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LECTURES ON ROMANISM,

JOSEPH F
PASTOR OF THB FIRST OERSIAN REFORMED

AN INTRODUCTION,

W. C. BROWNLEE, D. D.
OF NE"W-TOKK.

PHILADELPHIA:
D. WEIDNEK, No. 62 NORTH FOURTH STREET-
I. ABhmead, Printer.
1840.

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1840,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court ofthe Eastern Dis-
• trict of Pennsylvania.

CONTENTS.
PAGE
ISTBODVCTIOIf, ...-•--- 1
PaErACK  23
LEcrrRB I.
InfaUibility  25
LECTURE II.
Transubstantiation ...---- 47
LECTURE HI.
Purgatory .....-•-- 73
LECTURE IV.
Invocation of Saints  - tl5
LECTURE V.
Veneration of Images and Belies  Ul
LECTURE VI.
Auricular Confession -  1°"
LECTURE vii.
Indulgences  207
LECTURE viii. 927
The Eefonnation  LECTURE IX.
Persecuting Spirit of Popery  248
LECTURE X.
Christ and Antichrist contrasted  270
Concluding Eemarks . - • . - - 296

The reader is requested to note the following memoranda :
On page 33, read Benedict XII. instead of Bennet.
On page 87, instead of Acts iii. 18 — 20, read 1 Pet. iii. 18 — ^20.
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 !"

INTRODUCTION.

Everv one who has studied the Holy Scriptures, is fa
miliar with the remarkable prediction therein recorded, of
the rise and reign of a certain mighty power ; the greatest
and most deadly enemy to the church of God, and the
liberties of mankind. ]3y Daniel, from the lofty mount of
inspiration, his approach was first descried. He is intro
duced to him, in vision, as " tlie little liorn ;" and his rise
is fixed in general terms as posterior to certain great politi
cal events. This " horn," or power, " diverse from the
first," we cannot discover in any Pagan or IVIoslem nation.
Indeed, the attempt to discover it there, instead of a Christian
country, would be a positive violation of the truth of the
divine prediction. The " little horn" sprung up after the
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 little horn. Hence it sprung up after
the fall of the Roman pagan empire. For it sprung up
after the rise of the " ten horns." But there were no ten
horns, or ten distinct kingdoms in Europe previous to the
fall of the pagan empire of Rome. Hence this new and
" diverse horn," rose in no Pagan or Moslem country. It
sprung up in Christian Europe.
Besides, it is described by the spirit of Inspiration as an
apostacy, or "a falling away" from the Christian faith.
2 Thess. ii. 3. 1 Tim. iv. 1. This can be applied to no
Pagan or Mohammedan power. These never were in the
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 predic
tion to the persecuting power of Rome Pagan. There is
another identifying circumstance. The " little horn" plucked
a3

2 INTR0inJCTIO5r.
up three of the other horns by the roots : or, in the words
ofthe angel, " he, subdued three of the other kings." His
tory points out no'olher 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 ihe triple crown ;
one for each of these royalties. And that is the head ofthe
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 again.st the Most High; and thinks to change times
and laws :" and also of St. John, — " a moulli was given to
him speaking ^reat things and blasphemies." What " apos
tate" power has done this? Every papal bull, thundering
from the Vatican, proclaims his name and characters !
As THE Man pf Sin, he makes merchandise of " the souls
of men." Rev. xviii. 13. He deals in sin; he trafl^cs 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
of sins" by his priests, — tenentes locum Cliristi, — holding
the throne and power of Christ.' There is a book entitled
*' Taxe Sacbe Penitentiarie ;" a copy of it now lies be
fore me. Herein crimes are registered ; and a regulated
tariff price of each is set down to guide the ghostly ta.x
gatherer in his charges for the sins of the soul.* And from
every circum.stance it must be manifest to all, that the reve
nues 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 J^ife of Pope" Pius V. p. 267. An original
copy of the Roman Catholic edition of tlie "Taxe," pi-inted by
the authority of Pope Leo X. is in possession of Mr. Mendham.
This book we must carefully distinguish from the Pope's " Chan-
cert/ Book." Dr. Milner and Dr. England attempted to bewilder
their opponents by confounding them; in order to escape from
the overwhelming fact of the existence ofthe Taxe Sacre Peni.
tentiarie, and its disgusting contents.

INTRODUCTION. 3
the price of absolution ! Could there be a more appropriate
title for the head of this immoral and lawless power than
this, given by the Spirit of God, The Man of Sin?
There is another prominent feature which will help us to
identify the Man of Sin with " the Horn" of Daniel.
He 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
of divine honours, " Noster Dominus Detis, papa ! The
Lord our God the Pope .'" This prediction is fulfilled in
him alone, whom Mussus, the Bishop of Bitonto called in
public, " Him who is to us as our God I" It is fulfilled to
the letter in Pope Innocent III., who openly declared to the
world, that " the Pope holds the place of God." " Papa lo
cum tenet Dei in terris." See Pithon, Corpus Juris, Paris
edit, of 1687, p. 29, and Gibert. 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, receive'd this homage from
C. Marcellus, assented to by the other fathers, " Tu enim
pastor, &c. Thou art the shepherd, thou the physician ;
thou the ruler ; in fine, thou art another God in the earth ;
tu deniqiie alter Deus in terris." See Labbei, et Cossartii,
Sacra Concilia, Tom XIV. p. 109, Paris edit. 1672. It is
fulfilled in the Roman head, who, arrogating to himself the
power of" changing laws and times," has added twelve new
articles to the creed of the apostles ;* and five new sacra
ments to the two ordained by Christ ; and has " changed
the law" of God by virtually abolishing the second precept,
and excluding it from his Latin Catechisms, and by rejecting
the essential doctrines of the gospel. One of his breviaries,
lying before me, sanctioned by two Popes, has excluded the
second commandment entirely. It is accomplished in that
great apostacy, which decreed in the Council of Trent,
(session 14, canon 9,) that " if any one shall say that the
sacramental absolutions of the priest is not a judicial act,
* See Pope Pius's Creed; and Cramp's Text Book of Popery,
pp. 450, 451.

4 INTRODUCTION.
but merely a naked ministry o( pronouncing and declaring
that sins are remitted to the person confessing, provided only
that 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 ex
alting 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 I See 1 Tim. iv. 1, 2, 3.
We identify with this power also the second beast seen
in vision by St. John, in Rev. xiii. 11 — 18. It rose in
the same place, and in the stead of the first beast of St.
John, (chap. xiii. 1,) which was Rome pagan. "It had
power to give hfe to the image of the first beast." The pa
pal power has actually put forth this power, and has given
life to paganism by raising it up and placing it in its temple
as Christianity! For the entire system of popery is pag-an-
ISM baptized and perpetuated. From the pagan emperor
has the Pope borrowed his title of " Pontifex Maximus, chief
priest." The pots of holy water, the altars, the priestly
offices, and their molly dresses ; the pots of incense, and the
office of boys in 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
the temples and worship of the Roman heathen I " All the
world was to wonder after the beast" thus revived. The
Pope's claims to catholicit'y and universal power over all
churches and kingdoms, fulfils this to the letter. He was
"to cause all men to receive a mark in their foreheads and
in their hands." The Pope's priests put a literal' mark on
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 persecutiou the great
Apostacy borrowed from the heathens. Pope Alexander III.
forbade all traffic with the Waldenses. The Council of
Constance abrogated all contracts made with " heretics ;"
and forbade all commerce 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

INTRODUCTION. 5
show who that beast should be. Take we the letters of the
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
for Latin church ; or the Latin man 1 In like manner,
Romiith contains that number exactly ; and that is the He
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
let, she employs in shedding the blood of the saints. " In
Roman Catholic Europe," says Dr. Jortin, " the Pope was
judge, and kings were his hangmen I" Each of the " ten"
kingdoms of Europe has given its power to the woman on
the seven hills. The papal power has declared all civil
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 the'y are not subject to the civil govern
ments." And this is literally carried out in all the countries
of Europe and South America which are subjugated by
popery. Bellarmipe, who may be styled the prince of Ro
mish writers, declares in his Controv. lib. v. cap. 6, p. 1090,
that " the spiritual power must rule the temporal by all
means and expedients when necessary." But by far the
most sublime claim is put forth by Stanislaus Ozichorius, in
his book, the Chimmra, folio 99. It is this : " A common
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 De-
moulin's Papal Usurpations, p. 19 ; Morn. Exer. on Popery,
p. 67. St. Thomas Aquinas declares, in his Opusc. Contra
Grsecos, that " It is essential to a man's salvation to be sub
ject to the Pope's power." And the same saint gives utter
ance to the true doctrines of Rome in his book De Regim.
Prineip. Lib. iii. cap. 10 and 19, thus: "The Pope, as su
preme king of all the world, may impose taxes on all Chris
tians ; and destroy towns and castles for the pre.servation of
Christianity ;" he means to say Romanism. See Barrow
on the Pope's Supremacy, N. York edition, pp. 16, 20.

6

INTRODUCTION.

This " woman" of the-Apocalypse was seen in vision, as
"clothed in purple, and scarlet colour, and decked with gold
and precious stones," &c. Whoever has seen the Pope's
court, or an inquisitorial, or festival procession, or an assem
bly 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
tinctly marked out here by the finger of prophecy. In
spiritual idolatry, and in literal idolatry, and in the leprosy
of pollution, the Roman priesthood and laymen, friars,
monks, and nuns, stand forth pre-eminent among the guilti
est nations under heaven ! Rome stands forth without even
the aid of a mask, as " the Mother of Harlots I" The mouth
of the Lord had declared it; and impartial history demon
strates the truth of the vision of John !
And to close the appalling prediction, the apostle saw the
woman drunk with the blood of the saints ; and with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Rev. xvii. 6. The history
of the Roman court and church is written in letters of fire
"and blood ! For several centuries, she has originated the
\most of the wars in Europe. The number of the victims
of her assassination, of her massacres, and the " infernal
inquisition," have never been fully ascertained. Pains have
indeed been taken by historians to discover the true amount.
But the deaths of myriads have never reached the ear ofthe
historian. Our calculation does, therefore, rather fall short ~
than transgress the bounds of exact truth. These details
fill us with horror I Papal Rome has been " drunk with the
blood of the. saints and martyrs of Jesus," besides the blood
of millions of others of our fellow-men. Rome has been
" drunk with the blood" of fifty millions of martyred Cul-
i^ees, Waldenses, Albigenses, Bohemian Brethren, Wick-
lifites, and Protestants ! Rome has been " drunk with the
blood" of fifteen millions of Indians, butchered in cold blood
in Cuba, Mexico, and South America! Rome has been
"drunk with the blood" of three millions and a half of Jews,
and Moors in Spain ! ! Thus " the Mother of Harlots,"
seated on the scarlet-coloured beast, is drunk with the blood
of SIXTY-EIGHT MILLIONS AND FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND

INTRODUCTION. 7
HUMAN BEINGS 1 1 No wonder is it that the holy apostle
John beholding, in vision, the horrid carnage of this san
guinary power, " did wondei- with great admiration." Had
it 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 Chris
tian church, thus " drunk with the blood" of so many mil
lions of men, women, and children!
And while the sanguinary church of Rome was — to use
the words of Daniel — thus " wearing out the saints ofthe 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
pal church " 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 PopB^
has solemnly pronounced the Holy Bible to be a prohibited
BOOK !* Thus the Antichrist puts himself between God
and his subjects ; and ventures to declare in the face of the
Almighty, and in the ears of all men, that he will not allow
man to hear God's word as h comes from him : that he will
not allow our Lord to speak to us through any other medium
than his priests ; and only in a garbled and corrupted version
ofthe Bible, if it must be allowed at all ! He creates what
he caWs a living 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
immaculate ; that is, born without sin ; that she is " the
Mother of God ,•" and that her mother, St. Anna, was, of
course, the grandmother of God/// By the mouth of his
* Cum experimento manifestum est, &c. It is manifest from
experience that if the sacred Bible, translated into the vulgar
tongue, be indiscriminately allowed to each one, more mischief
than good will arise from it, by the temerity of man, &c. De Lib.
ProhiL Eegula. iv.

9 INTRODUCTION.
servant, called St. Liguori, he has put forth as solemn triltha
of Rome, the following unparalleled doctrines and forms of
devotion.* And here let me say, that I quote him in this
place for three reasons : St. Liguori is the last saint that has
been canonized ; this having taken place in 1831, or 1832 ;
besides, the book is little known among us ; and lastly, it
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 be
gotten Son for us, — so may we express the love of Mary.
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 f
and in her hands he has, if we may say so, resigned his
omnipotence in the sphere of grace!" Chap. iii. Sect. 1.
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 queen enjoys the same privi
leges as the king; and that power may be equal between
the son and the mother, Jesus has rendered Mary omnipo-
\(nt, — the one is so by nature, the other by grace 1" Chap.
vi. Sect. 1. Again: "The Virgin Mary was assumed up^
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 betiveen
him and us," Cbap. vi. Sect. 3. Again : " O how many
sinners would have persevered in their wickedness, and
thence had been damned eternally, but for Mary's inter
cession/" 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 himself
has been conformed to her will. And while we say that
virgins follow the Lamb ; we can say of Mary on earth, that
the Lamb followed her." Chap. vi. Sect. 1. " Who could
know God except by you, O holy virgin, says St. Germa-
• St. Liguori's Book. The Glories of Mary, the Mother of God,
translated from the Italian, and revised by a Roman priest. Duh-
Un: printed by John Coyne, 1833.

INTRODUCTION.

9

nus ; who could be saved, O all powerful Virgin, e.xcept by
your intercession!" Chap. v. Sect. 2. "Holy Virgin, I
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
from you will appease him/" Chap. ii. Sect. 2. " O my
sovereign Mary, says St. Francis of Sales, be my advocate
with your son ; I dare not recur lo 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
sgrace ; 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
wills our salvation, it is already secured." " By you, O
Mar}', says St. Bernard, heaven has been opened ; hell has
given trp itt 7'oy; the celestial city has been peopled; and
eternal life given to those who deserve hell." Chap. viii.
Sect. 3.
This is a specimen of" the, great things and blasphemies,
uttered 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
Virginis omnia famulantur, etiam Deus / / /" — (Chap. vi.
Sect. 1, p. 131.) And if there be "a lower deep, in this
lowest deep," we find it in the following unique effusion of
St. Bonaventure; "O Felix puerpera, nostra pians scelera,
jure matris impera Redemptori !" " O holy Mother of God,
atoning for our crimes, exercising the rights of a mother, lay
thy commands imperatively on the Redeemer; impera Re
demptori." Again: "Jure matris impera dilectissimo tuo
filio Domino nostro Jesu Christo." " Comraand thy beloved
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 1S32, he says,
in the close, " Now, that all these events may come to pass
* St. Bonavent. Cor. B. M. Virg. Tom. vi. Morn. Exercises
on Popery, p. 523.
1

10 INTRODUCTION.
happily, and successfully, let us lift up our eyes, and our
hands to the most holy Virgin Mary, who alone has de'
stroyed all heresies, and is our greatest confidence, even
the whole foundation (four hope///"
Such are the predictions of the rise and establishment of
the great and fierce power which was to wage war against
Messiah, and the liberties and lives of mankind. And such
has been the fulfilment of them, even to the letter, in the
rise and establishment ofthe Roman Catholic Church. But
our blessed Lord comforted his church with the assurance
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,
in the words of St. John, forty-two months. And multiply
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
has pronounced his blessing on those who read and under
stand. Hence, while we search into this, it is delightful to
derive courage and consolation from the assurance ofthe
approaching downfall of this Man of Sin. From the year
260 or 270, down to the close of the reign of Constantine,
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 re
spective dates, and we arrive at the times of the glorious
Reformation ; when the Man of Sin received what may be
called his first death-blow. But the year 606 is the date of
the consummation of the Pope's spiritual power. He was
ifien'*rhade universal bishop, or Pope. These two num
bers being added, brings us to the year 1866 ; when we ex-
' pect a glorious deliverance from Y\\s' spiritual tyranny.
And, finally, the Pope became, in prophetic language, " the
Beast," in 756, when he gained the triple crown, and be
came a temporal and ghostly power. Adding these two
numbers, we arrive at the year 2016, when he will be ut-

INTRODUCTION.

11

terly destroyed in the light and glory of the ushered in Mil-
lenial day !
It is generally understood, I believe, by all judicious com
mentators, 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 be
lieve that our readers will admit that we are now living in
that very period. The struggle is simultaneous on the con
tinent of Europe, and especially in Britain, Ireland, 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. We are in the midst of it, and it i&j
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 care
fully, that it is not, strictly speakings a Christian church,
er, a religiditS~systencr^enved from the Holy Bible ; if it
were, we should not apprehend danger from it, to our free
iostifurions, and our holy relio;ion. - We appreliend nO dan
ger whatever Irom^any one of all the various denominations
ofthe Christian world. The spirit and pursuits of all these
are essentially different from those ofthe Roman Catholic sect.
It is a great poLiTicALengme, cunningly contrived, and put to-
' getherliy^the-gOTruji^rtnemere men ofthe world, and men of
pleasure; for the purpose-of , obtaining power and dominion
over men. Hence it is admirably adapted, to abstract the
wealth of communities, and nations, and turn it into its own
treastrries. Two results follow the steady and continued
operation of this political jceUgion. On the one hand, the
lay population of the nation under it, waxes poorer and
poorer ; and that " church" waxes richer and richer. It
cost Spain fifty millions, 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 ex
press purpose of preventing 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 anddie under
its-bhghting doctrines77rtes,~and priesthood. Were it a true
Ghrist'ian 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-;^js^-
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 en-
qiNEj moved and propelled by men„of the world, who feel
lit necessary, for profitable ends, to wear the mask oC reli-
^igru. The great leading sects of Romanism are waked up-
The Jesuits take the lead. They^ are_al]_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,
/«re all now labouring in the one only thing in which they
can all agree; namely, to-under-mine, -and ultimately, de
stroy, the, Protestant rfiligion ; and. Protestant liberty, and,
with these, our republican institutions. .
We implore the candid, and very earnest attention of
ev6cy[liberaf-mmde^^ who abhors every thing like " a
persecuting religipn" to this subject. This denomination of
PoiTiTioAL religionists are absojiote exc[usives 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 soul can
be saved out of the pale of their sect/ This is not an un
just imputation. Pope Pius's creed thus closes, after an enu
meration of the novel doctrines, idolatrous rites, and mar
vellously superstitious ceremonies of the Romish church :
" This is the true Catholic faith ; out of wliich no one can
be saved ; extra quara nemo salvus esse potest." Hence no
charity can be cultivated by the genuine Romanist. Ia pro-
portjon as he rigorously clings to his faith, he hate's all his
dissenting fellow men, with a zeal proportioned to the
I strength of his faith in his church. Hence his unsubdued
.bigotry. He reasoas^ hot.- There is no use in his hearing
reasons. His church is infailibie;;  Shecannqt err; she
never has erred. A41', of course, who differ from her, are
¦ in MORTAL sin! Hence a thorougfiTjVed'RbmaiiistTiJinder the
zealous training of his priest, looks on the Protestant, just as

INTRODUCTION. 13
one who meditates slaughter and death, looks on his in
tended victim, who is soon to perish ! Hence, instead of
thatjiberal charity, he nurses the deepest bi^otxy.^Jnstead
of that opeiTEearted and heaven-born benevolence, entering
into his soul, and ni'.ging him forward in overcoming evil by
doing good, he is taught to nurse a gloomy misanthropy,
and a cruel and unchristian bitterness of; heartj toward all
who drffer from liis 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 andgriest-ridden fana
tic, in all false religions, and iiiTIie^bosom of all Idolaters,
there burhs~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- republicanJli-
berty^in rlTis'lahd" where every thing like persecution, and
an overbearing haughtiness of claims over the rights of
others, are viewed and' treated vvith abhorrehce. This, we
assure you, is an es.sential 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 perse
cuted their fellow men for their religion. But let i^o Roman
glory in uncovering the nakedness of our forefathers. For
no one of them did persecute, who did not learn the cruel
lesson of persecution in the bosom of Rome. Besides, when
they persecuted, it was in the very face of the Holy Bible
and their creed, and just in proportion as Protestants have
advanced in their march of truth and godliness, farther and
farther from Rome, all the disposition to persecute has va
nished utterly away.
But it is quite otherwise with Romanism. It-iaJLneces-
sary and^jessential part of its creed and its practice, to use
violence against thosevvho differ Trom it in rehgion. It
makes no concealment of this. It boldly avows it in its
creed. It has unblushingly taught and practised the dogma,
that "no faith is to be kept with heretics/" It even
proceeds to draw proofs from reason/ It declares all those

14 INTRODUCTION.
who difTer from it, to be heretics; and heretics are proi'
nounced by the court of Rome, to be the worst of murderers!
Because they murder man'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. xvu. 6. In all these notes this is the
uniform dogma inculcated, namely, that, aZZ heretics, wher
ever Holy Mother has the pcriver, are to be " deprived of
tlieir goods, exiled, or executed."
Their sainted worthies teach the same. For instance,
St. Thomas Aquinas lays this truly Roman Catholic doc
trine , " Hferetici possent, &c. Heretics may not only be
excommunicated, hu^ justly killed." Thorn. Aq. ii. 11,
and iii. 58. And Bellarmine in Lib. iii. cap. 21, De Laicis,
sustains a long argument in defence of "the time-bonouretl
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 Scripture, 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 pos
sible. For the longer he lives, the worse he becomes ; and
if he be thus sent off", his hell will be so much lighter///"^
It is a considerate scheme of mercy, then, which lights up
the fires of Smithfield ; which digs the dungeons ofthe mer-
ci/uZ inquisition. It "is the mercy of considerate priests
which invents the rack, and superintends all the character
istic operations of every appalling death form in the Auia
DA FE ! ! ! Verily, such " fender mercies of the wicked are
cruel." In view of all this, we would unite our voice earnastlv
with that of our brother Berg, in making an earnest an-
peal.to evei;y Christian in our land. Dear brethren, materials
* Those who may not have access to Bellarmine, or to St T
thTBomarrnf,."r"'T''f l^'^'^tions collected in our Letters in
p 3^ T" Con/ro«er*y. New York, second edition,

INTRODUCTION, I5
ire here laid before you to show you that, in reality, every
sssential doctrine of the gospel has been corrupted by this
Antichristian power of Rome. To the one supreme object \
Df worship, they have added hosts of idols and new-made
jods. They profess to believe that the humble Mary is the
Mother of God; and actually lays her imperial commands
3n him!!! The church of God they have converted into a
iemple of idolatry. Instead of a gospel ministry, they have
revived the office of priests, h7io offer sacrifices. Instead of
our New Testament altar, Christ, on whom all Christians
DflTer up their spiritual sacrifices of prayer, praise, and new
obedience, they have reared an altar of idols. Instead of
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
for the sins o[ the quick and the dead/ Instead of justifica
tion through our Redeemer's atonement, through faith, with
out works of merit; they dispense pardons by the priest,
and cleansing by holy water, by priestly absolution, and the
fire of purgatory ; and thus they reject the Holy Ghost irt
his blessed work of grace. We have exhibited to you a
full specimen of the blasphemies in their avowed worship
of Mary. Can you persuade yourselves that those who do,
in this enlightened age, advance such revolting doctrines,
and practice such gross idolatry, and make saints of those
who-taught thera such impieties, do really either know or
believe in the one living and true God 1 Do any of the
heathens profess to change their "mola," or small round
cakes into their divinity, and then eat him up!!! There i.s^
nothing in ancient or in modern paganism that can surpass
this in respect of impiety and degradation ! It is not to be
wondered at that they have lost the true object of divine
worship ! It is no wonder they have blotted from their
creed all the essentials of the gospel I With thorn there is
no regeneration of the heart. They call this fanatieisra.
With them there is no free grace. With thera every thing
is sold, from holy water to the mass and extreme unction/
With them our Redeemer is not the only and all-sufficient
intercessor. As his atonement is displaced by the mass, so
his advocacy is transferred into the hands of Mary and a
host of canonized saints ! Read, then, the following pages
of our brother Berg, and look upon the wide field of moral

Ig INTRODUCTION.
desolation around you, from which is sent forth the heart
rending cry of perishing souls ! The^ Roman Cathgli^-chnreh
exhibits a truly missionary ground, urgently deraanding.x)ur
speedy and earnest interposition. Let us hasten to combine
our efforts to convert to the Lord Jesus ChrisJ, the .slaves of
Romanism and priest-craft. Their souls are as precious as
I ours; and can you name another darker or a more bewil-
idered people than they are? The Roman church is "the
land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols."
Jerem. iv. 38.
We make our appeal also to every 4iat£iotic3^political man
in our republic. This, we beg you to remember, is_not.
merely a religious rantrovxtrsy. We have been summoned
to the~deTence of our free institutions against an invading
foe,-^the' household troops of the Roman despot, and the
emissaries of the Holy Alliance. There is no mistake on
this point. We have here shown you out of their own
creed, that Romanism always unites church and state in
the very worst of tyrannies^liamely, tyranny-over -the con
science, and tyranny over the iodies of men ! And hence,
just in proportion as these bigoted and fiery religionists gain
ascendancy among us, they march on vigorously to the
ovejnhrow of_our fair RepubJic-! I will give you too ex
tracts to show youThat the Holy Alliance are giving an im
pulse 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 Metlernich, of the
Leopoldine Missionary Institute of Vienna, who send in
these emissaries upon us. The first extract is from Lord
Brougham, whom you all know to be a shrewd observer of
the movements ofthe 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 specta
tors ofthe complete establishment of jdemocracy all over the
new world, the despotic thrones of the old world will be held
by a somewhat frail tenure !"
My second extract speaks out still more clearly. It is
from the famous Schlegel, tfie creature and tool of Metler
nich, and the emperor. In vol. ii. sect. 17, on History,

INTRODUCTION. 1«
p. 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
America. From that land has the evil spread over
many other lands, either by natural contagion, or by arbi
trary communication." By force of arms they well know
they can never extinguish the light, nor stop the progress of
hberty, 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. TJie memorable
words of General Lafayette I repeat from one vvho heard
him utter them: "If ever the liberty of your Republic of
America be destroyed, it will be done by the Roman priests,;
so be-ware of them/" These, the servants of the Holy
Alliance are accordingly in full operation' over Britain and
the United States, doing their master's foul and treasonable
work. It is, therefore, your duly, as public guardians, to-
take good heed, and see that the Republic receive no damage
from these cfaltv^ 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 warnings of our faithful bro
ther. iMr. Berg. We mlLon you to watch the movements
of the foreign Jesuits among us, who have convulsed all
Europe in former tiraes, and are now again at the same
game! They are pursuing their systems^o£conspiracy and
subjugation by every possible nieaBs, and^ every variety of
waysT^l^VTfR T6re^n3Tujnds7 they ere.cli-.in-^all prominent
points, splendid eHifices, and they invite and tempt our youth
to witness and unite in their pojDppus_a.nd. imposing super
stitions. They throw a false veil over their monstrous system
by means of their English books and feigned- discourses.
Like Milton's demon, they labour too successfully " to make
the worse appear the better cause !" They are making a
desperate and persevering effort to obtain in their own hands^^
the education of our Protestant spn.sand daughters, espe-
cially those of the more wealthy amljn fluent ial of pur^jel-/
low-citizens. They hav-e originated a coiisj^iracy to obtain,
by all possible arts, large fundi out^oroulTFub[io School
treasiTry, to support their own corrupting and-Sectarian
schools I And as a religious body, they move in a mass in
politics, ready to support those who vviinavish on tliein the

18 INTRODUCTION.
highest pecuniary favours.* At the same time, they affect
ith^Trroslrextraordinary-HberaHty, and make very plausible
appeals to Protestant high-mindedness, and their usual un
stinted charity. Priests and lay-brothers are sent forth all
pver the land, to do their master's workin any form or way ;
particularly as teachers of our youth/ They attempt to
l:)nbe,bulT "more generally to overawe the press. They
gravely encourage the fears of weak and timorous Protest
ants, that very serious danger is really to be apprehended
to the property, the churches, 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 aflempts''t<r persuade us to let papists alone, and
suffer them quietly to pursue their conspiracy, unmolestedj
against our libertiesv and our holy religion ! In view of all
this, we beseech every MANjOfyou 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
iu opposing the Roman sect, which has provecMtself^the
avowed enemy of popular education ; and which, of course,
keeps its votaries in utter darkness. „_Lbok at their popula
tion in Mexico,SoQfh America, and Spnin. ; Alaa ! thoy are
deplorably ignorant, and covered with the darkness of mo
ral 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 Pro
testant seminaries in point of literature. One fair proof is
before ypu. Look into their Pope's Books, Prohibitory,
and ExpuRGATOET. All our principal classics in English,
are in the list of books utterly prohibited ! All our best his
tories; our best poets, as Milton; our best philosophical
books, as Locke, Paley, Dugald Stewart, are not allowed
to be opened, far less read, by papists. What, then, must
be the state of education among them ? They have no ade
quate substitutes for our. standard works.
Let every lover of the IJoly Bible, who delights in a
* This was avowed in a speech, lately, at a meeting ofthe cleri.
cal members and laymen of the Roman Catholic church when
forming Ihfcir scheme to obtain public funds from the New York
City Corporation for their schools.

INTRODUCTION. ig
pure version, and in its universal diffusion among the peo
ple, come up promptly to our aid, in stemming the torrent
of Romanism. The Pope has again and again denounced
Bible societies ; particularly Pope Leo XII., and the present
Pope, Gregory XVI. " By their perverse interpretations,"
says Leo XII., " they (the Bible societies) turn the gospel of
Christ into a human gospel ; or, what is worse, into the gos
pel ofthe devil ! ! ]"* And allow me to give you specimens
of the versions they use. Genes, iii. 15 : "I will put en
mity between thee aud the woman ; and thy seed and her
seed : she (the Virgin Mary) shall crush thy head, and thou
shalt lie in wait for her heel." Matt. iii. 2 : "Do penance,
and believe the gospel." Luke xiii. 3, 5 : " Unless you do
penance, ye shall all perish." Acts xiii. 22 : " Do penance
for this thy wickedness." Ephes v. 31, 32, speaking of
marriage, this version says : " This is a great sacrament ;
but I speak in Christ, and in the church." Heb. xi. 21,
this text they translate so as to afford divine authority for
the use of images, thus : " By faith Jacob, when dying,
blessed each of the sons of Joseph : and worshiped the top
of his rod// /" See The Doway Bible; New York edit.
of 1836.
I shall give you a specimen, also, from the Bordeaux edi
tion ofthe New Testament, by the divines ofthe Louvaine.
Acts xiii. 2: "As the apostles offered the sacrament of
the mass and fasted, &c." 1 Cor. iii. 15: "He shall be
saved, yet as by the fire of purgatory." And that text in
1 Tim. iv. 3, " Forbidding to marry," they render thus :
"Condemning the sacrament ofmarriage."! Let your hearts
be stirred up against this Antichrist, by zeal for the Lord of
Hosts; and sustain with fresh vigour the cause ofthe Bible
society. To our Roman Catholic fellow men, we would present
our urgent and most respectful appeal. It can be neither/
your interest, nor ours, to be deceived. You must breab
the chains thrown over you. You have immortal souls tp
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, 54—57, Cramp's
Text Book of Popery, p. 60, note.
f Cramp's Text Book of Popery gives more specimens, pp.
66—68.

20 INTRODUCTION.
think for yourselves. What right has a sinful, selfish, and
avSrions-maiT, -caned a priest, tolordit. over youj^soiil and
conscience 1 Have the courage to shake off tTifs cruel d^es-
pptism, — this system of espionage, — this system oLplun-
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 prjest for ever
decelVes-ytJcr! — ChTisI'offers yoii grace,"ahd salya-tipn "with
out money and without price." All that the priest can^give
'j'ou, is sold f6f his own idol-of, money. , He robs you of
your properly. His priestcraft will, alas ! rob you of yotrr
souls. Oh! for Jesus Christ's sake, "turn ye, turn ye, why
will you die?" " Believe in. the Lord Jesus Christ, and you
shall be saved." Read the following pages'of our brother
Berg with attention, and a candid heart, lying frankly open
to" conviction. The priest, hke the horse-leech, is ever, cry
ing ' Give,-^give ; — your money; I demand your money,
for my blessings ; my ma.sses ; my prayers !' But this
beloved minister of Christ asks none of your money. He
seeks not yours, but you, for your everlasting sa-lvation.
,As often as Friday returns, and the priest " prohibits cer
tain meats," 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 to forbid his priests to marry ? Hear
ye not this plain and loud voice of God to you. Listen,
then, to the sober, and pious instructions which our brother
brings to you all, while he offers to you Christ, the only
Redeemer, and with him all his blessings, as free as the
air you breathe ! " Seek ye the Lord, while he may be
found ; call ye upon him, while he is near."
Finally : To the American youth we would bring our
most urgent appeal on behalf of this common cause of our
country and our God. You are, young gentlemen, to be,
in due lime, the active citizens, legislators, magistrates, and
ministers of Christ in this republic. Your country's destiny,
its weal and its wo, are soon to be in your hands. Show
yourselves to be the worthy, the gallant, and devout sons of
your venerable forefathers ! Take good heed, we implore

INTRODUCTION. 21
yoti, also, that neither our holy religion, nor our free re
public, sustain any damage, from these fierce, and unprin
cipled 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 re
Ugious controversy, and no more. We are invaded secretly
and slyly by the fanatical troops of a great foreign power,
which approaches us under the mask of religion. Our be
loved brother has, here, stript the vizor of religion off its
face, and shown it in its true colours. Yet it may be that it
¦cares not how many assaults be made, in exposing its ido
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 un
dermining, by all possible means, our fair and flourishing
republic. The present watch-word of Rome is, " Be still, —
but work harder than ever !"
We implore you to bestow your careful attention on the
movements of this fatal enemy. Make yourselves masters
«f its plans, its policy, and its aims. Although self-styled
" a religious," it is a mere human policy, foreign in its ,
origin ; foreign in its support ; importing foreign vassals ;
and sending a most destructive foreign influence over our
land. Its Pope and priests are crafty politicians ; mer^
men ofthe world, and reckless men of pleasure. It is, as a
system, in the hands of a foreign eneray of our country,
precisely what the Koran is in the hands ofthe Grand Turk,
and his muftis. • lt«is a tremendous weapon, wielded against
peace and order ; the hilt of which is at Rome ! It is as in
tolerant in politics, as in its unique creed. Its spiritual
'head claims the right to tax the subjects and citizens of other
nations. It interferes with the internal regulations of go
vernments, and the affairs of every country. As " vicar of
God upon earth," the Pope claims power over all civil ma
gistrates. It has dethroned chief magistrates: dissolved civil j
governments: suspended commerce: annulled civil laws:
and, to gratify its lust of gold, and its unbounded ambition,
it has thrown whole nations into utter confusion ! It has,
for centuries, waged a war of extermination against the
EIGHTS OT MAN ; THE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE ; AND THE
2

'22 INTRODUCTION.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS ! It has aimed, for ages, at uni
versal dominion over the bodies, property, and souls of men !
And to accomplish these ends, it has ispared no one ; and it
spares not the holiest men, nor holiest things. To accom
plish its diabolical ends, it has employed dungeons ; and
chains ; and racks ; and gibbets ; and fire ; and sword ! I
The history of Europe, my honoured young friends, and
fellow-citizens, is the continuous demonstration of these ter
rific facts 1 " I speak as unto wise men ; judge ye what I
say." And be assured, young men op America, that if ever,
by your culpable negligence, and want of zeal, these ^ons 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
Protector 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
oflensive, is, Christ's cause and crown ; God, and our
country's SALVATION !
W. C. Bkownlee.

New York, Sept. 3, 1840.

PREFACE

Whenever a hook 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 ; but
they were demanded, and -nearly one-half of an unusually large
edition was engaged before the work had left the press.
I shall never apologize either to the people of my own charge,
or to the public, for preaching and writing against popery; for
I am not ashamed ofthe gospel of Christ; neither am I afraid to
lift up my voice and to cry aloud against the abominations of
the Man of Sin ; and to rebuke, so far as my influence extends,
the impudence of Antichrist. Many Protestants have, of late,
by a singular and false liberality, accustomed themselves to re
gard the church of Rome as a part of the church of Christ, and
while they all profess to believe that the papal system is fear
fully corrupt, they yet recognise it as belonging to the true
Catholic church. Upon what grounds this concession can be
justified, I do not know. If the prophecies relative to the Man
of Sin are literally fulfilled in the Romish apostacy, and no un
prejudiced 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
that Romanism is Christianity? What fellowship has Christ
with Antichrist 1 What communion has light with darkness 1
If both reason and Scripture reply that they have none, and that
their union is naturally and morally impossible, then how dare
any man join what God has fopever put asunder 'i For Roman
ists themselves, I trust I 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, I do entertain the most

54 PREFACE.
hearty abhorrence. I believe it to be the Arch-deceiver of pre-
'cious souls, and "the Master-piece of Satan."
The reader of the following pages will understand that many
Roman Catholics were present at the delivery of these lectures ;
and the writer can and does cheerfully testify that, with one ot
two exceptions, the strictest decorum was uniformly observed
iby them. There were muttered threats of 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 Roman-
¦ists the sins of their weaker brethren.
Whilst it was no part of my design in these lectures to wound
'the feelings of any man, it was not consistent with my purpose,
either through fear or favour, to conceal the truth. 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
facts adduced as illustrations of principles, I have uniformly
given my authority when obtained from any other source
than my own observation; nor have I, except in a single in
stance, quoted from an anonymous writer, and in this isolated
'case, the author presents a well-known and respectable en
dorser. The doctrines of Romanists I have derived in every
instance yroTO their own books, and have stated their own argu^
iments as fully and fairly as I could. I have, in every case,
'given the best argument I could find in their authorized books,
in favour of their peculiar tenets ; but if in any matter I have
through inadvertence been mistaken, it will afford me pleasure
:to rectify my error.*
That the Lord may bless his own testimony, and set his seal
to every sentiment in this book which accords with his holy will,
and apply his word with power to the heart of every sincere in
quirer after truth, is the sincere prayer of
THE AUTHOR,
Philad. Sept. 1, 1840.
* Tho work wliich I have followea as a tent-book of Romanism, is called the
Groonde of Catholic Doctrine;" to this I refer under the abbreviation of
urde. O. u.

LECTURES ON ROMANISM

INFALLIBILITY.

2 Cor. i. 24.

" Not for that we have do.\iinion over your faith, but are
helpers op votTR JOY : for by faith ye stand.''
One ofthe dearest privileges of a freeman, is the right of
conscience. The liberty of worshipping God according to
its dictates, is one ofthe choicest blessings of genuine free
dom ; for the absence of this inherent right, no other privi
leges can atone. The government which denies it to its
subjects is a despotism, and the people who submit to be
deprived of liberty of conscience are staves, whether their
consent be voluntary or constrained. No man has a right
to give away this birth-right ; much less to take it away
from another.
The word of God acknowledges no other mode of pro--
mulgaling the knowledge and Worship of Jehovah, than
moral means. It uniformly repudiates physical force. It
tolerates no carnal weapons in the prosecution of the spirhual
warfare, for the kingdom of Christ is not of this world.
All power is committed to the Saviour. He sways a sceptrie
of universal dominion ; heaven and earth are obedient to
him, and yet he never interferes with the free-agency of his
intelligent creation. He sets before them the motives fur
nished in his word. He draws arguments from time and
8

26 INFALLIBILITY.
from eternity ; from heaven, earth and hell ; but he always
respects the moral constitution which his own hand first
conferred upon his rational creatures. It is true, mere moral
suasion without the quickening power of the Holy Spirit
wonld never regenerate the soul ; but the influence which
the Spirit of God exerts is always moral, and never physical.
The whole genius of Christianity, therefore, acknowledges
the right of free choice.
It is the boast of our country and the brightest orna
ment of our civil institutions, that every man has liberty
to worship God according to the dictatfes of his own con
science. But it is right that we should give with meek
ness and fear, a reason of the hope that is in us to every
man that asks it ; and AC it is just that we should give a
reason to others, it is certainly not unjust that we should
ask one of them. Hence the pjiyil^ge of free discussion
follows as an inference from liberty of conscience. The
day is over, I trust, when an examination of the tenets of
those who differ from us so widely, who are so diametri-i
cally opposite to us as Romanists are, can be construed as
" persecutiou." From my heart I pity the man who cries
out " persecution" so soon as his principles are investigated ;
and I pity the cause that needs such an advocate. We take
no man's rights from him, when we inquire into and expose
his creed. If I can show, (and by the help of God, I think
I can,) that the Romish church makes unwarrantable and
arrogant pretensions, I do not trench upon the rights of my
Roman Catholic friends one single hair's breadth. They
have a right to their opinion ; I have a right to mine ; but
as truth should be the object of all our investigations, we
ought carefully and candidly to weigh every grain of evi
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. 27
forever ringing with denunciations of Protestants, those
high-handed rebels against her authority !
My brethren, it is a sense of duty, and not inclination that
has induced me to call your attention to the subject of
Romanism. I have no pleasure in controversy, and if the
matters in dispute between the Protestant church and that
of Rome involved no fundamental difference in opinion and
practice, 1 should never have opened my lips to speak about
thera. But when we have reason to believe that the more
odious features in the system of popery are carefully con
cealed by its advocates, it becowies the duty of Protestant
ministers to cry aloud. They owe it to God and to their
chOrch, and they owe it to souls who may be on the verge of
embracing a pernicious delusion, to lift up their voice like a
trumpet 1 It has been the favourite policy of popish priests
to represent Romanism as a harmless thing, and if they ever
succeed in making this impression general, we may well
tremble for the Uberties of our country. It is a startling
truth that 'popery and civil and rehgious liberty cannot
flourish on the same soil ; popery is death to both ! The voice
of a thousand years' history attests the fact, that wherever
the Pope has ruled, despotism has been at home ; and pre
sent experience confirms It. I can challenge the whole world
to show me an acre ofthe ground which the Pope claims as
his, and which is ruled by his influence, that does not groan
under his cruel yoke! Is Romanism a harmless thing?
Look at Spain and Rortugal, at Italy, or Cuba, or South
America, and then let any honest man reply, and..! will
abii^hy his verdict ! Now, remember, it is the' stand
ing biast of the Romish church, that she is alvtfays and
everywhere the same. She claims to be infallible. She
cannot err ! Who does not see that consistency with her
own principles compels her to yoke the liberties of this
country to her car just so soon as she can do it ? The in^

28 INFALLIBILITY.
fallible church that gloried in the active zeal ofthe holy in
quisition in burning hundredsof thousands of heretics, would
of course rejoice could she grace an Auto da Fe to-morrow
with a few hundred Prote.stant ministers. She openly avows
her persecuting principles — in her standard works, and iri
the sanguinary decrees of her councils, which are not only
unrepealed, but irrevocable. The annotation in the Rhe
mish Testament on Matt. xiii. 29, is as follows :
"The good must tolerate the evil, when it is so strong
that it cannot be redressed without danger and disturbance
ofthe whole church, and commit the matter to God's judg
ment in the latter day. Otherwise where, ill men, be they
heretics or other malefactors, may be punished or suppressed
without disturbance and hazard of the good y they may and
ought by public authority, either spiritual or temporal, to
be chastised or executed."* ,
I do not mean to say that all the members ofthe Romish
ehurch in America, or that the great body of them are the
enemies of civil hberty. I know that some of our best citi
zens are members of this persuasion ; but I do say that the
system of popery necessarily ends in despotism whenever
its real principles are developed and fairly carried out. But
I waive this matter for the present, as I intend to resume it
hereafter. How different is the spirit of Paul from that ofthe popish
church. The apostle says in the text, " Not that we have do
minion over your faith," &ic. or, " not because we lord it over
you through the faith." The apostle did not " lord it over God*s
heritage." The faith of the disciples was to be advanced only
by exhortations and admonitions, and if fatherly chastisement
was to be administered, it might be done even by the apostles
only in accordance with the suggestions of the Holy Spirit,
• Rhem. Test., p. 44. New York. 1834.

INPALLlBILrrY. gg
and not at their discretion. (1 Cor. xii. 9.) But the church
of Rome claims absolute dominion over the faith of the
whole world. By asserting her infallibility in matters of
doctrine and practice, she endorses all the abuses and abomi
nations which have at any time prevailed under her sanction.
Though many of her own writers have condemned them,
yet she cannot do so without subverting the foundations of
her supremacy. So far from i-elinquishing the claim to
infallibility, she curses all as heretics who question it.
The prerogative of entire freedom from error, is open
ly arrogated by Papists, in behalf of their church. In
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, which I quote in order to prove
that this high prerogative is 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, fall from the truth by errors in
faith ?"* The promises to which these words refer, are those
exceeding great and precious ones, which are still made " to
us and to our children, and to as many as the Lord our
God shall call;" but which never were made to " 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. No man can
truly say, that he is filled with the Spirit merely because
he is a minister of Christ, much less, because he has been
ordained by a 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*

30 INFALLIBILITY.
nister, will receive the Holy Spirit in his sanctifying power,
only in answer to prayer. I shall not stop to prove that
the whole body of the Romish priesthood has not always
been composed cf the holiest of men. Papists must prove
that there never have been wicked priests, if they wish us
to believe that the whole body of their pastors and teachers
have been so fully endowed with the Holy Spirit as to ren
der it impossible that they should err in matters of faith;
for we Protestants always judge of the tree by its fruits :
we require our brethreij to show us their faith by their works.
The fallacy of the argument contained in the Grds. of C.
D. is easily exposed by a simple statement of facts.
Unfortunately for the validity of this claim to infallibility,
there is a wide discrepancy of opinion relative to the pre
cise quarter in which it is to be found. Some lodge this at
tribute with the Pope ; others ascribe it to the councils ;
others to the Pope and councils combined ; and others say
it is to be found in the church in her diflhsive capacity.
I will prove that infallibility belongs nehher to the Pope,
nor to the councils, nor to the Pope and councils, nor to the
church in her diffusive capacity.
1. We will begin with his Holiness. The Jesuits stoutly
upheld the doctrine of the Pope's infallibility, in former
days ; what they now think in relation to the question, is
not so easily determined; I believe they are'' not agreed
among themselves.
Pope Gregory I., who lived in the latter part of the sixth
century, has left the following language on record : ',' I con
fidently affirm, that whosoever calls himself, or wishes to
be called. Universal Bishop, is the forerunner of Anti
christ."* Was Gregory infallible? If so, the Pope is the
forerunner of Antichrist.
* See Gregory's Epis. Bk, vl Letter 30.

INFALLIBILITY. gj
Pope Gelasius declared, most solemnly, that it was sacri
lege to administer the communion in only one kind — to give
the bread to the laity, and withhold the cup. Was Gelasius
infallible? If so, the Church of Rome is guilty of sacri
lege. We learn from history, that, at one time, there were three
rival Popes, all contending earnestly for Peter's chair !
Were they all infallible? And if not, which of them was?
Benedict XIII., Gregory XII., and Alexander V., of happy
memory, were each of them, at one and the same tirae, the
supreme head of the church, and hurled their 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 all consecrated bishops and created cardi
nals, 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
succession; but the line is wretchedly entangled here, and
there is no other way of unravelling this mystery of ini
quity, but Alexander's short and easy method with the Gor
dian knot. But, alas ! this cuts the Pope's infallibility in twain,
and makes sad desolation in " the apostolic line of succes
sion." For the ordinations of these three rival Popes were
all valid, de facto, and have, since their day, multiplied into
many thousands, who have derived episcopacy and priest
hood, from at least two corrupt fountains. There is not a
bishop or priest in Italy or France, or in America, that is
infallibly sure that there is no flaw in his title.* But this is
* For a detailed account of the " scuffles" between the three
Popes, see Hist, of Popery, 4to. Vol. I. pp. 182 — 185. London.
1736. Also, Spittler's Geschichte des Pabstthums, p. 193. Hei
delberg, 1826.

