed and treated with abhorrence. assure you, is an essential element, in the composition of Romanism. It is, in its very nature, a persecuting religion. It is very true, we admit, that some Protestants have perseBut let no Roman cuted their fellow men for their religion. For glory in uncovering the nakedness of our forefathers.
!
!

no one of them did persecute, who did not learn the cruel Besides, when lesson of persecution in the bosom of Rome. the Holy Bible very face of they persecuted, it was in the Protestants proportion as have in and their creed, and just godliness, farther and and advanced in their march of truth
farther from

Rome,

all

the disposition to persecute has va-

nished utterly away.

But it is quite otlierwise with Romanism. It is a necessary and essential part of its creed and its practice, to use It violence against those who differ from it in religion. it in avows its boldly this. It of makes no concealment It has unblushingly taught and practised the dogma, creed. " It even no faith is to be kept with heretics^ that all those declares It reason! from proofs proceeds to draw X*

J4

INTRODUCTION.

who

differ from ft, to be heretics; and heretics are pro>nounccd by the court of Rome, to be the worst of murderersf Because they murder men's souls by leading them away from Holy Mother, Rome. Hence " they ought, as other murderers and mankillers, to be put to death." Every body knows that this doctrine is avowedly taught in the notes of the Roman version, called " The Rhemish New Testament." I simply refer to the notes on Matt. xiii. 29 Luke ix. .55 ; Heb. X. 29 Rev. xvii. 6. In all these notes this is the uniform dogma inculcated, namely, that all heretics^ wherever Holy Mother has the power, are to he " deprived of
; ;

their goods, exiled, or executed.''^

Their sainted worthies teach the same. For instance, Thomas Aquinas lays this truly Roman Catholic doc" Hseretici possent, &c. Heretics may not only be trine excommunicated, hut justly killed.'' Thom. Aq. ii. 11, and iii. 58. And Bellarmine in Lib. iii. cap. 21, De Laicis, sustains a long argument in defence of " the time-honoured custom" of putting heretics to death. He pronounces it a necessary duty to do so. He fetches his zealous arguments from civil law, from canon law, from Scripturey from the fathers, and from reason! I beg the attention of our philo* sophical and political fellow-citizens to this last form of Romish argument. " It is a benefit," says he, " to the heretic himself to be sent out of the world as soon as possible. For the longer he lives, the worse he becomes and if he be thus sent off, his hell will he so much lighter!!!''''^
St.
, ;

It is

a considerate scheme of mercy, then, which lights up the fires of Smilhfield; which digs the dungeons of the merciful inquisition.
It
is

the

mercy of considerate
all

priests

which invents the rack, and superintends

istic

the character-

operations of every appalling death form in the auto Verily, such " tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."

DA FE

In view of all this, we would unite our voice earnestly with that of our brother Berg, in making an earnest appeal to every Christian in our land. Dear brethren, materials

* Those who may not have access to Bellarmine, or to Aquinas, can see numerous quotations collected in our
the

St.

T.

Roman

Catholic

Controversy.

New

York,

Letters in second edition,

p. 343, &c.

INTRODUCTION.

15

are here laid before you to show you that, in reality, every essential doctrine of the gospel has been corrupted by this To the one supreme object Antichristian power of Rome.

of worship, they have added hosts of

gods.

idols

They

profess to believe that the

and new-made humble Mary is the

Mother of God; and actually lays her imperial commands

on him!!! The church of God they have converted into a Instead of a gospel ministry, they have temple of idolatry. Instead of revived the office of priests, who offer sacrifices. our New Testament ahar, Christ, on whom all Christians offer up their spiritual sacrifices of prayer, praise, and new Instead of obedience, they have reared an altar of idols. resting their hopes on the atoning blood of our Redeemer, who has "bought the church with his own blood," they have caused the mass to be repeated weekly as a sacrifice Instead of justificafor the sins o[ the quick and the dead! tion through our Redeemer's atonement, through faith, withthey dispense pardons by the priest, out works of merit and cleansing by holy water, by priestly absolution, and the and thus they reject the Holy Ghost in fire of purgatory have exhibited to you a his blessed work of grace. full specimen of the blasphemies in their avowed worship Can you persuade yourselves that those who do, of Mary. in this enlightened age, advance such revolting doctrines^ and practice such gross idolatry, and make saints of those who taught them such impieties, do really either know or
; ;

We

believe in the

one living and true God?

Do any

of the

heathens profess to change their " 77JoZa," or small round There is cakes into their divinity, and then eat him up!!! nothing in ancient or in modern paganism that can surpass It is not to be this in respect of impiety and degradation they have object that lost the true wondered at of divine It is no wonder they have blotted from their worship With them there is creed all the essentials of the gospel heart. this fiinaticism. the They call no regeneration of With free them no grace. every thing With them there is holy water to the mass and extreme unctionf is sold^ from With them our Redeemer is not the only and all-sufficient As his atonement is displaced by the mass, so intercessor. his advocacy is transferred into the hands of Mary and a
!

Read, then, the following pages look upon the wide field of moral and of our brother Berg,
host of canonized saints
!

J6

INTRODUCTION.

desolation around you, from which is sent forth the heartrending cry of perishing souls The Roman Catholic church exhibits a truly missionary ground, urgently demanding our speedy and earnest interposition. Let us hasten to combine our efforts to convert to the Lord Jesus Christ, the slaves of Romanism and priest-craft. Their souls are as precious as ours; and can you name another darker or a more bewildered people than they are? The Roman church is "the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols." Jcrem. iv. 38. make our appeal also to every patriotic, political man in our republic. This, we beg you to remember, is not merely a religious controversy. We have been summoned to the defence of our free institutions against an invading the household troops of the Roman despot, and the foe, emissaries of the Holy Alliance. There is no mistake on We have here shown you out of their own this point.
!

We

unites church and state in namely, tyranny over the conscience, and tyranny over the bodies of men And hence, just in proportion as these bigoted and fiery religionists gain ascendancy among us, they march on vigorously to the overthrow of our fair Republic! I will give you two extracts to show you that the Holy Alliance are giving an impulse and direction to the movements of the colonies of Jesuit priests and laymen poured in upon us. And first, I must remind you that the leading member of the Holy Alliance is the patron, he and his prime minister Metternich, of the Leopoldine Missionary Institute of Vienna, who send in these emissaries upon us. The ^rst extract is from Lord Brougham, whom you all know to be a shrewd observer of the movements of the enemies of liberty. In a letter to Dr. Parr, published in the South Carolina Observer in 1824, he says: " Whether the Holy Alliance will be mad enough to persist, remains yet to be seen. I believe, however, that they are in a dilemma. For, if they remain passive spectators of the complete establishment of democracy all over the new world, the despotic thrones of the old world will be held

creed, that

Romanism always
;

the very worst of tyrannies

by a somewhat

My

frail tenure!" second extract speaks out

still

more

clearly.

It is

from the famous Schlegel, the creature and tool of Metternich, and the emperor. In vol. ii. sect. 17, on History,

INTRODUCTION.
p.
:

j^

286, he thus breaks out against our Republic " The real nursery of all these destructive principles, the revolutionary school of France, and the rest of Europe, has been North From that land has the evil spread over America. many other lands, either by natural contagion, or by arbiBy force of arms they well know trary communication." they can never extinguish the light, nor stop the progress of liberty, the child of the glorious Reformation-! If ever our liberties can be destroyed, it is to be done by the vigorous combination and labours of the Jesuits. The memorable words of General Lafayette I repeat from one who heard him utter them: "If ever the liberty of your Republic of America be destroyed, it will be done by the Roman priests,; These, the servants of the Holy so beware of themP'' Alliance are accordingly in full operation over Britain and the United States, doing their master's foul and treasonable work. It is, therefore, your dufy, as public guardians, to take good heed, and see that the Republic receive no damage from these crafty enemies Christians and brethren in the holy ministry, we bring our urgent appeal to you also as we urge on your attention these instructions and solemn warninors of our faithful broWe call on you to watch the movements ther, Mr. Berg. of the foreign Jesuits among us, who have convulsed all Europe in former times, and are now again at the same They are pursuing their systems of conspiracy and game subjugation by every possible means, and every variety of ways. With foreign funds they erect, in all prominent points, splendid edifices, and they invite and tempt our youth to witness and unite in their pompous and imposing superstitions. They throw a fjilse veil over their monstrous system by means of their English books and feigned discourses. Like Milton's demon, they labour too successfully '* to make They are making a the worse appear the better cause 1" effort to obtain in their own hands, and persevering desperate Protestant sons and daughters, espeof our education the wealthy of our felthe more and influential those of cially to obtain, have originated conspiracy They a low-citizens. Public School large funds out our of possible arts, by all sectarian and their corrupting own support to treasury, And as a religious body, they move in a mass in schools to support those who will lavisih on them tha ready politics,
!

28

INTRODUCTION.

highest pecuniary favours.* At the same time, they affect the most extraordinary liberality, and make very plausible appeals to Protestant high-mindedness, and their usual unstinted charity.

Priests

and lay-brothers are sent

forth all

over the land, to do their master's work in any form or way ; They attempt to particularly as teachers of our youth/
but more generally to overawe the press. gravdy encourage the fears of weak and timorous
bribe,

They
Protest-

to the property, the churches,

is really to be apprehended and the persons of those who venture out boldly to oppose papists And they flatter and caress the timorous and half Protestants in the community in their attempts to persuade us to let papists alone, and suffer them quietly to pursue their conspiracy, unmolested, In view of all against our liberties, and our holy religion this, we beseech every man of you to come out as honestly, as faithfully, as gallantly as our beloved brother, Mr. Berg, has done, in the pulpit, and by the press. Let all scholars and lovers of science, also, unite with us in opposing the Roman sect, which has proved itself the avowed enemy of popular education ; and which, of course, keeps its votaries in utter darkness. Look at their population in Mexico, South America, and Spain. Alas! they are deplorably ignorant, and covered with the darkness of moral death. Hasten to oppose the progress of this sect in our land, which attempts to draw our youth into their schools and colleges, which are at least a century behind our ProOne fair proof is testant seminaries in point of literature. before you. Look into their Pope's Books, Prohibitory, and ExpURGATORY. All our principal classics in English, All our best hisare in the list of books utterly prohibited tories our best poets, as Milton; our best philosophical books, as Locke, Paley, Dugald Stewart, are not allowed What, then, must to be opened, far less read, by papists. be the state of education among them? They have no adequate substitutes for our standard works. Let every lover of the Holy Bible, who delights in a

ants, that very serious danger

* This was avowed in a speech, lately, at a meeting- of the clerimembers and laymen of the Roman Catholic church when forming th ir scheme to obtain public funds from the New York City Corporation for their schools.
cal

INTRODUCTION.

19

pure version, and in its universal diffusion among the peocome up promptly to our aid, in stemming the torrent of Romanism. The Pope has again and again denounced
ple,

Bible societies ; particularly Pope Leo XII., and the present " By their perverse interpretations," Pope, Gregory XVI. " XII., they Bible societies) turn the gospel of Leo (the says Christ into a human gospel ; or, what is worse, into the gos!"* pel of the devil And allow me to give you specimens
! !

Genes, iii. 15 " I will put enof the versions they use. mity between thee and the woman and thy seed and her seed she (the Virgin Mary) shall crush thy head, and thou "Do penance, shall lie in wait for her heel." Matt. iii. 2 and believe the gospel." Luke xiii. 3, 5 " Unless you do Acts xiii. 22 " Do penance penance, ye shall all perish." Ephes v. 31, 32, speaking of for this thy wickedness." marriage, this version says: "This is a great sacrament; Heb. xi. 21, but I speak in Christ, and in the church." this text they translate so as to afford divine authority for " By faith Jacob, when dying, the use of images, thus and worshiped the fop blessed each of the sons of Joseph of his rod/ / P^ See The Doway Bible ; New York edit, of 1836. I shall give you a specimen, also, from the Bordeaux edition of the New Testament, by the divines of the Louvaine. "As the apostles offered the sacrament of Acts xiii. 2 the mass and fasted, &c." 1 Cor. iii. 15: " Me shall be And that text in saved, yet as by the fire of purgatory." 1 Tim. iv. 3, " Forbidding to marry," they render thus "Condemning the sacrament of mnrriage."f Let your hearts be stirred up against this Antichrist, by zeal for the Lord of Hosts; and sustain with fresh vigour the cause of the Bible
:

society.

To our Roman Catholic fellow men, we would present It can be neither our urgent and most respectful appeal. your interest, nor ours, to be deceived. You must break You have immortal souls to the chains thrown over you. be saved or lost. By the love of God, and the bowels of mercy in Christ Jesus, we implore you to read, study, pray,
See his "Encyclical Letter" of 1824, pp. 16, 5457, Cramp's Text Book of Popery, p. 60, note. f Cramp's Text Book of Popery gives more specimens, pp. 6668.

20
think for yourselves.

INTRODUCTION.

What

right has a sinful, selfish,

it

and

avaricious man, called a priest, to lord

over your soul and

conscience
potism,

this

the courage to shake ofT this cruel dessystem of espionage, this system of plun-

Have

dering you, your wife, and your children.

Look

into

your

own Doway

Bible.

There you see

this

'*

Man

of Sin," and

devouring " Beast," plainly predicted, and fully described. Open your eyes, we beseech you, to the word of God. Your Creator never can deceive you your priest for ever Christ offers you grace, and salvation " withdeceives you and without price." money All that the priest can give out you, is sold for his own idol of money. He robs you of property. His priestcraft will, your alas! rob you of your Oh for Jesus Christ's sake, " turn ye, turn ye, why souls. " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will you die?"
:
1

Read the following pages of our brother attention, and a candid heart, lying frankly open with Berg The conviction. priest, like the horse-leech, is ever cryto give; 'Give, your money; I demand your money, ing
shall be saved."

But this masses; my prayers!' of minister Christ asks none of your money. beloved He seeks not yours, but you, for your everlasting salvation. As often as Friday returns, and the priest ^^ prohibits cerfor

my

blessings;

my

tain meafSj'^ see ye not the very man, and the very system of Antichrist, as foretold by St. Paul ? As often as you look upon a priest, whom the Pope forbids to " marry " do

you

not see the slave of the "

Man

of Sin," as foretold by

St. Paul,

who was
plain

to

forbid

his priests to

marry

Hear

and loud voice of God to you. Listen, and pious instructions which our brother sober, the then, to you all, while he offers to you Christ, the only brings to and with him all his blessings, as free as the Redeemer, " Seek ye the Lord, while he may be breathe air you ye upon him, while he is near." found ; call To the American youth we would bring our Finally most urgent appeal on behalf of this common cause of our country and our God. You are, young gentlemen, to be, in due time, the active citizens, legislators, magistrates, and

ye not

this

ministers of Christ
its

in this

republic.

Your country's

destiny,

Show weal and its wo, are soon to be in your hands. yourselves to be the worthy, the gallant, and devout sons of Take good heed, we implore your venerable forefathers
!

INTRODUCTION.

21

you, also, that neither our holy religion, nor our free republic, sustain any damage, from these fierce, and unprincipled colonies of Jesuits, priests, nuns, and laymen, who are charged with the execution of the revolutionary plots of Rome, and the Holy Alliance. Be not deceived with the

cry of the ignorant and designing, that this is merely a reWe are invaded secretly ligious controversy, and no more. fanatical troops of a great foreign power, and slyly by the Our beunder mask the of religion. which approaches us off its religion here, stript the vizor of loved brother has, that it it may be its true colours. Yet face, and shown it in exposing its idoassaults be made, in cares not how many
latry,
its

superstition,

and

its

fierce bigotry

and fanaticism

provided our " holy Protestants," and godless politicians, will only favour it with their forbearance, and quietly allow it to do the work effectually, of their foreign master, in undermining, by all possible means, our fair and flourishing The present watch-word of Rome is, " Be still, republic. but work harder than ever!" implore you to bestow your careful attention on the movements of this fatal enemy. Make yourselves masters Although self-styled of its plans, its policy, and its aims. " a religious,^'' it is a mere human policy, foreign in its origin ; foreign in its support ; importing foreign vassals ; and sendincr a most destructive foreign influence over our

We

land.

Its

Pope and

priests

are crafty politicians

mere

of the world, and reckless men of pleasure. It is, as a system, in the hands of a foreign enemy of our country, precisely what the Koran is in the hands of the Grand Turk, and his muftis. It is a tremendous weapon, wielded against peace and order the hilt of which is at Rome It is as inIts spiritual tolerant in politics, as in its unique creed. head claims the right to tax the subjects and citizens of other nations. It interferes with the internal regulations of governments, and the affairs of every country. As " vicar of the Pope claims power over all civil maGod upon earth," gistrates. It has dethroned chief magistrates: dissolved civil governments: suspended commerce: annulled civil laws: and, to gratify its lust of gold, and its unbounded ambition; It has, it has thrown whole nations into utter confusion for centuries, waged a war of extermination against the

men

RIGHTS OF 2

MAN

THE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE

AND THE

22

INTRODUCTION.
!

FREKDOM OF THE PRESS

It

has aimed, for ages,

at uni-

versal dominion over the bodies, property, and souls of

men!

accomplish these ends, it lius spared no one and it spares not the holiest men, nor holiest things. To accomplish its diabolical ends, it has employed dungeons and chains; and racks; and gibbets; and fire; and sword!! The history of Europe, my honoured young friends, and fellow-citizens, is the continuous demonstration of these ter" I speak as unto wise men judge ye what I rific facts say."
to
; ; ! ;

And

And be assured, young men of America, that if ever, by your culpable negligence, and want of zeal, these sons of Belial should gain the ascendancy, and power, in our land, which they aim at, backed, as they are, by Rome, and the Holy Alliance, they will re-enact all the bloody tragedies of Roman Catholic Europe which will make the ears of every American citizen to tingle! Under Almighty God, the Protectx)R of our country, it is in your power, young men of America, to cause this enemy's "arm to be clean dried up, and his right eye to be utterly darkened !" And our beloved brother, Mr. Berg, and all of us, I trust, will go with you, shoulder to shoulder, with one heart, and one cheering war-shout, under the banner of the Captain of Salvation, in achieving the glorious victory And our watchword, as we advance in the defensive war, as well as
;
!

offensive,

is,

Christ's cause
!

and crown; God, and our

country's salvation

W.

C.

Brownlee.

New

York, Sept.

3,

1840.

PREFACE.
Whenever
a book that wears the aspect of controversy,
is

added to the multitude of volumes that are daily issuing from the
press, the public

may

reasonably ask the cause of this addition.

It is not the writer's intention to apologize for the publication

of these lectures.

When

they were delivered,

it

was not

origi;

nally his purpose to let

them assume a permanent form

left

but

they were demanded, and nearly one-half of an unusually large

edition

was engaged before the work had

the press.

I shall never apologize either to the people of

my own charge,
am
I afraid to

or to the public, for preaching and writing against popery; for

I

am

not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; neither

lift

up

the

my Man of

voice and to cry aloud against the abominations of

Sin

and

to rebuke, so far as

my

influence extends,

the impudence of Antichrist.

Many

Protestants have, of late,

to re-

by a singular and
while they
fully
all

false liberality,

accustomed themselves

gard the church of

Rome

as a part of the church of Christ,

is

and

profess to believe that the papal system

it

fear-

corrupt, they yet recognise

as belonging to the true

this concession

Catholic church.
justified, I

Upon what grounds

can be

do not know.

If the prophecies relative to the

Man

of Sin are literally fulfilled in the Romish apostacy, and no unprejudiced

man with the Bible before him will venture to deny it, then how can we give place for a single hour to those who teach What fellowship has Christ that Romanism is Christianity]

with Antichrist?
their union

What communion

has light with darkness)

If both reason and Scripture reply that they have none, and that
is

naturally and morally impossible, then

foi>3ver

how

dare

any man
ists

join

what God has

I

put asunder

For Roman-

themselves, I trust

cherish no other feelings than those

;

which every Christian man should harbour but for the system of popery, the "mystery of iniquity," "in all its deceivableness of unrighteousness," and in all the shades and grades of its

known and unknown

abominations,

do entertain the most

24
hearty abhorrence.
I

PREFACE.
believe
it

to

be the Arch-deceiver of pre-

cious souls, and "the Master-piece of Satan."

The Roman
two

reader of the following pages will understand that many Catholics were present at the delivery of these lectures;
testify that,

and the writer can and docs cheerfully

exceptions, the strictest

with one or

decorum was uniformly observed

threats of

by them.

There were muttered

vengeance

it is

true,

but as they proceeded invariably from the " lewd fellows of the baser sort," it would be unjust to impute to respectable Romanists the sins

of iheir weaker brethren.

Whilst

it

was no

part of
it

my

design in these lectures to

consistent with

wound

the feelings of any man,

was not

my

purpose,

I have spoken and written what I conscientiously believe to be true, and am prepared to review my book at the bar of God. For the arguments employed, I alone am responsible; for the

ither through fear or favour, to conceal the truth.

facts

adduced as

illustrations of principles,

have uniformly
source
in-

given
than

my authority when obtained my own observation; nor have

anonymous

from any other

I,

except in a single

stance, quoted from an

case,

writer, and in this isolated

dorser.

the author presents a well-known and respectable enThe doctrines of Romanists I have derived in every

instance /rom their

own

bonks, and have stated their

I have,

own

argu-

ments as

fully

and

fairly as I could.
I

in every case,

g'iven the best

argument

could find in their authorized books,

;

in favour of their peculiar tenets

but

if in

any matter

have

through inadvertence been mistaken,

to rectify

it

will aflx)rd

me

pleasure

my

error.*

That the Lord may

bless his

to every sentiment in this

own testimony, and set his seal book which accords with his holy will,
to the heart of

and apply his word with power

quirer after truth,
is

every sincere

in-

the sincere prayer of

THE AUTHOR.
Philad, Sept.
The work which
1,

1840.

I ha^-e

-Gr7s"c J,,^*^^^'''

followed as a text-book of Romanism, is called the Doctrine;" to this I refer under the abbreviation of

LECTURES ON ROMANISM.
INFALLIBILITY,
2
Cor.
i.

24.

* Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of vour joy for by faith ye stand."
;

One

of the dearest privileges of a freeman,

is

the right of

conscience.
its dictates, is
;

The

liberty

of worshipping

God

according to

one of the choicest blessings of genuine freedom for the absence of this inherent right, no other priviThe government which denies it to its leges can atone. subjects is a despotism, and the people who submit to be
deprived of liberty of conscience are slaves, whether their No man has a right consent be voluntary or constrained.
to give

away

this birth-right;

much

less

to

take

it

away
pro-

from another.

The word of God acknowledges no

mulf^ating the knowledge

other

mode of

and worship of Jehovah, than

It

moral means.
tolerates

It

uniformly repudiates physical force.

no carnal weapons
committed

in the prosecution of the spiritual

is

warfare, for the kingdom of Christ

All

not of this world.

power

is

to the Saviour.

He sways

a sceptre

obedient to of universal dominion; heaven and earth are of his free-agency him, and yet he never interferes with the
intellicrent creation.

nished in his word.

He sets before them the motives furHe draws arguments from time and

20
from eternity
;

INFALLIBILITY.

from heaven, earth and

hell

but he always

respects the moral constitution

which

his
It is

own hand
true,

first

conferred upon his rational creatures.

mere moral

suasion without the quickening power of the Holy Spirit

would never regenerate the soul

the Spirit of

but the influence which

God

exerts

is

always moral, and never physicaL

The whole
It is

genius of Christianity, therefore, acknowledges

the right of free choice.

the boast of our country and
civil

the brightest orna-

ment of our
to

institutions, that

every

man

has liberty

worship

God
it

according to the dictates of

is

liis

own

con-

science.

But

right that

we

should give with meekis

ness and fear, a reason of the hope that

in

us to every

man

that asks

it

and
is

if

it

is

just that

reason

to others,

it

certainly not unjust that

we should give a we should

ask one of them.

Hence

the privilege of free discussion

follows as an inference from liberty of conscience.

The

day

is

over, I trust,

those

who

differ

when an examination of the tenets of from us so widely, who are so diametriheart

I

cally opposite to us as Romanists are, can be construed as

" persecution."

From my

pity the

man who

cries
;

out " persecution" so soon as his principles are investigated

and

pity the cause that needs such

an advocate.

We
I

take

no man's
his creed.
I can,)

rights from him,

If
I

when we

inquire into and expose

can show, (and by the help of God,

think

that the

Romish church makes unwarrantable and

I

arrogant pretensions,

do not trench upon the rights of

my
but

Roman

Catholic friends one single hair's breadth.

to their opinion
;

They
;

have a right

have a right
all

to

mine

as truth should be the object of

our investigations,

we
evi-

ought carefully and candidly

to

weigh every grain of

dence for or against our peculiar tenets. Besides, the cry of " persecution" will come with a very poor grace from

" Holy Mother," when

it

is

notorious that her churches are

INFALLIBILITY.
forever

27

ringing

with

denunciations

of Protestants, those
!

high-handed rebels against her authority

My

brethren,

it is

a sense of duty, and not inclination that

call

has induced

me
I

to

your attention
in

to

the subject of
if

Romanism.
of

have no pleasure

controversy, and

the

niatters in dispute

between the Protestant church and that

Rome
T

involved no fundamental difference in opinion and

practice,

should never have opened

my

lips to

speak about

them.

But when we have reason

to believe that the

more

odious features in the system of popery are carefully concealed

by

its

advocates,

it

becomes the duty of Protestant

ministers to cry aloud.

church, and they owe

it

They owe it to God and to their to souls who may be on the verge of
to lift

embracing a pernicious delusion,

trumpet]
It

up their voice like a

has been the favourite policy of popish priests

as a harmless thing, and
if

to represent

Romanism

they ever

succeed in making
tremble for the

this

impression general,
of our country.
civil
It

we may well
is

liberties

a startling

truth that popery and

flourish

and
is

religious

liberty
!

cannot
voice

on the same

soil

popery

death

to both

The

of a thousand years' history attests the the Pope has ruled, despotism has been
sent experience confirms
to
it.

fact, that

wherever
pre-

at

home; and

can challenge the whole world

the Pope claims as

show me an acre of the ground which

and which
is

his,

ruled

by

his influence, that does not

groan

tinder his cruel

yoke!

Is

Romanism

a harmless thing]

Look
abide

at

Spain and Portugal, at

let

Italy, or

Cuba, or South

America, and then

any honest man

reply,
it

and

will

by

his verdict!

Now, remember,
She claims
to

is

the stand-

ins boast of the Romish church, that she

is

always and

everywhere the same.

cannot err
!

be

infallible.

She

Who

does not see that consistency with her

own

principles compels
to

her to yoke the liberties of this

it ?

country

her car just so soon as she can do

The

in-

*
28
fallible

INFALLIBILITY.

church that gloried

quisition in

in the active zeal of the holy inburning hundreds of thousands of heretics, would

of course rejoice could she grace an Auto da Fe to-morrow

with a few hundred Protestant nninisters.

her persecuting principles

She openly avows

in

in

her standard works, and

the sanguinary decrees of her councils, which are not only

unrepealed, but irrevocable.

The
29,
is

annotation in the Rheas follows

mish Testament on Matt.

xiii.

"The
that
it

good must

tolerate the evil,

when

it

is

so stroDfy

cannot be redressed without danger and disturbance

to

of the whole church, and commit the matter

God's judg-

ment

in the latter day.

Otherwise where

ill

men, be they
they

heretics or other malefactors,

may

be punished or suppressed
;

without disturbance and hazard of the good

may and

ought by public authority, either

spiritual or temporal, to

be chastised or executed."*
I

do not mean
in

to

say that all the members of the Romish

church

America, or that the great body of them are the

liberty.
this
I

enemies of civil

know

that sonie of our best citi;

zens are members of

persuasion

but

do say that the

system of popery necessarily ends

its real

in

despotism whenever

principles are developed

this

and

fairly carried out.

I

But
it

waive

matter for the present, as

intend to resume

hereafter.

How
church.

different is the spirit

of Paul from that of the popish

The

apostle says in the text, "

faith," dec. or,

Not

that

minion over your

" not because

we have dowe lord it over

you through the

heritage."

faith."

The apostle did

not " lord it over God's

to

The faith

of the disciples was

be advanced only
chastisement

by exhortations and admonitions, and

if fatherly

was

to

be administered,

it

might be done even by the apostles

only in accordance with the suggestions of the Holy Spirit,

Rheui. Test., p. 44.

New

York.

1834k

1NFALL1BILTT\^

29
But the church

and not
of

at their discretion.

(1 Cor. xii. 9.)

Rome

claims absolute dominion over the faith of the

whole world.

By

asserting her infallibility in matters of

all

doctrine and practice, she endorses

the abuses

and abomi-

nations which have at any time prevailed under her sanction.

Though many of her own

her supremacy.
infallibility,

writers

have condemned them,

yet she cannot do so without subverting the foundations of

So

far
all

from relinquishing the claim

as heretics

to

she curses

who

question

it.

The
ly

prerogative of entire freedom from error,

Papists, in behalf of

is

openIn

arrogated by

their church.

the "

Grounds of Catholic Doctrine," published with the

approbation of the Authorities of the Romish Church, amongst sundry " strong reasons," and strange perversions

of Scripture, advanced in support of

Roman

infallibility,

we

find the following query, v/hich I quote in order to prove

is

that this high prerogative

really claimed.

"How then could

it

be possible that the whole body of these

pastors and teachers of the church, who,

by

virtue of these

promises, were to be for ever guided into

all truth,

by the

Spirit

of Truth, should, at any time,

faith ?"*

fall

from the truth by errors

refer,
still

in

The promises

to

which these words

are those

exceeding great and precious ones, which are

us and to our children, and to as

made "

to

many

as the
to

Lord our

God

shall call;" but

which never were made

" the whole

body" of pastors and teachers of any persuasion, but only

to those,

who

individually seek the precious influences of

the Spirit

by humble, persevering prayer.

is

No man

can

truly say, that he

filled

with the Spirit merely because

he

is

a minister of Christ,

ordained by a

much less, because he has been Romish Bishop. The residue of the Spirit is

with the Lord Jesus Christ, and every man, and every mi-

Grds. of C. D., p. 17.

3*

80
nister, will receive the

INFALLIBILITY,

Holy

Spirit in his sanctifying

I

power,

only

in

answer

to prayer.

shall

not stop to prove that

the whole body of the Ronnish priesthood has not always

been composed of the holiest of men.

Papists must prove

if

that there never have been wicked priests,

to believe that the

they wish us

whole body of

their pastors

and teachers

have been so
der
for
it

fully

endowed with

the

Holy

Spirit as to ren-

impossible that they should err in matters of faith;

Protestants always judge of the tree

we

by

its fruits

we require our brethren to show us their faith by The fallacy of the argunricnt contained in the
D.
is

their

works.

Grds. of C.

easily exposed

by a simple statement of
this

facts.
infallibility,

Unfortunately for the validity of

there
is

claim to

a wide discrepancy of opinion relative to the pre-

cise quarter in
tribute with

which

it is
;

to

be found.

Some
it

lodge this atthe councils

the

Pope

others ascribe

to
;

others to the Pope and councils combined

it is

and others say

to

be found in the church in her diffusive capacity.

I will

prove that

infallibility

belongs neither

to the

Pope,
to the

nor to the councils, nor to the

Pope and councils, nor

church
1.

in

her diffusive capacity.

begin with his Holiness.

We will
;

The

Jesuits stoutly
in

upheld the doctrine of the Pope's

infallibility,

former

days

what they now think

;

in relation to the question, is

I

not so easily determined

believe they are not agreed

among

themselves.
I.,

Pope Gregory
century, has
left

who

lived in the latter part

the following language on record

of the sixth " I con:

fidently affirm, that

whosoever
Bishop,

calls himself, or
is

wishes to

be called,
christ."*

Universal

the forerunner of AntiIf so, the

Was

Gregory

infallible?

Pope

is

the

forerunner of Antichrist.

See Gregory's Epis. Bk.

vi.

Letter 30.

INFALLIBILITY.

31
that
it

Pope Gelasius declared, most solemnly,

lege to administer the

was

sacri-

communion

in

only one kind

to give

the bread to the laity, and withhold the cup.

infallible
?

Was

Gelasius

If so, the

Church of Rome

is

guilty of sacri-

lege.

We
rival

learn from history, that, at one time, there were three

Popes,

all

contending earnestly

for

Peter's chair

Were

they

all infallible?

And
at

if not,

which of them was?

Benedict XIII., Gregory XII., and Alexander V., of happy

memory, were each of them,

one and the same time, the

their

supreme head of the church, and hurled

anathemas

at

one another, certainly not in apostolic style, inasmuch as Paul commands Christians " to bless and curse not." Were
these three Popes
all

infallible

If so, they

were

all

ac-

cursed.

Moreover, they
nals,

all

consecrated bishops and created cardi-

and exercised

their papal

and

ecclesiastical functions.

Gregory

constituted Gabriel Condolinero a cardinal.

This

man

afterwards became Pope, and assumed the

name of

Eugenius IV.

Our

brethren often boast of their apostolic

is

succession; but the line

there
is

wretchedly entangled here, and

this

no other way of unravelling

mystery of

ini-

quity, but Alexander's short

and easy method with the Gor-

dian knot. Bui, alas

this cuts the Pope's infallibility in twain,

and makes sad desolation in " the apostolic

sion."

line

of succes-

For the ordinations of these three

thousands,

rival

Popes were

all valid,

de facto, and have, since their day, multiplied into

many

who have

derived episcopacy and priest-

hood, from at least two corrupt fountains.

There

is

not a
is

bishop or priest in Italy or France, or in America, that

infallibly sure that there is

no flaw
'

in his title.*

But

this is

For a detailed account of the

scuffles"
I.

between the three

Popes, see Hist, of Popery, 4to. Vol.

1736.

pp. 182 185. London. Pabstthums, Also, Spittler's Geschichte des p. 193. Hei-

delberg, 1826.

32

INFALLIBILITY.
in the infallible

by no means the only schism

fourteenth century there

church. In the

was a

fierce contest

between popes

and anti-popes,

for fifty years.

Boniface VIII., of blessed

bull,

memory,
an

in

his

"

Unam

Sanctam," a famous

which

was revoked by Clemens V., (another

it

infallible,)

made

article

of

faith,

necessary to salvation, that the tempois

ral

sovereignty of the Popes

following
is

above that of the kings.

The

given, as a part of the reasoning by which

this article

of

faith
:

was proved. " In

(In the beginning
It is
is

principio deus creavit

coelum

et

terram

God

created the hea-

vens and the earth.)

ginnings
world.
;

not

in principiis,'' in the be-

therefore, there
said,
*

but one authority to govern the

:'

St. Peter

Here are two swords

is,

therefore

the Pope, his successor, has two swords, that

two powers.

At the time of the deluge, there was but one ark, and one Noah, therefore, there is but one church, and one supreme
head
says
in the world.
St.

The powers
it

that be are ordained of

God,

Paul

therefore the temporal

power

is

subjected to

the spiritual powers, that

der.
It

may
ill
;

be ordained, or put in or-

belongs to the spiritual power to judge whether the

therefore
it

temporal power does well or

can suspend
to

and transfer
the
fore the

it.

Kings as well as subjects are subjected

;

power of

chiefs

for they belong to the flock.

There-

Pope can depose them."

Such

is

the reasoning,

which pope Boniface VIII. published as

the bull "

pontifical oracles in

Unam SanctamV^
infallibility

Popish
Galileo.

was

fairly

committed

in the case

of

Pope Urban and

"

his learned inquisitors

condemned

the philosophy of the immortal astronomer in the following

words.

1.

The

proposition that the sun

is

the centre of

* Court of

Rome,

p. 305.

Philad.

J.

Whetham. 1837.

This

work

is

written by a

Roman

Catholic, a firm believer in the

spiritual

supremacy of the Pope.

INFALLIBILITY.
the world, and

33
is

immoveable from

its

place,

absurd, philo-

sophically false, and formally heretical, because expressly

contrary
the earth
that
it

to the
is

Holy

Scriptures.

2.

The

proposition that

not the centre of the world, nor immoveable, but

is

moves, and also has a diurnal motion,

also absurd,

philosophically false, and, theologically, considered, at least

erroneous

in faith."

Poor Galileo was constrained

to

choose

between a recantation of his theory, or martyrdom

principles of astronomy.

to the first

He

chose the former as the less

his

of two
but,

evils,

and very gravely recanted upon

knees

upon

rising up,

he whispered to one of his friends,

"

The earth moves yet though !" The following summary of the

characters of different
to

Popes, as described in history,

may suffice
infallible.

show

that his

Holiness has not always been

Boniface VIII., Calixtus
IX.,

III.,

John

X^J^III.;^

and Boniface

were notoriously covetous.

III.,

Benut Xfl., Adrian IV.,

III.,

Celestine

Innocent IV., Alexander

Gregory
II.,

XIII.,

Clement V., VI., and VII., Boniface VIII., Paul

XXIII., and

John

many

others,

were proud as Lucifer.

Indeed,

who was
and

not that ever wore the triple

crown?

Silvester III.,

all his

successors, for nine or ten Popes together, were

professed conjurors.

Those, who were abominably lewd

too

and

licentious,

are

numerous
III.,

to

mention.

Famous

cheats were

Alexander

Boniface VIII., Celestine V.,

and Benedict X.
John

Murderers were John XII., Gregory V.,

III.,

XIII., Boniface VII., Benedict IX., Innocent

&c.

Many

Popes were fomentors of discord

lives.

and jealousies,

which cost thousands of

Several Popes have been

schismatics; two, and even three rivals having contended

for the

supreme authority
years

at once.

These schisms varied

in

duration, from two, six, seven, thirteen,

to thirty. nine
;

sixteen, and twenty

and, during these periods, their Holi-

nesses cursed each other, and fought against each other; so

34
that

INFALLIBILITY.
multitudes

were

sacrificed

to

their

cruel

ambition.
ac-

These may appear hard sayings, but those who are

quainted with history,
2.

know that they are but too true. Where then shall we find this sacred deposit, which has been left in the care of the Church of Rome ? Some Romanists point us to the councils, and tell us we shall find it there. The council of Basil, I would premise, expressly decreed,
that,
cils

"if once the pernicious error were admitted that coun-

may

err, the

whole Catholic
for
I

faith

would

totter."

Let

us bear

this in

mind,

think

we

shall soon see, not only

that councils

may

err, but that, themselves being witnesses,

I

they have made very gross mistakes.

that

cannot discover

any accredited author

in the

Romish church has ever

pretended that the councils were composed of

men who

could not possibly err in their individual and private capacity.

I

confess

cannot see

how one

infallible
:

is

to

be

constituted out of five hundred fallibles

and

bless

God,

that

my

salvation does not depend upon

mystery.

But,

now

for the facts.

my explaining this Roman Catholic writers

reckon eighteen oecumenical or general councils, though

they are not themselves agreed as to the exact number.

volume might be written on the contradictions and

pancies between them;

discre-

some condemning what

its

others ap-

prove

one council anathematizing

its

predecessor, and in
that even suppos-

turn anathematized by

successor.

So

ing the

first

oecumenical council, the Council of Nice, in

infallible,
it

325,

to

have been
to,

would puzzle cardinal Bellar-

mine himself
1545.

determine, where this prerogative

last

was

to

be found by the time that the

in

council convened at Trent,

Not
well

to

weary you by a

prolix detail of the contradictory

I

decrees of these councils,

will just appeal to the following

known

historical facts.

INPALLIBILITV.
It is

35

universally acknowledged that the Council of Elvira

decided against the worship of images in the early part of

the fourth century.

This council

strictly enjoined, that nei-

ther paintings nor images, representing the person

whom

we

adore, should be introduced into churches.

Notwith-

standing this interdict, images continued to be introduced.

In the year

754 a council

at

Constantinople formally con;

demned and forbade

which met
in

the practice

yet this very council

was
in

declared to be illegitimate by the second Council of Nice,

787, and ordained the adoration of images

unequivocal language.

"I

confess, and agree, and receive,

Je-

and

salute,

and adore the unpolluted image of our Lord

!"

sus Christ,

our true God, and the holy image of the holy

Contrast this edict with
great)

mother of God
"

the decree of

Pope Gregory the

200 years before;

licet

in

which he says,
imagines

Omne manufactum

adorari non

Adorari
By
all

omnibus modis, veia"

"

It

is

not lawful that

made

with hands should be worshipped.

any thing means for-

bid images to be worshipped."

The
to

decree authorizing im-

age-worship was not suffered

in the

remain undisputed, either

in

west or east.

It

was reversed by one council

814
;

794,

and again by another and

in

and, in 842,

it

was re-enacted,

so on, until the councils had completely

worn out

all

their claims to infallibility !*

3.
cil
is

The

next opinion

is,

that the
i.

Pope and General Couna General Council

in
it,

together are infaHible,

called

e.

When

by the Pope, when he presides

either in per*
its

son or by his legates, and

then they are
it

when he confirms

decrees,

infallible.

But, with preceding facts before us,

will be hard to understand

how

fallible

Pope, and a

fal-

lible

council,

can become

infallible

by

their union.
will not

Two
make

ciphers will not

make a

unit.

Two

wrongs

See Faber's

Difficulties of

Romanism,

pp. 41

43

3^
one
right.

INFALLIBILITY.
Besides,
if infallibility

depends upon the con-

junction and agreement of a Pope and General Council, the

Church of Rome cannot be always

in possession

of

it,

be-

cause she has not a General Council always in session*

Just so soon as the council breaks up, and parts

company

with the Pope,

objection, if

infallibility is at

an end.

But, waiving this

we

turn to history,

we

can show you decrees of

a General Council, confirmed and reversed by the same Pope; we find Popes confirming decrees acknowledged to bo
directly opposite to Scripture.

The

Council of Constance de-

creed. Pope Martin V. coinciding, that the laity should receive

the

communion

in
it

one kind only, and yet acknowledged that

in both kinds.

Christ instituted

The

Council of Trent,

confirmed by Pope Pius IV., decreed that service should be

performed

in the

Latin

(i. e.

contradiction to St. Paul,

who

an unknown) tongue, in direct asks, " Except ye utter by

the tongue, words easy to be understood,

how

shall

it

be

known what

is

spoken

For ye
is

shall speak into the air."

Now

do not believe that there

any passage
it

in the Bible,

or the Rhemish Testament, by which

can be

satisfactorily

shown
only

that Paul's opinion

was

to

be considered good authority

until Pius
;

IV. and the Council of Trent should decree to

and, therefore, as Paul certainly

the contrary

was

infalli-

ble in matters of doctrine,

and the Pope and council

differ

from the

apostle,

shall adhere to Paul's view, the bishops

to the contrary, notwithstanding.
is,

and doctors of Trent,

4.

Another opinion
;

that infallibility resides only in the

in

Church Universal

i.

e.

the whole body of the

Ro-

man

Catholic church, wherever diffused.

So

that,

although

neither the Pope nor councils, whether separately or con*

jointly,

may

be considered infallible, yet

when

their decrees

are acknowledged by the whole

then

Roman

church, they are

authority.

to be regarded as of indisputable

This

INFALLIBILITY.
opinion has enjoyed the favour of

37
the greatest

some of

and

most learned men of the Romish church.

If
all

that

is

asserted were simply that the Christian

it,

Church Universal, and every member of

matters absolutely necessary for salvation,
Protestants need object to the claim.

cannot err in

do not see that

Though, when we ad-

mit

this,

we do

so,

not because the individual

members of

the Christian church are infallible, but because our Saviour

has promised to maintain a church to the end of the world

and has declared, that the gates of

against
it;

hell shall

not prevail
that
is

and because those who err

in

any thing

essential to salvation,

by that very error, cease

to be

meminfalli-

bers of the church of Christ.

This, however, will not an-

swer the purposes of the Romanists.

bility,

They

claim

because, in their opinion,

it

is

absolutely necessary

that there should be

an unerring interpreter of Scripture, and

to

judge of controversies,
all

whom we may
I

have recourse

in Is
all

emergencies.

(This plea

shall consider presently.)

the universal church such an interpreter?

the

If

it is,

then

members of

the church of Christ, out of

all

kindreds,
in

and nations, and tongues, and people, must meet

conclave, whenever
is

solemn
practice

any new question of doctrine or

to be decided.

Do

not

tell

us they can delegate their

infallibility to representatives,

who may assemble

tried,

in

gene-

ral council.

That has been

then.

and the experiment has

been unsuccessful.
I

repeat

it

If infallibility

is

the prerogative of the before

Roman Church,

in its diffusive capacity,

any

deci-

sion relative to doctrines or morals can be given, there

must

be a general assembly of

all

the faithful

and, until the con-

sent of at least a majority of the

members of Holy Church

has been obtained, the decree, on their

challenge neither their assent nor ours.
I

own

terms, can

have now reviewed the four

different opinions

which


33
obtain, or

INFALLIBILITY.

have obtained

in the
I

Romish church
the Scriptures.
*'

relative to
it

infallibility.

And

here
is

might dismiss the subject, were

to

not that an appeal

test

made

From

this

no Protestant wishes
is

to shrink.
;

To
no

the law and the

testimony,"

our watchword
it

"

if

they speak not accordis

ing to this word,

is

because there

light in

them."

Show

us the plain texts of Scripture

give us
is

the words of

the blessed Jesus himself, assuring us that the true church

is infallible,

and

that the

Romish church
in

the true one,

will

and

every

honest

believer
I

God's

word

give

up the

point.

Before

attempt

an examination of the
is

Scriptures upon which this doctrine

I

professedly reared,

must say
surely

that

it

is

very hard

to

believe our

Saviour

should give promises to his church

tl>at

can do

it

no good.

For

it

is

plain the church

tell

is

none the
it.

better for its

infallibility, if

nobody can

who has

To
him.

appoint an
the

infallible interpreter is

of no use, unless you

to find

know who

interpreter

is,

and where you are

Besides, in
infallibility,

order to establish from Scripture their claim to

it is

absolutely necessary for Papists to beg the question

in a vicious
circle,
i.

argue

e.

take for granted the very

thera,

thing they want to prove.

Ask

"

How
from

do you
it,

know
your

from Scripture, or from

church
is

fair inference

that
is,

infallible?"

The answer

of course

"The

church has so interpreted the word of God."

" Well, but

why am

bound

to believe

your interpretation ?"

" Because
ridiculous
1

the church

is infallible !"

Can any

thing be

more

On
that

the

same

principles I can prove that

is

/am
I

infallible,
it

and
from

no body

so beside myself; and

can prove

Scripture too.

Cardinal

Bellarmine.
in

of

no

mean

authority

among
those

Romanists, quotes

proof of the Pope's

words

of the Saviour to Peter,

to

"Simon,

infallibility,

Simon, behold
sift

Satan hath desired

have you that he

may

you as

INFALLIBILITY.

39

wheat

but

have prayed

for thee, that thy faith fail not,

and when thou

Bellarmine
tells

art converted, strengthen

thy brethren."
is,

us that the true meaning of this text

privileges for Peter: 1st,

that

our Lord obtained two

himself,

That he
should

however strongly tempted by the

faith.

devil,

never lose true

2d, That neither Peter as pontiff of

that See, should
faith.

Rome, nor any other of his successors in ever teach any thing contrary to the true
principles of exegesis these

On what
How-

two doctrines are contained in

the text, it would puzzle the Pope himself to determine.

ever, the Cardinal finds them there, and says, moreover,

"The
words

first

of these privileges did not,

;

it

may

be, descend to

Peter's successors
:

but the second doubtless did.

In other

Peter's successors might lose true faith, and conse;

quently lose their souls and perish eternally

possible that

but

it is

im-

they should

make a mistake
is

in

any doctrine

or decree issued ex cathedra.

Cardinal adduces that this
tures
is,

All the proof that the learned

the true

meaning of the Scrip!

that seven

Popes have said so

Seven Popes have

is

said so!

Rome

has spoken, the controversy

is, I

decided

The
that

Saviour's meaning

think,

somewhat

diflferent

from

which Cardinal Bellarmine supposes. The time was at hand when the Lord Jesus was

to

be be-

trayed into the hands of his enemies-

He knew

that this

would be a sore
throw

trial

of the faith of his disciples.

He knew
would ex-

the bold impetuosity of Peter, and foresaw the fearful overto

which the self-confidence of

danger.
this

his disciple

pose him; therefore, he addresses himself to Peter as the

person

who was most

all
;

in

All the disciples needed

our Lord's prayers upon

occasion, and no doubt he

prayed for them

but Peter's case

was

far

the most

urgent, as the sequel showed, and as the Saviour knew, and

therefore he prayed for

him

especially that his faith might

not

fail.

How

this

passage can be honestly applied to the

40
Popes,
I

INFALLIBILITY.

cannot conceive
all to

and how

it

can prove that Peter*s

successors were
pletely.

be infallible, poses

my

judgnnent com-

Any

reader of

common
became

sense knows that these

words were addressed

jury of which
lie

to Peter in allusion to the fearful per-

so soon

guilty.

They must be
find in the

doctors of very great acuteness

who can

words
infalli-

addressed
bility,

to Peter, relative to his fall,

a proof of his

and they must be very acute indeed who can discover

Peter's chair.

in

them

satisfactory evidence of the infallibility of every Pope,

who sits in
that

But suppose

it

were even
is

so.

Take
and

for granted that the Cardinal's interpretation

correct,

we have
I

Scripture to prove the infallibility of Peter and his

successors,

would ask,

why

are not the successors of Peter

at Antioch infallible as well as those at

Rome?

You know

Peter was bishop of a church at Antioch seven years before

he was bishop
bility at

at

Rome.

Ah

if

you were

to put infalli-

Antioch, you would spoil every thing.

belongs there
!

Keep

it

at

Rome;
and

it

and so the

less

we say about Antioch

of Peter

the better

I will

only add, that

if the infallibility

his pretended successors is assured to us

faith

by the Saviour's
then every

prayer that Peter's

might not

fail,

man

whose

faith

fails

not

must be

infallible.

" But," says the

Roman
Here
upon

Catholic, " be so kind as to read Matt. xvi. 18."

:

it is

"

And

say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and

build

this

rock

I will

my

church, and the gates of hell

shall not prevail against it."

bility,

Does

this

prove Peter's

infalli-

even supposing Peter

is built ?

church
ter took

rock on which the Read a few verses farther. " Then Peto

to be the

him and began

;

rebuke him, saying, be

unto thee.

it

far

from

thee.

Lord

this shall not be

But he turned and

for thou art

said unto Peter,

Get thee behind me, Satan,

Peter infallible
texts

an
of

offence unto

me;

for thou savorest not the things that be

?

God," &c.

Was
the

Among

many

of Scripture quoted by Romanists,

INFALLIBILITY.

41
e. g.

some are adduced

as proofs ofthe infeUibility of the Pope,

"Thou

art Peter,

and upon

this

rock," &c.

"And

will

give unto thee the keys of the kingdonn of heaven," &c. " Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired," &c.* Other scriptures

are understood as conferring this important attribute upon " He that heareth you hearelh me, and he that councils.
despiseth you, despiseth me."

" Where two or three,"

to the

&;c.

" Lo

am

with you alway, even

end of the world."

Then,

again, there are texts to

prove the infallibility of the

let

church universal.

" If he neglect to hear the church,

him be

to thee as a

heathen

man and
pillar

a publican."

"

The

church of the living God, the

truth,"
(fee.

and ground of the

in

&c.

Now

cannot find any thing

any one
least

of these texts, nor in the context,

which gives the

shade of plausibility to the arrogant claim which the

Romish
willing

church

rests

upon them.
sake

But as

it

would take loo much

I

time to go over each one of them separately,

for argument's
to let

am

their proofs pass for

is

all that

they

think them worth, and what

texts prove the

the result

Some

of these

Pope

to

be alone

infallible.

Others prove

that a general council

is infallible.

And
;

others, again, that

the church universal has

tradictory propositions

this

prerogative

and

all

these con-

must be

true if the Scriptures,

which
this

they quote, are

to

the

purpose.

Now
;

apprehend

proves more than Romanists want

deal
I

it

gives
to

them a great
do with.

more

infallibility

than they

know what

come now
I

to the last great

I will
it

argument, the big gun in the

state their strong reason as

battery of infallibility.
forcibly as

can.

" Must

not be horrid impiety to suplittle

pose that divine Providence has so

concern for the

little

cause of truth

and

the blessed Jesus so

left

care for the

welfare of the church, as to have

* Matt. xvi. 18.

no

certain, infallible

Luke
4*

xxii. 31, 32.

42
method of deciding
and the
visible

INFALLIBILITY.
all

controversies, and
If the

coming
church

at truth
is

real

sense of Scripture?
tribunal,

not a

and

infallible

always competent

to settle

differences,

come of
less

truth?

what must become of her, and what must beWill not a thousand heresies be broached
hold up
the

that will tear out her very bowels, rend in pieces the seam-

coat of Christ, and

tattered

fragments
?

of the Saviour's robe as the standards of orthodoxy

Thus

we have

Episcopalians, (though they are not so bad as other

heretics,)

Lutherans and Reformed, Presbyterians, old and

Baptists,

new, and
a hundred

and Methodists, and Hernnhuters, and

besides,

sects

which

we cannot enumerate.
pronounce and decide.
'

There must be somewhere

the testimony
Scripture
is
1'

a judge to

Protestant heretics cry out with Isaiah,

'

To

the law and to

1'

To

the law

and

to the

testimony

But
well

so far from ending controversies, that

it is

known

to

have been the occasion of them.

it,

There

is

not a

heretic but quotes

and endeavours
In

to

impose upon weak

instances, the sense

minds by
is

his

false glosses.

many

so obscure and doubtful, that the interpretation which

it

heretics give of

seems as plausible as that which the

It is plain,

church herself
a
living,

affixes.

therefore, there
letter

must be
of Scrip-

speaking judge to interpret the dead

ture; a judge from

whose decision there can be no appeal!"

that that "
in

This
It

is

the grand argument, the strong prop of infallibility.

to this
;

amounts

God, who,

at

sundry times and

in divers

manners, spake

time past unto the fathers by

the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us

by

his

Son," in so unintelligible a manner, that no Scripture can

be properly understood except by the successors of Peter,

and the unerring councils of the Romish church There must be an infallible interpreter of Scripture, and that inter!

preter

is

the church of so permit

you know,

Rome me to

Protestants are inquisitive,

ask,

"Who

says that these

INFALLIBILITY.
ihitiQs

'

43
said so?

must be so?"

Has
it ?

the

Lord Jesus Christ

!

No

Has John

asserted

Never

Has James
on record

or Paul
?

or Peter, or any one of the apostles

Is there

left it

No
There

any passage

in

the Old or

New

Testament, that
?

explicitly confers this authority upon the church

is not.

Where

then do you find

!

it?

In the canons of the

still

Council of Trent
let

and

lest

any man should

be faithless,

him remember that all who were anathematized by acclamation

fallible

do not believe in these canons,

at the close of this in-

council
is

That
to
in

hard, to be sure

but heretics are so accustomed

will not see

anathemas, that they cannot or

much

force
tell

such arguments.

But,

am

asked, did you not

us a

moment

ago,

that there

was no

text in

the Bible

which condemned the private interpretation of Scripture? What do you make then of the passage which says, I did.
"
I

No

Scripture

is

of any private interpretation?"

text.
I

Indeed,
it

never met with such a

if I

have heard

quoted,

but

were

to be

burned at the stake to-morrow for the

it.

failure, I

could not find

i.

I will
I

read what

do

find,

how1

ever, 2 Pet.
it

19

21.

will quote

the passage as

find

in

the Rhemish Testament, "

:

And we have

the propheti-

cal
to a

word more sure

which you do well attending unto, as

Understanding

candle shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and

this first,

the day-star arise in your hearts.

that no prophecy of Scripture
tation."
is

made by

private interpre-

This shows merely that the prophets were inspired by the

Holy Ghost, and has nothing to do with the question of the church of Rome's infallibility as an interpreter of Scripture.

Where
I

then,
it

I is

ask again,

is

the warrant for this proud claim?

!

am

sure

not in the Bible

it,

But though reason and

Scripture are against

this

the church of

Rome

cannot

let

go

arrogant assumption without losing her hold upon the

44
consciences

INFALLIBILITY.

whom

she binds and looses at her pleasure, and

therefore, she says " there

must be an

infallible interpreter

of Scripture, and
so; but here the

I am that interpreter." God has not said Man of Sin rises up, exalts himself above

God, and
lect,

dictates to the

Almighty, chiding him for

his neg-

and rectifying and supplying the mistakes and omis-

sions of Omniscience

But, farther.

deny the necessity of any such judge,

because
it

to determine all controversies in religion,

is not

necessary that all such controversies should be decided

There are a great many disputed

and holy men can and do
their interest in the favour of
I

points,

upon which honest

differ,

without affecting either

God, or the peace of the church.

can love

my

Baptist,

and Methodist, and Episcopal, and

ferdif-

Lutheran, and Moravian brethren, with a pure heart,

vently, though there are minor points on which
fer
I

would

from them

all.

Moreover, such a judge of controversy, if it existed, and even if its claims were allowed, could not prevent
heresy.
In
their

statements of doctrine, the apostles, of

;

course, were infallible

yet heresies sprang up in their day.

They
rit

could not err, because they were inspired by the Spi;

of Truth

but this freedom from error extended only to

matters of doctrine; for

we

find Paul rebuking Peter sharply,

to

on a certain occasion, because he was

11, &c.

be blamed. Gal.

ii.

There were

divisions

among

the Corinthians, after

all

the

pains that Paul took to reconcile them.

And, even

in the

church of Rome, where

Protestant church.

infallibility flourishes in perfection,

there are divisions, and sects

more numerous than

different denominations.

in

the

The

Protestant church constitutes but

one society, though there are

We

acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Head.

He

is

the invisible

Head of

his

Church Universal.

Romanists claim the Pope

INFALLIBILITY.
as their
nally,

45
Head, there
is,

Head

and, as he
in their
is

is

visible

nomi;

more unity

church than among Protestants

but, really, there

a great deal less.

There has been more

dif-

difference between the Jesuits,

ferent orders of
their

and the Jansenists, and the

monks, "white, black and gray, with

all

trumpery," than between any Protestant denominations

on earth.
Finally. There
is

no need of such an infallible judge, be-

cause the

of the any of you lack wisdom,

liberally to all

Lord God of heaven has promised the assistance Holy Spirit to all sincere inquirers after truth. " If
let

him ask of God, who giveth

not,

men, and upbraideth

text settles the

and

it

shall be given

him."

This single

whole controversy.

has promised to direct every one into the

seeks counsel of him.
It is

way

of truth,

God who
Pope

his prerogative to

govern the
to the

mind of man, and he

or to

will not give his

honour

any

other.
if infallibility

Brethren,

were an

attribute of the

church

of Rome, she would long since have found out an

infallible

method

for

inducins: the world to

li.sten

to

her decisions.

She has
ceeded.
tortured,

practised methods, however,

which have not sucand

She has censured, cursed, imprisoned, banished,

committed
to the flames,

and doomed

to hell

damnation, those

who have

questioned her authority; but,

blessed be God, neither the gates of hell, nor of

Rome, have
!

prevailed against the church of the Living

God

And

they

never

shall, for the

church of Christ

is

founded, not upon

Peter, not

upon a rolling stone, but upon the Rock of Ages

lay than that
is laid,

"Other foundation can no man

is

which

Christ Jesus."

Upon
1

this foundation, let

me

beseech

my

dear hearers to build.

entreat you,

ye builders

for eternity,
is

look well to the foundation which you lay.

There

a day

of

trial

coming

even now, the floods of death and of eter-

nity are ready to roll in

upon you

Let the winds blow,

46

INFALLIBILITY.
floods

and the rains descend, and the

the house that
is

come, and beat upon

Christ Jesus;
it

reared upon the

Rock

will

not

fall;

its

inmates are safe; they can smile upon the an-

gry surge, and calmly look down upon the foaming waves
as they dash their spray upon the
hearer, alas
!

Rock

But, oh

dear
!

for you,

whose

building rests upon the sand

Soon your sky will be mantled with the clouds of death, and the storm will burst with awful fury above your head.

Then you
fuge
!

will

need a shelter; and you will be a tower so lofty that

its

fly to

your

re-

It
;

may

top pierces the

it

clouds
fall.

and you

may

think, because
will gather

it is

so high,
it
;

cannot

But the floods

its

round
;

they will beat

upon

walls

the rains will descend

the winds will blow

with angry blasts.

The house
;

that
it

is

not founded on this

Rock
the

will be utterly destroyed

will fall,

and great

will be

fall

thereof!

LECTURE

11.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
Matt. xxvi.
" AND, AS
IT,

2629.

THEY WERE EATING, JESUS TOOK BREAD AND BLESSED AND BRAKE IT, AND GAVE IT TO THE DISCIPLES, AND SAID, TAKE, EAT THIS IS MY BODY. AND HE TOOK THE CUP, AND GAVE THANKS, AND GAVE IT TO THEM, SAYING, DRINK YE ALL
;

OF IT," &C.

NEED

scarcely, at this time, dwell particularly

is

upon the

interpretation which

given,

by

the Protestant church, to

object, at

these words of the Saviour.

inquire into the
to

My

present,

is

to

meaning which the church of

in discussing this subject, I

Rome
to

affixes

them

and,

hope

convince

every intelligent and honest hearer, that the doctrine of the

real

substantial presence

of the

body and

blood,
is

soul
first-

and divinity of Jesus Christ,

born of absurdities.

in this sacrament,

the

The
tuted, I

circumstances under which this ordinance was

insti-

need not
that this

now

review.

know,
cross

memorial

feast

presume hearers was appointed when the

all

my

blessed Saviour
;

was about

to offer himself a sacrifice

on the

and by this one sacrifice, which never has been, or

to reconcile to

can be repeated,
lievers.

God

the whole world of be-

Before

examine the doctrine of transubstantiation,

wiU

48
read the
first

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
canon under the head of " The Holy Sacramost holy sacrament of

ment of

the Eucharist," in the acts of the Council of Trent.*

that, in the

" If any one shall deny

the Eucharist, there are contained, truly, really, and substantially, the

body and blood, together with the soul and

divi-

nity of our

Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the whole

is

Christ; or say that he

in

it

only as a sign, or figure, or

by

his influence, let

that, in the

him be accursed."

"

If

any one

shall

deny

adorable sacrament of the Eucharist, a seis

paration being

made, the whole Christ

contained in each
ele-

element or species, and in the separate parts of each

ment or

species, let

him be accursed."

According

to this,

every wafer which a Romish priest consecrates, with the

proper intention, becomes the body and blood, soul and
vinity of Christ, or
fore
di-

becomes
all.

Christ, the

whole Christ, there-

God

Nor

is this

If that wafer be divided into

one thousand

parts,

and each one of these parts be again

subdivided, and so on, ad infinitum, every one of these wafer particles is the
this, is

whole Christ,

is

God

and whoever doubts

accursed

If this be true,

Romanists are not guilty

the host, (or
but,

of idolatry,

when they bow down and worship

it

consecrated wafer,) because

is

no longer a wafer,

by

the wonder-working power of the priest, has

If this be not true, then the Papist
is

become God.

guilty of the very

grossest idolatry.

* Si quis neg-averit in sanctissimse Eucharistiae Sacramento contineri vere, realiter et substantialiter

corpus et sang-uinem una Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ac proinde totum Christum: sed dixerit tantummodo esse in eo utin signo,

cum anima

et divinitate

vel figur^, aut virtute

anathema

sit.

Si quis neg-averit in venerabili Sacramento Eucharistiae sub

una quaque specie, et sub singulis, cujusque speciei partibus, separatione facta, totum Christum contineri anathema sit. Concil. Trid. Sess. xiii. cap. 8. Canon 1 and 3.
;

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

49

Among
father,

Protestants, and such as are not willing to sur-

render the use and testimony of their senses to a ghostlyit is

not considered necessary to expose the monstrous

absurdity of this doctrine, by serious argument.

statement

is

sufficient.
it.

However, there are

and

The mere some who prounder so-

fess to believe

Every Roman
it
;

priest declares,
all

lemn oath,

that he believes

the faithful in the Poit.

i.

pish church are

commanded

to believe
is

And whoever
e., in

doubts or denies the doctrine,

accursed

so far as

the anathema of the Council of Trent avails.

In

discussing

my

subject,

shall

prove the following

points.
I.

TrANSUBSTANTIATION
It is
It

is

CO^fTRARY TO REASON.

II. III.

CONTRARY TO ScRIPTURE. is contrary to the testimony of the fathers

OF the ancient church.

IV.

Roman Catholics, themselves, probably do not

I

believe it now.
However,
have no doubt
it.

many

of them really think that

they do believe
I.

am

aware,

my

brethren, that

shall be
!

met

at the

very threshold with the question.

nothing that
is

What
is

are
?

we

to believe

beyond the ken of reason

?

If so,

where

is

the use of revelation

the church of
culation

If reason

enough, then

surel}^

Rome

is

justified in reprobating the free cir-

of

the Bible,

which

is

Will

my

hearers

remember

that I

matter of revelation. say, not " Transubstantiaall

tion is
I

above and beyond the reach of reason, and therefore reject it ;" but " it is contrary to reason." I believe
things that are above reason.
I

many

cannot understand
J,
is,

the nature of the union between

nevertheless,
believe
it.

my

soul and body,- but

cannot understand

how

it

that if a grain of

wheat

falls into

the ground and dies, there

appears presently the green blade, and, anon, the ear, and,

50
at last, the full

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
corn
in the

ear

yet

believe

it.

These

things,

however mysterious, are not contrary

I

to reason.

When

say, that this doctrine

is

absurd,

mean something

totally difTerenl

from

its

being mysterious, and transcending

the comprehension of the

human

intellect.
1

Were
racter of

this the

whole objection,

should consider the chain its favour, pro-

mystery as a strong argument

vided

it

exhibited the other

marks of a

divine origin.

Hu-

man
its
its

reason stands in the attitude of contradiction to that

it

which

sees to be false; not to that

grasp, and

whose magnitude eludes whose existence cannot be denied, although

mode

is

incomprehensible.
I

By

reason,

mean

that intellectual
truth,

power by which we
in first

apprehend and discover

principles

whether contained

of

belief,

or in the arguments and conclusions

truth, not intuitive, is inves-

from those principles by which

tigated.

This faculty
it,

is

the production of the

;

Almighty

without

revelation

would be useless

and, as

God cannot
which
truth,

contradict himself, there can be nothing in revelation

stands opposed to

those

first

principles of eternal

which God has written upon the mind of every

creature.

intelligent

One of these jirst principles is, that we are not to believe what is clearly contrary to the evidence of our The evidence of the senses is, I am sufficiently senses. aware, one of the least certain means of arriving at truth.
1.

We

have

all

heard of optical delusions and of the tricks of

jugglers, if

we have not all witnessed them, and we do not believe that men can really eat fire or swallow poison with impunity, though we cannot explain or detect the slight of
hand and hocus pocus operation by which they seem
perform these
feats
to

or

any others

In this case,

howshould
in its

ever clear the evidence of our senses might be,

distrust their testimony

we

because

we know

the thing

is,

! '

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
very nature, impossible.
different.

51
is

The

case before us, however,

The

priests
to give

do not

first effect

an

optical delusion,
;

and then ask us

up the evidence of our senses

they

do not make the elements assume the form, the ance of the whole Christ, and present, by
fluence, as
their

real appear-

magical

in-

many

Saviours of the world as they have wafers,

and then

bid us believe, because

we

see

but the church of

Rome commands me
is

to believe that that wafer, after the

pronunciation of the mystic words, " lioc est corpus meum^''

really transformed
into the
is

body and blood, soul and

short the real and entire

divinity of Jesus Christ,

in

Saviour, though

my
it

sight tells
is

me
still,

it

is

a wafer

still,

and

my
As
it

touch

tells

me

a wafer

and
it

my

taste corrobostill

rates this testimony,

to the
it,

and pronounces

to

be a wafer

wine, the laity of that church have nothing to do

it,"

with
to

the priests " drink all of

and declare they believe

all

be blood, though taste and smell and sight are

.'

against them

Now,

if I

admit

this

change

in the nature

of the elements, though

I

my

senses contradict me,

how can
and
in

be sure of any thing which depends upon their evidence]

If

my

senses have deceived

in this

wine

sacrament,

me in relation to they may deceive me

the bread
in

any and

every other case.

If I

have been eating the body and

blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, whilst

my

senses
I

of sight and smell,

under some fearful
ordinary meal
?

taste

and touch, declare that

have

eaten nothing but bread,

how can I be sure that I am not delusion, when I think I am eating an

I

If

discard the evidence of

I

my

senses,

how am
rather,

I to

be sure that

am
it

alive?

must become a

Pyrrhonist, and join the ranks

of those philosophers, or

madmen, who made

a matter of conscience

to

doubt their

own

existence

But here the question, which

has often been put by Romanists,

to

may

be suggested again

some mind, "Did not

Christ turn water into wine]"

52

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
did.

Unquestionably he

"

Why,

then,

may

he not

now

turn wine into blood 1"

is

He

certainly can do so
latter case,

now, there

nothing more diOicult in the

than in the for-

mer.

But now

let

me answer your
Did
it

question by another.
it

"

When

Christ turned the water into wine did

taste
like

look like

water after the change'?

water?"

No.
at the

You remember
that
feast
it
!

the guests told the good

best

man of

the house

was the

wine that had been produced

at the

So when Moses,

command of God,
too,

turned
in its

the rivers of

Egypt
in

into blood, the water

its

was changed

appearance and
this

very nature

and the evidence of

was, that
rivers

all

the fishes that were in those streams died,

to threaten

and the

became so corrupt as

a pestilence!

When

the

Saviour and the apostles performed miracles,

they did not ask their hearers to give up the evidence of

their senses,

and

to believe
If,

what they could see and hear

the paralytic

and

feel

to

be

false.

when
left

was brought

to

Jesus, the Saviour had merely said, " Arise, take up thy

bed and walk," and had

still,

the

man upon
it

his bed a cripple

he would scarcely have established his divinity by such

a thousand
tin>es.

a miracle, even though he had repeated

appeals to the senses of his disciples,

In order to prove the reality of his resurrection, our

Lord
hands
flesh

" Behold

my

and

my

feet,

handle

and bones, as

me and see, for a spirit hath not you see me have and when he had
:

thus

spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet."

And
hand;

what means

did he

employ

to

convince the

still

hesitating

Thomas?

" Reach hither thy finger, and behold

it

my

reach hither thy hand and thrust

faithless, but believing."

into

my side,

and be not

This was the Saviour's mode.

Our Roman

Catholic friends attach great weight to the

Tertullian,

testimony of the ancient fathers of the church.

speaking of the degree of importance

to

be ascribed to the

evidence of our senses, uses the following language.

He

says

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
**

53
lest

We must not call

Because
if

our senses in question,

fidelity

we should

doubt respecting their

himself.

even

in

the case of Christ

we

question the fidelity of our senses,

we might

peradvenlure be led to say, that Christ delusively

beheld Satan precipitated from heaven, or delusively heard

the voice of his Father testifying of him, or

was deceived

when he touched

Peter's mother-in-lav/, or smelt a difTerent

-odour of the ointment, which he received for his sepulture,

or tasted a different flavour of the

wine which he conse-

crated IN MEMORY OF

HIS

OWN

BLOOD."*

Let the Romish priests produce a change in the appear-

ance and nature of the elements, and give us ocular demonstration that their wafer

they choose
est corpus

to

becomes God incarnate whenever say over it, with the proper intention, " hoc
I

meum," and

will

vouch Tor

it,

they will soon

turn the world upside down, and every Protestant will be-

come a

firm believer in transubstantiation.

is,

2. Another contradiction involved in this doctrine

that whilst the Eucharist is called a Sacrament, transubstantiation overthrows the nature of
is

a Sacrament.

"

What

a Sacrament

An

institution

of Christ, consisting in some

outward sign or ceremony. "f sign, and the thing signified by

true, then
it

Can a
it?

thing be at once a
is

If transubstantiation

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a commemorative rite. The Saviour tells us, " Do this in remembrance of me." Can a transaction commemorate
can.
itself?
is

If transubstantiation
It
is

is true,

then the Lord's Supper

it

not a Sacrament.
If the bread

not a sign, if

is

the thing

signified.

and wine are changed

into the

body

and blood, soul and

divinity of Christ, they

can no longer

be called symbols or representations; they are the body and

Tert. de Anim. in cap. de quinque sens. oper.

p, 32.

t Grds. C. D.,

5*

54
blood,

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

and not symbols.

The

i
Hence, on the
at

absurdity of the position,

that a thing
signified,

may be at the same time a sign and the thing may easily be illustrated. Among the Persians
was a symbol of the sun.
symbol or image of a thing may be
at once, both a

the idol Mithras

principle that a

once

both the representation of the thing in question, and yet the

identical thing itself, the idol,
is,

symbol of

the sun, and the

literal

identical

sun which

it

symbolizes.

Hagar, as we learn from

St. Paul, allegorically represented

Mount

Sinai in Arabia.

Therefore,
not

principle,

Hagar was

we adopt the Romish only a symbol of Mount Sinai,

if
itself.

but the proper identical mountain

"vvine,"

"

The

consecrated

says Clement of Alexandria, " represents the blood

Therefore, on the

of Christ."*

same

principle, the

wine

is

both the symbol of Christ's blood, and the identical blood

itself!

If the principle

holds good in this case,

it

must

obtain in the others.

3.

The doctrine of Transuhsfantiation

According
to

involves a mathedoctrine,

matical impossibility.

this

when-

ever the words of consecration are pronounced, the elements

become the real body and blood of Christ in the very place where they were consecrated, although Christ remains at
the right hand of the Father in heaven.
it is

And remember,

not only in two places that this entire body must be at

in
is

one and the same time, but

places without number.

Wherever
of Italy,

the sacramental rite

performed, in the cloisters

all

in the cathedrals

of Austria, throughout

Europe,
in the

in the cities

and towns of America, and wherever

faithful are to
cell

wide world any of the

be found

in the

cham-

ber of the dying, in the

of the convent,

of the recluse, in the dungeons

is

wherever the consecrated wafer

exhibited,

there

is

always present the whole body of the

Redeemer

* Clem. Alex. Paedag*.

lib. 2. c. 2.

p. 158.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

55

Now,

the essential properties of body must belong to the

it

body of the Saviour, or

ceases to be body, and

all

the

comfort which the believer derives from the resurrection and

ascension of the blessed Redeemer,
it

is

taken from him.

But
truth,'

is

one of the

first

and most undeniable axioms of

at the

that

no material substance can be

;

same moment
he

in

more than one place

all things,

and

to

this

law the body of the

still

Saviour must be subject.

By

his Spirit,

pervades

and upholds

all

things

by the word of his power;

his
I

but as the risen and exalted

Head of
But,

bodily in heaven and there only.

Church, he is am asked, " Will

you dare
not
is

to

impugn or

limit the

omnipotence of God?
I

Are

all

things possible with

God ?"

answer, every thing

his nature.

possible with God, that is not contrary to " But cannot God work a miracle?" He can.

But

this is

not a miracle,

it

is

an absurdity, a contradiction.
it is

God can-

not deny himself, and

impious

to

suppose that he would

attributes proceeds

do

so.

This

insult cast

upon the divine

from them who boldly represent him as doing what would

be contradictory to his nature, in order
strous figment of their
to

support a mon-

own

creation

Contradictions des-

troy themselves, and are equivalent in their result to nothing

at all.
If,

then,

we

ascribe to the omnipotence of God, the

contradictions,

power of working
tence by saying that
lutely nothing.

we

dignify his omnipoi

to absoi

He is

able to do

what amounts

Now,

the doctrine of transubslantiation plainly involves

e. g.
It

interminable contradictions,

supposes the bread to

be turned into the broken body of Christ, when he himself

was present with

broken.
the words

his

disciples,

and

his

body was not yet

For

if

a popish priest can, by merely pronouncing

est corpus

"hoc

meum,"

turn the wafer and wine

their

into the real

body and blood of Christ, then surely, on

own

principles, Christ's

pronouncing them would certainly

gg
have
rest.
eflfected
it,

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
for this

was

the leading instance to all the

Well, then, here was his natural body entire and

their

whole before

eyes; he took up the bread, and spoke

is
!

these words, " This

my

body," when

lo

the bread be-

So he had two distinct came his broken body the same time, one entire and the other broken
!

bodies at
Is
it

not
re-

remarkable that not a single expression of surprise

is

corded as having dropped from any one of the disciples

when they
But,

beheld this most marvellous of

I

all

miracles?

my

brethren,

shall not follow out the train

of palpable

absurdities involved in this irrational and monstrous doctrine.

Enough,

presume, has been said

I

to

prove that

it

is

con-

trary to reason.
II.

proceed

to

show,
to

Transubstantiation is contrary

Scripture*

In

this

branch of

my

subject, I will first consider those texts

which are quoted by

doctrine,

Roman
it.

Catholics in favour of their

I

and

in

the next place

will

produce texts which

are directly opposed to

The
1.

Scripture proofs adduced in the Grds. of C.

D. are

the following, (p. 41.)

Matt. xxvi. 26.

it,

"As

they were eating, Jesus took

it,

bread and blessed

and brake

and gave

it

to the disciples

and
of

said, take, eat, this is

my
it

body.
to

And

he took the cup,

and gave thanks, and gave

it,

them and

said, drink

ye

all
is

for this is

my

blood of the

New

Testament which

shed for many for the remission of sins." " Take, eat, this is my body. This is 24.

Mark

xiv. 22,

my

blood of the

New
19.
in
xi.

Testament, which was shed for many." Luke xxii. " This is my body which is given for you; this do

remembrance of me.
24, 25.

This cup
is

is

shed

for

you."
is

1 Cor.

"Take,

eat; this
is

my

body which
in
is

broken
blood."

for you.

This cup

the

New

Testament
note

my

To
'

these

quotations,

the

following

appended:
places, can-

Which words

of Christ, repeated in so

many

TRANSaBSTANTIATION.

57

not be verified without offering violence to the text any other

way

than by a real change of the bread and wine into his

body and blood."

In the abstract, the expressions " this
"this
is
is

my

body," and
literal

my

blood," are doubtless capable of the

as

well as the figurative construction.

test

Hence

the only fair

is

by which

this

passage
I

may

be examined,

that of

general analogy; and

shall, therefore, inquire whelher,

on

any

legitimate ground, the

Romish

exposition can consist-

The Bible abounds with expressions which are, by common consent, regarded as metaphorical, e.g. " The Lord God is a sun and a shield." Again, the Lord
ently

be admitted.

is

said to be

Jesus says,
the door ;"

"a Rock," a" Fortress," &c. (Ps. Ixxxiv. 11.) " I am the true vine." Again, he says, " I am and again he tells us, I am the way." Now
*'

we

consider these as strictly analogous to the expressions,

is

" This

my

body, and

this is

my

blood."
last

If

you
I

insist

upon the
see
If

literal

construction of these

words,

cannot

why we
tell

should not understand the others literally also.

^^

you

us that Christ says emphatically,

This

is

my

hodyy I was Christ."

reply, Paul just as emphatically says, " That Rock

But even on their own terms, our Latin friends are

volved in a difficulty.
If they understand these

in-

words

lite-

rally, then in order to be consistent, they must repudiate

Let us every thing figurative in the words of institution. " He took the cup, and gave thanks, read the 27th verse,

and gave

it

to

them, saying, Drink ye

!

all

of
is

it."

All of

what?
ye
all

All the wine, to be sure

But there

not a

word

said about

wine here.

"

He

took the cvp and said, Drink

of

it,"

Those who

insist

upon the
this
is

literal interpreta-

tion,

must swallow the cvp.

"For

(the cup,)

is

my
for

blood of the

New

Testament which

shed for
all

many

the remission of sins."

Now, abandoning

figurative

58
construction,
sense, that
it

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
it

must be

plain

to

every

man

of

common
a dilem-

is

not the wine, but the cup which must be

turned into the real blood of Christ!

Here then

is

ma, from which

literal

cannot see any possibility of escape.

The

figurative explanation

must

either be adopted, or else the

If

one must be consistently carried out.

you under-

stand our Lord's language to have been metaphorical, you

give up the doctrine of iransubstantiation
literal interpretation,
!

If

you adopt the

then you must swallow the cup entire

is

as

it is,

for

it is

the cup of which Jesus says, " This

my

blood of the

New

Testament," &c.

Let our friends choose

whichever horn of the dilemma they prefer.

the following verse, (29th,)
I

But

if

we

read
still

think that will throw

more

light

upon the

subject.

"I say unto you,

will not

drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
I

was somewhat curious

to

know what Pope Pius

4th, or his

commentator, would say concerning these words of the Saviour, which are in immediate and necessary connexion
with the preceding verses, and
I discovered, upon again examining the Grds. of C. D., that the commentator had given

proof of very great discretion, for which

all the credit

must accord him

it.

he deserves.

He

says nothing at all about

He

does not quote the text itself neither does he even reto
it,

motely refer

and

for the

very

sufficient reason, that

it

subverts the whole

theory of the real presence.

"

say

unto you,
vineJ"*

will

not drink henceforth of this fruit of the

Here we have our Lord's own explanation of his own language. The liquor which he had called his blood he still denominates, after consecration, " this fruit of the
vine."

Now,

if the

liquor after consecration,

I

was
it

still

the

"

fruit

of the vine,"

cannot comprehend

how

should

Doway

Bible, Matt. xxvi. 29.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
have been
tions
*'

59

literal

human
'

blood.

proceed with the quota-

from Scripture adduced by Romanists.

Cor. X. 16.

is it

The cup of blessing which we bless, communion of the blood of Christ? not the The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Which interrogation of the apostle is certainly Christ?'
1

equivalent to an affirmation, and evidently declares that in

the blessed sacrament,

we

really receive the

body and blood

Paul says,
is

of Christ."
I

think

it

evidently declares just the contrary.

the " bread which

we

break."

Now
When
is

the bread

not broken

until after the consecration.

that has taken place,

;

according

to

Romanists, there

no more bread there

it

has become the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus
Christ; yet Paul calls
it

" the bread which we break."

am

sure

it is

evident that Paul and the

Romish church are

insist

at variance here.

Moreover,
is

if

you

still

upon

it,

that

the Saviour said, " This

my

body," and that therefore

we

must understand him

cal substance

literally,

you put Paul

at direct vari-

ance with his Divine Master.

For, in this case, that identito

which Christ declares

be his real

flesh,

Paul as plainly pronounces

to the third quotation.
1

to be bread.

But

let

us proceed

Cor.

xi.

27

29.

" Whosoever shall eat

this bread, or

drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the

body and bipod of the Lord.

He

that eateth

and drinketh

unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not

discerning the body of the Lord."

The same
again
in

difficulty,

which

have just exposed,

is

found

this

passage.

Paul speaks of the elements as

" bread" after their consecration.

He
i.

says that they

e.

who

partake of these symbols unworthily,

without a proper

sense of their guilt as sinners, and without feeling true sor-

row

for their sins,

" are guilty of the body and blood of the

QQ
Lord
;

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
are chargeable with treating them contemptuously,
guilt

and thus contract a share of the

his sacixid body,

of those

who wounded

and shed his precious blood upon the cross. Hence the apostle adds, " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eatelh

and drinketh damnation

to

himself,

not

discerning the Lord's body."

The word
mean

(xpt/ia)

rendered

damnation
ment."

is

usually translated "condemnation or punish-

The passage

does not

that the

unworthy
is

partaker commits a mortal sin, for which there

giveness to be obtained upon repentance.

no

for-

No, dear hearers,

all
sin.''''

"the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth yrom

here
I

But

find a question proposed,

is laid.

upon which no

little

em-

phasis

"

Now, how

should a person be guilty of the body and

blood of Ihe Lord,

by receiving unworthily,

if

what he

received were only bread and wine, and not the body and

blood of the Lord

Or where should be
if

the crime of not

discerning the body of the Lord,

the

body of the Lord

were not there

I

?"

answer because the bread and wine are accredited sym-

bols of the Lord's

body and blood.

They

represent the

Saviour's sacrifice of himself upon the cross.

His body
for

then was broken for sinners."

us; and
in this

His blood then was shed

memorial

feast, in

which we commemorate

the Saviour's passion and his dying love,

his sufferings

we

call to

mind

and death, by

virtue of

which every penitent

believer finds pardon

and complete redemption.

Those who

partake unworthily, by the very act despise that sacrifice,

and thus are

"

guilty of the

body and blood of the Lord.

They

tread under foot the

)ly

Son of God, and count

thing."

the blood
re-

of the covenant an unh

" The natural man

ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness unto

him

neither can he

know them, because

papist cannot con-

they are spiritually discerned."

The

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
ceive

gj body and blood of

literal flesh

how any man can be

;

guilty of the

the Lord, unless he eats and

drinks the

and

blood of the Master

" neither can he know these things,

because they are spiritually discerned."

sentence propounds another query.
question, and
I will

But the closing

I

Before

answer

this

do

it

in as

few words as are used

in pro-

pounding
original.
7<tv6)
firj

it,

beg leave

to refer

you, for one moment, to the

xpifiatavtu iaOdt, xac
at all fami-

O ydp iadCoiv
Swxxptvwv to

xat, rtvvMv dvaftcoj,

au[xa,

tov Kvptou.

Every one,

liar

with the Greek,

^LaxpvvBiv is,

knows

that the literal

meaning of the

word

"to make a difference;

to discriminate;"

this is also the original

meaning of the Latin word discerno,

from which we have the English word discern^ To *' discern," then, properly means to " make a distinction," or a
*'

difference."

In this sense, our translators

employed

it.

"He
eth

that eateth

and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinkto

condemnation
;"
i.

himself,

not discerning the Lord's

body

e.

" not making a difference between the Lord's

Supper and an ordinary meal."

tle's

That

this

was, in the apos-

mind,

is

evident from the context.

Before he gives the

words which he had received of the Lord, relative to the

institution
xi.

of the sacrament, he uses

this

language

(1 Cor.

20

22.)
is

"

When

ye come together therefore into one

|^or in eating
:

place, this

not to eat the Lord's Supper.

every one taketh before other his

own supper and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What! have ye not houses to eat and to drink in 1 Or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to
you?
Shall
I

praise

you

in

this?

praise

you not."

It

seems there were some

in the

church

at Corinth,

who

per-

verted sacramental seasons, by

feasting,
rioting,
tells

making them occasions of

and drunkenness.

To

this

Paul refers,

when he
6

them that they who eat and drink unworthily

;

incur punishment, not discerning the Lord's body

not

mak-

52

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

ing a difference between the sacramental feast and any other.

And
are

he goes on to say
sickly,

weak and

many among you and many sleep." They had been

:

" For

this

cause

visited with

judgments

for their profanation of this ordinance*

At

the close of the chapter Paul

sums up
let

his

admonitions
eat at

by

telling

them, " If any

man

hunger,

him

home,

that

ye come not

together to condemnation."
is

The word

discern, therefore, in this passage,

not used in the popular

acceptation of seeing. This

to
it

is

the meaning, however, affixed

in the Grds. of Cath. Doct., no other signification will

make
ask

sense.

"

Where
if

should be the crime of not discerning

the Lord's body,

the

my Romish

interrogator in reply,

body of the Lord were not there I " Do you discern the
?

Lord's body

in the

sacrament

Do you
?

see his flesh

and

his blood, his soul

and

divinity

If so,

show them

to us.

Your wafer
that there
is

is

a wafer

still,

and not a body with limbs and

sinews, flesh and blood.

Unless you prove to

in the elements,

my

senses,
I to

a real change
?

how am

see

the Lord's body

" Or where shall be the crime of not

if

discerning the Lord's body

there ?"
I

the

body of the Lord

is

not

proceed to the

last

quotation from Scripture, adduced in

the Grds. C. D., p. 43.

John
which
I

vi.

51, &c. "

The bread

that

will give is

my flesh,
therethis

will give for the life

of the world.

The Jews
can

fore debated

among

themselves, saying,

How

man

give us his flesh to eat?

rily, verily, I

Then

Jesus said unto them. Veflesh

say unto you, except ye eat the

of the

Son of Man and drink his blood, ye shall have no life in you. Whosoever eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
For

my

flesh is

meat indeed, and

flesh

my

blood

is

drink indeed.

He

that eateth
I

my

and drinketh

my

blood, dwelleth in

me, and

in

him.

As

the living Father hath sent me, and

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
I live
live

v63

by

the Father

so he that eateth me, even he shall

by me.

This

is

that bread Avhich

ven, not as your falhei-s did eat

came down from heawanna aad are dead: he

that eateth of this bread shall Hve for ever."

be conceded, that no one can better interpret the meaning of this Scripture than the Saviour When he spoke of feeding the church with his himself..

Now,

suppose

it

will

own flesh and blood, both his disciples and the Jews understood him as speaking literally of this there can be no
;

<juestion; for the disciples

filled

murmured, and the Jews were

with indignation, and asked, "

How

can

this

man

give

us his flesh to eat?"

But

if

our

Roman

Catholic friends

that the will read a few paragraphs farther, they will find Saviour corrected the mistake of his disciples and the Jews, and taught them to understand him figuratively. " It is the
spirit that

quickeneth

the flesh profiteth nothing

the words
life."

that I speak unto you, they are spirit,

and they are

But

Now if

this

means any

thing,

it

teaches that the Saviour's

if tVtey

-words were to be understood spiritually.

are to

be taken
prove
"'

literally, I

can very soon show you that they will

to see established.

more than Romanists would wish

literally,

He

that eateth of this br^ad shail live for ever."

If this

be understood
4akinfT of the

then

it

must mean that the mere par-

sacrament insures salvation.

for this.

Now

Romanists

They understand this paswill surely not contend sage as relating to the sacrament we say, it has no refer;

ence to

it

at all.

But

if

it

refers to the sacrament, then

it,

every one

who

partakes of

is

sure of eternal

life.

Ju-

das partook of the Lord's Supper as well as the other aposDid Judas obtain eternal life? What says our Lord? tles.
^'

Have

not

chosen you twelve, and one of you

is

a devil?"

Luther, and Calvin, and Zuingle, and all the Reformers, who, according to Roman Catholic writers and priests, are

now

suflTering the pains

of

hell,

on account of

their heresy

({>4

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
oflen partook of the real

and apostacy,

body and blood of

Christ, whilst in

communion
have
to

with

tiie

church of

Rome; and
in believing

if so, Papists will

agree with Protestants

that notwithstanding the

anathemas of Popes and councils,

stress

Luther and

his colleagues are safe.

Romanists place great

fathers; and
viction,
I will,

upon the testimony of the

say concerning the very
this Ian.

therefore, quote for their farther con-

what some of these

us.

fathers

passage before

Clement, of Alexandria, holds

guage

"

When

our Lord says. Eat

my flesh

and drink

my
to

blood, he allegorically

means
and

the drink of faith, and of the

is,

promises; and, that our Lord

by way of allegory,

them who
food."

believe, meat,

flesh,

and nourishment, and

Tertullian says,

"Our Lord

expresses his meaning by

allegory, and calls his word flesh, to be devoured by the ear, ruminated upon by the mind, and digested by faith." Eusebius again, says plainly, " His word and doctrine are flesh

and blood." And the great Augustine gives us the following comment, which I recommend to the devout attention of all
his admi^rers.

" The words, which

Ijfe
;

speak unto you, they

are spirit and

as

if

he had said, understand spiritually

are not about to eat this identical
to drink this

what

have

said.

You

body, which you see; and you are not about

identical blood,

which they who crucify

I

On

the contrary,

pour out. have commended a certain sacrament to

will to the

me

you, which will vivify you, if spiritually under stood. ''''^

But

must go on

passages of Scripture, which

I

di-

rectly contradict the doctrine of transubstantiation.

have

shown, already,
ists,

that all the quotations, claimed

by Roman-

are decidedly against them.

all those,

There

is

not a single pastheir

sage in

which

have adduced from

xcviii.

own

book,

* Augpus. Enarr. in Psalm

Oper. Vol.

viii.

p. 397.


TKANSUBSTANTIATION.
which does not bear witness against them.
lo these,
"

65
But, in addition
xvi,,

take the following:

David, in Ps.

says,
In

Thou

wilt not suffer thy

Holy One by

to see corruption."

the 2d of Acts, Peter, speaking

this

inspiration, tells us that

prediction Avas literally fulfilled,

because Christ rose

again on the third day, before corruption had taken place.

It

was, therefore, in accordance with the purpose of God,

that the
tion.

human
if

nature of Christ should never see corrupis true,

But,

transubstantiation

the purpose of God,

is

in regard to the
trated.

human

nature of Christ,

completely frus-

So

far

from the Holy One never seeing corruption,

the literal flesh and blood of Christ sees corruption again

and again, by

the necessary process of digestion, every re-

volving year, and month, and day.

Again

The

doctrine of the Latin church

is,

that in the
literal

celebration of the Eucharist, the priest offers

up the

body and blood of Christ

doctrine of the
offered.
^'

to

God, as a true and proper ex-

piatory sacrifice for the quick and the dead.

Hence
is

it is

Romish church,

that Christ

repeatedly

Contrast with this doctrine, the language o[ Paul.

Christ

was once
still

offered to bear the sins of

lorcibly,

many." Heb.

ix.

28; and

more

"By

the which will

we

are

sanctified

through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ,

once
iii.

for all."

(Heb.

x. 10.)

And

read, in addition, (1 Pet.

18.) Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the

unjust, that he might bring us to

God."
is

Here, then,

we

see

the

Romish church
for all.

declares Christ

repeatedly offered,

and the Bible declares, he was

once

offered once,
is,

and but once

Transubstantiation

therefore, clearly con-

trary to Scripture.
III.

thers.

/ proceed now to examine the testimony of the faUpon this part of my subject I shall be very brief.
I

Not only, because

your patience, but

would avoid trespassing, unduly, upon

very

for the additional reason, that I care

6*

65
little

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
for the

testimony of the fathers.

They were

not in-

spired,

and though, no doubt, many of them were holy men,

If their opinions agree with
I

yet they were not infallible. the plain letter and

to
spirit

of Scripture,

am

willing to listen

them

but

if

they broach doctrines which the wayfaring

man can
tion,

see to be contradicted, both by reason and revelaall

they will have no weight at

with .me.
faith,

acknow-

ledge nothihg as an authoritative rule of

Scriptures.

but the Holy

"

As many

as walk according to this rule,

Israel of

peace be on them and mercy, and upon the

I

God."
lived

am

willing to admit, however, that the writers

first

who

during the

ages, particularly the

first

three centuries,

enjoyed some opportunities of ascertaining truth which

we

do not now possess, especially with relation

fact,

to matters of

and the early practice of the church.

Now

it is

very

plain, from the writings of the early fathers, that, until the
fifth

century, there

is

no

distinct
;

avowal

in favour of the

doctrine of transubstanliation

but,

on the contrary, very

decided testimony against

it.

Whenever
that the bread

the early fathers descend to the strictness of

tell

explanatory definition, they plainly

us, again

and again,

and wine are only

figures of the

body and

blood of Christ, and so studious are they

to avoid misappre-

hension on

this

point, that they actually assure us in so

many words, that we do not eat the literal flesh, we do not drink the real blood of Christ, when we
the Lord's Supper.
Terlullian,

and

that

celebrate

who

lived at the

end of the

second and

at the in his

beginning of the third centuries, uses this

vs.

language;
close.*

Third Book
in

Marcion 12th chap., at the

"

God

your gospel has so revealed the matter,

* Tert.
revelavit,

" Sic enim Deus in evangello quoque vestro panem corpus suum appellans, ut et hinc jam eum intelp. 237.
fig-uravit,

ligas corporis sui fig-uratn panis dedisse, cujus retro corpus in

panem prophetes
intcrpretaturo."

ipso domino, hoc sacramentum postea

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
calling the bread his

qj

own body,

that 5

ou

may

hence under-

stand,

how he gave

bread to be ihejigvre of his

own hody,

which body, conversely, the prophet

Sacrament."
p.

ho.^ fguratively called

bread, the Lord himself being afterward about to interpret

this

And

again, in his First

Book

vs.

Marcion,
has

9th chap.

174.

"Indeed, up

to this time Christ

reprobated neither the water of the creator with which he

\\ashes his people,

nor the

oil,

with which he anoints them,

nor the fellowship of honey and milk with which he feeds

them as

infants, nor the bread

:

by which he represents

his

own body

for,

even

in

his

own

sacraments, he needs the

beggarly elements of the creator."^

These are not secondpublished

hand quotations.
tullian's

have taken them from a copy of Ter-

works,
is

edited
in

by Erasmus, and
private library.
all
I

in

1530, which

my

am aware
;

Ro-

manists do not like Erasmus at

too well

they accuse

him of having
ever, as
it

laid the

egg which Luther hatched.

is

Howold,

my

copy of Tertullian

more than 300 years

could not have been altered to serve the purposes of here-

tics,

when they attempt

in

to

show

that the fathers did not beI

lieve

transubstantialion.

But

will

proceed

to

quote

some

farther authority.

Cyprian,

who

lived in the third

century, holds

the following language, (see p. 315, vol. 5.

Speaking of the ancient custom of mingling water with wine in the Eucharist, he says " By
of Kirchen Vaeter.)
:

water

we

perceive that the people

is

intended
is

but

by wine
second

we may

observe, that the blood of Christ

p. 312.)

represented,''''

(See also

Clement of Alexandria,

in the
*'

century, speaks like a good sensible Protestant,

Inasmuch

* Sed illequidem usque nunc nee aquam reprobavit crealoris, qua suos abluit, nee oleum quo sues unguit, nee mellis et lactis
Bocietatem qua suos infantat, nee

panem quo ipsum corpus suum

representat, etiam in sacraraentis propriis egens mendicitatibus

creatoris."

QQ

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
lliat
ilie

as Christ declared,
flesh
;

bread which

give you

is

my
is

and inasmuch as
is

flesh is irrigated

by blood;

therefore,

the wine

allegorically

called blood.

For the word

ALLEGOKiCALLY DESIGNATED by many

and milk;
for the

different

names, such

as meat and flesh, and nourishment, and bread, and blood,

Lord

is all

things for the enjoyment of us,

who have
called the

believed in him.*

Nor
:

let

any one think

is

that

we

speak strangely, when we say that milk

blood of the Lord
Called
for is

allegorically

not

wine

likewise

ALLEGORICALLY

by the very same appellation?"!

He, more;

And

again

'^

Be

well assured that Christ also himself par-

took of wine

inasmuch as he also was a man.

'

over, blessed the wine, saying,

blood,' the blood of the vine.

Take, drink

this is

my

The

consecrated liquor of

exhilaration, therefore,

allegorically represents the Word,

on behalf of

who poured
of
sins.":j:

him.self out

many

for the remission

Cyril of Jerusalem, in the fourth century, says, " Let us

partake as of the body and blood of Christ.

For under

the

TYPE of bread

his

body
is

is

given to thee
;

and under the type

of wine his blood

given to thee

that so thou

mayest par-

take of the body and blood of Christ, being one body and

one blood with him."

(Catech. Mystagog. IV.

p.

217.)

Augustine, in the fourth century, says, "

The Lord, when

to say,
'

he gave the sign of his body, did not doubt

This

is

my

body.'

In

the

history of the

New

Testament, so
that

great and so marvellous

was the patience of our Lord,

bearing with Judas, though not ignorant of his purpose, he

admitted him to the banquet, in which he

delivered to his disciples,
'

the figure' of his

commended and own body and

Paedag-.

lib. 1. c. 6. p.

104.

t Ibid. p. 105.
^ Ibid. lib. 2. c. 2. p. 158.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
blood."*

69
Fathers

One more

quotation, and

will dismiss the

for the present. Hear Pope Gelasius in the fifth century. " Certainly, the sacraments of the body and blood of the

Lord, which we receive, are a divine thing

these

because by

we

are

made

partakers of the divine nature.

Never-

theless, the substance or nature of the bread

and wine ceases

not to exist

and assuredly, the image and similitude of the

in the action

body and blood of Christ are celebrated

mysteries."

of the
Bibli-

(See Gelas. de duabus Christi naturis.

otheca Patrum, vol. 4. p. 422.)

to this testimony

Give

me

leave, in addition

from antiquity,

to 'mention a historical fact,

which took place during the persecution at Lyons, A. D. " The pagans wishing to ascertain the secret ceremo177.
nial

of the Christians, apprehended their slaves and put

to

them

the torture.
tell

Impatient of the pain, and having

their

nothing to
slaves,

which might please

tormentors, the

who had

heard their masters say that the Eucharist

was
this

the body and blood of Christ, forthwith communicated

circumstance.
it

Whereupon

the tormentors, fancying

that

was

literal

blood and flesh which

was served up
the
to

in

the mysteries of the Christians, hastened to inform the other

Pagans.
Sanctus

These

ipfimediately

apprehended

martyrs,

and Blapdina; and endeavoured

extort

from

them a confession of the deed.

boldly answered,

But Blandjna readily and

piety, ab^

how

can those, who through

stain even fjrom lawful food, be capable of perpetrating the

actions,

which you allege against them?"f

the primitive Christians literally de-

Misapprehending the true nature of the Eucharist, the

Pagans fancied
voured
*

that
flesh,

human

and

literally

drank human blood,

Aug'. Enarr. in

Difficulties of
j-

Iren.

Psalm iii. Op. Vol. viii. p. T. See Faber'a Romanism. Frag-, apud fficum. in 1 Pet. ii. 12, as (quoted by Pa^

ber, p. 118.

70

TRANSUDSTANTIATION.

Christians were tortured in order to obtain a confession, but

they uniformly denied the existence of any such abomination in their rehgious

worship
its

Now,
No!

ask, could they

with truth have denied

existence, if they had held the

doctrine of transubstantiation?

For then they must

have been conscious that they were guilty of the very crime
alleged against them, viz. that of literally devouring
flesh,

human

and

literally

drinking

human

blood.

But they uni-

formly denied that they did any such thing, therefore they
clid

not hold the doctrine of transubstantiation

brethren, with this evidence from antiquity be-

Now, my
fore you,
priest,

what would you think of the veracity of a popish

in the face of the verdict of these Fathers,

who
tell

should
is all

gravely

his auditory that their

unbroken testimony
I will
tell

in favour of "transubstantiation?"

you what

should think, were

to

hear any such assertion.

two things
statement,

is
is

certain.

One of The man who can make such a

is

either lamentably ignorant, or else he

atro-

ciously wicked.

Why, my

brethren,
I

the
is

early fathers,

never heard of transubstantiation

It

a word that was

not coined in the popish mint, until long after the last of the
fathers,

from

whom
is

have quoted, had gone

It is

to his rest
origi-

The

doctrine itself
in

a novelty.

a heresy which
started

nated

the

fifth

century, and was

first

by Eutyches.

In the works of Theodoret

we have an

elaborate discussion

on the subject, in which that father mouth of Orthodoxus, (a fictitious

indicates that Theodor-et looked
his sentiments,)

puts arguments into the

character,

whose name
in
the-

upon him as orthodox

This shows
first

which completely demolish the whole

in

ory of a physical change

the heresy

the elements.
it

how
I

was regarded, when

was

broached.
is

hold

it

proved, therefore, that transubstantiation

contra-

dicted

by the testimony of the early

fathers.

TRANSUBSTANTFATION.
IV. In conclusion,
I

-yj

think

can redeem

my

promise

to

show now.
case
:

that

Romanists probably do not believe the doctrine

I

In order to establish this point,

will state the following

"

Protestant lady entered the matrimonial state with

Roman

Catholic gentlemen, on condition he would never

use any attempts, in his intercourse with her, to induce her

to

embrace

his religion.

Accordingly, after their marriage,

he abstained from conversing with her on those religious

topics,

which he knew would be disagreeable

priest,

to her.

He

employed the Romish

her mind.

however,
instil

who

often visited the

family to use his influence to

his popish notions into

But she remained unmoved, particularly on the

doctrine of transubstantiation.
ill,

and during

his

affliction

At length the husband fell was advised by the priest to

receive the holy sacrament.

The

wife

was requested

to

prepare bread and wine for the solemnity by the next day.

She
sir,

did so

and on presenting them

to

to the priest said,

'

These,

you wish me
Most
will

understand, will be changed into the

after

real

body and blood of Christ

'

you have consecrated

'

them.'
joined,
'

certainly,'

he replied.

Then,

sir,'

she re-

it

not be possible, after the consecration, for

to the

them
Lord,

to

do any harm
flesh
is

worthy partakers

for,

says our
is

my
;

meat indeed, and ray blood

drink
'

indeed

and he

that eateth

me

shall

live

by me.'

As-

suredly,'

answered the

priest,

'they cannot do

harm

to the

worthy receivers, but must communicate great good.'

The

ceremony commenced, and the bread and wine were consecrated

;

the priest

was about

to take

and eat the bread

but as

but the lady begged pardon for interrupting him, adding,

'

mixed a

little

arsenic with the bread,

sir,

it

is

now

changed

into the real

body of Christ,
principles

it

cannot of course do
priest,
it.

you any harm.'

were not

The

of the

however,
Confused,

sufficiently firm to enable

irritated,

him

to eat

ashamed and

he

left

the house,

and never more


72
TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

ventured to enforce on the lady the absurd doctrine oftran^

substantiation."

McGavirCs Protestant^
anecdote be
I

vol.

i.

p.

425.
circumit

Whether
but if not,

this

literally true in all its

stances or not,
it is

cannot pretend

to say.

Perhaps

is not,

no matter so

far as the validity

of the arguat

ment

is

concerned.
I

The

case

may

be realized

any

time,

and may,
test

think, be

fairly

used to put any papist to the

I

as to his belief in transubstantiation.

if

should be very

sorry indeed

any

the experiment.

Roman Catholic should And I have too good an

consent to

make

opinion of their

common

sense to believe that they would incur the risk of

If the priest's

being poisoned.

mumbling " Hoc

it

est

corpus

meum," can
at present

expel the arsenic, and mind,

I

must be Pro-

testant arsenic,

shall certainly be less skeptical than I

I

am
into
I

on the subject; and just so soon as

is

have ocular

demonstration to convince me, that the wafer

changed

the real body and blood, soul and divinity of the Saviour,
shall

most cheerfully give

in

my
I

assent to the doctrine of

to

transubstantiation,

and

shall be

ready

admit that

its

op-

posers are far more perverse than

ever supposed them to be.

LECTURE

III.

PURGATORY.
Luke
"**

xxiii.

43^

AND JESUS SAID UiNTO HIM, VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE, TO-DAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE."

The

doctrine which \vas announced last Sabbath as the

is

subject of discourse for this evening,

one of those strange

things which most clearly convict the

gross apostacy from the simplicity
lief in

Romish church of of the gospel. The be-

purgatory
It is

is

a tenet peculiar to the

Roman
is it

Catholic

faith.

certainly not enjoined in the Bible,

which conincorpo-

tains the

grounds of Protestant doctrine, nor

rated in

any of the standards of

of
faith.

the Protestant churches

it

as an article

You
It
is

find

in

Roman

Catholic
I

books, and

in

them only.

may

be inferred from what

have

just said, that the Bible

I

not to be regarded as a

Roman

Catholic book.
to prove this
;

shall

not enter into a lengthy

argument
circula-

the fact that the

word of God
its

is

included in

the index of prohibited books, and that

tion
is

common
is

reprobated by the highest authorities of the popish

is

church,
shall

surely proof enough.

That

this

the case, I
to

show hereafter, meanwhile, any one who wishes

need only turn
to the

satisfy himself,

chapter in the Acts

of the Council of Trent, which treats " of forbidden books,"

^nd he

will find that the

common

reading of God's word

is

74

PURGATORY.
is

declared to be fraught with the most pernicious results, and

therefore strictly forbidden.

The

assertion that the doctrine

in

of purgatory

is

now

to

be found only

Roman

Catholic books

will, I suppose, not

be disputed by the most zealous papists.

The

Bible says not a

word about purgatory-

You cannot
to
it

find the
lation.

word

in
if

this
it

whole volume, from Genesis

Reve-

Now,

were a matter of

revelation,

would

certainly have had a

name and
by
its

a place in

the Scriptures.
is

Every important
clearly

doctrine taught in the

word of God
appellation.

designated

appropriate

We

read

much

of heaven and

hell,

but not a word of purgatory.

We

read of faith and repentance, and the atonement, and

justification,

and

sanctification, &c.,

and these words aU

in

point out particular doctrines

which are clearly defined

the Scriptures.

It

is

a strange thing that there should be

if there* really is
is

no name
ven and
strange
for only

for

purgatory in the Bible,

such

a state or place, especially when so

hell, the

much

said about hea-

two other abodes of departed souls.

it

But

as

it

is,

is

true.

This silence

can account

on one or the other of the following suppositions.

either a singular omission, not to
;

There

is

say defect in the

word of God

or else there

is

no such thing as purgatory.

The
and
I

latter I consider the

more probable case of the two,

to

hope

to

bring over every unprejudiced hearer

plan
I

my

opinion.

The

have proposed

to

myself

in

treating

this subject is,

I.

To EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE WHICH

IS

OFFERED IN

SUPPORT OF THE DOCTRINE.

II.
I.

To PRODUCE TESTIMONY WHICH SUBVERTS IT. What is the doctrine of the church, as to purgatory
constantly hold, that there
is

"

We

a purgatory

and that

the souls therein detained are helped

faithful.

by the

suffrages of the

That

is,

by

the prayers and alms offered for them,

sacrifice

and principally by the holy

of the mass.

PURGATORY.

75
?

^ What do you mean by purgatory

"A

micldte state of souls,

who

depart this

life

in

God's

grace, yet not without

ment, which retards

some lesser stains or guilt of punishthem from entering heaven. But as to

suffer, the

the particular place where these souls suffer, or the quality

of the torments which they

nothing.

church has decided

"
*'

What
1.

sort of Christians then

go

to

purgatory?

Such as

die guilty of lesser sins,

which we commonly have

call venial, as

many

Christians do, who, either by sudden

"death or otherwise, are taken out of this life before they

repented of these ordinary failings.

2dly.

Such as have
full

been formerly guilty of greater

satisfaction for

sins,

and have not made

them

to the divine justice.

"

Why

do you say that those

?

who

die guilty of lesser

sins go to purgatory

" Because such as depart

pented for these venial

this life before

they have re-

frailties

and imperfections cannot be

torments of
hell,

supposed to be condemned

to the eternal

since the sins of which they are guilty are but small, which

ven God's

best servants are

straight to

more or

less liable to.

Nor
no
sin,

can they go

heaven

in this state,
'

because the
shall in

Scripture assures us, (Rev. xxi. 17,)

There

wise enter thither any thing that be

it

defileth^'

Now very

ever so small, certainly defileth the soul.

to

Hence our

Saviour assures us, that we ar

for every idle word. (Matt.
xii.

render an account even

36.)

" Upon what then do you ground your belief of purgatory

''^

Upon

Scripture, tradition

and reason."*

I shall

follow the Grds. of C. D., and see

what evidence
of purga-

Scripture, tradition,
tory.

and reason

offer in support

* Grds. C. D., p. 55.

76
1.

PURGATORY.
"

How upon

Scripture? Because the Scripture, in

*

many

places, assures us that

God

will

render to every one accord-

ing to his works.'"

We

are then referred to the following

all possible

passages; and,
references,
ble.
I

in

order to give

weight to these

will read

them as they stand

in

in the
all

Doway
is

Bi-

"But

the

king shall rejoice

;

God;

they shall
stop-

be praised that swear by him

because the mouth

Ixii.

ped of them that speak wicked things." Ps.

this

12.

What
is

has to do with purgatory

cannot conceive.

There

nothing here about "prayers, and alms, and the holy sacrifice

of the mass, being offered for the souls of the faithful."

is

Neither

the text very relevant to prove that

to

God

will re-

ward every man according

ever, there
is

his

works.

Perhaps, how-

a typographical error, and the twelfth verse

of Ps.

Ixi.

may

be intended.

will read that.

I

"

God

hath

spoken once, these two things have

longeth to God, and

heard, that power be-

mercy

to thee,

Lord,

for thou wilt

render to every
(Matt. xvi. 27.)

man

according to his works."

Again
in the

" For the Son of

Man

shall

come
6.)

glory of
to every

his

Father with
according

his angels, and then will he render

to his

man

works." (Rom.
to his

ii.

"

Who
xxii.

will render to every

man

according

works." (Rev.
is

12.) "Behold,
to render to

come quickly: and my reward

with me,

every

man

according to his works."

These are

the quotations from the

Doway

Bible.

suppose

my

hearthese

ers, like myself, feel disposed to

texts to

ask, "
I

What have

do with purgatory?"
I

When

had looked out these

Scripture passages,

could not help turning to the Grds. of

this

C. D. again, and reading the doctrine of the church on

point.

No

one doubts that God

"

will

reward every

man

ac-

cording to his works; but what has this to do with purgatory

(viz.
?

Hear Pope
that

Pius.

Now

this

would not be true,"

according to his

God

will

reward every

man

works,) "if there was no such thing as purgatory."

so
?

How

"

for

how would God

render to every one according to

PURGATORY.
his works, if
least sin,

^^

such as die

in

the guill of any, even of the

to blot out

which they have not taken care

by

re-

pentance, would nevertheless go straight to heaven?"*

the

Here

Pope and the Bibie are

fairly at issue.

The

Bible says,

^'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from

Pope intimates
is

all

sin;" the

that repentance blots out sin.

?

If so,

where

the need of the Saviour's blood

If
I

can

blot out

my
this

ins

by repentance,

need no Saviour

But waiving

for the present, the declarations of Scripture, that "

God

will

reward every

man
;

according

to his

works," have no relafair

tion to purgatory

and the Pope gives a very

specimen

of the manner in which Popes and Papists argue, when he says, " This would not be true, if there was no such thing
as purgatory 1" "for

how would God

if

render to every one

in the guilt

according

to his

works,

such as die

of any,
to blot

even of the

least sin,

which they have not taken care

out by repentance, would, nevertheless, go straight to hear

ven?"
I

Who

says they will go

to

heaven? Not Protestants,

of any, even the least

am

sure.

If

men

die

"

in the guilt

sin," the Bible tells

us,

they must perish,

and

that

for-

ever.

Instead of going straight to heaven, they will go

straight to hell.

And

for the
guilt

vry sufficient reason, that

if

any man
is

is

under the

of sin, even the least sin, he

an unregenerate man.

And no
Some

unconverted
!

man can

possibly enter the

kingdom of heaven
sins.

It is

absurd, by the
true, greater

way,

to

speak of
;

little

sins are,

it is

than others

but no sins can be called

little, is

so long as the

God

against

whom

they are committed

a great God.

As

for those

who

are regenerated by the grace of God, they

do not " die

in the guilt

of any, even the least sin," because

in virtue of Christ's atoning sacrifice, all their sins, without

any

exception, are forgiven.

" There

is

therefore

now no

Grounds of C. D.,

p. 51.

7*

78
condemnation
viii.

PURGATORY.
to

them, which are

in

Christ Jesus."

(Rom.

1.)

The

believer has received the full pardon of all

his sins, not because he has

made

satisfaction

by doing
the

pe-

nance

but, because
!

God,

for Christ's sake,

does not imis

pute sin

Therefore David says, " Blessed

whom

the

Lord imputcth not

iniquity." (Ps. xxxii. blessed,

man to 2.) The

psalmist does not call the

mitted sin, for there
to
is

man

who
;

has not combut the

no such man on earth

man

whom

sin

is

not imputed,

him
he

for future
is
!

reckoning.

who has it not charged against The standing of such a man,

before God,
is

not in himself, but in his Saviour; therefore

blessed

Now

believers give evidence that they are

their fruits
to

the children of
shall

God by their works. "By know them." They are created anew
any

ye

good works

in

Christ Jesus.

Their persons and services are accepted

intrinsic merit they possess.

for Christ's sake, not for

The

Bible tells us, that

men
is

shall be

rewarded according

to

their works, but not on account of their works.

My

hearbe-

ers will observe, there

a broad distinction to be

made

tween the expressions " according to works," and " on account

of works," just as there
of a witness and the
blish.
fact
is

a difference between the evidence

is

which that witness

called to esta-

The

sentence of a court,

if delivered in equity, will

be according to evidence, but the

man

is

not acquitted or

condemned on account of
But here
gatory?
I

the evidence, but

on account of
do with pur-

his guilt or innocence, as established

by the testimony.
all this to

ask again,

What
;"

has

These Scriptures speak of God's rewarding men

to their

" according

works

but

it

is

plainly

avowed by

Papists themselves, that in purgatory

God

renders to every

man, not " according

masses

to his

works," but according to his

wealthy or to the wealth of his surviving friends.

his surviving friends

The more

can procure for the repose of

his soul, the sooner he will be delivered

from purgatory
please.

and money

will

buy masses

to

any extent you

PURGATORY.
2.

79
"

But

must proceed
text

to the

next Scripture proof.

fathers

Have

you any other

writers interpret
*

which
shall be
it

the

and
Cor.

ecclesiastical
iii.

of purgatory?

Yes,

13, 14, 15.

Every man's work

it,

made

manifest.

For the day

shall declare

because

shall be revealed

by

fire.
it

And
is.

the fire shall try every

man's work of what

sort

If

any man's work abide which he hath

is,

built thereupon, (that

upon the foundation, which

If

is

Jesus Christ,) he shall reshall be burnt,

ceive a reward.
suffer loss
:

any man's work

he shall
fire.'

but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by

text
it

From which
which
tal sin
is
;

appears, that such as in their

lives,

faith,

and

in the practice

of their

have stuck

to the foundation,

Christ Jesus, so as not to forfeit his grace

by mor-

though they have otherwise been guilty of great im-

perfection,

by building wood, hay, and stubble

;

(v.

12,)

upon

this foundation

it

appears,

say, that such as these, acfiery trial at the

cording
time

to the apostle,

must pass through a

that
is

'every man's work shall be made manifest;'

till

which

not

the next

life

and that they shall be saved

is,

indeed, yet so as

by

fire,

that

by passing through purgaassurance with which

fire,

tory."*
It
is

amusing

to

see
this

the

cool

Pope Pius concludes

i.

paragraph, " yet so as by

e.

by passing through purgatory."

A man
it,

might read

over this Scripture one hundred times, and he would never be able to find any thing of purgatory in
unless he

came
mean-

determined to pervert the passage.

tle's

If

we

look at the apos-

scope, and this is the only way to shall see that in the context, we ing, some who held indeed the foundation
built

ascertain his

Paul

is

speaking of

of Christianity, but

upon

it

such doctrines and practices as would not be

approved

in the

day of trial.

These he designates as wood,

the
fire.

hay, and stubble, which are not proof against

Grds, C. D. p. 57.

QQ Such

PURGATORY.
persons, the apostle
tells us, will

be in great danger,

though he would not deny the possibility of their salvation. To be saved " so as by fire," or " out of the fire," is a proverbial expression, used not only in Scripture, but in pro-

fane authors also, to signify a narrow escape out of great

danger. Thus, Amos iv. 11, "Ye were as a fire brand plucked out of the burning," and Jude 23, " Others save

with fear, piilling them out of the

said that a

fire."
fire,

Besides,

it

is

not

man

shall be saved

by

but, " so as by

fire."

The
fied

apostle had been speaking of metals.

These are
if

puri-

from dross by means of

fire.

Now,

any Christian

should build improper things upon the true foundation,

God
His

would, by some trying dispensation, destroy his work.

labour would be
lost
;

and so as by

fire

gold

is

separated

from the dross, he would be saved from

ruptions.

his errors

and cor-

In the exposition of this passage,

have followed the

general opinion of the commentators, though a careful ex-

amination of the context leads

me

to offer

an explanation,
which
is

which

strikes

me

as

more

satisfactory than that

commonly
to enlarge

received.

In the ninth verse Paul says to the

Corinthians, "

Ye

are God's building."

this

He

then proceeds

and carry out

labours

metaphor, by reminding them

as a " wise master builder,"

of his

own

among them
man,
i.

and
to

to caution every

e.

every builder, or minister,

take heed

Jesus, V. 10, 11.

how he The

builds

upon the foundation Christ

building consists not of doctrines^

but 0^ converts, "

Ye
is

are God's building," and the character

of these converts
precious stones,

typified

by the

figures

of"
It

gold, silver,

wood, hay, and stubble."

is

common
he hath
10.

thing for the sacred writers to use gold and silver as emble-

matical of the righteous.

tried

Thus Job

says, "

When
xxiii.

me,

I shall

come

forth as gold."

Job
fire,

"I

will bring the third part

through the

and

will refine

; : ;

PURGATORY.

Q^

ihcm as
say

silver

is

refined,

and

will try

them as gold
hear them

is
:

tried
I

they shall call on

it

my

name, and

I will

will

is

my

people," &c. Zech.

xiii. 9.

"

Ye

also, as liveii.

ly stones, are built up a spiritual house," <kc. 1 Pet.

5.

Wood, hay, and

priate
I will

stubble are as often employed as approthe character of the wicked.

in

emblems of

" Behold,
this

make my words
it

thy mouth

fire,

and

people

wood, and

shall devour

them."
"

Jer. v. 14.

"Let them

be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore

it

groweth up." Ps. cxxix.

6.

Thou

sentest thy wrath,

7.

which consumed them as stubble." Exod. xv.

hold, the

" For be;

day cometh

that shall burn as an oven

and

all

the proud, yea, and

all

that do wickedly, shall be stubble

shall

and the day

Mai.
sort

that
it

cometh

burn them up, saith the Lord

root nor branch."

of hosts, that
iv. 1.
it

shall leave
fire will

them neither

"The

try every man's

is;" " the

day

shall declare it," that

work of what great and terri-

ble

day of the Lord, when ministers and people shall be ar;

raigned before the bar of Jehovah

when

the righteous shall

come

forth

unscathed

from the burning world, and the

wicked be punished with everlasting destruction from the

presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power.
ministers,

Many

who have been over anxious to make large additions to the church, and who have looked more at the quantity than the quality of their material, will suffttr loss, much of their work will be burned, many of the converts will
prove
to

have been

their converts

and not the Lord's.

These
whose

builders will not receive as large a reward as those

work
by

abides,

who have been more

with difficulty.

careful

and discriminate
;

ing; nevertheless, they themselves shall be saved

fire,
i.

yet so as

e.

They

built

upon the true

"

foundation, though

much of

their

work was burned.

They

that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament

and they that turn

many

to righteousness,

as the stars for

Q2
ever and ever." Dan.

PURGATORY.
xii. 3.
I

am

the

more
it is

inclined to believe
in perfect

this exposition to be correct,

because

keeping

with the drift of the apostle's discourse.

the party-spirit

He

is

reproving
his fel-

of the Corinthians, and speaking of

low labourers
sage

in the ministry, before

I offer

he introduces the pas-

in question.

these hints with diffidence; if they

all

meet the eye of one, who denounces

tion of the Scriptures, tliey will

private interpretalittle

of course receive very

countenance, especially as they do not favour the purgatory

scheme.
Paul says nothing
lieve that
in the context that

can lead us
;

to be-

he held that there was a purgatory

" and that the

souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the

faithful,
i.

e.

by prayers and alms from them, and

princito
is

pally by the holy sacrifice of the mass."

And
this

if

you turn

the Grds. of C. D., you will find that

Scripture

brought forward to establish this point.

ever,
I

must make,
^'

in justice to

those

One remark, howwho interpret this

apostle speaks of

passage as relating
building
anity,

to purgatory.

The
in

gold and silver" upon the foundation of Christiis

and there

no doubt, that

a certain sense, purga-

tory

is

a building of gold and

silver.

Only think of the

vast revenues

which

this doctrine, in

connexion with that of

indulgences, has brought to Holy Mother, and

question for one
iiave built

who can
In the

moment,

that the inventors of purgatory

their foundation?
all this

" gold and silver" upon

I

apostle's mind,
in the

suppose, however,

hay and

stubble,

which

will not stand

it

would be included when " the fire

is."

shall try every

this,

man's work of what sort

fire shall

Besides

all

the text says, " the

try

every man's work^^

that, if this

not, the fire shall

fire

purge or purify every man, so

if

should signify purgatory, and

his

every

man

should

fol-

low

work, no

man
it,

that once got into purgatory,

suflfrages

would

ever come out of

be of no service.

and so the

of the faithful would

PURGATORY.
3.

83

But not to dwell too long upon one passage, I must pro" Matt. V. 25, 26. ' Agree with thine adversary ceed.
quickly whilst thou art in the

way

with him;

lest at

anytime
Verily

the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver

thee to the officer, and thou

be cast into prison.

say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out of thence

till

thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.'

Which

text, St.

Cyprian, one of the most ancient fathers, understands of the

prison of purgatory.

Epis. 52 ad Antoninum."*'
to

The passage
I will

in

Cyprian,

which we are

referred, cer-

tainly teaches nothing like the present doctrine of purgatory.

quote

it

in its

proper place.

Augustine interprets
to

this

text as alluding to hell.f

But suppose Cyprian

to

mean what
of

Romanists

assert,

and

be

right

in

his

application

these words, they will be very far from sustaining the traffic

of our purgatory
shalt

priests.

" Verily,
out thence
this is a

say unto thee, thou

BY NO MEANS comc

till

thou

hast paid the

uttermost farthing."
theory.

Why
in

death-blow to the whole

represents, according to
is

The man

prison

who
in

Catholic doctrine,
shalt

the soul

purgatory,

told,

" Thou

hy no means come out thence."

This admits of no

commutation of punishment.

whole debt himself " till thou hast paid," &c. And how is he to pay it? " for we brought nothing with us into this world,
and
will
it

The

sinner must

pay the

is

certain

we can

carry nothing out."

alms, and prayers, and masses do?

out thence
!!"

What good "Thou shalt by

to

NO MEANS come
text

If

had wished

choose a

from the Bible that would overthrow the whole purgaI

torian scheme,

could not have selected one more to the

purpose than

this,

which Pope Pius, with apostolic simplihand.

city, furnishes to

my

* Grds. C. D. 58.

f Fulke's Confutation of Rhemlsh Testament, p. 46, in loco. New York, 1834.

84

PURGATORY.
In the connexion in which

we

find these

words, Christ

was speaking of unjust anger, unkind

w^ords,

and quarrels

among

brethren.

He

says, that a

will against a brother, is not in

man, who harbours illa fit state of mind to offer

is

an acceptable
to take
in this

sacrifice to

God.

He

therefore

commanded
it

immediate steps

to effect

a reconciliation, and

is

connexion that the Saviour says, " Agree with thine

if this is

adversary," &c., meaning, that

not done, he

may

expect that his adversary will take summarj?^ vengeance,

when he

shall

have
to

it

in his

power.

No

doubt, the words

were intended

convey

spiritual

instruction.