32 INFALLIBILITY.
by no means the only schism in the infallible church. In the
fourteenth century there was a fierce contest between popes
and anti-popes, for fifty years. Boniface VIII., of blessed
memory, in his " Unam Sanclam," a famous bull, which
was revoked by Clemens V., (another infallible,) made
it an article of faith, necessary to salvation, that the tempo
ral sovereignty of the Popes is above that of the kings.
The following is given, as a part ofthe reasoning by which
this article of faith was proved. " In principio deus creavit
caelum et terram : (In the beginning God created the hea
vens and the earth.) It is not ' in principiis,' in the be
ginnings ; therefore, there is but one authority to govern the
world. St. Peter said, ' Here are two swords :' therefore
the Pope, his successor, has two swords, that is, 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 in the world. The powers that be are ordained of God,
says St. Paul ; therefore the temporal power is subjected to
the spiritual powers, that it may be ordained, or put in or
der. It belongs to the spiritual power to judge whether the
temporal power does well or ill ; therefore it can suspend
and transfer it. Kings as well as subjects are subjected to
the power of chiefs ; for they belong to the flock. There
fore the Pope can depose them." Such is the reasoning,
which pope Boniface VIIL published as pontifical oracles in
the bull " Unam Sanctaml"*
Popish infalHbilily was fairly committed in the case of
Galileo. 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. 33
the world, and immoveable from its place, is absurd, philo
sophically false, and formally heretical, because expressly
contrary to the Holy Scriptures. 2. The proposition that
the earth is not the centre of the world, nor immoveable, but
that it moves, and also has a diurnal motion, is 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 to the first
principles of astronomy. He chose the former as the less
of two evils, and very gravely recanted upon his knees;
but, upon rising up, he whispered to one of his friends,
" The earth moves yet though !"
The following summary of the characters of different
Popes, as described in history, may suffice to show that his
Holiness has not always been infallible.
Boniface VIII., Calixlus III., John XXIII., and Boniface
IX., were notoriously covetous. Bennet XII., Adrian IV.,
Celestinejll., Innocent IV., Alexander III., Gregory XIII.,
Clement V., VI., and VII., Boniface VIII., Paul II., John
XXIII., and many others, were proud as Lucifer. Indeed,
who was not that ever wore the triple crown? Silvester III.,
and all his successors, for nine or ten Popes together, were
professed conjurors. Those, who were abominably lewd
and Jicentious, are too numerous to mention. Famous
cheats were Alexander III., Boniface VIII., Celestine V.,
and Benedict X. Murderers were John XII., Gregory V.,
John XIII., Boniface VII., Benedict IX., Innocent III., (fee.
Many Popes were fomentors of discord and jealousies,
which cost thousands of lives. Several Popes have been
schismatics; two, and even three rivals having contended
for the supreme authority at once. These schisms varied in
duration, from two, six, seven, thirteen, sixteen, and twenty
to thirty-nine years; and, during these periods, their Holi-
nesses cijrsed each other, and fought against each other; sq

34 INFALLIBILITY.
^that multitudes were sacrificed to their cruel ambition.
These may appear hard sayings, but those who are ac
quainted with history, know that they are but too true.
2. Where then shall we find this sacred deposit, which has
been left in the care ofthe Church of Rome? Some Roman
ists point us to the councils, and tell us we shall find it there.
The council of Basil, I would premise, expressly decreed,
that, " if once the pernicious error were admitted that coun
cils may err, the whole Catholic faith would totter." Let
us bear this in mind, for I think we shall soon see, not only
that councils may err, but that, themselves being witnesses,
they have made very gross mistakes. I cannot discover
that 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 capa
city. I confess I cannot see how one infallible is to be
constituted out of five hundred fallibles : and I bless God,
that my salvation does not depend upon my explaining this
mystery. But, now for the facts. Roman Catholic writers
reckon eighteen oecumenical or general councils, though
they are not themselves agreed as to the exact nuraber. A
volurae might be written on the contradictions and discre
pancies between them; some condemning what others ap
prove ; one council anathematizing its predecessor, and in
turn anathematized by its successor. So that even suppos
ing the first oecumenical council, the Council of Nice, in
325, to have been infallible, it would puzzle cardinal Bellar-
mine himself to determine, where this prerogative was to
be found by the time that the last council convened at Trent,
in 1545.
Not to weary you by a prolix detail of the contradictory
decrees of these councils, I will just appeal to the following
well known historical facts.

INFALLIBILrrV.
It is universally acknowledged that the
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 the practice ; yet this very council was
declared to be illegitimate by the second Council of Nice,
which met in 787, and ordauied the adoration of iraages in
unequivocal language. " I confess, and agree, and receive,
and salute, and adore the unpolluted iraage of our Lord Je
sus Christ, our true God, and the holy image of the holy
mother of God!" Contrast this edict with the decree of
Pope Gregory the great, 200 years before ; in which he says,
" Omne manufactum adorari non licet — Adorari imagines
omnibus modis, veta." " It is not lawful that any thing
made with hands should be worshipped. By all means for
bid images to be worshipped." The decree authorizing im
age-worship was not suffered to reraain undisputed, either
in the west or east. It was reversed by one council in 794,
and again by another in 814; and, in 842, it was re-enacted,
and so on, until the councils had completely worn out all
their claims to infalhbility !*
3. The next opinion is, that the Pope and General Coun
cil together are infallible, i. e. When a General Council
is called by the Pope, when he presides in it, either in per
son or by his legates, and when he confirms its decrees,
then they are infallible. But, wjth preceding facts before us,
it will be hard to understand how a fallible Pope, and a fal-
hble council, can become infallible by their union. Two
ciphers will not make a unit. Two wrongs will not make
* See Faber's Difficulties of Romanism, pp. 41"— 43,

gg INFALLIBILITY.
one right. 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, infallibility is at an end. But, waiving this
objection, if 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 be
directly opposite to Scripture. The Council of Constance de
creed. Pope Martin V. coinciding, that the laity should receive
the communion in one kind only, and yet acknowledged that
Christ instituted it in both kinds. The Council of Trent,
confirmed by Pope Pius IV., decreed that service should be
performed in the Latin (i. e. an unknown) tongue, in direct
contradiction to St. Paul, who asks, " E.xcept ye utter by
the tongue, words easy to be understood, how shall it be
known what is spoken? For ye shall speak into the air."
Now I do not believe that there is any passage in the Bible,
or the Rhemish Testament, by which it can be satisfactorily
shown that Paul's opinion was to be considered good authority
only until Pius IV. and the Council of Trent should decree to
the contrary ; and, therefore, as Paul certainly was infalli
ble in matters of doctrine, and the Pope and council differ
from the apostle, I shall adhere to Paul's view, the bishops
and doctors of Trent, to the contrary, notwithstanding.
4. Another opinion is, that infallibility resides only in the
Church Universal; i. e. in the whole body ofthe 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 Roman church, they are
then to be regarded as of indisputable authority. This

INFALLIBILITY. 37
opinion has enjoyed the favour of some of the greatest and
most learned men of the Romish church.
If all that is asserted were simply that the Christian'
Church Universal, and every member of it, cannot err in
matters absolutely necessary for salvation, I do not see that
Protestants need object to the claim. 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 prornised to maintain a church to the end of the world ;
emd has declared, that the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it; and because those who err in any thing that is
essential to salvation, by that very error, cease to be mem
bers ofthe church of Christ. This, however, will not an
swer the purposes of the Romanists. They claim infalli
bility, because, in their opinion, it is absolutely necessary
that there should be an unerring interpreter of Scripture, and
judge of controversies, to whom we may have recourse in
all emergencies. (This plea I shall consider presently.) Is
the universal church such an interpreter ? If it is, then all
the members of the church of Christ, out of all kindreds,
and nations, and tongues, and people, must meet in solemn
conclave, whenever any new question of doctrine or practice
is to be decided. Do not tell us they can delegate their
infallibility to representatives, who may assemble in gene
ral council. That has been tried, and the experiment has
been unsuccessful.
I repeat it then. If infallibility is the prerogative of the
Roman Church, in its diffusive capacity, before 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 own terms, can
challenge neither their assent nor ours.
I have now reviewed' the four different opinions which
4

33 INFALLIBILITY.
obtain, or have obtained in the Romish church relative to
infallibility. And here I might dismiss the subject, were it
not that an appeal is made to the Scriptures. From this
test no Protestant wishes to shrink. " To the law and the
testimony," is our watchword; "if they speak not accord
ing to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
Show us the plain texts of Scripture — give us the words of
the blessed Jesus himself, assuring us that the true church
is infallible, and that the Romish church is the true one,
and every honest believer in God's word will give
up the point. Before I attempt an examination of the
Scriptures upon which this doctrine is professedly reared,
I must say that it is very hard to believe our Saviour
should give promises to his church that can do it no good.
For surely it is plain the church is none the better for its
infallibility, if nobody can tell who has it. To appoint an
infallible interpreter is of no use, unless you know who the
interpreter is, and where you are to find him. Besides, in
order to estabhsh from Scripture their claim to infallibility,
it is absolutely necessary for Papists to beg the question —
argue in a vicious circle, i, e. take for granted the very
thing they want fo prove. Ask them, "How do you know
from Scripture, or from fair inference from it, that your
church is infallible?" The answer of course is, "The
church has so interpreted the word of God." " Well, but
why am I bound to believe your interpretation ?" " Because
the church is infallible !" Can any thing be more ridiculous t
On the same principles I can prove that /am infallible, and
that no body is so beside myself; and I can prove it from
Scripture too.
Cardinal Bellarmine, of no mean authority among
Romanists, quotes in proof of the Pope's infallibility, those
words of the Saviour tovPeter, — "Simon, Simon, behold
Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as

INFALLIBILITY. -gg
wheat ; but I have praj-ed for thee, that thy faith fail not,
and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."
Bellarmine tells us that the true meaning of this text is, that
our Lord obtained two privileges for Peter: 1st, That he
himself, however strongly tempted by the devil, should
never lose true faith. 2d, That neither Peter as pontiff of
Rome, nor any other of his successors in that See, should
•ever teach any thing contrary to the true faith. On what
principles of exegesis these two doctrines are contained in
the text, it would puzzle the Pope himself lo determine. ' How
ever, the Cardinal finds them there, and says, moreover,
•"The first of these privileges did not, it may be, descend to
Peter's successors ; but the second doubtless did. In other
words : Peter's successors might lose true faith, and conse
quently lose their souls and perish eternally ; but it is im
possible that they should make a mistake in any doctrine
or decree issued ex cathedra. All the proof that the learned
cCardiaal adduces that this is the true meaning of the Scrip
tures is, that seven Popes have said so ! Seven Popes have
said so/ Rome has spoken, the controversy is decided I
The Saviour's meaning is, I think, somewhat different from
that 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 trial of the faith of his disciples. He knew
the bold impetuosity of Peter, and foresaw the fearful over
throw to which the self-confidence -of 'his disciple would ex
pose him ; therefore, he addresses himself to Peter a-s the
person who was most in danger- All the disciples needed
•our Lord's prayers upon this -occasion, and no doubt he
prayed for Aem all; bat Peter^s case was far the most
argent, as the sequel showed, and as the Saviour knew, and
-therefore he prayed for him especially that his faith might
mot Ea.iL How this passage can be honestly applied to the

^Q INFALLIBILITY.
Popes, I cannot conceive; and how it can prove that Peter's
successors were all to be infallible, poses my judgment com
pletely. Any reader of common sense knows that these
words were addressed to Peter in allusion to the fearful per
jury of which he so soon became guilty. They must be
doctors of very great acufeness who can find in the words
addressed to Peter, relative to his fall, a proof of his infalli
bility, and they must be very acute indeed who can discover in
them satisfactory evidence of the infallibility of every Pope,
who sits in Peter's chair. But suppose it were even so. Take
for granted that the Cardinal's interpretation is correct, and
that we have Scripture lo prove the infallibility of Peter and his
successors, I would ask, why are not the successors of Peter
at Antioch infalhble as well as those at Rome? You know
Peter was bishop of a church at Antioch seven years before
he was bishop at Rome. Ah ! if you were to put infalli
bility at Antioch, you would spoil every thing. Keep it at
Rome; it belongs there ; and so the less we say about Antioch
the better ! I will only add, that if the infallibility of Peter
and his pretended successors is assured to us by the Saviour's
prayer that Peter's faith might not fail, then every man
whose faith fails uot must be infallible. " But," says the
Roman Catholic, " be so kind as to read Matt, xvi. 18."
Here it is : " And I say abo unto thee that thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it." Does this prove Peter's infalli
bility, even supposing Peter to be the rock on which the
church is built ? Read a few verses farther. " Then Pe
ter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, be it far from
thee. Lord ; this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and
said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, for thou art an
offence unto me ; for thou savorest not the things that be of
God," &c. Was Peter infallible?
Among the m&ny text§ of Scripture quoted by Romanists,

INPALUBILlTY. ;jj
sonnpe are adduced as proofs ofthe infallibility ofthe Pope, e. g.
*' Thou art Peter, and upon this rock," &c. " And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," &c.
" Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired," &c.* Other scriptures
are understood as conferring this important attribute upon
councils. " He that heareth you heareth me, and he that
despiseth you, despiseth rae." " Where two or three," &c.
" Lo ! I am with you alway, even to tlie end of the world."
Then, again, there are texts to prove the infallibility of the
church universal, " If he neglect lo hear the church, let
him be to thee as a heathen man and a publican." " The
church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the
truth," &c. &c. Now I cannot find any thing in any one
of these texts, nor in the context, which gives the least
shade of plausibility to the arrogant claim which the Romish
church rests upon them. But as it would take loo much
time to go over each one of thern separately, I am willing
for argument's sake to let their proofs pass for all that they
think them worth, and what is the result ? Some of these
texts prove the Pope to be alone infallible. Others prove
that a general council is infallible. And others, again, that
the church universal has this prerogative ; and all these con
tradictory propositions must be true if the Scriptures, which
they quote, are to the purpose. Now I apprehend this
proves more than Romanists want ; it gives them a great I
deal more infallibility than they know what to do with.
I come now to the last great argument, the big gun in the
battery of infallibility. I will state their strong reason as
forcibly as I can. " Must it not be horrid impiety to sup
pose that divine Providence has so little concern for the
cause of truth ; and the blessed Jesus so little care for the
welfare of the church, as to have left no certain, infalhble
* Matt xvi. 18. Luke xxii. 31, 32.
4*

42 INFALLIBILITY.
method of deciding all controversies, and coming at truth
and the real sense of Scripture? If the church is not a
visible and infallible tribunal, always competent to settle
differences, what must become of her, and what must be
come of truth? Will not a thousand heresies be broached
that will tear out her very bowels, rend in pieces the seam
less coat of Christ, and hold up the tattered fragments
ofthe 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
new, and Baptists, and Methodists, and Hernnhuters, and
a hundred sects besides, which we cannot enumerate.
There must be somewhere a judge to pronounce and decide.
Protestant heretics cry out with Isaiah, ' To the law and to
the testimony !' ' To the law and to the testimony !' But
Scripture is so far from ending controversies, that it is well
known to have been the occasion of them. There is not a
heretic but quotes it, and endeavours to impose upon weak
minds by his false glosses. In many instances, the sense
is so obscure and doubtful, that the interpretation which
heretics give of it seems as plausible as that which the
church herself affixes. It is plain, therefore, there must be
a living, speaking judge to interpret the dead letter of Scrip
ture; a judge from whose decision there can be no appeal!"
This is the grand argument, the strong prop of infallibility.
It amounts to this ; that that " God, who, at sundry times and
in divers manners, spake in 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 Rome! Protestants are inquisitive,
you know, so permit me to ask, "Who says that these

INFALLIBILITY. ^g
things OTt/st be so?" Plas the Lord Jesus Christ said so?
No ! Has John asserted it ? Never ! Has James or Paul
or Peter, or any one of the apostles left it on record ? No !
Is there any passage in the Old or New Testament, that
explicitly confers this authority upon the church? There
is not. Where then do you find it? In the canons of the
Council of Trent ! and lest any man should still be faithless,
let him remember that all who do not believe in these canons,
were anathematized by acclamation at the close of this in
fallible council !
That is hard, to be sure ; but heretics are so accustomed
to anathemas, that they cannot or will not see much force
in such arguments. But, I am asked, did you not tell
us a moment ago, that there was no text in the Bible
which condemned the private interpretation of Scripture?
I did. What do you make then ofthe passage which says,
"No Scripture is of any private interpretation?" Indeed,
I never met with such a text. I have heard it qudted,
but if I were to be burned at the stake to-morrow for the
failure, I could not find it. I will read what I do find, how
ever, 2 Pet. i. 19 — 21. I will quote the passage as I find
it in the Rhemish Testament, " And we have the propheti
cal word more sure : which you. do well attending unto, as
to a candle shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and
the day-star arise in your hearts. Understanding this first,
that no prophecy of Scripture is made by private interpre
tation." This shows merely that the prophets were inspired by the
Holy Ghost, and has nothing to do wilh the question of the
church of Rome's infallibility as an interpreter of Scripture.
Where then, I ask again, is the warrant for this proud claim?
I am sure it is not in the Bible ! But though reason and
Scripture are against it, the church of Rome cannot let go
this arrogant assumption without losing her hold upon the

44 INFALLIBILITY.
consciences whom she binds and looses at her pleasure, and
therefore, she says " there must be an infallible interpreter
of Scripture, and I am that interpreter." God has not said
so; but here the Man of Sin rises up, exalts himself above
God, and dictates lo the Almighty, chiding him for his neg
lect, and rectifying and supplying the mistakes and omis
sions of Omniscience !
But, farther. I deny the necessity of any such judge,
to determine all controversies in religion, because it is not
necessary that all such controversies should be decided
There are a great many disputed points, upon which honest
and holy men can and do differ, without affecting either
their interest in the favour of God, or the peace of the church.
I can love my Baptist, and Methodist, and Episcopal, and
Lutheran, and Moravian brethren, with a pure heart, fer
vently, though there are minor points on which I would dif
fer 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 could not err, because they were inspired by the Spi
rit of Truth ; but this freedom from error extended only to
matters of doctrine; for we find Paul rebuking Peter sharply,
on a certain occasion, because he was to be blamed. Gal. ii.
11, &c.
There were divisions among the Corinthians, after all the
pains that Paul took to reconcile them. And, even in the
church of Rome, where infallibility flourishes in perfection,
there are divisions, and sects more numerous than in the
Protestant church. The Protestant church constitutes but
one society, though there are different denominations. We
acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Head. He is the invisible
Head of his Church Universal. Romanists claim the Pope

INFALLIBILITY. 45
as their Head ; and, as he is a visible Head, there is, nomi
nally, more unity in their church than among Protestants ;
but, really, there is a great deal less. There has been more
difference between the Jesuits, and the Jansenists, and the dif
ferent orders of monks, "white, black and gray, with all
their trumpery," than between any Protestant denominations
on earth.
Finally. There is no need of such an infallible judge, be
cause the Lord God of heaven has promised the assistance
ofthe Holy Spirit to all sincere inquirers after truth. " If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth
liberally to all men, and upbraidelh not, and it shall be given
him." This single text settles the whole controversy. God
has promised to direct every one into the way of truth, who
seeks counsel of him. It is his prerogative to govern the
mind of man, and he will not give his honour to the Pope
or to any other.
Brethren, if infallibihty were an attribute of the church
of Rome, she would long since have found out an infallible
method for inducing the world to listen to her decisions.
She has practised methods, however, which have not suc
ceeded. She has censured, cursed, imprisoned, banished,
tortured, committed to the flames, and doomed to hell and
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 ! ,
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which
is Christ Jesus." Upon this foundation, let me beseech my
dear hearers to build. I entreat you, ye builders for eternity,
look well to the foundation which you lay. There is a day
of trial coming; even now, the floods of death and of eter-
pity are ready to roll in upon you! Let the winds blow,

4g INFALLIBILITY.
and the rains descend, and the floods come, and beat upon
the house that is reared upon the Rock Christ Jesus ; it 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 Rock ! But, oh ! dear
hearer, alas ! 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 will need a shelter ; and you will fly to your re
fuge! It may be a tower so, lofty that its top pierces the
clouds ; and you may think, because it is so high, it cannot
fall. But the floods will gather round it; they will beat
upon its walls ; the rains will descend ; the winds will blow
with angry blasts. The house that is not founded on this
Rock will be utterly destroyed ; it will fall, and great will be
the fall thereof)

LECTURE II.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
Matt. xxvi. 26—29.
" AMD, AS THEY WERE EATING, JESUS TOOK BREAD AND BLESSED
IT, 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 .^LL
OF IT," &C.
I NEED scarcely, at this time, dwell particularly upon the
interpretation which is given, by the Protestant church, to
these words of the Saviour. My object, at present, is to
inquire into the meaning which the church of Rome affixes
to them ; and, in discussing this subject, I hope lo convince
every intelligent and honest hearer, that the doctrine of the
real substantial presence of the body and blood, soul
and divinity of Jesus Christ, in this sacrament, is the first
born of absurdities.
The circurastances under which this ordinance was insti
tuted, I need not now review. I presume all my hearers
know, that this memorial feast was appointed when the
blessed Saviour was about to offer himself a sacrifice on the
cross ; and by this one sacrifice, which never has been, or
can be repeated^ to reconcile to God the whole world of be
lievers. Before I examine the doctrine of transubstantiation, I will

4g TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
read the first canon under the head of " The Holy Sacra
ment ofthe Eucharist," in the acts ofthe Council of Trent.*
" If any one shall deny that, in the most holy sacrament of
the Eucharist, there are contained, truly, really, and substan
tially, the body and blood, together with the soul and divi
nity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the whole
Christ; or say that he is in it only as a sign, or figure, or
by his influence, let him be accursed-" " If any one shall
deny that, in the adorable sacrament ofthe Eucharist, a se
paration being made, the whole Christ is contained in each
element or species, and in the separate parts of each, ele
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, souf and di
vinity of Christ, or becomes Christ, the whole Christ, there
fore God 1 Nor is this all. 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 wa
fer particles is the whole Christ, is God ; and whoever doubts
this, is accursed ! If this be true, Ronianists are not guilty
of idolatry, when they bow down and worship the host, (or
consecrated wafer,) because it is no longer a wafer,~ but, by
the wonder-working power of the priest, has become God.
If this be not true, then the Papist is guilty of the very
grossest idolatry.
* Si quis negaverit in sanctisslmac Eucharistise Sacramento con-
tineri vere, realitsr et substantialiter corpus et sanguinem uni
cum anima et divinitate Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ac proind^
totum Cliristum: sed dixerit tantummodo esse in eo utin signo,
vel figura, aut virtute ; anathema sit.
Si quis neg.averit in venerabili Sacramento Eucharistije-sub
ulia quaque specie, et sub singulis, cujusque speciei partibus, se-
paratione facta, totum Christum contineri ) anathema sit.— Con-
cil. Trid* Sess. xiii. cap. 8. Canon 1 and 3.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

49

Among Protestants, and such as are not willing to sur
render the use and testimony of their senses to a ghostly
father, it is not considered necessary to expo.se the monstrous
absurdity of this doctrine, by serious argument. The mere
statement is sufficient. However, there are some who pro
fess to believe it. Every Roman priest declares, under so
lemn oath, that he believes it ; and all the faithfijl in the Po
pish church are commanded to believe it. And whoever
•doubts or denies the doctrine, is accursed ; i. e., in so far as
the anathema of the Council of Trent avails.
In discussing my subject, I shall prove the following
points. I. Transubstantiation is contrary tO reason.
IL It xs contrary to Scripture.
III. It is contrary to the testimony op the fathers
OF the ancient church.
IV. Roman Catholics, themselves, probably do not
believe it now.
However, I have no doubt many of them really think that
they do believe it.
I. I am awdre, my brethren, that I shall be met at the
very threshold with the question, What ! are we to believe
nothing that is beyond the ken of reason ? If so, where is
the use of revelation ? If reason is enough, then surely
the church of Rome is justified in reprobating the free cir
culation of the Bible, which is all matter of revelation.
Will my hearers remember that I say, not " Transubstantia
tion is above and beyond the reach of reason, and therefore
I reject it ;" but " it is contrary to reason." I believe
many things that are above reason. I cannot understand
the nature of the union between my soul and body ; but I,
nevertheless, believe it. I cannot understand how it is,
that if a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, there
I'ppears presently the green blade, and, anon, the ear, and,
5

50 transubstantiation.
at last, the full corn in the ear ; yet I beheve it. These
things, however mysterious, are not contrary to reason.
When I say, that this doctrine is absurd, I mean something
totally different from its being mysterious, and transcending
the comprehension of the human intellect.
Were this the whole objection, I should consider the cha
racter of mystery as a strong argument in its favour, pro
vided it exhibited the other marks ot a divine origin. Hu
man reason stands in the attitude of contradiction to that
which it sees to be false ; not to that whose magnitude eludes
its grasp, and whose existence cannot be denied, althoiagh
its mode is incomprehensible.
By reason, I mean that intellectual power by which we
apprehend and discover truth, whether contained in first
principles of belief, or in the arguments and conclusions
from those principles by which truth, not intuitive, is inves:
tigated. This faculty is the production of the Almighty ;
without it, revelation would be useless ; and, as God cannot
contradict himself, there can be nothing in revelation which
stands opposed to those first principles of eternal truth,
Which God has written upon the mind of every intelligent
creature. 1. One of these fr St principles is, that we are not ta
believe what is clearly contrary to the evidence of our
senses. The evidence of the senses is, I am sufficiently
aware, one of the least certain means of arriving at truth.
We have all heard of optical delusions and ofthe 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 to
perform these feats or any others ! In this case, how
ever clear the evidence of our senses might be, we should
distrust their testimony because we know the thing is, in its

transubstantiation. 5j
very nature, impossible. The case before us, however, is
different. The priests do not first effect an optical delusion,
and then ask us to give up the evidence of our senses ; they
do not make the elements assume the form, the real appear
ance of the whole Christ, and present, by their magical in
fluence, as many Saviours ofthe world as they have wafers,
and then bid us believe, because we see ; but the church of
Rome commands me to believe that that wafer, after the
pronunciation of the mystic words, " hoc est corpus meum"
is really transformed into the body and blood, soul and
divinity of Jesus Christ, is in short the real and entire
Saviour, though my sight tells me it is a wafer still, and
my touch tells me it is a wafer still, and my taste corrobo
rates this testimony, and pronounces it to be a wafer still !
As to the wine, the laity of that church have nothing to do
with it, the priests " drink all of it," and declare they believe
it to be blood, though taste and smell and sight are all
against them ! Now, if I admit this change in the nature
of the elements, though my senses contradict me, how can
I be sure of any thing which depends upon their evidence?
If my senses have deceived me in relation to the bread and
wine in this sacrament, they may deceive me in any and in
every other case. If I havc been eating the body and
blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, whilst my sensfes
of sight and smell, taste and touch, declare that I have
eaten nothing but bread, how can I be sure that I am not
under sorae fearful delusion, when I think I am eating an
ordinary meal ? If I discard the evidence of my senses,
how am I to be sure that I am alive? I must become a
Pyrvhonist, and join the ranks of those philosophers, or
rather, madmen, who made it a matter of conscience to
doubt their own existence ! But here the question, which
has often been put by Romanists, may be suggested again
to some mind, "Did. not Christ turn water into wine?'-

52 transubstantiation.
Unquestionably he did. " Why, then, may he not now
turn wine into blood ?" He certainly can do so now, there
is nothing more difficult in the latter case, than in the for
mer. But now let me answer your question by another.
"When Christ turned the water into wine did it look like
water after the change? Did it taste like water?" No.
You remember the guests told the good man of the house
that it was the best wine that had been produced at the
feast 1 So when Moses, at the command of God, turned
the rivers of Egypt into blood, the water was changed in its
appearance and in its very nature too, and the evidence of
this was, that all the fishes that were in those streams died,
and the rivers became so corrupt as to threaten 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 what they could see and hear
and feel to be false. If, when the paralytic was brought to
Jesus, the Saviour had merely said, " Arise, take up thy
bed and walk," and had left the man upon his bed a cripple
Still, he would scarcely have established his divinity by such
a miracle, even though he had repeated it a thousand times.
In order to prove the reality of his resurrection, our Lord
appeals to the senses of his disciples, " Behold my hands
and my feet, handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh
and bones, as you see me have : and when he had thus
spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet." And
what means did he employ fo convince the still hesitating
Thomas? " Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hand;
reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side, and be not
faithless, but believing." This was the Saviour's mode.
Our Roman Catholic friends attach great weight to the
testimony of the ancient fathers of the church. TertuUian,
speaking of the degree of importance to be ascribed to the
evidence of oup senses, uses the following language. He
says :

transubstantiation. 53
" We must not call our senses in question, lest we should
doubt respecting their fidelity even in the case of Christ
himself. Because if we question the fidelity of our senses,
we might peradrenlure 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-law, or smelt a different
¦odour of the ointment, which he received for his sepulture,
•or tlEisted 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 ofthe elements, and give us ocular demon
stration that their wafer becomes God incarnate whenever
they choose to say over it, with the proper intention, " hoc
est corpus meum," and I will vouch for it, they will soon
turn the world upside down, and every Protestant will be
come a firm believer in transubstantiation.
2. Another contradiction involved in this doctrine is,
that whilst the Eucharist is called a Sacrament, transub
stantiation overthrows the nature of a Sacrament. " What
is a Sacrament ? An institution of Christ, consisting in some
outward sign or ceremony. "f Can a thing be at once a
sign, and the thing signified by it? If transubstantiation is
true, then it can. The Sacrament ofthe Lord's Supper is a
commemorative rife. The Saviour tells us, " Do this in re
membrance of me." Can a transaction commemorate
itself? If transubstantiation is true, then the Lord's Supper
is not a Sacrament. It is not a sign, if it is the thing
signified. If the bread 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.
t Grds. C. D., p, 32. 5*

54 transubstantiation,
blood, and hot symbols. The absurdity of the position,
that a thing may be at the same time a sign and the thing
signified, may easily be illustrated. Among the Persians
the idol Mithras was a symbol of the sun. Hence, on the
principle that a symbol or image of a thing may be at once
both the representation of the thing in question, and yet the
identical thing itself, the idol, is, at once, both a 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, if we adopt the Romish
principle, Hagar was not only a symbol of Mount Sinai,
but the proper identical mountain itself. - " The consecrated
wine," says Clement of Alexandria, " represents the blood
of Christ."* Therefore, on the 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 Transubstantiation involves a mathe
matical impossibility. According to this doctrine, 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. And remember,
it is not only in two places that this entire body must be at
one and the same time, but in places whhout number.
Wherever the sacramental rite is performed, in the cloisters
of Italy, in the cathedrals of Austria, throughout all Europe,
in the cities and towns of America, and wherever in the
wide world any ofthe faithful are to be found ; in the cham
ber of the dying, in the cell of the recluse, in the dungeons
of the convent, wherever the consecrated wafer is 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
body of the Saviour, or it ceases to be body, and all the
comfort which the believer derives from the resurrection and
ascension ofthe blessed Redeemer, is taken from him. But
it is one of the first and most undeniable axioms of truth,
that no material substance can be at the same moment in
more than one place ; and to this law the body of the
Saviour must be subject. By his Spirit, he still pervades
all things, and upholds all things by the vvord of his power;
but as the risen and exalted Head of his Church, he is
bodily in heaven and there only. But, I am asked, " Will
you dare to impugn or limit the omnipotence of God? Are
not all things possible with God ?" I answer, every thing
is possible with God, that is not contrary to his nature.
" But cannot God work a miracle?" He can. But this is
not a miracle, it is an absurdity, a contradiction. God can
not deny himself, and it is impious to suppose that he would
do so. This insult cast upon the divine attributes proceeds
from them who boldly represent him as doing what would
be contradictory to his nature, in order to support a mon
strous figment of their 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
power of working contradictions, we dignify his omnipo
tence by saying that He is able to do what amounts to abso
lutely nothing.
Now, the doctrine of transubstantiation plainly involves
interminable contradictions, e. g. It supposes the bread to
be turned into the broken body of Christ, when he himself
was present with his disciples, and his body was not yet
broken. For if a popish priest can, by merely pronouncing
the words " hoc est corpus meum," turn the wafer and wine
into the real body and blood of Christ, then surely, on their
own principles, Christ's pronouncing them would certainly

gg transubstantiation.
have effected it, for this was the leading instance to all the
rest. Well, then, here was his natural body entire and
whole before their eyes ; he took up the bread, and spoke
these words, " This is my body," when lo ! the bread be
came his broken body ! So he had two distinct bodies at
the same time, one entire and the other broken ! Is it not
remarkable that not a single expression of surprise is re
corded as having dropped from any one of the disciples
when they beheld this most marvellous of all miracles?
But, my brethren, I shall not follow out the train of palpable
absurdities involved in this irrational and monstrous doctrine.
Enough, I presume, has been said to prove that it is con
trary to reason. I proceed to show,
II. Transubstantiation is ..contrary to Scripture. In
this branch of my subject, I will first consider those texts
which are quoted by Roman Catholics in favour of their
doctrine, and in the next place I will produce texts which
are directly opposed to it.
The Scripture proofs adduced in the Grds. of C. D. are
the following, (p. 41.)
1. Matt. xxvi. 26. "As they were eating, Jesus took
bread aud blessed it, and brake it, and gave it fo the disciples
and said, take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup,
and gave thanks, and gave it to them and said, drink ye all
of it, for this is my blood of the New Testament which is
shed for many for the remission of sins." Mark xiv. 22,
24. " Take, eat, this is ray body. This is my blood of the
New Testament, which was shed for many." Luke xxii.
19. "This is my body which is given for you; this do
in remembrance of me. This cup is shed for you." 1 Cor.
xi. 24, 25. " Take, eat ; this is my body which is broken
for you. This cup is the New Testament iri my blood."
To these quotations, the following note is appended:
«' Which words of Christ, repeated in so many places, can,

transubstantiation. 57
not be veri^ed 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 is my body," and
"this is my blood," are doubtless capable of the literal as
well as the figurative construction. Hence the only fair
test by which this passage may be examined, is that of
general analogy ; and I shall, therefore, inquire whether, on
any legitimate ground, the Romish exposition can consist
ently be admitted. The Bible abounds with expressions
Wihich are, by common consent, regarded as metaphorical, e. g.
"The Lord God is a sun and a shield." Again, the Lord
is said to be "a Rock," a" Fortress," &c. (Ps. Ixxxiv. 11.)
Jesus says, " I am the true vine." Again, he says, " I am
the door ;" and again he tells us, " I am the way." Now
we consider these as strictly analogous lo the expressions,
" This is my body, and this is my blood." If you insist
upon the literal construction of these last words, I cannot
see why we should not understand the others literally also.
If you tell us that Christ says emphatically, "This is my
body." I reply, Paul just as emphatically says, " That Rock
was Christ."
But even on their own terms, our Latin friends are in
volved Ul a difficulty. If they understand these words lite
rally, then in order to be consistent, they must repudiate
every thing figurative in the words of institution. Let us
read the 27th verse, " He took the cup, and gave thanks,
and gave it to them, saying. Drink ye all of it." All of
what ? All the wine, to be sure ! But there is not a word
said about wine here. " He took the cup and said. Drink
ye all of it." Those who insist upon the literal interprela.
tion, must swallow the cup. " For this (the cup,) is my
blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for
the remission of sins." Now, abandoning all figurative

5g transubstantiation.
construction, it must be plain to every man pf common
sense, that it is not the wine, but the cup which must be
turned into the real blood of Christ ! Here then is a dilem
ma, from which I cannot see any possibility of escape. The
figurative explanation must either be adopted, or else the
literal one must be consistently carried out. If you under
stand our Lord's language to have been metaphorical, you
give up the doctrine of transubstantiation ! If you adopt the
literal interpretation, then you must swallov/ the cup entire
as it is, for it is the cup of which Jesus says, " This is my
blood ofthe New Testament," &« Let our friends choose
whichever horn ofthe dilemmathey prefer. But if we read
the following verse, (29th,) I think that will throw still
more light upon the subject. "I say unto you, I will not
drink henceforth -of this fruit cf 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 ex
amining the Grds. of C. D., that the comraentator had given
proof of very great discretion, for which I must accord him
all the credit he deserves. He says nothing at all about it.
He does not quote the text itself, neither does he even re
motely refer to it, and for the very sufficient reason, that it
subverts the whole theory of the real presence. " I say
unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the
vine."* 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, was still the
"fruit of the vine," I cannot comprehend how it should
* Doway Bible, Matt. xxvi. 29.

transubstantiation. 59
have been literal human blood. I proceed with the quota
tions from Scripture adduced by Romanists.
*' 1 Cor. X. 16. ' The cup of blessing which we bless,
is it not the communion ofthe blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of
Christ?' Which interrogation of the apostle is certainly
equivalent to an affirmation, and evidently declares that in
the blessed sacrament, we really receive the body and blood
of Christ."
I think it evidently declares just the contrary. Paul says,
the " bread which we break." Now the bread is not broken
until after the consecration. When that has taken place,
according to Romanists, there is 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." I
am sure it is evident that Paul and the Romish church are
at variance here. Moreover, if you still insist upon it, that
the Saviour said, " This is my body," and that therefore we
must understand him literally, yx)u put Paul at direct vari
ance with his Divine Master. For, in this case, that identi
cal substance which Christ declares to be his real flesh,
Paul as plainly pronounces to be bread. But let us proceed
to the third quotation.
1 Cor. xi. 27 — 29. " Whosoever shall eat this bread, or
drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty ofthe
body and blood of the Lord. He that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not
discerning the body of the Lord."
The same difficulty, which I have just exposed, is found
again in this passage. Paul speaks of the elements as
" bread" after their consecration. He says that they who
partake of these symbols unworthily, i. e. 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 ofthe

gQ transubstantiation.
Lord ; are chargeable with treating them contemptuously,
and thus contract a share of the guilt of those who wounded
his sacred body, and shed his precious blood upon the cross.
Hence the apostle adds^ " He that eateth and drinketh un
worthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not
discerning the Lord's body." The word (xpifia) rendered
damnation is usually translated "condemnation or punish
ment." The passage does not mean that the unworthy
partaker commits a mortal sin, for which there is no for
giveness to he obtained upon repentance. No, dear hearers,
" the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." But
here I find a question proposed, upon which no little em
phasis is laid.
" Now, how should a person be guilty of the body and
blood of the 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 the crime of not
discerning the body of the Lord, if 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
then was broken for sinners. His blood then was shed for
us; and in this memorial feast, in which we commemorate
the Saviour's passion and his dying love, we call to mind
his sufferings 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 Son of God, and count the blood
of the covenant an unholy thing." " The natural man re-
peiveth not the thmgs of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." The papist cannot con-

transubstantiation. gj
ceive how any man can be guilty of the body and blood of
the Lord, unless he eats and drinks the literal flesh and
blood of the Master ; " neither can he know these things,
because they are spiritually discerned." But the closing
sentence propounds another query. Before I answer this
question, and I will do it in as few words as are used in pro
pounding it, I beg leave to refer you, for one moment, to the
original. O yap-iodtuv xai rtlvunt ava^iu^, xpl^tavta iaOtti xat
}(i.Vf(, /j.'Ti Siaxpi.H.ii' to sujtta ¦tov Kvpiov. Every one, at all fami
liar with the Greek, knows that the literal meaning of the
word SuixpivtiM is, " to make a difference ; to discriminate ;"
this is also the original meaning of the Latin word discerno,
from which we have the English word discerru To " dis
cern," then, properly means to " make a distinction," or a
" difference." In this sense, our translators employed it.
" He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drink
eth condemnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's
body ;" i. e. " not making a difference between the Lord's
Supper and an ordinary meal." That this was, in the apos
tle's mind, is evident from the context. Before he gives the
words which he had received of the Lord, relative to the
institution of the sacrament, he uses this language : (1 Cor.
xi. 20 — 22.) " When ye come together therefore into one
place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating
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 ? 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? I praise you not." It
seems there were some in the church at Corinth, who per
verted sacramental seasons, by making them occasions of
feastinc, rioting, and drunkenness. To this Paul refers,
when he tells them that they who eat and drink unworthily
incur punishment, not discerning the Lord's body; not mak-
6

Q2 transubstantiation.
ing a difference between the sacramental feast and any other.
And he goes on to say : " For this cause many among you
are weak and sickly, and many sleep." They had been
visited with judgments for their profanation of this ordinance.
At the close ofthe chapter Paul sums up his admonitions by
telling them, " If any man hunger, let him eat at home, »
that ye come not together to condemnation." The word
discern, therefore,' in this passage, is not used in the popular
acceptation of seeing. This is the meaning, however, affixed
Jo it in the Grds. of Cath. Doct., no other signification will
make sense. " Where should be the crime of not disceriiing
the Lord's body, if the body ofthe Lord were not there ?" I
ask my Romish Interrogator in reply, " 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 is a wafer still, and not a body with limbs and
sinews, fiesh and blood. Unless you prove to my senses,
that there is a real change in the elements, how am I to see
the Lord's body ? " Or where shall be the crime of not
discerning the Lord's body if the body of the Lord is not
there ?" "¦"
I proceed to the last quotation from Scripture, adduced in
the Grds. C. D., p. 43.
John vi. 51, &c. " The bread that I will give is my flesh, ,¦
which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews there
fore debated among themselves, saying. How can this man
give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them. Ve
rily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh 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 my blood is drink indeed,
He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in
me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and

transubstantiation. 63
I live by the Father : so he that eateth me, even he shall
live by me. This is that bread which came down from hea
ven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead : he
that eateth of this bread shall live for ever."
Now, I suppose it v\ill be conceded, that no one can bet
ter interpret the meaning of this Scripture than the Saviour
himself. When he, spoke of feeding the church with his
own flesh and blood, both his disciples and the Jews under
stood him as speaking literally ; of this there can be no
question; for the disciples murmured, and the Jews were
filled with indignation, and asked, " How can this man give
us his flesh to eat?" But if our Roman Catholic friends
will read a few paragraphs farther, they will find that the
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
that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
Now if this means any thing, it teaches that the Saviour's
words were to be undei'stood spiritually. But if they are fo
be taken literally, I can very soon show you that they will
prove more than Romanists would wish to see established.
^' He that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." If this
be understood literally, then it must mean that the mere par
taking of the sacrament insures salvation. Now Romanists
will surely not contend for this. They understand this pas-
¦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
¦every one who partakes of it, is sure of eternal life. Ju-
¦das partook of the Lord's Supper as well as the other apos
tles. Did Judas obtain eternal life? What says our Lord?
" Have not I 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 suffering the pains of hell, on account of their heresy

54 transubstantiation.
and apostacy, often partook of the real body and blood of
Christ, whilst in communion with the church of Rome; and
if so. Papists will have to agree with Protestants in believing
that notwithstanding the anathemas of Popes and councils,
Luther and his colleagues are safe.
Ronianists place great stress upon the testimony of the
fathers ; and I will, therefore, quote for their farther con
viction, what some of these fathers say concerning the very
passage before us. Clement, of Alexandria, holds this lan
guage : " When our Lord says, Eat my flesh and drink my
blood, he allegorically means the drink of faith, and of the
promises ; and, that our Lord is, by way of allegory, to
them who believe, meat, and flesh, and nourishment, arid
food." TertuUian 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." Eu
seblus 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 admirers. '' The words, which I speak unto you, they
are spirit and life ; as if he had said, understand spiritually
what I have said. You are noi about to eat this identical
body, which you see ; and you are not about to drink this
identical blood, which they who crucify me will pour out.
On the contrary, I have commended a certain sacrament to
you, which will vivify you, if spiritually understood."'*
But I must go on to the passages of Scripture, which di
rectly contradict the doctrine of transubstantiation. I have
shown, already, that all the quotations, claimed by Roman
ists, are decidedly against them, There is not a single pas
sage in all those, which I have adduced from their own book,
* Augus, Enarr. in Psalm xcviii. Oper. Vol. viii. p. 397.

transubstanti.\tion. g5
which does not bear witness against them. But, in addition
to these, take the following: David, in fs. xvi., says,
" Thou wilt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption." In
the 2d of Acts, Peter, speaking by inspiration, tells us that
this prediction was hterally 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 human nature of Christ should never see corrup
tion. But, if transubstantiation is true, the purpose of God,
in regard to the human nature of Christ, is completely frus
trated. 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
celebration of the Eucharist, the priest offers up the literal
body and blood of Christ to God, as a true and proper ex
piatory sacrifice for the quick and the dead. Hence it is a
doctrine of the Romish church, that Christ is repeatedly
offered. Contrast with this doctrine, the language of Paul.
" Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." Heb.
ix. 28 ; arid still more forcibly, " By the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ,
once for all." (Heb. x. 10.) And read, in addition, (1 Pet.
iii. 18.) Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God." Here, then, we sec
the Romish church declares Christ is repeatedly offered,
and the Bible declares, he was offered once, and but once —
once for all.. Transubstantiation is, therefore, clearly con
trary to Scripture.
III. / proceed now to examine the testimony of the fa
thers. Upon this part of my subject I shall be very brief.
Not only, because I would avoid trespassing, unduly, upon
your patience, but for the additional reason, that I care very
6»

gg transubstantiation.
little for the testimony, of the fathers. They were not in
spired, and though, no doubt, many of them were holy men,
yet they were not infallible. If their opinions agree with
theplain letter and spirit of Scripture, I am willing to listen
to them ; but if they broach doctrines which the wayfaring
man can see to be contradicted, both by reason and revela
tion, they will have no weight at all with me. I acknow
ledge nothing as an authoritative rule of faith, but the Holy
Scriptures. " As many as walk according to thig rule,
peace be on them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God."
I am willing to., admit, however, that the writers who lived
during the first ages, p&rticularly the first three centuries,
enjoyed some opportunities of ascertaining truth which we
do not now possess, especially with relation to matters of
fact, 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 transubstantiation ; but, on the contrary, very
decided testimony against it.
Whenever the early fathers descend to the strictness of
explanatory definition, they plainly tell us, again and again,
that the bread 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, and that
we do raoi drink the real blood of Christ, when we celebrate
the Lord's Supper. TertuUian, who lived at the end of the
second and at the beginning of the third centuries, uses this
language ;In his Third Book vs. Marcion 12th chap , at the
close.* "God in your gospel has so revealed the matter,-
* Tert. p. 237. " Sic enim Deus in evangelio quoque vestro
revelavit, panem corpus suum appellans, ut et hinc jam eum intel-
ligas corporis sui figuram panis dedisse, cujus retro corpus in
panem prophetes figuravit, ipso domino, hoc sacramentum postea
interpretaturo."

tbansubstantiation. q-^
calling the bread his own body, that you may hence under
stand, how he gave bread to be the^^ure of his own body,
which body, conversely, the prophet has fgvt-atively called
bread, the Lord himself being afterward about lo interpret
this Sacrament." And again, in his First Book vs. Marcion,
9th chap. p. 174. "Indeed, up to this lime Christ.has '
reprobated neither the water of the creator wilh which he
washes his people, nor the oil, with which he anoints them,
nor the fellowship of honey and milk wilh 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 ofthe creator."* These are not second
hand quotations. I have taken them from a copy of Ter-
tuUian's works, edited by Erasmus, and published in
1530, which is in my private library. I am aware Ro
manists do not like Erasmus at all too well ; they accuse
him of having laid the egg which Luther hatched. How
ever, as my copy of TertuUian is more than 300 years old,
it could not have been altered to serve the purposes of here.
tics, when they attempt to show that the fathers did not be
lieve in transubstantiation. But I will proceed to quote
some farther authority. Cyprian, who lived in the third
century, holds the following language, (see p. 815, vol. 5.
of Kirchen Vaeter.) Speaking of the ancient custom of
mingling wafer with wine in the Eucharist, he says ; " By
water we perceive that the people is intended ; but by wine
we may observe, that the blood of Christ is represented."
(See also p. 312.) Clement of Alexandria, in the second
century, speaks like a good sensible Protestant, "Inasmuch
* Sed illequidem usque nunc nee aquam reprobavit crealoris,
qua suos abluit, nee oleum quo suos unguit, nee mellis etlactis
societatem qua suos infantat, nee panem quo ipsum corpus suum
representat, etiam in sacramentis propriis egens mendicitatibus
creatoris."

,gg transubstantiation.
as Christ declared, that the bread which I give you is my
flesh ; and inasmuch as flesh is irrigated by blood ; therefore,
the wine is allegorically called blood. For the word is
allegorically designated by many different names, such
as meat and flesh, and nourishment, and bread, and blood,
and rnilk; for the Lord is all things for the enjoyment of us,
who have believed in him.* Nor let any one think that we
speak strangely, when we say that milk is allegorically
called the blood of the Lord : for is not wine likewise
allegorically called by the very same appellation?"!
And again : " Be well assured that Christ also himself par
took of wine; inasmuch as he also was a man. He, more
over, blessed the wine, saying, ' Take, drink ; this is my
blood,' the blood of the vine. The consecrated liquor of
exhilaration, therefore, allegorically represents the Woird,
who poured him.self out on behalf of many for the remission
of sins. "4:
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 given to thee ; and under the type
of wine his blood is 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
he gave the sign of his body, did not doubt to say, ' This is
my body.' In the history of the New Testament, so
great and so marvellous was the patience of our Lord, that
bearing with Judas, though not ignorant of his purpose, he
admitted him to the banquet, in which he commended and
(delivered to his disciples, ' the figure' of his own body and
' Paedag. lib. 1. c. 6. p. 104.
t Ibid. p. 105. ,
# Ibid. lib. 2. c. 2. p. 158.

transubstantiation. 69 '
blood."* One more quotation, and I will dismiss the Fathers
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 : because by
these 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 sirailitude of the
body and blood of Christ are celebrated in the action of the
mysteries." (See Gelas. de duabus Christi naturis. Bibli-
otheca Patrum, vol. 4. p. 422.) Give me leave, in addition
to this testimony from antiquity, to mention a historical fact,
which took place during the persecution at Lyons, A. D.
177. " The pagans wishing to ascertain the secret ceremo
nial of the Christians, apprehended their slaves and put
them to the torture. Impatient of the pain, and having
nothing to tell which might please their tormentors, the
slaves, who had heard their masters say that the Eucharist
was the body and blood of Christ, forthwith communicated
this circumstance. Whereupon the tormentors, fancying
that it was literal blood and flesh which was served up in
the mysteries ofthe Christians, hastened to inform the other
Pagans. These immediately apprehended the martyrs,
Sanctus and Blandina: and endeavoured to extort from
them a confession of the deed. But Blandina readily and
boldly answered, — how can those, who through piety, ab
stain even from lawful food, be capable of perpetrating the
actions, which you allege against them?"f
Misapprehending the true nature ofthe Eucharist, the
Pagans fancied that the primitive Christians literally de
voured human flesh, and literally drank human blood.
* Aug. Enarr. in Psalm iii. Op. Vol. viii. p. 7. See Faber's
Difficulties of Romanism.
-j- Iren. Fi'ag. apud fficum. in 1 Pet. ii. 12, as quoted by Fa-
ber, p. 118.

70 ' transubstantiation.
Christians were tortured in order to obtain a confession, but
they uniformly denied the existence of any such abomina
tion in their religious worship! Now, I ask, could they
with truth have denied its existence, if they had held the
doctrine of transubstantiation ? No ! For then they must
have been conscious that they were guilty ofthe very crime
alleged against them, viz. that of literally devouring human
flesh, and literally drinking human blood. But they uni
formly denied that they did any such thing, therefore they
did not hold the doctrine of transubstantiation !
Now, my brethren, with this evidence from antiquity be
fore you, what would you think of the veracity of a popish
priest, who in the face of the verdict of these Fathers, should
gravely tell his auditory that their unbroken testimony is all
in favour of "transubstantiation?" I will tell you what I
should think, were I to hear any such assertion. One of
two things is certain. The man who can make such a
statement, is either lamentably ignorant, or else he is atro
ciously wicked. Why, my brethren, the early fathers,
never heard of transubstantiation ! It is a word that was
not coined in the popish mint, until long after the last ofthe
fathers, from whom I have quoted, had gone to his rest !
The doctrine itself is a' novelty. It is a heresy which origi
nated in the fifth century, and was first started by Eutyches.
In the works of Theodoret we have an elaborate discussion
on the subject, in which that father puts arguments into the
mouth of Orthodoxus, (a fictitious character, whose name
indicates that Theodoret looked upon him as orthodox in
his sentiments,) which completely demolish the whole the
ory, of a physical change in the elements. This shows how
the heresy was regarded, when it was first broached. I
hold it proved, therefore, that transubstantiation is contra-
iiipted by the testimony , of the early fathers.

transubstantiation. lyi
IV. In conclusion, I think I can redeem my promise to
show that Romanists probably do not believe the doctrine
now. In order to establish this point, I will state the following
case : " A Protestant lady entered the matrimonial state wilh
a 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 frora conversing whh her on those religious
topics, which he knew would be disagreeable to her. He
employed the Roraish priest, however, who often visited the
family to use his influence to instil his popish notions into
her mind. But she remained unmoved, particularly on the
doctrine of transubstantiation. At length the husband fell
ill, and during his affliction 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 did so ; and on presenting them to the priest said, ' These,
sir, you wish- me to understand, will be changed into the
real body and blood of Christ after you have consecrated
them.' ' Most certainly,' he replied. ' Then, sir,' she re-
jouied, ' it will not be possible, after the consecration, for
them to do any harm to the worthy partakers ; for, says our
Lord, my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed ; and he that eateth me shall live by mc' ' 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 con
secrated ; the priest was about to take and eat the bread ;
but the lady begged pardon for interrupting him, adding,
' I mixed a little arsenic with the bread, sir, but as it is now
changed uito the real body of Christ, it cannot of course do
you any harm.' The principles of the priest, however,
were not sufficiently firm to enable him to eat it. Confused,
ashamed and irritated, he left the house, and never more

^•2 transubstantiation.
ventured to enforce on the lady the absurd doctrine of tran
substantiation.": — McGavin's Protestant, vol. i. p. 425.
Whether this anecdote be literally true in all its circum
stances or not, I cannot pretend to say. Perhaps it is not,
but if not, it is no matter so far as the validity of the argu
ment is concerned. The case may be realized at any time,
and may, I think, be fairly used to put any papist to the
test as to his belief in transubstantiation. I should be very
sorry indeed if any Roman Catholic should consent to make
the experiment. And I have too good an opinion of their
common sense to believe that they would incur the risk of
being poisoned. If the priest's mumbling " Hoc est corpus
meum," can expel the arsenic, and mind, it must be Pro
testant arsenic, I shall certainly be less skeptical than I am
at present on the subject; and just so soon as I have ocular
demonstration to convince me, that the wafer is changed into
the real body and blood, soul and divinity of the Saviour, I
shall most cheerfully give in my assent to the doctrine of
transubstantiation, and shall be ready to admit that its op-
posers are far more perverse than I ever supposed them to be.

LECTURE III.

PURGATORY.
Luke xxiii. 43.
"AND JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE, TO-DAY
SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.''
The doctrine which was announced last Sabbath as the
subject of discourse for this evening, is one of those strange
things which most clearly convict the Romish church of
gross apostacy from the simphcity of the gospel. The be
lief in purgatory is a tenet peculiar to the Roman Catholic
faith. It is certainly not enjoined in the Bible, which con
tains the grounds of Protestant doctrine, nor is it incorpo
rated in any of the standards of the Protestant churches
as an article of faith. You find it in Roman Catholic
books, and in them only. It may be inferred from what I
have just said, that the Bible is not to be regarded as a Roman
-Catholic book. I shall not enter into a lengthy argument
to prove this ; the fact that the word of God is included in
the index of prohibited books, and that its common circula
tion is reprobated by the highest authorities of the popish
church, is' surely proof enough. That this is the case, I
shall show hereafter, meanwhile, any one who wishes to
satisfy himself, need only turn to the chapter in the Acts
ofthe Council of Trent, which treats " of forbidden books,"
and he will find that the common reading- of God's word is
7

IJ4 PURGATORY.
declared to be fraught with the most pernicious result*, and is
therefore strictly forbidden- The assertion that the doctrine
of purgatory is now to be found only in Roman Catholic books
will, I suppose, not be disputed by the most zealous papists.
The Bible says not a word about purgatory. You cannot
find the word in this whole volume, from Genesis to Reve
lation. Now, if it were a matter of revelation, it would
certainly have had a name and a place in the Scriptures.
Every important doctrine taught in the word of God is
clearly designated by its appropriate appellation. 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 all
point out particular doctrines which ara clearly defined in
the Scriptures. It is a strange thing that there should be
no name for purgatory in the Bible, if there really is such
a state or place, especially when so much is said about hea
ven and hell, the two other abodes of departed souls. But
strange as it is, it is true. This silence I can account
for only on one or the other of the following suppositions.
There is either a singular omission, not to say defect in the
word of God ; or else there is no such thing as purgatory.
The latter I consider the more probable case of the two,
and I hope to bring over every unprejudiced hearer to my
opinion. The plan I have proposed to myself in treating
this subject is,
I. To examine the evidence which is offered in
SUPPORT OF THE DOCTRINE.
II. To PRODUCE TESTIMONY WHICH SUBVERTS IT.
I. What is the doctrine of the church, as to purgatory ?
" We constantly hold, that there is a purgatory ; and that
the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the
faithful. That is, by the prayers and alms offered for them,
and principally by the holy sacrifice of the mass.

PURGATORY. 75
" What "do you mean by purgatory?
" A middle state of souls, who depart this life in God's
grace, yet not without some lesser stains or guilt of punish
ment, which retards them from entering heaven. But as to
the particular place where these souls suffer, or the quality
of the torments which they sufer, the church has decided
nothing. " What sort of Christians then go to purgatory?
*' 1. Such as die guilty of lesser sins, which we commonly
call venial, as many Christians do, who, either by sudden
death or otherwise, are taken out of this life before they have
repented of these ordinary failings. 2dly. Such as have
been formerly guilty of greater sins, and have not made full
satisfaction for thera to the divine justice.
"Why do you say that those who die guilty of lesser
sins go to purgatory 1
" Because such as depart this life before they have re
pented for these venial frailties and imperfections cannot be
supposed to be condemned to the eternal torments of hell,
since the sins of which they are guilty are but small, which
even God's best servants are more or less liable to. Nor
can they go straight to heaven in this state, because the
Scripture assures us, (Rev. xxi. 17,) * There shall in no
wise enter thither any thing that defileth-' Now every sin,
be it ever so small, certainly defileth the soul. Hence our
Saviour assures us, that we are to render an account even
for every idle word. (Matt. xii. 36.)
" Upon what then do you ground your belief of purga
tory? " Upon Scripture, tradition and reason."*
I shall follow the Grds. of C. D., and see what evidence
Scripture, tradition, and reason offer in support of purga
tory. « Grds. C. D., p. 55,

PURGATORY.

76 1. "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
passages ; and, in order to give all possible weight to these
references, I will read them as they stand in the Doway Bi
ble. " But the king shall rejoice in God ; all they shall
be praised that swear by hira ; because the mouth is stop
ped of them that speali wicked things." Ps. Ixii. 12. What
this has to do with purgatory I cannot conceive. There is
nothing here about " prayers, and alms, and the holy sacri
fice of the mass, being offered for the souls of the faithful."
Neither is the text very relevant to prove that God will re
ward every man according to his works. Perhaps, how
ever, there is a typographical error, and the twelfth verse
of Ps. Ixi. may be intended, I will read that. " God hath
spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power be-
longeth to God, and mercy to thee, O Lord, for thou wilt
render to every man according to his works," Again :
(Matt. xvi. 27.) " For the Son of Man shall come in the
glory of his Father with his angels, and then will he render
to every man according to his" works," (Rom. ii. 6.) " Who
will render to every man according to his works," (Rev. xxii.
12.) " Behold, I come quickly : and my reward is with me,
to render to every man according to his works." These are
the quotations from the Doway Bible. I suppose my hear-,
ers, like myself, feel disposed to ask, " What have these
texts to do with purgatory ?" When I had looked out these
Scripture passages, I could not help turning to the Grds. of
C. D. again, and reading the doctrine of the church on this
point. No one doubts that God will reward every man ac
cording to his works; but what has this to do with purga
tory ? Hear Pope Pius. " Now this would not be true,"
(viz. that God will reward every man according to his
works,) " if there was no such thing as purgatory." How
so ? " for how would God render to every one according to

PURGATORY. ijf
his works, if such as die in the guilt of any, even of the
least sin, which they have not taken care to blot out by re
pentance, would nevertheless go straight to heaven?"* Here
the Pope and the Bible are fairly at issue. The Bible says,
" The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin ;" the
Pope intimates that repentance blots out sin. If so, where
is the need of the Saviour's blood ? If I can blot out my
sins by repentance, I need no Saviour ! But waiving this
for the present, the declarations of Scripture, that " God will
reward every man according to his works,'' have no rela
tion to purgatory ; and the Pope gives a very fair 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 !" " for how would God render to every one
according to his works, if such as die in the guilt of any,
even ofthe least sin, which they have not taken care to blot
out by repentance, would, nevertheless, go straight to hea
ven ?" Who says they will go to heaven ? Not Protestants,
I am sure. If men die " in the guilt of any, even the least
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 very sufiicient reason, that if
any man is under the guilt of sin, even the least sin, he
is an unregenerate man. And no unconverted man can
possibly enter the kingdom of heaven ! It is absurd, by the
way, to speak of little sins. Some sins are, it is true, greater
than others ; but no sins can be called httle, so long as the
God against whom they are committed is 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. 57.
7*

7g PURGATORY.
condemnation to them, which are in Christ Jesus." (Kom.
viii. 1.) The believer has received the full pardon of all
his sins, not because he has made satisfaction by doing pe
nance ; but, because God, for -Christ's sake, does not im
pute sin ! Therefore David says, " Blessed is the map to
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity," (Ps. xxxii. 2.) The
psalmist does not call the man blessed, who has not com
mitted sin, for there is no such man on earth ; but the raan
to whom sin is not imputed, who has it not charged against
him for future reckoning. The standing of such a man,
before God,. is not in himself, but in his Saviour; therefore
he is blessed ! Now believers give evidence that they are
the children of God by their works. " By their fruits ye
shall know them." They are created anew to good works
in Christ Jesus. Their persons gnd services are accepted
for Christ's sake, not for any intrinsic merit they possess.
The Bible tells us, that men shall be rewarded according to
¦their works, but not on account of their works. My hear
ers will observe, there is a broad distinction to be made be
tween the expressions " according to works," and " on account
of works," just as there is a difference between the evidence
of a witness and the fact which that witness is called to esta
blish. 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 the evidence, but on account of
his guilt or innocence, as established by the testimony.-
But here I ask again, What has all this to do with pur
gatory? These Scriptures speak of God's rewarding men
" according to their works ;" but it. is plainly avowed by
Papists themselves, that in purgatory God renders to every
man, not " according to his works," but according to bis
wealth, or to the wealth of his surviving friends. The more
masses bis surviving friends can procure for the -repose of
his soul, the sooner he will be delivered from purgatory;
and money will buy masses to any extent you please.

PURGATORY. -jg
2. But I must proceed to the next Scripture proof. " Have
you any other text which the fathers and ecclesiastical
writers interpret of purgatory ? Yes, 1 Cor. iii. 13, 14, 15.
' Every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day
shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. And
the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If
any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, (that
is, upon the foundation, which is Jesus Christ,) he shall re
ceive a reward. If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall
suffer loss : but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.'
From which text it appears, that such as in their faith, and
in the practice of their lives, have stuck to the foundation,
which is Christ Jesus, so as not to forfeit his grace by mor
tal sin ; though they have otherwise been guilty of great im
perfection, by building wood, hay, and stubble (v. 12,) upon
this foundation ; it appears, I say, that such as these, ac
cording to the apostle, must pass through a fiery trial at the
time that ' every .man's work shall be made manifest ;'
which is not till the next life ; and that they shall be saved
indeed, yet so as by fire, that is, by passing through purga-
tory."* It is amusing to see the cool assurance whh which
Pope Pius concludes this paragraph, " yet so as by fire,
i. e. by passing through purgatory." A man might read
over this Scripture one hundred times, and he would never
be able to find any thing of purgatory in it, unless he carae
determined to pervert the passage. If we look at the apos
tle's scope, and this is the only way to ascertain his mean
ing, we shall see that in the context, Paul is speaking of
some who held indeed the foundation of Christianity, but
built upon it such doctrines and practices as would not be
approved in the day of trial. These he designates as wood,
hay, and stubble, which are not proof against tho fire,
* Grds. C. D. p. 57.

go PURGATORY.
Such 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 pro
verbial 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
wilh fear, pulling them out of the fire." Besides, it is not
said that a man shall be saved by fire, but, " so as by fire."
The apostle had been speaking of melals. These are puri
fied from dross by means of fire. Now, if any Christian
should build improper things upon the true foundation, God
would, by some trying dispensation, destroy his work. His
labour would be lost ; and so as by fire gold is separated
from the dross, he would be saved from his errors and cor
ruptions. In the exposition of this passage, I have followed the
general opinion of the commentators, though a careful ex
amination of the context leads me to offer an explanation,
which strikes me as more ' satisfactoiy than that which is
commonly received. In the ninth verse Paul says to the
Corinthians, " Ye are God's building." He then proceeds
to enlarge and carry out this metaphor, by reminding them
of his own labours among them as a " wise master builder,"
and to caution every man, i. e. every builder, or minister,
to take heed how he builds upon the foundation Christ
Jesus, V. 10, 11. The building consists not of doctrines
but of converts, " Ye are God's building," and the character
of these converts is typified by the figures of" gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble." It is a common
thing for the sacred writers to use gold and silver as emble
matical of the righteous. Thus Job says, " When he, hath
tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job xxiii, 10. "I
will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine

PURGATORY. Ql
them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried ;
they shall call on my name, and I will hear them : I will
say it is my people," &c. Zech. xiii. 9. " Ye also, as live
ly stones, are built up a spiritual house," &c. 1 Pet. ii. 5.
Wood, hay, and stubble are as often employed as appro
priate emblems of the character of the wicked. " Behold,
I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people
wood, and it shall devour them." Jer. v. 14. "Let them
be as the grass upon the housetops, which wilhereth afore
it groweth up." Ps. cxxix. 6. " Thou sentest thy wrath,
which consumed them as stubble." Exod. xv. 7. " For be
hold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven ; and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble :
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord
of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
Mai. iv. 1. "The fire will try every man's work of what
sort it is ;" " the day shall declare jt," that great and terri
ble day ofthe 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. Many
ministers, who have been over anxious to make large addi.
tions to the church, and who have looked more at the quan
tity than the quality of their material, will suffer 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
builders will not receive as large a reward as those whose
work abides, who have been more careful and disscriminat-
ing ; nevertheless, they themselves shall be saved ; yet so as
by fire, i. e. with difficulty. They built upon the true
foundation, though much of their work was burned. " They
that be wise shall shine as the brightness ofthe firmament ;
and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for

92 PURGATORY.
ever and ever." Dan. xii. 3. I am the more inclined to believe
this exposition to be correct, because it is in perfect keeping
whh the drift of the apostle's discourse. He is reproving
the party-spirit of ihe. Corinthians, and speaking of his fel
low labourers in the ministry, before he introduces the, pas
sage in question. I offer these hints with diflSdence ; if they
meet the eye of one, who denounces all private interpreta
tion of the Scriptures, they will of course receive very little
countenance, especially as they do not favour the purgatory
scheme. Pauf says nothing in the context that can lead us to be
lieve that 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 princi
pally by the holy sacrifice of the mass." And if you turn to
the Grds. of C. D., you will find that this Scripture is
brought forward fo establish this point. One remark, how
ever, I must make, in justice to those who interpret this
passage as relating to purgatory. The apostle speaks of
building " gold and silver" upon the foundation of Christi
anity, and there is no doubt, that in 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 who can
question for one moment, that the inventors of purgatory
have built " gold and silver" upon their foundation? In the
^ apostle's mind, I suppose, however, all this would be included
in the hayand stubble, which will not stand when " the fire
shall try every man's work of what sort it is." Besides all
this, the text says, " the fire shall try every man's work,"
not, the, fire shall purgfeor purify every man, so that, if this
fire should signify purgatory, and if every raan should fol
low his work, no man that once got into purgatory, would
ever come out of it, and so the suffrages of the faithful would
be of no service.

PURGATORY. gg
3. But not to dwell too long upon one passage, I must pro
ceed. " Matt. V. 25, 26. ' Agree with thine adversary
quickly whilst thou art in the way wilh him; lest at anytime
the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver
thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I
say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out of thence
till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.' Which text, St.
Cyprian, one ofthe most ancient fathers, understands ofthe
prison of purgatory. Epis. 52 ad Antoninum."*
The passage in Cyprian, to which we are referred, cer
tainly teaches nothing like the present doctrine of purgatory.
I will quote it in its proper place. Augustine interprets this
text as alluding to hell.f But suppose Cyprian to mean what
Romanists assert, and lo be right in his application of
these words, they will be very far from sustaining the traffic
of our purgatory priests. " Verily, I say unto thee, thou
shalt BY NO means come out thence till thou hast paid the
uttermost farthing." Why this is a death-blow to the whole
theory. The man in prison who represents, according to
Catholic doctrine, the soul in purgatory, is fold, " Thou
shalt by no means come out thence." This admits of no
commutation of punishment. The sinner must pay the
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 it is certain we can carry nothing out." What good
will alms, and prayers, and masses do? "Thou shalt by
NO MEANS corae out thence !!" If I had wished to choose a
text from the Bible that would overthrow the whole purga-
torian scheme, I could not have selected one more to the
purpose than this, which Pope Pius, with apostolic simph
city, furnishes to ray hand.
* Grds. C. D. 58.
¦|- Fiilke's Confutation of Bhemish Testament, p. 46, in loco.
New York, 1834.

Q4 PURGATORY.
In the connexion in which we find these words, Christ
was speaking of unjust anger, unkind words, and quarrels
among brethren. He says, that a man, who harbours ill-
will against a brother, is not in a fit state of mind lo offer
an acceptable sacrifice to God. He is therefore comraanded
to take iraraediate steps to effect a reconciliation, and it is
in this connexion that the Saviour says, " Agree with thine
adversary," &c., meaning, that if this is'not done, he may
expect that his adversary will take summary vengeance,
when he shall have it in his power. No doubt, the words
were intended to convey spiritual instruction. The man
who hates his brofher cannot love God, and unless his
hatred be removed, he will incur punishnient from which
he will never be delivered ! " Thou shalt by no means come
out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." I hope
that my Roman Catholic friends will never pay another
penny to their priests to help souls out of purgatory when,
according to the very authority which Pope Pius adduces,
there is so little prospect of -their release.
I was not a little surprised at reading in No. 3,* p. 13, of
the Tracts, published by the Papist Tract Society of Balti
more, the following statement : " With respect to the asser
tion so often 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
which, though a thousand times proved to be groundless, is
as often repeated. The Catholic priest claims no authority
or jurisdiction over the dead. All he can do is, to apply to
the mercy of God in their behalf; but like other men, he

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

PURGATORY. gg
must ever remain uncertain respecting the efficacy of his
prayers," &c. Cold comfort this for the faithful. The
priest it seems does not know whether his prayers and sacri
fices are worth any thing or not ! And yet he lakes money
for these extra prayers and sacrifices, and will not perform
them without il. For the same Rt. Rev. Dr. Baines, Bishop,
&c., who complains of this as one of the " strange misrepre
sentations" which have so often been refuted, nevertheless jus
tifies 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, " Biit if not content wilh these
general prayers and sacrifices, individuals wish for their
friends special and peculiar services, surely he who performs
them may, without reproach, receive a remuneration." I
hope all Roman Catholics will bear in mind that there is
nothing certain relative to the liberation of their friends
from purgatory ; 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,
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 !" If popery had existed
in the days of Solomon, he would surely have included
Holy Mother in the family of the horse-leach, for, like her two
sisters, she is forever crying, " Give, give." (Prov. xxx. 15.)
" The priest must ever remain uncertain respecting the effi
cacy of his prayers !" The apostle James says, " The fer
vent, effectual prayer of a righteous' man availeth much."
Let the reader draw his own inference.
4. I proceed to the next quotation. " Whosoever speak
eth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,
neither in this world nor in the world to come." Now I
shall not inquire what the infallible fathers and doctors of
8

gg PURGATORY.
the Romish church say on this subject,. because there is a
very great diversity of opinion among them, and as one is just
as infallible as the other, it is no easy matter to decide be
tween them. I believe that Mark and Luke were better
interpreters of their brother Matthew than all the fathers
and doctors put together, and the sense which they give to
the Saviour's expression, that the sin against the Holy Ghost
shall not be forgiven either in this world, or in the world to
come is, that it shall never be forgiven. Mark records the
Saviour's words thus: "He that shall blaspheme against
the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of
eternal damnation." (Mark iii. 29.) Luke says, "But
unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall
not be forgiven," (Luke xii. 10.) The phrase neither in
this world, nor in the World to come, is a Hebrew form of
speech, equivalent to never. But suppose our Saviour's
language in Matthew does intimate that there is forgiveness
to be obtained in the world to come, why must this relate to
purgatory ? Why, says Pope Pius, " It cannot be in hell,
for there is no forgiveness." Right. " Nor in heaven, for
there is no sin." True. " Well, then, it must be in purga
tory.-' How so? Is there no forgiveness to be expected at
the place where God will judge the world iii righteousness
by that mfin -whom he hath ordained ? Shall not true be
lievers be openly acknowledged and acquitted at the day of
judgment? Will npt your sins be blotted out when the times
of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ? So
that you see we need not light up a purgatory, even supposing
that there is forgiveness to be obtained in the world to come.
And, at all events, this passage is not applicable to the sub
ject. "Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it
shall not be forgiven -him," &g. Why, souls go to purgatory
not to be forgiven, but to be punished! Purgatory is not a
place where sins are forgiven, but where they are burnt out

PURGATORY. g7
of the soul ! What has forgiveness in the world to come to
do with purgatory ? " Oh," says the papist, " I always
thought that they were forgiven after they had made satis
faction in purgatory !" But do you not see, my friend, that
if satisfaction be made, there is no room for forgiveness. If
you owe me one hundred dollars, and pay me at the stipulated
time, I cannot say that I forgive you the debt. The debt is
paid, it is not forgiven. God forgives sinners for the sake
of the Saviour. If they could make satisfaction for them
selves, there would be no need of God's forgiveness, nor
of Jesus Christ; and then David was wretchedly out of
the way when he said, " But there is forgiveness with thee."
But I forget, David was no papist. Let those who profess
to make satisfaction, — to finish the finished righteousness of
Christ, look to it that they do not bar against themselves
the door of _/bj"^»eness.
5. " But," says the Roman Catholic, " you cannot deny
that purgatory is implied, (Acts iii. 18 — 20,) where Christ
is said'by his spirit to have gone and preached, &c. to the
spirits in person."* Here Pope Pius forgets part of his
creed, and I must remind him of it. It is part of the Romish
faith in relation to purgatory, (though it is not inserted in
the Grds. of C. D., inasmuch, I 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 on earth, were confined in limbus, a
place where there is no torment. " There are four infernal,
or subter rest rial places; Hell, Purgatory, Limbus Infantum,
for children who die without baptism, and Limbus Patrum,
where the patriarchs were before Christ's incarnation. In
bell and purgatory there are poena damni et poena sensus,
• Grds. C. D., p. 59.

gg ¦ PURGATORY.
punishment of loss and pain. The two limbi are only dun
geons of darkness without torment, except absence from
God."* *"
Now, let us bear in mind that the spirits in prison were
the souls of those who died diiring Noah's time, as the text
tells us. Did these disobedient people die in mortal sin, or
in a slate of grace ? If the former, they went to hell. If
the latter, they were to be accommodated in limbus patrum,
a place where there is no torrhent. They were not iri pur
gatory. If Christ preached to thera, he went to limbus, not
to purgatory. Then, what has this text to do wilh the sub
ject? The truth is, it has nothing to do either with limbus
or purgatory, as may very satisfactorily be shown. The
apostle's statement must be taken in connexion with the
narrative of the inspired historian in Genesis vi. and vii.
God saw that the wickedness of men on earth was very
great, and he determined to destroy the world by a flood.
He raised up Noah, a preacher of righteousness. During
one hundred and twenty years, whilst the ark was prepar
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,
searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ
which was in them did signify," &c. (iPet. i. 11.) There
fore, Christ was preaching by his Spirit through Noah to
the wicked sinners, who were witnesses of the buildinc of
the ark, and who heard the admonitions of the patriarch.
But they were disobedient, they did not believe the warning,
they would not flee for refuge to the hope set before them,
* Bellarm. de Purgat. Lib. 2, Cap. 6.

PURGATORY. gg
and in consequence of their rebellion they perished ; they
were swept away by the flood, and when the apostle wrote,
they were shut up in the prison of hell, and there they will
forever remain ! But, in addition to all this, there is another
difficulty here. \^'hy should Christ go to purgatory to
preach to the spirits there? I never heard before that
preaching was one of the means of getting souls out of pur
gatory. 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
them no good. It would probably afford very little pleasure
to some papists to listen to the preaching of Jesus Christ, as
he was wont to be rather severe on certain very reverend
characters who made the word of God of none efiect 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 to
wards making satisfaction. Though after all it requires
great skill in divination to be able clearly to understand
what bearing this passage can have upon the Tridenline
scheme of purgatory.
These are all the texts which are adduced in the Grounds
of Cath. Doct. in support of the doctrine of purgatory.
I think I have shown that they are not altogether so conclu
sive in favour of the purgatorian plan, as pious Roman
Catholics believe. Indeed, the more discreet doctors of that
persuasion do not ground their doctrine of purgatory upon
Scripture. Archbishop Fisher, e. g., who distinguished
himself by the zeal wilh which he endeavoured to refute the
opinions of Luther, and who is certainly of high authority
in the Romish Church, frankly declared that "he could not
8*

QQ PURGATORY.
readily find 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." And well
¦ it may, for a vast amount of testimony can be gathered from
Scripture, which will prove to every mind open to convic
tion, that this doctrine is not inculcated in the word of God.
Some of this testimony I will now offer.
II. If ever a poor sinner deserved to go to purgatory, it
was the thief who was crucified at the Saviour's side. If
my friends will turn at their leisure to Luke xxiii. 39-43,
they will find as fair an opening for the introduction of this
doctrine, as could possibly have been desired. Who was
the malefactor to whom the Saviour spoke the words of my
text ? 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
he bore witness to the purity and hohness of the spotless
Lamb of God 1 He turns in the anguish of his soul tb the
blessed Jesus. He raust have known something of the Sa
viour before. Perhaps he had heard him preach, perhaps
he had witnessed some of his miracles. At'all events, he
knew enough ofthe truth of God to a.ssure hira, that if ever
his guilty soul was to be saved, it must be alone through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and repentance toward God !
His sorrow for his past life was evidenced by the confession
that the cruel punishment he was suffering was deserved.
His faith in Christ, as the only Saviour,-was proved by his
prayer, " Lord, remeraber me when thou comest into thy
kingdom." And what was the answer of that bleeding
Jesus ? 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 wilh me in Para
dise !" He did not say, " Verily, to-day shalt thou be in

PURGATORY. gj
purgatory !" And surely this man was a fit subject for it.
There was no opportunity of doing penance here. There
was no time to 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
here for the making of satisfaction ! And, blessed be God,
there was no need of it ! There was the Saviour at his side,
pouring out his precious blood, and suffering as the great
atoning sacrifice for the sins ofthe whole world of believers,
and there was room in that Saviour's heart, and room in
Paradise too, for the soul of a poor thief, who spent his last
breath in supplications for mercy ! Would this have been
the case if the ordeal of purgatory were requisite to fit a
soul for heaven ? Suppose, for a moment, that the theory of
the Romish Church were true. Upon such an application
as that which the poor thief made, we may imagine that
something like the following dialogue would have ensued.
" There is the infallible Pope Peter, I have given the keys
of heaven to him, he has power to bind and loose !"
" Peter ?" the agonized thief raight well have answered,
" Infallible Peter? Who is he? Where is he?" " Yonder
he is, he follows afar off, ashamed because he has perjured
himself and denied me!" "Oh, is there then no help for
a poor sin-sick soul, a hell-deserving wretch?" "Surely!
thou mayest have masses offered for the repose of thy soul,
i. e. if thou canst pay for them. Here is 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 apostles, and they will offer masses for thee!" "Ah,
but 1 have no money." " No money ? Verily, I say unto
thee, to-day shalt thou be in purgatory !''
2. I shall not attempt to produce all the texts which might
fairly be quoted in opposition to this popish tenet, for tirae

92 PURGATORY.
would fail me to repeat them. I will, therefore, arrange
them in classes, after specifying one passage more. Let it
be remembered, that it is a doctrine ofthe church of Rome,
unblushingly avowed in this day of spiritual light and know
ledge, that -mioney, the alms ofthe faithful, money, can pur
chase deliverance from the fires of purgatory, and open the
gates of heaven to the soul in whose behalf it is paid. In
other words, money will expedite the sanctification of the
soul ; and in short supersede the agency of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, the gift of God may be purchased with money ! Let
us see how this accords with Scripture. We read in Acts
viii. chap, of a certain Simon, a sorcerer, who professed to
be converted, and was baptized by Philip. The converts
were visited by Peter and John, and the gifts 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 that through laying on ofthe apos
tles' hands, the Holy Ghost was given, (i. e. miraculous en
dowments were conferred,) he offered them money, say
ing, give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay
hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said
unto hira, Thy money perish with thee, because
THOU hast thought TH.AT THE GIFT OP GoD MAY BE PUR
CHASED WITH MONEY ! Thou hast neither part nor lot in
this matter ; for thy heart is not right in the sight of God;
Repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if
peradventure the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee,
for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in
the bond of iniquity." This Scripture is the more emphatic,
because it is the word of Peter, who, according to Roman
ists, was the vicar-general of Jesus Christ, and the prince of
the apostles ! " Thy money perish with thee !" Here then,
I have one question to ask, and may the Spirit of God apply
it with convincing energy lo every conscience. ' If the man,

PURGATORY. 93
who offers money in order to buy the gift of God, must
perish if he repent not of this wickedness, what shall the end
be of the man, or the men, who presume to sell the gift of
God for 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
ofthe Holy Ghost to deliver from sin, to sanctify the soul, and
prepare it for heaven ; and this is called the gift of God ; it is
therefore God's prerogative to deliver from sin and from its
penalty. This merey he does not sell, he gives it freely to
all who ask it, but the priests profess to sell it. Now, if
they could confer the mercy which they pretend to sell,
they would be selling what is not their own. They sell the
gift of God.
3. Again, In opposition to this Popish tenet, we must
array all those. texts which represent salvation as offered
without money and without price. " Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money,
corae ye, buy and eat, buy wine and milk without money
and without price !" So says the good gospel of Almighty
God. What says the gospel of Rome ? " Pay or perish."
" No penny no paternoster !" Pay for masses, or burn in
purgatory ! Says Jesus : " If any man thirst let him come
unto me and take of the water of life freely." And again,
" The Spirit and the Bride say. Come; and let him that hear
eth say, Come; and whosoever will, let him lake the wa
ter of life freely ;" i. e. gratuitously, " without money,'' &c.
" Ye were not redeemed," says Peter, " with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood ofthe
Son of God, as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot!"
Sipners in the church of Rome are redeemed with silver
and gold, if they are redeemed at all ; masses well paid for
will cover 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.
4., Again : If the Doctrine of the Romish church, con
cerning purgatory, be true, all those texts, which represent
the danger of the rich are false. Our Saviour tells us,
" How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the
kingdom of God ! It is easier for a camel to pass through
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God," &c. Not so, if Pope Pius is to be be
lieved ; for he confidently assures us that alms and masses
will help the souls in purgatory. The more money, the
more masses ; and the more masses the better for the pri
soner, detained in the fiery ordeal. But the objection may
he 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
know, my friend, that the covetous man may confess to his
priest, and the priest will give him absolution, if he is paid
for it, and will, moreover, administer the sacrament of ex
treme unction ; and then there is no danger ! The man will
have a- clear title to purgatory; and he can be hurried.
through the furnace, and corae out pure as gold seven times
tried, provided plenty of gold is left wilh the ghostly father,
as an acknowledgment for the masses that are offered up
for his deliverance. Now if this be so, and what honest
Romanist will deny it? "how easily shall they that have
riches enter the kingdom of God !"
5. Again : In opposition to th\s golden rule of purgatory,
we place all those texts which represent the sacrifice of
Clirist as all-sufficient 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. 95
his blood ; 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 him
shall receive remission of sins." (Acts x. 43.) The apostle
Paul, after quoting the words of a prophet, " their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more," adds these words,
" Now where the remission of these is, there is no more
offiring for sin." (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."*
But, Paul says, " Where the remission of sins is, there/
is no more offering for sin." And he assures us, over and'
over again, that Christ has obtained this remission for us,
by the shedding of his own blood. But, according to this,|
there is more than the blood of Christ necessary ; though the
Scriptures tell us, " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from
all sin," we are gravely assured by the church, which
claims to be infallible, that purgatory is necessary to
cleanse us from some sins. From what sins ? Mortal
sins? No. The blood of Christ must do that; but from
venial sins. So, then, the blood of Jesus Christ can purify
us from mortal sins, but not from venial offences. It can
wash away great stains, but it cannot take away little ones ;
purgatory must do that ! What a mistake, the blessed Je
sus must have been under, when he cried out on the cross,
" Il is finished." It was not finished. The, expiation was only
begun on Calvary. It is finished in purgatory. But hark !
a voice from heaven ! "I heard a voice frora heaven, say
ing unto me, Write, blessed are the dead that die in the
• Grds. C. D. 51.

gg PURGATORY.
Lord from henceforth. Yea! saith the Spirit, -that they
may rest from their labours." They rest; then they cannot
be in purgatory, for there is no rest there ! And what is
the united song of the redeemed? " Unto him that hath
loved us, and wasTied us from our sins in his own blood ;
to him be glory for ever." Now this is not enough. Ro
man Catholics, who expect to go to purgatory,, must see
that there is something wanting ; " and to the fires and
pains of purgatory that have purified us from all venial sins;
and to the alms, and prayers, and masses of saints and
priests who have expedited our deliverance; and to ourselves,
who have thus made satisfaction for our sins ; to Christ, to
purgatory, to the saints and priests, and to ourselves, be
glory for ever! Amen."
But I must proceed to the next general head ; for if I
were to go on until I had exhausted the Scriptme evidences
against purgatory, I should far exceed your patience and
my own strength.
III. Let us examine ihe testimony of tradition. On this
head I §hall be more brief. My chief stress I shall always
lay upon the Scriptural argument. If that is on my side,
Roman Catholics may make as much out of their traditions
as they please. If tradition contradicts the Bible, away with
it. If it illustrates and confirms the Scripture, I am willing
to listen to it, but only as secondary and inferior testimony.
I 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 coramending
them for it, denounces them a.s hypocrites, because they
" rejected the comraandment of God, that they might keep
their own tradition." Let us refer again to the Grds. of C. D.
" How do you ground the belief of purgatory upon tra
dition ?
" Because, both the Jewish church, long before our Sa-

PURGATORY. g^
viour's coming, and the Christian church, 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, in regard to the Jews, from 2 Mac. xii., where this
practice is approved of, which books of Maccabees, the
church, says St. Augustine, L. 18. de Civ. Dei. c. accounts
canonical, though the Jews do not. In regard to the Christian
church, the same is evident, from all the fathers, and the
most ancient liturgies. Now such prayers as these evi
dently imply the belief of a purgatory; for souls in hea
ven stand in no need of prayers, and those in hell cannot
be bettered by them." (Grds., p. 59.)
In place of any direct proof, either from the- Hebrew Scrip
tures or from the New Testament, that it is the duty of the
living to pray for the dead, we are offered a meagre allestatioh
from the Apocrypha, which the church of Rome has taken
the precaution to pronounce canonical. " If Judas had not
hoped," says theauthor of the history ofthe Maccabees, in
his second book, that they who were slain should have risen
again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead."
Now we cannot blame Pope Pius, or his priest, for adducing
noevklence from the genuine Scriptures; because there is no
thing in them that could possibly serve his purpose. He has
done what he could, and mortal man can do no more. But
is it not strange that our author, in the very same paragrajih
in which he stickles for tradition, .should reject tradition?
The Jews, according to his own statement, did not acknow
ledge the books of the Maccabees as inspired productions,
and therefore refused to give them a place among the genu
ine Scriptures; but the church, i. e. the church of Rome,
considers thera 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
9

9g PURGATORY.
Style, evidently showing, that he never dreamed that the
mantle of infallibility and inspiration would ever be thrown
over his shoulders. " If I have done well, and as is fitting
the story, it is that which I desired ; but if slenderly and
meanly, it is that which I could attain unto." In plain En
glish, he meant to say, " that he had done his best ; that the
work was all his own, and must stand or fall by its own
merits." And then, as if forever to put an end to all con
troversy on the question of his inspiration, he concludes his
history with these words : " For, as it is hurtful to drink
wine or water alone ; and as wine, mingled with- water, is
pleasant, and delighteth the taste, even so, speech finely
framed, delighteth the ears of thera that read the story. And
here shall be an end." Now, if it is hurtful to drink water
alone, then I cannot conceive how father Matthews, who fs
effecting so much for the temperance cause in Ireland, can,
with a clear conscience, recommend the cold water society.
I suppose his faith in Judas Maccabeus raust have been con
siderably impaired, since he has become the apostle of the
temperance reformation in that country !
But, to return to tradition. I can furnish tradhions that
are even more to the point than this quotation from Judas
Maccabeus ; and that have quite as much authority as the
Apocrypha. The authorities to which I shall refer, have
this farther 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 must not reject
the auxiliaries, whom I will bring to their help. There is
no doubt that they can plead antiquity in favour of pur
gatory. The question is often asked us by Romanists :
" Where was your religion before Luther?" The answer is,
" In the New Testament." And, if we are asked again,
" Where was the Protestant church before Luther?" I an
swer, In the valleys of Piedmont, among the Waldenses and

PURGATORY. 99
Albigenses, and on the hills of Scotland, among the Cul-
dees ! There were more than seven thousand there, who
had not bowed the knee to Baal, nor kissed his images /
They wandered about, like their fathers of old, in sheep-skins,
and goat-skins, and in the dens and caves of the earth !
They were persecuted, tortured, and inhumanly butchered
in cold blood. I need not say by whom ! And now, when
we ask Romanists, " Where was your purgatory before
Gregory the Great ?" they can answer, wilh perfect truth,
" In the writings of heathen poets and philosophers !" Let
not my Roman Catholic friends say, that this is all a "bur
lesque upon their favourite doctrine ! Cardinal Bellarmine
himself, actually founds an argument in behalf of purga
tory upon this very circumstance ; that the heathen be
lieved it. (Bell, de Purg., lib. i. c. 11.)
Now, if men will take their notions of Christianity from
such teachers, no wonder if they depart from the simplicity
ofthe gospel ! Plato believed in a purgatory. Let me give
you a brief synopsis of his theory, and you will find where
the Romish church borrowed theirs.
" Eusebius relates of Plato, that he divided mankind into
three states; some, who, having purified themselves by phi
losophy, and excelled in holiness of life, enjoy an eternal
fehcity in the islands of the blessed, without any labour or
trouble, which neither is it 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
headlong into hell, there to be tormented for ever. But, now,
besides these, he imagined there was a middle sort, who,
though they had sinned, yet had repented of it, and, there
fore, seemed to be in a curable condition ; and these, he
thought, went down, for some time, to hell too, to be purged
and absolved by grievous torments ; but that after that, they

2QQ PURGATORY.
should be delivered from it, and attain to honours according
to the dignity of their benefactors."*
If you turn to the works of Homer and Virgil, you will
find in the twelfth book of the Odyssey, and in the sixth of
the jEneid, that the heathen did constantly hold, with Pope
Pius, that there is a purgatory, a middle state ; arid that
the souls therein detained, are. helped by the prayers, alms,
and sacrifices of the faithful. It is true, the heathen knew
nothing of the sacrifice of the mass. That is an original
invention of the Popish church.
The ceremonies used for the deliverance of souls, as de
scribed by those poetSj are so very similar to the Popish rites
now practised, that if the Romish church would only confer
the same honour upon Homer and Virgil, that has been given
to 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 wonld gain four hundred
years antiquity, not only against the heretical unbelievers of
this doctrine, but against Christianity itself. Now, when it
is remembered, that many ofthe early fathers of the Chris
tian church were brought up in the Platonic pliilosoph)', be
fore their conversion, we can more readily understand how
it was, that, alter they became Christians, they hazarded
conjectures relative 40 the stale of the soul, during the pe
riod of its separation from the body, very similar to their
former heathen notions on this subject. The truth is, when
Christianity had. become popular, and its profession was
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
* See M'pavin's Prot, Vol. i. p. 540,

rURGATORY. jQ|
the rest. As to the fathers, then, I admit that after the fourth
century, and even earlier, you may find passages in their
writings that favour the practice of " praying for the dead,"
though it required several long centuries before the doctrine
of purgatory could be moulded into its present shape.
But I cannot pass over this matter without showing that the
oZrfesi fathers ofthe Christian church are as free in their writings
from any mention of purgatory as the Bible itself. Here then
the commentator on Pope Pius's confession of faith and myself
are fairly at issue. He asserts that all the fathers are in favour
of this doctrine." I am sorry that his reverence says so,
because I can prove the contrary. I suppose, however,
we must in charity construe his assertion as a rhetorical
flourish — a hyperbolical expression ; the object of which
is a pious fraud, designed to establish the faithful in their
creed, especially as pious frauds are distinctly authorized in
the standard Roman Catholic works on theology. Witness
St. Ligori, who was canonized in 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. To swear
with equivocation, where there is a good reason, and equi
vocation itself is lawful, is not wrong. And if a person
swears without a good reason, it is not to be considered a
perjury, since, in one sense of the word, and, according to
a mental restriction, he swears what is true.f
After this, who will find fault with his reverence for say
ing that all the fathers speak in favour of purgatory ? Why,
if he were to swear to it, in one sense it would still be true,
even though the proof were point blank against him.
Now, if all the fathers bear testimony in favour of pur-
» Grds. p. 59.
-j- SynopsisofLigori's Moral Theology, p. 159. New York, 1836.
9*

'lQ2 PURGATORY.
gat-oryv" hovK is it that Clement, the cotemporary of the
apcfsffes, should use such language as this in his second
epistle to the Corinthians.
" Let us therefore repent whilst we are yet upon the earth ;
for we are as clay in the hand of the artificer. For as the
potter, if he make a vessel, and it b& turned amiss in his
hands, or broken, again forms it anew ; but if he have gone,
so far as to throw it into the furnace of fire, he can no more
bring any remedy to it ; so we, whilst we are in this world,
should repent with our whole heart- for whatsoever evil we
have done in the flesh, while we have yet the time of re
pentance, that we may be saved by the Lord. For after
we shall have departed out of this world, we shall no longer
b^ able either to confess our sins, or repent in the other."*
Ignatius, who suffered martyrdom in the early part ofthe
second century, and who was chosen bishop of Antioch
about the year 70, speaks as follows in his epistle to the
Magnesians. " Seeing then all things have an end, there
are these two indifferently set before us, death and life; and
every one shall depart unto his proper place."f
Ignatius speaks here of two states, one of life, the other
of death, and says notone word. about "purgatory." If he
had known any thing of it as an article of Christian faith,
he would have said something of the additional third State
which figures so conspicuously in the theology of the Ro
mish church. Athenagoras, who lived in the second cen
tury, wrote a treatise of about forty pages, (which is in my
possession,) professedly on the Resurrection of the Dead,
but not one word is said in it about purgatory, and not one
single passage can be adduced that alludes to it in the most
distant manner-
Augustine affirms as follows : " Non est uUi ullus medius
* Apost. Fathers, p. 273. Hartford, 1834. f Il>id. p.. 136.

PURGATORY. 1, ^ ^^foJT* "
locus, Ut possit esse nisi cum diabolo, quK^n* da ^jjdV-*'
Christo." i. e. There is no middle place for any ottST^SS^tteRS""^
he who is not whh Christ, cannot be any where but with
the devil! "Tertium locum penilus ignoramus, imo nee
esse in Scripturis Sanctis invenimus." i. e. We are utterly
ignorant of any third place, for we find it not in Scripture.*
Why is it, if all the fathers bear testimony to this doc
trine of purgatory, that we are not furnished with quotations
from Irenaeus, and from Justin and Hypolitus and Polycarp,
and the other fathers pf the primitive church? Simply be
cause they say nothing about it. But there is a passage
in Cyprian to which we were referred some time ago, and
which I promised to quote in its proper place. I will do so
now, and after adducing another sentence or two from the sarae
father, I will dismiss the subject of tradition for the present.
Cyprian, speaking of those who had fallen away in time
of persecution, and who had consented to offer sacrifice to
the heathen gods, and to xvorship their images, tells Anto-
nianus what poHcy ought, in his opinion, to be pursued with
the lapsed, and in the course of his remarks, uses this lan
guage. I translate from my Gerraan copy of Cyprian,
which has the Pope's recommendation. " It is one thing
for a man to present himself for pardon, another ihing to
come to glory ; it is oue thing for him who is cast into pri
son not to come out until he has paid the utterrao.st farthing ;
another thing forthwith to receive the reward of faith and vir
tue ; 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 fire ; and another to have all his sins
blotted out 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. 1, Cap. 28. See Illustrations
of Popery, p. 231. New York, 1838.