The man
his

who
he

hates his brother cannot love God, and unless

hatred be removed, he will incur punishment from which

will

never be delivered
till

"

Thou

shalt

by no means come
I

out thence
that

thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."

hope

my Roman

Catholic friends will never pay another

penny
there
I

to their priests to help souls out

of purgatory when,

according to the very authority which Pope Pius adduces,

is

so

little

prospect of their release.

surprised at reading in No. 3,* p. 13, of

was not

little

the Tracts, published by the Papist Tract Society of Balti-

more, the following statement

tion so often

" With respect

to the asser-

made by the enemies of the Catholic religion, that for a sum of money, its ministers claim the power of releasing souls from purgatory, I need not, I am 'sure
add, that
it

is

another of those strange misrepresentations

to be groundless, is

which, though a thousand times proved

as often repeated.

The
in

Catholic priest claims no authority

All he can do
is,

or jurisdiction over the dead.

the mercy of

to

apply

to

God

their behalf; but like other

men, he

* The substance of a discourse, delivered at Bradford, England, by the Rig^ht Rev. Dr. Baines, Bishop of Siga, &c.

PURGATORY.
must ever remain uncertain respecting the
prayers," &c.
priest
it

85
efficacy of his

Cold comfort

this

for

the faithful.

The
sacri-

seems does not know whether

worth any thing or not
!

his prayers

and

fices are

And

yet he lakes
will not

money

for these extra prayers

and

sacrifices,

and

perform

them without
&c.,

it.

For the same

Rt. Rev. Dr. Baines, Bishop,

who complains

of this as one of the " strange misrepre-

sentations" which have so often been refuted, nevertheless justifies this

practice of the priests.

After stating that the priest

prays every day without remuneration for the souls of the departed in general, he adds, " But if not content with these
general prayers and
friends special
sacrifices, individuals

wish for their

and peculiar services, surely he who performs

I
is

them may, without reproach, receive a remuneration."

hope
all

Roman
;

Catholics will bear in

to

mind

that there

nothing certain relative

the liberation of their friends

there is no telling how much sacrifice, how many masses, or how many prayers will suffice to move God to mercy however, the priest will let them pay for as many masses as they choose to order but then, remember,

from purgatory

it

is

slander to say that he claims the power of releasing

;

souls from purgatory

" he must ever remain uncertain

!"

re-

specting the efficacy of his prayers

in the

If popery

had existed

days of Solomon, he would surely have included

in the family

Holy Mother
sisters,

of the horse-leach,

for, like

her two

she

is

forever crying, " Give, give."

(Prov. xxx. 15.)

effi-

" The

priest
his

must ever remain uncertain respecting the

!"

cacy of

prayers

The
own

apostle

James says, " The

fer-

vent, effectual prayer of a righteous

man

availeth

much.'*''

Let the reader draw his

4.
I

inference.

proceed to the next quotation.

" Whosoever speaknot be forgiven him,

eth against the

Holy

Ghost*,

it

shall

neither in this world nor in

shall not inquire

the world to come."

infallible fathers

Now

what the

and doctors of

gQ
the

PURGATORY.

Romish church say on

it

this

subject, because there is

is

very great diversity of opinion among them, and as one

as infallible as the other,
is

just

no easy matter to decide be-

tween them.

believe

that

Mark and Luke were

Matthew than
all

better

interpreters of their brother

the fathers

and doctors put together, and the sense which they give to
the Saviour's expression, that the sin against the

Holy Ghost
records the

shall not be forgiven either in this world, or in the world to

come
the

is,

that

it

shall never be forgiven.

:

Mark

Saviour's words thus

"

He

that shall

blaspheme against

Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of (Mark iii. 29.) Luke says, "But eternal damnation." unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall
not be forgiven."

(Luke

xii.

10.)

The
is

phrase neither in

this world,

nor in the world to come,

a Hebrew form of

speech, equivalent to never.

But suppose our Saviour's

is

language in Matthew does intimate that there

to

forgiveness

be obtained in the world to come,

1

why must
*'

this relate to
hell,

purgatory
for there

Why,
no
sin."

says Pope Pius,

Right.

It

cannot be in

is

forc[iveness."

" Nor
it

in heaven, for
in

there

is

no

True.

" Well, then,

must be
to
in

purga-

tory."

How

so?

Is there

no forgiveness

be expected at
righteousness

the place where

God

will

judge the world

?

by

that

man whom

he hath ordained

Shall not true be-

lievers be

openly acknowledged and acquitted at the day of

Will not your sins be blotted out when the times

judgment?

of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ?

that

So

you see we need not

is

light

up a purgatory, even supposing

that there

forgiveness to be obtained in the world to come.

And,
ject.

at all events, this

passage

is

not applicable to the sub-

"Whosoever speaketh
him," &c.

against the

Holy Ghost,
go
to

it

shall not be forgiven

Why, souls
!

purgatory
is

not to be forgiven, but to be punished

Purgatory

not a

place where sins are forgiven, but where they are burnt out

PURGATORY.
of the sonl
!

87

What

has forgiveness in the world to

come

to

do with purgatory?
faction in purgatory !"
if satisfaction

"Oh," says

the papist,

"I always
made
satis-

thought that they were forgiven after they had

But do you not

is

see,

my

friend, that

be made, there

no room
and pay

for forgiveness.

If

you owe
time,
paid,
I
it

me one hundred
I

dollars,

me

at the stipulated

cannot say that

is

forgive

you

the debt.

The

debt

is

not forgiven.

God

forgives sinners for the sake

of the Saviour.
selves, there

If they could

make

satisfaction for

them-

would be no need of God's forgiveness, nor

of Jesus Christ; and then D ivid was wretchedly out of the way when he said, " But there is forgiveness with thee." But
to
I

forget,

David was no

papist.

Let those

who

profess

make

satisfaction,
it

to finish the finished righteousness of

Christ, look to

that they do not bar against themselves

the door oC forgiveness,

5.

" But," says the

is

Roman

Catholic, "
iii.

you cannot deny where Christ

to the

that purgatory
is

implied, (Afite

18

20,)

said

by
in

his spirit to

have gone and preached, &c.

spirits

person."*
I

Here Pope Pius forgets part of his

It is
it

creed, and
faith in

must remind him of it.

part of the
is

Romish

relation to purgatory, (though

I

not inserted in

the Grds. of C. D., inasmuch,

suppose, as the theory I

am

going to mention belongs

to the superstructure,

and not

the foundation,) that the souls of those

who

died in a state

of grace, though with some stains of venial sin before

Christ's appearance

place where there

is

on earth, were confined in limbus, a no torment. " There are four infernal,

or subterrestrial places; Hell, Purgatory,

for children

who

die

Limbus Infantum, without baptism, and Limbus Patrum,

Christ's incarnation.
et

where the patriarchs were before

hell

In

and purgatory there are poena damni

* Grds. C. D., p. 59.

poena sensus,

38
punishment of
loss

PURGATORY.
and pain.

The two

limbl are only dun-

geons of darkness without tornnent, except absence from

God."*

Now,
tells us.

let

us bear in mind that the spirits in prison were

the souls of those

who

died during

Noah's time, as the

went

text

Did these disobedient people

grace?

die in mortal sin, or

to hell.

in a stale of

If the former, they

If

the latter, they were to be

accommodated

in

limbus patrum,
not in pur-

a place where there

gatory.

is

no torment.

They were
went

If Christ preached to them, he

to limbus, not

to purgatory.
ject?

Then, what has

is, it

this text to

do with the sub-

The

truth

has nothing to do either with limbus

or purgatory, as
apostle's

may

very satisfactorily be shown.

in

The
vii.

statement must be taken

connexion with the

Genesis
vi.

narrative of the inspired historian

in

and

God saw
great,

that

the wickedness of

men on

earth

was very

He

to destroy the world by a flood. up Noah, a preacher of righteousness. During one hundred and twenty years, whilst the ark was prepar-

and he determined

raised

ing,

Noah

faithfully

preached

to the

men of

his generation

the righteousness of the promised Saviour as the only ground

of hope for sinners.

It

was

the Spirit of Christ which- spoke

by

all

the prophets, as the apostle Peter tells us, "

Of which

salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently,

who

prophesied of the grace that should

come unto you,

i.

searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ

which was

in

them

did signify,"

&c.
his

(1 Pet.
Spirit

11.)

There-

fore, Christ

was preaching by

through

Noah

to

the wicked sinners,

the ark, and

who were

witnesses of the buildin^ of

who heard

the admonitions of the patriarch.

But they were disobedient, they did not believe the warninc^, they would not flee for refuge to the hope set before them,

* Bellarm.

de Purgat. Lib.

2,

Cap.

6.

PURGATORY.
and
in

89
they perished
;

consequence of

their rebellion
flood,

they

were swept away by the

forever remain
difficulty

and when the apostle wrote,

hell,

Ihey were shut up in the prison of

!

and there they

is

will

But, in addition to all this, there

another

here.

Why

should Christ go to purgatory to

there?
I

preach

to

the spirits

never heard before that

preaching was one of the means of getting souls out of purgatory.

The

priest

tells

us that prayers and alms, and

above

all,

masses are the appointed means!

You must

re-

member

the souls in purgatory are kept there in order to

;

satisfy for their venial sins

preaching, therefore, could do

little

them no good.
to

It

would probably afford very

pleasure

some papists to listen to the preaching of Jesus Christ, as he was wont to be rather se\ere on certain very reverend characters who made the word of God of none effect by their traditions, whilst "they made broad their phylacteries
and enlarged the borders of
their

garments."

Perhaps,

in-

deed, the idea in adducing this Scripture as a proof text for

purgatory, might be that the penance of listening to the

Saviour would be so severe as

to avail

very materially
all
it

to-

wards making

satisfaction.

Though

after

requires

great skill in divination to be able clearly to understand

what bearing

this

passage can have upon the Tridentine

scheme of purgatory.
These are
think
all the texts

which are adduced

in the

Grounds

of Cath. Doct.
I
I

in

support of the doctrine of purgatory.

have shown that they are not altogether so conclupurgalorian plan, as pious

sive in favour of the

Roman

Catholics believe.

Indeed, the

more
e.

discreet doctors of that

persuasion do not ground their doctrine of purgatory upon

Scripture.

Archbishop Fisher,

g.,

who

distinguished

himself by the zeal with which he endeavoured to refute the

opinions of Luther, and
in the

who

is

certainly of high authority

Romish

Church, frankly declared that " he could not

8*

90
readily find

PURGATORY.

any one Scripture

:

that

would force one

to

con-

fess a purgatory

and

if

there be

any such," says

he, "it

has hitherto escaped the most diligent inquiries."

it

And

well

nnay, for a vast

Scripture, which will prove to every

tion, that this

amount of testimony can be gathered from mind open to convicdoctrine is not inculcated in the word of God.
1

Some
II.

of this testimony
If ever a

will

now

offer.

poor sinner deserved

to

go

to

purgatory,

it

was

the thief

who was
fair

crucified at the Saviour's side.

If

my

friends will turn at their leisure to

Luke

xxiii.

39-43,

they will find as

an opening

for the introduction of this

doctrine, as could possibly

have been desired.

Who

was

the malefactor to
text
?

whom

the Saviour spoke the words of

my

He was

a wretch,

who

confessed, whilst his flesh

quivered under the torturing nails which pierced his hands

and

feet, that

he received the due reward of his deeds, whilst

to the purity

he bore witness

and holiness of the spotless

Lamb

of

God

blessed Jesus.

He turns in the anguish of his soul to the He must have known something of the SaPerhaps he had heard him preach, perhaps
his miracles.

viour before.

he had witnessed some of

At

all

events, he
if

knew enough of the

his guilty soul
faith in the

truth of
to

God

to
it

assure him, that

ever

was

be saved,
Christ,

must be alone through

!

Lord Jesus

and repentance toward God

His sorrow
His

for his past life

was evidenced by

the confession

that the cruel punishment he

faith in Christ,

was

suffering

was deserved.

prayer, " Lord,

kingdom."
Jesus?

as the only Saviour, was proved by his remember me when thou comest into thy And what was the answer of that bleedincr

He

turns upon the poor sinner, compassion beam-

ing through the films of death, and forgetting his

own

sor-

rows, that he might comfort and save a perishing soul, " Verily," says he, " to-day shalt thou be with me in ParaHe did not say, " Verily, to-day shalt thou be in dise !"

PURGATORY.
purgatory
!"

91
a
fit

And
to

surely this

man was

subject for

it.

There was no opportunity of doing penance here.

There

was no time

say a few hundred pater nosters or ave

marias, he had no

money

to give

Pope Peter

nothing to

present to the Prince of the apostles as an inducement to

offer

masses

for the repose

of

his soul
!

There was no room

And, blessed be God,
at his side,

here for the making of satisfaction

there

was no need of it

There was the Saviour

pouring out his precious blood, and suffering as the great

atoninor sacrifice for the sins of the

whole world of believers,

and room
in

and there was room

in

that Saviour's heart,

thief,

Paradise too, for the soul of a poor

breath in supplications for mercy
the case
if
!

who spent his last Would this have been

fit

the ordeal of purgatory were requisite to

?

soul for heaven

Suppose, for a moment, that the theory of

true.

the

Romish Church were

as that which the poor thief

Upon such an application made, we may imagine that

would have ensued.
have given the keys
bind
Peter, I

something " There

is

like the following dialogue

the infallible
to

Pope

of heaven

him,

lie

has power

to

and loose

!"

" Peter ?" the agonized thief might well have answered,

"

Infallible
is,

Peter?

Who
off,

is

he?

Where
is

is

he?"

" Yonder

he

he follows afar

ashamed because he has perjured

himself and denied

me!"

"Oh,

there then no help for

a poor sin-sick soul, a hell-deserving wretch?" thou mayest have masses

i.

"Surely!

ofix^red for

the repose of thy soul,

is

e. if

thou canst pay for them.

Here

the beloved disci-

ple John,

and there

is

the blessed Virgin,

my

mother

get

them

enlisted in thy behalf, give thy

money

to the priests,

my
but

apostles,
1

and they

will offer

masses
!''

for thee I"

"Ah,

have no money."

"

No money ?
produce
all

Verily,

say unto

thee, to-day shalt thou be in purgatory

2.
fairly
I

shall not attempt to

the texts which might

be quoted in opposition to

this

popish tenet, for time

92
would
fail

purgaTory.

'^

me

to repeat

them.

will, therefore,

arrange
Let
it

thern in classes, after specifying one passage more.

Rome, unblushingly avowed in this day of spiritual light and knowledge, that money, the alms of the faithful, money, can purbe remembered, that
it is

a doctrine of the church of

chase deliverance from the

fires

of purgatory, and open the

it is

gates of heaven to the soul in whose behalf

paid.

In

other words,
soul
;

money
of

will expedite the sanctification

of the

and

in short
gift

supersede the agency of the Holy Spirit.

be purchased with

ThuSj the
us see
viii.

God may

money

Let

how

this

accords with Scripture.

We

read in Acts

chap, of a certain Simon, a sorcerer,

be converted, and was baptized

who professed to by Philip. The converts

gifts

were

visited

by Peter and John, and the

of the Holy-

Ghost were conferred upon them by the laying on of the

apostles' hands.

Simon was anxious

to obtain this

power.

"And when Simon saw

tles'

that through laying

(i. e.

on of the aposmiraculous en-

hands, the Holy Ghost was given,

conferred,) he offered

dowments were
ing, give

them money, say-

me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him. Thy money perish with thee, because THOU hast thought THAT THE GIFT OF GoD MAY BE PURCHASED M'lTH MONEY Thou hast neither part nor lot in
hands, he
!

this

matter

for

thy heart
this

is

not right in the sight of God.

if

Repent, therefore, of

thy wickedness, and pray God,

peradventure the thought of thy heart

may
is

be forgiven thee,

for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness

and

in

the bond of iniquity."

This Scripture
Peter,

the

more emphatic,
to

because
ists,

it

is

the

word of

who, according

Romanthen,

was

the vicar-general of Jesus Christ, and the prince of

!

the apostles
I
it

"

Thy money
to ask,

perish with thee !"

Spirit

Here
If the

have one question

and may the

of
'

God apply
man,

with convincing energy to every conscience.

PURGATORY.

93.
gift

who

offers
if

money

in

order to buy the

this

of God, must

perish

he repent not of

wickedness, what shall the end

who presume to sell the gift of money? May the Lord God open the eyes of those who buy and those who sell the gift of God, before they and their money perish together Look again at this passage. The Bible uniformly tells us, that it is the office
be of the man, or the men,

God

for

of the Holy Ghost

prepare
it

to deliver
;

from

sin, to sanctify the soul,

and
it is

for

heaven

and

this is called the gift

of

God

therefore God's prerogative to deliver from sin and from

its

penalty.
all

This mercy he does not

ask
it,

sell,

he gives
sell

it

freely to

who

but the priests profess to

it.

Now,

if

they could confer the mercy which they pretend to

sell,

they would be selling what

gift of God.
3.

is

not their own.

They
tenet,

sell the

Again, In opposition
all those texts

to

this

Popish

we must

array

which represent salvation as offered without money and ivithout price. " Ho, every one that

thirstelh,

come ye
buy and

to the waters,
eat,

and he that hath no money^

come

ye,

buy wine and milk without money

the good gospel of

and without price!"

So says

Almighty

God. What says the gospel of Rome 1 " No penny no paternoster !" Pay for masses, or burn in Says Jesus " If any man thirst let him come purgatory
" Pay or perish."
!

unto

me and
Spirit

take of the water of

life

freely."
let

And

again,

"

The

and the Bride say.

Come; and
will,
let

him

that hear-

eth say.
ter

Come; and whosoever

;"
i.

him take the wa-

of life freely

e.

gratuitously, " without

money,"

dec.

"

Ye

were not redeemed," says Peter, " with corruptible and gold, but with the precious blood of the
as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot!"

things, as silver

Son of God,
and gold,
will cover
if

Sinners in the church of

Rome

are redeemed with silver

all
;

they are redeemed at

masses well paid

for

a multitude of sins, deliver souls from the flames

94

PURGATORY.

of purgatory, and purchase the favour of a thrice holy God;

i.

e. if

Popery
:

is

the gospel.

If the Doctrine of the Romish churchy concerning purgatory, he true, all those texts, which represent
4.

Again

the

danger of

the rich are false.

Our Saviour
camel
to pass

tells

us,

"

How

hardly shall they that have riches enter into the

It is

kingdom of God!

easier for a

through

the eye of a needle, than for a rich

man

to enter into the

is

kingdom of God," &c.

lieved
;

Not

so, if

Pope Pius

to

be be-

for

he confidently assures us that alms and masses

will help the souls in purgatory.

The more money,

But the objection

the

more masses; and

the

more masses

the better for the pri-

soner, detained in the fiery ordeal.

may

be started by some Romanist, "

You

forget that only the

souls of the faithful have the privilege of going to purgato-

ry

those

who

die in mortal sin, (and covetousness

is

con-

sidered a mortal sin, though not quite so bad as eating

meat

on Friday,) are

lost

without recovery

!"

But do you not

confess to his
is

know,
priest,

my
and

friend, that the covetous

priest will give

man may

and the
will,
;

him

absolution, if he

paid

for

it,

moreover, administer the sacrament of ex-

treme unction

and then there

title

is

no danger

The man

will

have a clear

to

purgatory; and he can be hurried

through the furnace, and come out pure as gold seven times
tried,

provided plenty of gold

is left

with the ghostly father,

as an acknowledgment for the masses that are offered up

for his deliverance.

Now
it?

if this

be so, and what honest

Romanist

will

deny

"how

easily shall they that

!"

have

riches enter the

5.

kingdom of God

Again

In opposition to

ih'is

golden rule of purgatory,

we

place

all

those texts

Christ as

all-su-fficient

which represent the sacrifice of for the sinner^s salvation, " Christ

once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God."

" In him we have redemption through

; !

PURGATORY.
his blood
;

95

the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of

his grace."

(Eph.

i.

7.)

"

To him

give

all

the prophets

witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in

shall receive remission

him

of sins." (Acts x. 43.)

The

apostle

Paul, after quoting the words of a prophet, " their sins and
iniquities will
*'

remember no more," adds

is,

these words,
is

Now

where the remission of these

for sin."

there

no more

offering

(Heb.

x. 17, 18.)

How

does this agree

with the offering of the holy sacrifice of the mass, for the
benefit of souls in

purgatory?

"

What

is

the Catholic doctrine as to the

mass

" That

in the

mass there

is

offered to

God

a true, proper,

and propitiatory

sacrifice for the living

and the dead."*

is,

But, Paul says, "

is

Where
for sin."

the remission of sins

there

no more offering

And
blood.

he assures us, over and

this

over again, that Christ has obtained

remission for us,

by the shedding of
there
is

his

own

But, according to this,

;

more than the blood of Christ necessary though the

tell

Scriptures
all sin,"

us, " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from

we
be
us

are gravely assured by the church, which

infallible,

claims
cleanse
sins
1

to

that
sins.

purgatory

is

necessary
sins
;

to

from some

From what

Mortal
but from

No.

The

blood of Christ must do that

venial sins.

So, then, the blood of Jesus Christ can purify

sins, but

us from mortal

not from venial offences.

it

It

can

wash away great

stains, but
!

cannot take

away

little

ones

purgatory must do that

"

What

a mistake, the blessed Jecried out on the cross,

sus must have been under,

It is

when he
finished.

finished."

It

was not
It is

The

expiation

was only

begun on Calvary.

finished in purgatory.

But hark

a voice from heaven!

"I heard

a voice from heaven, say-

ing unto me, Write, blessed are the dead that die in the

Grds. C. D. 51.

96
Lord from henceforth.

PURGATORY.

Yea!
no

sailh the Spirit, that

they

may

rest

from their labours."

tliere
is

They
1

rest ; tlien

they cannot
is

be in purgatory, for

rest there!

And what
own

the united sona: of the redeemed

" Unto him that hath

blood
not enough.

loved us, and washed us from our sins in his

to

him be
there

j^Iory for ever."

Now

this

is

Ro-

man
that

Catholics,
is

who

expect to go to purgatory, must see

somethinfr wanting;

"and

to

the fires and

all

pains of purgatory that have purified us from

venial sins

and

to the alms,

and prayers, and masses of saints and

priests

who have

expedited our deliverance; and to ourselves,

for

who have thus made satisfaction

glory for ever!

our sins

to Christ, to

purgatory, to the saints and priests, and to ourselves, be

Amen."
to the next general

But

must proceed
go on
until
I

head

for if I

were

to

had exhausted the Scripture evidences

should far exceed your patience and

against purgatory,

my own
III.

strength.

Let us examine the testimony of tradition.

shall be

On

this

head

more

brief.

My
as

chief stress
If that

shall

always
side,

lay upon the Scriptural argument.

is

on

my

Roman
it.

Catholics

may make

much

out of their traditions

as they please.
If
it

If tradition contradicts the Bible,

away

with

illustrates
it,

and confirms the Scripture,

am

willing

to listen to
I

but only as secondary and inferior testimony.

read in the word of

God of

certain

men, who made

tra-

dition the

main

pillar
;

by which

their doctrines

and practices

were supported

and the Saviour, so

far

from commending

them
"

for

it,

denounces them as hypocrites, because they

rejected the

commandment of God,

that they
to the

might keep

their

own
?

tradition."

Let us refer again

Grds. of C. D.
tra-

"

How

do you ground the belief of purgatory upon

dition

" Because, both the Jewish church, long before our Sa-

PURGATORY.
viour's coming, and the Christian church,

97
from the very be-

ginning, in

all

ages, and in all nations, offered prayers

and
;

sacrifice for the repose

and

relief

of the

faithful

departed

as

appears,
practice

in
is

regard to the Jews, from 2 Mac.

xii.,

where

this

approved
St.

of,

which books of Maccabees, the

c.

church, says

Augustine, L. 18. de Civ. Dei.

accounts

canonical, though the Jews do

not. In regard to the Christian

church, the same

is

evident, from all the fathers,

and the
evi-

most ancient

liturgies.

Now

such prayers as these

dently imply the belief of a purgatory; for souls in hea-

ven stand

in

no need of prayers, and those

(Grds., p. 59.)

in hell

cannot

be bettered by them."

In place of any direct proof, either from the

tures or from the

Hebrew

Scrip-

New

Testament, that

it is

the duty of the

attestation

living to pray for the dead,

we are offered

meagre

from the Apocrypha, which the church of " the precaution to pronounce canonical.

Rome
If

has taken

Judas had not

hoped," says the author of the history of the Maccabees, in

his second book, that they

who were

slain should
to

have risen

again,

it

had been superfluous and vain

pray for the dead."

priest, for

Now we

cannot blame Pope Pius, or his

adducing
is

no evidence from the genuine Scriptures; because there

thing in them that could possibly serve his purpose.

no-

He

has

done what he could, and mortal

is
it

man

can do no more.

But

not strange that our author, in the very

same paragraph
acknow-

in

which he

stickles for tradition, should reject tradition?

The

Jews, according to his

own

statement, did not

ledge the books of ihe Maccabees as inspired productions,

and therefore refused

ine Scriptures
;

to give

them a place among the genui.

but the church,

e.

tie church of

Rome,

considers them canonical, and looks upon them as divinely

inspired writings.

Then

the church of

Rome

does a great
;

deal

more

for

Judas Maccabeus than he ever expected

for

at the close. of his

second book, he writes in the following

98

PURGATORY.
that he never

style, evidently showingr,

dreamed

that the

mantle of

infallibility

over his shoulders.

the story,
it

and " If I have done well, and as

inspiration
I

would ever be thrown

is fitting

is

that

which
I

desired

but

if

slenderly and
In plain
;

meanly,
glish,

it is

that

which

could attain unto."

En-

he meant

to say,

" that he had done

his best
fall

that the
its

work was
merits."

all his

own, and must stand or

by

own
con-

And

then, as if

forever to put an end to

all

troversy on the question of his inspiration, he concludes his

history with these words
:

" For, as

it

is

hurtful to drink
is

wine or water alone

pleasant,

and as wine, mingled with water,

taste,

and delighteth the

even

so,

speech finely

framed, delighteth the ears of them that read the story.

here shall be an end."
alone, then
effecting so
I

And
is

Now,

if

it

is

hurtful to drink water

cannot conceive
for the

how

father Matthews,

who

much

temperance cause

in Ireland, can,

with a clear conscience,

I

recommend

the cold water society.

suppose

his faith in

Judas Maccabeus must have been con-

siderably impaired, since he has become the apostle of the

temperance reformation

in that
I

country

But, to return to tradition.

can furnish traditions that

are even more to the point than this quotation from Judas

Maccabeus
Apocrypha.
this farther

and that have quite as much authority as the

The

authorities to

which

shall refer,

have

advantage about them, that they are very an-

cient

and, as Papists lay great stress upon the antiquity of

their doctrines

and

practices, they certainly

I

must not
help.

reject
is

the auxiliaries,

whom

will bring to their

in

There

no doubt that they can plead antiquity

gatory.

favour of pur-

The

question

is

often

asked us

by Romanists
is,

"Where was your

" In the "

religion before

Luther?" The answer

if

New

Testament."

And,

we

are asked again,

I

Where was

the Protestant church before Luther ?"

an-

swer. In the valleys of Piedmont,

among

the

Waldenses and

PURGATORY.
Albigenses, and on the
hills

99

of Scotland,

among

the Cul-

dees

There were more than seven thousand

to Baal,

there,

who
!

had not bowed the knee

nor kissed his images

They wandered

about, like their fathers of old, in sheep-skins,

in the

and goat-skins, and

dens and caves of the earth

They were

persecuted, tortured, and

I

inhumanly butchered
!

in cold blood.

need not say by

"

whom

And now, when

purgatory before
perfect truth,

we ask Romanists,
"

Where was your

Gregory the Great?" they can answer, with

not

In the writings of heathen poets and philosophers I"

Let

my Roman

Catholic friends say, that this

!

is all

a bur-

lesque upon their favourite doctrine

himself,

Cardinal Bellarmine

actually founds an argument in behalf of purga;

tory upon this very circumstance

lieved
it.

that the heathen

be-

(Bell, de Purg., lib.

if

i.

c.

11.)

Now,

men

will take their notions

if

of Christianity from

such teachers, no wonder

of the gospel
I

they depart from the simplicity

Plato believed in a purgatory.

Let

me

give

you a
the

brief synopsis o^ his theory,

and you

will find

where

Romish church borrowed theirs. " Eusebius relates of Plato, that he divided mankind
by
life,

into

three states; some, who, having purified themselves

phi-

losophy, and excelled in holiness of

felicity in the islands

enjoy an eternal

of the blessed, without any labour or

is
it

trouble,

which neither

possible for

any words

to ex-

press, nor

any thoughts

to conceive.

Others, that had lived

exceedingly wicked, and who, therefore, seemed incapable

of cure, he supposed were, at their death, thrown

down
who,
he

headlong into

hell, there to

be tormented for ever. But, now,

besides these, he imagined there

was a middle
it,

sort,

though they had sinned, yet had repented of

fore,

and, therethese,

seemed

to

be in a curable condition

and

thought, went down, for

some

time, to hell too, to be purged

,*

and absolved by grievous torments

but that after that, they

100

PURGATORY.
it,

should be delivered from

to the dignity

and

attain to

honours according

of their benefactors."*
to the

If

you turn

works of Homer and

Virgil,

you

will

find in the twelfth

book of the Odyssey, and

in the sixth

of

the

^neid,

that the heathen did constantly hold, with

Pope

Pius, that there is a

purgatory, a middle state

and that

the souls therein detained, are helped by the prayers, alms,

and

sacrifices of the faithful.

It is

true, the

heathen
is

knew

nothing of the sacrifice of the mass.

invention of the Popish church.

That

an original

The ceremonies now

the
to

used for the deliverance of souls, as de-

scribed by those poets, are so very similar to the Popish rites

practised, that if the Romish church would only confer same honour upon Homer and Virgil, that has been given

Judas Maccabeus, and pronounce the works of these hea-

then poets canonical, they would have

much

stronger au-

thority than they have ever yet obtained in behalf of purga-

tory

and, in addition to

this,

they would gain four hundred

years antiquity, not only against the heretical unbelievers of

this doctrine, but against Christianity itself.
is

Now, when

it

remembered,

that

many

of the early fathers of the Chrisin the Platonic

tian

church were brought up

philosophy, be-

fore their conversion,

it

we can more
became

readily understand

how

was,

that,

atler they

Christians, they hazarded

conjectures relative to the state of the soul, during the period of

its

separation from the body, very similar to their

this subject.

former heathen notions on

Christianity

The
its

truth

is,

when
was

had become popular, and

profession

fashionable, the heathen

crowded

into the church, without

ever having experienced any thing of the renovating power

of the religion they professed

and, consequently, brought

;

with them their crude pagan notions

and purgatory among

i.

* See M*Gavins Prot, Vol.

p. 540,

PURGATORY.
the rest.

JQI

As

to tlie fathers, then, I

admit that after the fourth

find passages in their

century, and even earlier, you

may

writings that favour the practice of " praying for the dead,"

though

it

required several long centuries before the doctrine

its

of purgatory could be moulded into

present shape.

But
oZc?es^

cannot pass over

this

matter without showing that the

fathersof the Christian church are as free in their writings

itself.

from any mention of purgatory as the Bible

are fairly at issue.

Here then

the commentator on Pope Pius's confession of faith and myself

of

this doctrine.*
I

He asserts that all the fathers are in favour I am sorry that his reverence says so,
I

because

can prove the contrary.

in

suppose, however,

we must
flourish
is

charity construe his assertion as a rhetorical

hyperbolical

expression

the object of which

faithful in their

a pious fraud, designed

to establish the

creed, especially as pious frauds are distinctly authorized in

the standard
St. Ligori,

Roman

Catholic works on theology.

in

Witness

who was canonized

1816,

i.

e.

declared by a

papal bull to be one of the saints,

whom

the faithful

may

invoke or worship.

He

speaks thus with reference even to a

stronger case than the mistake of Pope Pius.

with equivocation, where there
is

To swear
equiif

good reason^ and

vocation itself

is

lawful,

is

not wrong.
it

And

a person

swears without a good reason^

is

not to be considered a
to

perjury since,
,

in

one sense of the word, and, according

a mental
After

restriction,

he swears what

is true."}"

this,

who

will find fault with his reverence for say1

ing that all the fathers speak in favour of purgatory

if

Why,
be true,

he were

to

swear

to

it,

in

one sense

it

would

still

even though the proof were point blank against him.

Now,

if

all the fathers bear testimony in favour of pur-

* Grds. p. 59. f Synopsis of Ligori's Moral Theolog-y, p. 159.

New York.

1836.

9*

102
gatory,

PURGATORY.

how

is

it

that Clement,

the cotemporary of the

this in

apostles, should use siich

epistle to the Corinthians.

language as

his

second

" Let us therefore repent whilst we are yet upon the earth
for

we

are as clay

in the

hand of the
and
it it

artificer.

For as the
in his

potter, if he nnake a vessel,

be turned amiss
;

hands, or broken, again forms

so far as to throw
it

anew

but

if

he have gone

into the furnace of fire,

it
;

he can no more

bring any remedy to

so we, whilst

we

are in this world,

should repent with our whole heart for whatsoever evil

we

have done in the

pentance, that

we

shall

flesh, while we have yet the time of rewe may be saved by the Lord. For after have departed out of this world, we shall no longer

be able either
Ignatius,

to confess

our

sins, or repent in the other."*

in the

who

suffered

martyrdom

early part of the

second century, and

who was chosen

all

bishop of Antioch
in

about the year 70, speaks as follows

his epistle to the

Magnesians.

"Seeing then

things have an end, there

life;

are these two indifferently set before us, death and

and

every one shall depart unto

his

proper place."f
life,

Ignatius speaks here of two stales, one of

the other
If he

of death, and says not one word about " purgatory."

had known any thing of

it

as an article of Christian faith,

he would have said something of the additional third stale which figures so conspicuously in the theology of the Ro-

mish church.

Athenagoras,

who

lived in

the second cenis

tury, wrote a treatise of about forty pages, (which

in

my

possession,) professedly on the Resurrection of the Dead,

but not one word

is

said in

it

about purgatory, and not one

it

single passage can be adduced that alludes to

distant

in the

most

manner.
afliirms as follows
:

Augustine

"

Non

est ulli ullus

medius

*Apost. Fathers,

p. 273.

Hartford, 1834.

f Ibid. p. 126.

PURGATORY.
locus, ut
possit esse
i.

103

nisi
is

cum

diabolo, qui
for

non

est
;

cum

Christo."

e.

There

no middle place

he

who

is
!

not with Christ, cannot be

any one so that any where but with

the devil

" Tertium locum penitus ignoramus, imo nee

invenimus."
i. it

esse in Scripturis Sanctis

e.

We

are utterly

ignorant of any third place, for

we

find

not in Scripture.*

Why
trine

is it, if

all

the fathers bear testimony to this doc-

of purgatory, that

we

are not furnished with quotations

from Irenaeus, and from Justin and Hypolitus and Polycarp,

and the other fathers of the primitive church?

cause they say nothing about
in
it.

Simply
is

be-

But there

a passage

Cyprian to which we were referred some time ago, and

I

which

promised
after

to quote in its

proper place.

I will

do so

now, and
father,
I

adducing another sentence or two from the same

of tradition for the present.
fallen

will dismiss the subject

Cyprian, speaking of those

who had

away

in time

of persecution, and

who had

consented to offer sacrifice to

the heathen gods, and

to icorship their

images,

tells

Anto-

nianus what policy ought, in his opinion, to be pursued with

the lapsed, and in the course of his remarks, uses this lan-

guage.

copy of Cyprian, which has the Pope's recommendation. " It is one thing
I

translate

from

my German

for

man

to present himself for

it is

pardon, another thing to

come

to glory;

one thing

for

him who

is

cast into pri;

son not to

come

out until he has paid the uttermost farthing

faith

another thing forthwith to receive the reward of

tue
;

and

vir-

it is

one thing for a

man
;

to

be tormented with protracted

pain on account of his sins, and for a long time to be purified

and refined by the

blotted out

fire

and another

to

have

all

his sins

by

suffering

martyrdom

finally,

it is

one thing

to wait for the sentence of the

Lord, on the day of judg-

* Aug. de Peccat. Remiss. Lib. of Popery, p. 231.

1,

Cap. 28.

See

Illustrations

New

York, 1838.

104
ment, and another
to

PURGATORY.
be immediately crowned by the Lord."*
full.

This

is

the passage in

The

context shows to

my

mind

clearly, that Cyprian here has reference to the allegori-

cal fire of penitential austerities through

which the lapsed

were required

to pass
this

by the early
by
citing

discipline of the church.

And
same
"

can prove

another passage from the

author, which unequivocally confirms this view.

When

once we have departed hence, there

is

no longer
of

any

place for repentance, no longer

any

effectiveness
:

satisfaction.

Here

life is

either lost or held

provide for our eternal salvation by the

the fruitfulness of faith.
either
tion.

we may worship of God and

here
to salva-

Let not any one, then, be retarded

by

sins or

by length of years, from attaining

this

To
is

a person while he remains in

world, repent-

ance

never too late.

stand the truth,

Those who seek after and undermay always have an easy access to the

indulgence of God.
for

Even

to the

very end of your

faith,

life,

pray

your

sins,

and by confession and

implore the one

is

only true God.

granted
:

To him who
:

confesses, pardon

freely
is

to

him who

believes,

a salutary indulgence

granted from the divine pity

and immediately after death,

he passes

to

a blessed irmnortalityy^

So much for Cyprian^ s belief in purgatory. III. There is one question more, and t/.en
done.

shall

have

"

How

do you ground the belief of purgatory upon reason

1st,

"Because reason clearly teaches these two things:

all

That

and every

sin,

how

small soever, deserves punishment.

SaemmtUche Aechte Werke des

hell. Cacil.

Thascius Cypri-

anus, p. 228, vol. 5, der Saemmtlichen

Werke der Kirchen Vacter.

Kempten, 1832.
in full.

This work has the Tope's letter of approbation

vol. 6, p. 184,

f Cyp. ad Dem. Kirchen Vaeter,

PURGATORY.
2dly,

105
through the levity

That some

sins are so small, either

full

of the matter, or for want of

as not to deserve eternal

deliberation in the action,

punishment.

From whence

it is

plain, that besides the place of eternal punishment,

which

we

call hell, there

must be also a place of temporal punishlittle

ment

for

such as die with

sins,

and

this

we

call pur-

gatory."*

That
science.

all

sin, without exception, merits

it

punishment,
light
I

is

certainly clear to reason, aided as

is

by the

of con-

The second
as
I

proposition, however,

cannot en-

dorse.

So

vsoori

know from
that

the
I

word of God so much of

his

character and attributes as

find revealed in this book,

my

reason

tells

me

no offence committed against

little sin.

infinite
trifle.

goodness and holiness, can be a

Sin

is

no

My

reason, enlightened by eternal truth, convinces

me

that

the guilt of every deliberate violation of the holy law, enact-

ed by the great Jehovah,

tions of the lawgiver.

is

to

be measured by the perfecis

If

he

finite
is

being, the guilt

is

proportionate;
gressor,

if

he

is

infinite,

so

the guilt of the trans-

and

infinite guilt

demands commensurate punishlittle

little

ment.

When
it

the Papist has proved Jehovah to be a

sins.

God,

will

be time enough to speak of

believe that

" What !"

you ask, " do you

judgment or
will surely

God

will

send a

man

to the

endless torments of hell on account of a few mistakes in

in practice?"
I

believe,

my

friend, that

God
is

keep his word, and that every one,

who

proud rejecter of the atonement made by the Saviour,

assuredly perish.
If he

will

despises the

Lord Jesus
and he

Christ, if

he does not love him, he

will be accursed,
!

will richly

deserve to be for ever accursed

If his soul
it

is in

a state of

determined alienation from God, (and

is

so, if with his

Grounds Cath. Doct.

p. 6B.

106
whole

PURGATORY.
heart, he does not
is

embrace Jesus Christ as

If,

his

Sais

viour,) there

no hope

for him.

on the contrary, he
life,

a beUever, he

is

passed from death unto

he

is

no longer
of purga-

under condemnation.

The

blood of Jesus Christ cleanses

for the fires
reject

him from
tory.

all sin,

and leaves no work

Hence, from

my

very soul,

the closing in-

ference, as repugnant to every sound principle of reason.

Is
it

in

accordance with right reason,

Christ,
is

to

suppose that the

blood

of Jesus

which, according to our

Roman
is

Catholic friends,
sins, (the

able to cleanse from the guilt of mortal

most atrocious which can be committed,)

from lesser stains?
reasonable to suppose that He,

not

sufficient to purify the soul

Is this rea-

son?
his

Is

it

who

spared not
propitia-

own

well-beloved Son, but offered

him up as a

tion for the sins

of the whole world, (so rigorous was he in

exacting the claims of his justice,) will nevertheless remit

merited punishment upon the payment of money

Is this

reason

No,

it

is

blasphemy

Is

it

in

accordance with

reason to suppose that the mere ringing of bells on a certain

is

day (Nov.

2,)

can help the souls

I

in

purgatory?

This
to this

consummate

folly.

find

an interesting reference

practice in a

work

written

by Anthony Gavin, a Roman

Speak-

Catholic priest,

who renounced Popery A. D. 1715.

to the

ing of practices in Italy and Spain, he says in substance as

follows
:

"

As

2d day of November, which

in

is

the

day
friar

of the souls of purgatory,

which every

priest

and

says three masses for the delivery of so

the pains of
it,

many
in the

souls out of

they generally say that from 3 o'clock of

Saints' day,)
till

November
free

1st, (All
all

afternoon of

the next day,

the souls are out of purgatory, and entirely

it.

from the pains of

bells

During these twenty-four hours,

the churches

they ring the

they say
is

of

all

and convents, which

a great help

to the souls."
if this

Pity that the bells should ever stop ringing,

suffrage

PURGATORY.
can purchase a holiday
is

107
It

for the Christians in purgatory.

hard, that after diverting themselves for twenty-four hours,

to the fire, so

they should have to go back

soon as the bells

have rung
little

their

annual peal.

But,

let

us hear Mr. Gavin a

farther.

"

On

that

day alone, the

in
too, give

priests

and
;

friars

get

more

money than
church, and

two months' time beside

yellow
;

for

every family,
candles to the

and private persons

wax

money

for

masses

and during these twenty-

four hours the churches are crowded with people,"

It

&c.

seems Mr. Gavin's mind was also under the strange

hallucination
too,

which

afflicts

so

many

Protestants and Papists

is

causing them to believe that

money

paid to the priests

to

induce them to help souls out of purgatory by their

masses and prayers.

priests

We

stand corrected, however.

;

The

do not

sell

masses or prayers, not they

but surely

he who performs them may, without reproach, receive a remuneration, especially when it is remembered that, " like
other men, he must ever remain uncertain respecting the
efficacy of his prayers."

But

this is digression,

we

will

return to Mr. Gavin.

"

On

the

same

pretence, there

is

man

in

every parish

that goes in the dark of the evening through all the streets

with a

bell,

praying for the souls and asking charity for

bell as

them

in

every house, always ringing the

of Ossuna

a suffrage."

made a witty repartee to Pope Innocent XL, on this subject. The duke was ambassador for the king of Spain at Rome, and had a large bell on the top of his house, to gather his domestics when he was going
out.

The duke

Many

cardinals lived

by

his

palace, and they

com-

plained to the Pope, that the ambassador's bell disturbed

them
he

(for the

duke used

to

order the bell to be rung

when
he

knew

the cardinals were at home,) and the

to

Pope spoke

immediately

the duke, and asked his excellency

why

jQQ
kept SO big a
bell ?

PURGATORY.

To which

the

duke answered,

that he

was a very good

purgatory, to

Christian and a good friend to the souls in

the ringing of the bell

whom

was a

suffrage.

The Pope
the use of
that if he

took the raillery in good part,

and recommended

some other

signal to call his servants, suggesting

was so good a friend to the souls in purgatory, he would do them more service by selling the bell, and giving

the

money for masses. The next day the bell was taken down and a
substituted in
its

large can-

non was
were

place, with

which twelve volleys

fired

every morning, and twelve at midnight, which

was

the time the cardinals were at home.

to the
;

So they made
spoke
to

a second complaint
to the

Pope

upon

this his holiness

duke again

but he replied, that the bell

to be

was

be

sold,

and the money

that he

given to the priests for masses,

and

had ordered the cannon as a suffrage for the

This withering sarcasm affronted
his holiness

souls of the poor soldiers that had died in the defence of the

Holy
not a
I

See.
little,

but the duke kept his cannon notwithstanding.*

cannot conceive

how any

intelligent

man

can, from his

heart, give credit to the popish doctrine of purgatory,

any

more than
masses
will

the great cardinal,

who

being disposed one day

to quiz his chaplain, put this question to him.

"

How many

The chaplain, as might be expected, was unable to reply, when the cardinal solved the difficulty by telling him, "That it would take just as many masses to fetch a soul out of purserve to fetch a soul out of purgatory ?"
gatory, as snowballs to heat an oven
It is

!"

inconceivable
to

how any Romish

deny
that

priest

should
in pur-

have the audacity

gatory are
retailed

masses

for souls

by

their

pardon-mongers.

Have we

not heard of purgatorian societies?

And

is it

not notorious

* A. Gavin's Master

Key

to Popery, p. 157, 158.

Cincin. 1833.

PURGATORY.
that,

|
is

qq

even

in enlightened

Dublin, there
?

at least

one

flour-

ishing Purgatorian society

tion

have before
It is

me

a constitu-

of one of these associations.

too lengthy to be in-

serted entire; but the following extract

may

serve at least

as a sample.

" Purgatorian Society.

Instituted

July

1,

1813, and held in St, Jameses Chapel.

Father, and of the Son, and of the

name of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

In the
It is therefore

a holy and wholesome thought

to

pray for
Mace,

the deadj that they

xii.

may

be loosed

from

their sins.

46.
office for

" The members who compose the society of the

the dead,

commenced on
spirit

the above day, at the said place,

text,

adopting the

and meaning of the above sacred

to

and wishing,

in

conformity
to

the divine precepts of the

Holy Catholic church,

yond the grave, by
Catholics,

extend their charitable views be-

relieving, as far as in

them
all

lies,

the suf-

fering souls in purgatory, and inviting

tender-hearted

who have

a feeling sensibility of the duty they

owe

their departed parents, relations,

and

friends,

who

pro-

bably

may

stand more in need of their commiseration at

present, than at

any period of

their life time, to assist in the

charitable and pious purpose of shortening the duration of

their sufferings

by

the most easy

means imaginable, have

:"

agreed

to,

and adopted the following rules

Rule

1, relates to the

regulation of the affairs of the in-

stitution.

" Rule

2.

That every well-disposed Catholic wishing

to

contribute to the relief of the suffering souls in purgatory,

shall

pay one penny per week, which

10

shall be appropriated

to the procuring of masses to be offered up for the repose of

110

PURGATORY.

the souls of the deceased parents, relations, and friends of

all

the subscribers to the institution in particular, and the

faithful

departed in general.
3.

" Rule

will be offered

That on the first Monday of every month a nnass up in the parish chapel of St. James, at ten
and temporal welfare of the sub-

o'clock, for the spiritual

scribers of this society."

Rule
ation.

4, relates to the election of the officers of the associ-

Rule
^^

5, provides that

every subscriber must purchase a

copy of these rules.

Rule

6.

That the

spiritual benefits

of

this institution viz.

shall be conferred in the following

manner,

Each

sub-

scriber shall be entitled to an office at the time of their

cannot endorse either the sentiments or grammar of these rules,) " another at the expiration of a month, and one
death,"
(I

at the

end of twelve months

masses which
shall

after their decease

also, the

benefit of

be procured to be offered, by

the

money

arising from subscriptions,

and which
ll'iends

shall be

extended to their parents, relations, and

in the fol-

lowing order

that

is

to say, their fathers,

;

mothers, bro-

thers, sisters, uncles, aunts

and

if

married, husbands, wives

and children,
rity.

if

they have any

departed

who

lived to

matu-

" Rule

7.

That every member of

the office for the dead,

who

serves the society in the capacit}'^ of superior, shall, at

offer-

the time of his death, be entitled to three masses, to be

ed for the repose of his soul

and

also,

every member

who

serves the office of rector, shall be entitled to the benefit of

two masses, and every subscriber, without

distinction, shall

be entitled to the benefit of one mass each, provided that

such

member

or subscriber shall die a natural death, be six

to the institution,
;

months a subscriber

and be clear of all dues

at the time of their departure

that care shall be taken,

by

PURGATORY.

the surviving superior and rectors, that such soul-masses are

punctually obtained, agreeable to the interest and meaning

of this
*'

institution."
9, relate to the

Rules 8 and

making of by-laws, &c.

evening, from seven o'clock

Subscriptions received and subscribers registered at the

chapel on every
until nine,

Wednesday

and

in the

school-room adjoining the chapel, on

the

first

Sunday of February, May, August, and Novemfrom ten o'clock

until one.

ber, being quarterly days,

The

books

to

be opened for the inspection of subscribers.

J.

" Price threepence.

According

Coyne,

printer,

74 Cook

street."

to this precious

document

it

appears that "the

most easy means imaginable" of shortening the duration of

the sufferings of souls in purgatory,
is

to contribute

a penny

per week to pay for masses

wonder what the Rev. Dr.

It

Baines, Bishop of Siga, &c., would say to this?

to favour the idea

seems

somewhat, that the

priests, for

sum of

money, claim the power of helping souls out of purgatory.

And now,

look at the light in which this doctrine places the

priests of the

Romish church. They profess to believe that the souls of members of their flock are weltering in the flames of purgatory, that they have power to mitigate their torment by saying the proper number of masses, and recommending them to the prayers of the faithful, and yet they
will

do neither unless they are paid for

it

What

Do

they believe that souls are in such misery, and that they

have
wait

it

in their

power

to relieve

them, and can they coolly

Tell

till

they are paid, before they use the means?

me,

is

this

any

part of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

to be especially adapted to the

That

gospel, which

was

wants of

the

poor

Every

dollar
is

which

is

paid for masses in behalf of souls

all

in purgatory,

a swift witness against the validity of

112
priestly pardons.

PURGATORY.

Are

not the priests of

Rome sworn

to

believe that they have power to forgive sins? The Council of Trent explicitly declares, " Whoever shall affirm that

the priest's sacramental absolution

is

not a judicial act, but

only a ministry

to

pronounce and declare that the sins of

let

the parly confessing are forgiven, &c.,

him be accursed."
of Satisfaction.)

(See Coun. of Trent.

Can.

9.

Works
in the
sit

We are

told

over and over again

decrees of this Tri-

dentine Conventicle, that the priests "

as judges in the

Court of Conscience;"

in

short, they claim to

have power

from Christ

to forgive sins as fully as

he did himself.

They

are also sworn to believe that there

is

a purgatory in which

souls, not fully purged, are detained,

and can be assisted by

masses, offerings, &c.

(Sess. 25.)
If

Now,

these two articles of faith are sadly at variance.

false,

purgatory be true, their pardons must be

and

if

these
to

pardons are
the

valid,

purgatory

is

annihilated.

According

Romish

tenets, baptism,

penance, masses, indulgences,

sins.

and extreme unction

avail

towards the forgiveness of

Now, when
once taken

Christ forgave sins, the pardoned soul

to glory.

was

at

Witness the case of Lazarus,

;

who

"was taken to

Abraham's bosom
is

also the penitent thief on

the cross.
for ever
;

Jesus Christ

the

same yesterday,
;

to-day, and

he

is

no respecter of persons
I v,^ould

his pardons

must

ever remain the same.

ask, are the priests' par-

dons the same as Christ's?

If they are, the souls of the

pardoned go forthwith
henceforth
;

to

heaven, and are blessed from

?

and then what becomes of purgatory

to

But

if

they be not at once taken

priests'

heaven,

it

follows that the

pardons are different from Christ's, and therefore must be false; and these pardons being deceptious, and
leaving the soul under
all its sin

and
;

guilt,

and under wrath,

they could not go

to

purgatory

and

if

they cannot

make

PURGATORY.
out a clear
title

113
whither do

either to

heaven or

to purgatory,

they go?

Look now,
listen to

my

brethren, at this dilemma.

Is not the in-

ference clear as noon-day?

Lest any
us,

man

should doubt,
us by their

what the
Yes,
all

priests

tell

and openly

tell

masses.

the priests on earth, as with

one mouth,
False

declare (though they are sworn to believe their pardons as

good as

Christ's,) that the

whole of them are

false

Ay,

false,

every one

But how so ?
their great

Do

they not declare

when
ful

the

Pope himself,
pray

head and leader, and of

it is

course the best prepared, dies, that

the duty of the faith-

everywhere
not
all his

to

for his deliverance

from purgatory?

Do
this

clergy proceed to say masses for him, and

Sirs,

obtain offerings to extricate his holiness from the fire?

has not been done

in

a corner!

Is not this

simple

fact equivalent to

an open declaration that he did not go to

the

heaven?

And

if

vicar-general of Christ,

the Great
to pur-

Head of

the apostolic church.

His Holiness, goes

gatory, what must the pardons he dispensed be worth?

priests give

His

him
;

all

the consolations of the church previous

to his departure

they anoint him and absolve him, but notoil

withstanding their

and
is

their absolves, his holiness

must
par-

go

to

purgatory.
differ

This

proof positive that

if so, the)^

all their

dons

from Christ's;

cannot be true; then

they must be false

utterly false

So

then, if these pardons be divine,

to

none who get them

cash
assist-

can go

purgatory, and
fire,

if so, all the

ing souls out of the

ought

to

made by be disgorged by the

But,
if this is
is

priests

and handed back

question,

to the faithful.

out of the

and

if

the purgatory

scheme

too lucrative to be

so easily abandoned, then the other horn of the dilemma

presents
itself,

and the
false

priests
;

must confess

that their par-

dons are assuredly

for

who would
?

ever think of send-

ing a pardoned soul to purgatory

10*

114

PURGATORY.
these pardons true or false, they necessarily anfor, if false, tliey

Now, be
nihilate

purgatory;

who

get

them go not
for ever;

to purgatory, nor to heaven, but to

if true,

hell,

and that

they go straight to heaven as Lazarus and the peni-

tent thief,

and

all

the dead,

who

die in the Lord,

and who

are blessed from henceforth, for

tliey rest

from

their labours;
if

they go to Paradise and not to purgatory; and so

the righteous nor the wicked go to
it, it

neither

must
But

lie

waste and
it

untenanted, or have no existence at

entity,

all.

if

is

a nonso

and

if the

Pope and

all

the faithful, for

whom

many masses
Lfet

are said, go neither to purgatory nor yet to

!

Paradise, whither, alas

must they go?

our

Roman
late.

Catholic brethren think on these things

ere
I

it

be too

cannot conclude without most earnestly and affection-

ately entreati[)g
spirits that

you

all, to

give no heed to the seducing

would lead you away from the Saviour.

Believe

me, and

if

you

will not believe

me, believe God's own word,

that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.

Oh

your time and mine

things
is
is

is fast

drawing
I

to a close, the

end of all

at

hand.

Go, then,

beseech you, whilst salvation

is

freely offered.

Go, accept the mercy which

without price
other,
!

tendered

without

money and

viour's hand,

and from no
at last,

Take it from the Sa and God grant that you

it

may be saved hy fire* Amen!

and
I

even though

should be so as

LECTURE

IV.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
Matt.
" GET THEE HENCE, SATAN
:

iv.

10.

FOR IT IS WRITTEN, THOU SHALT GOD, THE LORD THY AND HIM ONLY SHALT THOU WORSHIP
SERVE."

In entering upon the consideration of the question, whether the worship of saints
is

authorized by Scripture or not,

It is

we

should

all

feel the

importance of decision.
the practice of the

not of

small

moment whether

Romish church,
subject
is

in this matter, be right or

wrong

for the

inti-

mately connected with the worship of God, and

materially, the
is

affects,

most
If
it

mode of

the sinner's approach to him.

;

right to invoke departed saints

if

God has commanded

but if there
is

us to wait upon them, then Protestants are guilty of gross

disobedience in refusing to call upon them
;

no warrant

in Scripture for the practice,

and especially,

if

the revealed will of

God

is

decidedly opposed to the interall

vention of the saints, as mediators or helpers, then

the

worship that

is

offered

them must be

hateful to

God, and
is,

ruinous to the souls of men.

therefore,
less than,

The

subject before us

one of practical

interest.

"How am
I to

to

The inquiry is nothing approach God with acceptance?

Is
it

fjow

am

pray

to

him ?'

through the Lord Jesus

110

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
?

Christ, as the one, the only mediator

or through him, and

the saints in heaven?

Through one advocate, or through a

guide us by his good Spirit

host of advocates?

The Lord

into the truth in this important inquiry.

Papists distinguish the worship which they offer to God,

the Virgin

Mary, and the

saints,

by

the terms

latria,

hy-

perdulia, and dulia.

In order to give the

all possible

Roman
I will

Catholic side of the question

advantage,

state their

argument

in their

own
1.

language.

Concerning the invocation of saints, the Council of " The Holy Council commands Trent teaches as follows
:

all

bishops, and others,

who have

the care

and charge of

teaching, that, according to the practice of the Catholic and

apostolic church,

received from the

first

beginning of the

Christian religion, the consent of venerable fathers, and the

decrees of holy councils, they labour with diligent assiduity

to instruct the faithful

concerning the invocation and inter-

cession of the saints, &c., teaching

them

that the saints,

who
for

reign together with Christ, offer their prayers to

God

men

that

it

is

a good and useful thing suppliantly to

prayers, help, and assistance,

invoke them, and

to flee to their

because of the benefits bestowed by God, through his Son

Jesus Christ our Lord,
viour
;

who

is

our only Redeemer and Saof impious sentiments

and

that those are

saints,
;

men

who

deny that the

are to be invoked

who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven, or who affirm that they do not pray for
is

men
it is

or to beseech them to pray for us

idolatry

or that

contrary to the word of God, and opposed to the honour

of Jesus Christ, the one mediator between

or that
it

God and men

is foolish to

supplicate, verbally or mentally, those

who

reign in heaven."*

Concil.

Trid. Sess. xxv.


INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

117

The Grounds ofCath.

:

Doct., p. 68, contain the following

words of wisdom " What do you mean by the invocation of saints? " I mean such petitions or requests as are made to desire
their prayers

and intercession

for us.

"Do
*'

Catholics pray to saints?

If,

by praying

to saints,

we mean

addressing ourselves

to

them, as to the authors or disposers of grace and glory,

or in such

manner
to

as to suppose they have

any power

to

help us, independently of God's good will and pleasure,

do not pray

them

but

if,

by praying
to

to saints,

we we mean

no more than desiring them

sense

pray

to

God

for us, in this

we

hold

it

both good and profitable to pray to the

saints."
I

shall postpone

my

remarks upon
in

this

second answer,

until the proofs

tice

which are advanced

support of the prac-

have been examined.

"

How

do you prove that

it

is

good and profitable

to

to de-

sire the saints

and angels

in

heaven

pray

to

God

for us ?

" Because
of

it is

good and profitable

to desire the servants

;

God here upon earth to pray for us a righteous man availeth much.' James
his

'

for the

prayer of
Moses, by

v. 16.

prayers,

obtained

mercy
8

for

the children of Israel.

his prayers, defeated
St. Paul, in al

Exod.

xxxii. 11, 14.

And Samuel, by
vii.

the Philistines. 1

Sam.

10.

Hence,

most

all his epistles,

desires the faith fijl to pray for

his

him

and
go

God

himself

commanded Eliphas and

xlii.

two

friends, to

to Job, that

Job should pray for them, promising

8.

to accept

of his prayers." Job

We do
that there

not deny that

it is

right to desire
;

an

interest in the

prayers of God's people, upon earth

is

but Protestants hold

a vast difference between applying to the saints

spirits

on earth, and invoking the departed

perfect.

of just

When we

go

to

a friend, in whose piety

men made we have

IIQ

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

confidence, and ask him to pray for us,

for the practice.

we have

Scripture

" The

efTectual, fervent
;"

prayer of a righBible war-

teous

man

avaiieth

much

but

we have no such

rant to authorize us to invoke departed saints.

The

Bible

says not one word about the duty of asking the patriarchs,

and prophets, and

apostles,

and martyrs, and, above

Besides, there
is

all,

the

blessed Virgin, to intercede for us.

a wide

difference between praying to a saint in heaven,

and asking

a saint on earth to pray to

God

for us.

But, in the

Grounds

of Cath. Doct.,
if
it

we

are asked the following question: "

Now,
ser-

be acceptable to God, and good and profitable to our-

selves, to seek the prayers

and intercession of God's

it

vants here on earth, must

not be

much more

so to seek
;

the prayers and intercession of the saints in heaven

since

both their charity for us, and their intercession with God,
is

much

greater

now than when they were

this question,
it

here upon earth ?"

Notwithstanding the great emphasis which Pope Pius's

priest lays
it is

upon

(and from the style

in

which

propounded,

evidently appeared, to his mind, to settle

)

the whole controversy,

culties in the

there are several very serious

I

diffi-

way

and, before

shall

ever invoke the

diffi-

saints
culties
1.

whose names are on the Roman calendar, these

must be removed.
first

In the

place,

it

is

not proved, that the saints in

heaven are within hearing.

Now

this

is

a very important
shall St. Peter, or

matter, as every one must allow.

St. Winifred,

How

help

me

if

they cannot hear

me
;

think

it

more than probable,

that the saints in

heaven are ignorant

of our wants, and cannot hear our prayers because I read " The living know that they shall die ; in the word of God
:

but the dead

know

not

any

thing, neither
is

have they any

forgotten." Ec.

more a reward;
ix. 5.

for the

memory of them
suppose
it

On

this principle, I

was, that Elijah said

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
to

ng
befoke I be
in the

Elisha, " ,^sk tchat

thee.'''

I shall do for
2 Kings
ii.

thee,

ta-

ken away from

2.
It is

9.

And

then, there

is

another serious obstacle

way.

certain the saints cannot hear all

who

call

upon them,

unless they are omnipresent.

Mary hear

all

the suppliants,

How, e. g., shall the Virgin who invoke her at all hours
priest,

of the day, and of the night, and in every part of the earth,

where there
less

is

a Romish church, or

or layman, un-

she

is

omnipresent

tributes of Deity.

of the essential

? Now, you cannot separate the atShow me a being that is infinite in any qualities of his character, and I am bound

to ascribe to him, or to her, all the attributes of the

Godis

head.

Then,

if

the Virgin

Mary

is

omnipresent, she
the

Goddess.

If the

Almighty, then,

is

King of heaven,

she must be the Queen of heaven; and

actually one of the
titles

this,

by

the

way,

is

ascribed to her in
!

Roman
I

Catholic

Prayer-books.

Queen of heaven

The

Bible says nothing

about Mary's being the queen of heaven.

must confess,

however, that there is mention made,

of this
in
title.

in the

word of God,
do not beevents,
I

The

expression occurs, three or four times,

;

the forty-fourth chapter of Jeremiah

but

lieve that the Virgin

Mary was
passage.

intended.

At

all

should be afraid
ing what
hosts, the
I find

to

invoke " the queen of heaven," after read-

in this

" Thus saith the Lord of

God of

Israel, saying,

Ye and your
fulfilled

wives have

both spoken with your mouths, and

saying.

with your hand,

We

will surely

perform our vows that we have vow-

ed, to burn incense to the

queen of heaven, and

to

pour out

drink-offerings unto

her; ye will surely accomplish your

vovi^s.

vows, and surely perform your

the

Therefore hear ye

word of the Lord,

;

all

Judah

that dwell in the land

of

Egypt

Behold,

have sworn by
shall

my

great name, saith the

in the

Lord, that

my name

no more be named

mouth of

any man of Judah,

in all the land of

Egypt, saying,

The

120
Lord God
and not
for
liveth.

INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
Behold,
;

will

watch over them

for evil,

good

and

all

the

men of Judah

that are in the

land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the

famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small
that escape the
into the land of

sword
Judah

shall return out of the

;

number land of Egypt

and

all

the

remnant of Judah, that

are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall

know
28.)"

whose word
8.

shall stand, mine, or theirs." (Jer. xliv.

is

25

But there

another thing,
before
I

which

should like to have

satisfactorily settled

embrace the views of Pope

:

Pius, on this question.

that
if I
all

It is this

should wish to be sure

the
to

Roman

Catholic saints are in heaven; because,

were

invoke a saint
it

who

should happen to be any

where

else but in heaven,

would be a very grievous and

I

serious mistake.

Now,

confess,
list

am

little

skeptical

on

this point; for I find,

upon the

of Romish saints, a great

many names,
ters

that used to belong to persons,

saint-like,

whose charac-

were not very

Indeed, in

world.

when they dwelt in this lower some instances, their real names were in
to give

such bad odour, that his Holiness had

them new
ones; and,

names when he made

be

saints of

them

for

they never would

have been recognised as saints under

it

their old

remembered, the Pope makes

saints, not

by

sanctifying,
I

but by canonizing.

Now,

this is

a process in which

can-

not place much confidence, principally because it is not recommended in the word of God. I cannot see how the notorious Garnet, who was hung for plotting against the Bri. tish government, in the reign of Queen Elisabeth, should

become worthy of
ask
St.

the invocation of the

faithfijl,
I

by the

Pope's canonizing him as St.

Henry
for if

And

never shall

Dominick, the bloody patron of the Holi/ Inquisipray

to

tion, to

God

for

me

he can be heard at

all

he had better pray for himself.

The

saints in the

Romish church, may be

called Legion,

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
for they are
ists,
fill

221

many.

Their

lives,

published by the Bolland-

onhj fifty-four massive folio volumes^ which ex;

tend no farther than the month of October

and the

little

Hagiography of Mr. Alban Butler extends through twelve

closely

printed

8vo. vols.

Among

these reputed

saints,

there are

some few who were holy men, and who deserve

remembrance.
But there are others
the
altogether fabulous, and

to be held in everlasting

whose existence
is,

is

mystery

how

sensible

Roman

Catholics can ever be brought to

believe in the existence of such persons.

There was the

have carried

gigantic Saint Christopher,

who

is
;

fabled to

Christ across an

arm of

the sea

Saint Amphibolus,

who
who

turned out to be the cloak of Alban, the reputed proto-martyr of

England

Saint Longinus, the

Roman
;

soldier

thrust the spear into Christ's

body on the cross

Saint Ur-

sula, with her eleven thousand virgin martyrs, of

whom no

traces are to be found in

any

history except the " Lives of

the Saints," &c.

If the great

&c.
Saint Francis had lived
in this

Christian

country and age, his

rolled
saints.

name would probably have been

civil

en-

anywhere

else

sooner than upon the record of the

magistrates are not in the habit
their clothes,

Our

police

and

of canonizing

men who throw away

and run

about nudior ovo,

A Roman
the
first

Catholic

may, perhaps, wish kindly

[

to obviate

objection

which

made, viz

that the departed saints

cannot hear the prayers that are made to them, by telling me " If they cannot hear us, God can, and he can tell the
saint that

we

are asking him (the saint) to intercede for us

with the Lord.

Now

does not this remove the difficulty?

The

saint will then be notified of all that

1"
I

he need

know

to

enable him to intercede for us

friend, that

have no doubt,

my
it, is

another

God can do thing. God has

this,

but whether he will do

to

not

commanded you

invoke the

11

122
saints
;

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
this is not

pretended by any one, and therefore yoo

that

have no

right to expect
this nnatler.
is

God

will

condescend

to

your

whim in way this

saints,

Besides only see what a roundabout

of getting at the thing.

St. Nicholas,

**0h!

You invoke one of the pray for me!" Then God, ac-

cording to

this theory,

informs St. Nicholas that a certain

sinner on earth wants him (St. Nicholas) to pray to him,

(the Lord,)
for

some

special blessing.

Now, my
it

friend, I

think this

is

a singular method.

Would

not be a great

deal better not to trouble St. Nicholas, but to

go

at

once to

the good Lord in the name of the one mediator, Jesus Christ ?

/think
But
I

it

would.
forgetting

am

Pope Pius.*

He

justifies

the invoca-

tion of the saints on the ground, that " both their charity

for us,

and

their intercession with

God,

is

much

greater

now

than when they were here upon earth."

1

should have been better satisfied

if

some proof had been

;

advanced in support, particularly of the last proposition

it is,

as

they both rest upon mere assertion, and in addition to

this,

they have nothing to do with the subject.

is

The

ques-

tion before us

not,

" Whether the

saints in

heaven pray

for

men, but whether we should pray

to the saints."

As
it

to

the former question, whether the saints in heaven pray for

men, the Scriptures say nothing about

not modest to be very positive one
protest against

it,

and therefore
or the other.

is

way

We
Wheown

making mediators of
spirits

the saints by invoking

them, or asking them to help us, and to pray for us.

ther the

happy
is

in glory

pray for us of

their

accord or not,
* I

altogether another question, and one which

mean the

writer of the Grds. of C. D. whoever he was.

The

Grds. of
in

CD. are merely

a development of the views contained

sin to hold

Pope Pius IV.'s Confession of Faith. I hope it is not a mortal Pope Pius responsible for the sentiments of his com-

mentator.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

123

we

leave undecided.
in

The two

following questions and an-

swers

the
I

noi proof,

Grounds of Cath. Doct. contain apology, and shall examine this apology when I have done
is

with the proof, or apology for proof, which

offered ia

support of the practice of the invocation of saints.

*'

Have you any

reason to think that the saints and angels

petitions

have any knowledge of your addresses or

made
'

to

them?
" Yes,
there
is

we have
in tlie

1st,

Because our Lord assures us,

that

joy

presence of the angels of

God

over one

sinner that repenteih.'

For

if

they rejoice at our repentance,

consequently they have a knowledge of our repentance; and

if

they have a knowledge of our repentance, what reason

to

can we have

doubt of their knowing our petitions also?

is

And what

is

said of the angels

also to be understood of
*

the saints, of

whom
"

our Lord

tells us,

that they are equal

unto the angels.'

This question ought,

but even supposing that

think, to have been the first of all;

all

the evidence which

is

adduced

to prove that the saints take

to the point, this

knowledge of our addresses were

it is

would not prove that

right to invoke

them.

The

saints
in

may

upon them, and

tion as idolatrous.
is to

Roman Catholics call their hearts they may abhor the invocaPope Pius does not stick to his text. He
be aware that
right

prove that

it

is

and lawful

to

invoke the saints,

know when we pray to them. Even this But are we not told that " there is far is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner " Then the angels have a Yes, we are. that repenteth ?"
not that the saints

from being probable.

knowledge of our repentance." Undoubtedly.

" If they have

a knowledge of our repentance, what reason can we have

to doubt of their

knowing our

petitions also ?"

is

Very great
in the

reason

because the one case

is

clearly

revealed

Bible, but the other

not.

Let us look at the parable, and

124
this will appear.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

The shepherd
it
;

has

lost

a sheep, he leaves

the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and goes after that which

was
it

lost

till

he finds

and when he has found

it,

he lays

on

his shoulders, rejoicing,

and when he comes home, he

calls together his friends

and neighbours, saying unto them,

" Rejoice with me,

for

have found

my sheep
if left

that

was

lost."

How
stated

natural every thing appears

it.

as the Saviour has

He

says to

the angels, " Rejoice with me."

have the joyful

if

intelligence directly

from the Saviour.

They Now,
is

you

will

show me a passage which

represents Jesus Christ

as telling the saints or angels, " such and such a sinner

invoking you, and

wishes you to ask

me

to

grant such

a favour,"

will

admit that the cases are precisely parallel,

but not before.

Let us examine the next proof.

2dly. "Because the angels of

God (who)
v. 8,

are always

amongst

us,

and therefore cannot be ignorant of our requests

especially since, as

we have

seen from Rev.

and

viii.

4,

both angels and saints offer up our prayers before the throne

of God, and therefore must needs know them."

" The angels are always amongst us."

is

This language

objectionable, for the angels are not

always amongst us;

" they are

ministering spirits sent forth lo minister to the

heirs of salvation,"

and consequently must be sometimes

in

heaven, or they could not be sent forth.

The

text to
I

which

we

are referred in Rev.

v. 8, will

also be found,

think,

by

no means favourable

to the practice of invoking the saints.

"The

four beasts and four and twenty elders

fore the

fell down beLamb, having every one of them harps and golden

vials full of odours,

which are the prayers of the saints."

church on earth, or
to the
is

This

text refers
in
:

either to the
;

church
follows

heaven

if to

the

former, the explanation

as

the four beasts and four and twenty elders repre-

sent the ministers

and people of

Christ's

church

the harps.

"

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

125

the songs of praise, and the odour or incense, their prayers.

This
But

is all

typical

of the worship of the church on earth.

the passage as alluding to the church
is,

if

we understand
it

in heaven,

can prove only one thing, and that

It

that they

may

pray even there. This

is

does not follow that they offer

It

our prayers.

the very point to he proved.

can-

not even be nnade to appear that they pray

is

for

us.

There

not a single prayer of the saints in heaven for those on

earth, recorded in the whole apocalyptic vision, nor in

any
read

other portion of the Bible.

The only prayer which we

is

of as coming from them,

the altar the souls of

for themselves.
that

"

them

were

slain for the

;

saw under word of

God, and

for the

testimony which they held

and they cried

with a loud voice, saying,

true, dost thou not

How
this

long,

Lord, holy and

judge and avenge our blood on them that

dwell on the earth?"

saints in

Now
for

does not prove that the

if

heaven intercede

us; and even

is

that point

should be established, the main question

not reached, be-

cause

it

must be shown that we are warranted from Scrip-

ture in calling

upon the

saints

by name, and in soliciting

their intercession.

3dly. " Because

it

appears from

Apoc

xi.

15, and x. 1, 2,
earth.

that the inhabitants of heaven

know what passeth upon

are

Hence

St. Paul, 1 Cor. iv. 9, in

*

speaking of himself and his

fellow apostles, sailh,

We
to

made

a spectacle unto the

world, and to angels, and

men.'

There
there

is

nothing new

in this

paragraph

so far as Scripis

ture proof to establish the invocation of saints

is

concerned,

not a single iota of evidence offered

in

any one of

the Scriptures to which

we

are referred.
this point

shall, therefore,

not detain you

any longer on

than simply to read

xi. 1.5.)

the texts which are designated.

(Rev.

"

And

the

seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the

11*

126

INVOCATION OF SALNTS.
his Christ,

" And I saw anolh'er 1, 2.) come down from heaven clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, and liis face was as it were
nnighly angel

kingdoms of our Lord, and of forever and ever." (Rev. x.

and ho

shall reign

the sun, and his feet as pillars of

fire

and he had

in his

hand a and

little

book open, and he

his left foot

last place,

"

We

set his right foot upon the sea, on the earth and cried," &c. And in the are made a spectacle unto the world, and

to angels,

and

to

men."
seem

(1

Cor.

iv.

9.)

It

is

worthy of
in-

remark, that

in both the

passages from Revelation, the

to

habitants of heaven

acquire their information respect-

ing the affairs of men, from another angel.

therefore, sustain the theory that the saints

This does not,

and angels can always hear the prayers of those who invoke them. Much less does it prove that it is our duty, or that it is " good and
profitable"
to fly to

them

for help,

even though we were

made

a spectacle to all the angels and saints in heaven The following paragraph is also designed to prove that the saints know what passes on earth :

We cannot suppose that the saints and angels enjoy the light of glory, can be ignorant of such things as the prophets and servants of God in this world have often
4thly. "

who

known by
more

the light of grace, and even the very devils

is

by

the light of nature alone; since the light of glory

perfect than the light
*

so

much
to
;

of grace or nature, according

the apostles,

For now we see through a glass darkly

:

but

then face to face

even as also
ledge.

now I know in part, but then I shall know am known that is by a most perfect know;'

Hence

John

iii.

2,

it

is

written,
is

'

him, (God,) for

we

shall see

him as he

;'

we shall be like now it is certain

that the servants of

grace, have often

tance, as Elisha,

God in this world, by a special light of known things that passed at a great dis2 Kings
v.,

knew what
;

passed between
vi.

Naaman and

his servant

Gehazi

and 2 Kings

what was

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
done
in Ihe

jg^
It is

king of Syria's private chamber.

also cer-

tain that the devils,

by the mere

light

of nature,

know what
book
10.)
xii.

passes amongst us, as appears in

many

places in the

of Job, and by their being our accusers.

Therefore,

(Rev.

ciety in heaven

we cannot reasonably question but that the soknow 'the petitions which we address to

them."

Now, in my own mind, I have no doubt that the saints in heaven are made acquainted with events that transpire on
earth, of special interest to
tlie

cause of Christ.

That they

do

feel

a deep concern in the spiritual prosperity of their

I

brethren on earth, cannot,

think, fairly be questioned; they

are a part of the same spiritual household, and no doubt rejoice in anticipation of the

day when

their brethren

on earth

shall, like themselves, be perfected in love,

and see God as

a

he

is.

But

do maintain that there has not yet been a

single Scripture brought forward

which approaches
eve7'y

to

proof that the departed saints

know

thing relatiwe to
this

every particular person upon earth.

Now
*'

must be

proved before we can be

this

certain that they hear us,

and

after

to

we ask again, what has all this do with the main question ?" Where is the Scripture that tells us " it is good and profitable to invoke departed spirits?"
has been established,
to the plea that the

As

very devils

know what
it

is

done on
it,

earth,

and

that therefore the saints in

is

heaven must know

is

the inference

so glaringly false, that

not worth the

relate to

trouble of refuting.

Besides, the passages

which

the perfect knowledge of the saints, very plainly refer to

heavenly and not

to

earthly things.
is

The

perfect
I

know-

ledge oi every thing that

done on earth would,

suppose,

hardly contribute

to the

happiness of those

who

are forever

done with the turmoils and troubles of this world

We come now
it is

to the closing
all.

paragraph on

this

head, and

the strangest of

228

INVOCATION OF SAINTS,
it

Sthly. " In fine, because

is

weak reasoning
air,

to

argue

from our corporeal hearing, (the object of which being sound,

that
is,

a motion or undulation of the

cannot reach be-

yond a
which

certain distance,) concerning the hearing of spirits,

is

independent on sound, and consequently indepen;

dent of distance

though the manner of

it

be hard enough

to explicate to those

who know no

other hearing but that of

the corporeal ear."

Pope Pius having enjoyed the

tion, I

benefit

of another revela-

cannot pretend

to

cope with him here.

spirits is

He

tells us,

" ex cathedra," that " the hearing of

of sound."
for
is

independent
faculty

If so,

it

is

not hearing, but

!

some other
is

which

tee

have no name

For there
I

no hearing that

independent of sound.

Besides,

think his holiness for-

gets himself here, or else his

new
"
I

revelation differs widely

from the old one.

voice of

John

tells us,

beheld, and

heard the

many

angels round about the throne, and the beasts

;

and the elders

and the number of them was ten thousand

;

times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands

saying,
slain to

with a LOUD VOICE, worthy

is

the

Lamb
And

that

was

receive power, and riches, and

wisdom, and strength, and

then again he
tells

honour, and glory, and blessing!"

us, "
I

heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of

I

many

waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, and

heard the

voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sang

were a new song." Ah then, there is music in heaven But if " the hearing of spirits is independent of sound,"
as
it
!

where

is

the use of music

hope Pope Pius has found out

rejoice

his mistake long since.

It

would

my

heart to

know

that his voice

is

heard in that happy chorus, and that even

now,

his

hand

is

sweeping the strings of a golden harp

in glory
;

among

the

ransomed

but

fear his holiness has

hardly got out of purgatory yet.

the last in the chapter

The

following question

is

"

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
" Have you any other warrant
cation of saints

129

in Scripture for the invo-

and angels?

Yes, we have the example of

God's best servants."

Ah
vants!
xlviii.

this is to the point.

We

are willing to

The example of God's best serfollow that. "Thus Jacob, Gen.

'

15, 16, begs the blessing of his angel guardian for his

two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

God, before

whom

my
fed

fathers

Abraham and

Isaac did walk, the

this

God which
Jacob,
;'

me

all

my
*

life

long until

day, the angel which re-

deemed me from
Osee
St.
xii.

all evil, bless

the lads.'

The same
to

4,

wept and made supplication

i.

an angel

and

John, Rev.

4, writing to the

seven churches of Asia,

petitions for

the intercession of the seven angels in their

is,

favour,

'

Grace be unto you, and peace from him, who

is to

and who was, and who

come, and from the seven

spirits

which are before

his throne.'

"Thus
his

Jacob begs the blessing of his angel guardian for

two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

fathers

God, before

whom my
which
fed

Abraham and

Isaac did walk, the

God

me all my life long until this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." Would God that Roman Catholics would never invoke any other than He is none other the an^el who redeems us from all evil
!

than the angel of the covenant, the blessed Saviour our Lord
Jesus Christ.

He

alone can redeem from

evil,

and he

re-

deems from
him,

all evil.

Jacob places the angel which redeemed

in apposition with the

God
tells

that fed him,

showing that
he wrestled

they were one.

But Hosea
to

us " the

same Jacob wept

did,

and made supplication

an angel."
till

He

with the angel of the covenant

prevailed,

the break of day,

and he

and

his

name from

that time

Jacob, but Israel, because like a prince,

was no more called he had power with

the angel

God, and prevailed.

the former quotation,

To

this

angel he no doubt refers in

deemed him from

all

when he speaks of evil ; for Jacob was

who

re-

in a perilous coO'

130
dition at the time

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

when he wept and made this supplication. Esau was near at hand with an armed force, breathing vengeance against his brother who had supplanted him
and gained
his birthright
;

but Jacob prayed and wept, and

the angel redeemed him from this evil.

Christ
is

The Lord

Jesus

frequently spoken of as the angel of the covenant,

sin

and whenever redemption from

it is

and

all evil is

spoken
in
!

of,

in

connexion with the

name

of Jesus.

" In him,

him

alone,

we have redemption through his blood." Oh remember that no created angel can redeem from sin. This
the prerogative of the blessed Saviour.

is

But we are reminded of the salutation of John to the seven churches, " Grace be unto you and peace from him,

who
seven

is,

and who was, and who

are before his

spirits that

come, and from the throne." " Grace and peace

is

to

were prayed
throne."

for

(by John) from the seven

is

spirits before the

This

generally and justly interpreted of

"the

divine Spirit ;" the

number seven

is

used here, as in some

other passages, in an enigmatical or mystical sense, to denote

the abundance of the gifts and graces of the

Holy
to the

Spirit.

The

apostle, therefore, wishes grace

and peace

seven

churches, out of the abundant fulness of the Holy Spirit!

Now,

at all events,

even

if

Roman
out

Catholics reject this in-

terpretation, they cannot

make

any thing

to suit their

purposafrom

this

passage.

Pope Pius says, "John writing

to the seven churches of Asia, petitions for the intercession

of the seven angels in their favour."

thing.

John does no such

He

expresses a wish that the " seven spirits"

may

confer grace upon the churches.

spirits to

He

does not ask these

confers grace?

pray

for the saints.

Now, who

The Holy
is

Spirit,

and

he alone, from the inexhaustible

riches of God's mercy, and the fulness of these heavenly gifts

denoted by the mystical number of " seven."

is,

Hence,

John's prayer

that the

churches

may

be abundantly

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
blessed

131
Spirit
!

by the

gifts

and graces of the Holy

have

now
and

reviewed this chapter on the invocation of the saints,

I

think

have shown that

Roman

Catholics have no
I

warrant from Scripture for the practice.

testimony of the word of
I shall

am

sure
it.

can

show, that the Scriptures do most pointedly forbid

The
in the
1

God

is

so ample on this head, that

I

be obliged to pursue the plan which

adopted

last discourse,

and arrange the opposing

all

texts in classes.

cannot undertake to quote them

1.

singly.

All those texts which represent Jesus Christ as the

only mediator, directly condemn the invocation of saints. Let us hear the Lord Jesus himself, " / am the way, no man

cometh unto the Father, but by me," and

not, I

and

my

m.other,

my apostles, and

the patriarchs, and all the saints

whom

Pope Peter and

and any
but, " /

his successors

may

canonize, are the way,

man may come to the Father, by any one of us, am tiie way, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."* The barrier' to our approach to God was sin, but
has removed by the sacrifice of himself upon the
in his

this Jesus

cross,

and now, through him,

name, and

in his

name

alone,

we

are invited to

come

to the Father.

For, says

Paul, " There

and men, the

for all."

the Bible

is one God, and one Mediator between God man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom What becomes of your host of mediators, when " Ah !" says the Rotells me there is but one ?

manist, " the apostle

means

that Christ

was

the only aton-

ing mediator, but not the only mediator of intercession."

Well,
tion?
its

friend, where does the apostle make this distincShow it to me in the word of God, and I will admit justice. You look for it in vain, in the lively oracles of

my

God, and well you may,

for the distinction

has never been

made by

the

Holy
*

Spirit.

On
Bible,

the contrary, Paul refers to

Doway

John

xiv. 6.

^32
the

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

ransom paid by

Christ, to

show

that

it

is

this wliich

con-

stitutes Christ the

only mediator.

" There

is

one God, and

Christ Jesus,
in

one Mediator between God and men, the

man
be

who gave
Christ
ter
is

himself a ransom for

ii.

all, to
is it

testified

due

time." (1 Tim.

5, 6.)

Why

that the intercession of

constantly alluded to in connexion with his charac-

and

office as the

High

Priest of the gospel dispensation

Is not the great truth seen

running through every Scripture,

is

that refers to Christ as the only mediator, that he

such,

because he alone has a right to mediate between

sinners,
tinction,

inasmuch as he alone has atoned

therefore,

for sin

God and The disbe-

which the church of

Rome makes

tween Christ, as the only atoning mediator, and her host of

interceding mediators,
plain Scripture
;

is

a mere trick, to elude the force of

for the Bible

proves clearly, that no one has

a right
viour,

to intercede

between

God and

sinners, but the Sa!

who
is

has atoned for the guilt of sinners

Now,

if

there

but one mediator, there cannot be

many

mediators

and

if so,

what good

will

our invocation of. the saints do?

itself to the

This objection would naturally present

mind of
and he
fairly.

every one familiar with the case, and capable of thinking

correctly on
tries

any
it.

subject.

Pope Pius

felt

its

force,

to

evade

But he does not put the question

he well

Had he done

so,

knew

it

would be hard

to find

an

answer that could justify the practice of the Romish church. " Is there no danger, by acting thus, of giving to the saints
the honour which belongs to

God alone?"

"

No

it

is

evident that to desire the prayers and interis

cessions of the saints,

by no means giving them an honour

alone
:

which belongs

to

God
to

so far from
to

it,

that
;

it

would

even be a blasphemy

beg of God
to

pray

for us

because,

whosoever desires any one

pray for him for the obtaining

to

of a grace or blessing, supposes the person,

whom

he


INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
thus addresses himself, to be inferior and dependent of
other,

233

some

by

whom

this

grace or blessing

is

to be

bestowed."

If the

name of

Christ had been substituted in place of

fairly put.

God, the question would have been

torial

The mediaGod^ but

honour of the Saviour belongs

to him, not as

as the

man
;

Christ Jesus.

As such he

intercedes for us with

the Father

he mediates not

in his divine,

but in his

human

nature.

Protestants never profess that the mediatorial office

to

and work belongs

God.

Hence you

see the utter irreleIt is

vancy of the question

in its present

form.

easy, after

placing the matter upon false premises, to refute an imagi-

nary absurdity. Pope Pius's

that Protestants ask
ter;

priest insinuates, in his

answer,
bet-

God

to

pray

for

them.

He knew

he

knew

that

we depend upon

the intercession of our

;

great High-Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ

that

we come to the
for this
to

Father through him alone; hence there was no need

expression of pious abhorrence of those
for

who ask God

it

pray

them

This

is

a mere

subterfuge, but

will not avail.

it,

The Saviour
*'

calls to

every one,

who would
to the

hide behind

am
2.

the way, no

man cometh

Father but by me."

viour's intercession,

All those texts which prove tht efficacy of the Sashow that we need no other advocate,
sin,

"

If

any man

we have an advocate
;

with the Father,

for his

Jesus Christ the righteous

and he

is

the propitiation
lifted

our sins."

At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus

I

up

eyes and said, "Father,

thank thee, that thou hast heard

me and
;

knew

that thou hearest

me

always."

What more

then does the Father require than the mediation of his be-

Son? And why should the sinner seek farther than " Then," says the RoChrist, when he is all-sufficient?
loved

manist, " on the

same ground we may

object to the

com-

mon practice of asking pious friends to pray for us, since we desire no more of the saints than we desire of our bre12


134
INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

thren here below, viz. that they would pray for us and with

us to the infinite goodness of God," &ic.

I

showed the

diflference

between the two cases at the comIn the first place,

us,

mencement of

my

discourse.

that our friends

on earth hear

the departed saints can hear us.

we know we do not know whether Moreover, we are comto

manded
there
is

to

ask the ri^^htcous on earth

in the
I

pray

for ns,

and

no such precept

case of departed saints.

say, in the next place

And

now,
3.

if this will not suffice,

us to

have texts of Scripture which absolutely forbid depend upon any other intercessor but Jesus Christ,

We

or to offer religious worship to any creature.

The

Scrip-

tures note the introduction of such mediators as a heresy.

"Let no man
humility

beguile

you of your reward,

in

a voluntary

and

worshiping of angels, intruding into those

things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up in his fleshly mind, and not holding the

Head." Col.

ii.

18.
in Paul's

From

this

it

appears that some wicked men, even

time, wished to introduce the invocation of angels,

on the

very same plea which Romanists advance in our day, " a

voluntary humility," pretending that
inferior mediators in their requests.
it

is

modest

to interest
it

Paul condemns
is

as

injurious to the glorious truth, that Christ alone

our Head

and mediator.
Again,
in
1

Tim.

iv.

1,

we

read these words

"

Now

the

Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times

some

shall

depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils
;

speaking

lies

in
;

hypocrisy; having their

forbidding to marry, and

conscience seared with a hot iron

commanding
marks,
I

to abstain

from

meats."

Upon
is

these

latter

shall not dwell at present; they are so plain, that

every one

may

see that the

Romish church
is

designated.

The

expression, ''doctrines of devils,"

worthy of remark,

in the original

Greek

it

is

" diSaaxa'kCai

6at/uovtwv," doctrines

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
of demons.
to deijied

135
ancient writers,
fa-

This term was applied,

in
;

all

men

or canonized mortals

and the ancient

thers understood Paul as referrinoj to the introduction of this

heathenish worship into the Ronnish church.

will give

comment of Epiphanius, of Salamis, who

fourth century, upon
this

lived

in

the

passage of Scripture.

Rebi>k-

ing certain people for giving religious honour to the Virgin Mary, he says
:

honour the Virgin

Some Mary as

"

persons are

mad enough
Thrace

to

a sort of goddess.

Certain
into

women have
Arabia.
the virgin
;

transplanted this vanity

sacrifice

from

For they
and,
in

a bread cake in

honour

of

her name, they blasphemously celebrate

sacred mysteries.
piety, abhorrent

But the whole matter

is

a tissue of im-

from the teaching of the Holy Spirit: so

it

that

we may

well call

a diabolical business, and a mani-

fest doctrine

of the

spirit

of impurity.
:
'

In them

is

fulfilled

this
tize

prophecy of
from the

St.

Paul

Certain persons shall aposta-

faith,

attending to fables and doctrines concern-

ing demon-gods.'
tion
is
:

For the purport of the

apostle's declara-

They

shall

pay divine worship

to the dead,

even as

* men formerly paid such worship in Israel. But we Christians must not indecorou ly honour the saints rather ought we to honour him who is their sovereign Lord. The Virgin Mary Let, then, the error of seducers cease. To the peril, therefore, of his own soul, let is no goddess. no one make oblations in her name."*

There
John,
ix.

is

a remarkable prediction in the Revelation of St.

20:

"And

the rest of the

men, that were not

kill-

ed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their

hands, that they should
not worship demon-gods,
silver,

(same

word,) and idols of gold, and

and

brass,

and stone,

and wood, which can neither

*

see,

nor hear, nor walk."

Epiph. Adv. Haer.

lib. 3.

haer. 78.

136

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
this,
it

From
ges

appears,

lliat

they of

whom

it

was

foretold

that they should worship

also.

demon-gods, were

to

worship ima-

May we

not, with propriety, refer the

spirit, llfat

language of the Sa-

viour to every seducing

invocation of saints
written.
:

would beguile us into the

for
it

" Get thee behind me, Satan,

is

Thou

shalt worship the

Lord thy God, and him only

shalt thou serve ?"

4. In the next place,

will present,

from

Scripture,

some practical examples of religious service being offered to created beings, and expressly prohibited by inspired authority.

The

first

is

the case of Peter, the vicar general

of Jesus Christ, and the prince of the apostles.

You

will

find the history recorded in the tenth chapter of Acts.

nelius,

Cor-

a centurion, had been warned,

in

a dream, to send

for Peter.
tion

When

the apostle had, in obedience to the direc-

of the Holy

Spirit,

come

to the

house of Cornelius,

we

are told that the centurion

ped him.
self also

fell down at his feet and worship" But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up, I my-

am

a man."

Ah

if

Peter could only

make

his

voice heard in every

Romish chapel, he would say to all who worship him, "Stand up, 1 myself also am a man."
But," says a

*'

Roman
in

Catholic, "

you ought

to

bear
;

in

mind
this

that Peter

was not

heaven then, but on earth

and so

case

is

not to the purpose;

we

invoke the saints in heaven,

not those on earth."

Oh!

had thought the great argument

of the saints, they did
their piin the

of Papists was, that

in their invocation

no more than when Protestants ask the prayers of

ous friends on earth.

This apology flourishes largely

Grounds of Cath. Doct.

is fair, that
it

Now,

if this

be so, the inference

to

would have been just as proper

earth, as to give
;

worship

Peter,

when on
heaven

him
is

this

honour now that

he

is

in

for this

worship

nothing more than Proprayers of pious friends.

testants offer,

when they

solicit the

INVOCATION OF SAINT8.

^3-7

However, we
is

will not confine ourselves to this case.

Here
to

another.
;

"

And
I

I,

John, saw these things, and heard

I fell

them

and when

had heard and seen,

"

down

wor-

ship before the feet of the angel, which

showed me these

things." (Rev. xxi. 8.)

Now," says

the

Roman

Catholic,

"how

will

you ever answer that?

If that docs not teach

the propriety of worshiping angels, what proof will ever

convince

you?"

confess,
;

my

friend,

so far, this
in his

text

seems

to

favour your doctrine

and Dr. Doyle,

Abridgfor this

ment of Christian Doctrine, has quoted the passage

very purpose
;

but he ought to have included the next verse,

and then we should have heard what the angel thought

about
I
it.

" Then saith he unto me, See thou do

it

not^ for

am

thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets,

this

and of them which keep the sayings of

book. Worship

God."
sive.

This testimony,

presume,

is

sufficiently conclu-

Here, then,
clude yet.
reason that
It is

might dismiss the subject

but

cannot con-

will be

remembered, that the most plausible

by

offered

Roman

Catholics, in their standard

is,

works,

in support

of the practice of invoking the saints,

that they only ask the prayers

and intercessions of the deto the saints as the

if

parted spirits

and do not look

are indignant

authors

of grace.

They
;

you express a suspicion

saints.

that the worship terminates

on the

"

God

forbid,"

say they
Majesty

"

this

would be high treason against the divine

I"

Now,
in

am

prepared to prove, that the Romish church

is

guilty of this high treason against the divine Majesty.

For

her authorized liturgies, so far from confining herself

it

within the limits which she declares

impious to transcend,

we

shall find that the saints,

and especially the Virgin Mary,

gifts

are invoked as the dispensers of

and graces, which the

word of God assures

us can be conferred by

God

alone,

12*

lyQ
1 will

INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
read a few passnges from the Collects and

Hymns

to

the Saints, in the Ilourp, according to the liturgical use of

the church of Salisbury, as printed at Paris, A. D. 1526.

These prayers to the virgins and saints have the express stamp of Papal approbation. " Comfort a sinner and give
;

not thy honour to the alien or cruel,

pray thee,

queen

of heaven.

Have me excused

with Christ, thy son, whose

I

anger

fear,

and whose fury

vehemently dread; for.

against thee only have I sinned.

celestial grace,

O, Virgin Mary,

full

of

be not estranged from me.

Be
;

the keeper of

my
me
To

heart

sign
life

me
:

with the fear of

God

confer upon
;

me
O,

soundness of
at

give

me

honesty of manners

and grant
just.

once

to

avoid sins, and to love that which

is

Virgin sweetness, there neither

was

nor is thy fellow /"*

the industrious repealers of this

to

prayer

to the virgin.

Pope Celestine was pleased

pardon.

grant three hundred days of

Again: "Let our voice

first

celebrate

Mary, through

whom
who

the rewards of

life

are given to us.

virgin,

Queen, thou
sins

art a mother,

and yet a chaste

pardon our

through thy Son.

May

the holy assembly of the angels,

and the

illustrious troop

of the archangels

now

blot out our

sins by granting to vs the high glory of heaven,^

In the
first

of these prayers, amongst other things, the

" against thee only have
I

worshiper of

Mary says,

sinned,"

and

in the second, the request is

made

to her,

" pardon our

sins through thy Son,"

and then the angels and archangels

for their intercession ?

are asked to blot out our sins by granting us the high glory

of heaven.

Is this

merely asking

It is

painful to dwell upon such blasphemous perversions,

and

quote them merely to prove that requests are

made

to the

Burnet's Hist, of Reform. Vol.

Ibid. Vol.
ii.

ii.

Faber, 194.

fol.

80.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
Virgin Mary, which can appropriately be addressed to
alone.
It
is

jgg

God

not necessary, however, to revert to the Salisbury

to

Hours
in the
it

prove the church of

Rome

guilty of gross idolatry,

;

homage
a
little

paid to the Virgin

Mary

find a surfeit of

in

book, published with the approbation of the

Roman
gin,

Catholic bishop, resident in this city.

is
:

On

page 128

of the Catholic Companion,

the Litany of the blessed Vir-

which commences thus

!

"

We

fly

to

thy patronage,

Holy Mother of God

cessities, but deliver

despise not our petitions in our ne-

vs

from

all dangers,

ever glorious

and blessed Virgin

I"

Then
under

follows an invocation of the

Holy

Trinity.

This

is

succeeded by a page and a half of

all

of which she

is

of the Virgin Mary, entreated to " Pray for us."

titles

Amongst the rest, the Virgin is addressed as the "Seat of Wisdom, Mirror of Justice, Cause of our joy. Mystical Rose, Tower of David, Tower of Ivory, House of Gold, Queen of Angels, Queen of Patriarchs, Queen of Prophets, Queen of Apostles, Queen of Martyrs, Queen of Confessors, Queen I hope no Roman Cathoof Virgins, Queen of all Saints." lic supposes that these titles are ascribed to the Virgin Mary
by
divine authority.
I

would defy

all

the bishops and doc-

tors of the

Romish church
Virgin Mary.

to point out

a single passage of

Scripture which warrants the ascription of any one of these

names
ceive

to the

confess

am

at a loss to con-

the

how pure devotion is to be enkindled by contemplating Virgin Mary as a " Tower of Ivory," &c.
page 14 of the Vespers
the following rhapsody
for

On
1 find

Sundays,

in the

same book,
life,

" Hail,

Queen,

O
!

Mother of Mercy

Hail, our

our

comfort, and our hope

"We,
To
thee

the banished children of Eve, cry out unto thee.

we send up our

sighs, groaning,

and weeping

in this

140
vale of tears.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

Come,

then, our advocate, and look upon us

with those thy pitying eyes," &c. &lc.

Now

it

is

bad enough

to

pray
is

to the

Virgin

Mary

or to

any other
longs to

saint; Cor

prayer
;

an act of worship, which beCatholics actually sing

to

God

alone

but Ronnan

hymnSi

^^

which an efficacy and power, belonging

!

God

alone, are ascribed to her

Under

the head of Vespers for

Sundays, we

iBnd the following effusion

*'Hail, Mary,

queen of heavenly spheres.

Hail,

whom

the angelic host reveres!

Hail, fruitful root, hail sacred gate.

Whence

the world's light derives

its

date!

glorious maid, with beauty bless'd.

May

joys eternal

fill

thy breast!
joy.

Thus crown'd with beauty and with

Thy

prayers with Christ for us employ."

One

nnore quotation,

"Hail heavenly queen!

hail foanny

ocean's star."

Those of

my

hearers,

who

are acquainted

with heathen mythology,

know

that the goddess

whom

the

Latins worshiped as Venus, was venerated by the Greeks

under the name of Aphrodite,

*'

which means,
is

literally,

Sprung from

the

foamP

This

significant of the fabuline

lous origin of that goddess.

The

first

of

this

hymn

would have
1.

suited a worshiper of Aphrodite, exactly

"Hail, heavenly queen! hail, foamy ocean's star!

Oh! be our guide, diffuse thy beams afar: Mother of God, above all virgins blest! Hail, happy gate of heaven's eternal rest.
Hail,
2.

" Hail,

full

of grace

with Gabriel

we

repeat

Thee, queen of heaven, from him we learn to greet; Then give us peace, which heaven alone can give,

And seas thuough Eve

through Mart let vs live!"

flilsehood

This verse contains an amount of

and blasphe-

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
-

J4]
so small a com-

my, such
pass.

as

we seldom

find

condensed

in

When

did Gabriel ever teach Christians to greet

Mary

as

the queen of heaven?

The Holy

Bible renders the angel's

words, ^^XaipSi
favoured
!"

xsxapitcifxivrj"

"Hail, thou that art highly

version interprets Gabriel's

and even the

Doway
full

salutation to

Mary, "Hail,

of grace

!"

(Luke

i.

28.)

Gabriel would probably not thank the poet for the honour
conferred upon him
idolatry.
;

the good angel would hardly sanction

The

last line is really too

let

rank, "

through Mary
Mary
is

us live."

And dead through Eve We^ dead through Adam, exChrist.

pect to live through the

Lord Jesus

But

it

seems

the Saviour of Papists.

No

wonder, then, that they

are taught to pray, " Hail,

Queen,

Mother of mercy

Hail our

life,

our comfort, and our hopeP^

Catholics sing

But

Roman

hymns and pray

to

other

saints besides the Virgin

Mary.

On

page 19 of the hymns

for St. Vincent,

in the Catholic

Companion, we have one

which combines both prayer and praise

" Mild and serene, ye angels appear.
Assist us with your heavenly

power

To On

sing" his praise,

whom

to-day

we

revere,

thee

we

call, St.

Vincent of Paul,
us;

Aid and protect

May we from

thee

Learn blest charity. Holy patron, hear our prayer," &c.

Sec.

Some

of the prayers which are addressed to the Virgin

Christ, but actually

Mary, not only make her equal with

imply her superiority.

She

is

requested to use her mater-

nal influence with her Son, to obtain the blessings which

the petitioner desires, and a sufficiency

is

ascribed to her,

which renders the Saviour's intercession a work of super-

142
erogation.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

At the

risk of being tedious,

will give

two more

extracts from
in

Roman

Catholic books, which are circulated

our

own

city with the sta-mi) of papal approbation.

The

first is

taken from the "

Month of Mary,"

p.

84.
the treasures

"Since thou
of heaven are

art so rich in
in

mercy, since
I

all

thy hands, what ma'y

I

not expect of thee

I

How

poor and miserable soever

I

may

be,

have nothing

to

fear, if

address myself to thee; thou hast all that is necesto

sary for me, and thou hast the power and the will
vie

give

whatever
to
all

may

he necessary for

my

salvation.
I

recom-

mend
body,

thee,

most blessed mother

my
I

hopes,

my

consolations,

my soul and my my wants, my life,

I

and
with

my
all

death.
that
it

Into thy sacred hands

abandon myself

have or am," &c.

Now,
" In

matters not that in

are addressed to the

thee,

some of the prayers, which Virgin Mary, it is explicitly declared,

next
if

to

Jesus

my

blessed Saviour,

place

all

my
for

hopes," for

she has all that is necessary, and has the

power and

the will to give whatever

may

be necessary

salvation, the Papist need apply to no other.

The
p.

following

is

from the " Christian's Guide

to

Heaven,"

198.

"

blessed Virgin, Mother of

quality worthy of all respect from

to offer thee

God and by this august men and angels, I come

!

my

most humble homage, and

to implore the

aid of thy prayers

and protection.
heaven.

Thou

art all-powerful
is

with the Almighty, and thy goodness for mankind

to

equal

thy influence
!

in

Thou knowest,
I

blessed Vir-

gin

that from
;

my

tender years,

looked up to thee as

my

mother, &c.

thou wert pleased to consider

;

me

from that

time, as one of thy children

and whatever graces I have

humble gratitude, that

received
it

from God, I
in

confess, with

is

through thee 1 received them.

Why

was

not as

faithful

thy service, as thou wert bountiful in assisting

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

143

me?
thee,''''

But

will

henceforth

servCj

honour,

and

love

&c. &c.
all

Christians ascribe

grace

to the sanctifying

influences

of the ever blessed Spirit of God, but Papists are taught

that they receive all their grace from

God through

the Vir-

gin Mary.

Now, my

hearers, to judge from

the practice of the

Ro-

mish church, might we not suppose that the word of God

abounds with
saints,

positive precepts, enjoining the

worship of the

particularly the Virgin

Mary?

Protestants respect
;

her memory, as one

all

whom

the

Lord peculiarly honoured

generations call her blessed, because she

was

the

mother

of the

man

Christ Jesus.

But we hold

it

impious to style

her the Mother of God, because her maternal relation to

Jesus Christ extended no farther than his

human

nature;

and Christ was not God by virtue of

virtue of the Divinity,

his incarnation, but

to

by

which pertained

him before the

world began.

In
in

some of

the authorized

Roman

Catholic
is

books published

Paris, St.
:

Ann, the Mother of Mary,

spoken of as follows

" She was the mother of the mother

of God, and the grandmother of

I

God

himself."

might

cite

a great

many

similar expressions, but they

are too blasphemous to repeat.

relative to the

The most absurd

legends
in

power of her intercession are recorded

Catholic hooks.
I.

au-

thorized

Roman

A
311.

few of them

may

be

found

in

M'Gavin's Protestant,
is

The mother of our Lord

Gospels, and so far
ship which well
is

seldom even mentioned

in the

from countenancing the extravagant wor-

offered to her, the Saviour,

who no

doubt was

aware of

the abuses which would be introduced into his

to

church, seems cautiously

give even the

avoid every thing which would

shadow of

plausibility to the

extreme veneration

which
at

is

paid to her.

When
to

a certain person

came

to

him

one time, and said

him, "

Thy mother and

thy brc-

144
tliren desire to

INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
speak with thee."
Jesus replied, "
?

Who

is

my
his

mother, and

who are my

brethren
said.

and he reached

forth

hand

to his disciples,
!

and

Behold
will

my

brethren

for

whosoever doeth the

is

of

my mother and my Father in

and mother."

heaven, the same

(Matt.
xii.

my

brother,

and

sister,

47.)

From this passage, every man who will use the faculties that God has given him, may see that the Saviour tells us,
dear as his mother no doubt was to him, that every believer,

every one

who

does his Father's

his kindred

will, is as

dear as the nearest

flesh.

and dearest of
church of
of

according to the

But the

Rome

forbids her children to understand the

word
to

God

in

any other sense than

;

that

which she chooses

put upon Scripture

blessed

and not content with forbidding the

God

to give his

own

interpretation of his will

not

content with insulting the Almighty by telling the faithful

that

the revelation of his will

is

so dark and mysterious

that they

cannot comprehend

it,

though that same revelation

able to

assures that the Scriptures are

salvation, she absolutely

make wise unto forbids many who are under her

the

control, under pain of severe penalties, to read

word

of

God

She not only perverts the

Scripture, but she pre-

sumes

to say,

through the highest authorities of her church,

is

that the Bible, the blessed, precious Bible,

a book which

cannot be read and studied by the

the most pernicious results!
in his glorious gospel,

common people without The Lord God calls aloud

hath ears
will
to hear, let
let

"

hear!" but the church of

He that Rome

him

not

her children

hear the Almighty speak for himself.

She takes away the

of living

word of God, and

waters
I

seals up this sweet fountain

Nor

is this all.

One man.

Cardinal Bonaventure,

who

has been canonized, and whose

saints,

name

stands on the

Romish calendar of

has had the audacity to apply

the whole book of Psalms to the Virgin Mary,

by putting

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
her

J45

name

instead of God's, and

making some other necesin

sary alterations.
ter,
sit

So
right

that

you

such a passage as this,* "

may find The Lord

make
the

our Lady's Psal-

said unto

my Lady,
has been

thou at

my
In

hand

until I

thine enemies thy

footstool !"

the

same manner

Te Deum
we were

altered.
to be the

"

We

praise thee,

Mary, we acknowledge thee

this,

Lady," &c.

After reading

not sur-

prised to find that one of the doctors of the

Romish church

has said,

"He knew

not which to prefer, the blood of the

Son, or the milk of the Mother!"

A
came

few words as

to the

probable origin of the idolatrous

I

invocation of saints, and

shall

conclude.

This abuse be;

prevalent in the church at a very early age

we

find

traces of the practice

among

the fathers of the third century.

There

is

one passage cited by Romanists from Irenaeus,

who
It

lived in the second century,

is

which

is

not to the purpose.

the only one in

all his

works which can possibly be pressed

connexion shows that Irenaeus never

in as authority, but the

intended to lend his sanction to the practice.

As
saints.

to the fathers

of the

first

and second centuries,

their

silence

shows

that they

knew nothing of
is

the invocation of
fruits

This root of bitterness

one of the

of the car-

nal policy of a later period.

When

Christianity had

become

the religion of the state, the heathen

became nominal members

of the church, and the leaven of idolatry soon corrupted the

whole mass. They had had gods many, and lords many before
their union with the Christian

church, and their idolatrous pro-

pensities

not

having been corrected, they readily adopted

the invocation of saints as a convenient substitute for the

adoration of their host of false deities.

There

is

one stand-

ing proof of the truth of this explanation.

"

The

noblest heathen temple

now remaining

in the world,

* Fox's Acts and

Monuments, old

edition, folio,

p 185.

13

146
is

INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
;

the pantheon, or rotundo

which, as the inscription over

the portico informs us, having been impiously dedicated of

old

by Agrippa

to

Jove and

all

the gods,

was

piously con-

secrated by Pope Boniface IV. to the blessed Virgin and all

the saints.

With

this single alteration

it
it

serves as exactly
did for the

for all the purposes of the popish, as

pagan

worship, for which

it

was

built.

For, as in the old temple,

his country,

every one might

find the

god of

and address
to,

himself to that deity whose religion he was most devoted

so
it is

the

same thing now

and one

every one chooses the patron

whom

he

likes best,
at the

may

see here different services

going on

same

time, at different altars, with distinct

congregations around them, just as the inclinations of the

people lead them, to the worship of this or that particular * * * * saint.

"And
pulled

as

it is

in the

pantheon,

it is

just the
;

same

in all hea-

then temples that

still

remain

in

Rome

they have only

down one

idol to set

up another, changing rather the

name than

the object of their worship.

Thus

the

little

temple of Vesta, near the Tiber, mentioned by Horace,

is

now

possessed

by

the

Madonna of the Sun

;

that of Fortuna

Virilis,

by Mary the Egyptian

that of Saturn,

where the
;

public treasure

was

anciently kept, by St. Adrian

that of

Romulus and Remus, in the Via Sacra, by two other brothat of Antonine the godly, thers, Cosmus and Damianus the saint but for Lawrence my part, I would sooner be by
; ;

tempted

to prostrate

myself before the statue of a Romulus,

or an Antonine, than that of a Lawrence, or a Damian, and

give divine honours rather with pagan

Rome to

the founders

of empires, than with popish

teries."*

Rome

to the

founders of monas-

* See Middleton's letter from

niustrations of Popery, p. 506;

Rome, printed

at length in the

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.

I47

The

saints,
still

moreover, like the heathen gods of old, have

are regarded as the guardian angels of certain
St.

been and
countries.

Thus

James has charge of Spain

;

St. St.
;

Sebas-

tian takes care

of Portugal
;

St.

Denis of France

Mark

of the Venetians
brose of Milan.

St.

Nicholas of the Muscovites

St.

Am-

Before the reformation, St. George had

;

charge of England

St.

of Ireland.
never was a
years
in his

Indeed,

Andrew of Scotland, and St. Patrick some people think St. Patrick has
!

charge of Ireland yet

but

assure you that noble saint

Roman

Catholic.

He

had been seven hundred

grave before popery was introduced into Ireland.*

The

several trades and professions also have their tutelary

saints.

Thus,

St.
;

Nicholas and St. Christopher have the

St.

oversight of sailors

Catharine takes care of the scholars

;

St. Austin looks after the divines

St.
;

Luke
St.

helps the paintis

ers

St.

Ivo patronises the lawyers

St. Crispin

Eustatius

the

friend of the hunters.

^t.

of the shoemakers, and

Magdalen and

St.

Afra have the charge of those unbetter than they should

happy creatures who are no

be.

Some

of the saints are expected to do rather unpleasant ser-

vices, e. g. St.

Anthony takes care of the

Eulogius of the horses
;

pigs

St.

Pelagius

of the cows;

St.

and

St.

Vendeline

and

St.

Gallus take especial care of both sheep and geese.

all this is, it is

Ridiculous as

no

less humiliating.

mean
geese

ideas of heaven

some people must have,

it,

Oh! what when they

swine and

suppose that saints would leave

to

drudge

after

The

holiness of

many
;

of those

who have been canonized

to

by the church of Rome, appears

of external ceremonies
if

have consisted

in

a love

the faithful are to consider the

to

models of sanctity which are presented

them

in the Bre-

viary as patterns for their imitation, very iew in the com-

See Brownlee*s Tract

St.

Patrick no Papist,

148

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
the

munion of
Patrick

Romish church
to
rise

will be disposed to aspire to

the honour of saintship.

The Breviary
winter, to
in

informs us that St.

was accustomed the snows and rain of

night.
activity

before daylight, and under

commence

his daily task

in the

of praying one hundred times

a day, and as often

When
seems

raised to the
to

See of Armagh,

his devotional

have received an additional spur.

He now
fifty

repealed daily the whole Psalter, (the one hundred and

psalms,) together with the canticles and hymns, and instead

of praying two hundred times on his bended knees in the course of twenty-four hours, his genuflexions were henceforth increased to

three hundred, per diem.

Pie

made

the

sign of the cross one hundred times in each canonical hour,

and the

ecclesiastical

day being divided

into eight

such pe-

riods, the saint

must have performed the motion eight hun-

dred times in the course of the day.

The

return of night
it

brought

little

repose to St. Patrick.

first

He

divided

into three

portions; in the

he recited one hundred psalms, and

knelt two hundred times; during the second he stood im-

mersed

in cold

water, repeating

fifty

psalms moi-e, " with

his heart, eyes,

and hands raised towards heaven."

upon a stone pavement.*
spiritual

The

third he devoted to sleep

Verily

this

was a course of

gymnastics such as

very few might undertake.

What

a bustle and perpetual

motion, and an everlasting chattering of psalms and prayers,

and

collects,

and

canticles,

and a diving

into cold water,

and

a waving of the hands, and what interminable genuflexions, and elevations of heart, eyes, and hands towards heaven,

must have been required by the conscience of

I

St. Patrick
in this

am

pained at

my

very heart to think that,

day of

light, there

should be any upon whose eye-balls the rays of

fall,

the gospel sun can

without convincing them of the folly

* Brev. Die 17 Martii.

Catliolicism, p. 158.

See Blaco White's Pract Evid.

ag-ainst

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
of the invocation of saints.

149
not as well honour

Why may

God by

giving worship to the sun as to Ignatius Loyola, or

St. Francis, or

any other canonized

no
possibility of

saint?

The sun
it

is

un-

questionably a

monument of God's goodness, wisdom, and

mistaking
in this respect
satisfied respecting the holiness

power
but
I

there

is

never can be as well

of sundry saints,
all that I
its,

whom

Romanists devoutly invoke.

For
Jesunot.

know, Ignatius Loyola, though the prince of

;

was a great hypocrite

best of
in the

but

am

sure the sun

is

The
even

men have
;

their

failings,

and there are spots

sun

but they are not moral impurities, nor are

they displeasing

to

God.

Philip Nerius could not have been

mistaken in the shininsj of the sun, althou2;h he miaht be in

the shining of Loyola's face
vellous a thing, that
it
;

and yet

this is

thought so mar-

is

read in the lessons appointed for

Ignatius Loyola in the

Roman

Breviary.*

What
and the

is

idolatry but giving to the creature the honour

to the

which belongs

Creator? and do not the Virgin

that

Mary

saints receive

honour?

Prayer and praise

are acts of solemn worship, which are to be offered to

alone.

God

David thought

so,

when he said, "

My

soul, wait

thou only upon God;" but Romanists wait upon

the saints.

Mary and
to
in

them.
this

They pray to them, and they sing praises Has God said that he is willing to share his glory
?

respect with another

No
it

but he has solemnly de-

clared that he never will give

to

another

He

has forbid-

den
self.

us, as

we have
is

already shown, to worship any but him-

There

nothing more certain from the Bible than that

the offerings which

men

bring to

Mary and
"

the saints, are

an abomination
horrible thing
is

in the sight

of heaven.
in the land.

wonderful and
prophets pro-

committed

The

Rom. 31 Jul. Antw. 1663. See Stilling-fleet's of the Church of Rome, p. 140. London, 1676. 13*
* Brev.

Idolatry

150
phesy
falsely,

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
and the
priests bear rule
it

by

their
will

means

and

my

people love to have

so,

and what

you do

in the

end thereof?"

Oh
their

would

lift

up

that all who have sinned in this thing, hands and cry, " O Lord, other lords

have had rule over

us, but

henceforth by thee only will

All
I

we
If

make mention

of thy name."

ask

is,

that

you " search

the Scriptures, and see whether these things are so."

the priest forbids you to search the Scriptures, Jesus Christ

commands you
"

to search

them.

Now whom will

you obey?
the

We ought to obey God

that will bend

rather than man. "

Shame on
to

man
in
his

and cringe before

his fellow-mortal,

and

a land of freemen, suffer a spiritual tyrant

pluck from

life God has given you his word, That you might hide it under a bushel ? No ; but that you might hold it up as a light by which to direct your steps. David says, " Thy word is a lamp to
!

hands the bread of

for

and

what?

my

^ee\,

and a

light

to

my

path."

Oh

let

it

be such to

you.

What
it

has

God made

a revelation for

if

nobody can

understand

but the priests?

Is not the plan

declared to be so plainly laid

down

in

of salvation the Bible, " that the

wayfaring man, though a

fool,

cannot err therein ?"

saints,
it

My
not

friends, if

you invoke the

is

plain that

you do

know
word

the Saviour.
all that

You

look upon him as frowning with

indignation upon
his
tell

approach him.

But

is it

so ?

Does
all

you so?

Hear him, "Come unto me

will give

ye

and are heavy laden, and I The Bible never directs the sinner to go
that labour

you

rest."

to

Mary and

entreat

her to pacify the fury of her Son.

If ever

any man who hears me

the
it

is

tempted by Satan to

pray, or to sing praises to either saint or angel,

may

the

Lord furnish him with behind me, Satan, for

answer of

my

text,

" Get thee

is

written thou shalt worship the

shalt thou serve."

Lord thy God, and him only

LECTURE

V.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

Lev. XX vi.
1.

RELICS.

"ye shall make you no

idols nor graven image, neither REAR you up a STANDING IMAGE NEITHER SHALL YE SET UP ANY IMAGE OF STONE IN YOUR LAND, TO BOW DOWN UNTO IT FOR / AM THE LORD YOUR GOD."
;

It

is

hard to conceive
in

how

a church, professing to be the

only one

which salvation

may
when

be obtained, should sancthe practice

I
is

tion the veneration of images,

so plainly

forbidden in the word of God.

Had
all

none before me, but

such as were entirely free from

Protestantism or
to

bias in favour, either of

confident, that, in order

Romanism,
is

am

convince them that the veneration of images, as practised

directly at variance with the plain

by the church of Rome,

command

of Scripture, nothing more would be necessary

than simply to range the decrees of her councils, and the

doctrines of her Catechisms,
Failh,

and authorized Confession of

which
In order to convict

by

the side of those precepts of God's word,

refer to the

worship of graven images.

Papists of evident departure from the truth of the gospel, I

need do no more than place the decree of Trent against that

of Sinai, and
let

the voice of Jehovah, uttered

amid the

thunderings and lightnings of the burning mount, rebuke

152
the

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.

worm that dares to contradict him. Jehovah says, " Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any
likeness of

any thing

that

is

in

heaven above, or that

is

in

the earth beneath, or that

is

in the

water under the earth.

;

Thou
for
I,

shalt not

bow down

thyself to them, nor serve them

the

Lord thy God,

am
that

a jealous

God."
God, or

Now,
that
is

hear

the

Man
;

of Sin, the Son of Perdition,

all
is

who

opposeth and ex-

alteth

himself above

called

wor-

shiped

so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God,

that he
is

showing himself

God

"

most firmly

assert,
vir-

that the images of Christ, of the mother of

gin,

God, ever

and also of other

saints,

may

be had and retained; and

is

that due honour and veneration

to be given to

them."*

Jehovah says, *'Thou shalt not make

image."

to thyself

any graven

The man

of sin says,

"/most

firmly assert, that

the images of Christ, of the mother of God, ever virgin,

and also of other

due veneration

saints,

may
is,

be had and retained

and

that

is to

be given to them."

But, plain as this case

when viewed
is

in

the light of

Scripture, the worship of images papists; though

strenuously upheld

by

by means of sophistry and

that, in reality,

false distinctions,

they try to
late the

make it appear command of God.

they do not vio-

The second commandment of

;

the Decalogue has always been a source of trouble to the

doctors of the

Romish church

so

much

so, that until

they

were shamed out of the fraud by Protestants, they uniformly

omitted
I defy any man to show commandment, in any ojie of the manuals of me the second the Romish church, before the Reformation As late as
it

in all their catechisms.

1658, we

find Dr. Stillingfleet challenging a papist to tell

office

him

in

what public
to

of their church the second com-

mandment was

be found.

Even

yet, the priests

have not

* Grounds of Cath. Doct. p. 6,

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

been entirely cured of
this

RELICS.

153
;

attempt at imposition

for in the
is

papal countries of Europe, the second

to be found in the catechisms in

commandment
use, if

not

common
more

my

inforits

mation
truth,

is

correct
I

and

am

the

inclined to believe

because

find that there is

no mention made of

this

commandment

in the Christian's

Guide

to

Heaven, publishdirected to exa-

ed with the approbation of the R. C. Bishop of this city.

Before a good papist goes to confess, he

is

mine himself on the

nation there
is

ten

commandments.
to

In this examina-

not a word said about the graven images,

which the Lord forbids us

to

make,
full

in

order to

bow down

them;

but, to

eke out the

last,

mandments, the
as to

or tenth
it.

complement o^ ten comcommandment, is divided so

let

make two
list

out of

wish the bishop would

me
be-

supply a

of questions 'on the second

commandment,

cause, as the case stands at present, the examination fnust

be defective

and, as the Lord requires us to keep all his

I

commandments,

think

it

would be

safest to let the

Al-

mighty's words stand as originally delivered to Moses, on

the tables of stone.

To
was

be sure,

it

might occasion some

if

little

suspicion that all

not right,

such a question as

this

were proposed.

"

Is there

any image, or likeness of any

have bowed

thing in heaven, or on earth, to which you

down?"
" there
ber,
is.

"Why,
I

yes," the

Roman

Catholic must reply,

have bowed down

to the crucifix in

mv

cham-

and

to the

image of

the Virgin

Mary," &c.

Then

the next question would be, "

it

How

often ?"

And, perhaps,
this
al-

would be a
1

difficult

matter to answer that question satis-

factorily.

do not, for a moment, dispute the 'policy of

I

omission.

think

it

is (\u'\{e

prvdent
is

but whether

it is

together proper, or scriptural,

another question.
offered in

But

must proceed

to

examine the evidence

support of this practice of the Romish church.

There

is

long chapter, on

this subject, in the

Grounds of Cath. Doct.,

154

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

is

RELICS.

though there

very

little

matter offered as proof; the greatI

er part of the chapter consists of apology.

it

have thought

best to

make an
up

analysis of the contents of this section,

at

in order to hold

one view the chief points upon which

the veneration of images depends.

Doct., (pp.

The Grounds

of Cath.

75

79,) contain the following six propositions

on

this head.

1.

Divine honours are not paid

to

images, but only rela-

tive honours.

2.

The second commandment of

interferes with the use

the Decalogue,

by no

means
3.

of images.
to

Several

commands of God
dependance
is

Moses, warrant the wor-

ship of images.
4.

No

trust or

placed in images.
to the cus-

5. Sundry practices of Protestants are similar tom of the Romish church in this respect.

6.

The

dictates of

common

sense, as well as of piety

and
to

reh'gion, teach that

it is

right to

show proper veneration

images.
I.

Roman

Catholics maintain that they do not pay divine

honour to images. " What is your doctrine as to images 1 " We hold that the images or pictures of Christ, of had and retained
to be given to

his

blessed mother, ever virgin, and of other saints, are to be

;

and

that due

honour and veneration are

them.
1

"
*'

Do you
;

not worship images

;

No, by no means
for this

if

by worship you mean divine ho-

nour

we do

not give to the highest angel or saint,

not even to the Virgin Mary,

much

less to

images.

Do you not pray to images? " No, we do not, because, as both our catechism and common
sense teach us, they can neither see, nor hear, nor
help us.

"

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

"

RELICS.

255

Why, then, do you pray before an image or crucifix? " Because the sight of a good picture or image, for examto enkindle devotion in our hearts, towards him that has loved us to that excess as to lay down his life for the love of us. " What kind of honour do Catholics give to the images
ple,

of Christ upon the cross, helps

of Christ and his saints?

*'

relative honour.
relative

" What do you mean by a

honour?

to

is f^iven o a thing, not for any intrinsic excellence or dignity in the thing itself, but barely for the relation it has to something

"By a

relative honour,

mean an honour which

else, as

when

the courtiers

bow down

to the chair

of

state,

or Christians to the

name

of Jesus," &c.

As
nour
give,
pious.

to the

statement about the degree of honour paid to

that divine hothat to
is

the Virgin
is

Mary, we have already shown

and
I

certainly paid to her;

is

shall

now show,

even what
"

called a relative honour, to images,

I

im-

By

a relative honour," Pope Pius says, "

is

mean

an honour which

given to a thing, not for any intrinsic

itself,

excellence or dignity in the thing

relation
it

but barely for the

the courtiers

has to something else

of
state,

as

when

down
sus,

to the chair
is

or Christians to the

bow name of Jeto

which

an image or remembrance of our Saviour

is

the ear, as the crucifix

to the

eye."