JQ4 PURGATORY.
ment, and another to be immediately crowned by the Lord."*
This is the passage in full. 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 by the early discipline of the church.
And I can prove this by citing another passage from the
same author, which unequivocally confirms this view.
" When once we have departed hence, there is no longer
any place for repentance, no longer any effectiveness of
satisfaction. Here life is either lost or held : here we.may
provide for our eternal salvation by the worship of God and
the fruitfulness of faith- Let not any one, then, be retarded
either by sins or by length of years, from attaining to salva
tion. To a person while he remains in this world, repent
ance is never too late. Those who seek after and under
stand the truth, may always have an easy access to the
indulgence of God. Even to the very end of your life, pray
for your sins, and by confession and failh, implore the one
only true God. To him who confesses, pardon is freely
granted : to hira who believes, a salutary indulgence is
granted from the divine pity : and immediately after death,
he passes to a blessed immortality "^
So much for Cyprian's belief in purgalorj^
III. There is one question more, and t^en I shall have
done. " How do you ground the belief of purgatory upon reason ?
"Because reason clearly teaches thesetwo things : 1st, That
all and every sin, how small soever, deserves punishment.

* Saemmtliche Aechte Werke des heil. Cacil. Thascius Cypri-
anus, p. 228, vol. 5, der Saemmtlichen Werke der Kirchen Vster.
Kempten, 1832. This work has the Pope's letter of approbation
in full.
f Cyp. ad Dem. Kirchen Vaeter, vol. 6, p. 184.

PURGATORY. 105
2dly, That some sins are so small, either through the levity
of the matter, or for want of full deliberation in the action,
as not to deserve eternal punishment. From whence it ia
plain, that besides the place of eternal punishment, which
we call hell, there must be also a place of temporal punish
ment for such as die with little sins, and this we call pur
gatory."* That all sin, without exception, merits punishment, is
certainly clear to reason, aided as it is by the light of con
science. The second proposition, however, I cannot en
dorse. So .soon as I know from the vvord of God so much of his
character and attributes as I find revealed in this book, my
reason tells me that no offence committed against infinite
goodness and holiness, can be a little sin. Sin is no trifle.
My reason, enlightened by eternal truth, convinces me that
the guilt of every deliberate violation ofthe holy law, enact
ed by the great Jehovah, is to be measured by the perfec
tions of the lawgiver. If he is a finite being, the guilt is
proportionate ; if he is infinite, so is the guilt of the trans
gressor, and infinite guilt demands commensurate punish
ment. When the Papist has proved Jehovah to be a little
God, it will be time enough to speak of little sins. "What!"
you ask, " do you believe that God will send a man to the
endless torments of hell on account of a few mistakes in
judgment or in practice?" I believe, my friend, that God
will surely keep his word, and that every one, who is a
proud rejecter of the atonement made by the Saviour, will
assuredly perish. If he despises the Lord Jesus Christ, if
he does not love him, he will be accursed, and he will richly
deserve to be for ever accursed ! If his soul is in a slate of
determined alienation from God, (and it is so, if with his
* Grounds Cath. Doct. p. 66.

106 PURGATORY..
whole heart, he does not embrace Jesus Christ as his Sa
viour,) there is no hope for him. If, on the contrary, he is
a believer, he is passed from death unto life, he is no longer
under condemnation. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
him from all sin, and leaves no work for the fires of purga
tory. Hence, from my very soul, I reject the closing in
ference, as repugnant to every sound principle of reason. -
Is it in accordance with right reason, to suppose that the
blood of Jesus Christ, which, according to our Roman
Catholic friends, is able to cleanse from the guilt of mortal
sins, (the most atrocious which can be committed,) is not
sufficient to purify the soul from lesser stains? Is this rea
son ? Is it reasonable to suppose that He, who spared not
his own well-beloved Son, but offered him up as a propitia
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 cer
tain day (Nov. 2,) can help the souls in purgatory ? This
is consummate folly. I find an interesting reference to this
practice in a work written by Anthony Gavin, a Roman
Catholic priest, who renounced Popery -A. D. 1715. Speak
ing of practices in Italy and Spain, he says in substance as
follows : " As lo the 2d day of November, which is the day
of the souls of purgatory, in which every priest and friar
says three masses for the delivery of so many souls out of
the pains of it, they generally say that from 3 o'clock of
November 1st, (All Saints' day,) till 3 in the afternoon of
the next day, all the souls are out of purgatory, and entirely
free from the pains of it. During these twenty-four hours,
they ring the bells of all the churches' and convents, which
they say is a great help to the souls."
Pity that the bells should ever stop ringing, if this suffrage

PURGATORY. 107
can purchase a holiday for the Christians in purgatory. It
is hard, that' after diverting themselves for twenty-four hours,
they should have to go back to the fire, so Soon as the bells
have rung their annual peal. But, let us hear Mr. Gavin a
little farther.
" On that day alone, the priests and friars get more
money than in two months' time beside ; for every family,
and private persons too, give yellow wax candles to the
church, and -money for masses; and during these twenty-
four hours the churches are crowded with people," &c.
It seems Mr. Gavin's mind was also under the strange
hallucination which afflicts so many Protestants and Papists
too, causing them to believe that raoney is paid to the priests
to induce them to help souls out of purgatory by their
masses and prayers. We stand corrected, however. The
¦priests do not sell masses or prayers, not they ; but surely
he who performs thera may, without reproach, receive a re-
rmineration, especially when it is remembered that, " like
other raen, 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 a 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
them in every house, always ringing the bell as a suffrage."
The duke of Ossuna raade a witty repartee to Pope Inno
cent XL, on this subject. The duke was ambassador for
the king of Spain at Rotne, and had a large bell on the top
of his house, to gather his domestics when he was going
out. Many cardinals lived by his palace, and they com
plained to the Pope, that the ambassador's bell disturbed
them ; (for the duke used to order the bell to be rung when
he knew the cardinals were at home,) and the Pope spoke
immediately to the duke, and asked his excellency why he

108 PURGATORY.
kept so big a bell ? To which the duke answered, that he
was a very good Christian and a good friend to the souls in
purgatory, to whom the ringing of the bell was a suffrage.
The Pope tbok the raillery in good part, and recommended
the use of some other signal to call his .servants, suggesting
that if he was sq 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 large can
non was substituted in its place, with which twelve volleys
were fired every morning, and twelve at midnight, which
was the time the cardinals were at home. So they made
a second complaint to the Pope; upon this his holiness spoke
to the duke again ; but he replied, that the bell was to be
sold, and th? money to be given to the priests for masses,
and that he' had ordered the cannon as a suffrage for the
souls ofthe poor soldiers that hEul died in the defence ofthe
Holy See. This withering sarcasm affronted his holiness
not a little, but the duke kept his cannon notwithstanding.*
I cannot conceive how any intelligent raan can, from his
heart, give credit to the popish doctrine of purgatory, any
more than tlie great cardinal, who being disposed one day
to quiz his chaplain, put this question to hira. " How many
masses will serve to fetch a Soul out of purgatory?" 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 ma.sses to fetch a soul out of pur
gatory, as snowballs to heat an oven !"
It is inconceivable how any Romish priest should
have the audacity to deny that masses for souls in pur
gatory are retailed 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.

PURG,\TORY. 109
that, even in enlightened Dublin, there is at least one flour
ishing Purgatorian society ? I have before me a constitu
tion of one of these associations. It is loo 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. Ja'tnes's Chapel.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. Amen.
It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for
the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins. Mace.
xii. 46.
"The members who compose the society ofthe office for
the dead, commenced on the above day, at the said place,
adopting the spirit and raeaning of the above sacred text,
and wishing, in conformity to the divine precepts of the
Holy Catholic church, to extend their charitable views be
yond the grave, by relieving, as far as in them lies, the suf
fering souls in purgatory, and inviting all tender-hearted
Catholics, 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 tirae, to assist in the
charitable and pious purpose of shortening the duration of
their sufferings by the raost easy means imaginable, have
agreed to, and adopted the following rules :"
Ride 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 shall be appropriated
to the procuring of masses to be offered up for the repose of
10

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.
" Rule 3. That on the first Monday of every month a mass
will be offered, up in the parish chapel of St. James, at ten
o'clock, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the sub
scribers of this society."
Rule 4, relates to the election- of the officers of the associ
ation. iZuZe 5, provides that every subscriber must purchase a
copy of these rules.
" Rule 6. That the spiritual benefits of this institution
shall be conferred in the following manner, viz. Each sub
scriber shall be entitled to an office at the time of their
death," (I cannot endorse either the sentiments or grammar
of these rules,) " another at the expiration of a month, and one
at the end of twelve months after their decease;, also, the
benefit of masses which shall be procured to be offered, by
the money arising frora subscriptions, and which shall be
extended to their parents, relations, and friends in the fol
lowing order : that is to say, their fathers, mothers, bro
thers, sisters, uncles, aunts ; and if married, husbands, wives
and children, if they have any departed who lived to matu
rity. "Rule 7. That every raember of the office for the dead,
who serves the society in the capacity of superior, shall, at
the time of his death, be entitled to three mas.ses, to be offer
ed for the repose of his soul ; and also, every member who
serves the office of rector, shall be entitled lo the benefit of
two ma.sses, 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
months a subscriber to the institution, and be clear of all dues
at the time of their departure ; that care shall be taken, by

purgatory. Ill
the surviving superior and rectors, that such soul-masses are
punctually obtained,' agreeable to the interest and meaning
of this institution."
Rules 8 and 9, relate to the making of by-laws, &c.
" Subscriptions received and subscribers registered at the
chapel on every Wednesday evening, frem seven o'clock
until nine, and in the school-room adjoining the chapel, on
the first Sunday of February, May, August, and Novem
ber, being quarterly days, from ten o'clock until one. The
books to be opened for the inspection of subscribers.
" Price threepence. J. Coyne, printer, 74 Cook street."
According to this precious document it appears that "the
most easy raeans imaginable" of shortening the duration of
the sufferings of souls in purgatory, is to contribute a penny
per week to pay for masses ! I wonder what the Rev. Dr.
Baines, Bishop of Siga, &c., would say to this? It seems
to favour the idea somewhat, that the priests, for a sura 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 chujch. They profess to believe that
the souls of members of their flock are weltering in the
flames of purgatory, that they have power lo mitigate their
torment by saying the proper number of masses, and recom
mending them to the praj-ers 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 it in their power to relieve them, and can they coolly
wait till they are paid, before they use the means? Tell
me, is this any part of the gospel of Jesus Christ ? That
gospel, which was to be especially adapted to the wants of
the poor ?
Every dollar which is paid for masses in behalf of souls
in purgatory, is a swift witness against the validity of all

112 purgatory.
priestly pardons. 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
the parly confessing are forgiven, &c., let him be accursed."
(See Coun. pf Trent. Can. 9. Works of Satisfaction.)
We are t6ld over and over again in the decrees of this Tri-
dentine Conventicle, that the priests " sit 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.)
Now, these two articles of faith are sadly, at variance. If
purgatory be true, their pardons must be false, and if these
pardons are valid, purgatory is annihilated. According to
the Romish tenets, baptism^ penance, masses, indulgences,
and extrerae unction avail towards the forgiveness of sins.
Now, when Christ, forgave sins, the. pardoned soul was at
once taken to glory. Witness the case of Lazarus, who
was taken to Abraham's bosom ; also the penitent thief on
the cross. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever ; he is no respecter of persons ; his pardons must
ever remain the same, I would ask, are the priests' par
dons the sarae-as Christ's? If they are, the souls of the
pardoned go forthwith to heaven, and are blessed from
henceforth ; and then what becomes of purgatory ? But if
they be not at once taken to heaven, it follows that the
priests' pardons are different from Christ's, and therefore
must be false ; and these pardons being deceptions, 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.

113

out a clear title either to heaven or to purgatory, whither do
they go?
Look now, my brethren, at this dilemma. Is not the in
ference clear as noon-day ? Lest any man should doubt,
listen to what the priests tell us, and openly tell us by their
raasses. Yes, all the priests on earth, as with one mouth,
declare (though they are sworn to believe their pardons as
good as Christ's,) that the whole of them are false ! False !
Ay, false, every one ! 1 But how so? Do they not declare
when the Pope himself, their great head and leader, and of
course Ihe best prepared, dies, that it is the duty ofthe faith
ful everywhere to pray foi^his deliverance frora purgatory?
Do not all his clergy proceed to say raasses for him, and
obtain offerings to extricate his holiness from the fire? Sirs,
this has not been done in a corner!!! Is not this simple
fact equivalent to an open declaration that he did not go to
heaven ? And if the vicar-general of Christ, the Great
Head of the apostolic church. His Holiness, goes to pur
gatory, what must the pardons he dispensed be worth? His
priests give him all the consolations of the church previous
to his departure; they anoint hira and absolve him, but not-
witlistanding their oil and their absolves, his holiness must
go to purgatory. This is proof positive that all their par
dons differ from Christ's ; if so, they cannot be true ; then
they must be false — utterly false!
So then, if these pardons be divine, none who get them
can go to purgatory, and if so, all the cash raade by assist
ing souls out of the fire, ought to be disgorged by the priests
and handed back to the faithful. But, if this is out of the
question, and if the purgatory, scheme is too lucrative to be
so easily abandoned, then the other horn of the dilemma
presents itself, and the priests must confess that their par
dons are assuredly false ; for who would ever think of send
ing a pardoned soul to purgatory ?
10*

114 PURGATORY.
Now, be these pardons true or- false, they necessarily an
nihilate purgatory ; for, if false, tliej' who get them go not
to purgatory, nor to heaven, but to hell, and that for ever;
if true, 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 they rest from their labours;
they go to Paradise and not to purgatory; and so if nehher
the righteous nor the wicked go to it, it must lie waste and
untenanted, or have no existence at all. But if it is a non
entity, and if the Pope and all the faithful, for whom so
many masses are said, go neither to purgatory nor yet to
Paradise, whither, alas ! raust they go ?
Let our Roraan Catholic brethren think on these things
ere it be too late.
I cannot conclude without most earnestly and affection
ately entreating yeu all, to give no heed to the seducing
spirits that would lead you away from the Saviour. Believe
me, and if you will not believe rae, believe God's own word,
that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. Oh !
your time and mine ia fast drawing to a close, the end of all
things is at hand. Go, then, I beseech you, whilst salvation
is freely offered. Go, accept the mercy which is tendered
without money and without price ! Take it from the Sa
viour's hand, and from no other, and God grant that you
and I may be saved at last, even though it should be so as
by fre. Anien !

LECTURE IV.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
Matt. iv. 10.
" GET THEE HENCE, SATAN : FOR IT IS WRITTEN, THOU SHALT
WORSHIP THE LORD THY GOD, AND HIM ONLY SHALT THOU
SERVE." In entering upon the consideration of the question, whe
ther the worship of saints is authorized by Scripture or not,
we should all feel the importance of decision. It is not of
small moment whether the practice of the Roraish church,
in this matter, be right or wrong; for the subject is inti
mately connected with the worship of God, and affects, most
materially, the mode of the sinner's approach to hira. If it
is right to invoke departed saints ; if God has commanded
us to wait upon them, then Protestants are guilty of gross
disobedience in refusing to call upon them ; but if there is
no warrant in Scripture for the practice, and especially, if
the revealed will of God is decidedly opposed to the inter
vention of the saints, as mediators or helpers, then all the
worship that is offered thera must be hateful to God, and"
ruinous to the souls of men. The subject before us is,
therefore, one of practical interest. The inquiry is nothing
less than, "How am I to approach God with acceptance ?
How am I to pray to him ?" Is it through the Lord Jesus

ll^g invocation OP SAINTS.
Christ, as the one, the only mediator ? or through him, and
the saints in heaven? Through one advocate, or through a
host of advocates? The Lord guide us by his good Spirit
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 Roman Catholic side of the question
all possible advantage, I will state their argument in their
own language:
1. Concerning the invocation of saints, the Council of
Trent teaches as follows : " The Holy Council commands
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
Chri.stian 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 reign together with Christ, offer their prayers to God
for raen; that it is a good and useful thing suppliantly to
invoke them, and to flee to their prayers, help, and assistance,
because of the benefits bestowed by God, through his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our only Redeemer and Sa
viour; and that those are men of impious sentiments who
deny that the saints, who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven,
are to be invoked ; or who affirm that they do not "pray for
men ; or to beseech thera to pray for us is idolatry ; or that
it is contrary to the word of God, and opposed tO the honour
of Jesus Christ, the one mediator- between God and men ;
or that it is foolish to supplicate, verbally or mentally, those
who reign in heaven."* * Concil. Trid. Sess. xxv.

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. 117
The Grounds of Cath. 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 as to .suppose they have any power to
help us, independently of God's good will and pleasure, we
do not pray to thera; but if, by praying to saints, we raean
no more than desiring thera to pray lo God for us, in this
sense we hold it both good and profitable to pray to the
saints." Ishall postpone ray remarks upon this second answer,
until the proofs which are advanced in support of the prac
tice have been examined.
" How do you prove that it is good and profitable to de
sire the saints and angels in heaven to pray lo God for us ?
" Because it is good and profitable to desire the servants
of God here upon earlh to pray for us ; ' for the prayer of
a righteous man availeth much.' James v. 16. Moses, by
his prayers, obtained mercy for the children of Israel.
Exod. xxxii. 11, 14. And Samuel, by his prayers, defeated
the Philistines. 1 Sam. vii. 8 — 10. Hence, St. Paul, in al
most all his epistles, de.sires the faithful to pray for him ; and
God himself commanded Eliphas and his two friends, to go
to Job, that Job should pray for thera, proraising to accept
of his prayers." Job xiii. 8.
We do not deny that it is right to desire an interest in the
prayers of God's people, upon earlh ; but Protestants hold
that there is a vast difference between applying to the saints
on earth, and invoking Ihe departed spirits of just men made
perfect. When we go to a friend, in whose piety we Jiave

lig INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
confidence, and ask him to pray for us, we have Scripture
for the practice. " The effectual, fervent prayer of a righ
teous man availeth much;" but we have no such Bible war
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 all, the
blessed Virgin, to intercede for us. Besides, there is 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., we are asked the following question: " Now,
if it be acceptable to God, and good and profitable to our
selves, to seek the prayer-s and intercession of God's ser
vants here on earth, must it not be much raore 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 here upon earth ?"
Notwithstanding the great emphasis which Pope Pius's
priest lays upon this.question, (and from the style in which
it is propounded, it evidently appeared, to his mind, to settle
the whole controversy, ) there are several very serious diffi
culties in the way ; and, before I shall ever invoke the
-saints whose names are on the Roman calendar, these diffi
culties must be removed.
1. In the first place, it is not proved, that the saints in
heaven are within hearing. Now this is a very important
matter, as every one must allow. How shall St. Peter, or
St. Winifred, help me if they cannot hear me ? I think it
more than probable, that the saints in heaven are ignorant
of our wants, and cannot hear our prayers ; because I read
in the word of God : " The living know that they shall die ;
but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any
more a reward; for the m.eraory of them is forgbtteni" Ec.
ix. 5. On this principle, I suppose it was, that Elijah said

^jQ INVOCATION OP SAINTS. Hg
to Elisha, " jlsk what I shall do for thee, befoke I be ta
ken away from thee." 2 Kings ii. 9.
2. And then, there is another serious obstacle in the way.
It js certain the saints cannot hear all who call upon them,
unless they are omnipresent. How, e. g., shall the Virgin
Mary hear all the suppliants, who invoke her at all hours
of the day, and of the night, and in every part of the earth,
where there is a Romish church, or priest, or layman, un
less she is omnipresent 1 Now, you cannot separate the at
tributes of Deity. Show me a being that is infinite in any
of the essential qualities of his character, and I am bound
to ascribe to him, or to her, all the attributes of the God
head. Then, if the Virgin Mary is omnipresent, she is a
Goddess. If the Almighty, then, is the King of heaven,
she raust be the Queen of heaven; and this, by the way, is
actually one of the. titles ascribed to her in Roraan Catholic
Prayer-books. Queen of heaven ! The Bible says nothing
about Mary's being the queen of heaven. I must confess,
however, that there is mention made, in the word of God,
of this title. The expression occurs, three or four times,
in the forty-fourth chapter of Jereraiah; but I do not be
lieve that the Virgin Mary was intended. At all events, I
should be afraid to invoke " the queen of heaven," after read
ing what I find in this passage. "Thus saith the Lord of
hosts, the God of Israel, saying. Ye and your wives have
both spoken with your raouths, and fulfilled with your hand,
saying. We will surely perform our vows that wo have vow
ed, to burn incense lo the queen of heaven, and to pour out
drink-offerings unto her; ye will surely accomplish your
vows, and surely perform your vows. Therefore hear ye
the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of
Egypt ; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the
Lord, that my narae shall no more be named in the mouth of
any man of Judah, in all the land of Egypt, saying. The

120 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
Lord God liveth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil,
and not for good ; and all the men of Judah that are in the
land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the
faraine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number
that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt
into the land of Judah ; and all the rentHiant of Judah, that
are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know
whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs." (Jer. xliv. 25 — 28.)
3. But there is another thing, which I should like to have
satisfactorily settled , before I embrace the views of Pope
Pius, on this question. It is this : I should wish to be sure
that all the Roman Catholic saints are in heaven; because,
if I were to invoke a saint who should happen to be any
where else but in heaven, it- would be a very grievoiis and
serious mistake. Now, I confess, I am a little skeptical on
this point ; for I find, upon the list of Romish saints, a great
many names, that used to belong to persons, whose charac
ters were not very saint-like, when they dwelt in this lower
world. Indeed, in some instances, their real naraes wero in
such bad odour, that his Holiness had to give them new
names when he made saints of them ; for they never would
have been recognised as saints under their old ones ; and,
be it remembered', the Pope makes saints, not by sanctifying,
but by canonizing. Now, this is a process in which I can
not place much confidence, principally because it is not re-
comraended in the word of God. I cannot see how the no-.
torious Garnet, who was hung for plotting against the Bri.
tish governraent, in Ahe reign of Queen Elisabeth, should
become worthy of the invocation of the faithful, by the
Pope's canonizing him as St. Henry ? And I never shalj
ask St. Dominick, the bloody patron of the Holiy Inquisi
tion, to pray to God for me; for if he can be heard at all
he had better pray for hiraself.
The saints in the Romish church, may be called Legion,

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. 121
for they are many. Their lives, published by the Bolland-
ists, fill only 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
to be held in everlasting remembrance. But there are others
whose existence is altogether fabulous, and the mystery
is, how sensible Roman Catholics can ever be brought to
believe in the existence of such persons. There was the
gigantic Saint Christopher, who is fabled to have carried
Christ across an arm of the sea; Saint Amphibolus, who
turned out to be the cloak of Alban, the reputed proto-mar-
tyr of England ; Saint Longinus, the Roman soldier who
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. &c.
If the great Saint Francis had lived in this Christian
country and age, his name would probably have been en
rolled anywhere else sooner than upon the record of the
saints. Our police and civil magistrates are not in the habit
of canonizing men who throw away their clothes, and run
about nudior ovo.
A Roraan Catholic raay, perhaps, wish kindly to obviate
the first objection which I raade, 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 he need know to
enable him to intercede for us !" I have no doubt, my
friend, that God can do this, but whether he will do it, is
another thing. God has not commanded you to invoke the
11

122 INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
saints ; this is not pretended by any one, and therefore yon
have no right to expect that God will condescend to your
whim in this matter. Besides only see what a roundabout
way this is of getting at the thing. You invoke one of the
saints, "Oh! St. Nicholas, 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,) fgr some special blessing. Now, my friend, I
think this is a singular method. Would it not be a great
deal better not to trouble St. Nicholas, but to go at once to
the .good Lord in the name ofthe onemediator, Jesus Christ?
/think it would.
But I am forgetting 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."
I should have been better satisfied if some proof had been
advanced in support, particularly of the last proposition ; as
it is, they both rest upon mere assertion, and in addition to
this, they have nothing to do with the subject. - The ques
tion before us is not, " Whether the saints in heaven pray
for men, but whether we should pray to the saints." As to
the former question, whether the saints in heaven pray for
men, the Scriptures say nothing about it, and therefore it is
not modest to be very positive one way or the other.- We
protest against making mediators of the saints by invoking
them, or asking them to help us, and to pray for us. Whe
ther the happy spirits in glory pray for us of their own
accord or not, is altogether another question, and one which
• I mean the writer of the Grds. of C. D. whoever heiwas. The
Grds. of C. D. are merely a development of the views contained
in Pope Pius IV.'s Confession of Faith. I hope it is not a mortal
sin to hold Pope Pius responsible for the sentiments of his com
raentator.

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. 123
we leave undecided. The two following questions and an
swers in the Grounds of Cath. Doct. contain apology, and
not proof. I shall examine this apology when I have done
with the proof, or apology for proof, which is offered in
support ofthe practice ofthe invocation of saints.
" Have you any reason to think that the saints and angels
have any knowledge of your addresses or petitions made to
them? " Yes, we have 1st, Because our Lord assures us, ' that
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth.' 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
can we have to doubt of their knowing our petitions also?
And what is said of the angels is also to be understood of
the saints, of whom our Lord tells us, ' that they are equal
unto the angels.' "
This question ought, I think,- to have been the first of all;
but even supposing that all the evidence which is adduced
to prove that the saints take knowledge of our addresses were
to the point, this would not prove that it is right to invoke
them. The saints may be aware that Roman Catholics call
upon them, and in their hearts they raay abhor the invoca
tion as idolatrous. Pope Pius,<Joes not stick to -his text. He
is to prove that it is right and lawful to invoke the saints,
not that the saints know when we pray to thera. Even this
is far from being probable. But are we not told that " there
is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
that repenteth ?" Yes, we are. " Then the angels have a
knowledgeof our repentance." Undoubtedly. "If they have
a knowledge of our repentance, what reason can we have
to doubt of their knowing our petitions also?" Very great
.reason; because the one case is clearly revealed- in the
Bible, but the other is not. Let us look at the parable, and ,

124 INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
this will appear. The shepherd has lost a sheep, he leaves
the ninety-nine in the wildei'ness, and goes after that which
was lost till he finds it ; and when he has found it, he lays
it on his shoulders, rejoicing, and when he coraes home,, he
calls together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them,
" Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost."
How natural every thing appears if left as the Saviour has
stated it. He says to the angels, " Rejoice wilh me." They
have the joyful intelligence directly frora the Saviour. Now,
if you will show me a passage which represents Jesus Christ
as telling the saints or angels, " such and such a sinner is
invoking you, and wishes you to ask me to grant such
a favour," I will admit that the cases are precisely parallel,
but not before.
Let us examine the next proof.
8dly. "Because the angels of God (who) are always
amongst us, and therefore cannot be ignorant of our requests ;
especially since, as we have seen from Rev. v. 8j and viii. 4,
both angels and saints offer up our prayers before the throne
of God, and therefore must needs know thera."
" The angels are always amongst us." This language
is 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 which
we are referred in Rev. v. 8, will also be found, I think, by
no means favourable to the practice of invoking the saints.
"The four beasts and four and twenty elders felhdown be
fore the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden
vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints."
This text refers • either to the church on earth, or to the
church in heaven ; if to the former, the explanation is as
follows : 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 is all typical of the worship of the church on earih.
But if we understand the passage as alluding to the church
in heaven, it can prove only one thing, and that is, that they
may pray even there. It does not follow that they offer
our prayers. This is the very point to be proved. It can-
riot even be made to appear that they pray for us. There
is not a single prayer of the saints in heaven for those on
earth, recorded in the whole apocalyptic vision, nor in any
other portion of the Bible. The only prayer which we read
of as coming from them, is for themselves. " I saw under
the altar the souls of thera that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testiraony which they held ; and they cried
with a loud voice, saying. How long, O Lord, holy and
true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earlh ?" Now this does not prove that the
saints in heaven intercede for us ; and even if that point
should be established, the main question is 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,
that the inhabitants of heaven know what passeth upon earth.
Hence St. Paul, 1 Cor. iv. 9, in speaking of himself and his
fellow apostles, saiih, ' We are made a spectacle unto the
world, and to angels, and to men.' "
There is nothing new in this paragraph ; so far as Scrip
ture proof to establish the invocation of saints is concerned,
there is not a single iota of evidence offered in any one of
the Scriptures to which we are referred. I shall, therefore,
not detain you any longer on this point than simply to read
the texts which are designated. (Rev. xi. 15.) " And the
seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in hea
ven, saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the
11*

126 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign
forever and ever." (Rev. x. 1, 2.) " And I saw another
mighty angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud,
and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were
the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire : and he had in his
hand a little book open, and he set his right foot upon the sea,
and his left foot on the earth and cried," &c. And in the
last place, "We are made a spectacle unto the world, and
to angels, and to men." (1 C6r. iv. 9.) It is worthy of
remark, that in both the passages from Revelation, the in
habitants of heaven seera to acquire their inforraation respect
ing the affairs of men, from another^ngeL This does not,
therefore, sustain the theory that the saints 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 vvhat passes, on earth :
4thly. " We cannot suppose that the saints and angels
who enjoy the light of glory, can be ignorant of such things
as the prophets and servants of God in this world have often
known by the light of grace, and even the very devils by
the light of nature alone; since the light of glory is so much
more perfect than the light of grace or nature, according to
the apostles, ' For now we see through a glass darkly ; but
then face to face : now I know in part, but then I shall know
even as also I am known ;' that is by a most perfect know
ledge. Hence 1 John iii. 2, it is written, ' we shall be like
him, (God,) for we shall see him as he is;' now it is certain
that the servants of God in this world, by a special light of
grace, have often known things that passed at a great dis
tance, as Elisha, 2 Kings v., knew what passed between
Naaman and his servant Gehazi ; and 2 Kings vi. what was

INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 127
done in the king of Syria's private chamber. Il is also cer
tain that the devils, by the mere light of nature, know what
passes amongst us, as appears in many places in the book
of Job, and by their being our accusers. (Rev. xii. 10.)
Therefore, we cannot reasonably question but that the so
ciety in heaven know the petitions which we address to
them." Now, in my own mind, I have no doubt that the saints in
heaven are made acquainted wilh events that transpire on
earth, of special interest to the cause of Christ. That they
do feel a deep concern in ihe spiritual prosperity of their
brethren on earth, cannot, I think, fairly be questioned; they
are a part ofthe same spiritual household, and no doubt re
joice in anticipation ofthe day when their brethren on earth
shall, like themselves, be perfected in love, and see God as
he is. But I do maintain that there has not yet been a
single Scripture brought forward which approaches to a
proof that the departed saints know every thing relative to
every particular person upon earth. Now this must be
proved before we can be certain that they hear us, and after
this has been established, we ask again, " what has all this
to do with the main question ?" Where is the Scripture that
tells us " it is good and profitable to invoke departed spirits?"
As to the plea that the very devils know what is done on
earth, and that therefore the saints in heaven must know it,
the inference is so glaringly false, that it is not worth the
trouble of refuting. Besides, the passages which relate to
the perfect knowledge of the saints, very plainly refer to
heavenly and not to earthly things. The perfect know
ledge of every thing that is done on earth would, I suppose,
hardly contribute to the happiness of those who are forever
done with the turmoils and troubles of this world!
We come now to the closing paragraph on this head, and
it is the strangest of all.

128 INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
5thly. " In fine, because it is weak reasoning to argue
from our corporeal hearing, (the object of which being sound,
that is, a motion or undulation of the air, cannot reach be
yond a certain distance,) concerning the hearing of spirits,
which is independent on sound, and cdnsequenlly 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 benefit of another revela
tion, I cannot pretend to cope with hira here. He tells ni,
"ex cathedra," that "the hearing of spirits is independent
of sound." If so, it is not hearing, but sorae other faculty
for which we have no narae ! For there is no hearing that
is independent of sound. Besides, I think his hohness for
gets hiraself here, or else his new revelation differs widely
from the old one. John tells us, " I beheld, and 1 heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts
and the elders ; and the nuraber of them was ten thousand
tiraes ten thousand, and thousands of thousands ; saying,
with a LOUD VOICE, vyorthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honour, and glory, and blessing 1" And then again he tells
us, " I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, and I heard the
voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sang
as it were a new song." — Ah I then, there is music in hea- ¦
ven ! BLit if " the hearing of spirits is independent of sound,"
where is the use of music? I hope Pope Pius has found out
his mistake long since. It would rejoice 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
among the ransomed in glory ; but I fear his holiness has
hardly got out of purgatory yet. The following question is
the last in the chapter :

INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 129
"Have you any other warrant in Scripture for the invo
cation of saints and angels? Yes, we have the example of
God's best servants."
Ah ! this is to the point. The example of God's best ser
vants! We are willing to follow that. " Thus Jacob, Gen.
xlviii. 15, 16, begs the blessing of his angel guardian for his
two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh. ' God, before whom
my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which
fed me all my life long until this day, the angel which re
deemed me from all evil, bless the lads.' The same Jacob,
Osee xii. 4, ' wept and made supplipation to an angel ;' and
St. John, Rev. i. 4, writing to the seven churches of Asia,
petitions for the intercession of the seven angels in their
favour, ' Grace be unto you, and peace frora hira, who is,
and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits
which are before his throne.' "
"Thus Jacob begs the blessing of his angel guardian for
his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh. God, before
whom- my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walfc, the God
which fed me all my life long until this day, the angel which
redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." Would God
that Roraan Catholics would never invoke any other than
the angel who redeems us from all evil ! He is none other
than the angel of the covenant, the blessed Saviour our Lord
Jesus Christ. He alone can redeem from evil, and he re
deems from aZZ evil. Jacob places the angel which redeemed
him, in apposition with the God that fed him, showing that
they were one. But Hosea tells us " the same Jacob wept
and made supplication to an angel." He did, he wrestled
with the angel of the covenant till the break of day, and he
prevailed, and his name from that time was no more called
Jacob, but Israel, because like a prince, he had power with
God, and prevailed. To this angel he no doubt refers in
the former quotation, when he speaks of the angel who re-r
deemed him from all evil ; for Jacob was in a perilous coH'

130 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
dition at the time-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. The Lord Jesus
Christ is frequently spoken of as the angel of the covenant,
and whenever redemption from sin and all evil is spoken of,
it is in connexion with the name of Jesus. ;' In him, in him
alone, we have redemption through his blood." Oh ! re
member that no created angel can redeem from sin. This
is the prerogative of the blessed Saviour.
But we are reminded of the salutation of John to the
seven churches, " Grace be unto you and peace frora hira,
who is, and who was; and who is to come, and from the
seven spirits that are before his throne." " Grace and peace
were prayed for (by John) from the seven spirits before the
throne." This js generally and justly interpreted of "the
divine Spirit ;" the number seven is used here, as in some
other passages, in an enigraatical or m.ystical sense, to denote
the abundance of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit.
The apostle, therefore, wishes grace and peace to the seven
churches, out of the abundant fulness of the Holy Spirit !
Now, at all events, even if Roman Catholics reject this in
terpretation, they cannot make out any thing to suit their
purpose from, this passage. Pope Pius say§, " John writing
to the seven churches of Asia, petitions for the intercession
of the seven angels in their favour." John does no such
thing. He expresses a wish that the " seven spirits" may
confer grace upon the churches. He does not ask these
spirits lo pray for the saints. Now, who confers grace?
The Holy Spirit, and he alone, from the inexhaustible
riches of God's mercy, und the fulness of these heavenly gifts
is denoted by the mystical number of " seven." Hence,
John's prayer is, that the churches may be abundantly

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. 131
blessed by the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit ! I have
now reviewed this chapter on the invocation of the saints,
and I think I have shown that Roman Catholics have no
warrant from Scripture for the practice. I am sure I can
show, that the Scriptures do most pointedly forbid it. The
testimony ofthe word of God is so ample on this head, that
I shall be obliged to pursue the plan which I adopted in the
last discourse, and arrange the opposing lexis in classes. I
cannot undertake to quote thera all singly.
1. All those texts which represent Jesus Christ as the
only 'mediator, directly condemn the invocation of saints.
Let us hear the Lord Jesus himself, " I am the way, no raan
coraeth unto the Father, but by me," — not, I and ray m.other,
and my apostles, and the patriarchs, and all the saints whom
Pope Peter and his successors may canonize, are the way,
and any man may corae to the Father, by any one of us,
but, "7 ara the way, no man. cometh unto the Father; but
by me."* The barrier to our approach to God was sin, but
this Jesus has removed by the sacrifice of himself upon the
cross, and now, through him, in his name, and in his name
alone, we are invited to come to the Father. For, says
Paiil, " There is one God, and one Mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom
for all." What becoraes of your host of mediators, when
the Bible tells me there is but one? "Ah!" says the Ro
manist, "the apostle means that Christ was the only aton
ing mediator, but not the only mediator of intercession."
Well, my friend, where does the apostle raake this distinc
tion? Show it to rae in the word of God, and I will admit
its justice. You look for it in vain, in the lively oracles of
God, and well you may, for the distinction has never been
made by the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, Paul refers to
* Doway Bible, John xiv. 6. ,

132 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
the ransom paid by Christj to show that it is this which con
stitutes Christ the only mediator. " There is one God, and
one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due
tinie." (1 Tim. ii. 5, 6.) Why is it that the intercession of
Christ is constantly alluded to in connexion vvith his charac
ter and office as the High Priest of the gospel dispensation ?
Is not the great truth seen running through every Scripture,
that refers to Christ as the only mediator, that he is such,
because he alone has a right to mediate between God and
sinners, inasmuch as he alone has atoned for sin ? The dis
tinction, therefore, which the church of Rome makes be
tween Christ, as the only atoning mediator, and her host of
interceding mediators, is a mere trick, to elude the force of
plain Scripture; for the Bible proves clearly, that no one has
a right to intercede between God and sinners, but the Sa
viour, who has atoned for the guilt of sinners! Now, if
there is but one raedialor, there cannot be many mediators ;
and if so, what good will our invocation of the saints do?
This objection would naturally present itself to the mind of
every one familiar with the case, and capable of thinking
correctly on any subject. Pope Pius felt its force, and he
tries to evade it. But he does not put the question fairly.
Had he done so, he well knew it would be hard to find an
answer that could justify the practice ofthe 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 inter
cessions of the saints, is by no raeans giving thera an honour
which belongs to God alone : so far from il, that it would
even be a blasphemy to beg of God to pray for us ; because,
whosoever desires any one lo pray for him for the obtaining
of a grace or blessing, supposes the person, to whom he

INVOCATION OF SAINTS. I33
thus addresses himself, to be inferior and dependent of some
other, by whom this grace or blessing-is "to be bestowed."
If the name of Christ had been substituted in place of
God, the question would have been (airly put. The media
torial honour of the Saviour belongs to him, not as God!, but
as the man Christ Jesus. As such he intercedes for us with
the Father ; he mediates not in his divine, but in his huraan
nature. Protestants never profess that the mediatorial office
and work belongs to God. Hence you see the utter irrele
vancy of the question in its present form. It is easy, after
placing the raatter upon false premises, to refute an imagi
nary absurdity. Pope Pius's priest insinuates, in his answer,
that Protestants ask God to pray for them. He knew bet
ter; he knew that we depend upon the intercession of our
great High-Prii^st, the Lord Jesus Christ ; that we corae to the
Father through him alone; hence there was no need for this
expression of pious abhorrence of tho.se who ask God to pray
for thera ! This is a mere subterfuge, but it will not avail.
The Saviour calls lo every one, who would hide behind it, —
" I am the way, no man cometh to the Father but by me."
2. All those texts which prove the efficacy of ihe Sa-
•vioufs intercession, show that we need no other advocate.
" If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous; .and he is the propitiation for
our sins." At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus lifted up his
eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee, that thou hast heard
me ; and I knew that thcu hearest me always." What more
then does the Father require^han the mediation of his be
loved Son? And why should the sinner seek farther than
Christ, when he is all-sufficient? "Then," says the Ro
manist, " on the same ground we raay object to the com
mon practice of asking pious friends lo pray for us, since
we desire no more of the saints than we desire of our bre-
12

1 34 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
thren here below,- viz. that they would pray for us and with
us to the infinite goodness of God," &c. ^
I showed the diflerence between the two cases at the com
mencement of my discourse. In the first place, we know
that our friends on earth hear us, we do not know whether
the departed saints can hear us. Moreover, we are cofti-
manded to ask the righteous on earth to pray for us, and
there is no such precept in the case of departed saints. And ¦
now, if this will not suffice, I say, in the next place —
3. We have texts of Scripture which absolutely forbid
us to depend upon any other intercessor but Jesus Christ,
or to offer religious worship to any creatiire. The Scrip
tures note the introduction of such mediators as a heresy.
"Let no man beguile you of your reward, in a voluntary
huraility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those
things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up in his flesh
ly mind, and not holding the Head." Col. h. 18.
Frora this it appears that sonde wicked men, even in Paul's
tirae, wished to introduce the invocation of angels, on the
very sarae plea which Romanists advance in our day, " a
voluntary humility," pretending that it is modest to interest
inferior mediators in their requests. Paul condemns it as
injurious tp the glorious truth, that Christ alone is 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 faithj giving heed to seducing spirits and doc
trines of devils ; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their
conscience seared with a hot iron ; forbidding to marry, and
commanding to abstain from meats." Upon these latter
marks, I shall not dwell at present ; they are so plain, that
every one may se& that the Romish church is designated.
The expression, " doctrines of devils," is worthy of remark.
in the original Greek it is " StSaaxa'kiai Saifiovlav," doctrines

INVOCATION OF SAINTS. I35
of demons. This term was applied, in all ancient writers,
to deified men or canonised mortals ; and the ancient fa
thers understood Paul as referring to the introduction of this
heathenish worship into the Romish church. I will give a
comment of Epiphanius, of Salami's, who lived in the
fourth century, upon this passage of Scripture. Rebuk
ing certain people for giving religious honour to the Vir
gin Mary, he says : " Some persons are mad enough to
honour the Virgin Mary as a sort of goddess. Certain
women have transplanted this vanity from Thrace into
Arabia. For they sacrifice a bread cake in honour of
the virgin ; and, in her name, they blasphemously celebrate
sacred mysteries. But the vvhole matter is a tissue of im
piety, abhorrent from the teaching of the Holy Spirit : so
that we may well call it a diabolical business, and a mani- '
fest doctrine of the spirit of impurity. In them is fulfilled
this prophecy of St. Paul : ' Certain persons shall aposta
tize from the faith, attending to fables and doctrines concern
ing demon-gods.' For the purport of the apostle's declara
tion is : 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; ra
ther ought we to honour him who is their sovereign Lord.
Let, then, the error of seducers cease. The Virgin Mary
is no goddess. To the peril, therefore, of his own soul, let
no one make oblations in her name."*
There is a remarkable prediction in the Revelation of St.
John, ix. 20: "And the rest ofthe 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, (same
word,) and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone,
and wood, which can nehher see, nor hear, nor walk."
* Epiph. Adv. Haer. lib. 3. haer. 78,

136 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
From this, it appears, that they of whom it was foretold
that they should worship demon-gods, were to worship ima
ges also.
May we not, wilh propriety, refer the language of the Sa
viour to every seducing spirit, that would beguile usjnlo the
invocation of saints : " Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve ?"
4. In the next place, I will present, from Scripture,
some practical examples of religious service being offered
to created beings, and expressly prohibited by inspired au
thority. 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. Cor
nelius, a centurion, had been warned, in a dream, to send
for Peter. When the apostle had, in obedience to the direc
tion of the Holy Spirit, come to the house of Cornelius, we
are told that the centurion fell down at his feet and worship
ped him. " But Peter took him up, saying. Stand up, I my-
self also am a man." Ah ! if Peter could only make his
voice heard in every Roraish ehapel, he would say to all
who worship hira, " Stand up, I myself also am a man."
" But," says a Roman Catholic, " you ought to bear in mind
that Peter was not in heaven then, but on earth ; and so this
case is not to the purpose; we invoke the saints in heaven,
not those on earth." Oh ! I bad thought the great argument
of Papists was, that in their invocation of the saints, they did
no more than when Protestants ask the prayers of their pi
ous friends on earth. This apology flourishes largely in the
Grounds of Cath. Doct. Now, if this be so, the inference
is fair, that it would have been just as proper to worship
Peter, when on earth, as to give him this honour now that
he is in heaven ; for this worship is nothing more than Pro
testants offer, whenJhey solicit the prayers of pious friepds.

INVOCATION OF SAINTS. 13-j'
However, we will not confine ourselves to this case. Here
is another. "And I, John, saw these things, and heard
them ; and when I had heard and seen, I fell down to wor
ship before the feet of the angel, which showed rae these
things." (Rev. xxi, 8.) " Now," says the Roman Catholic,
" how will you, ever answer that? If that does not teach
the propriety of worshiping angels, what proof will ever
convince you?" I confess, my friend, so far, this te.xt
seems to favour your doctrine ; and Dr. Doyle, in his Abridg.
ment of Christian Doctrine, has quoted the passage for this
very purpose ; but he ought to have included the next verse,
and then we should have heard what the angel thought
about it. " Then saith he unto me. See thou do it not, for
I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets,
and of them which keep the sayings of this book. Worship
God." This testimony, I presume, is sufficiently conclu.
sive. Here, then, I might disraiss the subject ; but I cannot con
clude yet. Il will be remembered, that the most plausible
reason that is offered by Roman Catholics, in their standard
-works, in support of the practice of invoking the saints, is,
that they only ask the prayers and intercessions of the de
parted spirits ; and do not look to the saints as the authors
of grace. They are indignant if you express a suspicion
that the worship terrainates on the saints. " God forbid,"
say they ;" this would be high treason against the divine
Majesty !"
Now, I am prepared to prove, that the Romish church is
guilty of this high treason against the divine Majesty. For
in her authorized liturgies, so far from confining herself
within the limits which she declares it impious to tran.scend,
we shall find that the saints, and especially the Virgin Mary,
are invoked as the dispensers of gifts and graces, which the
word of God assures us can be conferred by God alqne,
12*

1-38 ' INVOOATlOJf OF SAINTS.
I will read a few passages from the Collects and Hymns to
the Saints, in the'Hours, 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, I pray thee, O queen
of heaven. Have rae excused with Christ, thy son, whose
anger I fear, and whose fury I vehemently dread ; for
against thee only have I sinned. O, Virgin Mary, full of
celestial grace, be not estranged from me. Be the keeper of
my heart; sign me with the fear of God ; confer upon me
soundness of life : give me honesty of manners ; and grant
me al once to avoid sins, and to love that which is just. O,
Virgin sweetness, there neither was nor is thy fellow, .'"*
To the industrious repeaters of this prayer to the virgin.
Pope Celestine was pleased to grant three hundred days of
pardon. Again : " Let our voice first celebrate Mary, through
whom the rewards of hfe are given to us. O Queen, thou
who art a mother, and yet a chaste virgin, pardon our sins
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 us the high glory of heaven.'f
In the first of these prayers, amongst other things, the
worshiper of Mary says, " against thee only have I sinned,"
and in the second, the request is made to her, " pardon our
sins through thy Son," and then the angels and archangels
are asked to blot out our sins by granting us the high glory
of heaven. Is this merely asking for their intercession ? It is
painful to dwell upon such blasphemous perversions, and I
quote them merely to prove that requests are made to the
• Burnet's Hist, of Reform. Vol. ii. Faber, 194.
t Ibid. Vol. ii. foi. 80.