In other words,
to

man

Catholics

show
any

this

outward honour
it

Roan imao-e, on
Thus, when
made, but
the wor-

account of the person

believe there
is

whom

represents, not because they

virtue in the

image

itself

they

bow

to

a crucifix, they consider themselves as bowing

brass, of
is

not to the

wood or

which the crucifix

it.

is

to the Saviour,

who

represented by

Hence

ship terminates upon the Saviour, and not upon the crucifix.

This,
given.

believe, is as fair a statement

of the case as can be

J56
1.
I

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

shall
It is

RELICS.

show

that this distinction

is

altogether inadmis:

sible.

so, for the following reason

God has forbidcourse, thertfore<,

is

den us

to

worship him in this

way ; of
to

he will not accept of the honour that

intended to he

shown
ship?

to

HIM by bowing down

far as the act
is

an image.
it

What

is

wor-

So

concerned,

is

nothing more

than an external signification of honour and respect.

this

Now

expression of honour, which

it is

is

due

to

God, cannot be

made, acceptably, when

has forbidden
er
;

offered in a

manner which God

no matter what the intention of the worshipintend to worship God,

if

may

be.

A man may

when he

bows down
the

to an image, but " Thou shalt not bow down to

God has
it

expressly said,

it,"

is

not probable that

Lord

will

consider himself honoured by the disobedience

If
to

of his worshiper.

we once admit

the doctrine,

that

men's intentions are

be the rule of divine worship, then

we must concede
But,
if

to

our

Roman

Catholic friends the right of

promoting the glory of God by breaking his commandments.

we

declare the divine law to be the only rule of wor-

ship, all prohibited

modes of honouring God must be an

to be high treason for

abomination to him. Suppose Mehemet, the pacha of Egypt,

should issue an edict, declaring
it

any

of his subjects to
the figure of
his

bow down

to

a sign-post, ornamented with

head, under the pretence of giving the

;

greater honour to their prince

what would he say, think

to

you,

if

some of

his subjects

were

be brought before him,

taken in
fied if

the very act of disobedience?

Would he
to

be satis-

they were to plead their intention of showing respect

to him, after he

had forbidden them

I

bow down

to his

image?

Not

he.

am

disposed to believe, that he would

order the heads of his disobedient subjects to be fixed upon

sign-posts, as a terror to others.

And

will the great

God,

who

absolutely forbids the worship of himself,

by means of

an image, and

who

calls this

worship idolatry, no matter

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.

with what intention
it

57

is

offered
in

will he be pleased with the

homage of those nnen who,

bition,

the very face of his prohi-

bow down

to
is

images, and plead their good intention?

He

will not.

He

a jealous God.
is

ft will, I

presume, be admitted, by every one, that God

is

the best judge of the propriety of the worship that

to him.

offered

Now,

it is

plain, that

He

does regard

all
is

such worcertain
;

ship as terminating on the image.

it

One
it

thing

if

does not terminate on the image,

it.

never reaches him.

He abhors

He

will

have none of

it.

How

was

it,

when
the

the Israelites,

weary

at the

delay of Moses,

who was on

mount, receiving the tables of stone, prevailed upon Aaron Said they, " These be thy gods, to make a golden calf?

Israel,

which brought thee up out of Egypt

!"

They

in-

tended that the worship, which they paid

terminate on. God.

to that idol,

should

They

well

knew,

that that stupid calf

had not brought them out of the land of Egypt.

They

made

it

as a representation of the

Lord Jehovah
Israel

Was

he

pleased?

Was

not the

camp of
to

covered with the

corpses of these idolaters?

shiping
tive

It is folly,

then, to speak of wor-

God by showing honour

is

an image.
it is

Call

it

rela-

honour, or whatever you please,

idolatry.

Indeed,

the

word " idolatry"

compounded of two Greek words,

It

meaning image-worship.
the way,
that the ancient
to the

may

be worth mentioning,
justified

by

Greeks and Romans

bow-

ing

down

images of Jove and Minerva, and

their other
is

gods and goddesses, by precisely the same plea which

now

used by

Roman

Catholics.

They

did not

honour the

image, but the god

more enlightened,
of images.

who was represented by it. Indeed, the even among pagans, condemned the use
re-

Zeno, and Plato, and Socrates, and others,

garded
I

all

image-worship as contemptible.
this point

cannot dismiss

without showing that the dis-

14


158
tinction
position.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.
is

between positive and relative worship

mere im-

In an exposition of the image-worship, enjoined

by the second Council of Nice, (which Romanists regard as

a legitimate and
infallible council,)

James Naclantus, bishop

faithful

of Clugium, uses the following language:

"

We

must not only confess, that the

;

in

the

church worship before an image

as

some over-squeamish
;

souls might, peradventure, express themselves

but

we must,

furthermore, confess, without the slightest scruple of conscience, that they adore the very

image

itself ; for, in sooth,

they venerate
venerate
its

it

with the identical worship wherewith they

prototype.

Hence,

if
is

they adore the prototype

with that divine worship

which

rendered to

God

alone,

and which technically bears the name of Latria, they adore

also the

image with the same Latria, or divine worship

and

if they adore the prototype with Dulia, or Hypcrdulia, they

are bound also to adore the image with the self-same species

of inferior worship."*
This, be
it

remembered,

is

an exposition of the doctrine

of the second Nicene Council, published at Venice in the

sixteenth century, with
2.

papal approbation.
I

The

next proposition, which

will review,

is,

that the

second commandment of the Decalogue, by no means con-

demns
have

the vse of images.

This does not follow

after the point

in

the

Grounds of Cath. Doct., immediately

I

which
it.

just fliscussed

but this

is

the proper place for

Pope Pius asks, as well he may, (Grounds, 77.) " But is it not forbidden (Exod. xx. 4.) to make the
or in the waters under the earth

like-

ness of any thing in heaven above, or in the earth beneath,

1

"

It is
;

forbidden
that
is to

likeness

to make to ourselves any such image or say, to make it our God, or put our trust

Faber's Diff. of Rom. p. 210.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

in
it,

RELICS.
to

I59
;

or give

it

the honour

which belongs
;

God

which

is

explained by the following words

Thou

shalt not

bow
'

down

thyself to them

;'

that

is,

thou shalt not adore them

it
;

for so both the Septuagint and the Vulgate translate

nor
this

serve them

;'

otherwise, if all likenesses were forbid

obliged to fling

by

commandment, we should be
posts,

down our

sign-

and deface the king's coin."

hearers need not be told, that Protestants do not conall likenesses; but all worship of images.

My
demn

We

can

admire sculpture, and patronise the

fine arts, without

bowing

down to graven images. The best way of ascertaining

ment
is,

the
in

meaning of a commandit is

to

examine the terms

which

expressed, and

the reasons

why

the

" Thou

shalt not

commandment was given. Exod. xx. 4, make unto thee any graven image, or any
that
is in is in

likeness of

any thing

heaven above, or that

is

in

the earth beneath, or that

the water under the earth."

There
a
real or

is

no kind of image, graven or painted, whether of

is

imaginary being, that

not comprehended in the

original language of this

commandment.

Not only

is

the

making of similitudes
likeness,

in general, forbidden, but in heaven, or things

any kind of
on earth, or

whether of things
is

things under the earth,

interdicted if

made

in order that

men may bow down

matter,

to

them.

Now,

cannot conceive

how
is

the Almighty could have revealed his will in relation to this

more

clearly than he has done.

plain and emphatic
I

If the

language

not sufficiently
all

in
is

this

case to preclude

misapprehension, then,
to

say,

it

not in the power of

words
lics

convey any
us that this

definite

meaning.

But

Roman

Catho-

tell

commandment has

reference solely to

the idol gods of the heathen, and not to their pictures of

the Father, Son, and

Holy Ghost, and of

the Virgin

and the

saints, before

which they do certainly

Mary bow down. But

to

has the Lord said thou shalt not bow

down

any graven

IQQ

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

in

RELICS.

image or likeness of things

heaven, or on earth, &c., ex-

cept the images and pictures of the Trinity and the Virgin

Mary and the saints? No. But he has said, " thou shall not make to thyself any graven image," &c., then certainly it is wrong to wor.ship God, who is in heaven, under any
similitude whatever.
If a king

were

to pass a

law

forbid-

ding his subjects, under a severe penalty, to

make any
showing

image or likeness of himself, with the

honour
to

intention of

him by kneeling before

it,

would not he be thought

a strange interpreter of the law, who should tell the people, " The king does not forbid you to make any picture of himself,

or of his Son, or of his favourites, and to

this
'

them, because

must redound
if

to his

bow down to honour; and who

down our
sign

does not see that

all likenesses were forbidden by this

commandment, we should be
that

obliged to

flino-

posts and deface the king's coin

But

his

majesty rpeans

you must not make the image of an

ass, or

an ape, or

bow down to them, thinking to honour him by such worship." Now, my brethren, is not the exposition of the second commandment, as given by Romanists, very similar to this ? The Lord forbids any image of hima crocodile, and
self to be used in connexion with his worship
;

" but," says

the papist, "

ture of

this

does not exclude the crucifix, nor any pic-'

God

himself; nor of his saints or angels, provided

we
if

intend to worship

God and
to

the saints

by them, and do
!"

not suffer the

worship

terminate on the images

Again,

we

consider the reason which the Scriptures give us for

this prohibition
still

of image- worship, our argument will appear

more

conclusive.

Hear

the

word of the Lord, (Deut.

iv.

15, 16,) "

Take ye
any

therefore good heed unto yourselves,

lest

ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image,

figure, the likeness of

the similitude of

male or female,

&c., for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that

the Lord spake unto

you

in

Horeb out of the midst of the

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

fire."

RELICS.

Jgj

If the

Lord was warning the people merely against

the idols of the heathen,

why

did he give this as the reason

of the prohibition of image-worship, " For ye saw no manner of similitude in the day that the Lord spake unto

you ?" &c.

But another proposition laid down in the Grounds of Cath. Doct. is, that several commands of God to Moses
3.

warrant the use of images. " How do you prove that

it is

lawful to

make

or keep the

image of Christ and

his saints

"Because God himself commanded Moses, Exod. xxv. 18 21, to make two cherubims of beaten gold, and place

them

at the

two ends of the mercy

meet with thee, and

seat,

over the ark of the

covenant, in the very sanctuary,

V. 22,) will I
I

'And there, (says he, will commune with thee

all

from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims

which are upon the ark of the testimony, of

Jl'

things which

will

give

thee in
also

Israel.'

God
to be

commandment unto commanded, (Num. xxi.

for the healing of those

the children
8, 9,)

of

a serpent
are
bit

of brass

made,
;

the fiery serpent

which serpent

who was an emblem

purpose,
to
it

by

of Christ,

John

iii.

14, 15."

If this

means any thing

to the

implies that,

because the Lord

commanded Moses

make two cherubim,

it

and place them over above the mercy-seat, therefore

right for papists to

is

bow down

to the
!

images of Christ and

the saints.

This

is

really too bad

Were
Jews
to

these images of

the cherubim placed therefor the

worship them?
to

Why, my
High

hearers, the

Jews had no access

kept,

them, the
holies,

Priest

and he alone could enter the Holy of

where the mercy-seat was

only once a year.

and even he could do so

(not

The mercy-seat was an emblem,

a graven image,) of Christ, and the two cherubim of gold,

with their faces toward the mercy-seat, were typical of the

14*

162
angels,

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.

who desire to look into the mysteries of redemption common people never saw the cherubim, consequently they could not bow down to them But then, we are told, God also commanded a serpent of brass to be made, for the healing of those who were bit by the fiery serpents, which serpent was an emblem of Christ, &c. Yes but it was not a likeness of Christ, though it was an emblem, "As Moses lifted up tiie serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should
the
!

not perish, but have everlasting

bitten

life."

As

those,

who were
who
feel

by

the serpents, and

who

desired to be healed, were

directed to look to the brazen serpent, so sinners

their guilt

and condemnation, are pointed

taketh

to the

Lamb

of

God who

away

the sins of the world, through the

atoning sacrifice which he offered on the cross.

The

object

of the Lord

in

conferring a cure upon

to

all

who

looked to the

brazen serpent, was

in the

show

that sinners are saved

to

by

faith

Lord Jesus

Christ,

and thus

prove incontroverlibly

that the

Romish

doctrines of penance and satisfaction, and

all

works of supererogation are

inventions of the devil

As

many

of the serpent-bitten Jews as looked to the brazen serat

pent were cured

once; and as

many

as look unto the

Lord Jesus

Christ, feeling themselves to be miserable

and

wretched, shall also be healed; for he says,

"Look
is

unto me,

and be ye saved,

all the ends of the earth," Is. xlv. 22.

By

the way, the allusion to the brazen serpent

nate.
It

most unfortuthe Israelites,

appears from 2 Kings

xviii. 4, that

after they

had been inveigled into the idolatrous practices of

their heathen neighbours, actually

bowed down

to this

bra-

zen serpent and burnt incense to it, and we are told that for this reason good Hezekiah " brake in pieces the brazen serpent which Moses had made!"
4.

But another
is,

proposition, asserted

in

the

Romish

Catechism,
images.

that no trust or dependence is placed in


VENERATION OF IMAGES AND
RELICS.
trust

153
and
;

"Are you
there

not

taught

to

put

your

confi-

dence in images, as the heathens did in their idols

as

if

were a certain
?

virtue,

power, or divinity residing

the contrary
is

in

them

No, we are expressly taught

by the

Council of Trent. Sess. 25."

The

following

probably the

passage referred to

"Moreover,

let

them teach

that the

images of Christ, of

the Virgin Mother of God, and of other saints, are to be had

and

retained, especially in churches,

and due honour and

that
it

veneration rendered to them.

Not
in

is

believed that

any

divinity or

power resides
;

them, on account of which

they are to be worshiped

or that

any

benefit

is

to

be

sought from them, or any confidence placed in images, as

was formerly by the

those

Gentiles,

who

fixed their

hope
is

in idols.

But the honour with which they are regarded,

referred to

who

are represented by them, so that

the saints,

we

adore Christ,

and venerate

whose

likenesses these images bear,

in their presence,

when we

kiss them,

and uncover our heads

and prostrate ourselves," &c.

If this be so, then,
I

ask,

why

not fling your idols to the

If

moles and

to the bats at

once?

you place no

trust

in
to

them, what good can you derive from bowing down

them

But here Pope Pius involves himself and

a contradiction.

his children in

The second

Council of Nice curses every

;

body who
This

refuses to worship images

is

and yet papists are

to be placed in

taught that no trust or dependence

is

them.

strange.

Roman

Catholics are actually required,

to

under the pain of a curse,

worship images, for the de-

crees of the second Council of Nice, on this point, are not

to

be misunderstood, (as

we

shall presently see,)

and yet

they are assured that

of good.
in relation
I

this adoration will

do them no manner

will to

read the decree of this Council (A. D. 787)

images.

The

decrees of this second Council

of Nice, relative to image-worship, were reversed by seve-

164
ral

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

its

RELICS.

of

successors, and again re-enacted by others.

This

idolatry

was established about

the close of the ninth cen-

tury.

"

The

venerable images, both of the dispensation of our

Christ, as he

Lord Jesus

became man

for

our salvation, and

of our unpolluted lady the holy mother of God, and of the

god-like angels, and of the holy apostles and prophets and

martyrs, and

all

the saints,

salute

and embrace and adore,

intellect, that

according to their just degrees of honour, rejecting and anathematizing, from

my

whole soul and

synod,

which was congregated through madness and folly, and which has been denominated the seventh Council though
;

by persons who think

piety,

rightly,

it

is

lawfully and canonically

styled a false synod, as being alienated from all truth

and

and as having rashly and boldly and

atheislically
legislation,

barked against the heaven-delivered ecclesiastical

and as having
as having

insulted the holy

and venerable images, and

commanded them to be removed from the holy churches of God. Anathema to the calumniators of ChrisAnathema to the breakers of imaojes Anathema tians who apply to images those the Scriptural denunciations to Anathema to those who refuse to salute the against idols! Anathema to those who call holy and venerable images idols! Anathema images to those who aid and holy the
!

abet the dishonourers of the holy images !"*

This seventh Council, which the Nicene Fathers thus unceremoniously disfranchise,

was a

genuine oecumenical
vile

synod, and bore noble testimony against the

tion of image-worship.

abomina-

But,
to

my

hearers, in addition to this,

will

must be permitted
prove that

adduce farther testimony, which

place trust in images.

Roman

Catholics do

I will offer

a few pas-

Concil. Nicen. See

Act

1,

quoted by Faber,

p. 213.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.

165

sages extracted from the book of the " Hours of the Virgin,"
printed at

Paris A. D. 1526, and

in

use in the church of

Sahsbury. " To all them that be

in

a state of grace

who

devoutly
will

say

this

prayer before our blessed Lady of pity, she

blessed visage, and
;

show them her

warn them of the day

end the angels of God
shall ob-

and hour of death

and

in their last

shall yield their souls to heaven.

tain five

Such a person

hundred years, and so many

lents of pardon, grant-

ed by

five

holy fathers, Popes of Rome.

all

"Our
them

holy father, Sixtus IV., Pope, hath granted to

that devoutly say this prayer before the

image of our

Lady, the sum of 11,000 years of pardon.

"These

be the fifteen Go's which the holy virgin St.

Bridget was wont to say daily before the holy rood in St.
Paul's church at

Rome.

Whoso

says

this

a whole year,

shall deliver fifteen souls of his next kindred out of purga-

tory,

and

shall convert other fifteen sinners to a

fifteen righteous
life
;

good

life

and other

men of

his kindred shall perse-

vere in a good
it,

and what ye desire of God ye

shall

have

if

it

be to the salvation of your souls.

all

"
say

To

them

that before this

image of

pity shall devoutly

pite-

five paternosters,

and

five

ave marias, and a credo,

ously beholding those arms of Christ's passion, are granted

32,755 years of pardon

hath made
the fourth

and Sixtus IV., Pope of Rome,

fifth

and

prayer, and hath doubled his

aforesaid pardon."

(Faber 217.)

What
to

a fearful
in

amount of

suffering papists

must expect

endure

purgatory,

when they can

thus readily obtain

a dispensation from so
It will

many

thousand years of torment

be a

difficult

matter to reconcile the privileges thus

granted to the worshipers of images, with the assertion of

the Catechism, that papists are taught not to place
fidence in them.
I

any con^

shall proceed to the next point,

16G
5.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.
to

That various practices of Protestants are similar the custom of the Romish church in this respect.
" Have you any instances of
this relative

honour allowed

by Protestants?
*'

Yes,

in the

honour they give

to the

name of

Jesus, to

their churches, to the altar, to the

Bible, to the synnbols

of

bread and wine in the sacrament.

Such also was the

on which they stood

honour which the Jews gave

to the

ark and cherubims, and

which Moses and Joshua gave

as being holy ground.
Besides
these,

to the land
iii.

Exod.
are

Josh. v. 5, 15,"

&c.

there

two other

cases

mentioned.

"

When

the courtiers

Christians to the

bow down to the chair of state, or name of Jesus, which is an image or reeye
;"

membrance

to the ear, as the crucifix is to the

they

then, according to

Pope

Pius, give precisely the

to these things as papists

show

to

images.

same honour The Grounds

of Cath.Doct. were not originally published in this country; we have no " chair of state" here, and so long as Protestant
principles

and influence

prevail,

any.

But even were

this

we are not likely to have government a monarchy, ProtestAll the respect which

ants would never worship the chair of state as an image

either of the Deity, or of the king.
is

.ever

shown
all

it

in civilized
is

kingdoms, whether from Ro-

manists or Protestants,
but at
events,
it

civil,
silly

and not religious honour

is

custom, and one for which

Republicans have a strong antipathy.

As
this

to boiving at the

which

justifies

name of Jesus, I can see nothing in bowing down to an image of Jesus.

1

Some
this

Episcopalians,
I

custom, and

Roman Catholics in am sure I have no objection to any heartfelt

believe, imitate

homage paid to the blessed Saviour. I conceive, however, a vast difference between bowing down to an image of Jesus,
and bowing reverently when the name of the Saviour is pronounced though without wishing to be captious, I must
;

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

say, that
is I

RELICS.

jg-y

think the custom of bowing at the

name of Jesus
word of
bow, of
shall

not required
that at

by

Scripture.

We

are told in the

God,

the

name of
all

Jesus every

hue

things in heaven, and things on the earth. the final subjugation of

things under the
to

This refers to

and does not mean that we are

of Jesus
to
is

power of Christ, bow whenever the name

meaning,
in

pronounced

for if this be the

order

obey

to the letter,

we
*'

hear the

we must drop on our knees whenever name of Christ, no matter where we may be,
street or elsewhere.

whether in the
the

" But," says Pope Pius,

to the ear, as the crucifix
infalli-

name of
eye."
it

Jesus

is

an image

is

to the

With
to

all

deference to his holiness's

like

bility,

sounds
to the

me

very much

nonsense

to talk

of an

" image
they are

ear.'^'^

Images are meant only

for the eye ;

dumb

idols that

cannot speak, and therefore have

nothing to do with the ear.

We

might as well speak of a

sound

for the

the case
if his

itself, it

eye as talk of an image for the ear. As to would have been as much to the purpose
Protestant's going to
papist's

holiness had declared that a

bell

church when the

rings,

is

the

same as a

bow-

ing before a crucifix.

But then we are

told that

we

give honour to our churches,

the symbols of bread

to the altar, to the Bible,

and

to

and

wine, similar to that which Romanists pay to their images.

To

this I

answer, we do no such thing

If

we do
friends

not

any of them.

any of our Protestant

if

bow to have some

of these rags of popery about them,

they will give their

help them to shake

Reformed brethren permission, we oflT their rags, and send them back
detect

will
to

any of Holy Mother's ribands about

to reciprocate the favour.
let

Rome; and if they can us, we will thank

little

them
also

But

us hear the Catechism a

the honour
I

farther.
to the

" Such

was

which the Jews gave

this

ark and
;

cherubim."

have already shown that

cannot be

for,

IQQ
yoLi will

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

remember
the

RELICS.
in the

cherubim and ark were kept

Holy of

holies, so that the

Jews never saw them, and the

worship towards the place

high priest himself never

saw them more than once a year.

to

The

Jews,

it

is

true, directed their

where God had promised

them.

be signally present
to

among

But

this gives
lifting

no more sanction

the worship of

images than our

our eyes to heaven when

we pray

we do

so because God is more especially present there. " But Moses and Joshua gave honour to the land on which'^
;"

they stood as being holy ground

told
it

and therefore we are

(Exod.
iii.

is

right to give

honour

to

images.

5,

and

Josh. V. 15.)

Now
first

think these cases are wide of the mark.

In the

place, the
;

Lord commanded

his

servants to take off

their shoes

but he has forbidden us to

bow down
to
it,

to

any
less

image.

In the next place, Moses and Joshua were not comto kiss the to
it,

manded
to

ground, or

to

bow down

much

pray

but only to put off their shoes, and no one can

it

deny

that

God's special presence in any place renders

proper that some peculiar

mark of reverence should be

the precise

shown when
in

the

Lord himself designates

way

which

it is

to be exhibited.

This homage was not paid

if at
all

to the ground, but to

God
It

and

events the ground

was sacred by
ness of God.

divine consecration, there

it.

was nothing of

representation in

was not a graven image or a likeHence the cases are not parallel. There is
at the close of this chapter in an-

one more case mentioned

swer to the last question. " Does your church allow of images of God the Father,
or of the blessed Trinity
?

" Our profession of

as these
;

faith

makes no mention of such images

yet

we do

not think them unlawful, provided that

to

they be not understood

bear any likeness or resemblance of

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.

I59

the divinity which cannot be expressed in colours, or repre-

sented by

any human workmanship."

a downright contradiction in terms.

This

is

" Images of
are images

the divinity are not unlawful, provided that they be under-

stood to bear no likeness to the divinity."

but likenesses of

What

some

original?
it is

Likenesses of the divinity

understood that they are no
tells

are not unlawful, provided

likenesses
!

If

it

be true, as Pope Pius

us,

" that

the divinity cannot be expressed in colours, or represented

by
?

any human workmanship

;"

why make

the attempt?

Why

make graven images

testants

or pictures in order to represent him

Let us finish the paragraph, and we shall see. " For as Pro-

make no

difficulty

of painting the Holy Ghost under

the figure of a dove, because he appeared so

when

Christ

was
old

baptized, (Matt.

iii.

16,) so

we make no
manner

difficulty

of

painting

God
vii.

the Father under the

in that

figure of a venerable
to the

man, because he appeared

9."

prophet

Daniel,
I

think this passage, referring to the

Holy Ghost,

is

not

properly understood.
to

God saw

fit

to point out the

Saviour

John the Baptist by a sign from heaven.

This sign was

form.

the descent of the

Holy

Spirit in a visible
It

But we

are not told what that form was.

i.

descended

like a dove,

e.
is

as a dove descends, hovering over the object on which

it

about to

rest.

In candour

must own

that

some ProSpirit

testants

do carnalize the Bible by painting the Holy

I

under the figure of a dove, and

since

am

sorry for

it,

especially

Pope Pius

tells

me, that papists think they may, with

equal propriety, paint

God

the Father under the figure of

a venerable old man, of course for the additional purpose of

bowing down
second

to

it,

and

that too in the very face of the

commandment which
15

expressly forbids

it.

Pope
to

Pius does not mention, however, that papists

have gone

170

VENERATION OP IMAGES AND

RELICS.

such a length of impiety as

the

to represent the Trinity faces.

under

image of a man with three

It is idle to

urge that the prohibition delivered in the Old

to the

Testament, relates solely

futile to

Jews

and

it

is

worse than
with the

plead that this prohibition has passed

away

rites

of the ceremonial law.

it

Before this reasoning can be

sinful tenit
it

admitted,

must be proved that idolatry was a

;

dency, peculiar to the Hebrew nation

whereas,

requires
is

no more

than a reference to facts, to

itself.

show

that

a vice

which besets human nature

The commandment was

;

made for all men, and for now as when first given to
6.

all

seasons

and

is

as binding

the Jews.
point,

There

is

one more

and then

have done with

the apology for the worship of images.

The

dictates bf

common
it is

sense^ as well as

of piety and religion, teach that

a relative honour due
his saints?

right to show proper veneration to images.

"

How

do you prove that there

is

to the

images or pictures of Christ and

the dictates of

"From

common

sense and reason, as well

as of piety and religion, which teach us to express our love

and esteem
value upon
tion to

for the persons

all
:

whom we

honour, by setting a

things that belong to them, or have

any

rela-

them

thus a loyal subject, a dutiful child, a loving

;

friend, value the pictures of their king, father or friend

and

those

who make no

scruple of abusing the image of Christ,

would severely punish the man that would abuse the image
of their king."

To
trait

all this I

answer, that Protestants can admire the por-

of an esteemed friend without bowing

it.

down

to

it,

or

worshiping

We

do not

make war
show,
in

either

on sculpture

or painting, but on idolatry.

I

have had occasion

to

former discourses, that

the darker shades of

Romanism

are carefully kept out of

view

in the

Roman

Catholic works which are published in

X;

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

this country,
will,

RELICS.

17

though

let

the priests trim and garble as they

foot.

they cannot conceal the cloven

This course
is

is

pursued for the very obvious reason, that there

light

too

much
coun-

and too much

liberty here for the

full

development
in
It

of

all

the superstition

and

idolatry

which obtain

tries that

are strictly under papal government.

would

not do to

come

out before an enlightened

community such

as
to

this,

and formally announce such miracles as are said

in

be performed

Spain and Italy by the wonder-working

It

imases and

relics.

would not answer

in a Protestant

city gravely to proclaim

from the house-top, that the images

to

of the Virgin Mary and of Jesus Christ had been known

speak, actually to hold conversations with the devout worshipers.

Scores and hundreds of such miracles are, how-

ever, recorded in

Roman

Catholic books, designed for the

edification of the faithful.^

It

will be

remembered, that the Grounds of Cath. Doct.

is

repudiate the supposition that there

residing in

any power or

divinity

the images, before which they bow.

Perhaps

Roman Catholics, in Philadelphia, do reject every such idea. I am willing to believe that they do, if they insist upon but I am sure that the papists of Italy do, certainly, believe that there is an actual power residing in many of their images. It is for Roman Catholics to reconcile these discrepanit

cies with the

gion
If

is

famous boast of their church, that " always, and everywhere the same."
are told again, that honour
is

their reli-

we

not paid to the image

itself,

but to that which the image represents,

then,
is

we would

ask.

Why,

any

local superiority admitted?

Why
when

is

one

image considered more holy, and more potent than another?

Why

are pilgrimages

made

to distant images,

there

are others, representing the same

object of worship, nearer

* See Master-key to Popery, pp. 205, 209, &c.

172

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.

far better

home, and of

workmanship
it

Why visit the black

more comely
in

image, hideous and defaced as

is,

of our Lady of Loretto,

far

when

there arc so

many madonnas,

ap-

pearance, within an hour's walk?

No,

my

brethren, these

subterfuges are too flimsy to hide the nakedness of the Popish apology for idolatry.

from Rome, speaking of the famous image of the Virgin Mary, known as " Our Lady
Dr. Middleton,
in his letter

of Loretta," an image, as black as a coal, relates the

fol-

lowing

facts.

"In

the high street of Loretta, which leads to the holy

filled

house, the shops are

Deis, and
all

with beads, crucifixes,

Agnus
I

the trinkets of popish manufacture;

where

observed printed certificates, or testimonials, affixed to each

shop, declaring
all their

toys to have been touched by the

blessed image; which certificates are provided for no other

purpose, but to

humour

the general persuasion, both of the

buyer and the

seller, that

some

virtue

is

communicated by

that touch, from a

else," says he,

power residing

in the

image?

For what

they are called

divinity

"can we say of those miraculous images, as in every great town of Italy, but that some
is

and power
all

universally believed to reside in

them

Are

not

their people persuaded,

and do not

their

books

testify, that

these images have sometimes

to
;

moved themselves

from one place

another

have wept, talked, and wrought

many

miracles

and does not this necessarily imply an ex-

traordinary power residing in them ?" " In one of the churches of Lucca, they
child Jesus in

show an image of
in

the Virgin, with the

her arms, of which they relate this story

a rage of despair, took up
;

That a blaspheming gamester,

a stone, and threw
it

at the infant

but the Virgin, to pre-

serve him from the blow, which was levelled at his head,
shifted

him
is

instantly from her right

arm

into the

lefl,

in

which he

now

held

while the blasphemer

was swallowed

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

up by the earth upon the
spot,

RELICS.
hole,

j'73

where the

which they

declare to be unfathomable,

is still

kept open, and enclosed

only with a grate, just before the altar of the image.

gin, however, received the

The Vir-

blow upon her shoulder, whence

is

the blood presently issued, whicli

preserved

in a crystal,

and produced with the greatest ceremony, by the

his vestments, with tapers lighted, while all the

priest, in

company

kiss

the sacred relic on their knees."

From

this

we
it.

see, that

an ima^e of the Virgin can deinflict

fend itself from injuries, and

vengeance on

all

who

dare to insult
that there is
I

Does

this

agree with the solemn assurance

in these

no power or divinity residing

images?

am
;

sated,

" ad nauseam," with these disgusting deI

tails

nor would

have introduced them, had they not been

character and tendency of

necessary to

illustrate the true

image-worship.*

Not only are images worshiped

veneration
is

in

this

manner; hut due

also paid to relics, especially to the

wood of the
their pos-

cross, pieces of
session.

which papists profess

to

have

in

If all the bits of

wood which are shown as

it

true

fragments of the cross are genuine,

must have required a

If the reader wishes farther information, respecting- miracu-

lous images, let

M'Gavin,

Vol.

I.

him consult the Glasg-ow Protestant, by Wm. chap. xlix. pp. 361367. Hartford: 1833.
de Plancy.
3 vols. 8vo.
Paris:

Also, Dictionnaire Critique des Reliques et des Imag-es Miraculeuses, par Collin

1821.

This

book

is

written in a strain of merciless sarcasm.

it

If ever images

have wept,

must have been under the lash of

De

Plancy.

Of

the fact, that the puppets have shed tears, this author appears perfectly convinced.

He

suspects, however, that the sponges, filled

in the

with water, which have been found secreted

idols,

heads of these

might, possibly, have had some remote connexion with the

phenomenon of their weeping*. I trust I shall not be suspected of rationalism, when I confess that I incline to believe De Plaucy
is

correct.

]5*

"

174

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.

forest to build the instrument in question.

There

is

a very

short chapter on this subject

in

the

Grounds of Cath. Doct.,

I

and as the two subjects are intimately connected,

view,
in as

will re-

few words as

can, the reasons that are oflered

for the worship of relics.

*'

"

What do you mean by relics? The bodies or bones of saints

or any thing else that

has belonged to them.

*'

What grounds have you

of the saints
?

for

paying a veneration

to the

relics

"Besides the ancient tradition and practice of the

ages, attested by the best

first

monuments of

antiquity,

we have

been warranted
at the tombs,

to

do so by

many

illustrious

miracles done

and by the

relics

of the saints, (see St. Aug.

8,)

L. 22, of the City of God, chap.

truth

which God, who

is

and sanctity

itself,

would never have

effected if this

honour, paid to the precious remnants of his servants, was

not agreeable to him.

"Have you any

by relics ?

instance in Scripture of miracles done

" Yes, we read, 2 Kings

life
'

xiii.

21, of a dead
;

man

raised to

by

the bones of the prophet Elisha

and. Acts xix. 12.

From

the body of Paul were brought unto the sick, hand-

kerchiefs, or aprons,

and the diseases departed from them,

and the
I

evil spirits

went out of them.'

to expect that
in

was prepared
in this,

some Scripture warrant

is

would be produced
to relics
is
;

favour of the veneration that

I

paid

however,

have been disappointed. There

miracle performed at the grave

merely an allusion

to the

of Elisha, and to the cures effected by the handkerchiefs

and aprons brought from the body of Paul.

As

to the for-

mer
been

case,
in

rather think, that if the worship of relics had

at that time, the

vogue

bones of such a
to sleep

man

as Eli-

sha would not have been suffered

quietly in the

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.

grave.

175
at

As

to the

fact of the miracle being performed

is

Elisha's grave, there

no doubt of that

but this does not

is

authorize the worship of rehes.

applicable.
for Paul

The

other case

also in-

The
still

handkerchiefs and aprons were not relics;

alive
;

was

and, besides that, they did not worCatholics do.

ship these things, as

Roman
in

Before
I

speak
first

of the miracles performed

our day by

relics,

will

specify a few of these precious things that are so

much

ve-

nerated by Romanists.

catalogue of

relics,

published in

1753, contains, amongst other wonderful things, the following:

" In
thief,

St. Peter's

church, they have the cross of the good

;

somewhat worm-eaten

Judas's lantern, a

little

scorch-

ed
for

the dice the soldiers played with,

when they

cast lots
St.

our Saviour's garment; the

tail

of Balaam's ass;
nails he

Joseph's axe, saw, and

hammer, and a few

had not

driven :" the latter relic might be furnished, in an}' quantity,

by

all

the

hardware merchants of our

city

also,

by the

venders of old iron.

"St. Anthony's mill-stone, on which

;

he sailed
nail

to

Muscovy

part of the

wood of

the cross, and a

of the same.

Part of the

some blossoms of Aaron's rod.

ill

manna in the wilderness, and The arm of St. Simeon,

kept.

The image

of the blessed Virgin, drawn by St.

Luke, the features

all visible;

one of her combs; and twelve

little used. Some The arm, and some

combs of
relics

the twelve apostles, all very

of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

ill

part of the body of Lazarus,

kept,

and smells.
his gospel,

part

of the body of

St.

Mark

and a part of

of his

own
St.

handwriting, almost legible.

finger

and an arm of

Ann, the blessed Virgin's mother.

good as new.

piece of the Vir-

gin's veil, as

The

staff delivered
all

by our Lord

to St. Patrick, with

which he drove

the

venomous creavio-

tures out of Ireland.

Some

of St. Joseph's breath, which

an angel enclosed

in a phial, as

he was cleaving wood

176
lenlly
;

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.

which was so long adored
to
in

France, and since

brought
St.

Venice, and from Venice to

Rome.
it

The head
was cut

of

Dennis, which he carried two miles, atler

his

off,

under

arm, from Montmartre

to St.

Dennis.

piece of
the

the rope Judas hanged himself with. blessed Virgin's hair.

butter,

Large parcels of
;

Great quantities of her milk

it,

some

and a small cheese made of

which never decays,"

meet on

&c. &c.*
Five devout pilgrims, happening
to

their return

from Rome, loaded with

quisitions
;

relics,

each began

to extol his ac-

and, upon comparing their precious treasures,

they found, to their amazement, that each of the five

was

blessed with a foot of the very ass upon which Christ rode
to Jerusalem.
If all the feet that are

shown

in the different

monasteries of Europe, as having belonged

really

to this ass,

were

owned by

that animal,

it

must have been a species of

centipede.

Spalafine, the celebrated secretary of Frederic, elector of

Saxony, drew up
the enormous
liever in the

a curious catalogue of sacred relics, preIt

served in the principal church at Wittemberg.

contained

number of 19,874.
relics

If

any perverse unbefor

genuineness of

should presume to pose a

the innumerable

good

papist,

by asking him

to

account

duplicates of heads, and bones, and bodies of saints

and
a

martyrs, father John Ferand, of happy memory, has

left

standing answer, which must for ever silence infidel heretics.

The
says, "

difficulty

of one saint having a dozen heads at

different places, is readily solved

by

this

right

worthy

friar.

He
for

God was

pleased to multiply and reproduce them

the devotion

of the faithful."

specimen of a few

items, from Spalatine's inventory, will furnish

that

some data
credulity,

may

assist us in ascertaining

whether

human

* M'Gavin'sProt. Vol.

i.

389.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

priestly cunning, or divine

RELICS.
to

I77
do with
follow-

omnipotence had most

the multiplication and reproduction of relics.

The

ing

may

suffice

" The rod of Moses, with which he performed

cles.

his mira-

"

"

A A

feather of the angel Gabriel.

finger of a cherub.
slippers of the antediluvian

" The

Enoch.

"The

spoon and pap-dish of the holy child.

A "A
"
angel,
*'

lock of hair of
tear our

Mary Magdalene.

Lord shed over Lazarus, preserved by an

who gave it, in a phial, to Mary Magdalene. One of the coals that broiled St. Lawrence.
face of a seraph, with only part of the nose.
to

"The
tive face.

" The snout of a seraph, supposed

" Some of the rays of the
Luther
tells

belong to the defec-

star that appeared to the magi."

us that the bishop of

Mentz boasted

that

he

had A FLAME OF THE BUSH, WHICH MOSES BEHELD BURNING.*

If

any incredulous Protestant should be disposed

to ques-

tion the genuineness of these relics,

we are prepared
is

to over-

whelm him
which

with a history of

many

stupendous miracles, by

their claim to

due veneration

most abundantly esta-

blished, to the utter confusion of all gainsayers.

The

fol-

lowing miracle

is

one of

many

Prince Christopher, of the family of the dukes of Radzecil,

having gone a pilgrimage

to

Rome,

to kiss his holi-

ness's toe, received, as a

reward of
his

his piety, a

box of very

precious relics.

These, on

return home,

became the
*

consolation of the afflicted, and the terror of the devil.

Scarcely had a few months illustrated their power,

* See Cox*s Life of Melancthon, chap.

when

iii.

^78

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.

some monks requested

the use of them, for the benefit of a

man

possessed by the devil.

;

They were
in altar.

cheerfully lent to
to the

the holy fathers

and were carried,

pomp,

church,

and solemnly deposited on the

At a

specified time,

when

a vast assembly had congregated, to witness the pro-

digy, after the ordinary exorcisms had failed, the relics were

produced, and the devil was forced to decamp.

tors cried out,
lifted

The

specta-

"A

miracle!

A
to

miracle!" and the prince

up

his

hands and heart

God

in pious gratitude, for

bestowing upon him so holy and potent a treasure.

But some days

virtue

after,

when

the prince

was boasting of the

of his

relics,

he observed that a certain gentleman,

at

who had

been in his retinue

Rome,

discovered

incredulity.

He demanded

the

reason.

uncommon The gentleman,

having been assured that the development should be the

source of no unpleasant consequences to himself, confessed
that on his return from

Rome

he had

lost the

box of

relics,

and

that, fearing the displeasure

of his prince, he had subfilled

it

stituted

another exactly similar, and

with bones, &c.

and, in short, that he had good reason to be astonished that

miracles were performed by this heap of
filth.

The

prince,

wishing

to

expose the trick, sent for the monks, and asked

them
relics.

if

there were no

more demoniacs, who might need

another man,

the

They soon brought

who was
is

possessed

with the devil, and no marvel, for the devil

generally to
prince com-

be found nestling in the vicinity of

relics.

The
devil

manded
sence
;

the ordinary exorcisms to be performed in his pre-

but they were

all

useless.

The
to

was waiting

for the
to

box of holy bones.

Christopher ordered the

monks

withdraw, and sent the demoniac

some Tartars,
imposture

whom
he
re-

he kept about
due.
plied

his stable, with orders,

to give the devil his

;

They exhorted him

to confess the

by horrible gestures and grimaces.

But

six sturdy

Tartars had no sooner begun

to exorcise the devil

with their

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND

RELICS.

J 79

whips, than he found himself taken on the

without the use of either
relics,

weak

side

and,

hard words, or holy water,

he began

to

cry for quarter, and confessed that the

to personate

had hired him

a character,

monks which he was ill

qualified to sustain.

The monks were who confessed the

prince.

recalled,

and confronted with the man,

fraud,

and implored the mercy of the

At

first,

the holy fathers exclaimed that this

was

only an

artifice

of the devil,

who spoke through

to

the

mouth

of the demoniac.

But the prince

replied, that if his Tartars

had devised a mode of constraining the devil

truth, they might, perhaps,

speak the

succeed in inspiring the monks

with a similar love of veracity.

rified

The

reverend fathers,

ter-

by the threatening mien of the Tartars, who prepared

whips
for service, confessed

their

the trick, and said, that

they had practised the imposition with a good intention, in

order to stop the progress of Lutheranism.

The

prince

drove them from his presence, and at once renounced Popery.*

But, in nothing does the idolatry of the church of

Rome
shall

appear more manifest, than in the following decree of the

Council of Trent.
give to the
(Sess. 13. c. 5.)

"The
;

fliithful

holy sacrament of the altar, that divine IS DUE TO GOD ONLY and it THUSt be no reason to prevent this, that Christ our Lord gave it to
ADORATION THAT
he
eaten.''''

Is

not this equivalent to saying, " Jesus Christ

to his disciples,

gave the sacrament

eaten only
;

not to be adored, but

but

we command you

to

adore

it

!"

wish so-

ber

Roman

Catholics to pause here, and reflect one moment.

On

pain of eternal damnation,

God
;

forbids us to

bow down

to or

worship any created thing

but the Council of Trent

*
i.

See

De

Plancy. Art. Rellques.

Also, M'Gavin's Prot. Vol.

394.

180

VENERATION OP IMAGES AND

RELICS.

commands
this be not

the faithful to give to the holy sacrament of the

altar, that divine adoration

which

is

due

to

God only

If

daring and outrageous rebellion against God's

tell

authority,

In conclusion,

me what let me

is.

call

upon you,

my

brethren, to be-

ware how you

sin against the

Lord

in this thing.

What-

ever your intentions

representing the

or to any

relic,

may be, if you bow down to an image, God of heaven, or to any saint in glory, the word of God convicts >you of idolatry.
it.

You

cannot evade the charge by saying, that you only

before an image, and not to
*'

bow down

The

Bible uses

both terms indiscriminately.

They

that dwell in the wil-

derness shall

bow
the

before him." (Ps. Ixxii.)

" Come,

let

us

kneel

before

Lord our Maker."

(Ps. xcv.)

Bowing"

down, and worshiping, are synonymous terms in the word of God. The same remark may be made concerning the
kissing of images.

This was the mode

in

which the hea(xiii.

then worshiped their idol-gods.

The

prophet Hosea,

2,)

speaks of the Jews

*'

kissing the calves," the golden calves

;

of Bethel and Dan, as the most jieinous idolatry

papists are taught, that
it is

and yet

no

sin to kiss the crucifix,

and

the images of the Virgin

Christ,
is

Mary.
ii.

The worship due

to Jesus

expressed

in

Ps.

12,

by the words, "Kiss the

It is said,

Son."

This very worship, so

far as. external acts are con-

cerned, Romanists pay to their images.

great toe of the image of Peter, in
kissed

that the

Rome, has been

to

actually

away by the

devout citizens and strangers,

who

have,

in the course of ages, done

homage
no

it.

My

brethren, idolatry
it

is

trifle;

and they

who

are

guilty of

will find

it

so.

The

history of the national calami-

ties that befell the

is

Jewish nation, before the coming of Christ,

his determi-

a history of God's hatred of idolatr)^ and of

it.*

nation to punish
*

As

sure as

God

lives,

and as

his

word

See

my

Scripture History of Idolatry.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.

is true,

jgj
hearers to

no idolater can enter heaven

ask

my

try themselves, and their

mode of worship, by God's word.

;

mistake, in this case,

is fatal

the soul once lost,

is

lost

for ever.
will

Surely, then, no man,

who can

think for himself,

be content to endorse the practices of any church, with-

out inquiring whether they agree with the revelation of God's

will,

contained in his word.

its

The
is

practice of
idolatry.
to the

image wor-

ship in all
to cast
let

grades and shades,

your

idols to the moles,

and
let

Be persuaded, " Come, bats.

us worship and
;

bow down
is

us kneel before the Lord

our Maker
his pasture.

for

he

our God, and

if

we

are the people of

To-day,

ye

will

hear his voice, harden not

your hearts."

16

LECTURE

VI.

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
John
" RECEIVE
XX. 23.
;

YE THE HOLY GHOST WHOSE SOEVER SINS YE REMIT, THEY ARE REAIITTED UNTO THEM AND WHOSE SOEVER SINS YE RETAIN, THEY ARE RETAINED."
;

The

tyranny which the Popish church exercises over

the consciences and souls of men, becomes the further

more apparent
its

we

proceed in our investigation of

principles.

But

in nothing is the spiritual despotism of the

Man

of Sin

more
sins.

evident than in the usurpation of the power to forgive

Before

proceed to examine the proofs offered

in support of this prerogative,

in the

Grounds of Cath. Doct.,

is
it

which

most unjustly and impudently claimed by Romish

will

priests,

be necessary
as
it is

to state

the doctrine, and the whole doc-

trine,

taught in the standards of their church.

The

subject of auricular confession, or confession in the ear of

a
is

priest, is intimately

connected with that of penance, which

one of the seven sacraments of the

Roman

Catholic
p.

church.

We are

told in the

Grounds of Calh. Doct.,

34,

that the confession of sins, with a sincere repentance, and

the priest's absolution, constitute the sacrament of penance.

I

will read the decrees of the

Council of Trent in relation

to this subject.

" The holy Council teaches, that the form of the sacra-

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
ment, wherein
the minister,
*

1Q3
words of

its

power

chiefly lies, resides in the

absolve thee from thy sins in the

name

of

the Father, and of the Son, and of the

Holy Ghost.'

To

which words certain prayers are added, by a laudable cus-

tom of holy church, &c.

"

The

universal church has always understood that a

full

confession of sins

was

instituted

by the Lord as a part of

it

the sacrament of penance,

now

explained, and that

all

is

ne-

cessary, by divine appointment, for

tism
to
:

because our Lord Jesus Christ,

to

who sin after bapwhen he was about

his place,

ascend from earth

heaven,

left his priests in

as presidents and judges, to

whom

all

mortal offences, into

which the

faithful

might

fall,

should be submitted, that they

sins,

might pronounce sentence of remission or retention of

by the power of the keys.

cannot sustain the
to
office

For

it

is

plain that the priests

of judge,

if

the cause be
if sins

unknown
are only

them, nor

inflict

equitable punishments

confessed in general, and not minutely and individually described.

For

this

reason

it

follows that penitents are

bound
dili-

to rehearse in confession all mortal sins,

of which, after

gent examination of themselves, they are conscious, even

though they be of the most secret kind, and only committed

against
the

two

last

precepts

of the

decalogue,

which

sometimes do more grievously wound

perilous than those
nial offences,

souls,

and are more

which are open and manifest.

For

ve-

by which we are not excluded from the grace

of God, and into which

cealed without fault,

we

so frequently
in

fall,

may

be con-

and expiated

many

other ways,

although, as the pious custom of

many

demonstrates, they

may

be mentioned

in

confession very properly and usefully,

* * * * and without any presumption. " The Council further teaches that even those priests^ who

are living in mortal

sins,

sin, exercise the function

offorgiving

as the ministers of Christ, by the power of the Holy

284

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
;

Spirit conferred vpon them in ordination

and that those

power, hold
priest's ab-

who
v?'y

contend

tliat

wicked priests have not

this

erroneous sentiments.
is

Again

though the

solution

the dispensation of a benefit, which belongs to

it

another, yet

is

not to be considered as merely a ministry,

whether

to publish the gospel or to declare the remission

of

sins, but as of the nature of a judicial act, in

which sentence

is

pronounced hy him as a judge

ought not
to flatter

and therefore the penifaith,

tent

himself on account of his

so

as that,

though he should have no contrition, and though

the priest should not intend to act seriously

and

really to

absolve hi?n,* he should suppose that he

is

nevertheless truly

absolved before God, on the ground of his faith only.

faith

For
salva-

without penance cannot procure remission of sins; nor

his

would any one, unless extremely negligent of

tion,

own

be

satisfied with

a priest

but would carefully seek for

who absolved him one who should be

jestingly,

serious in

the performance of his office. "f

I

would

call

your attention,
especially,

my
it

friends,

to

the

last

quotation

more

because

clearly proves that

we

do not misrepresent the Romish tenets, when

the
is

we say
as a

that the priest claims

power of forgiving

sins

judge.

His sentence

a judicial act, expressly declared

is

to be so.

In connexion with this arrogant claim, there

it

a most unfortunate circumstance;

intention
is

is this,

the priest's

good

necessary

to the validity

of the absolution which

tell

he gives.

The
own

Council of Trent expressly

to flatter

their peni-

tents "that they ought not so

themselves concern-

ing their

faith,,

as to think that they are absolved truly

priest

and before God, when the

riously,

has not a mind to act se-

and truly

to

absolve them !"

Unhappy

penitents

The underscoring

is

mine.
3, 5

\ Con. Trid, Sess. 14. cap.

and

6,

AURICULAR CONFESSION.

2Q5

No
to

humiliation before an oflended God, no satisfaction

made
to

an injured neighbour, no resolution or endeavour

real reformation

amend, no

of heart and

life,

nor

all

these

together, can possibly avail anything without the good-will

of the priest

Nor

is

this the

whole of

this

monstrous im-

piety, for if the proper intention

of the priest be essential,

sinner, unless the priest,

God himself cannot absolve a when he pronounces the words of

then
to

absolution,

is

so kind as
!

do

it

with the serious intention of his heart

Now,

suppose some of the more ignorant of

friends will think that after
all, I

my Roman

Catholic

have not

fairly stated the

doctrine of their church.

To remove
I

every doubt as to the

propriety of this construction,

to this matter.

will

read the canon referring

" Whoever shall affirm that the

lution
is

priest's

sacramental abso-

not a judicial act, but only a ministry, to pronounce

for-

and declare that the sins of the party confessing are

given, so that he believes himself to be absolved, even though

the priest should not absolve seriously, but in jest

affirm that the confession of the penitent
is

or shall

not necessary in
let

order to obtain absolution from the

priest,

him be

ac?

cursed."*

This doctrine of the necessity of the

tion

priest's

good inten-

hangs

like a nether millstone

I

about the neck of the Ro-

mish sacraments.
is

defy a Romanist to prove that there

priest, or

at this

day any such thing as a

According

indeed a Chris-

tian in the world.

to their doctrine, all Chris-

tians are in the

communion of
salvation,

the Popish church

out of

its

pale there
is

is

no

and in the Romish church there

priest dispenses the

no salvation, unless the

sacraments

with the proper intention.

Now, when

the priest baptized

you,

how can you

tell

that he performed the service with

* Can.

9.

De

Sanct. Poenit. Sac.

16*

IgQ

AURICULAR CONFESSION*

the intention wliich the church requires?

priest

And how can

the

know whether
him?

the person from

whom

he received the
to con-

sacrament (forsooth) of holy orders really intended

secrate

If the intention was wanting, your baptism

was

not valid, and, according lo Popish doctrine, you must

!

be rebaptized or be damned

And

if

the bishop did not inis

tend really to consecrate the priest, his ordination

valid,

not

and every

official

act he performs, according to the

!

same

principle, is also invalid

in this

There

is

another point that

penitent, before

must be considered
order

connexion.

The

he can obtain absolution, must make

to

satisfaction,

and

in

accomplish

this, certain
;

punishments are enjoined

these, in their canons,

at the discretion of the priest

and

are called " a sort of compensation for an injury done."

Now, let

it

be termed
it

"a

satisfaction

made unto God, through

let it

Jesus Christ," as

is

by the Council of Trent, and

rests solely with the

be

coloured over ever so plausibly with the appearances of

gion, yet so long as
it

reli-

good pleasure of
it

the priest what satisl'action shall be appointed,

that the great concern after all
this is done, there is
is

is

plain

to satisfy

Aim, and unless

no absolution.

Alms,

in

connexion with
satis-

fasting and prayer, are the principal

faction
;

means of making

though there are innumerable other penances which

the priest
it

may

impose.

If this satisfaction be not

made,

let

consist of whatever

penance

it

may, though the sinner

should break his heart with contrition, and incur the greatest humiliation

by exposing
is

his secret sins, all this signifies

nothing

there

no absolution without
and
it is

satisfaction
affair

The

priests are judges

arbiters in the

whole

of repent-

ance.

There

are,

true, certain cases

which are reserved

to the decision of the Pope,

and

to bishops in their respective

dioceses

these are sins which a

common

priest

cannot

for-

give, except

when death

threatens the penitent, and in that

I shall

case,

any

priest

may

grant absolution.

proceed to

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
examine the evidence
in support

jq7

offered in the

Grounds of Cath. Doct.,

of this priestly authority.

Scripture have you to prove that the bishop and

"

What

priests

of the church have power to absolve the sinner that

confesses his sins with a sincere repentance?"

John XX. 22, 23. " Receive ye the Holy Ghost

sins

whose

ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose sins

retain,

ye

they are retained."

Matt,
sliall

xviii.

18. " Verily

say unto you, whatsoever ye

bind on earth, shall be

bound

in

heaven

and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth

shall be loosed in heaven."'^

Then

follows a quotation from the Episcopal prayer-book,

is to

the object of which

show

that Protestants agree with

papists in their interpretation

of this Scripture.

Notwith-

standing the authority of this rubric from the

Book of Com-

mon
sion.

Prayer,

we cannot

yet subscribe to auricular confesis

The

question with us

not,

what does the Book of

Common
is this

Prayer say, but what saith the Scripture?

to

There

important difference

be observed, however, that the

is left

confession of his sins to the minister

optional with the

penitent in the Episcopal church, whilst the church of

insists

Rome

upon

it

as essential to salvation.

We

love our Epis-

copal brethren with a

their

})ure heart, fervently,

and we honour

church as a portion of the true Catholic church of

;

Christ

but, in

Christian charity be
little

it

said,

we

think the

Reformation stopped a
land.

too soon in the

church of Eng-

But

to return to the proofs.

"

Whose

sins

ye remit, they
is

are remitted," &c.

In the

first

place, there

no mention

made

here of confession of sins,

to a priest
;

much

less

of auricular con-

fession

secondly, Christ defines the nature of

his apostles,

the commission

which he gave

when he says

* Grounds of Cath. Doct

p. 34.

188
in

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
preceding verse,

the
[

"As my

father hath sent

me, so

send

you."

Now

Jesus was not sent to hear private conto give absolution, but to

fessions,
to bind

and thereupon

by preaching
liberty to the

up the broken-hearted,

proclaim
to

captives,

and the opening of the prison

them

that

were

bound.

Neither did he ever bind upon them any obligation

to confess their sins in the ear

of a popish

priest.

But waiv-

ing this objection

when

Christ breathed upon the apostles

as a token of conferring the Holy Ghost upon them, did heat

the

same time breathe upon

into the

all

the priests that

were

to

come
any

world?

Did

he,

by the same action, or by

to

other,

convey the Holy Ghost

them?

Now

it

is

necessary that they

retaining sins,

who assume

the right of remitting and

should be able to prove to us that they have

received the

Holy Ghost.

" Exactly so," says the papist,

priest, at his ordination,

" and our church teaches that every

receives the
to his

Holy Ghost when

the bishop consecrates

him

holy office."

Then you must prove

that the bishop

to

has received authority to dispense the Spirit

he thinks
fit.

whomsoever

This will be rather a hard matter.

The

Doway

Bible as well as the

is

Holy

Bible teaches that the

residue of the Spirit

with God, and not with either Pope,

or Bishop, or Priest.
that they

men.

Besides, we should naturally suppose who receive the Holy Ghost must be very holy Now, I have not the honour to be personally ac-

quainted with any of the brotherhood, and consequently

cannot speak from personal knowledge

Ligori's opinion of them.

but

have

St.

In his system of theology, a sy-

nopsis of which

is

before me, he uses this language

"

Among

the priests

who
in

live in the

world,

it

is

rare,

and

very rare to find any that are good.

priest

For
it

in

order that a

should be good

the world,
life,

is

necessary that he

should lead a very exemplary

idleness, and from
evil

remote from plays, from

company.

He

should be given to

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
prayer, and should
frequent the sacraments
;

jgg
but where
is

such a

priest to be found,

and we

will praise him?"*^

;

Perhaps the saint refers

to the Italian priests

is

but then

you know "holy church

always and everywhere the

In

same;"
charily,

this
I

is

her standino^ boast.

the iudo;ment of

believe the priests in our country are not so cor-

rupt as in

some

others.

Indeed

know

they are not.

But

according to

Roman

Catholic doctrine, the personal char-

acter of the priest has nothing to do with the case; even

those

who

are living in mortal sin exercise this function of

forgiving sin.

Here then we have the strange anomaly of

a wicked

priest,

who

has nevertheless received the Holy

the

Ghost, whilst

we

are repeatedly told in

word of God,

that the Spirit of

God

is

a Spirit of holiness.

We
in

are

warned

not to grieve the

sin.

Holy Ghost, by indulging

any
you

known

If they
;

have received the Holy Ghost, they

must be holy men

so that if you find A^'Y bad priests,

all

have " living epistles" from which

read the arrogance, presumption,

men may know and

shall bind

and absurdity of popery.

But the other

earth, shall be

text tells us,

'

Whatsoever ye
;

on

bound

in

heaven
in

and whatsoever ye shall

(Matt,
xviii.

loose on earth, shall be loosed

heaven."
is

18.)

The power

of binding and loosing

evidently the
It

same as
to

that of remitting

and retaining

sins.

was given not

Pettr only, but to all the apostles.

lic

But the

Roman
I

Catho-

will

tell

us,

" you cannot deny that the keys of the

do not
1

kin^idom of heaven were [iven to Peter alone."

wish

to

deny

it,

for Christ says, speaking to Peter, "

will

give unto thee the keys of the

kingdom of heaven."
to Peter.
in

The

keys were unquestionably given

The

term " king-

dom

of heaven"

is

repeatedly used

the

New

Testament,

(as all

know who understand

*

their Bible,) to designate the

Synopsis of Ligori's Theology, p. 73,

190

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
" Repent, for the kingdonn of heaven
the prophets were until
is

gospel dispensation.
at

is
;

hand."

"

The law and

into
it."

John

since that lime the

kingdom of God
In
these

preached, and every

the

man

presseth

passages,

phrases
to

" kingdom of heaven," and " kingdom of God," are used

denote the gospel dispensation.

The
to

giving to Peter the keys

its

of the kingdom of heaven manifestly receives

explication

from

his being first

employed

preach the doctrines of the

gospel after our Lord's resurrection and ascension.

Whosaid to

ever was

first after

this

event employed to preach the doc-

trine of the

kingdom of heaven, might very well be

open the gates of that kingdom by the keys given to himfor that purpose.
in

Now

as

some one person must be

;

first

opening the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven

so the

grant of the keys was

made
same
to

to

one person,

to Peter alone,

and never
Matt,

to

any other;
the

but the

power of binding and

loos-

ing, mentioned in
xviii.

verse,

(Matt. xvi. 19,) and in

sins in

18,

and that of remitting and retaining

all

John XX. were granted

him.

the apostles as
trite

much

as to

Hence we

see that

the

popish phrase of " the

power of the keys," which has always been construed by papists as intimating the power of binding and loosing, has
originated in a misapprehension of Scripture.

Papists infer

from

this

passage the supremacy of Peter.

else.

Peter had the

keys and no one

left

Peter was the

first

Pope, and Peter

the keys to his successor in the papal See.

?

Did he
I

in-

deed

By whose

authority

Did the Saviour say, "

I

give

unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," and

thee to leave them to thy successor?"

charge

No!
no

If the

power
it

of the keys belonged

to

Peter, he had

right

to give

away
his

he exceeded his commission by one-half

in the

when he

left

keys

care of the Pope.

How

ineffably ridiculous

does this claim of supremacy appear

simple light of Scripture.

when examined by

the

Christ assures Peter that in his

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
preaching he should be enabled so effectually

jgj
to deliver the

terms on which the Lord would pardon sinners, that no one should fail of salvation who complied with them and so to
;

denounce the terrors of God's wrath against unbelievers, that whosoever would not submit to the gospel, and accept
of its salvation, should be forever damned.

Thus they who

were commissioned by Christ

pel,

to

preach the everlasting gos-

truths, to

might justly be said by their declaration of its solemn bind as it were upon their disciples, the sin of re-

jecting the counsel of

God, or

to loose those

from their sins

who embraced and

cannot be taken
rogative of God.

believed the truth of

God.

The words

literally without

encroaching upon the pre-

He

alone has power to bind and to loose.

He alone can

forgive sins.

"

Who is a God
vii.

like

unto thee that

pardoneth iniquity?"
both soul and body in

(Mic.
hell.

18.)

He

only can destroy

kill

" Fear not them that

the

body, but are not able to

kill

the soul, but rather fear

him

who

is

able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Hence

Jews was always aroused against Christ, when, by virtue of his power as God, " he forgave sins." Said they, " This man blasphemeth." In addition to this, you

the enmity of the

know
sins,

that

when

the Saviour wished to establish his claim to

to forgive

divinity,

he did so by showing that he had power

and by confirming that claim by a miracle.

that the

" That

ye

may know

to forgive sin,

thee, arise,

Son of Man hath power upon earth to the sick of the palsy, " I say unto and take up thy couch and go unto thine house."
he saith
in

Moreover, the passage

Matt,

xviii.

does not even repriest, but to

motely relate to the subject of confession to a

the

manner in which offenders are church when they refuse to listen to

monition.

to

be treated by the

private and public ad-

But
"

let

us

hear the

Grounds of Cath. Doct.

farther,

How

do you prove from the texts above quoted, the ne-

192

AURICULAR CONFESSION.

cessity of the faithful confessing their sins to the pastors of

the church in order to obtain the absolution and remission

of them

" Because

in the

text

above quoted, Christ has made the

judges
in the court to

pastors of his church

liis

of conscience,

with commission and authority

bind or to loose, to for-

give or to retain sins, according to the merits of the cause,

and the

disposition of the penitents.

full

Now

as no judge can

pass sentence without having a

knowledge of the cause,

confession,

which cannot be had

follows, that he

in this

kind of causes, which regards

their

men's consciences, but by

own

it

clearly

who has made

the pastors of his church the

judges of men's consciences, has also laid an obligation upon

the faithful to lay open the state of their consciences to them,
if

they hope

to

have

their sins

remitted.

Nor would our

sins,

Lord have given

to his

church the power of retaining

much
if

less the

keys of the kingdom of heaven, (Matt.

xvi. 19,)

such sins as exclude

men from

the

kingdom of heaven
been educated in
repress the

might be remitted independently of the keys of the church."

It is

a hard matter for those

civil

who have

the principles of

and religious

liberty to

indignation which the avowal of such

sentiments as these

must awaken.

*'

Christ has

made

the priests his judges in

the court of conscience, with commission and authority to

bind or to loose, to forgive or retain sins, according to the

merits of the cause, and the disposition of the penitents
!

1"

Of

the merits of every cause, the priests of course are the

sole arbiters.

this
I

be not the quintessence of despotism

and arrogance, then

on earth
!

say there

is

no such thing as tyranny

his

If Christ

has made the priests

judges in the

court of conscience, they

may

enjoin

any

act of wickedness
his

which they choose, and the good papist must obey

ghostly tyrants, or lose his soul.

He

gives his conscience

after thus

entirely into the care of the priest,

and

bowing

AURICULAR CONFESSION.

93

down and

forgetting that
to

God made him

a man, and gave

him a mind
priests

think for himself, and a conscience to regu-

late his conduct,

he

is

prepared for any atrocity which the

may

require.

He
deed

can comfort himself with the

is

re-

flection, that if the

priest, the

sinful, the guilt rests

;

with the
fifty

keeper of his conscience

and the

last

of the

reasons which the papist can assign for not being a Protestant

may

be that which the

;

Duke

of Brunswick mentions as

so very consoling

that if he should be so unfortunate as to

priest

die in a state of mortal sin,^is

had promised

to

be

Ah my friend, if you die in your in his stead. you make another man the keeper of your conscience, " and bow down that he may go over," you will
damned
sins, if
!

find to
I

your sorrow that you cannot be damned by proxy. shall call up this subject again before I close, and I there-

fore proceed to the next proof

which
a

is

offered in the

Grounds
skin

of Cath. Doct. of his flesh a

p.

36

"

When

man

shall

have

in the
it

rising,

a scab, or bright spot, and

be in

the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy, then he shall

be brought unto Aaron the

the priests."

priest, or
is
is

unto one of his sons

Now
;

there

certainly

no mention here of

confession of sins

the

man

brought

to the priest to ascer-

tain the nature of the eruption on his skin, not to confess " Well," the papist will tell us, " this, according his sins.
to the

holy fathers, was emblematical of the confession of

sins in the sacrament."

But the

earliest

of these fathers say

nothing about auricular confession.

thers,

of the

Some of the later fahowever, teach this doctrine." Is it so? Then some holy fathers must have been very much straitened for
;

"

Scripture evidence in support of auricular confession

observe,
1.

for

The
to

infected person
;

was not
but the
;

self a leper to the priest

come and confess himpriest was to judge him so,

to

and

pronounce him a leper

17

" the priest shall look on

jg^

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
;"

him, and pronounce him unclean

the leper

Lev.

xiii. 3,

and then

was

to

cry and confess, not to the priest, but to

the people that he

2.

was unclean, verse 45.

in

Again, there was a plain law, requiring the priest to

case of leprosy
;

pronounce judgment

but

where

is

the

law which requires only a priest

to hear private confession?

Not
3.

in the Bible, certainly.

The The

priest's

examination of the leper was not in

pri-

vate, but in the presence

4.

of others.
be free

priest did not alwa^l* declare the person to

;

from a leprosy sinner upon due confession of

but the popish priest always absolves the

his sins.

These

points are sufficient to

show

that the holy fathers

have not selected a very appropriate

the sacrament of penance.
I

emblem

to represent

proceed

to the next

proof that

is

offered.

" In the same

law, a special confession of sins was expressly prescribed.

(Num.
and

v. 6, 7.)

When

a
to
;

man

or

woman

shall

commit any

sin that

men commit,

do a trespass against the Lord,

then they shall confess their sins

that person be guilty

which they have done."

But
the
this

does not speak of confessing in the ear of a priest,

man

or

woman was
;

not required to enumerate every evil

thout^ht,

word, or deed

and

to

ransack every corner of his

but the context

conscience, as papists must;

reference
is

shows that

here

made
was

to certain fraudulent transactions for

which

restitution

due.

Now

whenever

restitution

is

made, reason demands

that the details of the case be ac-

knowledged
nification
is

in

order to

show why and

It

for

what the indemGod, or

offered.

Besides, this text does not speak of

confession to a priest.

may

have been
;

to

it
it

may
was

have been

to the party

wronged

and

at all events, if

made
and

to a priest,

he did not

sit in

a corner of the tabernacle

it

let

the penitent whisper in his ear, for

will be

remem-

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
bered that the
nacle, but

I95
into the taber-

common
to

people never

came

always met the

priest in the outer court

where

it

was impossible

be private.

is

next Scripture adduced in the Grounds of Cath. Doct. James v. 16. " Confess your sins, one to another: i. e.

The

to the priests or elders

of the church,
It is

whom

the apostle has

ordered to be called for." (v. 14.)

very important that the

the priests or elis

words

'

one

to another,"

should

mean "
one

ders ;" hence

we cannot deny
ye

that this explanation

to another,

very

convenient.

" Confess your

faults

and pray

one

for another, that

may

be healed."
it is

If this text is to

support auricular confession,

plain, that after the priest

has heard the confession of his penitent, he must confess

his sins in turn.
**

Confess your

faults,

one to another;'''*

and

after the priest has

prayed

for the

person

who has

con-

fessed, he

must request

that individual to return the favour,

that he too

may

be healed.
I

" Pray one for another, that ye

of those "

may
has

be healed."

need not say, that such a course as this

to the dignity

would be derogatory

whom

Christ

made his judges in the court of conscience." One text more, and the proofs of Pope Pius are exhausted. " Many that believed, came and confessed, and showed their
deeds." (Acts xix. 18.)

But

if

auricular confession

is

a duty

incumbent on all the

lieved,

faithful,

why

did only

many

that be-

come and confess?

if this is

Why

did they not all

Moreover,

a proof that confession

this confession

the ear of a priest,

why was

come? is to be made in made in public?

Why
cross,

did they not drop

down on

their

knees before father

the sign of the

Paul, in his confessional-box, and

make

and

kiss the

good apostle's hand, and go over their

their sins in his ear?

confiteor,

and whisper

They went
I

to

work openly,

not in a dark corner; they brought their bad

all

books, and burned them before

the people.*

do wish

* Acts

xix. X8, 19.

196
the priests would

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
let

their light shine before

men,

in the

same way.

Now,

would not have any of

it

my

hearers suppose that

Protestants do not believe

proper to confess their sins.

We We

believe confession to be

an important part of repentance.

confess our sins to God.

We

believe

it

to

be incum;

bent upon Christians, to examine themselves daily

daily and particular confession to

to

make

Him, who

seeth in secret.

We also

believe

it

right, in

sins to our brethren.

If

some instances, to confess our have wronged a brother, and am

a privilege, not a penance, to

convinced of

my

error,

it is

go

to

him, and confess the injury, and

the best of

my

ability.

We

also admit,

make restitution to that when men find

their consciences burdened and distressed, they

may

some-

times profitably reveal their case to a Christian minister,

and be benefited by
done,
sion.
it

his counsel

and prayers

but if this

is

is

optional with the person

is

who makes

the confes-

He

nowhere commanded

to confess to

a priest;
fel-

much

less is

he authorized to expect absolution from a

low-sinner.

We expect absolution only

meritorious sacrifice of Christ.

tion,

through faith in the " In Him, we have redemp-

through his blood," not through the " absolvo te" of a

priest.

Popish

As
is

to the

matter of penance, of which auricular confession

I

only a part,

ask,

where

is

there a single passage in the

whole

New
is

Testament, which enjoins the performance of a

Romish penance?
penance

An

uneducated papist

will

tell

us, that

enjoined again and again. So

it is,

in the

Doway

Bible; but a learned Priest

knows
and

very well, that the true

fn-tavosiv is

meaning of the Greek

ijn-tavoio.

not exhibit-

ed by the expressions " penance," and "

to

do penance."

Those words, from

relate not to

the very necessity of their etymology,

austerities,

any outward

but purely and exclu

sively to that moral

change of mind, which we denominate

Auricular confession.
"
repentance.^''

197

Every

priest,

who understands Greek, must

laugh

in his sleeve,
all

when he imposes penance.

But

these objections to auricular confession are only

;

secondary

and, having disposed of the proofs, which Pope

Pius offers in support of this practice of the

Romish church,

we
1.

will

proceed
it.

to

bring forward

still

stronger reasons

agamst

Auricular confession, as established in the church of

Rome, tends to the grossest immorality and profigacy. You will remember the arrogant claim of the Popish priests.

They

profess to be judges in the court of conscience.

They

bind and loose at their pleasure; and, in order to enable them

to act understandingly,

of course

it

is

necessary that the se-

crets of the soul should all be laid

open

to their scrutiny.

Under

this pretext,

the most immodest and

filthy questions

are put to the penitents

who come

to confess their sins.

is

The

sixlh

volume of Dens' Moral Philosophy

devoted

entirely to penance, auricular confession,

topics.
I will

and the connected

read a

{q.\v

paragraphs, as specimens of the practi-

cal casuistry

of the existing Romish priesthood.

"

"

De

Interrogationibus Faciendis ;" concerning the inter-

rogatories propounded at confession.

The

priest

ought

to

examine the conscience of the sinner

sician does a

at confession, as a

phyfre-

wound, and a judge a cause; because,

quently, that which the person confessing would retain in

silence, will be revealed

by

inquiries."
:

" There are two reafear, or

sons

why

sin is not disclosed

shame and
fear,

ignorance

and
is

simplicity.

If the confessor observes that the penitent

reserved, through

shame and

he must begin his in-

terrogatories from the greater sins, such as homicide, adultery, sacrilege, &c., because the penitent will

promptly anwill

swer, that

it is

not so

enormous a crime, and

then dis-

close the truth to evade suspicion of the greater transgres-

17*

198
sion.

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
If the confessor perceives that the
is

acknowledgment

of sin

evaded through ignorance or simplicity, he must

commence his questions by the minor offences."* Then follows a paragraph concerning questions
to particular details, succeeded

relative

by another, concerning the

sins of particular conditions.

this topic are so vile that
I

Some

of the questions upon

Suffice
it

dare not copy them.

to say, the ghostly fathers

propound interrogations which

must, originally, have been conceived by minds familiar

with the grossest pollutions of the dens of infamy and prostitution.

If the questions laid

down

in

Dens' Theology,

re-

cently republished in Ireland, and in use at the

tholic college at

Roman Ca-

Maynooth,an approved text-book on Moral

at confessionals in this city, then

Theology, are really put

I

cannot conceive

how any Roman

Catholic,

who has any

regard for the virtue of his wife or daughters, will suffer

them

to

go

to confession.

The

following questions, to be answered at confession,

in

are found
Paradise,"
p.

the

Philadelphia

edition of

"

The Key of

approved by the

Roman

prelate of this city,

115.
1.

"Have you been guilty of adultery or fornication, and how often ? 2. Have you desired to commit either, and how often ? 3. Have you intended to commit either, and how often ? 4. Have you taken pleasure in thinking on
Have you endeavoured to excite your own passions, and how often? 6. Have you been guilty of indecent liberties, and how of7. Have you read indecent writings, or lent them to ten? others, and how often ? 8. Have you exposed indecent pic9. Have you joined in indecent conversation, and tures? how often ? 10. Have you committed any gross sin against
any improper
subject,

and how

often

5.

chastity ?"
* Illustr. of Pop. p, 342.

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
All

jgg
girls,

Roman

Catholic

men and women, and boys and

all

above twelve years of age, must study

tions
;

the above questo the priest, or

and carefully and truly

answer them

they cannot obtain absolution.

I

have before
in

me a
;

form of examination

in

French, and
intelligible

another
to but

Spanish

but, although they would be

I

few of my readers,
Indeed,

shall not pollute

my pages by tranI

scribing them.

I feel

as though

had gone

to the

utmost verge of propriety by consenting

ceding
list,

to transfer the pre-

which

is

published in an authorized
city.
I

Roman

Ca-

tholic book, in

our

own

shall not insult the under-

standings of

my

readers by attempting to prove the corrupt

to

tendency of such questions, especially when propounded

children.^
I

am
"
I

not surprised that a

young Roman Catholic lady

and
told the priest

declared most solemnly, to a Protestant friend, a short time

since,
I

never will go

to confession,

so."

do not wonder that several

converted
last

Roman

Catholic ladies,

who were
their

winter, and connected themselves

with a Baptist church in this city, have since expressed

amazement

at their

own

blindness and stupidity in ever

interrogatories to

letting the priest put certain

them more

than once.

One

of them has declared, that frequently, after

returning from " confession," she has spent the whole day
in

weeping tears of shame, on account of the impudent

questions which were put to her, and which she honestly

believed herself obliged to answer.

Were

it

not for the

I

perverting, soul-destroying influence of superstition,

am

sure that modest people would never be found at the confessional.

But

it

is

not only through corrupting questions and solici-

* See Confessions of a Catholic Priest, chap. 13.


200
AURICULAR CONFESSION.
is

tations llmt injury

done

to the souls
is

of

men and women,

the doctrine of absohition

alike destructive to all morality

and

piety.

Let a man, viciously disposed, be taught that a

to

priest

can absolve him from almost any crime

is

which

his

wicked heart

inclined,

and what stronger temptation could

riot in

you

offer in order to

make him

wickedness?

If the

case should even be beyond the jurisdiction of a

priest, the

bishop can probably grant a dispensation for money, and at

the worst, the Pope can certainly do
it
;

and
all

is

not the papist

taught to believe that the Great Judge of

far put the matter out of his

the earth has so

own power,

that he

must conpriest,

firm, in heaven, the judicial sentence

which the

or

bishop, or Pope, as the case

What regard What will his

trines

will

such a

may be, shall pass upon earth? man pay to the law of God?
?

piety be worth

Will he not despise the docaffeclions of the heart

which leach that the corrupt

mortified,

must be

and that without holiness no

man

shall

seethe Lord?
absolution.

The

grossest abuses obtain in relation to

called deaf,

There are some confessors who are

not because they cannot, but because they will not hear, and

who never deny

the Pope.

absolution, though the sins be referred to

Anthony Gavin speaks of them as follows: " One of such confessors has more business in Lent than
(like

twenty of the others, for he,

for sixpence

our couple-beggars,
for the

who

do marry the people,)

same sum gives

and habitual

absolution.

And

for this reason all the great

sinners go to the deaf confessor,

who

gives,

upon a bargain,
fulfilled

certificate, in

which he says that such, a one has

the church, for every

the
to

commandment of

body

is

obUged

produce a

certificate

of confession to the minister of the

parish before Easter, or else he must be exposed to the

church.

So as

it

is

a hard thing for any old sinner to get

absolution, and a certificate from other covetous confessors,

without a great deal of money, they generally go to the

AURICULAR CONFESSION.

201

deaf confessor.
told nne, that

had a friend

in the

same convent, who

to give two-lhirds

such confessors were obliged

of their

profit to the
in

community, and there being only two

deaf confessors
2.

that convent, he assured

me

that in

one

Lent, they gave to the father prior 600 pistoles a-piece,"* &c.

Auricular confession^ as practised in the church of

is destructive

Rome,
I

of

civil

and

religious liberty.
is

make no

scruple in asserting that this

the grand secret

is

of the despotism that prevails, wherever popery

tablished.

fairly es-

The

priest sits

as

"judge

in

the court of conis

science," and the good papist, like a poor criminal,

ar-

raigned at his bar.

He

is

taught to reverence his fellow-

sinner as the representative of God, clothed with plenary

power
such a

to bind or to loose at pleasure, to forgive all his sins,

or to consign

him

to

hell

and damnation
1

for ever!

Can

man

stand erect as a freeman

Why,
it,

his spirit is

crushed and broken,

he

is

a slave
it,

Tf the priest

imposes a

penance, he must perform

be, or else incur the guilt

or endure
!

as the case
If he

may
into

of mortal sin

comes

a Protestant church to hear a sermon on auricular confession, or

any other popish

and wo

tenet,

he will have to confess that

It is

sin to his priest,

betide

him then.

well for

him

that the offence

was

not committed in a papal country, and

as

it

is,

perhaps he

may

be compelled to go without his

breakfast for two weeks, or wear a hair cloth next his skin,

or be reminded in

some other pleasant way of

fee before

his misde-

meanor, besides paying a smart

lution.

he can get abso-

We hear
who

a great deal said about slavery in our day

in

and

abhor oppression

every shape

but

count the poor slave,

hoes his master's corn under the lash of a heartless

overseer, a freeman,

when compared with

the

man who

Master-key to Poperj', p. 50.

202

AURICUI.AR CONFESSION.
fet-

breathes the atmosphere of liberty, and yet voluntarily

ters his soul,

and surrenders himself, bound hand and and pleasure of a popish

I

foot,
I

to the sovereign will

priest!

blush for
tion
!

my

countrymen, when
priest sits as

think of such degradacourt of conscience!"

" The

judge

in the

Can you acknowledge

freeman?

this

claim, and yet call

yourself a

What,

if

the priest
for

makes

it

a matter of con-

science that

you vote

certain

political

candidate

Will you exercise the right, guarantied to you by the constitution

of your country, of choosing for yourself?

You

cannot

you dare not contradict the

priest,

you must vote

as judge in the
is

as his reverence directs.

If the priest

"

sits

court of conscience," then your

control,

conscience

under

his

and

if so,

there

is

an end of religious

liberty, for to

this consists in

the right of worshiping

God according

the dictates of conscience.

this privilege,

and

if

you

do,

You have no God will still

right to surrender

hold you account-

able for

it.

But
say,

in reply to all this,

Roman

Catholics

may

be ready to
the

Has

not the confessional been often

through which restitution of stolen

medium property has been made?

made
I

That such
taken
to

restitution

has sometimes occurred,

most cheer-

fully admit:

when of unusual importance,

fact.

care has been

give due publicity to the

priest

But the very principles

which govern the

are enough to

and

his penitent at the confessional,

show

that restitution does not necessarily foltheft.

low the acknowledgment of

The

priest

is

bound, un-

der the most solemn oath, never to divulge the secrets with

which he becomes acquainted

the intention to

at the confessional.
officer

Even

if

murder the highest

of the government

were

to

be revealed under such circumstances, the priest

dare not warn the party threatened of the impending danger,

unless he can, by stratagem or otherwise, obtain the inforniation elsewhere, from the

same

individual.

It

has often


AURICULAR CONFESSION.
happened that Romish
priests

2()3

have been informed by their

penitents of a murderous plan,

which has subsequently been

of his danger.
J.

executed, but the secrecy of the confessional forbade them

to give the least intimation to the victim
I

have before
lately a

me

a pamphlet written

by the Rev. L.

Nolan,

Romish clergyman, but now a curate of

the estabfol-

lished church at Athboy, in Ireland,

which contains the

I

lowing statements, of the truth of which

have no doubt.
in point.

He

refers to

two instances, which are precisely

the case of a person

" The

first is

who was

barbarously
I

murdered, and with whose intended assassination

acquainted at confession.

became

One of the

five conspirators, (all

of
to

whom were sworn to commit the horrid deed,) broached me the bloody conspiracy in the confessional. I implored
to desist

him

from

his intention, of

becoming an accomplice
!

to so diabolical a design.

But, alas

all

advice was useless;

no dissuasion could

prevail, his determination

was

fixed

and

his only reason for

having disclosed the awful machinato

tion to his confessor,

seemed

have originated from a hope,

his previous

that his

wicked design would be hallowed by

to his priest.

acknowledgment of it
strance unavailing,
estly besought of
I

Finding

all

my remonI

then recurred to stratagem.

to

earn-

him

mention the circumstance to

I

me
in-

out of the confessional, in order that

might apprise the

tended victim of his danger, or caution the conspirators

against the committal of so

inhuman a

deed.

But here

in-

genuity

itself failed, in

arresting the career of his salanic

obstinacy.

The

conspirator's illegal oath,

and

his appre-

hension of himself becoming the victim of brutal assassination,

should he be

known

as the revealer of the conspiracy,

rendered him inflexible to

late

my

entreaties
that

and awful
it

to re-

yes, awful,
it

and the hand

now

pens

shudders at

the record

makes

a poor

inoffensive

man,

the victim of
ruthless

slaughter, died a most cruel death

by the hand of

204
assassins.

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
Oh,

my
to

dear Protestant countrynnen, you will

now

naturally ask, whether

am

I,

or the perpetrators of the

I

bloody deed, most

be censured?

who knew

the mur-

derers and the murdered previous to the act,

who had

met the intended victim of slaughter

a short lime antecedent
prejudices of

in the public streets but

to his death.
life in

But,

my

friends, the

my

early

favour of the doctrine of auri-

cular confession, and the influence of subsequent education,

instilling into

my

mind the

inviolability of that iniquitous

tribunal,

must plead before

my God

and the public, as

my

only apology for the concealment of the diabolical conspiracy.

And now

you, Romish priests,

ask you, could the

its

Lord Jesus

institute

a doctrine so monstrous in
?

practice,

and so subversive of the principles of humanity

that beholds the dagger pointed at the

a doctrine
heart, but
recital

human

hushes the warning voice that would apprise the devoted

victim of his danger?
I

must now proceed with the

to

of another case more revolting

humanity, than even the

former one.
her parent.

It

is

that of a female administering poison to

Her

first

attempt at parricide proved ineffectual,

owing

to

an immediate retching that seized the parent after

taking the draught.

The

perpetrator of this foul deed after-

ward came

to confession

and acknowledged her

guilt,

but

circumstances proved that she only sought

lution, to ease her
tition

for priestly abso-

mmd

and prepare her

for a

speedy repeact,

of the heinous crime.

it

Again she attempted the

I

and

proved successful.

was

called on to attend the

dying parent.

The

unnatural throes and convulsive agonies

of the unfortunate man, convinced

of no ordinary nature.

me

that the disease

was

daughter, \vho at this time

The previous confession of his made her appearance, rushed

I

upon

my

mind, and suggested that the parent was a second

time poisoned.

From what

had known through the conat the propriety

fessional, I could not

even hint

of sending

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
for medical attendance
;

205

for the

Romish
lips,

doctrine impressed

an inviolable secrecy upon

my

and prevented
;

my

giv-

ing the slightest intimation of the malady

whilst the poor

parent, unconscious of the cause of his death, died in the

most excruciating agonies of which humanity can form a

conception.

Oh,

my Roman

Catholic countrymen,

why

not

awaken from your

lethargic slumbers

why

not arise

from the mystic

tural yoke,

spells that bind you,

and cast off that unna-

which would dare

to unite

your God

in

an un-

holy alliance with such monkish blasphemy?

Should any,

unacquainted with Romanism, question the veracity of these

statements,
let

him consult

history,

and he
priest,

will

find

many
Mr.

similar facts.

Did not the Romish

the Rev.

Garnet, the provincial of the Jesuits, justify his concealment

of the gunpowder
to

plot,

on the pretext of

its

being revealed

him

at

confession?

Did not Father D'Aubigny, the

Ravaillac, (that stabbed

French

Jesuit, put

forward a similar plea of justification for

the assassin

concealment,

when

Henry

the IV.) in 1610, acknowledged to

him
But

in the con-

fessional his plan of regicidal murder?

why

need

refer to such circumstances, as every priest

in the capacity of

who has

acted

a confessor, must admit the fact of simi-

lar cases frequently

I

coming before him

at the confessional?"

bless

God,

my

dear hearers, that our

Roman

Catholic

brethren are beginning to open their eyes to the iniquities of

the popish system, and that
the pure gospel of the

many

of them are embracing

Christ.

Lord Jesus

My

very soul

has been refreshed to hear of a

Roman

Catholic priest, in

Ireland, who, with his whole congregation, has publicly re-

nounced popery, and

is

now

a Presbyterian minister in con-

nexion with the synod of Ulster, having charge of the same

congregation

whom

he had served, or rather ruled, whilst a

Roman

Catholic priest.

18

206

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
I

Do you ask how this conversion was effected ? you. He and his congregation became interested

will tell

in the ex-

amination of the great Protestant doctrines, and like the

noble Bereans of old, they searched the Scriptures to see

whether these things were

so.
is

*'

They

proved
did

all

things,

and held
ing his

fast that

which

good."

When

you ever

hear of a well authenticated case of a Protestant renouncfaith,

in

consequence of reading the Bible, with

humble prayer

to

when was

it

ever

God for the light of his Spirit ? And known that a whole congregation, with
?

their minister at their head, abjured the Protestant faith, as

the result of a prayerful investigation of God's word

Were

such a phenomenon

to occur,

it

would indeed be a new thing

imitate the Bereans,

under the sun.

am persuaded, whom the apostle

I

that

if all

men would

so highly

commends, the word of God

ere long

would speedily overturn the strongest bulwarks of the

of Sin.

That day
it,

will

come

you and

Man may not

live to see

but the signs of the times, and the voice of

to assure us, that
;

prophecy combine

it

i&

near at hand.

Babylon

shall be judged

the mother of the abominations of

the earth shall perish in her

own

craftiness.

Yet a
little

little

while, and he that shall come, will come.

Yet a

while,

and the angel

testifies

to

the churches, "

Come

out of her

my

people, and be ye not partakers of her sins, lest ye re-

ceive also of her plagues."

LECTURE

VII.

INDULGENCES.
Acts
**

iv.

12.

THERE

IS

NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED."
intimately connected with

The

doctrine of indulgences

is

that of penance,

and both these inventions of the Man of

to the

Sin have been sources of immense revenue

Papal See.
sin is for-

The Roman

Catholic church teaches that

when

given, though the eternal punishment due to every trans-

gression and disobedience

is

wholly remitted, there always

remains some temporal punishment, which the sinner must

undergo, or else
or in purgatory.

make
This

satisfaction, either before his

death

satisfaction is to be

made by means
But
after all

of

fasts,

alms, penances, and other meritorious deeds, perin obedience to priestly injunction.

formed

that the poor papist can do, though he be ever so obedient

and

dutiful, there

is

a heavy balance against

him

for this,
It

however, holy church has not forgotten been ascertained that there
is

to provide.

has

an immense treasure of unap-

plied merit, partly accruing from the sufferings

and death of

the Saviour, and partly from works of supererogation, per-

formed by the blessed

saints.

These works of supererogaby the

saints over

tion are meritorious deeds, performed

and

208

INDULGENCES.
to secure the salvation

above the amount necessary

of their

own

souls; and from this redundancy of merit, his holiness

is

the Pope

authorized to appropriate a

quantum

sufficii

to

make up
faithful,

the deficiency in the merits of those

among

the

who

are less holy than they ought to be.

The

pontiff, therefore,

has the power of granting a remission of

the temporal punishment due to the sinner, on such conditions as he

may

choose to prescribe.

This remission of the

sin, is called an indulgence. This we learn from Pope Pius' Grounds of Cath. Doct. p. 80. " What do you mean by indulgences ?

temporal punishment due to

" Not leave

to

commit

sin,

nor pardon for sins to come

but only a releasing, by the power of the keys committed to the church, the debt of temporal punishment, which may

remain due upon account of our

selves, as to the guilt

sins, after the sins themand eternal punishment, have been

already remitted by contrition, confession, and absolution."

I

shall pursue
first

my

usual course in discussing the subject

examine the proofs that are offered in support of the doctrine, and then state the objections to it. " Can you prove from Scripture that there is a punish-

before us;

ment

often due

upon an account of our sins

?

after the sins

themselves have been remitted

" Yes,
2 Kings

this evidently
xii.

appears in the case of king David,

where although the prophet Nathan, upon his repentance, tells him, v. 13, "The Lord hath put away thy sin." Yet he denounces unto him many terrible punishments, V. 1014, which should be inflicted by reason of
this sin,
I will

which accordingly afterwards ensued."

read the passages
to

which we are

referred,

"Now,

never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus sailh the Lord,
shall

therefore, the

sword

Behold,

I will

raise

up

evil against thee out

of thine

own

INDULGENCES.
house, and
I will

20&

take thy wives before thine eyes, and will

;

give them unto thy neighbour, &c.

but
I

for thou didst

it

secretly

will

do

this thing before all Israel,

and before the sun.

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath Howbeit, because by put away thy sin thou shalt not die.
;

this

deed thou hast given great occasion

to ihe
is

enemies of

the

Lord

to

blaspheme, the child also that

born unto thee

shall surely die."

is

Now,
that

so far as the abstract proposition

concerned,

agree entirely with

Roman

Catholics in the

article,

which teaches

God

frequently,

and indeed gene-

rally entails certain temporal consequences, call

them penal
violation of
:

consequences

if

you

will,

upon every flagrant

his law, even after the eternal

e. g.

punishment has been remitted

the drunkard

may

reform his vicious habits, he

may

confess and forsake that sin and every other, and believe in
the

Lord Jesus Christ as the great atoning

he

sacrifice for sin

hell,

in short,

may

be saved from the pains of

his

yet that

drunkard

will

carry down to

grave the bodily inconve-

niences which

have resulted from his intemperance.

His

body
tion

may

be racked with pain, and his shattered constitu-

and ruined health,

may

keep his iniquity fresh

in

re-

membrance.
afflictions

And so in various other instances, temporal may ensue after the eternal punishment has been
This
is all

remitted.

just
lest

and proper.

For salvation
boast.
:

is

of

grace, not of works,

any man should

it

If

God who
any

remits any part of the penalty,

is all

of mercy

and beall

cause satisfaction has been made by Jesus Christ for

will believe,

God can

be just, and yet the justifier of him that

believes in Jesus.

If the

Lord, then, sees

fit

to retain

of the temporal

effects

of sin, he has a perfect right to do so,

and indeed we are so constituted that the temporal consequences of

sin are necessarily entailed

upon us

it is

a feature

of the economy under which we are placed, that every action 18*

210

INDULGENCES.
in tinne

has more or less bearing upon our happiness

as
in

as well

eternity.

The very

first

transgression of the law of

God, which ever disgraced our world, is an affecting proof of this. Adam and Eve were driven from Paradise because
they disobeyed a simple precept of that law.
there
is

every reason

to believe that the

Now, though grace of God was

parents, yet the

magnified
temporal

in the final salvation

of our

first

efl^ecls

of their sin followed them, and have followwill follow

ed every generation, and

grave.
"

every one of us to the

But the
;

diflference

between us and the church of Rome,

is

is this

we

affirm that there

the temporal punishment by

no such thing as commuting means of alms or fastincr, or

cannot com;

any thing
there
is

else.

This temporal penalty must be endured

it.

no escape from

The debauchee

pound with the Pope and

for the restoration

;

of his health

it

is

gone, irrecoverably gone

all

fasting

and alms, and ave marias,

has

the machinery of popery will never bring back the

vigour of youth.

So

too the

man who
stain

lost

his

good

name by some
will

gross violation of the laws of his country,

always bear about him that

after

upon
it.

his reputation,

even
as
in

he has sincerely repented of

inflict

God may
to the

even,

the case of David,

extraordinary judgments upon

a transgressor, and adapt the punishment

remarkable a manner, as
is

crime

in

so

to let all the

;

world

know

that there

God who

rules in righteousness
it

but he has no

where

told us that he has put

in the

power of the Pope

substitution of

to avert,

or

commute
is

these judgments

by the

any other
prescribe.

penalties

which

his pretended vicar-general

may

This

the point to be proved.

An

attempt to establish

this claim is

as

made by appealing to we shall presently see. " Upon what Scripture do you ground this? ' The power of granting indulgences was left by

the " power of the keys,"

Christ to

INDULGENCES.
the church, Matt. xvi. 19.

211

'I will give unto thee the keys

;

of the kingdom of heaven

and whatsoever thou

"

shall bind

on earth,
In

shall

be bound in

heaven, and whatsoever thou

shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'

my

last discourse I
I

had occasion
I

to

advert to these

words, and

then gave what

I will

believe to be the true

mean-

ing of the passage.

repeat the explanation in a few

words.

The

phrases " kingdom of heaven and kingdom of

in the

God," are frequently used

the gospel dispensation.
pent, for the

New
is

Testament

to

denote

Thus John
at

the Baptist says, " Re-

kingdom of heaven

hand,"

i.

e.

the gospel

dispensation is about to be ushered in ; and the Saviour says, " The law and the prophets were until John, since that time
the

kingdom of God

is

preached,"

i.

e.

the gospel

is

preached.

The Doway
for the

Bible renders the former text,

is

"

Do

penance,

kingdom of heaven
the
I

at

hand

;"

but the other pass-

age

is

same

as in the

Holy

Bible.

When

Christ

tells

Peter "

give unto thee the keys of the

I

kingdom of heaven,"
thou

he means "
tion,"
i.

give unto thee the keys of the gospel dispensa;

e.

thou shalt open the preaching of the gospel

first

shalt

be the
is

to declare the great

and glorious
is

truth,

which
that
I

the rock upon which

my

church

built

the truth

am

the Christ, the

Son of
first

the living

God.

Accord-

ingly Peter preached the

gospel sermon after the dnalh

that ever

of the Lord Jesus Christ, on

Pentecost,

memorable day of
out,

when

the

Holy

Spirit

was poured

and two

thousand were pricked

to the heart.

As

to the

power of

binding and loosing, forgiving and retaining sins, you will

remember

this

was conferred upon

the other apostles as well

that they should be

as upon Peter, and meant no

more than

empowered death upon

so to preach the gospel as to declare everlasting

its

despisers,

and

to offer eternal life to

every

believer, with the full

knowledge

that this declarative sen-

tence would be ratified in heaven.

This

is

the plain

mean-

2J2

INDULGENCES.

ing of the Scripture which the Pope construes as the grand

charter hy which the power of granting indulgences
ferred upon holy church.
interpretation,
is

con-

That

it

is

a forced and unnatural

to

and altogether foreign

just place the text

the literal

meaning

and

to the

whole scope of the passage,

if

will be sufficiently

apparent,

we
*'

by the side of the Pope's keys of the kingdom

comment.
of heaven
:

will give unto thee the

and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall

heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on

be bound

in

earth, shall be loosed in heaven."

" This means," says the

of granting indulgences

Romish interpreter, "

was
left

The power
is

by Christ
?

to the

church."

Indulgences

Pray,

what are they

gences
;

There
is

nothing said here about indul-

the

word

not to be found in the whole Bible

to

then can

this

passage refer

indulgences

"

how What do you

;

mean by indulgences?
" Not leave
to

commit

sin,

nor pardon for sins

to

come;

but only a releasing by the power of the keys committed to

the church, the debt of temporal punishment, which

may

remain due upon account of our

selves, as to the
guilt

sins, after the

sins them-

and eternal punishment have been

already remitted by contrition, confession, and absolution."

I

leave

it

to the
is

candour of any

man

open

to conviction,

whether

this

not proof enough that indulgences are a

;

popish invention

the

word

is

not in the Bible, and papists

is

must commence by
Let the

telling

us what

meant by indulgences.
has not surrendered

common

sense of any one

who

the right of private judgment, decide whether the claim of

holy church to the power of granting indulgences

tained

is

susfirst
!

by

Peter's being

commissioned
Catholic, "

to

preach the

gospel sermon after the

*'

work of redemption was

finished

But," says the

Roman

we have an

instance in

Scripture of St. Paul's granting an indulgence to the Corinthians

whom

he had put under penance for incest, 2 Cor.

ii.

INDULGENCES.
10.
*

213

incestuous sinner
T

To whom ye forgave any thing, (he speaks of the whom he had desired them now to receive,) forgave also; for if I forgave any thing to whom I forgave
for

it,

your sakes forgave

I it

in the

person of Christ,' that

is,

by

the

power and authority received from him."

to the

Paul did not grant any such thing as an indulgence

incestuous sinner at Corinth; neither did he put

him under

penance.
in Paul's

Indulgences and penance were never dreamed of

day

nor for
I

many

a long day after Paul had gone

to his rest.

But

will tell

you what he did.

Many

of the

Corinthians had been corrupted by a false teacher, and had

been persuaded by
apostle,

this deceiver that

Paul was not a true

In

and that he had not preached the pure gospel.

this

consequence of the doctrines of

deceiver, the church

was thrown
of
its

into great disorder, the personal holiness of

many
was

members was hindered and impaired, and

For
to

discipline

so greatly relaxed, that they permitted an incestuous

mem-

ber to remain in their communion.

this

Paul rebukes

them sharply, and enjoins upon them

ber from the church.
Farther, to
let

separate that

memhe
is

them know
upon

that

a true apostle, and invested with apostolic authority, he, by

the direction of the

Holy

Spirit, inflicts

that

man

bodily sickness which was intended to lead the sinner to re-

pentance, and to convince the church that the power of the

Lord Jesus Christ was with him as an

book of Acts

apostle.

There are
in

several instances of the exercise of this

the
;

power recorded

thus Ananias and Sapphira and Bar-Jesus,

;

(or Elymas,) the sorcerer, were punished

but whenever this

supernatural authority was exercised,

the special direction of the Spirit;
it

it

was always done by

not arbitrary.

was
it

In

the present instance, Paul writes that

had been done " with

many
of his

tears."
;

This incestuous sinner, then, was punished

sin,

he repented

and upon evidence of

his sorrow, the

church was

214

INDULGENCES.

disposed to forgive the scandal which he had brought upon

them.
thing,
I

Upon
it,

this

Paul writes, "

:

To whom
in the

ye forgive any

forgive also

for if

forgave any thing, to

I it

whom

forgave

for your sakes forgave said,

person of Christ."

As
in

if

he had

"

have confidence
if

in

you as a Christian and

society,

and such confidence that

I

you forgive an offence

approve the
act,

one of your members,

be ready
;

shall

shall also

to

forgive."*

There was no induU

gence here

the incestuous
for the

sinner

was not required

to

make

satisfaction

balance of the temporal punish!

ment which was due. No he was forgiven ; he had noNow, when a man thing to pa?/; he was pardoned freely.
gets an indulgence, be the price great or
for
it.

little,

he must
in

pay
;

The church of Rome

to
!

is

very sparing

her gifts^

and as

forgiving a debt, she knows nothing of that

she
will

must have satisfaction

She does not

believe that

God

accept the atonement offered by the blood of the Saviour,

unless she can add something to the efficacy of that precious

blood by means of her penance.

But

let

us remember, "

By

the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Having examined the evidence adduced by Pope Pius

port of the doctrine of indulgences,
I

in sup-

shall briefly

show from
God.
stands
to

Scripture, that indulgences are no part of the counsel of

The whole

gospel scheme of salvation,

to this
all

in all its parts,

directly opposed

Romish

invention.

If I

were

attempt to quote

the Scripture evidence that might be

I

adduced against the doctrine of indulgences,

obliged
to

should be

read to you a very large portion of the Bible;

to Revelation, there
is

from Genesis

scarcely a page which

does not directly or indirectly contradict and refute the grand

doctrine of which indulgences
is

a branch, and which

is

emphatically the leaven of popery, the leaven which has lea-

Barnes

in loco.

INDULGENCES.
vened the whole lump, and the
effects

215
of which

may

be dis-

cerned in every part of the system, the doctrine of "justification

by works."

The church

of

Rome

teaches that good

works merit
tion

salvation,

and are the

efficient

cause of

it.

The

Protestant church holds universally the doctrine of justifica-

by

faith, not historical faith,

nor any other kind of faith

love,

but that living faith which

works by

and produces

fruit

As the fruit never produces the tree, so works man good. The tree must first be produced, and then the fruit follows and a man being first made good, good works follow, not to make him good, but to testify that he is good. The doctrine of justification by works is the
unto holiness.

never make the

root of this poisonous

blight over so large

Upas which has thrown a

fair

desolating

and so

a portion of the garden of

the Lord, and has destroyed tens of thousands of precious

souls
its

who have
It
is

eaten of

its

deadly

fruit,

and reposed under

shade.

a tenet which changes the whole gospel

plan, and presents another gospel from that delivered

by the
which

Lord Jesus Christ

teaches as follows

and consequently

entails the curse

Paul so emphatically pronounces.*

The church of Rome

is

" The council further teaches that such

of the divine bounty, that
to

the

abundance
satisfaction

we

are able to

make

God

the Father through Jesus Christ, not only

by punishfor sin,

ments voluntarily endured by us as chastisements

gree of the offence
love,

or imposed at the pleasure of the priest according to the de;

but also, and this

inflicted

is

an amazing proof of

by temporal pains
this is not

by God himself, and by us

patiently borne."f

That
1.

a doctrine of the Bible will appear from

the following propositions.

The word of God uniformly concludes

f Con. Trid.

all,

even the

* Gal.

i.

8, 9.

Sess. xiv. Cap. 9.

216
best

INDULGENCES.

of

merij

under

sin.

*'

If

we

say,

We

have no

sin,

we

deceive ourselves, and the

sinned, and
like

trutli is

not in us."*

"All have
" All we,

come

short of the glory of

God."t

sheep,

to his

of us

have gone astray, we have turned every one own way, and the Lord hath laid on hinn the iniquity a?/. "J dz;c. Now, where there is sin, there is a stain
action,

upon every
2.
sin,

and there

is

an end of merit,
in trespasses

The Bible

teaches that

we are dead

and

"You

hath he quickened,

and sins."

And

again,

"

who were dead in trespasses When we were dead in sins,

in

God

hath quickened us together with Christ; by grace ye

are saved. "

" You, being dead

flesh,

your

sins,

and the un-

circumcision of your

hath he quickened together with

trespasses."||

him, having forgiven you

all

Our
by

will is

opposed

to holiness,
his

his Spirit, in the

will
is

day of

God makes us willing, power. Now, where a man's

till

own

wanting, until

it

be changed by God, his works

cannot merit any thing of themselves.

3. It

teaches that all our goodness is the fruit of God^s

grace.

"

By

the grace of
it

God

am

that

am."**

We

on account of God's goodness, and kindness, and good-will, that we are converted. " The
are told repeatedly, that
is

kindness and love of

not

God our Saviour toward man appeared, by works of righteousness, which we have done, but acHoly
and
is

cording to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Ghost."")"!

Hear an
power
and
to

Old Testament
thee,

saint.

" Both riches and honour come of

all
;

and thou reignest over

;

in thine

hand

is

and might

and

in

thine hand
all.

it

to
I,

make

great,
is

give strength unto

ple, that
* 1

But who

am

and what

my
6.

peo-

we should

be able to

oflier

so willingly after this

t Is.
liii.

John i. 8. Eph. ii. 1, 5.

f Rom.
B

iii.

23.

Col.

ii.

13.
4.

** 1 Cor. xv. 10.

ft Tit.

iii.

INDULGENCES.
thfs sort
?

217

For

all

things are

come of thee, and of thine own

all

have we given

thee.
to

Lord our God,

thee an

this

store that

we

have prepared,

build

house
thine

for thine

holy

name, cometh of

thine hand, and

is all

own."*
thing,
it

My
be

brethren, before a

work can merit any

;

must

strictly

and entirely our own

but Paul asks, "

What
thee

hast thou that thou hast not received? or

to differ from

who maketh
it,

another?

Now,

if

thou didst receive

why
It is

dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"f

"

God
4.

that

worketh

in us, both to will

is

and

to

do of his good
for merit.

pleasure.":]:
It

Surely then, there

no room

teaches that, even in a state of grace, our obedi-

ence is imperfect.
that doeth good,

" There

is

not a just

man upon
this truth

earth

and sinneth not."

To

every
testi-

Christian's

mony.

own experience and God requires not only

All the

conscience will bear

external obedience, but an

obedient state of mind, which shall render universal

to his will:

homage
of each

commandments

in general,

and every and

commandment

in particular,

and every

jot

and

tittle

precept in God's word, must be

fulfilled,

at all times,

without the least

omission, or there can be no merit.

best, is

Now,
holiest

our obedience, at

imperfect.

Our

best

endeavours

have something

in

them

that needs forgiving.

;

Our

actions must be sprinkled with atoning blood

tears need washing.
fection,

and our very

Merit requires, and presupposes per;

and admits not imperfection

for

" Cursed
this

is

every

one that confirmeth not all the words of

them. "11

law, to do
sinner,

So long as you confess yourself a

expressly., that

you

merit nothing but wrath and fiery indignation.

5.

The Bible teaches

for

this reason,

good works are for ever excluded from meriting salvation,

f 1 Cor. iv. 7. 1 Deut. xxvii. 26.

Chron. xxix. 12, 14, 16.

ii.

t Phil.

13.

Eccl.

vii.

20.

19

g|Q

INDULGENCES.
faith,

" For, by grace are ye saved, through

yourselves
:

and that not oC

lest

it is

the gift of

God.

Not of works,
justified

any

man

should boast."* "

If Abraham were

by works,
For, what
it

he hath whereof

to glory, but not before

God.

saith the Scripture?

Abraham

believed God, and

was

counted unto him for righteousness."f

Surely these testimonies are directly

are justified by
faith.

to the point.

We

Good works are the fruit of this but they are not the ground faith, and always accompany it If any man has ever ignoof our justification before God.
;

rantly taught that the Protestant church denies the necessity

of good works,
presentation
lest
is

wilful,

may God may

forgive the

him

but, if the misreto repentance,

Lord lead him

he meet the

doom of those who speak

lies in

hypocrisy!

6. This, then, being the case, that

works are excluded

from being the meritorious cause of salvation, the Bible

shows

that the plan of salvation, as devised

by God, was

to give his

Son as a

propitiation for the sins of the world.

Jesus Christ then, was

from

it.:j:

from the
sions,

made under the He was made a curse for " He was wounded curse.
for

law, to redeem us
us,

to

redeem

us

for

our transgreshis stripes

and bruised

our iniquities; and by

in his

we

are healed. "ll

He bare our sins

He was made sin for us, that ousness of God in him, and
he
is

own body on we might be made

live

the tree.**
the righte-

to righteousness.

Thus

become our wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi" There is now, therefore, no cation, and redemption. ff
condemnation
to

them

that are in

Christ Jesus,
is

who walk
the

not after the flesh, but after the spirit.''^ Christ

Rock

of our salvation.

Our own

righteousness, our so called

Eph.
Gal.

ii.
iii.

8; 9.

f Rom.
i

iv. 2.

^ Gal. iv. 4, 5.

13.
i.

Is. liii. 5.

** 1 Pet. ii.24,

tt 1 Cor.

30.

Rom.

viii. 1.

INDULGENCES.

219
and prayers, and pe-

good works, our alms, and

nance, merit nothing.

fasting,

The

attempt to purchase the favour

austerities, is

of God with money, or with self-imposed

insult to Christ.
if
it

an

Salvation must be accepted as a free

all
;

gift,

is

accepted at

Christ

is

our salvation.

consist, not in

The word of God, therefore, makes man's blessedness to his own merits, but in the Lord's not imput-.
" Blessed
is
is

ing sin to him.

given, whose sin

he whose transgression
is

is for-?

covered. Blessed

the

man

unto

whom
is

the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there

no guile."*

Now,
is

iC forgiveness
;

be the source of blessedness, there

an end of merit

for

where there

is

merit, salvation ceases

to be a gift, there is

no room

for forgiveness,

because

God
;

owes us

all

the joys of heaven, if

we have merited them

is

and

if so, the

whole gospel scheme

inverted

and instead and

that
lest

of reading, " by grace are ye saved, through

not of yourselves,
it

faith,

is

the gift of

God, not of works,

to find the

any man should

in the Bible.

boast,"

we ought
it

very opposite

"

By works

are ye saved, not through faith,

;

and

that entirely of yourselves

lest all

is

a debt due from God, not

of grace,

ground of boasting should be taken away."

at the lively oracles of

But look again

God

and do you

not find there, that every benefit which the

Lord ever has

conferred upon his people, or which he ever purposes to

confer, has been, and always will be regarded by him, as

mercy, free and undeserved mercy

Did

Israel

merit Ca-

naan

Did

their sufferings in the wilderness merit the in?

heritance of the land of promise

Hear the word of the

Lord.

" Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy

it

God

giv-

eth thee not this good land to possess

for thy righteouS'

ne5."t

Ps. xxxii.

1, 2,

Deut.

ix. 6.

220

INDULGENCES.
if

Canaan, which was the type of heaven, could not be merited, either in whole or in part, much less can heaven
be purchased by our good works.
the shadow,
this,

Now

If Israel could not

buy

we

cannot buy the substance; and, besides all

that heaven
is

Paul

tells us,

the gift of

God.

Can you

huy a gift But you

are, perhaps,

still

unwilling to relinquish depen-

dence upon your own works and sufferings; let the same " 1 reckon that the sufapostle convict you of your error.
ferings of this present time are not

worthy
in

to be

compared

with the glory that shall be revealed

us."

If persecution

and martyrdom cannot merit the glory of heaven, can

prayers, and alms, and fasting, or the whole category of

good works, included under penance, merit the inheritance

of the saints?

My
it.

brethren, what low,

if

unworthy ideas of
you can pay an
very
that

heaven you must have,

equivalent for
Is

you imagine

that

your heaven worth no more than your

1

alms, and prayers, and penances

little

If

it

is,
I

there

is

attraction about

it

for

me.

But when

remember
;

the Christian's heaven

is

the purchase of Christ's blood

and
and

when

try to estimate the value of that precious blood,

find that all created excellence

combined;

all

that

eye has

seen, or ear heard, or imagination conceived of things lovely,

and

great,

and glorious,

falls

infinitely

below the value

of

of one drop of the precious blood of the

the glorious truth

Lamb

God

when

comes home
is

to

my

heart,

and burns upon

my
I

soul,

"Heaven

the purchase of his blood,"

;

then
me
let

know, heaven must be a glorious abode

or, as a

and,

let

but
its

be a door-keeper of that upper sanctuary, and

threshold
;

sit

upon

dying Christian once said

to

me, "

me

but sweep the dust from the corners of that house not with hands," and
I

made

am

content.

would ten thousand times

rather stand upon that threshold, than wear the Pope's triple

crown, or

sit

upon the golden throne of the

Man

of Sin*

INDULGENCES.

221
its

And when
ment

I die,

and

my

spirit

takes

flight to the

judg-

seat, let

me
is

" be found not having; mine

own

righte-

ousness, which
faith

of the law, but that which

is

is

through the

of Christ, the righteousness which

of God, by faith."
tell

Others

may
;

boast of their good works, and

the Judge of
suf-

their prayers,

and

fastings,

and alms, and penances, and

ferings

had rather plead the merit of a drop of

have
to
all

my

Sa-

viour's blood, than

the merits of all God's saints

in that hour.

and martyrs imputed

But,

me

some of you may

still
;

be loth to relinquish depen-

dence upon their

own works
is

then

let

God's word speak

to

you again.

And what

its

uniform and unbroken

testi-

mony ?
him?
done
all
I

Listen to your Saviour.

"Doth

the master thank

his servant because

he did the things that were commanded

trow not.

So

likewise ye,

those things which are

when ye shall have commanded you, say, we

are unprofitable servants,

duty
to

to do."

we have done that which was our we had never failed in a single instance
heart,

God with all our stren2th, we should have who owes you a hundred
love

and

soul,

and mind, and

merited no more than the

dollars,

man
If
to do,

and pays the

debt.

you do all the things that God has commanded you

you pay your debt and no more.

Where
it

is

the saint in the

Roman

Catholic calendar, of

whom

can be said, with truth,

that he never sinned in

any matter,
then, of your

either in thought,

word or

deed? All that the holiest saint ever did was no more than his
duty.

What becomes,

works of supererogation

What becomes

of those treasures of merit, locked up in the

Pope's strong box at

Rome,
to

the key of which

?

has been
the

handed down from Pope

Pope

What becomes of

Pope's authority to dispense indulgences from ibis treasury

of merit,

filled

with the virtue of those good works which

for the salvation

were over and above the amount necessary

of the saints?

Where

is

their authority to

bequeath their

19*

222

INDULGENCES.

redundant righteousness to holy church, that she nnight

this bullion into

com

money?

Oh!
;

the dismay that will over-

whelm

the souls of the deluded

and the anguish and despair

that will confound the deceivers of souls,

when
alas

their empti-

ness shall be exposed.

Methinks

hear them wail, and cry

!

out, in the secret places of the pit,

"Alas

all

our righ-

teousnesses are as filthy rags."

1

have dwelt thus

at length

upon the Scripture argument

is

against the popish doctrine of merit, because this

the root

of the difference between the Protestant church and the

Romish apostacy.
tion.

"

Justification

by faith"

is

the great lead-

ing doctrine of the Bible, and of the ever-blessed Reforma-

You may

pass through
will
is

all

the different ranks of Pro-

testantism, and

you

find that "justification

by

faith in

the blood of Jesus,"

inscribed on every banner.

Faith

will be written on every standard that the Spirit of the Lord

lifts

up,

and everywhere, throughout Protestant Christendom,

sacramental host clad
all

you
This

will see the

in the

whole armour

of God, and above

is

taking to them the shield of Faith!

our sheet-anchor.

upon the "

The soul that drops this anchor Rock of Ages, may smile at the storms of hell
its

never, never shall her vessel be torn from

moorings.

We

have
!"

this

hope as an anchor of the soul, both sure and

steadfast

The

subject of indulgences

is

one of peculiar interest to

Protestants, because the monstrous abuses connected with

their sale, proved,

under Providence, the means of opening

the eyes of thousands to the real character of popery, and

gave the
this

first

impulse to the Reformation.

had intended
rise

evening

to present before

you a sketch of the

;

and
be

progress of this great and glorious work

obliged to postpone
ject
it

but

I
it

shall

for

the present, and

make

the sub-

next lecture. I shall, therefore, conclude by mentioning a few circumstances connected with the sale of

of

my

INDULGENCES.

223

indulgences, which are carefully concealed in the Grounds

of Cath. Doct.

the

Even if there were nothing more gross in the practice of Romish church than is admitted in this little book, I think I have already shown that the whole counsel of God
against
it!

is

But,

my

hearers, bad as this

fe^atures
let

is,

it

is

excel-

lent,

compared with the worst

I

of

this

Babylonish

abomination.

am

willing to

the church of
is

Rome
in

en-

joy the
the

full

benefit

of the disclaimer which

the chapter on

put forth at
the

commencement of
She
tells

indulgences

Grounds of Cath. Doct.

cuser.

guilty conscience needs

first

no ac-

us in the

breath she does not mean,

sin, or
;

by indulgences,
come.

license to

commit
is

pardon

for sins to

One

thing, however,
to
;

certain

she used to
sin,

mean

it,

and she used

sins to

sell

license to

commit
is

and pardon

for

come and she

boasts that she

is

" always and every

where the same."

"

There

a certain book extant, called

The Tax-book of

the Apostolic Chancery," in which the

is

price of absolution froin certain sins

stipulated.
is

However,

as holy church, at least

these abuses,

in

the United States,

ashamed of
in

we

will not lay this sin to

is

her charge
in

so far

as our
charity.

own country

concerned

and

return for this

Holy Mother must give us

!

all

the credit

we

deserve

for doubting her infallibility

I will

read the testimony of an eye-witness,

who
in

describes

what he saw at Rome. " I was surprised to

dulgenzia Plenaria

find scarcely

a church

Rome
'

that
In-

did not hold up at the door the tempting inscription of

;'
'

Plenary Indulgence.'

Two

hundred

days indulgence

thought a great reward for every kiss bein

stowed upon the great black cross

that
is

the

Colosseum

but

nothing to the indulgences for ten, twenty, and even

thirty thousand years that

may
;

be bought at no exorbitant
so that
it

rate in

many

of the churches

is

amazing what a
other world

vast quantity of treasure

may be amassed

in the

224
with very
little

INDULGENCES.
industry in this, by those

who

are avaricious

of

this

spiritual

wealth; into which, indeed, the dross or

riches of this
facility

world

may

be converted with the happiest

imaginable."
as

"

You may buy

for

many masses
festa

as will

free

your souls

from purgatory
of
St.

twenty-nine thousand years, at the church

John Lateran, on the

of that saint; at Santa Bi-

biana,

on All Souls' day,

for

seven thousand years; at a

church near the Basilica of

St. Paul,

and

at

another on the

Quirinal Hill, for ten thousand and for three thousand years,

and

at

a very reasonable

rate.

But

it

is

vain to particular-

ize, for the

greater part of the principal churches in

spiritual

Rome

and the neighbourhood, are

the

shops for the sale of

same commodity."* The immense profits accruing from indulgences induced the appointment of the centenary jubilee, which was first
1300, under the pontificate of Boniface 8th.
one-half, doubtless because the
at last
It

celebrated in

was subsequently shortened

invention

was

profitable,

and was

reduced to twenty-

five years, at

every return of which period, plenary indulall

gences

may

be obtained during one year by

the faithful
the

who
lee

shall visit certain

churches

at

Rome, and perform

religious exercises enjoined for the occasion.

The

last jubi-

was

in

1825.

That

the tendency
is

and

practical influence of the sale of

indulgences

demoralizing, no honest

notoriously depraved state of

man can deny. The morals in Italy may safely be

traveller says
:

ascribed to the facility of absolution, and to the easy pur-

chase of indulgences.

modern

" At Tivoli,

man was who died in

pointed out to us

agonies within
his

who had stabbed his brother, an hour. The murderer went to

Rome, purchased
*

pardon from the church, and received

Rome

in

t!)e

Nineteenth Century,
of Popery, p. 342.

II,

p.

267

270.

See

Cramp's Text Book

INDULGENCES.
a
written
protection from a cardinal,
in

225
consequence of

which, he was walking about unconcernedly, a second Cain,

whose

life

was sacred."
:

And

again

" Those that have interest with the Pope,

full

may
I

obtain an absolution in

from

his holiness for all the sins

they ever have committed, or

may
It

choose to commit.

have seen one of these edifying documents issued by the present

Pope

to a friend

of mine.

was most unequivocally

worded."*

Now,

beloved friends,
VA^hat use

let

me

bring you back once

more

to the Bible.
for merit !

has a Christian for indulgences, or

of our sins

The temporal consequences

will

we must
indul-

bear; no indulgence can deliver us from them.

An

gence from the Pope

not expel the rottenness from the

bones of the debauchee, though he

may

have repented and

his Saviour.

thrown himself over upon the mercy of

And

what do you want with merit

don of your
us from
all

sin

? Would you merit the par" But the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth

sin."
is

Would you

merit the favour of

God?

But where
enemies,

the need of

your merit?

"If when we were

Son

life."

we were reconciled to God by the death of his much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his (Rom. v. 10.) Would you merit everlasting life,
itself?

and heaven

But where

is

the use of your merit?

Christ has obtained for us the

is

full

assurance of heaven.

It

ours by purchase.
for us."

"By
It I
is

his

own

blood he has obtained

redemption
hear

ours by donation.

"

My

sheep
I

my

voice,

and

know them and

life."
It
is

they follow me, and

give unto them eternal

ours by inheritance,

"

If

ye be

Christ's, then are

to the

ye Abraham's seed, and heirs

But
in reply to all that
tell

according
said, the

promise."
Catholic

has been

Roman

may

rne,

"

do not depend
merits.

entirely,

but only

partially

upon

my own

The

See Cramp's Text Book of Popery,

p. 345^

226

INDULGENCES.

Council of Trent expressly leaches that

satisfaction to

we

are able to

make

God

the Father through Christ Jesus,

and not

through ourselves alone."

Now

does not

this

imply that the satisfaction which the

for all

Lord Jesus Christ has made

who

believe in him,

and

exercise repentance towards God, would be incomplete with-

out the superadded merits of our

this plainly contradicted

own works?

And

is

not

by every page of the

satisfaction

New

Testa-

ment Scriptures?
for us, is either

The

which Christ has made

it

complete and

all-sufficient in itself, or

is

not.
tion
is

If the former,

where

is

the use, in so far as justifica-

concerned, of owr making satisfaction either in whole

If the latter, then the Bible
is

or in part?

not true;

for

it

everywhere proclaims the sufficiency of the atonement made

on Calvary.
Neither the
faith

of those
repent,
is

who

believe, nor the godly sor-

row of

those
;

who

the meritorious cause of their pleads either as the ground

will

justification

and any

man who

of his acceptance at the judgment bar,

the presence of the thrice holy

be spurned from

God.
all

In God's name, then, renounce

dependence on your

own
to

merit!

do not

tell

you

to

renounce good works, but

relinquish your dependence on them.

"By
If

the deeds

of the law shall

to establish
I

no

flesh

be justified."

you go about

a righteousness of your own, you must perish.

know

that

you have no peace.

appeal to your

own

con-

science, and to your

assertion.
It is

own

experience for the truth of this

impossible that

any who seek

to justify

themselves by their

own deeds

should be at peace either

with God, or with themselves.

" Being justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." May God impart to you all this faith through grace; and
then " the peace of God, which passeth
shall
all

understanding,

keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Amen.

LECTURE

VIII.

THE REFORMATION.
Ps. cxviii. 23.
" THIS IS

THE LORD*S DOING

all

IT IS

MARVELLOUS

IN

OUR EYES."

Among

the remarkable events which are recorded in

is

the annals of history, whether sacred or profane, there

none, since the birth and death of the blessed Saviour, which
constitutes a

more important epoch than

the great moral re;

volution which occurred in the sixteenth century

is

and which

familiarly

known

as the Reformation.
it

It

was so manireits

festly a

reformation, that

has,
;

by common consent,
it

ceived and retained the

name

and

always

will

keep

designation, until enlightened Christians can be persuaded to

love darkness rather than light.

Ever

since the day,

when
since

Martin Luther, with the Bible

in his

hand, stood forth as the

fearless advocate of the eternal truths of

God's word

he preached the gospel and wrote

the Scriptures to his

in

its

defence, and

gave

countrymen

in their

vernacular tongue,

wound has been ence of more than

a

inflicted

upon Popery, which the experi-

three hundred years has proved to be

incurable; and which

we know, from

the sure

word of proand

phecy,

is

destined to prove the plague of ignorance,

idolatry,

and

superstition, until they all shall

petual end.

Since that day, the church of

come to a perRome, with so-

228

'^^^

REFORMATION.

vereign Impudence, has attempted to face

ant cause, by telling us that

down

the Protest-

we

are schismatics.

We may
tions of the

detail the usurpations,

and tyranny, and corrupis

Romish church

and, as no man, unless he

either fearfully depraved, or lamentably ignorant, or deluded,

can deny

that these abuses really existed,

in reply, that

and

still

exist,

we

are uniformly told,

these grievances give us

set

no

right to
;

renounce the papal authority, and

up

for our-

selves

but that

we

are accursed heretics, for persisting in

our separation.

The
thirty

Council of Trent, which convened A. D. 1545, about

years after the

to

commencement of
full

the Reformation,

seems

have been so

of cursings, that after a formal

condemnation of the heresiarchs Luther, Calvin, and Zuingle,

&c.