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. I39
Virgin Mary, which can appropriately be addressed to God
alone. It is not necessary, however, to revert to the Salisbury
Hours to prove the church of Rome guilty of gross idolatry,
in the homage paid to the Virgin Mary ; I find a surfeit of
it in a little book, published with the approbation of the
Roman Catholic bishop, resident in this city. On page 128
ofthe Catholic Companion, is the Litany ofthe blessed Vir
gin, which commences thus: "We fly to thy patronage,
O Holy Mother of God ! despise not our petitions in our rie-
cessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever glorious
and blessed Virgin !"
Then follows an invocation ofthe Holy Trinity. This is
succeeded by a page and a half of titles ofthe Virgin Mary,
under all of which she is entreated to " Pray for us."
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
of Virgins, Queen of all Saints." I hope no Roraan Catho
lic supposes that these thles are ascribed to the Virgin Mary
by divine authority. I would defy all the -bishops and doc
tors of the Romish church to point out a single passage of
Scripture which warrants the ascription of any one of these
names to the Virgin Mary. I confess I am at a loss to con
ceive how pure devotion is to be enkindled by contemplating
the Virgin Mary as a " Tower of Ivory," &c.
On page 14 ofthe Vespers for Sundays, in the same book,
I find the following rhapsody :
" Hail, O Queen, O Mother of Mercy ! Hail, our life, our
comfort, and our hope !
" We, the banished children of Eve, cry out unto thee.
To thee we send up our sighs, groaning, and weeping in this

140 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
vale of tears. Come, then, our advocate, and look upon us
with those thy pitying eyes," &c. &c.
Now it is bad enough to pray, to the Virgin Mary or to
any other saint ; Cor prayer is an act of worship, which be
longs to God alone ; but Roman Catholics actually sing
hymns, in which an efficacy and power, belonging to God
alone, are ascribed to her ! Under the head of Vespers for
Sundays, we find the following effusion :
" Hall, 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!
O glorious maid, with beauty bless'd.
May joys eternal fill thy breast!
Thus crown'd with beauty and with joy.
Thy prayers with Christ fur us employ."
One more quotation, "Hail heavenly queen! hail foamy
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 oC Aphrodite, which means, literally,
'^ Sprung from ihe foam." This is significant of the fabu
lous origin of that goddess. The first line of this hymn
would have suited a worshiper of Aphrodite, exactly —
1. "Hail, heavenly queen! hail, foamy ocean's star!
Oh! be our guide, diflliise thy beams afar:
Hail, Mother of God, above all virgins blest!
Hail, happy gate of heaven's eternal rest.
2. " Hail, full of gracel with Gabriel we repeat —
Thee, queen of heaven, from him we learn to greet;
Then give us peace, which heaven alone can give.
And dead THnouGH Eve — through Makt iet us live!"
This verse contains an amount of falsehood and blasphe-

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. 14]
my, such as we seldom find condensed in so small a com
pass. When did Gabriel ever teach Christians to greet Mary as
the queen of heaven ? The Holy Bible renders the angel's
words, " Xoipt, xix<ipi-iiu>niv7i," " Hail, thou that art highly
favoured !" and even the Doway version interprets Gabriel's
salutation to Mary, "Hail, full of grace !" (Luke i. 28.)
Gabriel would probably not thank the poet for tho honour
conferred upon him ; the good angel would hardly sanction
idolatry. The last line is really too rank, " And dead through Eve
— through Mary let us live." We, dead through Adam, ex
pect to live through the Lord Jesus Christ. But it seeras
Mary is the Saviour of Papists. No wonder, then, that they
are taught to pray, " Hail, O Queen, O Mother of raercy !
Hail our life, our xomfort, and our hope/"
But Roraan Catholics sing hymns and pray to other
saints besides the Virgin Mary. On page 19 of the hymns
in the Catholic Companion, we have one for St. Vincent,
which combines both prayer and praise : -
" Mild and serene, ye angels appear.
Assist us with your heavenly power
To sing his praise, whom to-day we revere,
On thee we call, St. Vincent of Paul,
Aid and protect us;
May we from thee
Learn blest charity.
Holy patron, hear our prayer," &c. ho.
Some of the prayers which are addressed to the Virgin
Mary, not only make her equal wilh Christ, but actually
imply her superiority. She is requested lo 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 INVOCATION OF SAINTS. '
erogation. At the risk of Jieing tedious, I will give two more
extracts from Roman Catholic books, which are circulated
in our own city with the stamp of papal approbation. The
first is taken from the "Month of Mary," p. 84.
" Since thou art so rich in mercy, since all the treasures
of heaveri are in thy hands, what may I not expect of thee'l
'How poor and miserable soever I may be, I have nothing to
fear, if I address myself to thee ; thou hast all that is neces
sary for me, and thou hast ther power and the will to give
me whatever may be necessary for my salvation. I recom
mend to thee, O most blessed mother ! my soul and my
body, all my hopes, my consolations, my wants, my life^
and my death. Into thy sacred hands I abandon myself
with all that I havetjr am," &c.
-Now, it matters not that in some of the prayers, which
are addressed to the Virgin Mary, it is explicitly declared,
" In thee, next to Jesus my blessed- Saviour, I place all my
hopes," for if she has all that is necessary, and has the
power and the ivill to give whatever may be necessctry for
salvation, the Papist need apply to no other.
The following is from the " Christian's Guide to Heaven,"
p. 198. , .
" O blessed Virgin, Mother of God ! and by this august
quality worthy, of all respect frora raen and angels, I corae
to offer thee my most humble homage, and to implore the
aid of thy prayers and protection. Thou art all-powerful
with the Almighty, and thy goodness for mankind is equal
to thy influence in heaven. Thou knowest, O blessed Vir
gin ! that from my tender years, I 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
received from God, I confess, with humble gratituie, that
it is ilirough thee 1 received them. Why was I not as
faithful in thy service, as thou wert bountiful in assisting

INVOCATION OF SAINTS. I43
mef But I will henceforth serve, honour, and love
thee," &c. &c.
Christians ascribe all grace to the sanctifying influences
of the ever bless^ Spirit of God, but Papists are taught
that they receive all their grace from God through the Vir
gin Mary.
Now, ray hearers, to judge from the practice of the Ro
mish church, might we not suppose that^ the word of God
abounds with positive precepts, enjoining the worship ofthe
saints, particularly the Virgin Mary? Protestants respect
her memory, as one whom the Lord peculiarly honoured ;
all 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 lo
Jesus Christ extended no farther than his human nature;
and Ciirist was not God by virtue of his incarnation, but hy
virtue of the Divinity, which pertained to him before the
world began. In some of the authorized Roman Cathohc
books published in Paris, St. Ann, the Mother of Mary, is
spoken of as follows: "She was the mother of the mother
of God, and the grandmother of God hiraself"
I might cite a great many similar expressions, but they
are too blasphemous to repeat. The most absurd legends
relative to the power of her intercession are recorded in au
thorized Roman Catholic books. A few of them may be
found in M'Gavin's Protestant, I. 311.
The mother of our Lord is seldom even mentioned in the
Gospels, and so far from countenancing the extravagant wor
ship which is offered to her, the Saviour, who no doubt was
well aware of the abuses which would be introduced into his
church, seems cautiously to avoid every thing which would
give even the shadow of plausibility to the extreme veneration
which is paid to her. When a certain person came lo him
at one tirae, and said to him, " Thy mother and thy brc-

144 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
thren desire to speak with thee." Jesus replied, " Who is
my mother, and who are my brethren ? and he reached forth
his hand to his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and
my brethren ! for whosoever doeth' the will of my Father in
heaven, the sarae is my brother, aind sister, and mother."
(Mall. xii. 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 lo him, that every believer,
every one who does his Father's will, is as dear as the nearest
and dearest of his kindred according to the flesh. But the
church of Rorae forbids her children to understand the word
of God in any other sense than that which she chooses to
put upon Scripture ; and not content with forbidding the
blessed God to give his own interpretation of his will — not
content with insulting the Alraighfy by telling the faithful
that the revelation ot his will is- so dark and raysterious
that they cannot comprehend it, though that same revelation
assures that the Scriptures are able to make wise unto
salvation, she nhsolut^ly -forbids many who are under her
control, under pain of severe penalties, to read the word
of God ! She not only perverts the Scripture, but she pre
sumes to say, through the 'highest authorities of her church,
that the Bible, the blessed, precious Bible, is a book which
cannot be read and studied by the common people without
the most pernicious results! The Lord God calls aloud
in his glorious gospel, " He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear!" but the church of Rome will not let her children
hear the Almighty speak for himself. She takes away the
word of God, and seals up this sweet fountain of living
waters ! -Norjs this all. One man. Cardinal Bonaventure,
who has been canonized-, and whose name stands on the
Romish calendar of saints, has had the audacity to apply
the whole book of Psalms to the Virgin Mary, by pulling

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. I45
her name instead of God's, and making some other neces
sary alterations. So that you may find in our Lady's Psal
ter, such a passage as this,* " The Lord said unto my Lady,
sit thou at my right hand until I raake thine enemies thy
footstool !" In the same manner the Te Deum has been
altered. " We praise thee, O Mary, we acknowledge thee
to be the Lady," &c. After reading this, we were 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 I"
A Cew words as to the probable origin of the idolatrous
invocation of saints, and I shall conclude. This abuse be
came 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
lived in the second century, which is not to the purpose. It
is the only one in all his works which can possibly be pressed
in as authority, but the connexion shows that Irenaeus never
intended to lend his sanction to the practice.
As to the fathers of the first and second centuries, their
silence shows that they knew nothing of the invocation of
saints. This root of bitterness is one of the fruits of the car
nal policy of a later period. When Christianity had become
the religion ofthe state, the heathen became nominal members
ofthe church, and the leaven of idolatry soon corrupted the
whole mass. They had had gods raany, and lords raany 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 teraple now reraaining in the world,
>* Fox's Acts and Monuments, old edition, folio, p 185.
13

146 INVOCATION OP SAIN'f'S.
is 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 ser'i'es as exactly
for all the purposes of the popish, as it did for the pagan
worship, for which it was built. For, as in the old temple,
every one might find the god of his country, and address
himself to that deity whose religion he was most devoted fo,
so it is the same thing now ; every one chooses the patron
whom he likes best, and one may see here different services
going on at the same time, at different altars, with distinct
congregations around thera, just as the inclinations of the
people lead thera, to the worship of this or that particular
saint. * * ' * *
"And as it is in the pantheon, it is just the sarae in all hea
then leriiples that still reraain in Rome ; they have only
pulled down one idol to set up another, changing rather the
name than the object of their vvorship. Thus the little
temple of Vesta, near the Tiber, fcientioned by Horace, is
now possessed by the Madonna ofthe 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 bro
thers, Cosmus and Damianus ; that of Antonine the godly,
by Lawrence the saint ; but for my part, I would sooner be
tempted to prostrate myself before the statue of a Romulus,
or an Antonine, than that of a Lawrence, or a Daraian, and
give divine honours rather with pagan Rome to the founders
of empires, than with popish Rome to the founders df monas
teries."* * See Middleton's letter from Rome, printed at length in the
Illustrations of Popery, p. 506;

INVOCATION OF SAIISTS. 147
The saints, moreover, like the heathen gods of old, have
been and still are regarded as the guardian angels of certain
countries. Thus St. Jaraes has charge of Spain ; St. Sebas
tian takes care of Portugal ; St. Denis of France; St. Mark
of the Venetians; St. Nicholas ofthe Muscovites ; St. Am
brose of Milan. Before the reforraation, St. George had
charge of England ; St. Andrew of Scotland, and St. Patrick
of Ireland. Indeed, some people think St. Patrick has
charge of Ireland yet ! but I assure you that noble saint
never was a Roman Catholic. He had been seven hundred
years in his 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
oversight of sailors ; St. Catharine takes care ofthe scholars;
St. Austin looks after the divines ; St. Luke helps the paint
ers ; St. Ivo patronises the lawyers ; St. Eustatius is the
friend of the hunters. St. Crispin of the shoemakers, and
St. Magdalen and St. Afra have the charge of those un
happy creatures who are no better than they should be.
Some ofthe saints are expected lo do rather unpleasant ser
vices, e. g. St. Anthony takes care ofthe pigs; St. Pelagius
ofthe cows; St. Eulogius ofthe horses; and St. Vendeline
and St- Gallus take especial care of both sheep and geese.
Ridiculous as all this is, it is no less humiliating. Oh ! what
mean ideas of heaven some people must have, when they
suppose that saints would leave it, to drudge after swine and
geese !
The holiness of many of those who have been canonized
by the church of Rorae, appears to have consisted in a love
of external ceremonies ; if the faithful are to consider the
models of sanctity which are presented to them in the Bre
viary as patterns for their imitation, very few in the com-
* See Brownlee's Tract — St. Patrick no Papist.

148 INVOCATION OP SAINTS.
monion of the Romish church will be disposed to aspire to
the honour of saintship. The Breviary informs us that St.
Patrick was accustomed to rise before daylight, arid under
the snows and rain of winter, to commence his daily task
of praying one hundred times in a day, and as often in the
night. When raised to the See of Arpiagh, his devotional
activity seems to have received an additional spur. He now
repeated daily the whole Psalter, (the one hundred and fifty
psalms,) together with the canticles and hymns, and instead
of praying two hundred tiraes on his bended knees in the
course of twenty-four hours, his genuflexions were hence
forth increased to three hundred, per diem. He made the
sign ofthe 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
brought little repose to St. Patrick. He divided it into three
portions ; in the first he recited one hundred psalms, and
knelt two hundred tiraes; during the second he stood im
mersed in cold water', repeating fifty psalms more, " with
his heart, eyes, and hands raised towards heaven." The
third he devoted to sleep upon a stone pavement.*
Verily this was a course of spiritual 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 St. Patrick I
I am pained at my very heart lo think that, in this day of
light, there should be any upon whose eye-balls the rays of
the gospel sun can fall, without convincing them of the folly
* Brev. Die 17 Martii. See Blaco White's Pract Evid. agamst
Catholicism, p. 158,

INVOCATION OP SAINTS. 149
ofthe invocation of saints. Why may I not as well honour
God by giving worship to the sun as to Ignatius Loyola, or
St. Francis, or any other canonized saint? The sun is un
questionably a monument of God's goodness, wisdora, and
power; there is no possibility of raistaking it in this respect;
but I never can be as well satisfied respecting the holiness
of sundry saints, whom Roraanists devoutly invoke. For
all that I know, Ignatius Loyola, though the prince of jesii-
its, was a great hypocrite ; but I am sure the sun is not.
The best of men have their failings, and there are spots
even in the sun ; but they are not moral impurities, nor are
they displeasing to God. Philip Nerius could not have been
mistaken in the shining of the sun, although he might be in
the shining of Loyola's face ; and yet this is thought so mar
vellous a thing, that it is read in the lessons appointed for
Ignatius Loyola in the Roman Breviary.*
What is idolatry but giving to the creature the honour
which belongs to the Creator ? and do not the Virgin Mary
and the saints receive that honour? Prayer and praise
are acts of solemn worship, which are to be offered to God
alone. David thought so, when he said, " My soul, wait
thou only upon God;" but Romanists wait upon Mary and
the saints. They pray to them, and they sing praises to
them. Has God said that he is willing to share his glory in
this respect with another ? No ; but he has solemnly de
clared that he never will give it to another He has forbid
den us, as we have already shown, to worship any but him
self. There is nothing more certain from the Bible than that
the offerings which men bring to Mary and the saints, are
an abomination in the sight of heaven. " A wonderful and
horrible thing is committed in the land. The prophets pro-
• Brev. Kom. 31 Jul. Antw. 1663. See Stillingfleet's Idolatry
of the Church of Rome, p. 140. London, 1676.
13*

150

INVOCATION OP SAINTS.

phesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means ; and
my people love to have it so, and what will you do in the
end thereof?" Oh ! that all who have sinned in this thing,
would lift up their hands and cry, " O Lord, other lords
•hav.e-.had 'r^le over us, but- henceforth by thee only will we
make.ro.ention of thy name.'' All I ask is, that you " search
thq. Scriptures, and see whether these things are so." If
,Jhepriest^yo7•.6^ds.you to search the Scriptures, Jesus Christ
coi^fnands- you to search them. Now whom will you obey?
" We ought to obey God-rather than man. " Shame on the
man that will bend and cringe before his fellow-mortal, and
in a land of freemen, suffer a spiritual tyrant lo pluck from
his hands the bread of life ! God has given you his word,
and for what? 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
my feet, and a light to my path." Oh ! let it be such to
you. What has God made a revelation for if nobody can
understand it but the priests ? Is not the plan of salvation
j declared to be so plainly laid down in the Bible, " that the
I wayfaring man, ttiough a fool, cannot err therein?"
My friends, if you invoke the saints, it is plain that you do
not know the Saviour. You look upon him as frowning with
indignation upon all that approach him. But is it so? Does
his word tell you so? Hear him, "Come unto me all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
The Bible never directs the sinner to go to Mary and entreat
her to pacify the fury of her Son.
If ever any man who hears me is tempted by Satan to
pray, or to sing praises to either saint or angel, may the
Lord furnish hira with the answer of my text, " Get thee
behind me, Satan, for it is written thou shalt worship the
L-ord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

L E C T U R E /f^;^ ^^¦f.cj^
VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
Lev. xxvi. 1.
"YE SHALL MAKE TOC NO IDOLS NOR GRAVEN IMAGE, NEITHER
REAR you np A STANDING IMAGE ; NEITHER SHALL YE SET trP
ANY IMAGE OF STONE IN YOUR L.^ND, TO BOW DOWN VNTO IT ;
FOR I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD."
It is hard to conceive how a church, professing to be the
only one in which salvation may be obtained, should sanc
tion the veneration of images, when the practice is so plainly
forbidden in the word of God. Had I none before me, but
such as were entirely free from all bias in favour, either of
Protestantism or Romanism, I am confident, that, in order
to convince them that the veneration of images, as practised
by the church of Rome, is directly at variance with the plain
comraand of Scripture, nothing more would be necessary
than siraply to range the decrees of her councils, and the
doctrines of her Catechisms, and authorized Confession of
Faith, by the side of those precepts of God's word, which
refer to the worship of graven images. In order lo convict
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 VENERATION OP IIWAGES AND RELICS. <
the 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 shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them;
for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God." Now, hear
the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, who opposeth and ex-
alteth himself above all that is called God, or that is wor
shiped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God ; " I most firmly assert,
that the images of Christ, of the mother of God, ever vir
gin, and also of other saints, riiay be had and retained; and
that due honour and veneration is to be given to them."*
Jehovah .says, " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven
image." The raan of sin says, " /most firmly assert, that
the images of Christ, of the mother of God, ever virgin,
and also of other sairits, may be had and retained ; and that
due veneration is to be given to them."
But, plain as this case is, when viewed in the light of
Scripture, the worship of images is strenuously upheld by
papists ; though by means of sophistry and false distinctions,
they try to make it appear that, in reality, they do not .vio
late the comraand of God. The second coramandment 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 it in all their catechisms. I defy any man to show
me the second commandment, in any one of the manuals of
the Romish church, before the Reformation ! As late as
1658, we find Di:. Stillingfleet challenging a papist to tell
him in what public office of their church the second com
mandment was to be found. Even yet, the priests have not
* Grounds of Cath. Doct. p. 6.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. 153
been entirely cured of this attempt at imposition ; for in the
papal countries of Europe, the second comraandment is not
to be found in the catechisms in coraraon use, if my infor
mation is correct ; and I am the more inclined to believe its
truth, because I find that there is no mention made of this
commandment in the Christian's Guide to Heaven, publish
ed with the approbation of the R. C. Bishop of this city.
Before a good papist goes to confess, he is directed to exa
mine himself on the ten comraandraenis. In this exaraina-
nation there is not a word said about the graven iraages,
which the Lord forbids us to raake, in order to bow down
to thera ; but, to eke out the full complement of ten com
mandments, the last, or tenth coraraandraent, is divided so
as to make two out of it. I wish the bishop would let rae
supply a list of questions on the second comraandment, be
cause, as the case stands at present, the examination must
be defective ; and, as the Lord requires us to keep all his
comraandraenis, I think it would be safest to let the Al
mighty's words stand as originally delivered lo Moses, on
the tables of stone. To be sure, it might occasion some little
suspicion that all was not right, if such a question as this
were proposed. " Is there any image, or likeness of any
thing in heaven, or on earth, to which you have bowed
down?" "Why, yes," the Roman Catholic must reply,
" there is. I have bowed down to the crucifix in my cham
ber, and to the image of the Virgin Mary," &c. Then
the next question would be, " How often ?" And, perhaps,
it would be a difficult matter to answer that question satis
factorily. I do not, for a moment, dispute the policy of this
omission. I think* it is (^wte prudent ; but whether it is al
together proper, or scriptural, is another question.
But I must proceed to examine the evidence offered in
support of this practice of the Romish church. There is a
long chapter, on this subject, in the Grounds of Cath. Doct.,

154 VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
though there is very little matter offered as proof; the great
er part of the chapter consists of apology. I have though?
it best lo make an analysis of the contents of this section,
in order to hold up at one view the chief points upon which
the veneration of images depends. The Grounds of Cath.
Doct., (pp. 75 — 79,) contain the following six propositions
on this head.
1. Divine honours are not paid to iraages, but only rela
tive honours.
2. The second coraraandraent of the Decalogue, by no
means interferes with the use of images.
3. Several commands of God to Moses, warrant the wor
ship of images.
4. No trust or dependance is placed in images.
5. Sundry practices of Protestants are sirailar to the cus
tom of the Romish church in this respect.
6. The dictates of common sense, as well as of piety and
religion, teach that it is right to show proper veneration to
images. I. Roraan Catholics raaintain that they do not pay divine
honour to iraages.
"What' is your doctrine as to images?
"We hold that the iraages or pictures of Christ, of his.
blessed mother, ever virgin, and of other saints, are to be
had and retained ; and that due honour and veneration are
to be given to them.
'' Do you not worship images ?
" No, by no raeans ; if by worship you mean divine ho
nour; for this we do not give to the highest angel or saint,
not even to the Virgin Mary, much less t« images.
" Do you not pray to images?
" No, we do not, because, as both our catechism and com
mon sense teach us, they can neither see, nor hear, nor
help us,

Veneration of images and relics. 155
"Why, then, do you pray before an image or crucifix?
" Because the sight of a good picture or image, for exam
ple, of Christ iipon the cross, helps to enkindle devotion in
our hearts, towards hira 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
of Christ and his saints?
" A relative honour.
" What do you mean by a relative honour?
" By a relative honour, I mean an honour which is given
to a thing, not for any intrinsic excellence or dignity in the
thing itself, but barely for the relation it has to something
else, as when the courtiers bow down to the chair of state,
or Christians to the narae of Jesus," &c.
As to the staleraent about the degree of honour paid to
the Virgin Mary, we have already shown that divine ho
nour is certainly paid to her ; and I shall now show, that to
give, even what is called a relative honour, to images, is ira-
pious. " By a relative honour," Pope Pius says, " I mean
an honour which is given to a thing, not for any intrinsic
excellence or dignity in the thing itself, but barely for the
relation it has to something else ; as when the courtiers bow
down to the chair of state, or Christians to the name of Je
sus; which is an image or remembrance of our Saviorir to
the ear, as the cr.ucifix is to the eye." In other words, Ro
man Catholics show this outward honour to an image, on
account of the person whom it represents, not because they
believe there is any virtue in the iraage itself Thus, when
they bow to a crucifix, they consider theraselves as bowing
not to the wood or brass, of which the crucifix is raade, but
to the Saviour, who is represented by it. Hence the wor
ship terminates upon the Saviour, and not upon the crucifix.
This, I believe, is as fair a statement of the case as can be
given.

156 VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
1. I shall show that this distinction is altogether inadmis
sible. It is so, for the following reason : God has forbid
den us to worship him in this way; of course, therefore,
he will not accept of the honour that is intended to be
shown to HIM by bowing down to an image. What is wor
ship? So far as the act is concerned, it is nothing more
than an external signification of honour and respect. Now
this expression of honour, which is due to God, cannot be
made, acceptably, when it is offered in a manner which God
has forbidden ; no matter what the intention of the worship
er raay be. A raan may intend to worship God, when he
bows down to an iraage, but if God has expressly said,
" Thou shalt not bow down to it," it is not probable that
the Lord will consider hiraself honoured by the disobedience
of his worshiper. If we once adrait the doctrine, that
men's intentions are to be the rule of divine worship, then
we must concede to our Roman Catholic friends the right of
promoting the glory of God by breaking his comraandraenis.
But, if we declare the divine law to be the only rule of wor
ship, all prohibited raodes of honouring God raust be an
abomination to hira. Suppose Mehemet, the pacha of Egypt,
should issue an edict, declaring it to be high treason for any
of his subjects to bow down to a sign-post, ornamented with '
the figure of his head, under the pretence of giving the
greater honour to their prince; what would he say, think
you, if some of his subjects were to be brought before him,
taken in the very act of disobedience? Would he be satis
fied if they were to plead their i'ntention of showing respect
to him, after he had forbidden them to bow down to his
image? Not he. I 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 hiraselfj by means of
an image, and who calls this worship idolatry, no raatter

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.

157

with what intention it is offered ; will he be pleased with the
homage of those men who, in the very face of his prohi
bition, bow down to images, and plead their good intention?
He will not. He is a jealous God.
It will, I presume, be admitted, by every one, that God is
the best judge of the propriety of the worship that is offered
to him. Now, it is plain, that He does regard all such wor
ship as terminating on the iraage. One thing is certain ; if
it does not terminate on the image, it never reaches him.
He abhors it. He will have none of it. How was it, when
the Israelites, weary at the delay of Moses, who was on the
mount, receiving the tables of slone, prevailed upon Aaron
to make a golden calf? Said they, " These be thy gods,
O Israel, which brought thee up out of Egypt !" They in- ]
tended that the worship, which they paid to that idol, should
terminate on God. 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 .Tehovah ! Was he
pleased ? Was not the camp of Israel covered with the
corpses of these idolaters? It is folly, then, to speak of wor
shiping God by showing honour to an image. Call it rela
tive honour, or whatever you please, it is idolatry. Indeed,
the word " idolatry" is compounded of two Greek words,
meaning image-worship. It may be worth mentioning, by
the way, that the ancient Greeks and Roraans justified bow
ing down to the images of Jove and Minerva, and their other
gods and goddesses, by precisely the same plea which is
now used by Roman Catholics. They did not honour the
image, but the god who was represented by it. Indeed, the
more enlightened, even among pagans, condemned the use
of images. Zeno, and Plato, and Socrates, and others, re
garded all image-worship as contemptible.
I cannot dismiss this point without showing that the dis-
14

158 VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
tinction between positive and relative worship is a mere im
position. 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
of Clugium, uses the following language:
"¦We must not only confess, that the faithful in the
church worship before an iraage ; as some over-squeamish
souls might, peradventure, express themselves ; but we must,
furthermore, confess, without the slightest scruple of con
science, that they adore the very image itself ; for, in sooth,
they venerate it with the identical worship wherewith they
venerate its prototype. Hence, if they adore the prototype
with that divine worship which is rendered to God alone,
and which technically bears the name of Latria, they adore
also the image with the sarae Latria, or divine worship ; and
if they adore the prototype with Dulia, or Hyperdulia, they
a,re bound also to adore the image wilh 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 papal approbation.
2. The next proposition, which I will review, is, that the
second commandment of tlie Decalogue, by no means con
demns the use of images. This does not follow in the
Grounds of Cath. Doct., iraraediately after the point which
I have just discussed ; but this is the proper place for it.
Pope Pius asks, as well he may, (Grounds, 77.) —
" But is it not forbidden (Exod. xx. 4.) to make the like
ness of any thing in heaven above, or in the earth beneath,
or in the waters under the earth?
" It is forbidden to make to ourselves any such image or
likeness ; that is to say, to make it our God, or put our trust
* Faber's Diff. of Rom. p. 210.

VENERATION OP IMAGES AND RELICS. 159
in it, or give it the honour which belongs to God ; which is
explained by the following words ; ' Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them ;' that is, thou shalt not adore them ;
for so both the Septuagint and the Vulgate translate it ; ' nor
serve them ;' otherwise, if all likenesses were forbid by this
comraandment, we should be obliged to fling down our sign
posts, and deface the king's coin."
My hearers need not be told, that Protestants do not con
deran all likenesses ; but all worship of images. We can
adraire sculpture, and patronise the fine arts, without bowing
down to graven images.
The best way of ascertaining the meaning of a coramand.
ment is, to examine the terras in which it is expressed, and
the reasons why the commandment was given. Exod. xx. 4,
" Thou shalt not raake unto thee any graven iraage, 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."
There is no kind of image, graven or painted, whether of
a real or imaginary being, that is not comprehended in the
original language of this commandment. Not only is the
making of similitudes in general, forbidden, but any kind of
likeness, whether of things in heaven, or things on earth, or
things under the earth, is interdicted if made in order that
men may bow down to thera. Now, I cannot conceive how
the Almighty could have revealed his will in relation to this
matter, raore clearly than he has done. If the language is
not sufficiently plain and eraphatic in this case to preclude
all misapprehension, then, I say, it is not in the power of
words to convey any definite meaning. But Roman Catho
lics tell us that this coraraandraent has reference solely to
the idol gods of the heathen, and not to their pictures of
the Father, Sen, and Holy Ghost, and of the Virgin Mary
and the saints, before which they do certainly bow down. But
has the Lord said thou shalt not bow down to any graven

160 VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
image or likeness of things in 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 shalt
not make to thyself any graven image," &c., then certainly
it is wrong to worship 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
image or likeness of himself, with the intention of showing
honour to 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 fo make any picture of him
self, or of his Son, Or of his favourites, and to bow down to
them, because this must redound to his honour ; and who
does not see that ' if all likenesses were forbidden by this
coraraandraent, we should be obliged to fling down our sign
posts and deface the king's coin?' But his majesty raeans
that you must not make the image of an ass, or an ape, or
a crocodile, and bow down to thera, thinking to honour
him by such worship." Now, my brethren, is not the ex
position ofthe second commandment, as given by Roraanists,
very similar to this ? The Lord forbids any iraage of him
self to be used in connexion with his worship; "but," says
the papist, " this does not exclude the crucifix, nor any pic
ture of God himself; nor of his saints or angels, provided
we intend to worship God and the saints by them, and do
not suffer the worship to terminate on the images I" Again,
if we consider the reason which the Scriptures give us for
this prohibition of image-worship, our argument will appear
still more conclusive. Hear the word of the Lord, (Deut.
iv. 15, 16,) "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves,
lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image,
the similitude of any figure, the likeness 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

VENER.VTION OP IMAGES AND RELICS. IQI
fire." 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 man
ner of similitude in the day that the Lord spake unto
you ?" &c.
3. But another proposition laid down in the Grounds of
Cath. Doct. is, that several commands of God to Moses
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 comraanded Moses, Exod., xxv.
18 — 21, to raake two cherubims of beaten gold, and place
them at the two ends of the mercy seat, over the ark of the
covenant, in the very sanctuary. ' And there, (says he,
v. 22,) will I meet with thee, and I will commune with thee
from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims
which are upon the ark ofthe testiraony, of all things which
I vN'ill give thee in commandment unto the children of
Israel.' God also comraanded, (Num. xxi. 8, 9,) a serpent
of brass to be made, for the healing of those who are bit by
the fiery serpent ; which serpent was an emblem of Christ,
John iii. 14, 15."
If this means any thing to the purpose, it implies that,
because the Lord comraanded Moses to make two cherubim,
and place them over above the mercy-seat, therefore it i.'s
right for papists to bow down to the images of Christ and
the saints. This is really too bad ! Were these images of
the cherubim placed there for the Jews to worship them ?
Why, my hearers, the Jews had no access to thera, the
High Priest and he alone could enter the I-Ioly of holies,
where the mercy-seat was kept, and even he could do so
only once a year. The mercy-seat was an emblem, (not
a graven image,) of Christ, and.the two cherubim of gold,
wilh their faces toward the mercy-seal, were typical of the
14*

162 • VENERATION OP IMAGES AND REL1C3.
angels, who desire td look into the mysteries of redemption ;
the common people never saw the cherubim, consequently
they could not bow down to them ! But then, we are told,
God also coinraanded 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 the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in hira should
not perish, but have everlasting life." As those, who were
•bitten by the serpents, and who desired to be healed, were
directed to look to the brazen serpent, so sinners who feel
their guilt and conderanation, are pointed to the Lamb of
God who taketh away the sins of the world, through- the
atoning sacrifice which he offered on the cross. The object
ofthe Lord in conferring a cure upon all who looked to the
brazen serpent, was to show that sinners are saved by faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus to prove incontroverlibly
that the Romish doctrines of penance and satisfaction, and
works of supererogation are all inventions of the devil! As
many ofthe serpent-bitten Jews as looked to the brazen ser
pent were cured at once; and as many as look unto the
Lord Jesus Christ, feeling themselves to be miserable and
wretched, shall a.lso be healed; for he says, "Look unto me,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth," Is. xiv. 22. By
the way, the alliision to the brazen serpent is most unfortu
nate. It appears from 2 Kings xviii. 4, that the Israelites,
after they had been inveigled into the idolatrous practices of
their heathen neighbours, actually bowed down to this bra-
ten serpent and burnt incense to it, and we are told that for
this reason good Hezekiah " brake in pieces the brazen ser
pent which Moses had made!"
4. But another proposition, asserted in the Romish
Catechism, is, that no trust or dependence is placed in
images.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. 153
" Are you not taught to put your trust and confi
dence in images, as the heathens did in their idols; as if
there were a certain virtue, power, or divinity residing in
them ? No, we are expressly taught the contrary by the
Council of Trent. Sess. 25." The following is 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
veneration rendered to them. Not that it is believed that
any divinity or power resides in them, on account of which
they are to be worshiped ; or that any benefit is to be
sought from thera, or any confidence placed in iraages, as
was formerly by the Gentiles, who fi.xed their hope in idols.
But the honour wilh which they are regarded, is referred to
those who are represented by them, so that we adore Christ,
and venerate the saints, whose likenesses these images bear,
when we kiss them, and uncover our heads in their presence,
and prostrate ourselves," &c.
If this be so, then, I ask, why not fling your idols to the
moles and to the bats at once? If you place no trust in
them, what good can you derive from bowing down to
them? But here Pope Pius involves hiraself and his children in
a contradiction. The second Council of Nice curses every
body who refuses to worship iraages ; and yet papists are
taught that no trust or dependence is to be placed in them.
This is strange. Roraan Catholics are actually required,
under the pain of a curse, to 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 this adoration will do them no manner
of good. I will read the decree of this Council (A. D. 787)
in relation to images. The decrees of this second Council
of Nice, relative to image-worship, were reversed by seve-

164 VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
ral of its successors, and again re-enacted by others. This
idolatry was established about the close of the ninth cen
tury. " The venerable iraages, both of the dispensation of our
Lord Jesus Christ, as he 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, I salute and embrace and adore,
according to their just degrees of honour, rejecting and an-
al;hematizing, frora my whole soul and intellect, that synod,
which was congregated through madness, and folly, and
which has been denominated the seventh Council ; though
by persons who think rightly, it is lawfully and canonically
styled a false synod, as being alienated from all truth and
piety, and as having rashly and boldly and athelstically
barked against the heaven-deliveredecclesiastical legislation,
and as having insulted the holy and venerable images, and
as having commanded thera to be removed from the holy
churches of God. Anathema to the calumniators of Chris
tians ! Anathema to the breakers of images ! Anathema
to those who apply to images the Scriptural denunciations
against idols! Analheraa to those who refuse to salute the
holy and venerable images ! Anathema to those who call
the holy images idols!- Anathema to those who aid, and
abet the dishonourers ofthe holy .images !"-^
This seventh Council, which the Nicene Fathers thus un
ceremoniously disfranchise, was a genuine oecumenical
synod, and bore noble testimony against the vile abomina
tion of image-worship.
But, my hearers, in addition fo this, I must be permitted
to adduce farther testimony, which will prove that Roman
Catholics do place trust in iraages. I will offer a few pas-
* Concil. Nicen. See Act 1, quoted by Faber, p. 213.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. 155
sages extracted from the book of the " Hours of the Virgin,"
printed at Paris A. D. 1526, and in use in the church of
Salisbury. " To all them that be in a state of grace who devoutly
say this prayer before our blessed Lady of pity, she will
show them her blessed visage, and warn them of the day
and hour of death ; and in their last end the angels of God
shall yield their souls to heaven. Such a person shall ob
tain five hundred years, and so many lents of pardon, grant
ed by five holy fathers. Popes of Rome.
"Our holy father, Sixlus IV., Pope, hath granted to all
them that devoutly say this prayer before the image of our
Lady, the sum of 11,000 years of pardon.
" These be the fifteen Oo'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 good life ;
and other fifteen righteous men of his kindred shall perse
vere in a good life ; and what ye desire of God ye shall have
it, if it be to the salvation of your souls.
" To all them that before this image of pity shall devoutly
say five paternosters, and five ave marias, and a credo, pite
ously beholding those arms of Christ's passion, are granted
32,755 years of pardon : and Sixtus IV., Pope of Rorae,
hath made the fourth and fifth prayer, and hath doubled his
aforesaid pardon." (Faber 217.)
What a fearful amount of suffering papists must expect
to endure in purgatory, when they can thus readily obtain
a dispensation from so many thousand years of torment!
It will 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 any con
fidence in them. I shall proceed to the next point.

166 VENERATION OP IMAGES AND RELICS.
5. That various practices of Protestants are similar to
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 symbols of
bread and wine in the sacrament. Such also was the
'honour which the Jews gave to the ark and cherubims, and
which Moses and Joshua gave to the land on which they stood
as being holy ground. Exod. iii. 5; Josh. v. 5, 15," &c.
Besides these, there are two other cases mentioned.
" When the courtiers bow down to the chair of state, or
Christians to the name of Jesus, which is an image or re
membrance to the ear, as the crucifix is to the eye ;" they
then, according to Pope Pius, give precisely the same honour
to these things as papists show to images. 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, we are not likely to have
any. But even were this government a monarchy, Protest
ants would never worship the chair of state as an image
either of the Deity, or of the king. All the respect which
is ever shown it in civilized kingdoms, whether' from Ro
manists or Protestants, is civil, and not religious honour;
but at all events, it is a silly custom, and one for which
Republicans have a strong antipathy.
As to bowing at the name of Jesus, I can see nothing in
this which justifies bowing down to an image of Jesus.
Some Episcopalians, I believe, imitate Roraan Catholics in
this custora, and I am sure I have no objection to any heartfelt
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 OP IMAGES AND RELICS. igy
say, that I think the custom of bowing at the narae of Jesus
is uot required by Scripture. We are told in the word of
God, that at the narae of Jesus every knee shall bow, of
things in heaven, and things on the earth. This refers to
the final subjugation of all things under the power of Christ,
and does not raean that we are to bow whenever the narae
of Jesus is pronounced ; for if this be the meaning, in order
to obey to the letter, we must drop on our knees whenever
we hear the name of Christ, no matter where we may be,
whether in the street or elsewhere. " But," says Pope Pius,
" the name of Jesus is an image to the ear, as the crucifix
is to the eye." With all deference lo his holiness's infalli
bility, it sounds to rae very rauch like nonsense to talk of an
" image to the ear." Iraages are meant only for the eye ;
they are dumb idols that cannot speak, and therefore have
nothing to do with the ear. We might as well speak of a
sound for the eye as talk of an image for the ear. As lo
the case itself, it would have been as much to the purpose
if his holiness had declared that a Protestant's going to
church when the bell rings, is the same as a papist's bow
ing before a crucifix.
But then we are told that we give honour to our churches,
to the altar, to the Bible, and to the syrabols of bread and
wine, -sirailar to that which Roraanists pay to their iraages.
To this I answer, we do no such thing ; we do not bow to
any of thera. If any of our Protestant friends have sorae
of these rags of popery about thera, if they will give their
Reforraed brethren perraission, we will help them to shake
off their rags, and send them back to Rorae; and if they can
detect any of Holy Mother's ribands about us, we will thank
them to reciprocate the favour.
But let us hear the Catechism a little farther. " Such
also was the honour which the Jews gave to the ark and
cherubim." I have already shown that this cannot be ; for.

Igg VENER.^TION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
' you will remeraber the cherubim and ark were kept in the
Holy of holies, so that the Jews never saw them, and the
high priest hiraself never saw them more than once a year.
The Jews, it is true, directed their worship towards the place
where God had proraised to be signally present among
them. But this gives no more sanction to the worship of
images than our lifting our eyes to heaven when we pray;
we do so becaijse God is more especially present there.
But " Moses- and Joshua gave honour to the land on which
they stood as being holy ground ;" and therefore we are
told it is right lo give honour to images. (Exod. iii. 5, and
Josh. V. 15.)
Now I think these cases are wide of the mark. In the
first place, the Lord commanded his servants to take off
their shoes; but he has forbidden us to bow down to any
iraage. In the next place, Moses and Joshua were not com
manded to kiss the ground, or to bow down to it, much less
to pray to it, but only lo put off their shoes, and no one can
deny that God's special presence in any place renders it
proper that sorae peculiar mark of reverence should be
shown when the Lord himself designates the precise way
in which it is to be exhibited. This homage was not paid
to the ground, but to God; and if at all events the ground
was sacred by divine consecration, there was nothing of
representation in it. It was not a graven image or a like
ness of God. Hence the cases are not parallel. There is
one more case mentioned at the close of this chapter in an
swer to the last question.
"Does your church allow of images of God the Father,
or of the blessed Trinity ?
" Our profession of faith makes no mention of such images
as these ; yet we do not think them unlawful, provided that
they be not understood to bear any likeness or resemblance of

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. iqq
the divinity which cannot be expressed in colours, or repre
sented by any human workmanship."
This is a downright contradiction in terms. " Images of
the divinity are not unlawful, provided that they be under
stood to bear no likeness to the divinity." What are images
but likenes.ses of sorae original? Likenesses of the divinity
are not unlawful, provided it is understood that they are np
hkenesses ! If it be true, as Pope Pius tells us, " that
the divinity cannot be expressed in colours, or represented by
any human workmanship ;" why make the attempt? Why
make graven iraages or pictures in order to represent him ?
Let us finish the paragraph, and we shall see. " For as Pro
testants make no difficulty of painting the Holy Ghost under
the figure of a dove, because he appeared so when Christ
was baptized, (Malt. iii. 16,) so, we raake no difficulty of
painting God the Father under the figure of a venerable
old raan, because he appeared in that manner to the prophet
Daniel, vii. 9."
I think this passage, referring to the Holy Ghost, is not
properly understood. God saw fit to point out the Saviour
to John the Baptist by a sign frora heaven. This sign was
the descent of the Holy Spirit in a visible form. But we
are not told what that form was. It descended like a dove,
i. e. as a dove descends, hovering over the object on which
it is about to rest. In candour I must own that sorae Pro
testants do carnalize the Bible by painting the Holy Spirit
under the figure of a dove, and I am sorry for il, especially
since Pope Pius tells me, that papists think they raay, with
equal propriety, paint God the Father under the figure of
a venerable old raan, of course for the additional purpose of
bowing down to il, and that too in the very face of the
second coramandment which expressly forbids it. Pope
Pius does not mention, however, that papists have gone to
15

170 VENERATION OP IMAGES AND RELICS.
such a length of impiety as to represent the Trinity under
the image of a man with three faces. . '
It is idle to urge that the prohibition delivered in the Old
Testament, relates solely to the Jews ; and it is worse than
futile to plead that this prohibition has passed away with the
riles of the ceremonial law. Before this reasoning can be
admitted, it must be proved that idolatry was a sinful ten
dency, peculiar to the Hebrew nation ; whereas, it requires
no more than a reference to facts, to show that it is a vice
which besets huraan nature itself. The commandment was
made for all men, and for all seasons ; and is as binding
now as when first given to the Jews.
6. There is one more point, and then I have done with
the apology for the worship of images. The dictates cf
common sense, as well as of piety and religion, teach that
it is right to show proper veneration to images.
"How do you prove that there is. a relative honour due
to the iraages or pictures of Christ and his saints?
"From the dictates of common sense and reason, as well
as of piety and religion, which teach us to express our love
and esteem for the persons whom we honour, by setting a
value upon all things that belong to them, or have any rela
tion to thera : thus a loyal subject, a dutiful child, a loving
friend, value the pictures of their king, father or friend ; and
those who raake no scruple of abusing the iraage of Christ,
would severely punish the man that wOuld abuse the iraage
of their king."
• To all this I answer, that Protestants can admire the por
trait of an esteemed friend without bowing down to it, or
wor.shiping it. We do not make war either on sculpture
or painting, but on idolatry.
I have had occasion lo show, in former discourses, that
the darker shades of Roraanisra are carefully kept out of
view in the Roman Catholic works which are published in

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. 171
this country, though let the priests trim and garble as they
will, they cannot conceal the cloven foot. This course is
pursued for the very obvious reason, that there is too much
light and too much liberty here for the full development
of all the superstition and idolatry which obtain in coun
tries that are strictly under papal government. It would
not do to come out before an enlightened community such
as this, and formally announce such miracles as are said
to be performed in Spain and Italy by the wonder-working
images and relics. It would not answer in a Protestant
city gravely to proclaim frora the house-top, that the images
ofthe Virgin Mary and of Jesus Christ had been known to
speak, actually to hold conversations vvith the devout wor
shipers. 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.
repudiate the supposition that there is any power or divinity
residing in the images, before which they bow. Perhaps
Roman Catholics, in Philadelphia, do reject every such idea.
I am wUling to believe that they do, if they insist upon it ;
but I am sure that the papists of Italy do, certainly, believe
that there is an actual power residing in many of their ima
ges. It is for Roinan Catholics to reconcile these discrepan
cies with the faraous boast of their church, that their reli
gion is "always,-and everywhere the same."
If we are told again, that honour is not paid to the image
itself, but to that which the image represents, we would ask,
Why, then, is any local superiority admitted? Why is one
image considered more holy, and more potent than another?
Why are pilgrimages made to distant images, when 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.
horae, and of far better workmanship ? Why visit the black
image, hideous and defaced as it is, of our Lady of Loretto,
when there are so many madonnas, far more comely in ap
pearance, within jn hour's walk? No, my brethren, these
subterfuges are too flimsy to hide the nakedness of the Po
pish apology for idolatry. '
Dr. Middleton, in his letter from Rome, speaking of the
famous iraage of the Virgin Mary, known as " Our Lady
of Lorelta," an image, as black as a coal, relates the fol
lowing facts-
" In the high street of Lorelta, which leads lo the holy
house, the shops are filled wilh beads, crucifixes, Agnus
Deis, and all the trinkets of popish manufacture; where I
observed printed certificates, or testimonials, affixed to each
shop, declaring all their toys to have been touched by the
blessed iraage; which certificates are provided for no other
purpose, but to humour the general persuasion, both of the
buyer and the seller, that sorae virtue is communicated by
that touch, from a power.residing in the image? For what
else," says he, " can we say of those miraculous images, as
they are called in every great town of Italy, but that sorae
divinity and power is universally believed to reside in them ?
Are not all their people persuaded, and do not their books
testify, that these iraages have sometimes moved themselves
from one place to another; have wept, talked, and wrought
many miracles ; and does not this necessarily imply an ex
traordinary power residing in them ?" " In one ofthe church
es of Lucca,, they show an image of the Virgin, wilh the
child Jesus in her arras, of which they relate this story :
That a blaspheming gamester, in a rage of despair, took up
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 instantly from her right arra into the left, in
which he is now held ; while the b|aspheraer was swallowed

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. 173
up by the earth upon the spot, where the-hole, which they
declare to be unfathomable, is still kept open, and enclosed
only with a grate, just before the altar of the image. The Vir--
gin, however, received the blow upon her shoulder, whence
the blood presently issued, which is preserved in a crystal,
and produced with the greatest ceremony, by the priest, in
his vestments, with tapers lighted, while all the company kiss
the sacred relic on their knees."
From this we see, that an image of the Virgin can de
fend itself frora injuries, and inflict vengeance on all who
dare to insult it. Does this agree with the solemn assurance
that there is no power or divinity residing in these images?
I am sated, "ad nauseam," with these disgusting de
tails ; nor would I have introduced them, had they not been
necessary to illustrate the true character and tendency of
image-worship.* Not only are JwagM worshiped in this manner; but due
veneration is also paid to relics, especially to the wood ofthe
cross, pieces of which papists profess to have in their pos
session. If all the bits of wood which are shown as true
fragments of the cross are genuine, it raust have required a
* If tlie reader wishes farther information, respecting miracu
lous images, let him consult the Glasgow Protestant, by 'Wm.
M'Gavin, Vol. I. chap. xlix. pp. 361—367. Hartford: 1833.
Also, Dictionnaire-Critlque des Reliques et des Iraages Miracu-
leuses, par Collin de Plancy. 3 vols. 8vo. Paris: 1821. This
book is written in a strain of merciless sarcasm. If ever images
have wept, it must have been under the lash of De Plancy. Of
the fact, that the puppets have shed tears, this author appears per
fectly convinced. He suspects, however, that the sponges, filled
with water, which have been found secreted in the heads of these
idpls, 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 Plan
cy is correct. J 5*

174 VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
forest to build the instruhient in question. There is a very
short chapter on this subject in the Grounds of Cath. Doct.,
and as the two subjects are intimately connected, I will re
view, in as few words as I can, the reasons that are offered
for the worship of relics'.
" What do you raean by relics ?
"The bodies'or bones of saints;, or any thing else that
has belonged to them.
"What grounds have you for paying a veneration to the
relics of the saints ?
"Besides the ancient tradition and practice of the first
ages, attested by the best monuments of antiquity, we have
been warranted to do so by raany illustrious miracles done
at the 'tombs, and by the relics of the saints, (see St. Aug.
L. 22, of the City of God, chap. 8,) which God,' who is
truth 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 instance in Scripture of miracles done
by relics ?
" Yes, we read, 2 Kings xiii. 21, of a dead man raised to
life 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 frora them,
and the evil spirits went out of them.' "
I was prepared to expect that some Scripture warrant
would be produced in favour of the veneration that is paid
to relics ; in this, however, I have been disappointed. There
is merely an allusion to the miracle performed at the grave
of Elisha, and to the cures effected by the handkerchiefs
and aprons brought from the body of Paul. As to the for
mer case, I rather think, that if the worship of relics had
been in vogue at that time, the bones of such a man as Eli
sha would not have been suffered to sleep quietly in the

VENERATION OP IMAGES AND RELICS.