&:c.,

a fearful array of anathemas

is

thrown around

every statement of their own doctrines, presenting daggers'

points to the faithful,

who

are inside of the pale of the true

church, as well as to the incorrigible heretics,

side.

who

are outin

Notwithstanding these curses, Protestants persist

maintaining, that

when

a church has
title

become so

fearfully

degenerate as

to

earn the
it

of

The Mother

of the Abomi-

nations of the Earth,

is hio;h

time to listen to the voice of

the Eternal God, calling through the gospel, "

her,

Come

out of

my

people,

and be not partakers of her

sins, lest

ye

receive also of her plagues."

Now, my brethren, the charge of schism is a very grievThe apostle bids us, " mark them which cause dious one. visions ;" and the Saviour says, " Wo to that man by whom
the ofTcnce cometh."

But

think

it

is

very easy
;

to retort

the charge of schism upon the

Romish apostacy
If

and not
to

only to lay

this sin to the

is

charge of Holy Mother, but

it.

prove that she

guilty of

parting from the

communion of

the

we are heretics, in deRomish church, then

Abraham and Abraham.'s

seed were heretics too.

When

THE REFORMATION.
the

229

God

of glory appeared to Abraham, and convinced him

that idolatry

was a

hateful sin,

and called him

out,

and bade
and

him " be separate," the

went out
Jehovah.
in the

father of the faithful obeyed,

strength of simple hearted trust in the

Lord

Abraham

surely

was not

guilty of schism, be-

cause he turned his back upon the idolatrous nation; and

when

the Spirit of the Lord, in the sixteenth century, lifted

in like

up a standard against the enemy, who came pouring

a flood, and raised up

men who were

to death,

willing to

go with the
in-

Lord Jesus
strumental

to prison
in

and

and these men were

opening the eyes of their fellow-sinners, was

there heresy in this?

No! my

brethren,

"they walked
;"

in

the steps of the faith of our father

Abraham

they

left

the

idolatrous people, flung their images to the moles and to the

bats; scattered to the winds the whole system of Popish absurdities,

and made

this
all

unseemly rent

in the scarlet

robe of

Holy Mother, which

There

the ingenuity and cunning inventions

of Popes and Jesuits have never yet been able to mend.

is

a question which

is

often put

by our Roman Ca-

tholic brethren,
it

and which they think unanswerable, though

has been answered a thousand times.

They say

to us,
reli-

sometimes, "

Do
is

tell

us,

pray, what is the Prolestant

gion?"
is

"It

the religion of the Bible."

it

" Ah, but that

telling us

where

is,

and not what

it

is."

But

if I

tell

you where

my
is.

religion

is, if

you have eyes, and can read,

find out

and have a mind of your own, you can soon

what

my

religion

Read

the Bible, and your inquiry will be

directed the

satisfied.

The Saviour
his

Jews
;"

to their Scriptures,

and bade
Bible,

enemies " search them

we

offer
will

you the
find the

and

invite

you

to read

it.

There you

grounds of Prolestant doctrine.

"Well,

but where was

it

your

religion before
it

Luther?"

"Just where

is

now, and
is

where

always

will

be; here, in the Bible; and that

20

230

THE REFORMATION.
religion is not, never has been,

where the Roman Catholic and never will be."

Papists are mistaken
is

when they

tell
It

us that their religion

is

older than the Protestant faith.

old,

admit, but
religion

it

is

not so old as ours

by several

centuries.

Our

was

not called the Protestant faith in the apostle's days, because

there were no Popish errors to protest against.
retort the question,

We may

and ask our Roman Catholic brother,

"Where was
and echo
will

your religion when the Bible was written?"

answer, " Where?"

After brushing
subject before us.

away

these cobwebs,

will

proceed to the

I.

I will prove
That

that the Reformation teas needed.

II.

the Glorious

Reformation was the Lord's doing,

The first point will very soon be Roman Catholics themselves must admit
I.

dismissed.

Even
church,
Lest,

that gross abuses,

in their

and appalling

licentiousness,

were prevalent

during and preceding the period of the Reformation.

however, any, through ignorance or prejudice, should be

disposed to dispute

which
is

it, I will state facts, and give testimony our adversaries cannot gainsay, because the truth so interwoven in the whole history of this eventful period,

all

that

it

is

impossible to conceal

it.

Several years after the

first

blow had been struck by

which he makes

Luther, Pope Adrian VI. himself presented a brief to the

Diet of Nuremberg, through his nuncio,
in

acknowledgments, which are alone

suflicient to justify the

most acrimonious accusations of Luther.

that all the confusion introduced
effect

He owns

explicitly

by Lutheranism, was the

past

of men's sins, particularly of the sins of the priests

;

and bishops

that for

some years

many

abominations

and excesses had been committed

in the court

of Rome, even

THE REFORMATION.
in the

231
if

Holy See

itself,

and

ttiat it

was no wonder
members,
let

the evil

had passed from the head

to the bishops

to the

from

the Pope

and
all,"

priests.

But

us give you his

own

words.

"

We

have

says the Pope, " turned every one of us

for

to his

own way, and

him

a long time none hath done good,

no not one.
souls before

Let us give glory to God, and humble our

;

and every individual among us consider

how great God may

wanting on
perhaps,

has been his

own

fall,

and judge himself, that

not judge us in his wrath.

Nothing

shall

be

my

part to reform the court of

;

Rome, whence,

all

the mischief has originated

that as this court

has been the source of the corruptions which have thence

spread

among

the lower orders, so from the

same a sound

reformation

may

proceed."

His holiness concludes with observing how

this business at heart
;

much he had
if

but that they must not wonder

all

these abuses could not be soon corrected.

The

disease

was

complicated and inveterate, and the cure must proceed step

by

step,

lest

by attempting

to

do

all

at once,

every thing

should be thrown into confusion.*

Luther translated the Pope's

letter

into

German, and

added short marginal notes, one of which on the expression, " the cure must proceed step by step," reads thus, " you are
to

understand these words to

mean

that there

must be an
Pope

interval of

some

centuries between each step."

infallible

Here, then, we have the admission of an

himself, that a reformation
tions

was needed,

that gross corrup-

were rampant

in

the church.

What

a glorious com-

ment on Romish
fact.

infallibility is

presented by this historical

The head

of the infallible church confesses that the

Luther and the Lutheran Reformation by John

J.

Scott.

New

York:

&

J.

Harper, 1833. Vol. L p. 180.

232

'^^^

REFORMATION.

grossest abuses are practised in her midst, and that Popes

and prelates and

way.
This
is

priests are turned

if

every one to
*'

his

own

as

a man,

who

was, from

the

crown of

his head

to the

sole of his foot, filled with

wounds and

bruises and putrifying sores," should declare, that notwith-

standing

all

this disease, there

!

was not a
suffice.

spot or a wrinkle

upon

his

immaculate body

Pope Adrian's testimony may

ter,

like

it

the bet-

much partiality for Luther and his coadjutors, especially when it is remembered that he conjured the Council at Nuremberg to " extinguish
because
lie

cannot be accused of too

this

devouring flame," and very significantly alluded

to the

examples of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, who were

burnt at the stake for their opposition to popish error and
superstition.

As

to the

abuses themselves,

detail respecting

them.

I cannot go very much into One abomination, however, cannot

be omitted, as the excess

to

which

it

was

carried, proved,

under God, the means of opening the eyes of an obscure

Augustine monk, once scarcely known beyond the
limits

of

Wittemberg, but who

brance as a Christian
tegrity,
tin

will

be held in everlasting

rememin-

man
I

of undaunted courage, stern

and strong

faith.

need scarcely say,

mean Marhis

Luther.

We
;

all

know

that Luther has been represented

iniquity.

by some

papists as a

monster of

That he had

failings, I

admit

he would have been more than

It
is

man

if

he

had had none.

into a

not

my
it

intention to enter at present

minute refutation of the slanders that have been

;

heaped upon him

rate testimonies

indeed

is

unnecessary, since the elabo-

which Maimbourg, Varillas, and Moreri,

three

Roman

Catholic historians, have borne to the talents,

learning, great qualities, and blameless morals of the

Re-

former.*

No

papist, respectable for learning

and honesty^

* See Milner*s Ch. Hist, vol. iv,33r^45^

THE REFORMATION.
would repeat the
silly

233
respecting

calumnies and

idle stories

Luther, of which intelligent

since been ashamed.
It

Roman

Catholics have long

may, perhaps,

not be amiss to advert to one of the

many
ral,

ridiculous stories respecting Luther's death

and funefaithful,

which were industriously circulated among the

after the
tic

Lord had taken him home.

has been preserved
in
in

The

following authen-

narrative

an admirable

German

work, published
"

Stuttgart,

1839, entitled, " Luther's

Leben und Wirken."

When

the corpse of Luther

was carried

to the

grave by
that they
light, that

twelve strong men, the bier at

could not proceed with
it;

first

was so heavy,
it

afterwards

became so

they set

it

down

in

the market-place, in order to

still

examine

whether the body was

in

it

or not.

They

found no

Tnan there, but three enormous

the'people,

rats,

which jumped out upon

the convents
in

and squealing dreadfully, ran through the crowd

and escaped.

One
to

of these rats ran to

the iron
bit

all

and

monasteries, and

bit

bolts

and locks

pieces.

Another ran

Rome and
it

the seals off the Pope's bulls

into hell

of indulgence;
fire

the third ran

and extinguished the

of purgatory, so that

can never burn another Chris-

tian soul."

The manner
is

in

which

this

latter exploit

was
of

performed, decency will not permit

me

to describe.*
silly tale

This nonsense

about on a par with the

Luther's conference with the devil respecting the Eucharist.f

On
deny

the whole, however,

that the devil

am

not disposed altogether to

may

have had some hand in originating

;

Luther's notion of consubstnntiation

it

savours so

much of
it

transubslantiation, the chef d'oeuvre of the Evil one, that

would be hard

to

disprove the devil's agency in

its

invention

* See Luther's

Leben und Wirken, von Dr.

p. 68.

C. F. G. Stangi,

Stuttgart, 1839, p, 1004.

f See the Catholic's Manual,

New

York, 1836,

20*

234
It is

I'HE REPORMATIOIV.

due, in

common

justice, to the

very respectable soci-

ety of Lutherans to state, that but a very small proportion

of their number adhere

I

to the doctrine of consubslantiation.

believe the large majority of the Lutheran denomination

in

agree substantially with their Reformed brethren

trine of the Eucharist.

the doc-

Luther was a whole souled man; he

of the earth, and his

belonged
blessed
;

to the excellent

memory

is

but whilst

we

give

God

glory for raising up such a

man, and
that he

sustaining him through so

ing him ofTmore than conqueror,

was but a man

to

after all.

many trials, and bringwe are painfully reminded The pertinacity with which
of consubstantiation,

he adhered

his
it

favourite
is

notion

shows how hard

idea

even for the best of

"

men

to

shake off
Luther's

the trammels of early prejudice and superstition.

was

briefly this

He

denied that the elements were

changed

after consecration,

and therefore taught that the

;

bread and wine indeed remain

there
is

but that together with them,

present the substance of the body of Christ, which

is literally received

by communicants."

See Encyclop. of

Relig. Knowl., p. 411.

(Art. " Consubstantiation.")*

No

reformer had ever to contend with greater obstacles,

it

and yet

may

be said,

in

another sense, that there never

was a more favourable opportunity for the commencement Leo X., after a term of five years, had reduced of reform.
himself to great
straits

by

his prodigality,

and

in

order to

The

reader,

who

wishes to

know more

of the private charac-

ter of the great Luther,

may

consult, in addition to former refe-

rences, Robertson's Charles V. p. 329, 330. Harpers,

New York,
vol.
ii.

1858: Scott's Luther and the Lutheran Reformation,

.

189

203, in which Robeilson's sketch is reviewed: Jones' Church But after all, the best way of obtaining Hist. p. 441, Phil. 1832. a correct estimate of Luther's character is to read his history and
his writings.

None but

a bigot can read either, without beingf

convinced

tliat

Luther was a holy man.

THE REFORMATION.
replenish his

235
after the

empty

cofTers,

had recourse,
II.,

example

of

his

predecessor,

Julius

to

the sale of indulgences.

to

The
ated,

specific object to

which the money was

be appropri-

was

the completion of St. Peter's church at

for this piirpose

Rome, and Leo published indulgences throughout the

ail

Christian world, granting freely to

who would pay money

and
is

for the building of this church, the license of eating eggs

cheese

in

the time of Lent

this fact

gravely related by

papal historians.

Albert, the archbishop of

to superintend the

Mentz and Magpromulgation of

deburg was authorized

the papal indulgences, with the understanding that he

to receive his

was

share of the

profits.

He

delegated his autho-

rity to

John Tetzel, a Dominican

inquisitor,

who had proved

his qualifications for the business ten

years before, by col-

lecting at Friburg

2000

florins

ir)

two days by the sale of

this

indulgences.

The matchless impudence of

frontless

monk is moment

almost incredible.

He

taught the people, that the

they paid for the indulgence, they became certain

;

of their salvation

and that the souls

for

whom

the par-

dons were bought, were instantly released from purgatory.

"The moment,"
your
dacious

said

he,

"the money

tinkles in the chest,

friend's soul

mounts up out of purgatory."

that

This au-

pardon-monger boasted

he had saved more

had conis

souls from hell

by

his indulgences than St. Peter

verted to Christianity by his preaching.

Now,
to

it

fact

which must be remembered, that not an archbishop, nor

bishop, nor priest ever opened his

mouth

enormities, until after opposition had been openly

condemn these made to

the iniquitous traffic in another quarter, although the inferior

officers

concerned

in

this

shameful commerce were

daily seen in public houses rioting in the most scandalous

debauchery.*

Whilst Tetzel, with undisguised

i.

eflTrontery,

* Hume's Hist, of England, vol.

Davis, 1840.

p. 54.

Philad.

M'Carty

&

236

"TWE
traffic

REFORMATION.

was making
infidelity,

of the souls of men, and the church cor-

rupted and debauched,

In

the

was held up as the laughing stock of the Lord was preparing deliverance. memorable year 1517, it happened that certain
their
to

persons,

repealing

confessions

before Luther, after

owning themselves
gated as
to the

be atrocious offenders, refused to com-

ply with the penances which he enjoined, and

when

interro-

reason, produced their diplomas of indulgence.

folly, refused to give

Lulher, indignant at this licentious

them

absolution, and they complained to Tetzel.

inquisitor frowned
;

The Dominican
all to

and stormed and menaced but

order to

no pur-

pose.

He went
on

so far as several times to order a pile of

wood

to be set

fire in

awe

the heretics into submission

by

this significant hint.

This measure was equally unsuccessin

ful.

Luther conscientiously persisted

he merely intimated
in

opposing the

traffic

at first

a gentle

manner from
in

the

pulpit, that people

might be better employed than

running
did this

to Tetzel

to

procure indulgences.

So cautiously

great
little

man

begin the work, the result of which he then so

loresavv.

Ten years

before this time, he had accidentin the library

ally

met with a Latin Bible

his

of the monastery.

To

astonishment he found that there were ?nore Scripextant

ture passages

than those which were read to the

people.

He made

the Scriptures and the books of

Augus-

tine his constant study,

and when the controversy respecting

indulgences commenced, he was regarded as the most ingenious and learned

man of

his order in

Germany.

Martin

Polichius, a doctor of law and medicine, had

remarked con-

cerning Luther several years before the commencement of

the Reformation, after listening to one of his eloquent and
fervid appeals,

"This monk

will

confound
;

all

the doctors,
is

and reform the whole Roman church

pends on the word of Jesus Christ

for

he

intent

on

reading the writings of the prophets and apostles, and he de;

this neither the philoso-

THE REFORMATION.
phers nor the sophists can subvert."
ceived that a
It

237
will readily

be con-

man mighty
by

in

the Scriptures, and

who had

already apprehended the great leading doctrine of the

New

Testament,

justification

faith in the perfect merits

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ,

would be prepared

to

rebuke the mon-

strous abuse of the sale of indulgences.

His

first

step after

preaching against the iniquitous

archbishop of Mentz
;

traffic,

was

to appeal to the

he did not even

know

that the arch-

bishop was the prime dispenser of these popish pardons.

The

archbishop gave him no satisfaction.

Luther next ap-

pealed to his

own

diocesan, the
his

bishop of Brandenburg.

The
these

prelate reverenced

integrity, but cautioned

him

in

words,

"You

will

oppose the church; you cannot

think in what troubles you will involve yourself.

better be quiet."

You had

This counsel Luther could not conscien-

tiously accept,

and with deliberate steadiness he persevered.

endeavoured
to

Having
five in

in vain

procure the concurrence of

the dignitaries of the church, he published his Theses, ninety-

number; which,

in fifteen

days, were spread through-

out

Germany.

On

the 31st of October, 1517, Luther nailed

these Theses, which related principally to the sale of indul-

gences, upon the church doors of VVittemberg, and from that

hour we

may

date the

commencement of
and rapid
all, at

the Reformation.
circulation of

Alarmed
ther's

at the publication

Lu-

Theses, and above

the favour with which good

and true men regarded them, Tetzel published one hundred

and

six propositions, in

which he attempted

to

refute the

arguments of the Augustinian monk; and, moreover, by

virtue of his authority as

Dominican

inquisitor, he ordered

Luther's compositions to be burned.

The

disciples of the

Reformer, without

his advice or consent, retaliated

by burn-

ing Tetzel's propositions, and from that moment the Pope and Luther parted company. Such was the commencement
of the great work, which has resulted
in

conferring

civil

and

238
religious liberty

THE REFORMATION.

upon millions who would otherwise have groaned under papal bondage. " This is the Lord's doing, and
it

is

marvellous

in

our eyes."
this

ment, but not the agent of

Luther was the instru" It was the Reformation.

step

Lord^s doing."

The Lord

led his servant

by

step far

his original intentions, and in a manner which showed the excellency of the power to be of God, and not of man. The peculiar excellency of the revival of the true

beyond

religion lay in this, that

it

not only effected, to a large extent,

it

the correction of abuses, but

brought forth from under the

bushel

of papal ignorance,

bigotry,
it

and

superstition,
light

the

candle of God's word, and set

up as a beacon

upon
once

every

hill

of Zion.
first

This

result

was not

efl'ected at

the light at

was but

the feeble glimmering of the early

;

dawn; but this true light was the harbinger of day the Sun of Righteousness was rising with healing in his wings, and his fervid beams soon shed a stream of light that is
kindling brighter and brighter to the perfect day.
II.

That

the Reformation of the church

I

was

the Lord's the difficul-

doing, will,
ties

think, be apparent if
in

we examine

which were

the

way, the means which were employ-

ed, and the complete success of the enterprise.

1.

In the first place, the whole papal power tras <.\rrayed

it.
It is

against

astonishing,

when we look

at the over-

whelming

influence which

popery was exerting upon the

whole of Europe,
have been able

that an obscure Augustinian

to

shake the throne of the

his

monk should Roman pontiff*,

first,
;

and

to

break the right arm of

power.

At

Luther

stood alone; but his intrepid and unflinching zeal

integrity,

his stern

truth

was evidently the cause of and righteousness, soon gained him the afl^ection and
fact that his

and the

whose necks were weary of the galling yoke of popish despotism. The Pope lorded it over kings and emperors. His will was the sovereign

the hearty support of honest men,

The reformatio*^.
rule.

<^^g

His frown made the stoutest potentate trennble.

He

could absolve subjects from allegiance to refractory rulers.

He had
narch

often

done

it

and had brought the haughtiest moLuther arose, there was none

to terms.

When

among
do his

the rulers of the earth

worst.

There was not

who could a man in

dare the Pope

to

the high places of

pontiff,

power
doest

who

could venture to ask the

Roman

"

What
;

thou?"

But see how bold the truth can make

its

advocate.
sus-

Single-handed, armed with no weapon but the Bible

tained, originally,

by no influence

at the courts

of earthly
cause,
liberty
to

kings, and

relying solely upon

the justice of his

and the help of God, the great Reformer proclaimed

to

the

captives,

and the opening of the prison-doors

them

that

were bound, and bade defiance to the authority

of Antichrist.

Deluded millions cursed him

their teeth.
all

for

a heretic,
to-

and gnashed upon him with

gether
;

Kings leagued
the hosts of

archbishops and bishops, and

Rome
re-

and

hell conspired against

;

him

but every attack

was

pulsed

every plot against

his life

was

frustrated,

and not a

hair of this man's head

was

hurt,

though the Pope and the

with which he

devil thirsted for his blood.

identified gained

The cause
its

was
its

ground daily and hourly. Kings became

nursing mothers
;

nursing fathers, and queens

tually, the principles of the

until,

even-

Reformation became so firmly

to

established,
their

that

its

enemies were constrained

in

give up

open assaults
it

despair.

" This was the Lord's do-

ing;
2.

is

miarvellous in our eyes."

:

The prejudices of men were arrayed against The men of that generation had been the Reformation. taught that submission to priestly mandates was the great
Again
cardinal virtue, which would atone for a multitude of sins,

and save the soul from death.

days, to

It

say a word against the Pope.

was blasphemy, in those And, though the

exactions of papal tyranny had ground the faces of the poor,

240
and
laid

'J'W^

REFORMATION.

burdens upon them, which neither they nor their

fathers could bear, yet such

was

the force of habit, and the

power of

prejudice, that they never dared to think that the

Bibles.

Pope might be a usurper. They had no

They knew

nothing of the mind and will of God, as revealed in his

word, except what they gathered from ignorant and vicious

priests,

whose

interest

it

was

to

keep them

in

darkness.

No

wonder, then, that the Reformers were regarded by the poor

priest-ridden people as wicked innovators,

and sacrilegious

wretches,

corum.

who had spurned every limit They knew no belter. They

for
for
it

of modesty and dedid not

know
to

that

it

was as imperious a duty

corrupt church as

every good

man

forsake a

was

Lot

to flee

from Sodom.

We see,
vert

in

our

own

day, that bigotry and prejudice can

blind the eyes even of intelligent and amiable

men, and conand

ridicu-

them

into strenuous advocates of exploded

lous doctrines
that Luther

and ceremonies.
his coadjutors

It is

easy, then, to imagine

and

would experience tremendous

opposition from the prejudices of the dark age in which he

lived.
rified
!

But see how the word of the Lord ran and was glo-

Hundreds daily flocked

to the standard,

which the

Spirit of the

Lord had

lifted

up.

The

everlasting gospel,

stripped of the meretricious trappings of

human

invention,

proved, everywhere, the power and wisdom of

God unto
and
fa-

salvation; and in spite of the opposition of bigotry; in defiance of the

sword of the executioner, and the

fire

gots of bloody, persecuting agents of the Pope, the

word of

God grew
the gospel

mightily, and prevailed, so that in a Cew years'

time, kings and bishops were brought into the obedience of

of Christ, and whole nations were converted to

Is not this

the Protestant faith.

sciences of
the

proof enough that the conthis

it

men are on the side of the truth? Was work of man ? " This was the Lord's doing, and
in

is

marvellous

our eyes,"

THE REFORMATION.
3.

QAl

But what were

the

mighty moral revolution

Protestants did not

means employed in effecting this They were not carnal weapons. ?

proselytes through the eloquent ap-

make

peals of the gibbet, and the stake, and the torturing imple-

ments of the Holy

testant

Inquisition.

The
to

principles of the Pro-

church are directly opposed

persecution in every
It

shape.

We

contend for liberty of conscience.

is

is

no

part of our creed, that faith

not to be kept with heretics.

No

Protestant synod or council ever disgraced itself by pub;

lishing such an edict to the world, or to the church

but the

Popish Council of Constance deliberately asserted

it,

and as

deliberately put the principle into practical operation,

by

burning Jerome of Prague, notwithstanding the emperor Si-

gismund had guarantied him a safe conduct.

The only
by means

way

in

which Protestants can persecute the adversaries of

truth, consistently

God's

with their principles,

is

of the sword of the

Spirit,

which

is

the

word of God.

We

hold up the torch of truth, (not the blazing fagot of inquisitorial

tyranny,) over the doctrines and practices of errorists;

that

and we show
mies.

Romanism and

the Bible are

sworn enethat Pro-

Now,

if this

be persecution, would to

God

testants would persecute a great deal

more than they do

and

that papists
in

never had persecuted, and never would per-

secute again,
I

any other way.

hope

my

hearers will not be alarmed

when they hear

title

that their

humble speaker has been honoured with the

;

of a persecutor of the true church

quite, the

and, in almost,

if

not

ed,

that

has been expresssame breath, I am any of Calvin's seed should have been suffered to
told, surprise

remain so long upon the earth.

said that
it

Now,

confess, if

had

was a wonder

that

any Roman Catholic should

be permitted to live

in the

United States, and worship

saints,

God
con-

and the Virgin Mary, and the and

21

and holy images,

holy relics, according to the dictates of his

own

242
science,
I

'^^^

REFORMATION.

should have betrayed something like a disposition

to persecute.

This reminds

me

of a passage in good John Bunyan's

Pijorrim's Progress.

When

Christian

comes

to the

mouth of
younger
he can

Giant Pope's cave, he finds the old gentleman, by reason "of

the

many shrewd
little

brushes that he met with

stiff in

in

his

days, grown so crazy and

his joints, that

now do
not

more than
them.

sit in

his cave's

mouth, grinning at

pilgrims as they go by, and biting his nails because he can-

come
;

at

So

saw
tell

that Christian

went on

his

way

yet, at the sight of the old

man

that sat at the

mouth

of the cave, he could not

cause he spoke
saying,
'

what

to think, 'specially be-

to

him, though he could not go after him,

You

ivill

never mend
set a
I

But he held his peace, and

by, and catched no hurt."*

till more of you be hurntP good face on it, and so went

mean

to

do as Christian did

and hope,

like

him, to catch no hurt.

I will

Now, my
rights
;

brethren,

trench upon no man's private

but

I will

try, looking to

God

for the assistance of

his grace, to convince

do love them
for

and

my Roman Catholic brethren, that I that my heart's desire and prayer to God
may
be saved.

them

is,

that they

On

the great day of the Lord,

I

when
to

I shall

meet you

all

at

the judgment,

shall be

ready

answer the charge of perthe Reformers were not

secuting the true church. But, to return.

The weapons of

carnal, but mighty, through God, to the pulling

down of

strong holds.

That several of

the leading Reformers did

in isolated instances, persecute their erring brethren, cannot

be denied.

Calvin connived

at,
it

if

he did not procure, the

burning of Servetus.

Indeed,

>vas

some time before

the

* Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.

Harpers, 1837. p. 135.

THE REFORMATION.
true Bible principle, relative to the treatment of heretics,

243
was

clearly brought out before the minds of the Reformers.

[The
case
:

following

is

Calvin's

own language
false

relative to this

Speaking of certain

charges

respecting
It is

his

familiarity with the Pope's inquisitors,

to

he says, "

useless
to

spend words

in refuting this

calumny, which
denial.

is

broken

pieces,

and

falls

by a simple

If indeed

what they
I

falsely object to

me was
was

fact, I

do not see
it

why

should

deny

it ;

since

do not dissemble, that

was by

my means

that he

(Servetus)

seized in this city and required to

defend his cause.

ject

Let malevolent and slanderous men obI offer

what they

please,

myself beforehand, and freely

confess (for according to the laws of this city, the

man

could

not be justly treated otherwise,) that the accuser proceeded

at

my

request

that the formula

was

dictated

by

my

advice,

by which some entrance was made upon the cause. But what my design then was, is evident from the progress of Wlicn my colleagues and myself were sumthe action.
moned,
it

was by no means our

fault that

he did not confer

peaceably and freely concerning his dogmatisms.

fact proceeded as in chains to give the reason

We in
faith,

of our

and informed him

objections.
forth
It

that

we were

prepared to answer his

was then that, with swollen cheeks, he poured

such reproaches as made the judges themfor him.
I

upon

me

selves

ashamed and grieved

avoided

all

railing

at him.

And
in
is

had he been

in

any manner

curable, he

would

have been
This

no danger of any weightier punishment," &c.]*

not to be wondered at, for they were educated in

the tenets of
heretics,

Romanism, which
it

inculcate the destruction of

whenever

may

be conveniently consummated.
feature of Pro-

However, persecution never was a prominent

See Life of Calvin, by Beza, ham, 1836.
f Rhem. Test.
p. 44. *

p. 186.

Philadelphia:

Whet-

244
testant
discipline,

'^^^

REFORMATION.
never will be.

and

it

The means em-

ployed by the Reformers were substantially the same which

the Christian church
pel
still

uses, viz. the preaching of the gos-

and the circulation of the Scriptures.

Luther's transla-

tion of the Bible into

German

proved, under God, the nrjeans

look at the means which

of salvation

to thousands.

Now

were instrumental
liberty

in

producing the glorious results that are

destined to bless the world, by conferring civil and religious

upon the whole human

race.

What
It is

but the influ-

ence of the blessed Spirit could have effected such triumphs

as have already been accomplished?
the foolishness of preaching prove the

he

who makes
;

power and wisdom of

it is

God
4.

unto salvation

" This

is

the Lord's doing

mar-

vellous in our eyes."

And what
civil

are the results that have already been oba large portion of Europe

tained?

The emancipation of
and

from

spiritual despotism,

and the establishment of

religious liberty in both
is
it

the true principles of political

and

the old and

new

world.

The Reformation
in

not ended yet

will not

but

it

is

steadily

and rapidly

progress

be

fin-

ished until the principles of

civil

and religious
;

liberty shall

have been everywhere established

shall

and

until its

ministers
to

have gone

forth proclaiming liberty

and salvation

the heathen world,

and bringing home the fulness of the

Gentiles as an offering to the Saviour

who redeemed them.

That

this is to

be the great crowning result of the blessed

Reformation, the sure word of prophecy declares.

My
ult in

brethren, yesterday

we
;*

celebrated the anniversary of

feel
it

our national independence

and whilst we
under God,

good

to ex-

our freedom as a great and happy people,

let

us not for-

get that

we owe

this blessing,

to the

Reformation.

The

pilgrim fathers

who

landed on the Plymouth Rock,

* Preached Sunday evening, July 5th^

THE REFORMATION.

g^g

brought with them the doctrines and the principles of the

German Reformers.
secutors into
tlie

They
;

fled

from the face of

this

their per-

wilderness

and here, upon

very

soil,

reared an altar to their God, and laid the corner-stone of

the glorious fabric of our independence.
tard seed

The

grain of mustree.

which they planted has become a mighty

its its

God

grant that
;

branches
leaves

sant fruits

that
its

may ever may be for

be laden with pleathe healing of the

nations, and

shade continue

to offer

an asylum

to the

oppressed.
If the

liberty
;

which
is

is

dear to every American

is

to

be

preserved

if

it

worth preserving, we must maintain our

separation from the corruptions and abominations of popery.

The

great and good Lafayette,

whose memory

is

deservedly

honoured by
citizens of
liberty

this nation, in conversation with distinguished

our Republic, has repeatedly

said,

"American
!"

can be destroyed only by the popish clergy

Pro-

fessor Morse, in his preface to the Confessions of a Catholic

Priest, writes as follows
:

" This declaration of Lafayette

is

a beautiful evidence of the sagacity and vigilance of Liberty's

great friend.

Lafayette, like a veteran mariner,

political

was ever
his latest

watching the

horizon for the indications of danger

to

to his beloved

America, and the danger

this

which

warnings pointed was

is in full

very covert
soil
it

political attack,

operation upon our

at

this

which moment, an attack

the

more dangerous, because

shields itself under the

at

mask
to ex-

of religion, and cries out persecution

pose
its

every attempt

true,

its It

political character."

Professor Morse adds

that this

in a note,

"

may

not be amiss here to state,

to

declaration

was repeated by him

interview
I

The very

last

more than one American. had with him on the morning of

full

my

departure from Paris,

of his usual concern for

;

America, he made use of the same warning which I received from him but a few days

and

in

letter

after at

Havre,

21*

246
he alludes
that
to
I

THE KEFORMATIUN.
to

the whole subject, with the hope expressed,

real stale of things in

would make known the

Europe
it

my own

countrymen

at the

same time charging

upon

me

as a sacred duly, as an American, lo acquaint them with

the fears which were entertained by the friends of republican

liberty in regard to our country.
If
I

have laboured with

to the

any success

to

arouse the attention of

1

my countrymen
it

dangers foreseen by Lafayette,

owe

in

a great degree to

having acted

in

conformity

to his often repeated injunctions."

That the
tions, I

Jesuits will attempt the ruin of our free institu;

most firmly believe

but

also believe that the effort

will be a splendid failure, that

will

cover
their

its

authors with
heads.

confusion, and pluck

down

ruin

upon

own
is

In

the annals of the Propaganda the proud boast

already rein the

;

corded.

" In thirty years heresy will be destroyed

I

United States."
it

hope

this prediction
will

may

be verified

if
I

is,
!

thirty years

hence there

be an end of popery

Ah my
dued,

brethren, the Protestant church will never be subless

destroyed by the papal power. The doom who has worn out the saints of the Most Hif^h, of Those who have fled from Sodom will never reis sealed. Who would, who dare look back that has once been turn
Anti-christ,
!

much

warned of

the judgments that are hanging over

is

Babylon?

The

missionary angel

flying in the midst of heaven, havto

ing the everlasting gospel to preach

them

that dwell in

the earth, and to every kindred, and nation, and tongue, and
people, saying with a loud voice,

glory to him

for the

worship him that

"Fear God, and give is come and made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and
hour of his judgment
:

the fountains of waters."

Ere

long, another angel will fol-

upon the broken battlements, and ; the ruined bulwarks of the Man of Sin, and heaven will echo with his voice, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great
city,

low

he

will look dovv^n

because she

made

all

nations drink of the wine of the

THE REFORMATION.
wrath of her fornication
!"

247

And
his

then the third angel will

cry, ere the vials of God's indignation are emptied, " If

man

worship the beast and

image, and receive his

any mark

in his forehead, or in his hand, the

same
and

shall drink of the

wine of the wrath of God, which

ture, into the

is

poured out without mixshall be tormented

cup of

his indignation,
in

with

fire

and brimstone

the presence of the holy angels,

and

in the presence

of the

Lamb, and

the
;

smoke of
his

their

torment ascendeth up forever and ever

rest

and they have no

image,

day nor night who worship the beast and

his

and whosoever receiveth the mark of

name."
of God, "

Wo

to

them

in

Babylon who obey not the

call

Come
is

out of her,

my

people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,

and that ye receive not of her plagues,

for

strong

the

Lord who judgeth her

!"

LECTURE

IX.

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

Rev.
" AND
I

xvii. 6.

SAW THE WOMAN DRUNKEN WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS, AND WITH THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS OF JESUS AND WHEN I SAW HER I WONDERED WITH GREAT ADMIRATION."
:

The
which
great

portion of the prophetic vision of the apostle John,

is

recorded

in

this chapter, evidently alludes to the

;

Romish apostacy

and before

proceed to show that

spirit, principles,

persecution necessarily enters into the

practices of that corrupt church,
I

and

will point out

a fdw of the

most striking allusions

Babylon, which

to the

church of Rome, which are

contained in this chapter.

1.
is

represented as being the abode of

the

woman drunken
is

with the blood of the saints and of the

the figurative
first

martyrs of Jesus,

the conclusion of his

name of Rome. Peter, at general epistle, says. The church

;

which

is

at

Babylon salutes you

and Jerome

tells

us that

Peter denotes

Rome by

the

name

of Babylon.

Roman

Catholic writers, moreover, insist upon this interpretation,

because they are anxious to prove that Peter was bishop of

Rome, many good

writers having

made

it

a subject of
I

dis-

pute whether this apostle ever saw that city.

think

it

can

be proved that Peter was

at

Rome when

he wrote

his first

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

epistle,

249
But

and

that

he called

it

by the name of Babylon.

it,

why call
great
?

this city

Babylon, or as John terms

Babylon the

Because ancient Babylon was the most cruel enemy

;

which the Jewish church ever had

not only did the kings

of Babylon lead the Jews captive, but they corrupted the

Jewish religion by introducing their idolatrous practices, and

heavy judgments of God. Hence the prophet Jeremiah says of Babylon, " It is the land of
thus brought

down

the

graven images, and the people are mad upon

This wicked
city is

their idols."

emblem of the enormous power and wickedness of idolatrous Rome. Each in its
taken as the
fittest

turn
earth

was
;

the mother of harlots and the abominations of the

the one corrupting the Jewish, and the other the

Christian church by her fornication and blasphemy.

2. Besides, in v. 9,
it

is

said,

" Here

is

the

mind which

hath wisdom.

which the
is built

The seven heads woman sitteth." You

are seven mountains on

will

remember
purple

that

Rome

upon seven mountains.

in

3.

The woman " was arrayed

and scarlet

colour,

and decked with gold, and precious stones and

pearls," indicating the immense, untold wealth of the papal

power.

If

you go

to

Rome

at this

day, you see the ecclein purple

siastical dignitaries

literally

arrayed

and

scarlet.
;

Witness the cardinals' scarlet hats and scarlet robes

are clothed in scarlet from head to foot
;

they

the very mules and

horses on which they rode were formerly covered with

scarlet cloth
description,
beast.
;

as

if

they were determined to answer this

literally to

and even

ride a scarlet

coloured

Before the Reformation the canonical robe of every

popish bishop
4.

was

scarlet.

Upon

her forehead was a

it is

name
was

written, " Mystery."

literally written

This word, " Mystery ^^^

said,

on the

Pope's mitre, until Luther pointed out the evidence which this

circumstance afforded of the Pope's affinity to antichrist.

250
Since then
;

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

it

has been changed

but there

still is *'

mystery"

enough transubstantiation,and the whole " mystery of iniquity,"

is

found in her.
all

But the mark held out

in the text, is

the token by which

men may know who

is this

Babylon

the great, this mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.

"

saw

the

woman, drunken with

is

the blood of

the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."

The blood make even

upon her
geance.

of sixty millions of souls

the

surely enough to

Whore
and

of Babylon drunk.

This blood

is

skirts,

cries aloud to the just

God

for ven-

Her robe may

well be scarlet*

Cruel, cruel

Rome

Her

altars

and her temples are reared upon islands of skulls,

!

and bones, surrounded by seas of blood

she loves.

Blood

is

the wine

She

thirsts for blood.

" She

is

drunken with the

blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of

Jesus."
I

am

to

prove

to

you,

this evening, that persecution is a

I will

necessary element of the Popish system.

make good

the charge from her standard principles, and her undeviating practice.
persecution.

But,

first,

let

us state what

we mean by
is

When
any
civil

a man, or a denomination of men,

deprived of
his re-

and

religious rights,

merely on account of
it

ligious

faith,

when

that failh or creed contains in

nothing

inconsistent with the political or religious interests of the

community, or with the public peace; when force or legal penalties are employed against such persons, merely on account of their religious opinions, then
persecuted.

we

say, that they are

Now,
sustain

it

is

impossible that the church of

Rome

should

any other character than

that of cruelty, so long as

she maintains the principles of her authorized and standard

books.
1. Persecution is not
it is

only permitted by her principles, but

;

expressly enjoined

and not only enjoined, but enforced,

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

Qbl

by

the severest penalties, and rewarded

by

the greatest pri-

vileges.

In the

fifth

Council of Toledo, Can. 3, the holy fathers

say:
"

We,

the

Holy Council, promulge

God,

this sentence, or de-

cree, pleasing to

that whosoever, hereafter, shall suctill

ceed to the kingdom, shall not mount the throne

he has

sworn, among other oaths,

to

permit no

man
after

to

live in his

kingdom, who

is

not a Catholic.

And

if,

he has taken
let

the reins of government, he shall violate this promise,

him be anathema maranatha

and become

in the sight

of the eternal God,

fuel for the eternal fire."

III.,

The
follows
force

Council of Lateran, under Innocent

:

decreed as
is

(and be

it

remembered,

that this decree

in

full

now, and would be put

into execution to-day, if the

Pope had the power.) " We excommunicate, and anathematize

all

heresy, concalled.

demning

all heretics,

by what name soever they are

left

These, being condemned, must be

to be punished.

to the secular

power

And

those

who
if,

are only suspected of he-

resy, if they purge not themselves in the appointed

to be

way, are
is

excommunicated

and

within a year, satisfaction

heretics."

not given, they are to be

condemned as
this

Moreover, by a decree of

same
all

council, the secular

power, under Popish control, are required to take this oath

" That they will endeavour, with
their might, to exall

terminate, from every part of their dominions,

subjects, universally, that are

heretical

marked out

to

them by the
and adfrom
his land

church.

But,

if

any temporal

lord, being required

monished by the church,

this heretical filthiness,

shall neglect to
tied

purge

he shall be

up

in the

band of ex-

communication by
bishops.

the metropolitan and

his

com-provincial
satisfaction,

And,
it

if

he shall neglect to

make

within a year,

shall be signified to the Pope, that

he may,

252

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.

alle-

from that time, pronounce the subjects absolved from

giance
to

him, and expose his territories to be seized on by

Catholics, who, expelling heretics, shall possess the country

without contradiclion."

This

is

surely a heavy penalty for not improving the op-

portunity of persecuting heretics.

incentive.

But

this is not the

only

Rewards are

offered to the faithful,

who do God

service by exterminating the enemies of the holy church.

In the same chapter from which the former extract was " But Catholics, who having taken, we read the following
:

taken the badge of the cross, shall

pate heretics, shall enjoy the
tified

set

themselves

to extir-

same indulgence, and be

is

for-

with the

same

privilege as

granted to those,

who go

to the recovery of the holy land."

it is

And

in other decrees,

provided not only that such meritorious Catholics be ex-

empt from sundry penances, but a greater degree of everlastino- happiness is promised them than any others may expect.

Now,

would ask,

is

there a religion under the wide

canopy of heaven
struction of peace

that contemplates a

more complete
will to

de-

on earth, and good

man, than

Popery
Council
this

Let
is

it

not be said that this decree of the Lateran

It is

obsolete.

no such thing.

Every canon

of.

Lateran Council was fully and explicitly established by

that of Trent,
It
is

and

its

decrees are

now

in full force at

Rome.

clearly, therefore, a principle of the

Romish church
are heretics?

that heretics are to be destroyed.

All,

And who

who

neglect or disown the authority of holy church

All,

are heretics.
to the

who

think differently from her, relative

sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, or of any

article

other sacrament, or of any other

all

of

faith

in short,

who believe not as the Church of Rome who disobey the Pope's statutes are heretics.
testant denomination, therefore, of course
in
is

believes; all

Every Proand

heretical,

accordance with her

own acknowledged

principles, the


PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

253

Church of

Rome must
it

America, so soon as

exterminate every Protestant in can be done " without disturbance

tells us.

or hazard of the good," as the Rhemish Annotation

My

brethren, the spirit of popery, as breathed throughout

is

her principles,

a cruel

spirit.

Her element
a virtue;

is
its

blood.

The

Popish

faith inculcates cruelty as

votaries are

taught at times to disregard the tenderest sacred obligations.

If the

ties,

and the most

common
!

emotions of humanity
in

are not effectually suppressed by this religion

the

bosoms

of
it

its
is

advocates, no thanks to Popery

right for the

Poj>ery teaches that

husband

to

betray the wife, the wife the

the

husband,
daughter

the daughter the

mother, and

mother the

when
it

heretics are to be exterminated.

Popery

teaches that
kill

is

no more
it

sin

to

murder
;

a heretic than to
it is

a dog

Ay,

goes farther yet

it

teaches that

me-

ritorious to persecute Protestants to death.

these

heretics

done?

And what have They have presumed to think for

to

themselves, and have refused

acknowledge the

priests

of

Rome

as Christ's vicars in the court of conscience; they

fooleries of transubstantiation

have protested against the

and purgatory, and
all

other inventions of the

offers

Man

of Sin

and they require every man, who

as an article of failh, to

them any doctrine

to the testi-

come "

to the

law and

mony," and
rule of faith

to

compare

his creed with the Bible, the

Vv'ill

only
Is

which Christians ever

acknowledge.

this the great crime,

which

is to

be visited with confiscation

of estate, banishment, imprisonment and torture, as the

only proper penalties

Is

it

thus that the Church of

Rome

understands the Bible precept,

those that oppose themselves?"
tics

" In meekness instructing

Tell me,

why

should here-

be put to death ? Death cuts off all opportunity of becoming acquainted with the truth, so as to profit by it, and But if it is right that heretics to prepare for the judgment ?
should
die,

why must

they die at the stake

Why

die ^q

22

254
bitter

Persecuting spirit of poPERf.

a death as burning
not
let

And

if

they must be burnedy

at

why
that

the flames do their

work

once

Why
fire ?

must
Or,
if

a poor creature be roasted alive at a distant

must

be,
is

why

the addition of so cruel a mockery,

in the tender

when

the heretic

handed over
arm, as

mercy of the church

"
for the

to the secular

to implore the magistrate

love of God, and in regard to piety and mercy, and of their

mediation, to free this miserable person from

death, or mutilation of
critical

all

danger of
hypo-

members," when,
he were

after all this

grimace, and

this cant about piety and mercy, they

if

would burn the magistrate,

the heretic
?

to refuse to execute

Why
!

do the standard principles of Popery

?

sanction this barbarity

genius of Popery
are not so
;

But

Why, we may

but because cruelty

is

the

be

told,
;

" that these things

Catholics in

now Popery has changed

Roman

the United States, and in the nineteenth century, would never

be guilty of such atrocities."

persuaded.

Many of them would not, I

feel

Many

of them, perhaps most of them, would

shudder at the perpetration of such outrages.

this

But what has

concession to do with the case

It is

not their religion

which makes American papists more

bigoted European brethren.
for this.

liberal

than their
credit

Popery can claim no

Let the

Popery
in

is

not changed.

The Church of Rome

has never abjured her persecuting tenets.

Catholic prelates
at their head,

Roman

Europe and

in this

country, with the Pope

come

out and openly renounce the atrocious

;

doctrines of the Lateran Council

let

them

publicly,

the

face of the worlds and without

any mental

reservations, sub-

terfuge, or hypocrisy, declare that they

abhor the persecut-

ing spirit that

is still

breathed in the Papal bulls, and that

in their

they renounce
tion
:

all

and every participation

their

circula-

let

them wash

hands clean of these bloody abo-

minations, and A:eep them clean, and

we

will cheerfully

and

scrupulously avoid

all

allusion to the persecuting spirit of

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

Poper3ii

255
infallibility

They

will then

have renounced the

their religion will

of

the

Romish Church, and

no longer be

Popery*

But so long as they endorse these persecuting

doctrines, canons,
thise with

and decrees, they, and

all

who sympaenemies of

them, must be regarded as the

bitter

the cause of truth and righteousness, and of our dearest

liberties.

Until this odious

feature

is

expunged from the

Romish system, wo
tically

shall be constrained to believe that the

only reason why the true principles of Popery are not prac-

and

fully carried out

amongst

us, is just

because
civil

there

is

such enthusiastic devotion

to the

cause of

and

religious liberty in

America, that

it

would not be safe as yet

for the Pope to unfurl the red flag of persecution.

The

bloody laws of the Popish church stand

pealed
;

all

of them unre-

they are in

full

force to this day.

Every bishop,

on taking

the oath of fealty, swears that he receives those

will, to the

laws and canons, and

utmost of his power, im

following
is

pugn and persecute

a

heretics.
it

The

the form of
at Paris,

Jesuit's oath of secrecy, as

remains on record

among
"
I,

the Society of Jesus.

in the presence

A. B., now

of Almighty God, the

blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed Michael the archangel, the

blessed St. John Baptist, the holy apostles St. Peter and St.

Paul, and the saints and sacred host of heaven, and to

you

my

ghostly father, do declare from

my

heart, without men*is

tal reservation, that his holiness

Pope Urban

Christ's vicar

general, and

is

the true and only head of the Catholic or

;

universal church throughout the earth

and

that

by

the vir-

tue of the keys of binding and loosing given to his honiness

by

my

Saviour Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose here-

tical

kings, princes, states,

all

commonwealths, and governtherefore, to the utmost

ments,

being

illegal,

without his sacred confirmation, and

;

that they

may
I

safely be destroyed
shall

o^

my

power

and

will defend this doctrine,

and

bi^

256

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERV.

and customs against all usurpers oflhc
:

holiness*s rights
tical (or

liere-

Protestant) authority whatsoever

especially against
all

the

now pretended

authority and Church of England, and

adherents^ in regard that they and she be usurpal and heretical,

opposing the sacred mother Church of Rome.

do re-

nounce and disown any allegiance as due to any

prince, or state,

heretical king,

named

Protestants, or obedience to
I

any of

their inferior magistrates or officers.

do further declare,
Calvinists,

that the doctrine of the

Church of England, of the

Huguenots, and of other of the name Protestants, do be

damnable, and they themselves are damned, and

to

be

damned,

that will not forsake the

I will

same.

do further deor any of his

clare, that

help, assist,

and advise
wherever

all,
I

holiness's agents in

any

place,

shall be, in

Eng-

land, Scotland, and Ireland, or in

any other

territory or
to extirpate

kingdom

shall

come

to

and do

my
I

utmost

the heretical Protestants' doctrine, and to destroy all their

pretended powers, regal or otherwise.

do further promise
dispensed with to

and declare, that notwithstanding

am

assume any

religion

heretical for the

propagating of the
all

mother church's

interest, to

keep secret and private

her

agents' counsels from lime to lime, as they intrust me,

and

not to divulge, directly or indirectly, by word, writing, or

circumstances whatsoever

but to execute

all

that shall be

proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me, by you,

my

ghostly father, or by
I,

any of

this

sacred convent.

All

which

A. B., do swear by the blessed Trinity, and blessed

I

sacrament, which

now am
:

to receive, to

perform, and on

my

part to keep inviolably

and do

call all the

heavenly
real intenI

and glorious host of heaven

tions to
this

to witness these

my

keep

this

my

oath.

In testimony hereof,

take

most holy and blessed sacrament of the eucharist; and

witness the

same

further wiih

my

hand and

seal in the

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

face of this holy convent, this

357
An.

day of

Dom.,- &c."*
Protestants in America, as well as in other places, in-

deed

all

Protestants throughout

the

world, are

formally

cursed every year by the Pope at Rome, on the Thursday

before Easter.

The

following

is

an extract from the

fa-

mous
"

bull in

Coena Domini:
in the

We

excommunicate and anathematise

name

of

God Almighty,
our own,
all

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and by the

authority of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and by

Hussites, Wiclifites,

Lutherans, Zuinglians,

Calvinists, Huguenots, Anabaptists, Trinitarians,

tates

and apos-

from the Christian faith; and

all

other heretics,

by

whatsover name they are called, and of whatsoever sect they

be; as also their adherents, receivers, favourers, and generally

any defenders of them; together with

all

who, without

our authority, or that of the apostolic See, knowingly read,

keep, print, or in
licly

any way, any

for

any cause whatever, pub-

or privately, on

pretext or colour, defend their

books containing heresy, or treating of religion; as also

schismatics, and those

who withdraw

themselves, or recede

obstinately from the obedience of us, or the Bishop of

for the time being.""|'

Rome,

may suffice to Church of Rome require

This
the power.
II.

prove that the principles of the

her to persecute, whenever she has

And now, what

in

has been her practice

Her

practice

has been

perfect keeping with her principles.

In this
In the

respect, she has

always proved herself consistent.

palmy days of papal supremacy, the thunder of the PontifTs anathemas was always attended, or speedily followed by
* M'Gavin's Protestant, vol.
p. 134.
ii.

p. 256.
folio,

f Peter da MouUn's Papal Usurpation,

London, 1712,

22*

258

PERSECtJTiNG SPIRIT OP POPERV.

drencliing showers of blood.

is

Take up

the

map

of Europe

there a country on that chart that has not been stained

with the blood of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus?

Open

the records of history

can you

find

an age since the

Man
V.

of Sin set up himself above all that is called God,

hich has not been signalised

by some bloody tragedy, some

wholesale massacre effected through popish agency?

this

Ah!
Her

Babylonish

woman

is

drunk with blood.

The

beloved

disciple

might well wonder with great admiration.

!

cruelty has indeed been wonderful

taxed to the utmost to devise

Her ingenuity has been new modes of torture; her

fiendish malice has exulted in the invention of fresh imple-

ments of torment and murder, with which she has worn out
the saints of the most high
Inquisition, that holy

God Look into the dens of the and harmless institution, which the
!

popish Bishop of Charleston, John England,

who

has been

appointed by his holiness, Inquisitor General of the United

Slates, has

had the audacity

to eulogise

on American ground,
!

and

in the

hearing of American freemen

this

Look

into the

secret

chambers o^

infernal

Inquisition.

sickens at the array of instruments of death.

The heart The deeds of

in part,

darkness that have been practised there have been,

brought out to the
quisition,
light.

Llorente's History of the Spanish In-

compiled from the original documents of the ar-

chives of the
the public.

Supreme Council of
the Inquisition

this

holy

office, is

before

When

was thrown open

in

1820,

by order of the Cortes of Madrid, of the twenty-one

ers

prison-

who were
city in

found

in

it,

not one of

whom knew

the

name

of the
years,

which he was, some had been confined three

period,

some a longer

and not one knew perfectly the

nature of the crime of which he was accused.

" One of these prisoners had been condemned, and was

to

have suffered on the following day.

be death by the pendulum.

His punishment was to

The method of thus destroying

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.

the victim
is

25^
fastened in a
is

as follows

The condemned
;

is

groove, upon a table, on his back

suspended above him

sharp, and
it

a pendulum, the edge of which

is

is

so con-

structed as to become longer with every movement.

The
to

wretch sees
fro

this

implement of destruction swinging

and

above him, and every moment the keen edge approach;

ing nearer and nearer

at length

it

cuts the skin of his nose,

is

and gradually cuts on,

doubted
if

until
its

life

extinct.

It

may

be

the holy office in

mercy ever invented a more

be remembered, was a pun-

humane and

rapid method of exterminating heresy, or in-

suring confiscation.

This,

let

it

ishment of the Secret Tribunal, A. D. 1820."*

From

the records of this vile tribunal,

in

it

appears that

31,912 persons perished

the flames, having been con-

demned as

heretics,

between the years 1481 and 1781, exput to death in other ways.

clusive of those

who were

How

many have
knows.

died in the dungeons of the holy office,

God only

How many

have perished under the tender mer-

cies of the Inquisition at

Goa,

in India,

he

who

counts the

tears

and numbers the groans of

have breathed

his saints alone

can

tell.

How many

their last

upon the rack of the

Inquisition at Macerata,

in Italy, will be

known, when the

Ver-

woman drunken

with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus shall

!

be brought forth to the judgment of the great day

gerius computes, from authentic records, that the different

offices

of the Inquisition, in less than thirty years, destroyed

upwards of 150,000 persons.

don gives " Victims
this

recent publication in Lon-

summary.

sacrificed

Under Cisneros,

-----under Torquenado,
-

105,285

51,167
34,952

Under Diego Perez,

* Llorente's History of the Inquisition of Spain, p. 20.

Lon-

don, 1827.

260

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

-

Families destroyed by the Inquisition,

It

500,000
!'*

has cost Spain,

*'

in all,

two

millions of lives

I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints." The language of the text indicates that the Babylonish woman has quaffed large, and frequent, and pleasant draughts

of blood.

No
is

one becomes drunk with that which

is

not

pleasant to the taste.

And what

a palate

must that

be, to

which blood

pleasant, but crvelty itself?

drunkard,

when he

is

intoxicated, speaks folly,

this

and acts extravagantly.

No

wonder, then, that

drunken

woman

insists

upon

doctrines and practices, which are alike contrary to reason

and Scripture

they are the ravings of intoxication.

The

stupid quarrels that have originated from disputes relative to

ceremonies the most puerile, have deluged

blood.

Europe with

For a long time the kings and

lords had given in-

vestiture to prelates

by presenting them with a wand, or

branch, in the manner practised for the investiture of counts and knights. " Disputes arose in connexion with this cere-

mony, which

cost sixty-three battles, and the lives of

many

millions of men.

Fra Paolo says

it

cost eighty battles in

Germany
ticularly

alone.
ill

This question excited great troubles, par-

Germany and England.

and through

Henry IV. was

ex-

communicated by three successive Popes.

lasted fifty-six years,

The

quarrel

six ditTerent pontificates.

it

The

Dictionnaire des Sciences states that

occasioned sixty

battles

under Henry IV., and sixty-eight under Henry V.,

his successor, in

which two millions of men were

slain. "f

The barbarous
I

called

tion

decree of the Council of Lateran, to which your attention some time ago, was put into execuunder the auspices of that very Pope, by whose influit

ence

was

issued,

and who bore the gentle name of InnoEnemy,

See
8cc.,

* Brownlee's Topery an

p. 106.

t Church of Rome,

p. 79.

also p. 145,

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

cent in.
In the course of a few

25|

months, two hundred

thousand Albigenses (the predecessors of the French Protestants,)

were slaughtered by

his minions.

In

the space of

seven years, Pope Julius

II.

procured the death of two

Perrin, the historian of the
less

hundred thousand Christians.

Waldenses, declares that not
in the course

than one million perished

of the dreadful persecution raised against them

and the Albigenses.

For four hundred and

fifty

years this
in the wil-

remnant of the Lord's people was driven about

derness by the agents of persecution.

They were

forced to

wander

in scattered

companies over the mountains and rocks

Yet, though this peeled and scattered

around Piedmont.

people were thus beaten

the fury of Satan, the
utterly

down and trodden under

suffer
fled

foot
to

by
be

Lord would not

them

destroyed.

Their sons and daughters

every

where, preaching the word, and the blood of their martyrs proved the seed of the church.
Perrin's Plistory

One

sliort

extract from

may

suffice as a

specimen of the cruelties

practised upon the poor Waldenses.

"As
in

to

the

Waldenses of the valley of Pragela, they

their

were assaulted by

enemies on the side of Susa, a town

Piedmont, about the year 1400; and forasmuch as they

in vain,
it

had often attempted them

they could

being at a season

when
and

make

their

retreat

to

the high mountains

caves thereof, where they might do

much mischief and damat

age

to those

who

should come there to attack them; the said

enemies

set

upon them about Christmas,

a time

when

those poor people never dreamed that any would have dared
to pass the

mountains covered with snow.

Seeing their

caves possessed by their enemies, they betook themselves to

one of the highest mountains of the Alps, afterwards called

i'Albergano, that
is,

a mountain of retreat, flocking thither

;

with their wives and children

cradles and leading
their

the mothers carrying the

children by the hand that

little

262

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.

The enemy pursued them till niglit, and slew a great nunnber of them before they could reach the mountain. Those who were then put to death had the betM-ere able to go.
ter bargain of
it,

for night

having surprised that poor people,

who were in fire to warm

fourscore

the snow, destitute of

their
little

any means of kindling a

them
morning they found

children, the greatest part of

;

were benumbed with cold

little

and

in the

children dead in their cradles, (the greatest

part of their mothers died soon after them,) and others just
at the point of death.

The enemies retiring in the night to the houses of the said poor people, they plundered and pillaged
all that

they could convey

away

with them to Susa

complete their cruelty, they hung upon a tree a certain poor Waldensian woman whom they met upon the
to

and

mountain of Meane, named Margaret Athode," &c.*

The

following extract from a letter written by the arch-

bishops of Aix, Aries, and Narbonne, to the monks,

who

were the agents of the

p. 30.

inquisition,

is

preserved by Perrin,

"
so

It is

come

to

our knowledge that you have apprehended

it

many

of the Waldenses, that

is

not only impossible to

defray the charge of their subsistence, but also to provide

stone and mortar to build prisons for them.
to defer a little

We advise

you

such imprisonments,

until the

Pope be ad-

vertised of the great

numbers

that

have been apprehended,

and

till

he notify what he pleases

is

And

there

to have done in the case. no reason you should take offence hereat i'or
;

as to those

who

are altogether impenitent and incorrigible,

or concerning

doubt of their relapse or escape, or being at liberty, that they would infect others, you may

whom you

condemn such without delay."

*Perrin*s History of the Waldenses and Albigenses,

folio,

London, 1711,

p. 33.

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

263

Such was

the barbarous persecution to

which the WalIt

denses were exposed for century after century.

may

not

be uninteresting or irrelevant to give the testimony of honest

Roman

Catholics to the integrity and the purity of the mo-

rals of the

Waldenses.
bavins: received information
in

"Louis XII. king of France,

from the enemies of the Waldenses dwelling

Provence of

several heinous crimes which they fathered upon them, sent

to the place

Mons.

Adam Fumee,

Master of requests, and

a certain Sorbonist doctor, called Parui,

fessor, to

make

inquiry into the matter.

who was his conThey visited all

their parishes

and temples, and neither found there any imbelonging to the mass or
;

ages, or sign of the ornaments

ceremonies of the Romish church

discover

much

less could

they

any of those crimes with which they were charged.

their

But rather that they kept the Sabbath duly, caused

children to be baptized according to the primitive church,

and taught them the

articles

of the Christian

faith,

and the

commandments of God.
better

The king having heard

the report

of the said commissioners said with an oath, that they were

men

than himself or his people."*

all

But of

the

Romish
is

writers

who have
This

treated of the

Waldenses, there

none whose testimony

is

more importbelonged

ant than that of Reinerus Saccho.

to their church, but

man had

having apostatized from his profession,

bitterly

he became one of the Pope's inquisitors, and not only

persecuted the Waldenses, but wrote a book against them. In the course of his remarks he says, " Of all the sects that

have risen up against the church of Rome, the Waldenses

have been the most

their opposition has
to

prejudicial

and pernicious, inasmuch as

been of very long continuance.

Add
is
is

which that

this sect

has become very general, for there

scarcely a country to be found in which this heresy

* Perrin, p. 12.

not

2(54

PERSECltTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

planted.

And

in

the third place, because while all other

sects beget in people a dread

and horror of them on account

this,
;

of

their

blasphemies against God;

on the contrary,

hath a great appearjance of godliness

for they live righte-

ously before men, believe rightly concerning

God

in

every

particular, holding all the articles contained in the (apostles')

creed

bul hating and reviling the church of

Rome, and on

this subject

they are readily believed by the people."*

first

From

the

establishment of the order of the Jesuits to

the year 1580, Baldwin reports that there were about nine

hundred thousand of the orthodox Christians murdered,

in the space

i.

e.

of between thirty and forty years.

In the short
tells

reign of
that

Queen Mary, of England, Bishop Burnet

us

two hundred and eighty-four were burnt, though he

adds that Grindal,

eight hundred as
sixty

who

lived

during that period, records

for

having been burned

prison.

heresy, besides

who

died

in

Bonner, the popish Bishop of

London, occasionally diverted himself by burning the hands

of poor heretic women, and disciplining others with whips

and scourges.f

He would

have made a better hangman

than a Christian bishop.

You have

heard of the famous

Eve of

St.

Bartholomew,

when one hundred thousand

the different districts

Protestants were murdered in

of the French kingdom.

The

horrors

of that

fatal night

cannot be imagined, much

less portrayed.

Whilst the poor Protestants, deluded by hollow promises,

were asleep
Paris

in their beds,

dreaming of peace and

quiet, all

was awakened by
alert.

the clang of the tocsin of St. Ger-

main, the preconcerted signal at which the troops were to

be on the

The alarmed Huguenots

start

from

their
this

beds, and rushing into the

*

street, inquire the

cause of

Perrin, p. 27; also Friedrich Hurler's Geschichte des Pab-

stes
}

Innocenz des dritten,

vol.

ii.

216.