175

grave. As to the fact of the miracle being performed at
Elisha's grave, there is no doubt of that ; but this does not
authorize the worship of relics. The other case is also in
applicable. The handkerchiefs and aprons were not relics;
for Paul was still alive ; and, besides that, they did not wor
ship these things, as Roman Catholics do. Before I speak
of the miracles perforraed in our day by relics, I will first
specify a few of these precious things that are so much ve
nerated by Roraanists. A catalogue of relics, published in
1753, contains, amongst other wonderful things, the follow
ing :
" In St. Peter's church, they have the cross of the good
thief, somewhat worm-eaten ; Judas's lantern, a little scorch
ed ; the dice the .soldiers played wilh, when they cast lots
for our Saviour's garment; the tail of Bal&am's ass; St.
Joseph's axe, saw, and hammer, and a few nails he had not
driven :" the latter relic might be furnished, in any quantity,
bj- all the hardware merchants of our city ; also, by the
venders of old iron. "St. Anthony's mill-stone, on which
he sailed lo Muscovy ; part of the wood of the cross, and a
nail of the same. Part of the manna in the wilderness, and
sorae blossoms of Aaron's rod. The arm of St. Simeon,
ill kept. The image of the blessed Virgin; drawn by St.
Luke, the features all visible; one of her combs ; and twelve
combs of the twelve apostles, all very little used. Some
relics of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The arm, and some
part of the body of Lazarus, ill kept, and smells. A part
of the body of St. Mark ; and a part of his gospel, of his
own handwriting, almost legible. A finger and an arm of
St. Ann, the blessed Virgin's mother. A piece of tho Vir
gin's veil, as good as new. The staff delivered by our Lord
to St. Patrick, wilh which he drove all the venomous crea
tures out of Ireland. Some of St. Joseph's breath, which
-an angel enclosed in a phial, as he was cleaving wood vio-

176 VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
lently ; which was so long adored in France, and since
brought to Venice, and frora Venice lo Rome. The head of
St. Dennis, which he carried two iriiles, after it was cut off,
under his arm, from Montmartre to St. Dennis. A piece of
the rope Judas hanged himself with. Large parcels of the
blessed Virgin's hair. Great quantities of her milk ; some
butter, and a small cheese made of it, which never decays,"
&c. &c.*
Five devout pilgrims,, happening to meet on their return
from Rome, loaded with relics, each began to extol his ac
quisitions ; 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 to this ass, were
really owned' by that animal, it must have been a species of
centipede. Spalatine, the celebrated secretary of Frederic, elector of
Saxony, drew up a curious catalogue of sacred relics, pre
served in the principal church at Wittemberg., It contained
the enormous number of 19,374. If any perverse unbe
liever in the genuineness of relics should presume.to pose a
good papist, by asking him to account for the innuraerable
duplicates of heads, and bones, and bodies of saints and
martyrs, father John Ferand, of happy meraory, has left a
Standing answer, which must for ever silence infidel here
tics. The difficulty of one saint having a dozen heads at
different places, is readily solved by this right worthy friar.
He says, " God was pleased lo multiply and reproduce them
for the devotion ofthe faithful." A specimen of a -few
items, from Spalatine's inventory, will furnish some data
that may assist us in ascertaining whether human credulity,
* M'Gavin's Prot. "Vol. i. 389.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. 177
priestly cunning, or divine omnipotence had most to do with
the multiplication and reproduction of relics. The follow
ing may suffice :
" The rod of Moses, wilh which he performed his mira
cles.. " A feather of the angel Gabriel.
" A finger of a cherub.
" Tho slippers of the antediluvian Enoch.
" The spoon and pap-dish of the holy child.
" A lock of hair of Mary Magdalene.
" A tear our Lord shed over Lazarus, preserved by an
angel, who gave it, in a phial, to Mary Magdalene.
" One of the coals that broiled St. Lawrence.
"The face of a seraph, with only part of the nose.
" The snout of a seraph, supposed to belong to the defec
tive face.
¦" Some of the rays of the star that appeared to the magi."
Luther tells us that the bishop of Mentz boasted that he
had A FLAME OF THE BUSH, WHICH MOSES BEHELD BURN
ING.* If any incredulous Protestant should be disposed to ques
tion the genuineness of these relics, we are prepared to over
whelm hira with a history of many stupendous miracles, by
which their claim to due veneration is most abundantly esta
Wished, to the utter confusion of all gainsayers. The foi
lowing miracle is one of many :
Prince Christopher, of the family of the dukes of Rad
zecil, having gone a pilgrimage to Rome, to kiss his holi
ness's toe, received, as a reward of his piety, a box of very
precious relics. These, on his return home, became the
consolation of the afflicted, and the terror ofthe devil. * *
Scarcely had a Cew raonths illustrated their power, when
* See Cox's Life of Melancthon, chap, iii.

178 VENERATION OP IMAGES AND RELICS.
some raonks requested the use of thera, for the benefit of a
man possessed by the devil. They were cheerfully, lent to
the holy fathers; and were carried, in pomp, to the church,
and solemnly deposited on the altar. 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. The specta
tors cried out, "A miracle! A miracle!" and the prince
lifted up his hands and heart to God in pious gratitude, for
bestowing upon hira so holy and potent a treasure.
But sorae days after, when the prince was boasting ofthe
virtue of his relics, he observed that a certain, gentleraan,
who had been in his retinue at Rome, discovered uncommon
incredulity. He demanded the reason. 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 sub
stituted another exactly similar, and filled it wilh 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
thera if there were no more demoniacs, who might need the
relics. They soon brought another man, who was-possessed
with the devil, and no marvel, for the devil is generally lo
be found nestling in the vicinity of rqlics. The prince com
manded the ordinary exorcisms to be performed in his pre
sence ; but they were all useless. The devil was waiting
for the box of holy bones. Christopher ordered the monks
to withdraw, and sent the demoniac to some Tartars, whom
he kept about his stable, with orders, to give the devil his
due. They exhorted hira to confess the imposture; here-
plied by horrible gestures and grimaces. But six sturdy
Tartars had no sooner begun to exorcise the devil with their

VENERATION OP IMAGES AND RELICS. 179
whips, than he found himself taken on the weak side ; and,
without the use of either relics, hard words, or holy water,
he began to cry for quarter, and confessed that the monks
had hired him to personate a character, which he was ill
qualified to sustain.
The monks were recalled, and confronted with the m.an,
who confessed the fraud, and implored the mercy of the
prince. At first, the holy fathers exclaimed that this was
only an artifice of the devil, who spoke through the mouth
of the demoniac. But the prince replied, that if his Tartars
had devised a mode of constraining the devil to speak the
truth, they might, perhaps, succeed in inspiring the monks
with a similar love of veracity. The reverend fathers, ter
rified by the threatening mien of the Tartars, who prepared
their whips for service, confessed the trick, and said, that
they had practised the imposition with a good intention, in
order to stop the progress of Lulheranism. The prince
drove them from his presence, and at once renounced Po
pery.* But, in nothing does the idolatry of the church of Rome
appear raore raanifest, than in the following decree of the
Council of Trent. (Sess. 13. c. 5.) "The faithful shall
give to the holy sacrame>'t of the altar, that divine
ADORATION THAT IS DUE TO GOD ONLY ; and it mUSt bc
no reason to prevent this, tliat Clirist our Lord gave it to
be eaten." Is not this equivalent to saying, " Jesus Christ
gave the sacrament to his disciples, not to be adored, but
eaten only ; but we comraand you to adore it !" I wish so
ber Roraan 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
* See De Plancy. Art. Reliques. Also, M'Gavin's Prot. "Vol.
i. 394.

igo VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS.
commands the faithful to give to the holy sacrament of the
altar, that divine adoration which is due to God only ! If
this be not daring and outrageous rebellion against God's
authority, tell me what is.
In conclu.sion, let me call upon you, my brethren^ to be
ware how you sin against the Lord in this thing. What
ever your intentions raay be, if you bow down to an iraage,
representing the God of heaven, or to any saint in glory,
or to any relic, the word of God convicts you of idolatry.
You cannot evade the charge by saying, that you only
bow down before an image, and not to it. The Bible uses
both terms indiscriminately. " They that dwell in the wil
derness shall bow before him." (Ps. Ixxii.) " Corae, let us
kneel before the Lord our Maker." (Ps. xcv.) Bowing
down, and worshiping, are synonyraous 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
then worshiped theiridol-gods. The prophet Hosea, (xiii.'S,)
speaks of the Jews " kissing the calves," the golden calves
of Bethel and Dan, as the most heinous idolatry ; and yet
papists are taught, that it is no .sin to kiss the crucifix, and
the images of the Virgin Mary. The worship due to Jesus
Christ, is expres.sed in Ps. n. 12, by the words, "Kiss the
Son." This very worship, so far as external acts are con
cerned, Romanists pay to their iraages. It is said, that the
great toe of the image of Peter, in Rome, has been actually
kissed away by the devout citizens and strangers, who have,
in the course of ages, done homage to it.
My brethren, idolatry is no trifle; and they who are
guilty of it will find it so. The history of the national calami
ties that befell the Jewish nation, before the coming of Christ,
is a history of God's hatred of idolatry, and of his determi
nation to punish it.* As sure as God lives, and as his word
• See my Scripture History of Idolati'y.

VENERATION OF IMAGES AND RELICS. igi
is true, no idolater can enter heaven ! I ask my hearers to
try themselves, and their mode of worship, by God's word.
A mistake, in this case, is fatal ; the soul once lost, is lost
for ever. Surely, then, no raan, who can think for hiraself,
will be content to endorse the practices of any church, with
out inquiring whether they agree wilh the revelation of God's
will, contained in his word. The practice of iraage wor
ship in all its grades and shades, is idolatry. Be persuaded,
to cast your idols to the moles, and to the bats. " Come,
let us worship and bow down ; let us kneel before the Lord
our Maker; for he is our God, and we are the people of
his pasture. To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not
your hearts."

16

LECTURE Vi.

AURICULAR CONFESSION.
John XX. 23.
"RECEIVE YE THE HOLY GHOST; WHOSE SOEVER SINS YE REMIT,
THEY ARE REMITTED 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 more apparent
the further we proceed in our investigation of its principles.
But in nothing is the spiritual despotism of the Man of Sin
more evident than in the usurpation of the power to forgive
sins. Before I proceed to examine the proofs offered in the
Grounds of Cath. Doct., in support of this prerogative, which
is most unjustly and impudently claimed by Roraish priests,
it will be necessary to state the doctrine, and the whole doc
trine, as it is taught in the standards of their church. The
subject of auricular confession, or confession in the ear of
a priest, is-intiraately connected with that of penance, which
is one of the seven sacraraents of the Roman Catholic
church. We are told in the Grounds of Cath. Doct., p. 34,
that the confession of sins, with a sincere repentance, and
the priest's absolution, constitute the sacraraent 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. ig3
ment, wherein its power chiefly lies, resides in the words of
the minister, ' I 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
the sacrament of penance, now explained, and that it is ne
cessary, by divine appointment, for all who sin after bap
tism : because our Lord Jesus Christ, When he was about
to ascend from earlh to heaven, left his priests in his place,
as presidents and judges, to whom all mortal offences, into
which the faithful might fall, should be submitted, that they
might pronounce sentence of remission or retention of sins,
by the power of the keys. For it is plain that the priests
cannot sustain the office of judge, if the cause be unknown
to them, nor inflict equitable punishments if sins are only
confessed in general, and not minutely and individually de
scribed. For this reason it follows that penitents are bound
to rehearse in confession all mortal sins, of which, after dili
gent examination of theraselves, they are conscious, even
though they be-of the most secret kind, and only coraraitted
against the two last precepts of the decalogue, which
soraetimes do more grievously wound souls, and are more
perilous than those which are open and manifest. For ve
nial offences, by which we are not excluded from the grace
of God, and into which we so frequently fall, may be con
cealed without fault, and expiated in 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 sin, exercise the function of forgiving
sins, as the ministers of Chrdst, by the power of the Holy

184 AURICULAR CONFESSION.
Spirit conferred upon them in ordination ; and that those
who contend that wicked priests have not this power, hold
very erroneous sentiments. Again ; though the priest's ab
solution is the dispensation of a benefit, which belongs to
another, yet it is not to be considered as raerely 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 by him as a judge : and therefore the peni
tent ought not to flatter himself on account of his faith, so
as that, though he should have no contrition, and though
the priest should not intend to act seriously and really to
absolve him,* he should suppose that he is nevertheless truly
absolved before God, on the ground of his faith only. For
failh without penance cannot procure remission of sins; nor
would any one, unless extremely negligent of his own salva
tion, be satisfied with a priest who absolved hira jestingly,
but would carefully seek for one who should be serious in
the performance of his office."f
I would call your attention, my friends, to the last
quotation more especially, because it clearly proves that
we do not misrepresent the Roraish tenets, when we sa-y
that the priest claims the power of forgiving sins as a
judge. His sentence is a judicial act, expressly declared
to be so. In connexion with this arrogant claira, there is
araost unforttinale circumstance; it is this, the priest's good
intention is necessary to the validity ofthe absolution which
he gives. The Council of Trent expressly tell their peni
tents "that they ought not so to flatter themselves concern
ing their own failh, as to think that they are absolved truly
and before God, when the priest has not a mind to act se
riously, and truly to absolve them !" Unhappy penitents S
* The underscoring is mine.
t Con. Trid. Sess. 14. cap. 3, 5 and 6.

AURICULAR CONFESSION. ig5
No humiliation before an offended God, no satisfaction made
to an injured neighbour, no resolution or endeavour to
amend, no real reformation 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,
then God himself cannot absolve a sinner, unless the priest,
when he pronounces the words of absolution, is so kind as
to do it wilh the serious intention of his heart ! Now, I
suppose some of the more ignorant of my Roman Catholic
friends will think that after all, I have not fairly stated the
doctrine of their church. To remove every doubt as to the
propriety of this construction, I will read the canon referring
to this matter.
" Whoever shall affirm that the priest's sacramental abso
lution is not a judicial act, but only a ministry, to pronounce
and declare that the sins of the party confessing are for
given, so that he believes himself lo be absolved, even though
the priest should not absolve seriously, hut in jest ; or shall
affirm that the confession of the penitent is not necessary in
order to obtain absolution from the priest, let hira be ac
cursed."'- This doctrine of the necessity of the priest's good inten
tion hangs like a nether millstone about the neck ofthe Ro
mish sacraments. I defy a Romanist to prove that there
is at this day any such thing as a priest, or indeed a Chris
tian in the world. According to their doctrine, all Chris
tians are in the communion of the Popish church ; out of its
pale there is no salvation, and in the Romish church there
is no salvation, unless the priest dispenses the sacraraents
wilh 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*

Ig6 ¦ AURICULAR CONFESSION.
the intention which the church requires? And how can the
priest know whether the person from whom he received the
sacrament (forsooth) of holy orders really intended to con
secrate him ? If the intention was wanting, your baptism
was not valid, and, according to Popish doctrine, you must
be rebaplized tor be damned ! And if the bishop did not in
tend really .to consecrate the priest, his ordination is not
valid, and every official act he performs, according to the
same principle, is also invalid ! There is another point that
must be considered in this connexion. The penitent, before
he can obtain absolution, raust make satisfaction, and in
order to accomplish this, certain punishments are enjoined
at the discretion of the priest; and these, in Iheir canons,
are called " a sort of compensation for an injury done."
JNow, let it be termed " a satisfaction made unto God, through
Jesus Christ," as it is by the Council of Trent, and let it be
coloured over ever so plausibly with the appearances of reli
gion, yet so long as it rests solely with the good pleasure of
the priest what satisfaction shall be appointed, it is plain
that the great concern after all is to satisfy him, and unless
this is done, there is no absolution. Alms, in connexion with
fasting and prayer, are the principal means of making satis
faction ; though there are innumerable other penances which
the priest may impose. If this satisfaction be not made, let
it consist of whatever penance it may, though the sinner
should break his heart wilh contrition, and incur the great
est humiliation by exposing his secret sins, all this signifies
nothing ; there is no absolution without satisfaction! The
priests are judges and arbiters in the whole affair of repent
ance. There are, it is true, certain cases which are reserved
to the^decision ofthe 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
case, any priest may grant absolution. I shall proceed to

AURICULAR CONFESSION. 1 g7
examine the evidence offered in the Grounds of Cath. Doct.,
in support of this priestly authority.
" What Scripture have you to prove that the bishop and
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 ; whose
sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose sins
ye retain, they are retained." Matt, xviii. 18. "Verily I
say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be
bound in heaven : and whatsoever ye shall loose on earlh
shall be loosed in heaven."*
Then follows a quotation from the Episcopal prayer-book,
the object of which is to show that Protestants agree with
papists in their interpretation of this Scripture. Notwith
standing the authority of this rubric from the Book of Cora
raon Prayer, we cannot yet subscribe to auricular confes
sion. The question with us is not, what does the Book of
Coraraon Prayer say, but what saith the Scripture? There
is this important difference to be observed, however, that the
confession of his sins to the minister is left optional with the
penitent in the Episcopal church, whilst the church of Rome
insists upon it as essential lo salvation. VVe love our Epis
copal brethren with a pure heart, fervently, and we honour
their church as a portion of the true Catholic church of
Christ; but, in Christian charity be it said, we think the
Reformation stopped a little too soon in the church of Eng
land. But to return to the proofs. " Whose sins ye remit, they
are reraitted," &c. In the first place, there is no raention
made here of confession of sins, rauch less of auriciilar con- ,
fession to a priest ; secondly, Christ defines the nature of'
the coraraission which he gave his apostles, when he says
* Grounds of Cath. Doct , p. 34.

igg AURICULAR CONFESSION.
in the preceding verse, "As my father hath sent me, so
send I you." Now Jesus was not .sent to hear private con-"
fessions, and thereupon to give absolution, but by preaching
to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to 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 all the priests that were to
corae into the world ? Did he, by the sarae action, or by
any other, convey the Holy Ghost to them? Now it is
necessary that they who assume the right of remitting and
retaining sins, should be able to prove to us that they have
received the Holy Ghost. " Exactly so," says the papist,
"and our church teaches that every priest, at his ordination,
receives the Holy Ghost when the bishop consecrates him
to his holy office." Then you must prove that the bishop
has received authority to dispense the Spirit to whomsoever
he thinks fit. This will be rather a hard matter. The
Doway Blh\e as well' as the Holy Bible teaches that the
residue of the Spirit is with God, and not with either Pope,
or Bishop, or Priest. Besides, we should naturally suppose
that they who receive the Holy Ghost must be very holy
men. Now, I have not the honour to be personally ac
quainted wilh any of the brotherhood, and consequently
cannot speak from personal knowledge; but I have St.
Ligori's opinion of theni. In his system of theology, a sy
nopsis of which is before me, he uses this language :
" Arnong the priests who live in the world, it is rare, and
very rare to find any that are good. For in order that a
priest should be good in the world, it is necessary that he
should lead a very exemplary life, remote frora plays, from
idleness, and from evil company. He should be given to

AURICULAR CONFESSION. igg
prayer, and should frequent the sacraments ; but where is
such a priest to be found, and we will praise him?"'"
Perhaps the saint refers to the Italian priests ; but then
you know " holy church is always and everywhere the
same;" this is her standing boast. In the judgment of
charily, I believe the priests in our country are not so cor
rupt as in sorae others. Indeed I know they are not. But
according to Roraan Catholic doctrine, the personal char
acter of the priest has nothing to do with the case ; even
those who are living in morlal sin exercise this function of
forgiving sin. Here then we have the strange anomaly of
a wicked priest, w--ho has nevertheless received the Holy
Ghost, whilst we are repeatedly told in the word of God,
that the Spirit of God is a Spirit of holiness. We are
warned not to grieve the Holy Ghost, by indulging in any
known sin. If they have received the Holy Ghost, they
raust be holy men ; so that if you find any bad priests, you
have " living epistles" frora which all raen may know and
read the arrogance, presumption, and absurdity of popery.
But the other text tells us, " Whatsoever ye shall bind on
earth, shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever ye shall
loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt, xviii. 18.)
The power of binding and loosing is evidently the same as
that of remitting and retaining sins. It was given not to
Peter only, but to all the apostles. But the Roman Catho
lic will tell us, " you cannot deny that the keys of the
kingdom of heaven were given to Peter alone." I do not
wish to deny it, for Christ says, speaking to Peter, " I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdora of heaven." The
keys were unquestionably given to Peter. The term " king
dora of heaven" is repeatedly used in the New Testament,
(as all know who understand their Bible,) to designate the
* Synopsis of Ligori's Theology, p. 73,

190 AURICULAR CONFESSION.
gospel dispensation. " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand." "The law and the prophets were until John;
since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every
man presseth into il." In these passages, the phrases
" kingdom of heaven," and " kingdora of God," are used to
denote the gospel dispensation. The giving to Peter the keys
ofthe kingdora of heaven manifestly receives its explication
from his being first employed to preach the doctrines ofthe
gospel after our Lord's resurrection and ascension. Who
ever was first after this event employed to preach the doc
trine of the kingdom of heaven, raight very well be said to
open the gates of that kingdom by the keys given to him
for that purpose. Now as some one person must be first
in opening the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven ; so the
grant of the keys was made to one person, to Peter alone,
and never to any other ; but the power of binding and loos
ing, mentioned in the same verse, (Matt. xvi. 19,) and in
Matt, xviii. 18, and that of remitting and retaining sins in
John XX. were granted to all the apostles as much as to
him. Hence we see that the trite 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. Peter had'the
keys and no one else. Peter was the first Pope, and Peter
left the keys to his successor in the papal See. Did he in
deed ? By whose authority ? Did the Saviour say, " I give
unto thee the keys ofthe kingdom of heaven," and I charge
thee to leave them to thy successor?" No! If the power
of the keys belonged to Peter, he had no right to give it
away ; he exceeded his comniission by one-half when he left
his keys in the care of the Pope. How ineffably ridiculous
does this claim of supremacy appear when examined by the
simple light of Scripture. Christ assures Peter that in his

AURICULAR CONFESSION.

191

preaching he should be enabled so effectually to deliver the
terras on which the Lord would pardon sinners, that no one
should fail of salvation who complied wilh 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 comraissioned by Christ to preach the everlasting gos
pel, might justly be said by their declaration of its solemn
truths, to 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 believed the truth of God. The words
cannot be taken literally whhout encroaching upon the pre
rogative of God. He alone has power to bind and to loose.
He alone can forgive sins. " Who is a God like unto thee that
pardoneth iniquity ?" (Mic. vii. 18.) He only can destroy
both soul and body in hell. " Fear not them that kill 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
the enmity of the. 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
know that when the Saviour wished to establish his claim to
divinity, he did so by showing that he had power to forgive
sins, and by confirming that claim by a miracle. "That
ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth
to forgive sin, he saith to the sick of the palsy, " I say unto
thee, arise, and fake up thy couch and go unto thine house."
Moreover, the passage in Matt, xviii. does not even re
motely relate to the subject of confession to a priest, but to
the manner in which offenders are to be treated by the
church when they refuse to listen to private and public ad
monition. 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 thera ?
" Because in the text above quoted, Christ has made the
pastors of his church his judges in the court of conscience,
with commission and authority to bind or to loose, to for
give or to retain sins, according to the merits of the cause,
and the disposition of the penitents. Now as no judge can
pass sentence without having a_full knowledge of the cause,
which cannot be had in this kind of causes, which regards
men's consciences, but by their own confession, it clearly
follows, that he 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 _ reraitted. Nor would our
Lord have given to his church the power of retaining sins,
much less the keys of the kingdom of heaven, (Matt. xvi. 19,)
if such sins as exclude men from the kingdom of heaven
might be reraitted independently of the keys of the church."
It is a hard raatter for those who have been educated in
the principles of civil and religious liberty to repress the
indignation which the avowal of such sentiments as these
must awaken. " Christ has made the priests his judges in
the court of conscience, with coraraission and authority to
bind or to loose, to forgive or retain sins, according to the
merits of the cau.se, and the clisposition of the penitents!!"
Of the merits of every cause, the priests of course are the
sole arbiters. IC this be not the quintessence of despotisro
and arrogance, then I say there is no such thing as tyranny
on earth ! If Christ has made the priests his judges in the
court of conscience, they raay enjoin any act of wickedness
which they choose, and the good papist must obey his
ghostly tyrants, or lose his soul. He gives his conscience
entirely into the care of the priest, and after thus bowing

AURICULAR CONFESSION. 1 93
down and forgetting that God made him a man, and gave
him a mind to think for himself, and a conscience to regu
late his conduct, he is prepared for any atrocity which the
priests may require. He can corafort himself wilh the re
flection, that if the deed is sinful, the guilt rests with the
priest, the keeper of his conscience ; and the last of the fifty
reasons which the papist can assign for not being a Protest
ant may be that which the Duke of Brunswick mentions as
so very consoling ; that if he should be so unfortunate as to
die in a stale of mortal sin, his priest had proraised lo be
daraned in his stead. Ah ! ray friend, if you die in your
sins, if you make another man the keeper of your con
science, " and bow dowu that he may go over," you will
find to your sorrow that you cannot be damned by proxy.
I shall call up this subject again before I close, and I there
fore proceed to the next proof which is offered in the Grounds
of Cath. Doct. p. 36 : " When a raan shall have in the skin
of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in
the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy, then he shall
be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons
the priests." Now there is certainly no mention here of
confession of sins ; the man is brought to the priest to ascer
tain the nature of the eruption on his skin, not to confess
his sius. " Well," the papist will tell us, "this, according
to the- holy fathers, was emblematical of the confession of
sins in the sacraraent." But the earliest of these fathers say
nothing about auricular confession. " Some ofthe later fa
thers, however, teach this doctrine." Is it so ? Then some
ofthe holy fathers must have been very rauch straitened for
Scripture evidence in support of auricular confession ; for
observe, 1. The infected person was not to corae and confess him
self a leper to the priest ; but the priest was to judge him so,
and to pronounce him a leper ; " the priest shall look on
17

194

AURICULAR CONFESSION.

him, and pronounce him unclean;'' Lev. xiii. 3, and theii
the leper was to cry and confess, not to the priest, but to
the people that he was unclean, verse 45.
2. Again, there was a plain law, requiring the priest to
pronounce judgment in case of leprosy ; but where is the
law which requires only a priest to hear private confession ?
Not in the Bible, certainly.
3. The priest's examination of the leper was not -in pri
vate, but in the presence of others.
4. The priest did not always declare the person to be free
from a leprosy ; but the popish priest always absolves the
sinner upon due confession of his sins.
These points are sufficient to show that the holy fathers
have not selected a very appropriate emblem to represent
the sacrament of penance.
I proceed lo the next proof that is offered. " In the same
law, a special confession of sins was expressly prescribed^
(Num. V. 6, 7.) When a man or woman shall corarait any
sin that men corarait, to do a trespass against the Lord,
and that person be guilty; then they shall confess their sins
which they have dOne."
But this does not speak of confessingln-the ear of a priest,
the man or woman was not required to enumerate every evil
thought, word, or deed ; and to ransack every corner of his
conscience, as papists must ; but the context shows that
reference is here raade to certain fraudulent transactions for
which restitution was due. Now whenever restitution ' is
made, reason demands that the details of the case be ac
knowledged in order to show why and for what the indem
nification is offered. Besides, this text does not speak of
confession to a priest. It may have been to God, or it may
have been to the party wronged ; and at all events, if it was
made to a priest, he did not sit in a corner ofthe tabernacle
and let the penitent whisper in his ear, for it will be remem-

AURICULAR CONFESSION. 1 95
faered that the common people never came into the taber
nacle, but always met the priest in the outer court where it
was impossible to be private.
The next Scripture adduced in the Grounds of Cath. Doct.
is James v. 16. " Confess your sins, one to another: i. e.
to the priests or elders of the church, whom the apostle has
ordered to be called for." (v. 14.) It is very important that the
words " one to another," should mean " the priests or el
ders ;" hence we cannot deny that this explanation is very
convenient. " Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed." If this text is to
support auricular confession, it is plain, that after the priest
has heard the confession of his penitent, he must confess
bis 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. " Pray one for another, that ye
may be healed." I need not say, that such a course as this
would be derogatory to the dignity of those " whom Christ
has 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 faithful, why did only many that be
lieved, come and confess? Why did they not all corae?
Moreover, if this is a proof that confession is to be made in
the ear of a priest, why was this confession made in public?
Why did they not drop down on their knees before father
Paul, in his confes.sional-box, and make the sign of the
cross, and kiss the good apostle's hand, and go over their
confiteor, and whisper their sins in his ear? They went to
work openly, not in a dark corner; they brought their bad
books, and burned them before all the people.* I do wish
* Acts xix. 18, 19.

196 ' AURICULAR CONFESSION.
the priests would let their light shine before men, in the
same way.
Now, I would not have any of my hearers suppose that
Protestants do not believe it proper to confess their sins.
We believe confession to be an important part of repentance.
We confess our sins to God. We believe it to be incum
bent upon Christians, to examine themselves daily ; to raake
daily and particular confession to Hira, who seeth in secret.
We also believe it right, in sorae instances, to confess our
sins to our brethren. If I have wronged'a brother, and am
convinced of my error, it is a privilege, not a penance, to
go to him, and confess the injury, and make restitution to
the best of my ability. We also admit, 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 his counsel and prayers ; but if this is
done, it is optional with the person who makes the confes
sion. He is nowhere commanded to confess to a priest;
much less is he authorized to expeet absolution from a fel
low-sinner. We expect absolution only through faith in the
meritorious sacrifice of Christ. " In Him, we have redemp
tion, through his blood,'' not through the " absolve te" of a
Popish priest.
As to the matter of penance, of which auricular confession
is only a part, I ask, where is there a single passage in the
whole New Testament, which enjoins the performance of a
Roraish penance ? An uneducated papist will tell us, that
penance is enjoined again and again. So it is, in the Doway
Bible ; but a learned Priest knows very well, that the true
meaning of the Greek ;ii£'t'a*oia and fii'tavociv is not exhibit
ed by the expressions "penance," and "to do penance."
Those words, from the very necessity of their etymology,
relate not to any outward austerities, but purely and exclu
sively to that moral change of mind, which we denominate

AURICULAR CONFESSION. I97
" repentance." Every priest, who understands Greek, must
laugh in his sleeve, when he imposes penance.
But all these objections to auricular confession are only
secondary ; and, having disposed ofthe proofs, which Pope
Pius offers in support of this practice ofthe Roraish church,
we will proceed to bring forward still stronger reasons
against itT
1. Auricular confession, as established in the church of
Rome, tends to the grossest immorality and profligacy.
You will reraeraber the arrogant claJm 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.
The sixth volume of Dens' Moral Philosophy is devoted
entirely to penance, auricular confession, and the connectQd
topics. I will read a few paragraphs, as specimens of the practi
cal casuistry of the existing Roraish priesthood.
" De Interrogationibus Faciendis ;" concerning the inter
rogatories propounded at confession. " The priest ought to
examine the conscience ofthe sinner at confession, as a phy
sician does a wound, and a judge a cause; because, fre
quently, that which the person confessing would retain in
silence, will be revealed by inquiries." " There are two rea
sons why sin is not disclosed : shame and fear, or ignorance
and simplicity. If the confessor observes that the penitent
is reserved, through shame and fear, he must begin his in
terrogatories from the greater sins, such as homicide, adul
tery, sacrilege^ &o., because the penitent will promptly an
swer, that it is not so enormous a crime, and will then dis
close the truth to evade suspicion of the greater transgres-
17*

19g AURICULAR CONFESSION.
sion. If the confessor perceives that the acknowledgment
of sin is evaded through ignorance or simplicity, he must
commence his questions by the minor offences."*
Then follows a paragraph concerning questions relative
to particular details, succeeded by another, concerning the
sins of particular conditions. Sorae of the questions upon
this topic are so vile that I dare not copy them. Suffice it
to say, the ghostly fathers propound interrogations which
must, originally, have been conceived by minds familiar
with the grossest pollutions ofthe dens of infamy and pros
titution. If the questions laid down in Dens' Theology, re
cently republished in Ireland, and in use at the Roman Ca
tholic college at Maynooth, an approved text-book on Moral
Theology, are really put at confes-sionals in this city, then
I cannot conceive how any Roman Catholic, who has any
regard for the virtue of his wife or daughters, wiU suffer
them lo go to confession.
The following questions, to be answered at confession,
are found in the Philadelphia edition of " The Key of
Paradise," approved by the Roman prelate of this city,
p. 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 corarait either, and
how often ? 4. Have you taken pleasure in thinking on
any iraproper subject, and how often ? 5. Have you en
deavoured to excite your own passions, and how often?
6. Have you been guilty of indecent liberties, and how of
ten? '7. Have you read indecent writings, or lent them to
others, and how often ? 8. Have yon exposed indecent pic
tures ? 9. Have you joined in indecent conversation, and
how often ? 10. Have you committed any gross sin against
chastity ?" * Ulusti-. of Pop. p, 343.

AURICULAR CONFESSION. 199
All Roman Catholic men and women, and boys and girls,
above twelve years of age, must study all the above ques
tions ; and carefully and truly answer them to the priest, or
they cannot obtain absolution.
I have before me a form of examination in French, and
another in Spanish ; but, although they would be intelligible
to but few of ray readers, I shall not pollute ray pages by tran
scribing them. Indeed, I feel as though I had gone to the
utmost verge of propriety by consenting to transfer the pre
ceding list, which is published in an authorized Roman Ca
tholic book, in our own city. I shall not insult the under
standings of my readers by attempting to prove the corrupt
tendency of such questions, especially when propounded to
children.'* I am not surprised that a young Roman Catholic lady
declared most solemnly, to a Protestant friend, a short time
since, " I never will go to confession, and I told the priest
so." I do not wonder that several Roman Catholic ladies,
who were, converted last winter, and connected themselves
with a Baptist church in this city, have since expressed
their amazement at their own blindness and stupidity in ever
letting the priest put certain interrogatories to tliem 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 foi* the
perverting, soul-destroying influence of superstition, I am
sure that modest people would never be found at the con
fessional. But it is not onlythrough corrupting questions and solici-
* See Confessions of a Catholic Priest, chap. 13.

200 AURICULAR CONFESSION.
tations that injury is done to the souls of men and women,
the doctrine of absolution is alike destructive to all morality
and piety. Let a raan, viciously disposed, be taught that a
priest can absolve hira from alraost any criraeto which his
wicked heart is inclined, and what stronger teraptation could
you offer in order to make hira riot in 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 is not the papist
taught to believe that the Great Judge of all the earth has so
far put the matter out of his own power, that he must con
firm, in heaven, the judicial sentence which the priest, or
bishop, or Pope, as the case raay be, shall pass upon earth?
What regard will such a raan pay to the law of God?
What will his piety be worth ? Will he not despise the doc
trines which leach that the corrupt affections of the heart
must be mortified, and that, without hohness no raan shall
see the Lord ? The grossest abuses obtain in relation to
absolution. There are sorae confessors who are called deaf,
not because they cannot, but because they will not hear, and
who never deny absolution, though the sins be referred to
the Pope. Anthony Gavin speaks of them as follows : —
" One of such confessors has more business in Lent than
twenty of the others, for he, (lilce our couple^beggars, who
for sixpence do marry the people,) for the same sum gives
absolution. And for this reason all the great and habitual
sinners go to the deaf confessor, vvho gives, upon a bargain,
a certificate, in whieh he says that such a one has fulfilled
the commandment of the church, for every body is obliged
to produce a certificate of confession to the minister of the
parish before Easier, 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. I had a friend in the same convent, who
told me, that such confessors were obliged to give two-thirds
of their profit to the comraunity, and there being only two
deaf confessors in that convent, he assured me that in one
Lent, they gave to the father prior 600 pistoles a-piece,"* &c.
2. Auricular confession, as practised in the church of
Rome, is destructive of civil and religious liberty.
I make no scruple in asserting that this is the grand secret
ofthe despotism that prevails, wherever popery is fairly es
tablished. The priest sits as "judge in the court of con
science," and the good papist, like a poor criminal, is ar
raigned at his bar. He is taught to reverence his fellow-
sinner as the representative of God, clothed wilh plenary
power to bind or to loose at pleasure, to forgive all his sins,
or to consign him to hell and damnation for ever ! Can
such a man stand erect as a freeman ? Why, his spirit is
crushed and broken, — he is a slave/ If the priest imposes a
penance, he must perform it, or endure it, as the case may
be, or else incur the guilt of morlal sin ! If he comes into
a Protestant church to hear a sermon on auricular confes
sion, or any other popish tenet, he will have to confess that
sin to his priest, and wo betide him then. Il is well for him
that the offence was not coraraitted in a papal country, and
as it is, perhaps he raay be corapelled to go without his
breakfast for two weeks, or wear a hair cloth next his skin,
or be rerainded in some other pleasant way of his misde
meanor, besides paying a smart fee before he can get abso
lution. We hear a great deal said about slavery in our day ; and I
abhor oppression in every shape ; but I count the poor slave,
who hoes his master's corn under the lash of a heartless
overseer, a freeman, when compared with the man who
* Master-key to Popery, p. 50.

202 AURICULAR CONFESSION.
breathes the atmosphere of liberty, and yet voluntarily fet
ters his soul, and surrenders himself, bound hand and foot,
to the sovereign will and pleasure of a popish priest!^!
blush for my countrymen, when I think of such degrada
tion ! " The priest sits as judge iri the court of conscience !"
Can you acknowledge this claim, and yet call yourself a
freeman ? What, if the priest makes it a raatter of con
science that you vote for a certain political candidate?
Will you exercise the right, guarantied to you by the con
stitution of your country, of choosing for yourself? You
cannot — you dare not contradict the priest, you must vote
as his reverence directs. If the priest " sits as judge in the
court of conscience," then your conscience is under his
control,- and if so, there is an end of religious liberty, for
this consists in the right of worshiping God according to
the dictates of conscience. You have no right to surrender
this privilege, and if you do, God will still hold you account
able for it.
But in reply to all this, Roman Catholics may be ready to
say. Has not the confessional been often made the medium
through which restitution of stolen property has been made ?
That such restitution has sometimes occurred, I most cheer
fully admit: when of unusual importance, care has been
taken to give due publicity to the fact. But the very principles
which govern the priest and his penitent at the confessional,
are enough to show that restitution does not necessarily fol
low the acknowledgment of theft. The priest is bound, un
der the most solemn oath, never to divulge the secrets wilh
which he becomes acquainted at the confessional. Even if
the intention to murder the highest officer ofthe government
were to be revealed under such circumstances, the priest
dare not warn the party threatened ofthe impending danger,
unless he can, by stratagera or otherwise, obtain the inlbr-
mation elsewhere, frora the sarae individual. It has often

AURICULAR CONFESSION. 203
happened that Romish priests have been informed by their
penitents of a murderous plan, which has subsequently been
executed, but the secrecy of the confessional forbade them
to give the least intimation to the victim of his danger. I
have before rae a pamphlet written by the Rev. L. J. Nolan,
lately a Romish clergyman, but now a curate of the estab
lished church at Athboy, in Ireland, which contains the fol
lowing statements, of the truth of which I have no doubt.
He refers to two instances, which are precisely in point.
" The first is the case of a person who was barbarously
murdered, and wilh whose intended assassination I became
acquainted at confession. One ofthe five conspirators, (all
of whom were sworn to commit the horrid deed,) broached
to me the bloody conspiracy in the confessional. I implored
him to desist from his intention, of becoming an accomplice
to so diabolical a design. But, alas I all advice was useless;
no dissuasion could prevail, his determination was fixed — -
and his only reason for having disclosed the awful machina'-
tion to his confessor, seemed to have originated from a hope,
that his wicked design would be hallowed by his previous
acknowledgment of it to his priest. Finding all ray reraon-
strance unavailing, I then recurred to stratagem. I earn
estly besought of him lo mention the circumstance to me
out of the confessional, in order that I raight apprise the in
tended viclira of his danger, or caution the conspirators
against the corarahtal of so inhuraan a deed. But here in
genuity itself failed, in arresting the career of his satanic
obstinacy. The conspirator's illegal oath, and his appre
hension of himself becoraing the viclira of brutal assassina
tion, should he be known as the revealer ofthe conspiracy,
rendered hira inflexible to ray entreaties ; and awful to re
late — yes, awful, and the hand that now pens it shudders at
the record it raakes — :a poor inoffensive man, the victim of
- slaughter, died a most cruel death by the hand of ruthless

^04 AURICULAR CONFESSION.
assassins. Oh, my dear Protestant countrymen, you will
now naturally ask, whether am I, or the perpetrators ofthe
bloody deed, most to be censured ? I who knew the mur
derers and the murdered previous to the act, — I who had
met the intended' victim of slaughter in the public streets but
a short time antecedent to his death. But, my friends, the
prejudices of my early life in favour ofthe doctrine of auri
cular confession, &nd the influence of subsequent education,
instilling into ray raind the inviolability of that iniquitous
tribunal, raust plead before ray God and the public, as my
only apology for the concealment ofthe diabolical conspira
cy. And now you, Roraish priests, I ask you, could the
Lord Jesus institute a doctrine so monstroiis in its practice,
and so subversive of the principles of humanity ? — a doctrine
that beholds the dagger pointed at the human heart, but
hushes the warning voice that would apprise the devoted
victim of his danger? I must now proceed with the recital
of another case more revolting to humanity, than even the
former one. It is that of a female administering poison to
her parent. Her first attempt at parricide proved ineffectiial,
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 for priestly abso
lution, to ea.se her raind and prepare her for a speedy repe
tition of the heinous crime. Again she attempted the act,
and it proved successful. I was called On to attend the
dying parent. The unnatural throes and convulsive agonies
of the unfortunate man, convinced rae that the disease was
of no ordinary nature. The previous confession of his
daughter, who at this tirae made her appearance, rushed
upon my mind, and suggested that the parent was a second
time poisoned. From what I had known through the con.
fessional, I could not even hint at the propriety of sending

AURICULAR CONFESSION. 395
for medical attendance; for the Romish doctrine impressed
an inviolable secrecy upon my lips, 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
frora the raystic spells that bind you, and cast off that unna
tural yoke, which would dare to unite your God in an un
holy alliance with such raonkish blaspheray ? Should any,
unacquainted with Romanism, question the veracity of these
statements, let him consult history; and he will find many
similar facts. Did not the Romish priest, the Rev. Mr.
Garnet, the provincial ofthe Jesuits, justify his concealment
of the gunpowder plot, on the pretext of its being revealed
to hira at coniession ? Did not Father D'Aubigny, the
French Jesuit, put forward a similar pica of ju.stiflcation for
concealment, when the assassin Ravaillac, (that stabbed
Henry the IV.) in 1610, acknowledged to him in the con
fessional his plan of regicidal murder? But why need I
refer to such circurastances, as every priest who has acted
in the capacity of a confessor, must admit the fact of sirai
lar cases frequently coming before hira at the confessional?"
I 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 many of thera are embracing
the pure gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 ofthe same
congregation whom he had served, or rather ruled, whilst a
Roraan Catholic priest.
18

206 AURICULAR CONFESSION.
Do you ask how this conversion was effected ? I will tel!
you. He and his congregation became interested 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. " They proved all things,
and held fast that which is good." When did you ever
hearof a well authenticated case of a Protestant renounc
ing his faith, in consequence of reading the Bible, with
humble prayer to God for the light of his Spirit? And
when was it ever 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
underlhe sun.
I am persuaded, that if all men would imitate the Bereans,
whom the apostle so highly coramends, the word of God
would speedily overturn the strongest buhwarks of the Man
of Sin. That day will come ere long ; you and I may not
live to see it, but the signs of the tiraes, and the voice of
prophecy corabine to assure us, that it is near at hand.
Babylon shall be judged ; the mother of the abominations of
the earth shall perish in her own craftiness. Yet a little
while, and he that shall come, will come. Yet a little while,
and the angel testifies to the churches, " Come out of her
ray 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 AMONCf MEN,
WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED."
The doctrine of indulgences is intimately connected with
that of penance, and both these inventions of the' Man of
Sin have been sources ofimmen.se revenue to the Papal See.
The Roman Catholic church teaches that when sin is for
given, though the eternal punishment due to every trans
gression and disobedience is wholly remitted, there always
remains sorae temporal punishment, which the sinner must
undergo, or else make satisfaction, either before his death
or in purgatory." This satisfaction is to be made by means
of fasts, alms, penances, and other meritorious deeds, per
forraed in obedience to priestly injunction. But after all
that the poor papist can do, though he be ever so obedient
and dutiful, there is a heavy balance against hira ; for this,
however, holy church has not forgotten to provide. It has
been ascertained that there is an immense treasure of unap
plied merit, partly accruing frora the sufferings and death of
the Saviour, and partly frora works of supererogation, per
formed by the blessed saints. The.se works of supereroga
tion are meritorious deeds, performed by the saints over and

208 INDULGENCES.
above the amount necessary to secure the salvation of their
own souls ; and from this redundancy of merit, his'holiness
the Pope is authorized to appropriate a quantum sufficit to
make up the deficiency in ihe merits of those among the
faithful, 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 condi
tions as he may choose to prescribe. This remis.sion ofthe
temporal punishment due to sin, is called an. indulgence.^
This we learn frora Pope Pius' Grounds of Cath. Doct. p. 80.
" What do you mean by indulgences ?
"Not leave to corarait 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 sins, after the sins them
selves, as to the guilt and, eternal punishraent, have been
already remitted by contrition, confession, and absolution."
L shall pursue my usual course in discussing the subject
before us; first examine the proofs that are offered in sup
port ofthe doctrine, and then state the objections to it.
" Can you prove from Scripture that there is a punish
ment often due upon an account of our sins after the sins
theraselves have been remitted ?
"Yes, this evidently appears in the case of king David,
2 Kings xii. where although the prophet Nathan, nipon his
repentance, tells him, v. 13, " The Lord hath put away thy
sin." Yet he denounces unto him many terrible punish
ments, V. 10-^14, which shbuld be inflicted by reasc.n of
this sin, which accordingly afterwards ensued."
I will read tho .passages to which we are referred, "Now,
therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house ;
because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of
Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord,
Behold, I wijl raise up evil against thee out of thine own

INDULGENCES. 209
house, and 1 will take thy wives before thine eyes, and will
give them unto thy neighbour, &c. ; for thou didst it secretly ;
but I 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
put away thy sin ; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by
this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of
the Lord lo blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee
shall surely die." Now, so far as the abstract proposition
is concerned, I agree entirely with Roman Catholics in the
article, which teaches that God frequently, and indeed gene
rally entails certain temporal consequences, call them penal
consequences if you will, upon every flagrant violation of
his law, even after the eternal punishment has been remitted :
e. g. the drunkard raay reform his vicious habits, he may
confess and forsake that sin and every other, and believcin
the Lord Jesus Christ as the great atoning sacrifice for sin ;
in short, he may be saved from the pains of hell, yet that
drunkard will carrydown to his grave the bodily inconve
niences which have resulted from his intemperance. His
body may be racked with pain, and his shattered constitu
tion and. ruined health, may keep his iniquity fresh in re
membrance. And so in various other instances, temporal
afflictions may ensue after the eternal punishment has been
reraitted. This is all just and proper. For salvation is of
grace, not of works, lest anyrnan should boast. If God
remits any part of the penalty, it-is all of mercy: and be
cause satisfaction has been raade by Jesus Christ for all who
will believe, God can be just, and yet the justifier of hira that
believes in Jesus. If the Lord, then, sees fit to retain any
ofthe temporal effects of sin, he has a. perfect right to do so,.
and indeed we are so constituted that the temjioral conse
quences of sin are necessarily entailed upon us ; it is a feature
of the economy under which we are placed, that eyery action
18*

210 INDULGENCES,
ha? more or less bearing upon our happiness injime as well
as in eternity. The very first transgression of tfie law of
God, which ever disgraced our world, is an affecting proof
of this. Adam and Eve were driven frora Paradise because
they disobeyed a simple precept of that law. Now, though
there is every reason to believe that the grace of God was
magnified in the final salvation of our first parents, yet the
temporal effects of their sin followed them, and have follow
ed every generation, and will follow every orie of us to the
grave. -But the difference between us and the church of Rorae,
is this ; we affirm that there is no such thing as commuting
the temporal punishment by means of alms or fasting, or
any thing else. This temporal penalty must be endured ;
there is no escape frora it. The debauchee cannot cora-
pound with the Pope for the restoration of his health ; it is
•gone, irrecoverably gone ; fasting and alms, and ave marias,
and all the machinery of popery will never bring back the
vigour of youth. So too the man who has lost his good
name by some gross violation of the laws of his country,
will always bear about him that stain upon bis reputation,
even after he has sincerely repented of it. • God may even,
as in the case of David, inflict extraordinary judgments upon
a tran.sgressor, and adapt the punishment to the crime in so
remarkable a manner, as to let all the world know that there
is a God who rules in righteousness.; but he has no where
told us that he has put it in the power of the Pope to avert,
lor commute these judgments by the substitution of any other
penalties which his pretended vicar-general may prescribe.
This is the point to be proved. An attempt to estabhsh
this claim is made by appealing to the " power ofthe keys,"
as we shall presently see.
" Upon what Scripture do you ground this ?
" The power of granting indulgences was left by Christ to

INDULGENCES.

211

the church. Matt. xvi. 19. ' I will give unto thee the keys
of the kingdora of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind
on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' "'
In my In.st discourse I had occasion to advert to those
words, and I then gave what I believe to be the true mean
ing of the passage. I will repeat the explanation in a few
words. The phrases " kingdom of heaven and kingdom of
God," are frequently used in the New Testament to denote
the gospel dispensation. Thus John the Baptist says, " Re
pent, for the kingdom of heaven is at 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 tirae
the kingdom of God is preached," i. e. the gospel is preached.
The-Doway Bible renders the former text, " Do penance,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ;" but the other pass
age is the same as in the Holy Bible. When Christ tells
Peter "I give unto thee the keys ofthe kingdom of heaven,"
he raeans " I give unto thee the keys of the gospel dispensa
tion," i.e. thou shalt open the preaching ofthe gospel ; thou
shalt be the first to declare the great and glorious truth,
which is the rock upon which my church is built; the truth
that I am the Christ, the Son of the living God. Accord
ingly Peter preached the first gospel sermon after the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ, on that ever memorable day of
Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, 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 apcstles as well
as upon Peter, and raeant no more than that they should be
empowered so to preach the g9spel as to declare everlasting
death upon its desplsers, 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-

212 " INDULGENCES.
ing ofthe Scripture which the Pope construes as the grand
charter by which the power of granting indulgences is con
ferred upon holy church. That it is a forced and unnatural
interpretation, and altogether foreign to the literal meaning
and to the whole scope of the pas.sage, will be sufficiently
apparent, if we just place the text by the side of the Pope's
comraent. " I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom
of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earlh, shall
be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth, shall be loosed in heaven." " This means," says the
Romish interpreter, " The power of granting indulgences
was left by Christ to the church." Indulgences ! Pray,
what are they ? There is nothing said here about indul
gences ; the word is not lo be found in the whole Bible ; how
then can this passage refer to indulgences ? " 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 sins, after the sins them
selves, as to the guilt and eternal punishment have been
already remitted by contrition, confession, and absolution."
I leave it to the candour of any raan open to conviction,
whether this is not proof enough that indulgences are a
popish invention ; the word is nol in the Bible, and papists
must commence by Jelling us what is raeant by indulgences.
Let the cominon sense of any one who has not surrendered
the right of private judgment, decide whether the claim of
holy church to the power of granting indulgences is sus-
•tained by Peter's being commissioned lo preach the first
gospel sermon after the work of redemption was finished !
" But," says the Roman Catholic, " we have an instance in
Scripture of St. Paul's granting an indulgence to the Corin
thians whom he had put under penance for incest, 2 Cor. ii.

INDULGENCES. 213
10. ' To whom ye forgave any thing, (he speaks of the
incestuous sinner whom he had desired thera now to receive,)
t forgave also; for if I forgave any thing to whom I forgave
it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ,' that Is,
by the power and authority received from him."
Paul did not grant any such thing as an indulgence to the
incestuous sinner at Corinth ; neither did he put him under
penance. Indulgences and penance were never dreamed of
in Paul's day ; nor for many a long day after Paul had gone
to his rest. But I will tell you what he did. Many ofthe
Corinthians had been corrupted by a false teacher, and had
been persuaded by this deceiver that Paul was not a true
apostle, and that he had not preached the pure gospel. In
consequence of the doctrines of this deceiver, the church
was thrown into great disorder, the personal holiness of many
of its members was hindered and impaired, and discipline was
so greatly relaxed, that they permitted an incestuous raera-
ber to remain in their coraraunion. For this Paul rebukes
thera sharply, and enjoins upon them to separate that raera-
ber from the church. Farther, to let them know that he is
a true apostle, and invested wilh apostolic authority, he, by
the direction of the Holy Spirit, inflicts upon that man a
bodily sicknes^ which was intended to lead the sinner to re
pentance, and to convince the church that the power ofthe
Lord Jesus Christ was with hira as an apostle. There are
several instances of the exercise of this power recorded in
the book of Acts; thus Ananias and S.ipphira and Bar-Jesus,
(or Elyraas,) the sorcerer, were punished; but whenever this
supernatural authority was exercised; it was always done by
the special direction ofthe Spirit; if was not arbitrary, la'
the present instance, Paul writes that it had been done " with
many tears."
This incestuous sinner, then, was punished ; he repented
of his sin, and upon evidence of his sorrow, the church was

214

INDULGENCES..

disposed to forgive the scandal which he had brought upon
thera. Upon this Paul writes,- "To whora ye forgive any
thing, I forgive also: for if I forgaveany thing, to whom I
forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ."
As if he had said, " I have confidence in you as a Christian
society, and such confidence that if you forgive an offence
in one of your members, I shall approve the act, and
shall also be ready to forgive."* There was no indul
gence here ; the incestuous sinner was not required to
make satisfaction for the -balance of the temporal punish
ment which was due. No ! he was ybr^iDew ,• he had no-
th^nglo pay ; he was pardoned freely. Now, when a man
gets an indulgence, be the price great or little, he raust pay
for it. The church of Rorae is very sparing in her gifts,
and as lo forgiving a. debt, she knows nothing of that ; slie
raust have satisfaction / She does not believe that God will
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 remeraber, " By
the works ofthe law shall no flesh be justified."
Having examined the evidence adduced by Pope Pius in sup
port ofthe doctrine of indulgences, I shall briefly show frora
Scripture, that indulgences are no part -of the (^ounsel of God.
The whole gospel scheme of salvation, in all its parts, stands
directly opposed to this Romish invention. If I were to
attempt to quote all the Scripture evidence that raight be
adduced against the doctrine of indulgences, I should be
obliged to read to you a very large portion of the Bible ;-
from Genesis to Revelation, there is 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. 215
vened the whole lump, and the effects of which raay be dis
cerned in every part of the systera, the doctrine of "justifi
cation by works." The church of Rome teaches that good
works merit salvation, and are the efficient cause of it. The
Protestant church holds universally the doctrine of justifica
tion by faith, not historical failh, nor any other kind of faith ;
but that living faith which works by love, and produces fruit
unto holiness. As the fruit never produces the tree, so works
never make the 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
root of this poisonous Upas which has thrown a desolating
blight over so large and so fair a portion of the garden of
the Lord, and has destroyed tens of thousands of precious
souls who have eaten of its deadly fruit, and reposed under
its shade. It is a tenet which changes the whole gospel
plan, and presents another gospel from that delivered by the
Lord Jesus Christ ; and consequently entails the curse which
Paul so emphatically pronounces.* The church of Rome
teaches as follows :
" The council further teaches that such is the abundance
of the divine bounty, that we are able lo make satisfaction
to God the Father through Jesus Christ, not only by punish
ments voluntarily endured by us as chastisements for sin,
or imposed at the pleasure of the priest according to the de
gree ofthe offence ; but also, and this is an amazing proof of
love, by temporal pains inflicted by God hiraself, and by us
patiently borne.""!'
That this is not a doctrine of the Bible will appear from
the following propositions.
1. The word of God uniformly concludes all, even the
* Gal. i. 8, 9. t Con. Trid. Sess. xiv. Cap. 9.

m

INDULGENCES.

hest of men, under sin. " If we say. We have no sin, we
. deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."* " All have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God."t " All we,
like sheep, have gone astray, we have turned every one
to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on hira the iniquity
of us aZ/.":j; &c. Now, where there is sin, there is a stain
upon every action, and there is an end of raerit.
2. The Bible teaches that we are dead in trespasses and
siti. "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses
and sins." And again, " When we were dead in sins,
God hath quickened us together wilh Christ ; by grace ye
are saved. "§ " You, being dead in your sins, and the un^-
circuracision of your flesh, hath he quickened- together with
hira, having -forgiven you all trespasses."!]
Our will is opposed to holiness, till God raakes us willing,
by his Spirit, in the ,day of his power. Now, where a raan's
own will is wanting, until it be changed by God, his wOrks
cannot raerit any thing of theraselves.
3. It teaches that all our goodness is the fruit of God's
grace. " By the grace of God I am that I am."** We
are told repeatedly, that it is on- account of God's goodness,
and kindness, and good-will, that we are converted. " The
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but ac
cording lo his raercy ho saved us, by the washing of rege
neration, and renewing of. ihe Holy Ghost."ff Hear an
Old Testaraent saint. "Both riches and honour corae of
thee, and thou reignest over all ; and in thine hand is power
and might ; and in thine hand il is to make great, and to
give strength unto all. But who ara I, and what is ray peo
ple, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this
* 1 John i. 8. -j- Rom. iii. 23. i Is. Iiii. 6.
§ Eph. ii. 1, 5. II Col. ii. 13. ** 1 Cor. xv. 10.
ft Tit. iii. 4.

INDULGENCES. 217
this sort ? For all things are corae of thee, and of thine own
have we given thee. O Lord our God, all this store that
we have prepared, to build thee an house for thine holy
name, cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own."*
My brethren, before a work can merit any thing, it must
be strictly and entirely our own; but Paul asks, "What
hast thou that thou hast not received ? or who maketh thee
to differ from another ? Now, if thou didst receive il, why
dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"f " It is
Ood that worketh in us, both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.":}: Surely then, there is no roora for merit.
4. It teaches that, even in a state of grace, our obedi-
'ence is imperfect. " There is not a just raan upon earth
that doeth good, and sinnelh oot."§ To this truth every
Christian's own experience and conscience will bear testi
mony. God requires not only external obedience, but an
obedient slate of raind, which shall render universal homage
to his will: All the commandments in general, and every
coraraandraent in particular, and every jot and tittle of each
precept in God's word, raust be fulfilled, at all limes, and
without the least omission, or there can be no merit. Now,
our obedience, at best, is imperfect. Our best endeavours
have soraething in thera that needs .forgiving. Our holiest
actions raust be sprinkled wilh atoning blood ; and our very
tears need washing. Merit requires, and presupposes per
fection, and admits not iraperfection ; for " Cursed is every
one. that confirraeth not all the words of this law, to do
them. "II So long as you confess yourself a sinner, you
merit nothing but wrath and fiery indignation.
5. The Bible teaches expressly, that for this reason,
good works are for ever excluded from meriting salvation.
* 1 Chron. xxix. 13, 14, 16. t 1 Cor. iv. 7.
i Phil. ii. 13. § Eccl. vii. 20. |1 Deut. xxvii, 26.
19

2lg INDULGENCES.
" For$ by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of
yourselves : it is the gift of God. Not op works, lest any
man should boast."* "If Abraham were justified by works,
he hath \\hereof to glory, but not before God. For, what
saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was
counted unto him for righteousness. "f
Surely these testimonies are directly to the point. We
are justified by faith. Good works are the fruit of this
faith, and always accompany it ; but they are not the ground
of our justification before God. If any man has ever igno-
rantly taught that the Protestant church denies the nece-ssity
of good works, may God forgive hira ; but, if the misre
presentation is wilful, may the Lord lead him to repentance,
lest he meet the doom of those who speak lies in hypocrisy!
6. This; then, being the case, that works are excliided
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 worid.
Jesus Christ then, was raade under the law, to redeerh us
from it.:j: He was made a curse for us, to redeem us
from the curse.§ " He was wounded for our transgres
sions, and bruised for our iniquities ; and by his stripes we
are healed."|| He bare our sins in his own body on the tree.**
He was made sin for us, that we raight be raade the righte
ousness of God in hira, and live to righteousness. Thus
he is becorae our wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi
cation, and redemption. tf " There is now, therefore, no
condemnation to them that are in Christ- Jesus, who vvalk
not after the flesh, but after the spirit. '!-:j::]: Christ is the Rock
of our salvation. Our own righteousness, our so called

* Eph. ii. 8; 9. f Rom. iv. 2. ^ Gal. iv. 4, 5.
§Gal. iii. 13. 1 Is. Iiii. 5. ' •* 1 Pet. ii.24.
ft 1 Cor. i. 30. ^i Rom. viii. 1.

INDULGENCES. 219
good works, our alms, and fasting, and prayers, and pe
nance, merit nothing. The attempt to purchase the favour
of God wilh money, or with self-imposed austerities, is an
insult to Christ. Salvation must be accepted as a free gift,
if it is accepted at all ; Christ is our salvation.
The word of God, therefore, raakes raan's blessedness to
consist, not in his own merits, but in the Lord's not imput
ing sin to him. " Blessed is he whose transgression is for
given, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the raan unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no guile."*
Now, iC forgiveness be the source of blessedness, there
is an end of merit ; for where there is merit, salvation ceases
to be a gift, there is no rooni for forgiveness, because God
owes us all the joys of heaven, if we have merited them ;
and if so, the whole gospel scheme is inverted ; and instead
of reading, " by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
any man should boast," we ought to find the very opposite
in the Bible. " By works are ye saved, not through faith,
and that entirely of yourselves ; it is a debt due frora God, not
of grace, lest all ground of boasting should be taken away."
But look again at the lively oracles of 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 hira, as
merey, free and undeserved mercy ? Did Israel merit Ca
naan? Did their sufferings in the wilderness merit the in
heritance of the land of proraise ? Hear the word of the
Lord. " Understand, therefore, that the Lord thy God giv.
eth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteous^
«ess."t * fs. xxjfii. 1, 3, t JfJ^"*- i^- S-

220 INDULGENCES,
Now 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. If Israel could not buy
the shadow, we cannot buy the substance ; and, besides all
this, Paul tells us, that heaven is the gift of God. Can you
buy a gift ?
But you are, perhaps, still unwilling to relinquish depen
dence upon your own wcn'ks and sufferings ; let the sarae
apostle convict you of your error. " I reckon that the suf
ferings of this present tirae are not worthy to be corapared
with the glory that shall be revealed in us." If persecution
and raartyrdora cannot raerit 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 brethren, what low, unworthy ideas of
heaven you raust have, if you iraagine that you can pay an
equivalent for it. Is your heaven worth no more than your
alms, and prayers, and penances ? If it is, there is very
little attraction about it for me. But when I remember that
the Christian's heaven is the purchase of Christ's blood ; and
when I fry to estimate the value of that precious blood, and
find that all created excellence combined ; all that eye has
seen, or ear heard, or imagination conceived of things love
ly, and great, and glorious, falls infinitely below the value
of one drop of the precious blood of the Lamb of God ; when
the glorious truth comes horae lo ray heart, and burns upon
my soul, " Heaven is the purchase of his blood," — then
I know, heaven must be a glorious abode ; and, let me but
be a door-keeper of that upper sanctuary, and sit upon its
threshold ; or, as a dying Christian once said to rae, " let rae
but sweep the dust frora the corners of that house not made
with hands," and I ara content. I would ten thousand limes
rather stand upon that threshold, than wear the Pope's triple
crown, or sit upon the golden throne of the MSn of Sin.

INDULGENCES. 221
And when I die, aud my spirit takes its flight to the judg
ment seat, let me " be found not having mine own righte
ousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God, by faith."
Others may boast of their good works, and tell the Judge of
their pra3'ers, and fastings, and alms, and penances, and suf
ferings; I had rather plead the merit of a drop of my Sa
viour's blood, than have all the merits of all God's saints
and martyrs imputed lo me in that hour.
But, some of you raay still be loth to relinquish depen
dence upon their own works; then-let God's word speak to
you again. And what is its uniforra and unbroken testi
raony? Listen to your Saviour. " Doth the raaster thank
his servant because he did the things that were coraraanded
hira? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have
done all those things which are commanded you, say, we
are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our
duty to do." If we had never failed in a single instance
to love God with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and
strength, we should have merited no more than the man
who owes you a hundred dollars, and pays the debt. If
you do all the things that God has commanded you to do,
you pay your debt and no more. Where is the saint in the
Roman Catholic calendar, of whora it can be said, with truth,
that he never sinned in any matter, either in thought, word or
deed? All that the holiest saint ever did was no more than his
duty. What becoraes, then, of your works of supererogation ?
What becomes of those treasures of merit, locked up in the
Pope's strong box at- Rome, the key of which has been
handed down from Pope to Pope? What becomes of the
Pope's authority to dispense indulgences from this treasury
of merit, filled with the virtue of those good works which
were over andabove the amount necessary for the salvation
of the saints? Where is their authority to bequeath their
19*

222 ' iNDULGfiNCM
redundant righteousness to holy church, that she might coin
this bullion into money ? Oh ! the dismay that will over
whelm the souls of ihe deluded ; and the anguish and despair
that will confound the deceivers of souls, when their empti
ness shall be exposed. Methinks I hear them wail, and ery
out, in the secret places ofthe pit, "Alas ! alas ! all our righ
teousnesses are as filthy rags."
I have dwelt thus at length upon the Scripture argument
against the popish doctrine of raerit, because this is the root
of the difference between the Protestant church and the
Romish apostacy. -" Justification by failh" is the great lead
ing doctrine of the Bible, and of the ever-blessed Reforma
tion. You raay pass through all the different ranks of Pro
testantism, and you will find that "justification by failh in
the blood of Jesus," is inscribed on every banner. Faith
will be written on every standard that the Spirit ofthe Lord
lifts up, and everywhere, throughout Protestant Christendom,
you will see the sacramental host clad in the whole armour
of God, and above all, taking to thera the shield of Faith/
This is our sheet-anchor. The soul that drops this anchor
upon the Rock of Ages, may smile at the storms of hell ;
never, never shall her vessel be torn frora its moorings.
"We have this hope as an anchor ofthe soul, both sure and
steadfast 1"
The subject of indulgences is one of peculiar interest to
Protestants, because the monstrous abuses connected with
their sale, proved, under Providence, the raeans of opening
the eyes of thousands to the real character of popery, and
gave the first irapulse to the Reforraation. I had intended
this evening to present ' before you a sketch of the rise and
progress of this great and glorious work ; but I shall be
obliged to postpone it for the present, and make it the sub
ject of my next Jecture. I shall, therefore, conclude by
mentioning a few circumstances connected with the sale of

INDULGENCES. 223
indulgences, which are carefully concealed in the Grounds
of Cath. Doct.
Even if there were nothing more gross in the practice of
the Romish church than is admitted in this little book, I
think I have already shown that the whole counsel of God
is against it! But, my hearers, bad as this is, it is excel
lent, compared with the worst features of this Babylonish
abomination. I am willing to let the church of Rome en
joy the full benefit of the disclaimer which is put forth at
the coraraenceraent of the chapter on indulgences in the
Grounds of Cath. Doct. A guilty conscience needs no ac
cuser. She tells us in the first breath she does not raean,
by indulgences, license to coramit sin, or pardon for sins to
come. One thing, however, is certain ; she used to mean it,
and she used lo sell license lo corarait sin, and pardon for
sins to come ; and she boasts that she is " always and every
where the same." There is a certain book extant, called
"The Tax-book of the Apostolic Chancery," in which the
price of absolution from certain sins is stipulated. However,
as holy church, at lea.st in the United States, is ashamed of
these abuses, we will not lay ihis sin to her charge in so far
as our own country is concerned; and in return for this
charity. Holy Mother must give us all the credit we deserve
for doubting her infallibility i
I will read the testimony of an eye-witness, who describes
what he saw at Rome.
" I was surprised to find scarcely a church in Rome that
did not hold up at the door the tempting inscription of ' In-
dulgenzia Plenaiia ;' ' Plenary Indulgence.' Two hundred
days indulgence I thought a great reward for every kiss be
stowed upon the great black cross in the Colosseum ; but
that is nothing to the indulgences for ten, twenty, and even
thirty thousand years that may be bought at no exorbitant
rate in many of the churches ; so that it is amazing what a
vast quantity of treasure may be amassed in the other world

224

INDULGENCES.

with very little industry in this, by those who are avaricious
of this spiritual wealth; into which, indeed, the dross or
riches of this world raay be converted with the happiest
facihly imaginable;"
" You may buy as many masses as Will free your souls
from purgatory for twenty-nine thousand years, at the church
of Si. John Lateran, on the festa 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 Rome
and the neighbourhood, are spiritual shops for the sale of
the same commodity.''*
The immense profits accruing frora indulgences induced
the appointment of the centenary jubilee, which was first
celebrated in 1300, under the pontificate of Boniface 8th.
It was subsequently shortened one-half, doubtless because the
invention was profitable, and was at last reduced to twenty-
five years, at every return of which period, plenary indul
gences may be obtained during one year by all the faithful
v/ho shall visit certain churches at Rome, and perform the
religious exercises enjoined for the occasion. The last jubi
lee was in 1825.
That the tendency and practical influence of the sale of
indulgences is demoralizing, no honest man can deny. The
notoriously depraved stale of morals in Italy may safely be
ascribed to the facility of absolution, and to the easy pur
chase of indulgences. A modern traveller says : " At Tivuli,
a mail was pointed out to us who had stabbed his brother,
who died in agonies within an hour. The murderer went to
Rome, purchased his pardon from the church, and received
* Rome in the Nineteenth Century, XI, p. 267 — 270. See
Cramp's Text Book of Popery, p. 342.

INDULGENCES. 225
a written protection frora a cardinal, in consequence of
which, he- was walking about unconcernedly, a second Cain,
whose life was sacred."
And again : " Those that have interest wilh the Pope, may
obtain an absolution in full from his holiness for all the sins
they ever have comrailted, or may choose to commit. I
have seen one of these edifying documents issued by the pre
sent Pope to a friend of mine. It was most unequivocally
worded."* Now, beloved friends, let me bring you back once more
to the Bible. What use has a Christian for indulgences, or
for 'merit/ The temporal consequences of our sins we must
bear; no indulgence can deliver us from them. An indul
gence from the Pope will not expel the rottenness frora the
bones of the debauchee, though he may have repented and
thrown himself over upon the mercy of his Saviour. And
what do you want wilh merit ? Would you merit the par
don of your sin ? But " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
us frora all sin." Would you merit the favour of God ?
But where is the need of your merit? " If when we were
eneraies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son ; much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life." (Rora. v. 10.) Would you raerit everlasting life,
and heaven itself? But where is ths use of your merit?
Christ has obtained for us ihe full assurance of heaven. It
is ours by purchase. " By his own blood he has obtained
redemption for us." It is ours by donation. " My sheep
hear my voice, and I know thera and they fo'llow rae, and I
give unto them eternal life." It is ours by inheritance.
" If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise." But in reply to all that has been
said, the -Roman Catholic may tell me, " I do not depend
entirely, but only partially upon my own merits. The
• See Cramp's Text Book of Popery, p. 345.

226 INDULGENCES.
Council of Trent expressly teaches that we are able to make
satisfaction to God the Father through Christ Jesus, and not
through ourselves alone."
Now does not- this imply that the satisfaction which the
Lord Jesus Christ-has made for all who believe in him, and
exercise repentance towards God, would be incomplete with
out the superadded merits of our own works ? And is not
this jilainly contradicted by every page of the New Testa
ment Scriptures? The satisfaction which Christ has made
for us, is either coraplete and all-sufficient in itself, or it is
not. If the former, where is the use, in so far as justifica
tion is concerned, oC our making satisfaction either in whole
or in part ? If the latter, then the Bible is not true ; for it
everywhere proclaims the sufficiency of the atoneraent made
on Calvary.
Neither the faith of those who believe, nor the godly sor-
, row of those who repent, is the meritorious cause of their
justification ; and any man who pleads either as the ground
of his acceptance at the judgraent bar, will be spurned from
the presence ofthe thrice holy God.
In God's name, then, renounce all dependence on your
own raerit ! I do not tell you to renounce good works, but
to relinquish your dependence on thera. " By the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified." If you go about'
lo establish a righteousness of your own, you must perish.
I know that you have no peace. I appeal to your own con
science, and to your own experience for the truth of this
assertion. It is impossible that any who seek to justify
themselves by their own deeds should be at peace either
with God, or with theraselves. " 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 all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,''
Amen,

LECTURE VIII.

THE REFORMATION.
Ps. cxviii. 23.
" THIS IS THE lord's DOING ; IT IS MARVELLOUS IN OUR EYES."
Among all the remarkable events which are recorded in
the annals of history, whether sacred or profane, there is
none, since the birth and death ofthe blessed Saviour, which
consthutes a more important epoch than the great moral re
volution which occurred in the sixteenth century ; and which
is familiarly known as the Reformation. It was so mani
festly a reformation, that it has, by coraraon consent, re
ceived and retained the name ; and it always will keep its
designation, until enlightened Christians can be persuaded to
love darkness rather than light. Ever since the day, when
Martin Luther, with the Bible in his hand, stood forth as the
fearless advocate of the eternal truths of God's word ; since
he preached the gospel and wrote in its defence, and gave
the Scriptures to his countrymen in their vernacular tongue,
a wound has been inflicted upon Popery, which the experi
ence of more than three hundred years has proved to be
incurable; and which we know, frora the sure word of pro
phecy, is destined to prove the plague of ignorance, and
idolatry, and superstition, until they all shall come to a per
petual end. Since that day, the church of Rorae, with so-

228 "THE REFORtttATION.
vereign impudence, has attempted to face down the Protest
ant cause, by telling us that we are schismatics.
We may detail the usurpations, and tyranny, and corrup
tions of the Romish church ; and, as no man, unless he is
either fearfully depraved, or lamentably ignorant, or deluded,
can deny that these abuses really existed, and still exist, we
are uniformly told, in reply, that these grievances give us
no right to renounce the papal authority, and set up for our
selves ; but that we are accursed heretics, for persisting in
our separation.
The Council of Trent, which convened A. D. 1545, about
thirty years after the coraraenceraent of the Reformation,
seems to have been so full of cursings, that after a forraal
condemnation of the heresiarchs Luther, Calvin, and Zuin
gle, &c. &c., a fearful array of anathemas is thrown around
every statement of their own doctrines, presenting daj^gers'
points to the faithful, who are inside of the pale of the true
church, as well as to the incorrigible heretics, who are out
side. Notwithstanding these curses, Protestants persist in
maintaining, that when a church has becorae so fearfully
degenerate as to earn the title of The Mother of the Aborai-
nations of the Earlh, it is high time to listen to the voice of
the Eternal God, calling through the gospel, " Corae out of
her, my people, and be not partakers of her sins, lest ye
receive also of her plagues."
Now, my brethren, the charge of schisra is a very griev
ous one. The apostle bids us, " raark them which cause di
visions ;" and the Saviour says, " Wo. to that raan by whom •
the offence cometh." But I think it is very easy to retort
the charge of schisra upon the Romish apostacy ; and not
only to lay this sin lo the charge of Holy Mother, but to
prove that she is guilty of it. If we are heretics, in de
parting from the coraraunion of the Roraish church, then
Abraham and Abraham.'s seed were heretics too. When

THE REPOEMATIOIf. 229
the God of glory appeared to Abraham, and convinced him
that idolatry was a hateftil sin, and called him out, and bade
him " be separate," the father of the faithful obeyed, and
went out in the strength of simple hearted trust in the Lord
Jehovah. 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
up a standard against the enemy, who came pouring in like
a flood, and raised up men who were willing to go with the
Lord Jesus to prison and to death, and these raen were in
strumental in opening the eyes of their fellow-sinners, was
there heresy in this? Nol my brethren, "they walked in
the steps of the faith of our father Abrahara ;" they left the
idolatrous people, flung their images to the raoles and to the
bats; scattered to the winds the whole systera of Popish ab
surdities, and made this unseemly rent in ihe scarlet robe of
Holy Mother, which all the ingenuity and cunning inventions
of Popes and Jesuits have never yet been able to raend.
There is a question which is often put by our Roman Ca
tholic brethren, and which they think unanswerable, though
it has been answered a thousand tiraes. They say to us,
sometimes, " Do tell us, pray, what is the Protestant reli
gion?" "It is the religion of the Bible." "Ah, but that
is telling us where it is, and not what it is." But if I tell
you where my religion is, if you have eyes, and can read,
and have a mind of your own, you can soon find out what
my religion is. Read the Bible, and your inquiry will be
satisfied. The Saviour directed the Jews to their' Scriptures,
and bade his eneraies " search thera ;" we offer you the
Bible, and invite you to read it. There you will find the
grounds of Protestant doctrine. "Well, but where was
your religion before Luther?" " Just where it is now, and
where it always will be ; here, in the Bible ; and that is
20

^30 KBE REEOKMATIQIf.
•where the Roman Catholic religion is not, never has been,
aind never will be."
Papists are mistaken when they tell us that their religion
is older than the Protestant faith. It is old, I admit, but it
is not so old as ours by several centuries. Our religion was
not called tfie Protestant faith in the apostle's days, because
there were no Popish errors to protest against. We may
retort the question, and ask our Roman Catholic brother,
"Where was your religion when the Bible was written?"
and echo will answer, " Where?"
After brushing away these cobwebs, I will proceed to the
subject before us.
I. / will prove that the Reformation was needed.
II. That the Glorious Reformation was the Lord's doing.
I. The first point will very soon be dismissed. Even
Roman Catholics themselves must admit that gross abuses,
and appalling licentiousness, were prevalent in their church,
during and preceding the period of the Reformation. Lest,
however, any, through ignorance or prejudice, should be
disposed to dispute it, I will state facts, and give testimony
which all our adversaries cannot gainsay, because the truth
is so interwoven in the whole history of this eventful period,
that it is impossible to conceal it.
Several years after the first blow had been struck by
Luther, Pope Adrian VI. hiraself presented a brief to the
Diet of Nuremberg, through his nuncio, in which he makes
acknowledgments, which are alone sufficient to justify the
raost acrimonious accusations of Luther. He owns explicitly
that all the confusion introduced by Lulheranism, was the
effect of men's sins, particularly of the sins of the priests
and bishops ; that for some years past many abominations
and excesses had been committed in the court of Rome, 'even

THE REFORMATION. 231
in the Holy See itself, and that it was no wonder if the evil
had passed from the head to the members, — from the Pope
to the bishops and priests. But let us give you his own
words. " We have all," says the Pope, " turned every one of us
to his own way, and for a long time none hath done good^
no not one. Let us give glory to God, and humble our^
souls before hira ; and every individual among us consider
how great has been his own fall, and judge himself, that
God raay not judge us in his wrath. Nothing shall be
wanting on my part to reform the court of Rome, whence,
perhaps, 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 frora the same a sound
reformation raay proceed."
His holiness concludes wilh observing how rauch he had
this business at heart ; but that they must not wonder if all
these abuses could not be soon corrected. The disease was
complicated and inveterate, and the cure raust proceed step
by step, lest by atterapting to do all at once, every thing
should be thrown into confusion.*
Luther translated the Pope's letter into Gerraan, 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 raean that there must be an
interval of some centuries between each step."
Here, then, we have the admission of an infallible Pope
hiraself, that a reforraation was needed, that gross corrup
tions were rarapant in the church. What a glorious com
ment on Roraish infallibility is presented by this historical
fact. The head of the infallible church confesses that the
* Luther and the Lutheran Reformation by John Scott. New
York: J. & J. Harper, 1833. Vol. I. p. 180.

232 THE KEFOElttATION.
grossest abuses are practised in her midst, and that Popes
aud prelates and priests are turned every one to his own
way. This is as if a man, who was, from "the crown of
his head to the sole of his foot, filled wilh wounds and
bruises and putrifying sores," should declare, that notwith
standing all this disease, there was not a spot or a wrinkle
upon his inmiaculate body !
Pope Adrian's testimony may suffice. I like it the bet
ter, because he cannot be accu.sed of too rauch partiality for
Luther and his coadjutors, especially when it is reraerabered
that he conjured the Council at Nuremberg to "extinguish
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, I cannot go very much into
detail respecting them. One abomination, however, cannot
be oraitted, as the excess to which it was carried, proved,
under God, the means of opening the eyes of an obscure
Augustine raonk, once scarcely known beyond the limits of
Witteraberg, but who will be held in everlasting reraem-
brance as a Christian man of undaunted courage, stern in
tegrity, and strong faith. I need scarcely say, I mean Mar
tin Luther. We all know that Luther has been represented
by some papists as a monster of iniquity. That he had his
failings, I admit ; he would have been more than man if he
had had none. It is not my inteniion to enter at present
into a minute refutation of the slanders that have been
heaped upon hira ; indeed it is unnecessary, since the elabo
rate testiraonies which Maimbourg, Varillas, and Moreri,
three Roraan 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. 337— 3^2,

THE REFORMATION. 233
would repeat the silly calumnies and idle stories respecting
Luther, of which intelligent Roman Catholics have long
since been ashamed.
It raay, perhaps, not be amiss to advert to one of the
many ridiculous stories respecting Luther's death and fune
ral, which were industriously circulated among the faithful,
after the Lord had taken him horae. The following authen
tic narrative has been preserved in an admirable Gerraan
work, published in Stuttgart, 1839, entitled, " Luther's
Leben und Wirken."
" When the corpse of Luther was carried to the grave by
twelve strong men, the bier at first was so heavy, that they
could not proceed wilh it ; afterwards it became so light, that
they set it down in the market-place, in order to examine
whether the body was still in it or not. They found no
man there, but three enormous rats, which jumped out upon
the people, and squealing dreadfully, ran through the crowd
¦and escaped. One of these rats ran to all the convents and
monasteries, and bit the iron bolts and locks in pieces.
Another ran to Rome and bit the seals off the Pope's bulls
of indulgence; the third ran into hell and extinguished the
fire of purgatory, so that it can never burn another Chris
tian soul." The manner in which this laUer exploit was
performed, decency will not permit rae to describe.*
This nonsense is about on a par with the silly tale of
Luther's conference with the devil respecting the Eucharist.f
On the whole, however, I ara not disposed altogether to
deny that the devil raay have had some hand in originating
Luther's notion of consubstantiation ; it savours so rauch of
transubstantiation, the chef d'oeuvre of the Evil one, that it
would be hard to disprove the devil's agency in its invention
* See Luther's Leben und Wirken, von Dr. C. F. G. Stang.
Stuttgart, 1839, p, 1004.
f See the Catholic's Manual, p. 68. New York, 1836.
20*

2'34 THE REFORMATION.
It is due, in cofnraon justice, to the very respectable soci
ety of Lutherans to stale, that but a very sraall proportion
of their nuraber adhere to the doctrine of consubstantiation.
I believe the large majority of the Lutheran denomination
agree substantially with their Reformed brethren in the doc
trine ofthe Eucharist. Luther was a whole souled raan ; he,
belonged to the excellent of the earth, and tiis raemory is
blessed ; but whilst we give God glorj' for raising up such a
man, and sustaining him through so many trial's, and bring
ing hira off more than conqueror, we are painfully rerainded
that he was but a raan after all. The pertinacity with which
he adhered to his favourite notion of consubstantiation,
shows how hard it is even for the best of raen to shake off
the traramels of early prejudice and supersthion. Luther's
idea was briefly this : " He denied that the elements were
changed after consecration, and therefore taught that the
bread and wine indeed remain ; but that together with them,
there is 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 wilh greater obstacles,
and yet it may be said, in another sense, that there never,
was a more favourable opportunity for the commencement
of reform. Leo X., after a term of five years, had reduced
himself to great straits by his prodigality, and in order to
* The reader, who wishes to know more ofthe private charac
ter ofthe great Luther, may consult, in addition to former refe
rences, Robertson's Charles V. p. 329, 330. Harpers, New York,
1838: Scott's Luther and the Lutheran Reformation, vol. ii. 189
 203, in which Robei-tson's sketch is reviewed: Jones' Chwcli
Hist. p. 441, Phil. 1832. But after all, the best way of obtaining
a correct estimate of Luther's character is to read his history and
his writings. None but a bigot can read either, without beipg
convinced that Luther was a holy man.

THE REFORMATION. 235
replenish his empty coffers, had recourse, after the example
of his predecessor, Julius II., to the sale of indulgences.
The specific object to which the money was to be appropri
ated, was the completion of St. Peter's church at Rome, and
for this purpose Leo published indulgences throughout the
Christian world, granting freely to all who would pay money
for the building of this church, the license of eating eggs and
cheese in the time of Lent ; this fact is gravely related by
papal historians. Albert, the archbishop of Mentz and Mag
deburg was authorized to superintend the promulgation of
the papal, indulgences, with the understanding that he was
to receive his 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 in two days by the sale of
indulgences. The matchless impudence of this frontless
raonk is alraost incredible. He taught the people, that the
moment 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 raoraent," said he, " the raoney tinkles in the chest,
your friend's soul mounts up out of purgatory." This au
dacious pardon-monger boasted that he had saved more
souls from hell by his indulgences than St. Peter had con
verted to Christianity by his preaching. Now, it is a fact
which must be reraerabered, that not an archbishop, nor
bishop, nor priest ever opened his raouth to conderan these
enormities, until after opposition had been openly made to
the iniquitous traffic in another quarter, although the infe
rior officers concerned in this shameful commerce were
daily seen in public houses rioting in the raost scandalous
debauchery.* Whilst Tetzel, wilh undisguised effrontery,
* IJume's Hist, of England, vol. i. p- 54. Philad. M'Carty &
Davis, 1840.

236 THE REFORMATION.
was making traffic ofthe souls of men, and the church cor
rupted and debauched, was held up as the laughing stock of
infidelity, the Lord was preparing deliverance.
In the meraorable year 1517, it happened that certain
persons, repeating their confessions before Luther, after
owning themselves to be atrocious offenders, refused to com
ply wilh the penances which he enjoined, and when interro
gated as to the reason, produced their diplomas of indulgence.
Luther, indignant at this licentious folly, refused to give them
absolution, and they complained to Tetzel. The Dominican
inquisitor frowned and stormed and menaced; but all tone pur
pose. He went so far as several times to order a pile of wood
to be set on fire in order to awe the heretics into subraission
by this significant hint. This measure was equally unsuccess
ful. Luther conscientiously persisted in opposing the traffic ;
at first he raerely intimated in a gentle manner from the
pulpit, that people might be better employed than in running
to Tetzel to procure indulgences. So cautiously did this
great man begin the work, the result of which he then so
little foresaw. Ten years before this lime, he had accident
ally met with a Latin Bible in the library of the monastery.
To his astonishment he found that there were more Scrip
ture passages extant 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 inge
nious and learned raan of his order in Gerraany. Martin
Polichius, a doctor of law and raedicine, had reraarked. con
cerning Luther several years before the commencement of
the Reforniation, after listening to one of his eloquent and
fervid appeals, "This raonk will confound all the doctors,
and reform the whole Roraan church ; for he is intent on
reading the writings of the prophets and apostles, and he de
pends on the word of Jesus Christ; this neither the phiToso-

THE REFORMATION. • 23Y
phers nor the sophists can subvert." It will readily be con
ceived that a man mighty in the Scriptures, and who had
already apprehended the great leading doctrine of the New
Testament, justification by faith in the perfect merits of the
Lord Jesus Christ, would be prepared to rebuke the mon
strous abuse ofthe sale of indulgences. His first step after
preaching against the iniquitous traffic, was to appeal lo the
archbishop of Mentz; ho did not even know that the arch
bishop" was the prime dispenser of these popish pardons.
The archbishop gave hira no satislaction. Luther next ap
pealed to his own diocesan, the bishop of Brandenburg.
The prelate reverenced his integrity, but cautioned him in
these words, " You will oppose the church ; you cannot
think in what troubles you will involve yourself. You li«d
better be quiet." This counsel Luther could not conscien
tiously accept, and with deliberate steadiness he persevered.
Having in vain endeavoured to procure the concurrence of
the dignitaries of the church, he published his Theses, ninety-
five iu 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 Wittemberg, and from that
hour we raay date the commenceraent of the Reformation.
Alarmed at the publication and rapid circulation of Lu
ther's Theses, and above all, at the favour with which good
and true men regarded them, Tetzel published one hundred
and si-x propositions, in which he attempted to refute the
arguments of the Augustinian raonk; 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 frora that moment the Pope
and.Luther parted corapany. Such was the coramencement
pf the great work, which has resulted in conferring civil and

238 THE REFORMATION.
religious liberty upon millions who would otherwise have
groaned under papal bondage. " This is the Lord's doing,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.'' Luther was the instru
ment, but not the agent of this Reformation. " It was the
Lord's doing." The Lord led his servant step by step far
beyond 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
religion lay in this, that it not pnly effected, to a large extent,
the correction of abuses, but it brought forth frora under the
bushel of papal ignorance, bigotry, and superstition, the
candle of God's word, and set it up as a beacon light upon
every hill of Zion. This result was not effected at once ;
th%light at first 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. I'hat the Reformation of the church was the Lord's
doing, will, I think, be apparent if we examine the difficul
ties which were in the way, the raeans which wore employ
ed, and the complete success of the enterprise.
1. In the first place, the whole papal power was arrayed
against it. It is astonishing, when we look at the over
whelming influence which popery was exerting upon the
whole of Europe, that an obscure Augustinian monk should
have been able to shake the throne of the Roraan pontiff,
and to break the right arra of his power. At first, Luther
stood alone ; but his intrepid and unflinching zeal ; his stern
integrity, and the fact that his was evidently the cause of
truth and righteousness, soon gained him the affection and
the hearty support of honest men, 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 REFORMATION. 239
rule. His frown made the stoutest potentate tremble. He
could absolve subjects frora allegiance to refractory rulers.
He had often done it ; and had brought the haughtiest mo
narch to terms. When Luther arose, there was none among
the rulers of the earth who could dare the Pope to do his
worst. There was not a man in the high places of power
who could venture to ask the Roman pontiff, " What doest
thou?" But see how bold the truth can make its advocate.
Single-handed, armed with no weapon but the Bible ; sus
tained, originally, by no influence at the courts of earthly
kings, and relying solely upon the justice of his cause,
and the help of God, the great Reforraer proclairaed liberty
to the captives, and the opening of the prison-doors to
them that were bound, and bade defiance to the authority
of Antichrist. Deluded millions cursed him for a heretic,
and gnashed upon him with their teeth. Kings leagued to
gether; archbishops and bishops, and all the hosts of Rome
and hell conspired against him ; but every attack was re
pulsed ; every plot against his life was frustrated, and not a
hair of this man's head was hurl, though the Pope and the
devil thirsted for his blood. The cause wilh which he was
identified gained ground daily and hourly. Kings became its
nursing fathers, and queens its nursing mothers ; until, even
tually, the principles of the Reformation became so firmly
established, that its enemies were constrained to give up
their open assaults in despair. " This was the Lord's do
ing ; it is marvellous in our eyes."
2. Again : The prejudices of men were arrayed against
the Reformation. The men of that generation had been
taught that submission to priestly mandates was the great
cardinal virtue, which would atone for a multitude of sins,
and save the soul from death. It was blasphemy, in those
days, to say a word against the Pope. And, though the
exactions of papal tyranny had ground the faces ofthe poor,

240 "THE REPORMA'notJ.
and laid 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
Pope raight be a usurper. They had no Bibles. 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, who had spurned 'every limit of modesty and de
corum. They knew no better. They did not know that it
was as imperious a duty for every good man to forsake a
corrupt church as it was for Lot to flee from Sodom.
We see, in our own day, that bigotry and prejudice can
blind the eyes even of intelligent and amiable men, and con
vert thera into strenuous advocates of exploded and ridicu
lous doctrines and ceremonies. It is easy, then, to ira,3gine
that Luther and his coadjutors would experience treraendous
opposition frora the prejudices of the dark age in which he
lived. But see how Ihe word ofthe Lord ran and was glo
rified ! Hundreds daily flocked to the standard, which the
Spirit of the Lord had lifted up. The everlasting gospel,
stripped of the raeretricious trappings of human invention,
proved, everywhere, the power and wisdora of God unto
salvation; and in spite of the opposition of bigotry; in de
fiance of the sword of the executioner, and the fire and fa
gots of bloody, persecuting agents of the Pope, the word of
God grew mightily, and prevailed, so that in a few years'
time, kings and bishops were brought into the obedience of
the gospel of Christ, and whole nations were converted to
the Protestant faith. Is not this proof enough that the con
sciences of men are on the side of the truth ? Was this
the work of raan ? " This was the Lord's doing, and it is
marvellous in our eyes."

THE REFORMATION.

241

3. But what were the me.yns employed in effecting this
mighty moral revolution ? They were not carnal weapons.
Protestants did not make proselytes through the eloquent ap
peals of the gibbet, and the stake, and the torturing imple
ments of the Holy Inquisition. The principles of the Pro
testant church are directly opposed to persecution in every
shape. We contend for liberty of conscience. It is no
part of our creed, that faith is 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 Con.stance deliberately asserted it, and as
deliberately put ihe principle into practical operation, by
burning Jerome of Prague, notwithstanding the emperor Si-
gisraund had guarantied him a safe conduct. The only
way in which Protestants can persecute the adversaries of
God's truth, consistently wilh their principles, is by means
of the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We
hold up the torch oC truth, (not the blazing fagot of inquisi
torial tyranny,) over the doctrines and practices of errorists ;
and we show that Roraanisra and the Bible are sworn ene
mies. Now, if this be persecution, would to God that Pro
testants would persecute a great deal more than they do ;
and that papists never had persecuted, and never would per
secute again, in any other way.
I hope my hearers will not be alarmed when they hear
that their humble speaker has been honoured with the title
of a -persecutor of the true church ; and, in almost, if not
quite, the same breath, I ara told, surprise has been express
ed, that any of Calvin's seed should have been suffered to
remain so long upon the earth. Now, I confess, if I had
said that it was a wonder that any Roman Catholic should
be permitted lo live in the United States, and worship God
and the Virgin Mary, and the saints, and holy images,
and holy relics, according to the dictates of his own con-
21

242 THE REFORMAT] Olf.
science, I should have betrayed something like a disposition
to persecute.
-^his reminds me of a passage in good John Bunyan's
Pilgrim's Progress. When Christian comes lo the mouth of
Giant Pope's cave, he finds the old gentleman, by reason "of
the many shrewd brushes that -he met with in his younger
days, grown so crazy and stiff in his joints, that he can
now do little more than sit in his cave's mouth, grinning at
pilgrims as they go by, and biting his nails because he can
not come at them. So I saw that Christian went on his
way ; yet, at the sight of the old raan that sat at the raouth
of the cave, he could not tell what to think, 'specially be
cause he spoke to him, though he could not go after him,
saying, ' You will never mend till more of you be burnt/'
But he held his peace, and set a good face on it, and so went
by, and catched no hurt."* I raean to do as Christian did ;
and hope, like him, to catch no hurt.
Now, my brethren, I will trench upon no man's private
rights ; but I will try, looking to God for the assistance of
his grace, to convince my Roraan Catholic brethren, that I
do love them ; and that my heart's desire and prayer to God
for them is, that they may be saved.
On the great day ofthe Lord, when I shall meet you all at
the judgment, I shall be ready to answer the charge of per
secuting the true church.
But, to return. The weapons of the Reformers were not
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, if he did Hot procure, the
burning of Servetus. Indeed, it was some tirae before the
* Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Harpers, 1837. p. 135.