Ebingen, 1835.

Fox's Acts and Monuments, p. 638.

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

untimely sound, and on what errand
this

265

throng of arnned

men

is

bent,

whom

they see moving by torchh'ght rapidly

streets.

and tumu-Ituously through the

spared

They
it

are answered by

blows, and wounds, and death.

;

No

rank, age, or sex

was

if the

victim

was a

Protestant,

was crime enough

this

to insure destruction.

The carnage of
1

and the subse-

quent day has

left

a blot upon the history of papal France,

that never can be erased.

that sad scene
;

draw

the curtain over the rest of

let it suffice

that every atrocity perpetrated in

that fearful night,

and

still

more dreadful day, was

in strict

accordance with the present principles of the popish church.

If the decrees of councils for destroying heretics be dictates

of the Holy Ghost;

ness
is

if

the largest share of heavenly happi-

justly the portion of those

who execute such

decrees;

if killing Protestants

be serving God, the more effectually

better.

that

work

is

done the
if
it

Upon

these principles,
it

can-

not see

why,

was doing God service then,

should not

be lawful to keep up the remembrance of St. Bartholomew's

eve by the massacre of

all

the Protestants within the reach

of the papal authority on each succeeding anniversary of

the Paris murder.
finally

In this

way

Calvin's seed might perhaps

be purged from the earth, and there would be a per-

petual jubilee at

Rome.

Fresh cause of rejoicing would

be constantly afforded, and before the echo of one song of

triumph had died away, a new shout of thanksgiving for

the destruction
of'

another

army of martyrs would

is

greet the

ears of the

woman drunken
this

with the blood of the saints!

Let us not be told that

an overwrought and over-

coloured picture, drawn by the fancy of a prejudiced mind.

No,
are

my
d(

no need of imagination here; we aling with stubborn facts in the history of an infallible
brethren, there
is

church.

She never can wash out

;

the blood of the

Huguethe

nots from her skirls

indeed her principles require that she

in
it
;

should never cease to glory

for

when

the

news of

23


256
massacre
at

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

Paris
into

was brought

to

was thrown
claimed to
all

an ecstasy of joy.

Rome, the Holy See Solemn days were

everywhere were
enemies

set apart for thanksgiving,

and a general jubilee was pro-

Christendom.

The

faithful

commanded

to
!

thank

God

for the slaughter of the

of the church

The woman, drunken

with the blood of the saints, went

lift

so far in her extravagant impudence as to

up her hands,

reeking with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, and in sanctuaries consecrated to the worship of the merciful

God, who
butchery
this,

abhors cruel and blood-thirsty men,

as a sacrifice offered to

to boast

of

this

Him.

Not content with

and

the

Pope sent cardinal Ursin,

his legate, to

France, to thank the

;

king for so great a service done to the church

to desire
it

him

to

go on, and extirpate heresy, root and branch, that

might never grow again. And, as the legate passed through

France, on his
to all

way

to Paris,

he dispensed plenary absolution

who had

participated in the massacre.*

My

hearers, these are not " Protestant lies;" these are

not " Maria

Monk

slanders."

They

are incontestible facts

facts written, not only

on the page of impartial history, but graven with an iron pen upon the ever-during rock of truth.
might go on and enumerate instances of persecution, and
detail scenes of blood-shed

and cruelly until

should drop from

sheer exhaustion, and then the story of popish cruelty would

have been scarcely commenced

fice as

but
in

let

these instances suf-

a specimen of the manner

which the persecuting

in

principles of the

Romish church are carried out

her prac-

* If the reader wishes to have a succinct view of the sufferings of the devoted Huguenots, let him consult Smedley's History of the Reformed Religion in France, 3 vols. Harpers.

New

York, 18345 and particularly chap. xxiv. and xxv.

vol.
iii.

p.

202250,

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.

tice,

267
distur-

" whenever

it

can be done without danger, and

bance of the whole church."

But these charges may perhaps be answered by the question, " Have not Protestants persecuted too, when they have

had the power r"

ter

In

some

instances they have put the

first

bit-

chaHce

to the lips

of those who

presented

it

to

them

but

when they thus

retaliated,

no matter how strong the pro-

vocation

may
;

have been, they did wrong.

They

acted un;

justifiably

they departed from Protestant principles

:

they

forgot the Bible precept

that curse
for

you

Love your enemies bless them do good to them that hate you, and pray
*'
;

them which

despitefully use

you and persecute you."

too,

American, and European Protestants

terly repudiate

renounce and

ut-

every legal statute which their fathers ever

for perse-

borrowed from Rome, or ever advanced as a plea

cution.

Has

the church of

Rome

done so

Has she ever

repealed one single bull, or decree of council, which called

upon the
heretics
silly
?

faithful to

do

God

service

by the extermination of
letting

She has

not.

She cannot, without

go her
in this

claim

to infallibility.

My
ceive
the

brethren, the church of

Rome
;

is still
it

the

same

respect that she always has been

and

is

not easy to con-

how

she should ever change.

this

Cruelty and fraud are

bears upon her brow,
until

marks which

drunken

woman

and by which she

there are
ble,

will

always be known,

she shall be

destroyed by the brightness of the Lord's coming.

That

many

in her

communion who
assign them,
in all that I
if

are kind and amiathe cruel

I

and who would shrink from

and

all participation in

work which she would

cordially believe
;

she dared,
I

do most
refer-

have said

have

ence, not to individuals, but to this system of Antichristian

error,

which
I

is

the direst

enemy to the truth that God has upon

earth.

aim not

at exciting indignation against persons, but

I

against principles.

would be as tender of the persons and

258

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.

the feelings of those

who
to

are unhappily deceived into the

fooleries of popery, as the Bible

I

would have

me

to

be; but

cannot reconcile

it

my

sense of duty to

God and my

fellow-men, to refuse to cry aloud against the abominations

of
I

this

mystery of

iniquity.
to find that Methodists,
I

have been rejoiced

and

Baptists,

and Presbyterians, and Lutherans, and,

testant heretics in Philadelphia,

believe, all Prothis

can meet upon

common

ground, and show that in so far as fundamental truths are

concerned,

we

are one.

But
blood

must conclude.
is

The
tate

guilt

of so
that

much

a heavy weight upon aposinto the sea.

Rome,

must sink her as a millstone

is

How
us of

this will

be effected
it

not

declared that
it
;

shall be so.

now the question. God has The word of prophecy assures

and the signs of the times indicate the approach

inquisition for blood,

of her judgment.

When God makes

upon the earth."

" in her

will

be

found the blood of the saints, and of them that were slain

The groans and

tears

of the victims of

her cruelty are registered in heaven.

The

voice of the
;

blood of saints and martyrs cries from the ground

souls of those
call

and the
holy

who were

slain

for the testimony of Jesus,

aloud from under the altar, "

true, ere thou

How
r"

long,

O Lord,
;

and

avenge our blood

The prayers of God's

they will be

people

come up
"

in

remembrance before him

will

answered.

He
;

will

Judge the great whore, that has cor-

rupted the earth

and

avenge the blood of

is

his servants at

her hands." " Vengeance

mine

I will

repay, saith the

Lord."
hands.

We may
He
will

safely leave the cause of truth in his

right.
let

do

Let us do our duty; and, "if

if

our

enemy hunger,

us feed him
bless

he

thirst, let us

give

him drink."

Whilst

we

God

as a congregation, and a
let us.

church, for our deliverance

fix)nQ

popish bondage,,

not

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.

cease to pray for those

269

who

are

still

in

bonds, as though

we

were bound with them.

If

we

have, in truth,

come

out of Babylon, and partake

least, the

not of her sins,

to the angelic

we may

already begin, at
:

prelude

song of triumph

" Rejoice over her, thou

;

heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets

for

God

hath

avenged you on her

1"

For, yet a

little

while, and the vi-

sion will be fulfilled. "

like

And

a mighty angel took up a stone,

it

a great millstone, and cast

into the sea, saying,

Thus

with violence shall that great city, Babylon, be thrown

shall be found

down, and

no more

at all."

23^

LECTURE

X.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

Ps. Ixxxix. 15.
" BLESSED IS

THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW THE JOYFUL SOUND THEY SHALL WALK, O LORD, IN THE LIGHT OF THY COUNTENANCE."
I

In concluding the series of discourses which

it

has been

my
it

privilege to address to you, on the subject of

Romanism,

has occurred to me, that the best method of illustrating

the enmity of the

will

Man

of Sin to the revealed mind of God,

be

to

review the prominent features of the mystery of

iniquity,

and collate the authorized decrees and doctrines of

the plain precepts of God's holy word.

Holy church with

This
will at

once furnish us with a striking contrnst between

the gospel of Christ and the perversions of Antichrist.

Blessed
I.

is

the people that

IS the

know

the joyful sound.

Joyful sound? The psalmist is celebrating the praises of Jehovah and he calls that people blessed
;

What

who

*'

know

the joyful sound," alluding to the sound of the

festivals

trumpet by which the

of the Jewish church were

proclaimed, and the people were assembled for worship.

The

evangelical trumpet has sounded through the gentile

ii?e

world, and

have iieard the joyful sound.

The Sun of
in the light

Righteousness has risen, and

his countenance.

we may walk

pf

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

271

By

tlie

joyful sound, in this connection,

;

understand the
of mercy, as

gospel offers of salvation

the whole plan

adumbrated

in the
is

Old Testament, and

the people that
it
;

fully revealed in the

this joyful

New.

Blessed

know

sound.

Papists do not

know

for they

embrace a system which

wars against the glorious gospel of Christ.

one of the leading doctrines of the New Testament ^ that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only
1. It is

POSSIBLE

church of

AND SATISFACTORY atonement for sin, whilst the Rome enjoins works of satisfaction. The
was
typified
all

death of the Saviour upon the cross

sacrifices required

by

all

the

by the Jewish law.

They

pointed to
united

the

Lamb

of Calvary, as their great Antitype.

all

The

testimony of

the holy

men, who spake as they were

is

moved by

the

Holy Ghost,

summed up

in this;

" that

we

are redeemed, not with corruptible things, as silver and gold,

but with the precious blood of the Son of God, as of a

Lamb

without blemish and without spot."

The song of
made

the re-

deemed
and

in

glory

is,

" Unto

Him

that loved us,

and washed
us kings
for

us from our sins

priests to

in his

own

blood, and hath

God,

to

him be glory and dominion

ever
all in

and ever.

Amen."
of God.

Thus
This
is

the church on

earth,

and

heaven, unite in ascribing salvation to the blood of the spotless

fice

Lamb

our only hope; the only

sin.

sacri-

which can

avail as

an atonement for

But what says

it

Antichrist?

The church of Rome

does not,

is true,

for-

mally and explicitly exclude the blood of the Saviour from the
atonement, which she admits to be necessary; but she does,
virtually, limit its efficacy
;

she must

add something

to the

merits of the propitiation which has been set forth by the

Eternal Father, and ratified as in itself satisfactory.

And
its

when

the glorious gospel of

God

assures

all

who

hear

joyful sound, " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanselh from all
sin," the

church of

Rome

asserts that all

who deny

the ne-

272

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

cessily or the propriety of her

works of

satisfaction

her
The
;

penances and self-imposed

austerities, are accursed.

is

Bible says, the blood of Jesus Christ

all-sufficient; the
it

canons of the Council of Trent declare that

it

is

not

that

atones for the eternal, but not for the temporal penalty of
;

sin

that

it

can satisfy
it

for the greater penalty, but not for

the less.
tion to
rits

Now

is

mockery

to talk of

" making satisfacIf the

God

the Father, through Christ Jesus."*

sufficient,
;

meis

of Christ are in themselves

then

there

no need of our making

sufficient,

satisfaction

and

if

they are not

how can we

plead these merits as a reason

why

our works of satisfaction should be accepted ? The Bible says, " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse

of the law, being made a curse for us."f The multitude before the throne cry out to the Lamb, " Thou hast redeemed us to

God by thy blood.:}: The Council of Trent says, "Whosoever shall affirm, that the satisfactions by which penitents redeem themselves from sin, through Jesus Christ,
are no part of the service of God, but, on the contrary, hu-

man
let

traditions,

which obscure the doctrine of grace, and the

true worship of

God, and

tlie

benefits of the death of Christ,

him be accursed. " The gospel assures us that Christ was once, 2. Again
:

and BUT ONCE,

offered for the sijis of his people,

and

that
;

this sacrifice never

has been, and never can be repeated

BUT THE CHURCH OF ROME PROFESSES TO REPEAT THAT

SACRIFICE, DAILY, IN
*'

THE MASS.

Says the apostlc Paul,

Christ

was once

offered to bear the sins of many."||

And,

again, " Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offerings, and offering for sin, thou wouldest not,

neither

hadst pleasure

therein; (which are offered by the law;) then said he, Lo,

* Sess. xiv. cap. ix.

Canon,

xiv.

Works

f Gal. iii. 13. of Satisfaction,

+
B

Rev.

v. 9.
ix. 28.

Heb.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

I

273
the
first

come

to

do thy

will,

that he

may

establish the

He second. By
God.

taketh

away

the which will

we

are

sanctified,

through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ,

priest standeth daily ministering,
sacrifices,

ONCE FOR ALL. And cvcry

take

and offering oftentimes the same

which can never

away

sins

but this

man,

after he

had offered one sa-

crifice for sins, for

ever sat

down on
till

the right hand of

God

from henceforth expecting

stool.

his

enemies be made

his foot-

For by one
are sanctified.
:

offering he hath perfected

for ever them

also
is
is

that

Whereof

the

Holy Ghost
said before.

witness to us

for after that

I

he had

This

the

covenant that
the

will

make

with them afier those days, sailh

in their

Lord

will put

my
;

laws into their hearts, and

minds

will I write

them

and

their sins

and

iniquities will I
is,

remember no more. Now where remission of these is NO MORE OFFERING FOR SIN."*
Nothing can be plainer than these Scriptures.

there

If they
ofl^ering

mean any

thing, they

mean

that there

is

no more

for sin possible, since Jesus has

by one

offering perfected for

ever them that are sanctified.

teach that there
is

Does the Church of

?

Rome
bell,

no more offering for sin

*'

Early on
the Cathere is
sacrifice

each returning Lord's day, we hear the sound of the

inviting the faithful to the mass-house.
tholic doctrine as to the

What

is

mass

offered to

God a

true, proper,

That in the mass and propitiatory

for the living and the dead, " What do you mean by the mass
of Christ, under the sacramental

" The consecration and oblation of the body and blood

veils

or appearances of

bread and wine, so that the mass was instituted by Christ

himself at his
last

supper.

Christ himself said the

first

mass; and ordained

should do the
like.

that his apostles

and

their successors

Do
*

this

in

remembrance of me,

(Luke

xxii.)

Heb,

X.

818,

274
"

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

What do you mean by

a propitiatory sacrifice?

"
"

sacrifice for obtaining

to

mercy, or by which God

such a sacrifice?

is

moved

mercy.
do you prove that the mass
in
is

How

"Because
Chap.
is

the

mass Christ

himself, as

we have

seen.

4, is really present,

and by virtue of the consecration

there exhibited and presented to the Eternal Father under

the sacramental veils, which

by

their separate consecration

to

represent his death.

Now, what can more move God

mercy than
sent,

the oblation of his only Son, there really prethis figure

and under

of death, representing to his Fa-

ther that death which he suffered for us."*

Need

employ much argument

to

prove that the Bible

and the Pope do not agree here ? " there is no more offering for sin
afl[irms that in the

The one
God

tells

us that

;" the other

impudently

mass there

is

offered to

a true, proper,

and

propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead.

is

And
but

what

the

ceremony of the mass but mummery

at best,

A priest,
if so,

a popish

priest,

probably not the best of men, and

a sinful

man

pronounces certain Latin words over a

piece of bread, and at once that bread becomes the

body and
it

blood, the soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ;

be-

comes the real Saviour, the God- man, Christ Jesus

bread
still

The

may
!
!

be broken into any imaginable number of pieces,

is

every particle of the consecrated wafer

the entire

Saviour

This consecrated wafer

their

is

then held up before

;

God's rational creatures as

Saviour

they adore

it

most reverently, and

they eat the Saviour

after

worshiping their breaden God,

I

who

died for them.

read of some

who

"crucify the Lord afresh, and put him

to

an open shame."

Men

and brethren, does not every popish

priest

openly avow

that he crucifies the

Lord

afresh^

when he

celebrates the

Ground's Cath. Doct, p. 5X.


CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

275

mass?
Is
it

Does he not pvt the Saviour

to

an open shame?

possible that
is

men can

be found, willing to believe that

?

the

mass

a part of the Christian religion

" Oli! judgment! thou art fled to brutish And men have lost their reason."

beasts.

The
I

papist professes to eat the real flesh of the Saviour*

;

do not believe that he does so

if I did, I

should recoil from

my Roman Catholic brother as from a

and drink
his

cannibal. But does not

Jesus say, " Except that ye eat the flesh of the Son of
blood, ye have no
life

Man,

in

you"?

He

does,

and when the Jews,

quickeneth

in their blind stupidity,

It
;

understood him
the spirit that

as speaking literally, he told them "

is

the flesh

profiteth nothing
spirit,

the

words
life."

that I

speak unto you, they are

this is not all
:

and they are

But

the
;

Roman

Catholic professes to eat the soul

of the Saviour

and, to cap the climax of absurdity, he feasts

Is not this putting the

upon the

divinity of the Saviour too.

to

Lord Jesus
It is
is

an open shame
to

painful

expose such egregious

folly.

Surely

there

not another system of error on God's earth that

contains or enjoins blasphemy

more

atrocious and absurd

than

this

If

we

are told that the

mass

is

an unbloody

itself. It is offered as a " " propitiatory sacrifice," but without shedding of blood there

sacrifice,

the objection

destroys

is

no remission of sins."

Consequently,
it

if

the

mass

is

an

unbloody propitiatory
this

sacrifice,

is

good

for nothing.

Yet

unbloody sacrifice claims

all

the efficacy which belongs

to the great propitiation

petition

on Calvary

it

professes to be a re-

of that sacrifice which the word of

God

declares can

never be repeated.
3.

Again

Christ instituted the sacrament of the last sup-

per in both kinds ; but the church of

IN one kind only.

Rome celebrates it

Christ gave both the bread and the wine

276

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

;

to his disciples
all

but the priests withhold the cup from the laity,

It

und drink " that under either kind alone, Christ

entire ;"
i.

the wine themselves.

is

true they

tell

us

is

received whole and

divinity of

e., that

the

body and blood, soul and

Christ are received

when

they partake either of the conse-

crated

bread or wine.

There

is

a long chapter in the

Grounds of Catholic Doctrine on the subject of communion in one kind, containing some most remarkable assertions,
and singular apologies
son which
is
is

for this innovation.

The
was

chief rea-

assigned for giving the wine to the priests only,

all

that the

command, " Drink ye

and
priests,

of

it,"
j

in the first

instance addressed to the twelve apostles

that the bishops

and, therefore,

who claim

to

be their successors,

are alone authorized to drink of that cup.*

To

this

we

an-

swer, the disciples were not fully ordained as apostles until

after the resurrection
;

but even admitting that they were

endowed with

apostolic authority

when

the Saviour insti-

tuted the Eucharist, if the laity are to be deprived of the

cup

because none but apostles were present,

why

should laymen

and women be admitted

warrant have we
priests?
to give

to

the sacrament at all?

to

What
the

even the bread

any but

There

is

as good reason for withholding the bread

as for refusing the cup to the laity.

In answer to the question, "

How

do you prove that those

words, (Drink ye

all

of

it,)

are not to be understood as a

I

command
reply
:'\

directed to all Christians?"

find the following

is

" Because the Church of Christ, which

the best

interpreter of his word, never understood

is

them so."

This

a bold assertion

and,

am

sorry to say, utterly destitute

of truth.

mistake so glaring must "have resulted either

to de-

from shameful ignorance, or else from an intention

Grounds Cath. Doct. p. 46, 50.

Ibid. p. 47, 48.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

ceive.

277

Ignatius, writing to the Philadelphians, in the second

:

century, uses this language

*'

Wherefore

let

it

be your endeavour to partake

all

of

the

same holy

eucharist.
;

For there

is

but one flesh of our

Lord Jesus Christ

one altar."*

and one cup

in the unity

of his blood;

Ignatius here refers to the cup in such a

manner as

to

imply that
Cyprian,

all

Christians united in

its

participation.

in his letter

65th

to Caecilius,

" concerning the

mystery of the cup of the Lord," teaches the propriety of

mixing wine and water
in the cup,
is

and says repeatedly, that

mixing of wine

by wine the blood of Christ

water
is

represented, and that the

;

an emblem of the people

in the

that the

and water
and

cup

is

typical of the union between Christ

to the fact that

believers, &c.,

and so clearly adverts

to the laity, that the

the cup was given

German

translators

of Cyprian, whose work presents the Pope''s letter of ap-

probation in FULL, are constrained

note.

to offer the following

"

From

this is
in

not to be inferred that Cyprian recom-

mends communion of this, that when

This only

both kinds; for he speaks here only

is

the cup

offered or consecrated,
is to

and

presented to the people, wine,

is

and not water,

be given.

apparent from this

laity,''^
is

epistle, that the

cup was at

that time given to the

vfecf

That

this

concession

unavoidable, will be plain from

the following passage in this epistle.

Holy Ghost

is

received,

and

therefore,

"For in baptism the they who have been

baptized, and have received the

the cup of the Lord."

Saviour's words to the

Holy Ghost, may drink of And again, commenting on the woman of Samaria, " Whosoever
;

drinketh of this water shall thirst again drinketh of the water that
* I

but whosoever

shall give him, shall never thirst

Apost. Fathers.
vol. v.

Hartford, 1834. p. 146.

f Page 305,

Kirchen Vaet.

24


CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
I

278

but the water that

shall

give him shall be in

life,"

him a well

of water springing up into everlasting

Cyprian says,

"

By may

this

water of

life

is

likewise

meant baptism, which

But
in

be only once received, and never repeated.

the church of the Lord, the Lord, and drink

it."*

we constantly thirst after the cup of Now, I am far from endorsing the
I

fanciful exegesis of Cyprian, but

adduce the passage

in or-

der to show from that father, that the

Grounds of Cath.

Doct. are a sandy foundation, and that the assertion that the

church of Christ never understood the Saviour's command, " Drink ye all of it," as giving the laity a right to the cup,
is

an abominable untruth.

"j"

But

why

multiply quotations from the fathers to establish

it

this point,

when

is

notorious, that for above a thousand

years after Christ, the Church of

administering the sacrament?

Rome used both kinds in And why appeal to church

of the as-

history to prove that the denial of the wine to the laity is

a popish innovation, or
sertion that the

to establish the falsehood

church never understood the Saviour's words

of
it,"

" Drink ye

all

otherwise than as restricting the cup

to the priests,

so plain that

when we have the language of Scripture he who runs may read. The apostle Paul,
xi.,

repeating the words of the institution, in 1 Cor.

tions both the bread and wine, and says, "
this bread,
till

men-

As

oft

as ye eat

and drink

this

cup, ye do

show

the Lord's death

this

he come.
this

Wherefore, whosoever shall eat

bread

and drink

cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty

* Cyprianl, Opera per

Erasmum

Roterod. p. So. Basil. 1530.

fatliers,

I Those who wish farther testimony from the

rected to the following" sources:

are di-

Theophylact in 1 Cor. xi. Chrysostom, Horn. 27, in 1 Cor. Ambrose, in 1 Cor. xi. Cyril Cathech. Myst. 5. Aug-ustine in Joh. Tract. 27. Clem. Alexand. 2. Paedag-. cap. 2, as quoted
in

"Rhemes

against

Rome,"

p. 172.

London, 1626.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

279

of the body and blood of the Lord.

himself,

But

let

man examine

cup."
tice

and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that Could language show more clearly what the prac?

of the church was, in the days of Paul

What

did the

we communion of the blood of Ciirist? The bread which we bi-eak, is it not the communion of the body
apostle
said, bless, is
it

mean, when he
not the

" The cup of blessing which

of Christ

V
if,

Does

this

sound

like Scripture authority for

withholding the cup from the

laity,

and giving them half a

sacrament,
4.

indeed,

it

can be called a sacrament at all?

The

opposition of the church of

Rome

to the Scriptural

doctrine of justification
in a former

by
I

faith,

has been shown at length

discourse.
it.

need, therefore, do no

more

at

present than advert to

2'he Bible teaches emphatically

that

we are
to

justified by faith ^ and that good works,

faith,

which

always accompany true

or in part
are ye saved through
the
gift

cannot avail either

our justification.
faith,

(Eph.

ii.

8, 9.)

whole " By grace

in
it

and

that not of yourselves,

is

of

God

not of works, lest

any man should boast."

For what
it

(Rom.

iv.

2.)

" If

Abraham were justified by works, he hath

God.
saith the
to

whereof

to glory, but not before

Scripture?

Abraham

believed God, and

was counted

him
last

for righteousness."
cil

But what say the decrees of the Coun-

of Trent; the gospel of Antichrist?

The
:

first

and

clause of Can. 11, de Justific. are as follows

Whosoever shall affirm that men are justified either solely by the imputation op the righteousNESS OF Christ or also, that the grace by which WE ARE JUSTIFIED IS ONLY THE FAVOUR OF GoD LET HIM BE ACCURSED." 5. Again Christ commands us to search the Scriptures but THE Church of Rome solemnly declares that the
;
,*

"

READING OP the BiBLE DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD.

Says
the Saviour, " Search the Scriptures, for in them ye

280

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

life,

think ye have eternal

and they are they which

testify

of me."
(Acts

In

llie

book of Acts we read of the Bereans,

xvii. 11.)

"These were more

noble than those in

all

Thessalonica, in that they received the word with

readi-

ness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily whether

those things were so."
iii.

Paul writes
child thou

to

Timothy,

15

(2

Tim.

17,)

"

From a
which

hast

known

the

Holy

Scriptures, which are able to

tion,

make
is

thee wise unto salvaAll scripture

is

through

failh

is

in Christ Jesus.

given by inspiration of God, and

profitable for doctrine,

for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

that the

man
;

of

God may
is

be perfect, thoroughly furnished

is

unto

all

good works."
this

This

the testimony of the precious

;

word of God
of

the joyful sound of the gospel

blessed

is the people that

know it.

The

bitter hostility

of the church
is

Rome

against the Bible and Bible societies,

too notoriin scurri-

ous
lous

to require

much comment.

Bulls,

abounding

anathemas, have been issued against the depraved

heretics

who

persist in circulating the Scriptures,

if

and who
they are

think that people will not be rendered immoral

made

acquainted with the revealed will of Almighty God.

to the

Decrees of Councils have been issued

same

effect.

The Concilium Tolosanum, A. D. 1229, cap.

"

14, resolved

We

forbid also that

the laity be permitted to have the unless

books of the Old or

New Testament;

some one might

to

peradventure wish, from a feeling of devotion,

have the

psalter, or the breviary, or the hours of the blessed

Mary.

But we do most

strictly forbid

them

to possess the foremen-

tioned books translated in a vulgar tongue."

The Cone.

Biterrense,

anno 1246,
*

in

its

instructions to the

inquisitors, cap. 36, speaks,

de

libris theologicis
ipsis,

non tenencleri-

dis etiam a laicis in Latino, et

cis in vulgari
;' i.

neque ab

neque a

e.

"concerning theological books which are

a vernacular tongue."

not to be kept by the laity even in Latin, and neither by them,

nor by the priests

in

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

281

The Cone. Terraconense,

as follows

ann.

1234,

c.

2, determined

"

We

also decree that

no one shall keep the books of the

the

Old or

New

Testament
in

in

Roman

tongue; and should

any one be them up to

do
this,

possession of such books, he must deliver

the bishop of the place

to be burned within

eight days after the publication of this article, and unless he

be he a priest or a layman, he shall be suspected of

until

heresy

he shall have cleared himself."*

is

Experience has proved that the Bible

true, for the read-

ing of God's word has always been profitable to every honest

and prayerful inquirer

it

after truth

" the

man

of

God has

always found

'profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor-

rection, for instruction in righteousness."

Like David, all

who make

the testimony of the

it

sel, will find

" a lamp

to their

Lord the man of their counfeet, and a light to their path."

and
all

But the Pope, the poor

with him,

blind Pope,

who sympathise
been burned for

who

love darkness rather than light, cannot en-

dure the Bible-

Men and women have

it

having portions of

in their possession,

and

for searching
priests.

the Scriptures without

permission
to

from the holy

And

so anxious

is

Holy Mother

prevent the Spirit of

their

God

from making heretics by enlightening

would put every Bible
in creation

minds, and helpif

ing them to understand the Scriptures, that

she could, she

where neither Protestant

nor Papist would ever get a glimpse of them.

this,

For proof of

you must not look

to

this

country, where
to

Roman
and

Catholics

may

laugh their
if

priest's injunction
;

scorn,
it is

do so with impunity

they choose

but ask

how

among
Even

the priest-ridden people in

Roman

Catholic countries.

here the priests do

all

they can to hinder the circulation of

* Giessler*s Text Book of Ecclesiastical History,

Philadelphia
:

vol. 2, p.

392.

Carey, Lea

&

Blanchard, 1836.

24*

282

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

the Scriptures, and keep up appearances at the

same time-

In tcstimonj' of

this,

hear the 4th Rule of the Council of

Trent, under

tlie

index ofProliibited Books.

that if the

"Inasmuch as it is manifest from experience Holy Bible, translated into the vulgar tongue, be
nately allowed to

indiscrimiwill

every one, the temerity of

it
;

men

cause

more

evil

than good to arise from

it

is,

on

this point, re-

ferred to the judgment of the bishops or inquisitors,

who

may, by

the advice of priest or confessor, permit the read-

ing of the Bible translated into the vulgar tongue by Catholic

authors, to thgse persons

whose

faith

and piety they appreit

;

hend

will

be augmented, and not injured by

and

this per-

mission they must have in writing.

But
it

if

any one

shall

have

the presumption to read or possess

without such written

first

permission, he shall not receive absolution until he have

delivered up such Bible to the ordinary.
ever,

Booksellers,

how-

who

shall sell, or otherwise dispose of Bibles in the

to

\ulgar tongue
forfeit the

any person not having such permission,

and be subjected by the bishop

shall

value of the books, to be applied by the bishop to

;

some pious use

to

such other

penalties as the bishop shall judge proper according to the

quality of the offence.

But regulars shall neither read nor

purchase such Bibles without a special license from their

superiors."

" Search the Scriptures," is the joyful sound of the gospel.

-"

If any

man

shall have the presumption to read or

possess a Bible without a written permission, he shall not

receive absolution until he have first delivered up the Bible
to the priest.'''^

This

is

the gospel of

Rome.
I

That the
deny

priests

do carry out these instructions,

;

have

not the least doubt

it.

nor do

suppose they would wish to

An

instance of this inquisitorial tyranny occurred

not long since,

under

my own

immediate observation.
to be

met with a poor grey-headed man, who professed

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

283

member of a Roman
were
inveterate, but

Catholic cliurch in this city, and whose

liis

prejudices in favour of the peculiar tenets of

relicrion

who seemed
was

to

be an honest, simple-

hearted soul, not quite bigoted enough to believe that a

wicked

Roman

Catholic
to

better than a pious Protestant;

is

nor so stupid as

imagine that there

no salvation out of
I

the popish church.

In the course of conversation,

told

asked
I

whether he had a Bible; he

offered to furnish

me

he had not.

then

him

wilii

one, on condition that he would

read a chapter every day, and look to

his Spirit to enable

God

for the lifrht

of

him

to

understand

it;

reminding him of

the direction given by the apostle James, " If

any of you

lack wisdom,

let

him ask of God, thatgiveth

it

to all

men

libe-

rally and upbraideth not, and

shall be given

him."

He
to

accepted

my
I

offer

thankfully;

the Bible
it

was sent
Catholic;
first

a
se-

friend's house,

and the old man received

had no
tidings of the

joyfully.

For

veral weeks
at last
I

Roman
I

but
;

met him
I

at the

place where

had

seen him

and when

entered the room, he

I
I.

Bible which
Bible ?" said

had given him.

was speaking about " Well, what about

the the

"Oh,
it."

sir,"

not

let

me

keep

"

Why

he replied, " the priest would not?" " Because, he says, our
is

religion is the oldest,

and our Bible

the best, and

must
then

not have a Protestant Bible; but," continued the old man,

*'

pray

for

you before
to read

my

candle every day

it

!"

asked him whether he thought

should forbid him

was

right that his priest

God's word, and whether he really

believed that the study of the Bible, which the priest himself

-acknowledged
to

to

be a revelation from God, would be likely of

do injury

to the souls

men ?

The poor man seemed a

I

good deal perplexed, and could say nothing.

to

advised him

keep the Bible, and never mind the

priest,

and

hope

he has taken

my

counsel.

In justice to the ghostly father,

284
I

CIIRI3T

AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

that he directed the old

must say, however,

man
it.

to return

the Bible to the person from

If his soul

whom
I

he received

perishes for lack of knowledge,

when God
it

makes

inquisition for that blood,

am

witness that

is

upon
to

the skirts of the priest

who

forbade that grey-headed

man

read God's word, and compelled him to put

away

the Bible,

when
6.

tottering

on the verge of

eternity.

Again

The Scriptures teach

that all the public ser^

vices of the sanctuary should he in a tongue with

the worshipers are familiar

which

; but the greater part of OF THE ChURCH RITUAL OF RoME IS PERFORMED IN THE A LANGUAGE WHICH THE COMMON PEOPLE DO NOT UNDER-

STAND.
will let

In justice to

the advocates of this

practice,

we

them speak

for themselves.

They

give the follow-

ing reasons for celebrating the mass in the Latin tongue.

"Why
stand
?

does the church celebrate the mass

in the

Latin

tongue, which the people, for the most part, do not under-

"

1.

Because

it

is

the ancient language of the church used

in the public liturgy in all ages in the western parts of the

world.
ship
;

2dly. For a greater uniformity in the public wor-

that so a Christian, in whatsoever country he chances

to be,

may

still

find the liturgy

performed
to

in the
is

same manat

ner,

and

in the

same language
is

which he

accustomed

home."
Query.

How

the faithful soul to

know whether

it is

the

same language or not, when he does not understand one

word from another? Might not a holy priest perform the service in Greek without one Roman Catholic in twenty being aware of
it

" 3dly.

To

avoid the changes which

to.

all

vulgar languages

are daily exposed

sacrifice

4thly. Because the

mass being a
is

which the

priest, as minister

of Christ,

to offer,

and the prayers of the mass being most

suited to this end,

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

it

285

is

enough

that

they be

in

a language which he under-

stands."
If this be so,

why

not

let

the priest perform the

mass

soli-

tary and alone?

There would be nothing impolite

injurious to the people
in eve-i'y part

in turn-

ing his back upon an audience o^ empty pews.

"Nor

is this

any way

who

are in-

structed to

accompany him prayers accommodated to

Might

of the sacrifice by

their devotion,

which they have

in their ordinary prayer books."*

it

not be as well then after aU, to have the service

in a tongue which

would not require an interpreter?

little

It

would certainly look a

Scripture.

more

like

paying deference

to

Paul, by direction of the

Holy

Spirit, writes thus to the

Corinthians, in order to reprove those

who spoke

in

un-

known tongues
to the battle?

in the assemblies

of the church.

"If the

trumpet give an uncertain sound,

who

shall prepare himself

So

likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue

words easy
spoken
?

to

be understood,

how

shall

it

be

known what
But the

is

For ye

shall speak into the air."

Roman
Latin
;

Catholic

may

reply, " only the prayers and the liturgy of

in

our church, and some of the anthems are celebrated

the rest of the service
is

in the vernacular lan^uao-e."

Let

Paul answer
tongue,
ful..

this objection.

" If

pray
I

in

an unknown
is

my

spirit

prayeth, but

my

understanding

unfruit-

I will

pray with the

I

spirit,

and

will

pray with the

understanding also;
sincr

will

sing with the

Else,

spirit,

and

will

with the understanding; also.

when thou

shalt

bless with the spirit,

how

shall
at

he that occupieth the room thy giving of thanks, seeing

of the unlearned say

Amen

he understandeth not what thou sayest?

givest thanks well, but the other
is

For thou

verily

not edified."

This, by

Grounds Cath. Doct.

p. 53.

286
the way,
is

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

a great deal more than Paul would have been
predicate of every

wiUlng

to

Romish
in

priest.

Even

if

the

matter of their prayers were

there
is

accordance with Scripture,

among them to whom he would have been loth to say, " Thou givest thanks well ;" for unless they are greatly slandered, there are not a few who are as ignorant of the meaning of their own Latin, as ihey are of Chinese. "I ihank my God," says the apostle, "I speak

many

a one

with tongues more than you

rather speak five words with

all

yet, in the church,

had

my

understanding, that by

my

voice

might teach others also, than ten thousand words in

an unknown tongue."
it

This testimony we deem conclusive;

the Latin

clearly

condemns

mummery

of the Romish
in all ages
!

church.

But the practice of the church

must

forsooth be received as paramount authority

sa^'s

If the Bible

one thing, and

Rome
to the

says another, the word of the

authority of the

Lord must give way As to the assertion, "

public liturgy in
all

Man

of Sin

that the Latin

language was used in the

ages of the church in the western parts

so,

of the world,"

it

was

no doubt, wherever Latin was the

vernacular tongue of the

common

people

but where this

was

not the case, there

is

the amplest testimony to prove,

that for about eight centuries, public service

in a lansuaije

was performed
I

with which

all

were familiar.

misht

cite

direct testimony

from the fathers

at

to this point, for I

have the
fail

references

marked and

hand,* but time would

me
sing-

and

besides, the Bible clearly

condemns praying and

the
fathers

ing in an
will.

unknown
is

tongue,

let

say what they

" Blessed

the people that

know

the joyful sound."

Let us thank God that we have liberty

to praise

to

pray

to

God, and

him

in

a language which

we

understand, and that

the gospel trumpet to us gives no uncertain sound.

See Rhemes

vs.

Rome,

p. 156.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

7.
tcith

287

The Bible vniformly

enjoins upon Christians to hear

the ungodly

meekness the perverseness, and even the persecution of ; but the church of Rome bueathes per-

secution AXD destruction AGAINST ALL

MHO DIFFER
"

FROM HER, EITHER

men, apt
that

IN DOCTRINE OR IN PRACTICE.
;

The

servant of the Lord must not strive

to teach, -patient
;

but be gentle unto all

in

meekness instructing those

will

oppose themselves;
to the

if

God, peradventure,

give

them repentance
you, do good

acknowledging of the truth."*

The
them

Saviour says, " Love your enemies, bless them that curse
to

them

that hate you,

and pray

for

which despitefully use you and persecute you."

Now, supposing that

Protestants are the miserable heretics,

which the Pope and the Babylonish woman pretend, upon

Bible principles, they ought to pity us, and to pray for us,

and

to

do us

all

the good they can.

Less than

this,

we may

not do for papists; more than this Christianity does not require

them

to

do

for us.
it.

If

we

deserve punishment, as heis

retics,

we
if

shall receive
:

" Vengeance

mine,

will re-

pay, saith the Lord

therefore, if thine

enemy hunger,

feed

him
of

he

thirst,

give him drink \\ for thou shalt heap coals

fire

upon

his head,

and the Lord shall reward

thee.":}:

Does the church of

the Lord
?

Rome
Her

profess to leave vengeance to

principles require her to extir-

Not

she.

pate heresy by

fire

and sword.
;

Does she
She

feed her

enemies

when they hunger

them drink
?
;

and when they

indeed.

thirst,

does she give

She does

feeds

them with the

bread of tears

she gives them water of gall to drink.

fire

Qh!

she has heaped coals of

will
is

upon

their heads,

and the Lord

reward her

The

history of the tender mercies of

Rome
is

written in the^ blood of slaughtered millions.

She

the

nurse of sanguinary fanaticism.

Her

doctrine begets per-

* 2 Tim.

ii.

25.

f Rom.

xii.

19, 20.

Prov. xxv. 22.

288
sscution
;

CHRIST AND ANTICFIRIST CONTRASTED.

her polity demands
it
;

and her

priests are trained

to all the service

she requires.

The

story of papal tyranny

transcends
all

in. the

abundance and atrocity of execrable acts

Cruelty and treachery in

other annals of oppression.

the treatment of God's saints, are the jewels which adorn

her brow

and the flames and smoke of the blazing pyres,

;

upon which her victims have been immolated

up
in

the groans

and shrieks and prayers of the martyrs of Jesus, have come

for a

memorial before God.

Verily Babylon will

come

remembrance before Him.

The Lord

has preserved the

tears of his saints in his bottle;

and when the vials of his wrath are emptied, those scalding tears will " burn the flesh

of the great whore."

The

noble

army

of martyrs,

who

stand around the Saviour's throne, with robes of white, and

palms of victory,
loved her enemies.

will

be there to

testify,

how Rome has

My

brethren, the joyful sound of the gospel proclaims

will to

peace on earth, and good

men

but the doctrines of

the Vatican declare war against every people on God's earth,

who

will not

bow

to

her dominion.

It is

not merely

by

the

sword and the

pons also

gibbet, the rack

and the stake,

that she illus-

trates her faith in the gospel of peace.

at

She has other weais

and she

tells

command. us, " when

It

is

true, violence

her delight

evil

men, be they heretics or other

malefactors,

may

be punished or suppressed without disturb-

ance and hazard of the good, they

lic

may and

ought,

by pub-

authority, either spiritual or temporal, to be chastised or

executed."

So

far

from attempting

to conceal her determi-

nation to exterminate her enemies, she openly

avows

it.

The Rhemish
is

annotation on the text of

my

last discourse

as follows
It is

" V. 6. Drunken of the blood. man signifieth the whole corps of

plain, that this

wo-

all

the persecutors that

:

have and

shall shed so

much

blood of the just

of the pro-

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

phets, apostles,

289

and other martyrs, from the beginning of

the world to the end.

The

Protestants foolishly expound

to death,
;

it

of Rome, for that there they put heretics

and

al-

low of
is

their

punishment

in other countries

but their blood

the blood of

not called the blood of saints, no

more than
;

thieves, man-killers,

and other malefactors

for the

shedding

of which, by order of justice, no commonwealth shall an-

swer."*

But

it

is

not always expedient thus to chastise and execute,

find

and she therefore must

she cannot

some other vent

curse them.
will
is

for her mali-

cious rage against those

kill

who abhor
will

her abominations.

If

them, she

If she cannot

heap up fagots around them, she

to foot with

cover them from head

true, her imprecations

her anathemas.

It

are very harmless things, in so far as

but they illustrate her Antichristian
herself power

we

are concerned;

spirit.

She arrogates

to

to puni.sb all baptized persons

whom

she deis

nounces as heretics and schismatics.

The

following

her

theory on this subject. " There are but three classes excluded from her ; first, next, heretics," (i. e. Protestants,) " and schismainfidels
;

own

tics," (the

Greek and Oriental churches

;)

"

lastly,

excom-

municated persons.

Heretics and schismatics because they

(i.e. the

have departed from the church;"

Romish church,
an army from

not the church of Christ;) "for they do not belong to the

church any more than deserters belong

to

which they have deserted.

that they are still in the

It is not,

however, to be denied

may

power of the church, as those condemned, and punished trial, he summoned to

with an anathema.''^^

Annot. on Rev. xvii. 6. Test. 431. decreto Cone. Trid. &c. p. 60, Romsc, 1566, Catech. ex See f folio, quoted in Home's Protestant Memorial, p. 92.
*

Rhem.

25

290

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED,

the impudent claims arrogated by the church

Such are
of

Rome

to this

day, in her

own

accredited

formularies.

Den's Theology contains the following developement of the

views of the catechism.

"Are HERETICS justly pimished with death?" St. Thomas answers, 2. 2. quest. 11, art. 3, in "Corp."
" Yes
:

because forgers of money, or other disturbers of

the state are justly 'punished with death.

Therefore

ALSO HERETICS,

WHO ARE FORGERS OF THE

FAITH, AND, AS

EXPERIENCE TESTIFIES, GRIEVOUSLY DISTURB THE STATE."* Let the reader compare this language with the following
extract from an impudent popish effusion which

was

tole-

rated in the columns of the Christian Observer of Aufr^ 26,

1840,

in reply to

a communication from a worthy Protest-

ant minister.
*'

Now

beg

all attention to

another glaring piece of im;

posture perpetrated

by Mr.

one which deserves

something more of chastisement than the mere exhibition of

its

extravagant impudence upon your columns.

is

The man
what must

who forges a dollar note we think of the man who

!

severely punished

forges in matters appertaining to

the dearest spiritual interests?"

Really ought the Rev. Mr. then to be punished WITH DEATH ? The decrees of the Romish councils, and the statements
of her peculiar tenets are separately and singly supported

by a

fearful array

of curses, imprecated upon the stubborn

souls of all

who

question her authority.

Thus,

after the statement of the

Romish
that

doctrine of the

merit of good works,

we

find thirty-three

solemn curses de-

nounced upon the

heretics,

who deny

we can

be justi-

fied, either in part or in whole, even

by belter works than

Den's Theol. Mor.

torn.

ii.

p. 289. Prot.

Mem.

94.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

the best of papists ever did.

*29l

The

mysteries of popish bap-

tism are defended by fourteen very heavy anathemas.

The

doctrine of transubstantiation, and of the Eucharist in general,

is

satisfactorily

proved by eleven very eloquent male-

dictions,

&c. &c.
in

But one of the choicest specimens of the manner

the Pope blesses his enemies
his

which

Holiness against an

is offered in a bull issued by unhappy alum-maker, who had

charge of certain works belonging

to the

Pope; but

who

abandoned the service of

*'

his Holiness,
It

and introduced the

secrets of his trade into England.

runs thus:

By the authority of God A Imighty, Father, Son, and Holy

Ghost, and of the holy Canons, and of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother and Patroness of our Saviour; and
all

the celestial virtues, angels, archangels, thrones, domin-

ions, powers, cherubims,

and seraphims
;

and of

all

the holy

patriarchs and prophets

gelists
;

and of

all

the apostles and evan-

and of

all

the holy innocents, who, in the sight of

the

Lamb,
all

are found worthy to sing the

new song

of the

holy martyrs and holy confessors; and of the holy virgins,

and of

the saints, and together with

all

the holy and elect

this thief

of God, we excommunicate and anathematize

this

or

And from the thresholds of the holy Church of God Almighty, we sequester him, that he may be
malefactor
:

tormented, disposed, and delivered over with Dathan and

Abiram, and with those who say unto the Lord God, Depart from us, for

we

desire not the

knowledge of thy ways.

let

And

as

fire is

quenched with water, so

it

the light of

him

be put for evermore, unless

satisfaction.

shall repent him,

and he make

Amen.

the Son,

the Father, who created man, curse him. May who suffered for us, curse him. May the Holy May Ghost, who was given for us in baptism, curse him.

"

May God

the Holy Cross, which Christ, for our salvation, triumphing

; ;

292

CHinsT AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

ascended, curse him.

May

the holy and

Eternal Virgin

Mary, curse him.

curse him.

May

Michael, the advocate of holy soul3

May

John, the chief forerunner and baptist of

Christ, curse him.

of Martyrs, curse

May the him. May

holy and wonderful

Peter, Paul,

company
all

Andrew, and

other Christ's Apostles, together with the rest of his disciples,

and four evangelists, curse him.

May

the holy choir of the

holy Virgins, who, for the honour of Christ, have despised

the things of the world, curse him.

May

all

the Saints,

who from

the beginning of the world, to everlasting ages,

are found to be the beloved of God, curse him.

May

the

heaven and earth, and

curse him.

all

the holy things therein remaining,

May

he be cursed wherever he be, whether in

field,

the house or in the

or in the high way, or in the path,

or in the wood, or in the water, or in the church.

May

he

be cursed

in living, in

dying, in eating, in drinking, in being

hungry,

in being thirsty, in fasting, in sleeping, in

slumberin blood-

ing, in lying, in working, in resting,

letting.

and

May

he be cursed in

all

the powers of his body.

May May

he be cursed within and without.

head.
in the

May
;

he be cursed
in

in the hair of his

May
;

he be cursed
his l>ead

his brain.

he be cursed
;

crown of
in his
;

in his
;

temples

in his forehead
in his

in his ears
;

eye-brows

in his

cheeks

jaw-bones
;

in his nostrils
;

in his fore-teeth

and grind-

ers

in his lips

in his throat

in his

shoulders
;

in his wrists
;

in his

arms

in his

hands

in his fingers

in his breast

in

his heart;

and
;

in all the interior parts to the

very stomach;
in his thighs
;

in his veins
;

in

his reins
;

in

his groins
;

in his hips
;

in his

knees

in his legs

in his feet

in his joints

and

in his nails.

May

he be cursed
the

in the

whole structure of
head
him.
to the sole

his

members.
foot.

From

crown of

his

of the

May
living

there be

no soundness
all

in

May

the

Son of the him

;

God, with

the glory of
the powers

his majesty, curse

and

may heaven and

all


CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
that
shall

293
;

move
it."

therein rise against hinn, to

repent and

make

full

satisfaction.

damn him unless he Amen, amen,

rule,

so be

A beautiful
8. Finally,

comment,

ihis,

upon the apostolic

" Bless

AND CURSE NOT."

for I

must hasten

to a close.

The gospel

as-

sures us that the righteous, immediatehj upon their deaths

are I'eceived into heaven,

in glory, for ever.
is

to dicell

Not
to

so

God and the Lamb the churcu of Ro3ie. There

with
in

no such joyful sound as this

the messages which her

priests are

commanded

bear to her children.

The

voice

from heaven whispers sweetly to the dying Christian, " Blessed are the dead that die
in

the Lord, from henceforth

yea,
their

sailh the Spirit, for they rest

from

their labours,

and

works do follow them." And the

hears this joyful sound,
is

child of

God, when he
blessed
!

is

blessed.

Oh

how

He
pil-

on the verge of heaven.

Jesus
staff
is

Angels are near

in

his

dying

low.

with him

the hour of darkness; his rod

and his

comfort the poor pilgrim as he treads the val-

ley of the

shadow of death.
all

Peace

fills

his soul

the peace
is

of God, which passeth

understanding!

He
to

happy.

He

holds on his

way

rejoicing!

The

light

of heaven beams

brigliter

upon

his soul,

the nearer he

draws

Immanuel's
eyes are

land.

His bursting heart swells with joy;

in the fixedness
!

his
;

glazed

of approaching death
spirit

but,

oh

the

sights they see

His

struggles to be gone, until his

is

heart-strings break and his soul

at liberty

He

is

in

heahis

ven

He
!

is

with Christ

He
!

is

clasped to the

bosom of

Saviour!

But oh
fully the

the poor papist

his

Does he

anticipate thus joy-

day of
is

death?

See him there

the hour of his

departure
*

come.*

He is

encouraged

to

hope that his mor-

Extreme Unction, one of the seven

llomisli sacraments, is

usually administered at such a time.

The Apostle James,

writ-

25*


294
tal

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

sins are all
!

washed away

in

the Saviour's blood

but

alas

alas

his venial sins stare

him

in

the face

the blood

of Jesus has not atoned for tlicm, and they must be purged
with
fire

before he can enter heaven

What

comfort can
?

the ghostly father administer to the trembling sinner

Can

he say "peace, be

still

?"

He

does presume to say, " Son,

thee,''

be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven

that
1
!

But what of

His venial

sins, for
;

which no penance has been paid

Ah

these rise up

they do not assure him of Paradise

his guilty conscience cries out, " Verily this

day

shalt thou

be in purgatory
touch of death
pests,
;

I"

No

wonder

that

he shrinks from the

no wonder

that his soul is tossed with tem-

and not comforted!

He

does not

know
is

the joyful

sound.
in

He has

been taught that salvation

at least, with silver

to be

purchased,

some measure
redeemed

and gold.
;

He

expects
to

to be

in part
1

with corruptible things

he hopes

be saved by fire

No
!

wonder, then, that dismay and hor-

ror overwhelm his soul

vitation,

He

has never understood the

thirsteth,
;

in-

"

Ho

every one that

come ye
ye,

to the

waters, and he that hath no

money

come

buy and

eat

yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without
price."*

Had he known
weighed

this joyful

sound, he never would have

his salvation against penance,

and alms, and masses;

ing" to

the churches, directs the elders,

sick, to anoint
*'

them with

oil in

the

The

prayer of faith shall save

when called In to visit the name of the Lord and says, the sick, and the Lord shall raise
;

him up." The g-ift of healing" diseases was one of the miraculous endowments conferred upon the primitive church, and the anointing with oil was a mere sign to connect the sick man's restoration to health with the prayer of faith; but the priests do
not anoint to heal the sick, but
to die. * to assure

them that they are about

Isaiah Iv. 1.

! :

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

295

never would he have insulted his Saviour by offering such

trash for the redemption of his soul.

"

Mark

the perfect

man, and behold

the upright, for the

end of that

man
it

is

peace."

When was
in the full

ever

known

that a papist departed this life

assurance of

faith,

triumphing

in

the confident

anticipation of the fulness of joy at God's right

hand

How
!

can he triumph

At best he expects

to

drop into purgatory,

is

so soon as the last cord that binds him to earth

severed

He

dies in the fearful

anticipation of horrors
!

and torment
1

scarcely inferior to the pains of hell

How

can he rejoice

He

fancies that he already hears the weeping,

and wailing,
of
fire

and the gnashing of teeth of those, who welter

Alas
I

in a sea
?

my

brethren,

why

will

you pervert the gospel

Why

will ;you

doubt the precious truth that Jesus Christ has deall

livered

from condemnation

who

love him, and trust in

him

How

can you be deaf

to the voice

from heaven,

which speaks in tones of tenderness and triumph to you, " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth?" What from henceforth ? " Yea saith the Spirit, that they
!

may

rest

from their labours /"

thirst

''

They

shall

hunger no

more, neither

any more;
;

neither shall iho sun light

on them, nor any heat

for the

Lamb, which
shall

is in

the midst
liv-

of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
ing foi:intains of waters; and

God

wipe away

all

tears

from

their

eyes

!"
is

This,

my

brethren,
it

the sure portion of the righteous

God
I

grant that

may

be yours.

set before you this day a blessing and a curse.

My
may

heart's desire

and prayer

to

God

for

you

all is,

that

you

be saved.

God

give you grace to turn with loathing from

the abominations of Antichrist, and to

embrace the glorious

you

gospel of Jesus.

Mv

Protestant Brethren,

let

me

say

to

in conclusion,

296
in the
in the

CONCLUDING REMARKS.
language of the Book wo love, " Stand
liberty
fast, therefore,

wherewith Christ hath made us

with the yoke of bondage.*

free,

and be

not

AGAIN entangled
you

Flee from
tradi-

IDOLATRY. f
tions) dwell in

Let the

WORD OF Christ
wisdom
is laid,

(not
;J for
is

human

richly in all

other founda-

tion

can no

man

lay than that

which

Jesus Christ,

(not

Peter.)^

We

have renounced the hidden things of

dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the

word
com-

of

God

deceitfully, but
to

by manifestation of the
in

truth,

mending ourselves
God.
and
II

every man's conscience

the sight of

If

any man leach

which

otherwise, and consent not to

Christ,

wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus

to the doctrine,
is

according to godliness,

from

SUCH withdraw thyself.^

Wherefore, come out from

sailh the

among them, and be ye separate, NOT THE UNCLEAN THIIS^G.**

spirit.

Lord, and touch

Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your

Amen.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.
It

must be apparent

to

every intelligent and honest mind,

that has investigated the subject, that the tenets of

Romanism
and
spi-

cannot be sustained by a direct appeal

rit

to the

letter

of the Scriptures.

Protestants have hitherto, in too

many

instances, been actuated by a spirit of false liberality, which

has led them

to

speak and

to act as

though the Romish

I

church were a part of the church of Christ.

that the papal schism
is

verily believe

as distinct from the true and holy

is

Catholic church, as Christ

* Gal.
V. 1.

from
II

Belial.

What
35,
17.

fellowship

2 Cor.

iv. 2.

t
^

1 Cor. X. 14.

1 1 Tim.

vi.
vi.

Col.

iii.

16. 11.

** 2 Cor.

1 Cor.

iii.

CONCLUmNG REMARKS.
have Christ and Antichrist?

297

And who

that has ever

examfrom

ined the prophecies relative to the Antichristian power, that

is to afflict

the church in the latter days, can rise up

their study,

and refuse

to

acknowledge that the papal sys-

tem

is

a part of that Antichristian power?

Every
and

predic-

tion relative to the

Man

of Sin finds a

full

literal

ac-

complishment
Is
all
it

in the

Romish apostacy.

said that the

is

Man

of Sin shall exalt himself above

God? Does not the Romish church annul the commandments of Almighty God, and teach that it is lawful to bow down to graven images? And that these
that

called

likenesses of the Deity, "

may

be had and retained," though

the

Lord God solemnly

to his

forbids

them

to

be used as appen-

dages

worship

And

does not the Council of Trent, whose decisions are

regarded as the standard of Popish orthodoxy, formally decree,* "

The faithful must give to the holy sacrament of the altar that divine adoration that is due to god only and it must be no reason to prevent this, thx\t Christ our lord gave it to be eaten ?"
;

Is

it

said that the

Man

of Sin shall "

is

sit in

the temple of

God ?" stantly addressed as " Dominus Deus Lord God the Pope?" Thus far has
God, showing himself that he
in impudent blasphemy, and thus
fulfilled

Pope connoster Papa ;" " Our

Is not the

Antichrist proceeded

literally is the

prophecy
heed

Is

it

foretold that in the latter times

some

shall give
spirits

to doctrines

of devils, or "daemon-gods;" the

of de-

parted saints?

Witness the honours which

Rome commands
never ex-

the faithful to pay to her saints, of

isted at all, whilst others

whom many

were notorious
speak

for cruelty

and

all

manner of wickedness.
Is
it

said that they shall

*'

lies in

hypocrisy ?"

Wit.

Sess. 13, c. 5,

298

CONCLUDING HEMARKS.

ness the wheedling sycophancy of the Jesuits, as portrayed in their " Secreta Monita," " Secret Instructions."* Hear
the morals inculcated

by Alphonsus de Ligorio,
"

whom

his

holiness canonized, A. D. 1816.

confessor

may

affirm,

even with an oath, he knows nothing about a sin which he has heard in confession, meaning thereby that he docs not

know

it

as a

man, but not

"

that he does not

minister of Christ."

culprit, or

know it as the a witness, who is interis

rogated by a judge unlawfully, can swear that he

rant of a crime, which, in truth, he knows."f

igno-

Must not they who are trained

rality,

in such a school of mo" have their conscience seared with a hot iron ?"

Is

it

said that in

the great apostacy of the latter times,

to

there shall be

some " forbidding

marry ?"

Witness the

fulfilment of this prediction in

the celibacy of

monks and

nuns, which has originated licentiousness, such as would

pale tho cheek, and chill the soul to name.J

Does the sure word of prophecy

*'

reveal that
Is

men

shall be

commanded

to abstain

from meats?"

not this one of

consistent

the peculiarities of the

Romish church?

What

Romanist would dare

Is
it

to eat

said that " his

meat on Friday, or during Lent? coming is after the working of Satan,

and lying wonders?"

with

all

power and

signs,

Do

not the

legends of the Romish church

swarm

with lying wonders?

Her books of devotion

which
is

are

full

of them.

Here

is

a specimen,

only one of a thousand that might be taken from the

I

same
me.

source.
It tells

quote from an old Breviary which

is

before

that "

Mary Magdalen,

for thirty years after the

* See Secreta Monita Societatis Jesu.

the Jesuits, printed verbatim from the Princeton, 1831.

Secret Instructions of

London copy of 1725.

t Ijgori's Moral Theology, p. 160. New York, 1836. t The reader who wishes a detailed account of the various orders of monks and nuns, may consult Biedenfeld's Moenchs undKlosterfrauen

Orden im Orient und Occident, 2

vols.

Weimar, 1837.

CONCLUDING REMARKS,

OQQ

death of the Saviour, dwell in a cavern of a high nnountain,

secluded fronn
all

intercourse with the world, and that every

to heaven, that

day she was carried up hy angels

listen to the

she might

anthems of the redeemed

!"*

Take up
you
the
find

the prophecies, referring to the

in the

Man
that

of Sm, as

them

word of God, and who

compares

them with the papal system, can doubt

enough

that they point to

Romish church, and to no other? This alone should be to deter any friend of Jesus from being found in the fellowship or communion of the Romish church. I will not
say that
all

who

are in connexion with her must perish, but

this I

do believe, that few, comparatively very few of her

inherit the

communion
otherwise?
the

kingdom of God.

How
;

can

it

be

She puts her ban upon

list

the Bible

she inserts

Holy Scriptures upon her

fell

of forbidden books; and

thus with one

stroke she cuts off God's choicest

it

means

of sanctifying the soul and preparing

for

glory.

The

Saviour prayed for his disciples

tify

to the
is

end of time, "sanctruth."

them through thy what wickedness

truth,

thy word

God never

sanctifies

a conscious soul without ihe agency of truth.

to seal

Oh

up

this

sweet fountain, and

freely of the living
in

forbid the perishing to

come and take

waters; when the Spirit and the Bride, and every voice
heaven, and
all

the Saviour's followers on earth invite the

!

thirsty to the well-springs of salvation

If there

were no other reason

for

hating this " mystery

is

of iniquity,"
foe

we should abhor
I

it

because popery

the

sworn

of the Bible.
!

do not say that we ought

to hate papists,

God forbid We must do them all the good we can, whilst we detest the abominations of their false religion. Rome is the Amaiek with whom God will never make peace. The popish apostacy is not to be reformed for the
;

Lord has

said

it

shall

be destroyed by
5,

the breath of his

Breviarium Monasticum Pauli

1671.

Pont. Max. auctor. recogriit.

Parisiis,

300

CONCLUDING REMARKS.
his
is

mouth, and by the brightness of

portion as the light of the gospel

coming.

Just in pro-

diffused, the strong holds

it

of popery are undermined.

will not

It

cannot endure the light;

come
the

to the light
is

lest

its

deeds of darkness be rethis guilty

proved

but the Lord

pouring light upon

world

from

all

windows of heaven, and the days of Antichrist

I

are numbered

No

longer shall he deceive the nations, for

is

the gospel witnesses are in every land, and the angel

even

now

flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlast;

ing gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth

Gentiles are pressing into the

the

kingdom of God, and

the pro-

phetic vision declares that soon the second angel will follow,

she

"Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her As sure as Christ sits at the right hand of fornication i"
saying,
the Father, popery shall be destroyed.
It is

the abominable

thine which he

hates.
!

It

is

a false, a bloody,

and a

blasphemous religion

The woman
blasphemy."
Its

clothed in scarlet

is

"full of the

names of

Popery

is

a mere rhapsody of blasphemies.

head
!"
i^

is

a head of blasphemy, "

Our Lord God the

knows
the true

Pope

Who

there that loves the Saviour, and

character of the

Man

of Sin,

who does

not long for the

day

when his captives will be set free, and when the prisoners who are chained in Babylon, shall come forth into the liberty Let us pray that the Lord would come of God's children
!

to

redeem

his people,

and that the sighing of the prisoners

Let us pray that the capall

may
tives

be heard by their Saviour.

may

hear the sound of salvation, and that

God's

people in Babylon

may "come

out of her that they be not

and mat that they mey recei partakers of her sins, ana receive not of her
plagues."

Amen.

83

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