THE REFORMATION. 243
true Bible principle, relative to the treatment of heretics, was
clearly brought out before the minds of the Reformers.
[The following is Calvin's own language relative to this
case : Speaking of certain false charges respecting his
familiarity wilh the Pope's inquisitors, he says, " It is useless
to spend words in refuting this calumny, which is broken to
pieces, and falls by a simple denial. If indeed what they
falsely object to me was a fact, I do not see why I should
deny it ; since I do not dissemble, that it was by my means
that he (Servetus) was seized in this city and required to
defend his cause. Let malevolent and slanderous men ob
ject what they please, I offer myself beforehand, and freely
confess (for according to the laws of this city, the raan could
not be justly treated otherwise,) that the accuser proceeded
at my request ; that the formula was dictated by my advice,
by. which sorae entrance was raade upon the cause. But
what my design then was, is evident frora the progress of
the action. When ray colleagues and myself were sum
moned, it was by no raeans our fault that he didnot confer
peaceably and freely concerning his dogmatisms. We in
fact proceeded as in chains to give the reason of our faith,
and informed hira that we were prepared to answer his
objections. It was then that, wilh swollen cheeks, he poured
forth upon rae such reproaches as made the judges them
selves ashamed and grieved for him. I avoided all railing
at him. And had he been in any manner curable, he would
have been in no danger of any weightier punishment," &c.]*
This is not to be wondered at, for they were educated in
the tenets of Romanism, which inculcate the destruction of
heretics, whenever it raay be conveniently- consummated.f
However, persecution never was a prorainent feature of Pro-
• See Life of Calvin, by Beza, p. 186. Philadelphia: Whetr
ham, 1836.
I Ehem. Test. p. 44,

244 THE REFORMATION.
testant discipline, and it never will be. The means em
ployed by the Reformers were substantially the same which
the Christian church still uses, viz. the preaching of the gos
pel and the circulation of the Scriptures. Luther's transla
tion of the Bible into German proved, under God, the means
of salvation to thousands. Now look at the raeans which
were instrumental in producing the glorious results that are
destined to bless the world, by conferring civil and religious
liberty upon the whole huraan race. What but the influ
ence ofthe blessed Spirit could have effected such triumphs
as have already been accoraplished? It is he who raakes
the foolishness of preaching prove the power and wisdom of
God unto salvation ! " This is the Lord's doing ; it is mar
vellous in our eyes."
4. And what are the results thai have already been ob
tained ? The emancipation of a large portion of Europe
from civil and spiritual despotism, and the establishment of
' the true principles of political and religious liberty in both
I the old and new world. The Reforraation is not ended yet ;
but it is steadily and rapidly in progress ; it will not be fin
ished until the principles of civil and religious liberty shall
have been everywhere established ; and until its rainisters
shall have gone forth proclairaing liberty and salvation to
the heathen world, and bringing home the fulness of the
Gentiles as an offering lo 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 brethren, yesterday we celebrated the anniversary of
our national independence ;* and whilst we feel it good to ex
ult in our freedom as a great and happy people, let us not for
get that we owe this blessing, under God, to the Reformation.
The pilgrira fathers who landed on the Plyraoulh Rock,
* Preached Sunday evening, July Sth,

THE REFORMATION. 245
brought with them the doctrines and the principles of the
German Reformers. They fled from the face of their per
secutors into the wilderness; and here, upon this very soil,
reared an altar to their God, and laid the corner-stone of
the glorious fabric of our independence. The grain of mus
tard seed which they planted has become a mighty tree.
God grant that its branches may ever be laden with plea
sant fruits ; that its leaves raay be for the healing of the
nations, and its shade continue to offer an asylum to the
oppressed. If the liberty which is dear to every Araerican is to be
preserved ; if it is worth preserving, we must raaintain our
separation from the corruptions and aborainations of popery.
The great and good Lafayette, whose memory is deservedly
honoured by this nation, in conversation with distinguished
citizens of our Republic, has repeatedly said, "American
liberty 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, was ever
watching the political horizon for the indications of danger
to his beloved America, and the danger to which his latest
warnings pointed was this very covert political attack, which
is in full operation upon our soil at this raoraent, an attack
the more dangerous, becau.se it shields itself under the rnask
of religion, and cries out persecution at every atlerapt to ex
pose its true, its political character." Professor Morse adds
in a note, " It may not be amiss here to state, that this
declaration was repeated by hira to raore than one American.
The very last interview I had with hira on the raorning of
my departure frora Paris, full of his usual concern for
Araerica, he raade use of the same warning ; and in a letter
which I received from him but a few days after at Havre,
21*

24.6 THE REFORMATION. ^ *
he alludes to the whole subject, with the hope expressed,
that I would make known the real state of things in Europe
to m.y own countryraen ; at the sarae time charging it upon
me as a sacred duty, as an American, to acquaint them with
the fears which were entertained by the friends of republican
liberty in regard to our country. If I have laboured with
any success to arouse the attention of ray countryraen to the
dangers foreseen by Lafayette, I owe it in a great degree to
having acted in conformity to his often repeated injunctions."
That the Jesuits will atterapt the ruin of our free institu-
'tions, I most firmly believe ; but I also believe that the effort
will be a splendid failure, that will cover its authors wilh
confusion, and pluck down ruin upon their own heads.^ In
the annals ofthe Propaganda the proud boast is already re
corded. " In thirty years heresy will be destroyed in the
United Slates." I hope this prediction may be verified ; if
it is, thirty years hence there will be an end of popery !
Ah ! my brethren, the Protestant church will never be sub
dued, rauch less destroyed by the papal power. The doom
of Anti-christ, who has worn out the saints ofthe Most High,
is sealed. Those who have fled frora Sodora will never re
turn ! Who would, who dare look back that has once been
warned of the judgments that are hanging over Babylon?
The missionary angel is flying in the midst of- heaven, hav--
ing the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell in
the earth, and to every kindred, and nation, and tongue, and
people, saying with a loud voice, " Fear God, and give
glory to him ; for the hour of his judgment is come : and
wprship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and
the fountains of waters." Ere long, another angel will fol
low ; he will look down upon the broken battlements, and
the Vuiir^' bulwarks of the Man of Sin, and heaven will
echo with his voice, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great
pity, because she made all nations drink of the wine ofthe

THE REFORMATION. 247
wrath of her fornication !" And then the third angel will
cry, ere the vials of God's indignation are eraplied, " If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark
in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the
wine ofthe wrath of God, which is poured out without mix
ture, into the cup of his indignation, and shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels,
and in the presence of the Lamb, and the sraoke of their
torraent ascendeth up forever and ever ; and they have no
rest day nor night who worship the beast and his iraage,
and whosoever receiveth the raark of his narae." Wo to
them in Babylon who obey not the call of God, " Come
out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues, — for strong is the
Lord who judgeth her !"

LECTURfi IX.

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.
Rev. xvii. 6.
"and I SAW THE WOMAN DRUNKEN WITH THE BLOOD OF THE
SAINTS, AND WITH THE BLOOD OP THE MARTYRS OF JESUS : AND
WHEN I SAW HER I WONDERED WITH GREAT ADMIRATION."
The portion of the prophetic vision of the apostle John,
which is recorded in this chapter, evidently alludes to the
great Romish apostacy ; and before I proceed to show that
persecution necessarily enters into the spirit, principles, and
practices of that corrupt church, I will point out a few ofthe
¦most striking allusions to the church of Rome, which are
contained in this chapter.
1. Babylon, which is represented as being the abode of
the woman drunken with the blood oC the saints and of the
martyrs of Jesus, is the figurative name of Rorae. Peter, at
the conclusion of his first general epistle, says. The church
which is at Babylon salutes j'ou ; and Jerorae 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
Rorae, raany good writers having made it a subject of dis
pute whether this apostle ever saw that city. I think it can
be proved that Peter was at ROme when he wrote his first

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY. 249
epistle, and that he called h by the name of Babylon. But
why call this city Babylon, or as John terms it, Babylon the
great ? 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
thus brought down the heavy judgments of God. Hence
the prophet Jeremiah says of Babylon, " It is the land of
graven iraages, and the people are raad upon their idols."
This wicked city is taken as the fittest emblem of the enor
mous power and wickedness of idolatrous Rome. Each in its
turn was the mother of harlots and the abominations of the
earth ; the one corrupting the JewLsh, 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. The seven heads are seven mountains on
which the woman sitteth." You will remeraber that Rome
is built upon seven mountains.
3. The woman " was arrayed in purple and scarlet
colour, and decked with gold, and precious stones and
pearls," indicating the iramense, untold wealth of the papal
power. If you go to Rome at this day, you see the eccle
siastical dignitaries literally arrayed in purple and scarlet.
Witness the cardinals' scarlet hats and scarlet robes ; they
are clothed in scarlet from head to foot ; the very mules and
horses on which they rode were formerly covered with
scarlet cloth ; as if they were deterrained to answer this
description, and even literally to ride a scarlet coloured
beast. Before the Reformation the canonical robe of every
popish bishop was scarlet.
4. Upon her forehead was a name written, " Mystery."
This word, " Mystery," it is said, was literally written on the
Pope's mitre, until Luther pointed out the evidence which this
circumstance afforded of the Pope's affinity to antichrist.

250 »- PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.
Since then it has been changed ; but there still is " mystery"
enough ; transubstantiation, and the whole " mystery of iniqui
ty," is found in her. But the mark held out in the text, is
the token by which all men may know who isthis Babylon
the great, this mother of harlots and of the abominations of
the earth. " I saw the woman, drunken with the blood of
the saints, and whh the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."
The blood of sixty raillions of souls is -surely enough to
make even the Whore of Babylon drunk. This blood is
upon her skirts, and cries aloud to the just God for ven
geance. Her robe may well be scarlet. Cruel, cruel Rorae !
Her altars and her temples are reared upon islands of skulls,
and bones, surrounded by seas of blood ! Blood is the wine
she loves. She thirsts for blood. " She is drunken with the
blood of the saints, and wilh the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus." I am to prove to you, this evening, that persecution is a
necessary eleraent of the Popish system. I will raake good
the charge frora her standard principles, and her undevi-
ating practice. But, first, let us stale what we mean by
persecution.
/' When a raan, or a denoraination of men, is deprived of
any civil and religious rights, raerely on account of his re
ligious faith, when that faith or creed contains in it nothing
inconsistent with the political or religious interests of the
coramunity, or with the public peace ; -when force or legal
penalties nre eraployed against such persons, merely on ac
count of their religious opinions, then we say, that they are
persecuted. Now, it is irapossible that the church of Rome should
sustain any other character than that of cruelty, so long as
she maintains the principles of her authorized and standard
books. 1. Persecution is not only permitted by her principles, but
it is expressly enjoined ; and not only enjoined, but enforced.

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY. 261
by the severest penalties, und rewarded by the greatest pri
vileges. In the fifth Council of Toledo, Can. 3, the holy fathers
say :
" We, the Holy Council, promulge this sentence, or de
cree, pleasing to God, that whosoever, hereafter, shall suc-
/Ceed to the kingdom, shall not mount the throne till he has
sworn, among other oaths, to permit no man to live in his
kingdora, who is not a Catholic And if, after he has taken
the reins of government, he shall violate this promise, let
him be anathema maranatha in^ the sight ofthe eternal God,
and become fuel for the eternal fire."
The Council of Lateran, under Innocent III., decreed as
follows : (and be it remembered, that this decree is in full
force now, and would be put into execution to-day, if the
Pope had the power.)
" We excommunicate, and anathematize all heresy, con
demning all heretics, by what name soever they are called.
These, being condemned, raust be left to the secular power
to be punished. And those who are only suspected of he
resy, if they purge not theraselves in the appointed way, are
to be excoramunicated ; and if, within a year, satisfaction is
not given, they are to be conderaned as heretics."
Moreover, by a decree of this sarae council, the secular
power, Tinder Popish control, are required to take this oath :
" That they will endeavour, with all their might, to ex
terminate, frora every part of their dominions, all heretical
subjects, universally, that are marked out to them by the
church. But, if any temporal lord, being required and ad
monished by ihe church, shall neglect to purge his land from
this heretical filthiness, he shall be tied up in the band of ex
communication by the metropolitan and his com-provincial
bishops. And, if he shall neglect to make satisfaction,
within a year, it shall be signified to the Pope, that he may,

252 PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.
frora that tirae, pronounce the subjects absolved from alle
giance to hira, and expose his territories lo be seized on by
Catholics, who, expelling heretics, shall possess the country
without contradiction."
This is surely a heavy penalty for not improving the op
portunity of persecuting heretics. But this is not the only
incentive. Rewards are offered to the faithful, who do God
service by exterminating the enemies of the holy church.
In the sarae chapter frora which Ihe forraer extract was
taken, we read the following : " But Catholics, who having
taken the badge of the cross, shall set theraselves to extir
pate heretics, shall enjoy the sarae indulgence, and be for
tified with the sarae privilege as is granted to those, who go
to the recovery of the holy land." And in other decrees,
it IS provided not only that such raeritorious Catholics be ex
erapt from sundry penances, but a greater degree of everlast
ing happiness is promised Ihem than any others may expect./
Now, I would ask, is there a religion under the wide
canopy of heaven that contemplates a more complete de
struction of -peace on earth, and good will to raan, than
Popery ? Let it not be said that this decree of the Lateran
Council is obsolete. It is no such thing. Every canon of
this Lateran Council Was fully and explicitly established by
that of Trent, and its decrees are now in full force at Rome.
It is clearly, therefore, a principle of the Romish church
that heretics are to he destroyed. And who are heretics? I
All, who neglect or disown the authority of holy church j
are heretics. All, who think differently from her, relative;
to the sacraraent of the body and blood of Christ, or of any
other sacrament, or of any other article of faith — in short,
all who believe not as the Church of Rorae believes;, all
who disobey the Pope's statutes are heretics. Every Pro
testant denomination, therefore, of course is heretical, and
Ul accordance wilh her own acknowledged principles, the

PERSECUTING ^IRlt O^ POPERY. 353
Church of Rome must exterrainate every Protestant in
America, so soon as it can be done " without disturbance
or hazard ofthe good," as the Rhemish Annotation tells us.
My brethren, the spirit of popery, as breathed throughout
her principles, is a cruel spirit. Her eleraent is blood. The
Popish faith inculcates cruelty as a virtue^ its votaries are
taught at tiraes to disregard the tenderest ties, and the most
sacred obligations. If the common emotions of humanity
are not effectually suppressed by this religion in the bosoms
of its advocates, no thanks to Popery ! Pojiery teaches that
it is right for the husband to betray the wife, the wife the
husband, the daughter the raother, and the mother the
daughter — when heretics are to be exterminated. Popery
teaches that it is no more sin to murder a heretic than to
«ill a dog ! Ay ,it goes farther yet ; it teaches that it is me
ritorious to persecute Protestants to death. And what have
these heretics done? They have presumed to think for
themselves, and have refused to acknowledge the priests of
Rome as Christ's vicars in the court of conscience; they
have protested against the fooleries of transubstantiation
and purgatory, and all other inventions ofthe Man of Sin —
and they require every man, who offers thera any doctrine
as an article of failh, to corae " to the law and to the testi
raony," and to compare his creed with the Bible, the only
rule of faith which Christians ever will acknowledge. Is
this the great crime, which is to be visited with confiscation
of estate, banishment, iraprisonraent and torture, as the
only proper penalties ? Is it thus that the Church of Rome
tinderstands the Bible precept, "In meekness instructing
those that oppose themselves?" Tell me, why should here
tics be put to death ? Death cuts off all opportunity of be
coming acquainted with the truth, so as lo profit by it, and
to prepare for the judgment? But if it is right that heretics
should die, why must they die at the stake ? Why die so
22

254 PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY,
bitter a death as burning ? And if they must be burned,
1 why not let the flames do their work at once ? Why must
'a poor creature be roasted alive at a distant fire? Or, if
that must be^ why the addition of so cruel a mockerys when
the heretic is handed over in the tender mercy of the church
to the secular arm, as to implore the magistrate " for the
love of God, and in regard to piety and raercy, and of their
mediation, to free this miserable person from all danger of
death, or mutilation of merabers," when, after all this hypo
critical grimace, and this cant about piety and mercy, they
would burn the magistrate, if he were to refuse to execute
the heretic ? Why do the standard principles of Popery
sanction this barbarity ? Why, but because cruelty is the
genius of Popery I But we may be told, " that these things
are not so now ; Popery has changed ; Roman Catholics in
the United States, and in the nineteenth century, would never
be guilty of such atrocities." Many of them would not, I feel
persuaded. Many of them, perhaps most of them, would
shudder at the perpetration of such outrages. But what has
this concession to do wilh the case ? It is not their religion
which makes American papists more liberal than their
bigoted European brethren. Popery can claim no credit
for this. Popery is not changed. The Church of Rome
has never abjured her persecuting tenets. Let the Roman
Catholic prelates in Europe and in this country, with the Pope
at their head, come out and openly renounce the atrocious
doctrines of the Lateran Council ; let them publicly, in the
face ofthe worid, 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
they renounce all and every participation in their circjula-
tion : let them wash their hands clean of these bloody abo
minations, and keep them clean, and we will cheerfully and
scrupulously avoid all allusion to the persecuting spirit of

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY. 255
Popery. They will then have renounced the infallibility of
the Romish Church, and their religion will no longer be
Popery. But so long as they endorse these persecuting
doctrines, canons, and decrees, they, and all who sympa
thise with Ihem, must be regarded as the bitter enemies of
the cause of truth and righteousness, and of our dearest
liberties. Until this odious feature is expunged from the
Romish systera, we shall be constrained to believe that the
only reason why the true principles of Popery are not prac
tically and fully carried out amongst us, is just because
there is such enthusiastic devotion to the cause of civil 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 all of them unre-
pealed ; they are in full force lo this day. Every bishop,
on taking the oath of fealty, swears that be receives those
laws and canons, and will, to the utmost of his power, im
pugn and persecute heretics. The following is the form of
a Jesuit's oath of secrecy, as it reraains on record at Paris,
among the Society of Jesus.
" I, A. B., now in the presence of Alraighty 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
tal reservation, that his holiness Pope Urban is 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 hoiiness
by my Saviour Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose here
tical kings, princes, states, coraraonwealths, and govern
ments, all being illegal, without his sacred confirraation, and
that they may safely be destroyed ; therefore, fo the utmost
of my power I shall and will defend this doctrine, and his

256 -.. - . .> PE'&MICUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.
holiness's rights; and customs against all usurpers ofthe here-
tical.(rff Protestant) autho.rity -whatsoever: especially against
the now.prtet&^(Jepa-uthorit.y and Church of England, and all
adherents, inVfegard that they and she be usurpal and here
tical, opposing the sacred raother Church of Rome. I do re
nounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical king,
prince, or stale, named Protestants, or obedience to any of
their inferior magistrates or officers. I do further declare,
that the doctrine of the Church of England, of the Calvinists,
Huguenots, and of other of the narae Protestants, do be
daranable, and they theraselves are daraned, and to be
damned, that will not forsake the same. I do further de
clare, that I will help, assist, and advise all, or any of his
holiness's agents in any place, wherever I shall be, in Eng
land, Scotland, and Ireland, or in any other territory or
kingdora I shall come to ; and do my utmost to extirpate
the heretical Protestants' doctrine, and to destroy aU their
pretended powers, regal or otherwise. I do further promise
and declare, that notwithstanding I ara dispensed with lo
assume any religion heretical for the propagating of the
mother church's interest, to keep secret and private all her
agents' counsels from lime to time, 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 rae, by you,.
my ghostly father, or by any of this sacred convent. All
which I, A. B., do swear by the blessed Trinity, and blessed
sacrament, which I now am to receive, to perform, and on
my part to keep inviolably : and do call all the heavenly
and glorious host of heaven to witness these my real inten-,
tions to keep this my oath. In testimony hereof, I take
this most holy and blessed sacrament ofthe eucharist; and
witness the sarae further wilh my band and seal in the

PERSECUTING SPIRI^H*'
face of this holy convent, thij
Dom., &c."«
Protestants in America, as
deed all Protestants throughout Hi#»*iS»W^it?^formally
cursed every year by the Pope at Rome, on the Thursday
before Easter. The following is an extract frora the fa
mous bull in Coena Domini :
" We excomraunicate and anathematise in the name of
God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and by the
authority of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and by
our own, all Hussites, Wiclifiles, Lutherans, Zuinglians,
Calvinists, Huguenots, Anabaptists, Trinitarians, and apos
tates from the Christian failh ; and all other heretics, by
whatsover narae they are called, and of whatsoever sect they
be ; as also their adherents, receivers, favourers, and gene
rally any defenders of them ; together with all who, without
our authority, or that of the apostolic See, knowingly read,
keep, print, or in any way, for any cause whatever, pub
licly or privately, on any pretext or colour, defend their
books containing heresy, or treating of religion ; as also
schismatics, and those who withdraw theraselves, or recede
obstinately from the obedience of usj or the Bishop of Rome,
for the time being."f
This may suffice to prove that the principles of the
Church of Rome require her to persecute, whenever she has
the power.
II. And now, what has been her practice ? Her practice
has been in perfect keeping with her principles. In this
respect, she has always proved herself consistent. In the
palmy days of papal supremacy, the thunder of the Pontifi's
anathemas was always attended, or speedily followed by
* M'Gavin's Protestant, vol. ii. p. 256.
f Peter du Moulin's Papal Usurpation, folio, London, 1712,
p. 134. 22*

258 PERSECUTING SPIRIT OF POPERY.
drenching showers of blood. Take up the map of Europe :
is 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 of Sin set up hiraself above all that is called God,
which has not been signalised by some bloody tragedy, some
wholesale massacre effected through popish agency? Ah !
this Babylonish woraan is drunk with blood. The beloved
disciple raight well wonder whh great adrairation. Her
cruelty has indeed been wonderful ! Her ingenuity has been
taxed to the utmost to devise ne\y 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 ofthe most high God ! Look into the dens ofthe
Inquisition, that holy and harmless institution, which the
popish Bishop of Charleston, John England, who has been
appointed by his holiness. Inquisitor General of the United
States, has had the audacity to eulogise on American ground,
and in the hearing of American freemen ! Look into the
secret chambers of this infernal Inquisition. The heart
sickens at the array of instruments of death. The deeds of
darkness that have been practised there have been, in part,
brought out to the light. Llorente's History ofthe Spanish In
quisition, compiled from the original documents of the ar
chives of the Supreme Council of this holy office, is before
the public. When the Inquisition was thrown open in 1820,
by order ofthe Cortes of Madrid, ofthe twenty-one' prison
ers who were found in it, not one of whom knew the name
of the city in which he was, some had been confined three
years, sorae a longer period, and not one knew perfectly the
nature ofthe crime of which he was accused.
" One of these prisoners had been condemned, and was to
have suffered on the following day. His punishment was to
be death by the pendulum^ The method of thus destroying

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY. 259
the victim is as follows : — The condemned is fastened in a
groove, upon a table, on his back ; suspended above him is
a pendulum, the edge of which is sharp, and it is so con
structed as to become longer with every movement. The
wretch sees this implement of destruction swinging to and
fro above hira, and every raoraent the keen edge approach
ing nearer and nearer ; at length it cuts the skin of his nose,
and gradually cuts on, until life is extinct. It may be
doubted if the holy office in its raercy ever invented a raore
humane and rapid method of exterminating heresy, or in
suring confiscation. This, let it be remembered, was a pun
ishment ofthe Secret Tribunal, A. D, 1820."*
From the records of this vile tribunal, it appears that
31,912 persons perished in the flames, having been con
demned as heretics, between the years 1481 and 1781, ex
clusive of those who were put to death in other ways. How
many have died in the dungeons ofthe holy office, God only
knows. 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 his saints alone can tel!.
How many have breathed their last upon the rack of the
Inqui.-iition at Macerata, in Italy, will be known, when the
woman drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus shall
be brought forth to the judgraent of the great day ! Ver-
gerius coraputes, frora authentic records, that .the different
offices ofthe Inquisition, in less than thirty years, destroyed
upwards of 150,000 persons. A recent publication in Lon
don gives this suramary.
" Victiras sacrificed under Torquenado, - 105,285
Under Cisneros,  51,167
Under Diego Perez,  34,952
* Llorente's History of the Inquisition of Spain, p. 20. Lon
don, 1827.

260 PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.
Families destroyed by the Inquisition, - - 500,000
It has cost Spain, in all, two millions of lives!"*
" I saw the woman drunken with the blood ofthe saints."
The language of the text indicates that the Babylonish wo
man has quaffed large, and frequent, and pleasant draughts
of blood. No one becoraes drunk wilh that which is not
pleasant to the taste. And what a palate raust that he, to
which blood is pleasant, but cruelty itself? A drunkard,
when he is intoxicated, speaks folly, and acts extravagantly.
No wonder, then, that this drunken woraan insists upon
doctrines and practices, which are alike contrary fo reason
and Scripture ; they are the ravings of intoxication. The
stupid quarrels that have originated from disputes relative to
ceremonies the raost puerile, have deluged Europe with
blood. For a long tirae 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 raany
millions of raen. Fra Paolo says it cost eighty battles in
Gerraany alone. This question excited great troubles, par
ticularly ill Germany and England. Henry IV. was e.x-
comraunicated by three successive Popes; The quarrel
lasted fifty-six years, and through six different pontificates.
The Diclionnaire des Sciences states that it occasioned sixty-
battles under Henry IV., and sixty-eight under Henry V.,
his successor, in which two raillions of raen were .slain. ""I-
The barbarous decree of the Council of Lateran, to which
I called your attention sorae tirae ago, was put into execu
tion under the auspices of that very Pope, by whose influ
ence it was issued, and who bore the gentle name of Inno-
* Brownlee's Popery an Enemy, &c., p. 106.
t Church of Rome, p. 79. See also p. 145.

persecuting SPIRIT OF POPERY. 261
cent III. In the course of a few months, two hundred
thousand Albigenses (the predecessors of the French Protest
ants,) were slaughtered by his minions. In the space of
seven years. Pope Julius II. procured the death of two
hundred thousand Christians. Perrin, the historian of the
Waldenses, declares that not less than one raillion perished
in the course ofthe dreadful persecution raised against them
and the Albigenses. For four hundred and fifty years this
remnant of the Lord's people was driven about in the wil
derness by the agents of persecution. They were forced lo
wander in scattered companies over the mountains and rocks
around Piedmont. Yet, though this peeled and scattered
people were thus beaten down and trodden under foot by
the fury of Satan, the Lord would not suffer them to be
utterlj' destroyed. Their sons and daughters fled every
where, preaching the word, and the blood of their martyrs
proved the seed of the church. One short extract from
Perrin's History may suffice as a specimen of the cruelties
practised upon the poor Waldenses.
"As to the Waldenses of the valley of Pragela, they
were assaulted by their enemies on the side of Susa, a town
in Piedmont, about the year 1400; and forasmuch as they
had often attempted them iu vain, it being at a season when
they could make their retreat to the high raountains and
caves thereof, vvhere they might do much mischief and dam
age to those who should come there to attack thera ; the said
enemies set upon thera about Christraas, at a tirae when
those poor people never drearaed that any would have dared
to pass the mountains covered wilh snow. Seeing their
caves possessed by their eneraies, they belook themselves to
one of the highest raountains of the Alps, afterwards called
I'Albergano, that is, a raountain of retreat, flocking thither
with their wives and children ; the raothers carrying the
cradles and leEiding their little children hy the hand tha<

262 ' persecuting spirit op popery.
were able to go. The enemy pursued them fill night, and
slew a great number of them before they could reach the
mountain. Those who were then put to death had the bet
ter bargain of it, for night having surprised that poor people,
who were in the snow, destitute of any means of kindling.a
fire to warm their little children, the greatest part of them
were benumbed wilh cold ; and in the morning they found
fourscore little children dead in their cradles,, (the greatest
part of their mothers died soon after them,) and others just
at the point of death. The eneraies retiring in the night to
the houses of the said poor people, they plundered and pil
laged all that they could convey away wilh them to Susa ;
and to complete their cruelty, they hung upon a tree a cer
tain poor Waldensian woman whom they met upon the
mountain of Meane, named Margaret Alhode," &c.*
The following extract from a letter written by the arch
bishops of Aix, Aries, and Narbonne, to the monks, who
were the agehts of the inquisition, is preserved by Perrin,
p. 30.
" It is come to our knowledge that you have apprehended
so many ofthe Waldenses, that it is not only impossible to
defray the charge of their subsistence, but also to provide
stone and mortar to build prisons for thera. We advise you
to defer a little such iraprisonments, until the Pope be ad
vertised of the great nurabers that have been apprehended,
and till he notify what he pleases to have done in the case.
And there is no reason you should take offence hereat ; for
as to those who are altogether irapenitent and incorrigible,
or concerning whom you doubt of their relapse or escape,
or being at liberty, that they would infect others, you may
condemn such without delay."
* Perrin's History of the Waldenses and Albigenses, folio,
London, 1711, p. 33.

persecuting spirit op popery. 263
Such was the barbarous persecution to which the Wal
denses were exposed for century after century. It raay 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.
" Louis XII. king of France, having received information
from the eneraies ofthe Waldenses dwelling in Provence of
several heinous criraes which they fathered upon them, sent
to the place Mens. Adam Fiiraee, Master of requests, and
a certain Sorbonist doctor, called Parui, who was his con
fessor, to make inquiry into the raatter. They visited all
their parishes and temples, and neither found there any im
ages, or sign of the ornaraents belonging -to the raass or
ceremonies of the Romish church ; much less could they
discover any of those crimes with which they were charged.
But rather that they kept the Sabbath duly, caused their
children to be baptized according to the priraitive church,
and taught thera the articles of the Christian faith, and the
commandments of God. The king having heard the report
of the said commissioners said with an oath, that they were
better men than hiraself or his people."*
But of all the Roraish writers who have treated of the
Waldenses, there is none whose testiraony is raore iraport
ant than that of Reinerus Saccho. This man had belonged
to their church, but having apostatized from his profession,
he became one of the Pope's inquisitors, and not only bitterly
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 prejudicial and pernicious, inasmuch as
their opposition has been of very long continuance. Add
to which that this sect has becorae very general, for there is
scarcely a country to be found in which this heresy is not
» Perrin, p. 12.

2Q4 persecuting spirit of popeHY.
planted. And in the third place, because while all other
sects beget in people a dread and horror of them on account
of their blasphemies against God ; this, on the contrary,
hath a great appearance 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 ; but hating and reviling the church of Rome, and on
this subject they ale readily believed by the people."*
From the first establishraent of the order ofthe Jesuits to
the year 1580, JBaldwin reports that there Were about nine
hundred thousand of the orthodox Christians murdered, i. e.
in the space of between thirty and forty years. In the short
reigfi of Queen Mary, of England, Bishop Burnet tells us
that two hundred and eighty-four were burnt, though he
adds that Grindal, who lived during that period, records
eight hundred as having been burned for heresy, besides
sixty who died in prison. Bonner, the popish Bishop of
London, occasionally diverted hiraself by burning the hands
of poor heretic woraen, and disciplining others with whips
and scourges.f He would have made a better hangman
than a Christian bishop.
; You have heard of the faraous Eve of St. Barlholoraew,
/ when one hundred thousand Protestants were murdered in
I the different districts of the French kingdom. The horrors
of that fatal night cannot be iraagined, much less portrayed.
Whilst the poor Protestants, deluded by hollow promises,
were asleep in their beds, dreaming of peace and quiet, all
Paris was awakened by the clang of the tocsin of St. Ger
main, the preconcerted signal at which the troops were to
be on the alert. The alarmed Huguenots start from~ their
beds, and rushing into the street, inquire the cause of this
* Perrin, p. 27; also Friedrich Hurler's Geschichte des Pab-
stes Innocenz des di-itten, vol. ii. 216. Ebingen, 1835.
-(¦ Fox's Acts and Monuments, p. 638.

persecuting spirit of popery. 265
untiraely sound, and on what errand this throng of armed
men is bent, whom they see moving by torchlight rapidly
and tumultuously through the streets. They are answered by
blows, and wounds, and death. No rank, age, or sex was
spared ; if the victim was a Protestant, it was crime enough
to insure deslruclion. The carnage of this and the subse
quent day has left a blot upon the history of papal France,
that never can be erased. I draw the curtain over the re.st of
that sad scene ; let it suffice that every atrocity perpetrated in
that ffarful night, and still more dreadful day, was in strict
accordance with the present principles ofthe popish church.
If the decrees of councils for destroying heretics be dictates
ofthe Holy Ghost; if the largest share of heavenly happi
ness is justly the portion of those who execute such decrees;
if killing Protestants be serving God, the raore effectually
that work is done the better. Upon these principles, I can
not see why, if it was doing God service then, it should not
be lawful lo keep up the remerabrance of St. Bartholoraew's
eve by the raassacre of all the Protestants within the reach
of the papal authority on each succeeding anniversary of
the Paris raurder. In this way Calvin's seed might perhaps
finally be purged frora the earth, and there would be a per
petual jubilee at Rorae. 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 greet the
ears of the woman drunken with the blood of the saints !
Let us not be told that, this is an overwrought and over-
coloured picture, drawn by the fancy of a prejudiced mind.
No, my brethren, there is no need of imagination here ; we
are dealing wilh stubborn facts in the history of an infallible
church. She never can wash out the blood of the Hugue
nots from her skirts ; indeed her principles require that she
should never cease to glory in it ; for when the news of the
23

2gg persecuting spirit of popeky-
massacre at Paris was brought to Rorae, the Holy See
was thrown' into an ecstasy of joy. Soleran days were
set apart for thanksgiving, and a general jubilee was pro
claimed to all Christendom. The faithful everywhere were
commanded to thank God for the slaughter of the enemies
ofthe church!
The woraan, drunken with the blood of the saints, went
so far in her extravagant impudence as to lift up her hands,
Tceking with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, and in sanc
tuaries consecrated to the worship ofthe merciful God, who
abhors cruel and blood-thirsty men, to boast of this butchery
as a sacrifice offered to Him. Not content with this, the
Pope sent cardinal Ursin, his legate, to France, to thank the
king for so great a service done to the church ; and to desire
him to go on, and extirpate heresy, root and branch, that it
might never grow again. And, as the legate passed through
France, on his way to Paris, he dispensed plenary absolution
to all 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 irapartial history, but
graven with an iron pen upon the ever-during rock of truth.
I might go on and enumerate instances of persecution, and
detail scenes of blood-shed and cruelty until I should drop from
sheer exhaustion, and then the story of popish cruelty would
have been scarcely commenced ; but let these instances suf
fice as a specimen of the manner in which the persecuting
principles ofthe Romish church are carried out in her prac-

* If the reader wishes to have a succinct view of the suffer
ings of the devoted Huguenots, let him consult Smedley's His
tory of the Reformed Religion in France, 3 vols. Harpers. New
York, 1834; and particularly chap. xxiv. and xxv. p. 202—250,
vol. iii.

persecuting spirit op popery. 267
tice, " whenever it can be done without danger, and distur
bance of the whole church."
But these charges raay perhaps be answered by the ques
tion, " Have not Protestants persecuted too, when they have
had the power r" In some instances they have put the bit
ter chalice to the lips of those who first presented it to thera ;
but when they thus retaliated, no matter how strong the pro
vocation may have been, they did wrong. They acted un
justifiably ; they departed frora Protestant principles ; they
forgot the Bible precept: "Love your eneraies; bless them
that curse you ; do good to them that hate you, and pray
for them which despitefuUy use you and persecute you."
American, and European Protestants too, renounce and ut
terly repudiate every legal statute which their fathers ever
borrowed from Rome, or ever advanced as a plea for perse
cution. Has the church of Rome done so ? Has she ever
repealed one single bull, or decree of council, which called
upon the faithful to do God service by the extermination of
heretics ? She has not. She cannot, without letting go her
silly claim lo infallibility.
My brethren, the church of Rome is still the same in this
respect that she always has been ; and it is not easy to con
ceive how she should ever change. Cruelty and fraud are
the marks which this drunken woman bears upon her brow,
and by which she will always be known, until she shall be
destroyed by the brightness of the Lord's coming. That
there are many in her communion who are kind and amia
ble, and who would shrink from all participation in the cruel
work which she would assign thera, if she dared, I do most
cordially believe ; and in all that I have said I have refer
ence, not to individuals, but to this system of Antichristian
error, which is the direst enemy to the truth that God has upon
earth. I aim not at exciting indignation against persons, but
against principles. I would be as tender of the persons and

2gg PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY.
the feelings of those who are unhappily deceived into the
fooleries of popery, as the Bible would have me to be ; but
I cannot reconcile it to my sense of duty to God and my
fellow-men, to refuse to cry aloud against the abominations
of this mystery of iniquity.
I have been rejoiced to find that Methodists, and Baptists,
and Presbyterians, and Lutherans, and, I believe, all Pro
testant heretics in Philadelphia,- can meet upon this common
ground, and show that in so far as fundamental truths are
concerned, we are one. But I must conclude.
The guilt of so much blood is a heavy weight upon apos
tate Rome, that must sink her as a millstonf! into the sea.
How this will be effected is not no-w the question. God has
declared that it shall be so. The word of prophecy assures
us of it ; and the signs of the times indicate the approach
of her judgment.
When God makes inquisition for blood, " in her will be
found the blood of the saints, and of them that were slain
upon the earlh." The groans and tears of the victims of
her cruelty are regislered in heaven. The voice of the
blood of saints and martyrs cries frora the ground ; and the
souls of those who were slain for the testiraony of Jesus,
call aloud from under the altar, " How long, O Lord, holy
and true, ere thou avenge our blood ?" The prayers of God's
people come up in remerabrance before hira ; they will be
answered. " He will Judge the great whore, that has cor
rupted the earth ; and will avenge the blood of his servants at
her hands." " Vengeance is mine — I will repay, saith the
Lord." We raay safely leave the cause of truth in his
hands. He will do right. Let us do our duty ; and, " if
our eneray hunger, let us feed him ; if he thirst, let us give
him drink." Whilst we bless God as a congregation, and a
church, for our deliverance frora popish bondage, let us not

PERSECUTING SPIRIT OP POPERY. 269
cease to pray for those who are still in bonds, as though we
were bound with thera.
If we have, in truth, corae out of Babylon, and partake
not of her sins, we may already begin, at least, the prelude
to the angelic song of triumph: "Rejoice over her, thou
heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets ; for God hath
avenged you on her !" For, yet a little while, and the vi
sion will be fulfilled. " And a mighty angel took up a stone,
like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,
Thus with violence shall that great city, Babylon, be thrown
down, and shall be found 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 THB LIGHT OF THY COUNTENANCE."
In concluding the series of discourses which it has been
my privilege to address to you, on the subject of Romanism,
it has occurred to me, that the best raethod of illustrating
the enraity of the Man of Sin to the revealed raind of God,
will be to review the prorainent features of the raystery of
iniquity, and collate the authorized decrees and doctrines of
Holy ohuroh with the plain precepts of God's holy word.
•This will at once furnish us with a striking contrast between
the gospel of Christ and the perversions of Antichrist.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound.
I. What IS the joyful sound? The psalraist is celebrat
ing the praises of Jehovah ; and he calls that people blessed
who " know the joyful sound," alluding to the sound of the
trumpet by which the festivals of the Jewish church were
proclaimed, ^nd the people were assembled for worship.
The evangelical trumpet has sounded through the gentile
world, and we have heard the joyful sound. The Sun of
Righteousness has risen, and we may walk in the light of
his countenance.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

271

By the joyful sound, in this connection, I understand the
gospel offers of salvation ; the whole plan of mercy, as
adumbrated in the Old Testaraent, and fully revealed in the
New. Blessed is the people that know this joyful sound.
Papists do not knoio it ; for they embrace a system which
wars against the glorious gospel of Christ.
1. It is one of ihe leading doctrines of the Netv Testa
ment, that the blood of ihe Lord Jesus Christ is the only
POSSIBLE AND SATISFACTORY atonement for sin, whilst the
church of Rome enjoins works of satisfaction. The
death of the Saviour upon the cross was typified by all the
sacrifices required by the Jewish law. They all pointed to
the Lamb of Calvary, as their great Antitype. The united
testimony of all the holy men, who spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost, is summed up in this ; " that we
are redeemed, not wilh corruptible things, as silver and gold,
but with the precious blood ofthe Son of God, as of a Lamb
without blemish and without spot." The song of the re
deemed in glory is, "Unto Him that loved us, and washed
us frora our sins in his own blood, and hath raade us kings
and priests to God, to him be glory and dorainion for ever
and ever. Araen." Thus the church on earth, and all in
heaven, unite in ascribing salvation to the blood of the spot
less Lamb of God. This is our only hope ; the only sacri
fice which can avail as an atonement for sin. But what says
Antichrist? The church of Rorae does not, it 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
when the glorious gospel of God assures all who hear its
joyful sound, " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all
sin," the church of Rome asserts that all who deny the ne-

272 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
cessity or the propriety of her works of satisfaction — her
penances and self-imposed austerities, are accursed. The
Bible says, the blood of Jesus Christ is all-sufficient ; the
canons of the Council of Trent declare that it is not ; that
it atones for the eternal, but not for the temporal penalty of
sin; that it can satisfy for the greater penalty, but not for
the less. Now it is mockery to talk of " making satisfac
tion to God the Father, through Christ Jesus."* If the me
rits of Christ are in themselves sufficient, then there is
no need of our making satisfaction; and if they are not
sufficient, 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."t The multitude
before the throne cry out to the Lamb, " Thou hast redeem
ed 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 traditions, which obscure the doctrine of grace, and the
true worship of God, and the benefits ofthe death of Christ,
let him be accursed. "§
2. Again : The gospel assures us that Christ was once,
und BUT ONCE, offered for the sitis 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 aposllo Paul,
" Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many."|| And,
again, " Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt-offerings, and of
fering for sin, thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure
therein ; (which are offered by the law ;) then said he, Lo,
• Sess. xiv. cap. ix. f Gal. iii. 13, i Rev. v. 9.
§ Canon, xiv. Works of Satisfaction. J Heb. ix. 28.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 273
I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first
that he may establish the second. By the which will we are
sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ,
ONCE FOR ALL. And cveiy priest standeth daily ministering,
and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never
take away sins : but this raan, after he had offered one sa
crifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God ;
frora henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his foot
stool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them
that are sanchfied. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a
witness to us : for aflp.r that he h.^d said before, This is the
covenant that I will make with thera after those days, saith
the Lord : I will put ray laws into their hearts, and in their
minds will I write them ; and their sins and iniquities will I
remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there
is NO MORE OFFERING FOE SIN."*
Nothing can be plainer than these Scriptures. If they
mean any thing, they mean that there is no more offering
for sin possible, since Jesus has by one offering perfected for
ever them that are sanctified. Does the Church of Rorae
teach that there is no more off'ering for sin ? Early on
each returning Lord's day, we hear the sound of the bell,
inviting the faithful to the raass-house. " What is the Ca
tholic doctrine as to the mass I That in the mass t/iere is
offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatOTy SUGTificS
for the living and the dead.
" What do you mean by the mass ?
" The consecration and oblation of the body and blood
of Chris.;, under the sacramental veils or appearances of
bread and wine, so that the raass was instituted by Christ
hiraself at his last supper. Christ himself said the first
mass; and ordained that his apostles and their successors
should do the hke. Do this in remembrance of me. — •
(Luke xxii.) • Heb. X. 8^18.

274 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
" What do you raean by' a propitiatory sacrifice?
" A sacrifice for obtaining mercy, or by which God is
moved to raercy.
"• How do you prove that the raass is such a sacrifice ?
" Because in the raass Christ hiraself, as we have seen.
Chap. 4, is really present, and by virtue of the consecration
is there exhibited and presented to the Eternal Father under
the sacramental veils, which by their separate consecration
represent his death. Now, what can more move God to
mercy than the oblation of his only Son, there i-eally pre
sent, and under this figure of-death,^ ropreaonting t& his Fa
ther that death which he suffered for us."*
Need I employ rauch argument to prove that the Bible
and the Pope do not agree here ? The one tells us that
" there is no more offering for sin ;" the other impudently
affirms that in the raass there is offered to God a true, proper,
and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead. And
what is the ceremony ofthe mass but muraraery ? A priest,
a popish priest, probably not the best of men, and if so, but
a sinful raan at best, pronounces certain Latin words over a
piece of bread, and at once that bread becoraes the body and
blood, the soul and divinity ofthe Lord Jesus Christ; it be
coraes the real Saviour, the God-raan, Christ Jesus I ! The
bread may be broken inio any imaginable nuraber of pieces,
still every' particle of the consecrated wafer is the entire
Saviour ! ! This consecrated wafer is then held up before
God's rational creatures as their Saviour ; they adore it
most reverently, and after worshiping their breaden God,
they eat the Saviour who died for them. I read of some who
" crucify the Lord afresh, and put hira 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. 51.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 375
mass ? Does he not put the Saviour to an open shame ?
Is it possible that men can be found, willing to believe that
the mass is a part of the Christian religion?
" Oh! judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost tlieir reason."
The papist professes to eat the real flesh of the Saviour.
I do not believe that he does so ; if I did, I should recoil frora
my Roman Catholic brother as from a cannibal. But does not
Jesus say, " Except that ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man,
and drink his blood, ye have no life in you"? He does, —
and when the Jews, in their blind stupidity, understood him
as speaking literally, he told them " It is the spirit that
quickeneth — the flesh profiteth nothing ; the words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." But
this is not all : the Roman Catholic professes to eat the soul
ofthe Saviour ; and, to cap the climax of absurdity, he feasts
upon the divinity of the Saviour too. Is not this putting the
Lord Jesus to an open shame ?
It is painful to expose such egregious folly. Surely
there is 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
sacrifice, the objection destroys itself. It is offered as a
" propitiatory sacrifice," but " without shedding of blood there
is no remission of sins." Consequently, if the raass is an
unbloody propitiatory sacrifice, it is good for nothing. Yet
this unbloody sacrifice clairas all the efficacy which belongs
to the great propitiation on Calvary — it professes to be a re
petition of that sacrifice which the word of God declares can
never be repeated.
3. Again : Christ instituted ihe sacrament of the last sup
per inboth kinds ; BUTTHBCHUBCHOF RoME CELEBRATES IT
IN ONE KIND ONLY. Christ gave both the bread and the wine

276 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
to his disciples ; but the priests withhold the cup frora the laity,
and drink all the wine themselves. It is true they tell us
" that under either kind alone, Christ is received whole and
entire ;" i. e., that the body and blood, soul and divinity of
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 for this innovation. The chief rea
son which is assigned for giving the wine to the priests only,
is that the coramand, " Drink ye all of it," was in the first
instance addressed to the twelve apostles; and, therefore,
that the bishops and priests, 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 ofthe cup
because none but apostles were present, why should laymen
and women be admitted to the sacraraent at all? What
warrant have we to give even the bread to any but the
priests? 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
comraand directed to all Christians?" I find the following o
reply :f "Because the Church of Christ, which is the best
interpreter of his word, never understood thera so." This
is a bold assertion ; and, I am sorry to say, utterly destitute
of truth. A mistake so glaring raust have resulted either
from shameful ignorance, or else from an intention to de-
* Grounds Cath. Doct. p. 46, 50.
t Ibid. p. 47, 48.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 277
ceive. 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 ; and one cup in the unity of his blood;
one altar."*
Ignatius here refers to the cup in such a manner as to
imply that all Christians united in its participation.
Cyprian, 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, and says repeatedly, that
by wine the blood of Christ is represented, and that the
water is an emblem of the people ; that the mixing of wine
and water in the cup is typical of the union between Christ
and believers, &c., and so cleariy adverts to the fact that
the cup was given lo the laity, that the German translators
of Cyprian, whose work presents the Pope's letter of ap
probation in FULL, are constrained to offer the following
note. " Frora this is not lo be inferred that Cyprian recom
mends coraraunion in both kinds ; for he speaks here only
of this, that when the cup is offered or consecrated, and
presented to the people, wine, and not water, is to be given.
This only is apparent frora this epistle, that the cup was at
thai time given to the laity," (fecf
That this concession is unavoidable, will be plain from
the following passage in this epistle. "For in baptism the
Holy Ghost is received, and therefore, they who have been
baptized, and have received the Holy Ghost, raay drink of
the cup of the Lord." And again, coramenting on the
Saviour's words to the woraan of Samaria, " Whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again ; but whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst ;
* Apost. Fathers. Hartford, 1834. p. 146.
¦f Page 305, vol. v. Kirchen Vaet.
24

278 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
but the water that I shall give hira shall be in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life," Cyprian says,
" By this water of life is likewise meant baptism, which
may be only once received, and never repeated. But in
the church ofthe Lord, we constantly thirst after the cup of
the Lord, and drink it.'** Now, I am far from endorsing the
fanciful exegesis of Cyprian, but I 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.f
But why multiply quotations from the fathers to establish
this point, when it is notorious, that for above a thousand
years after Christ, the Church of Rome used both kinds in
administering the sacraraent? And why appeal to church
history to prove that the denial of the wine to the laity is
a popish innovation, or to establish the falsehood of the as
sertion that the church never understood the Saviour's words
" Drink ye all of it," otherwise than as restricting the cup
to the priests, when we have the language of Scripture
so plain that he who runs raay read. The apostle Paul,
repeating the words of the institution, in 1 Cor. xi., raen-
tions both the bread and wine, and says, " As oft as ye eat
this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death
till he corae. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread
and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty
* Cypriani, Opera per Erasmum Roterod. p. 53. Basil. 1530.
¦f Those who wish farther testimony from the fathers, are di
rected to the foUowing sources: —
Theophylact in 1 Cor. xi. Chrysostom, Horn. 27, in 1 Cor.
Ambrose, in 1 Cor. xi. Cyril Cathech. Myst. 5. Augustine 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
ofthe body and blood ofthe Lord. But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup." Could language show more clearly what the prac
tice ofthe church was, in the days of Paul ? What did the
apostle mean, when he said, " The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? The
bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body
of Christ ?" Does this sound like Scripture authority for
withholding the cup from the laity, and giving them half a
sacraraent, if, indeed, it can be called a sacrament at all?
4. The opposition of the church of Rome to the Scriptural
doctrine of justification by faith, has been shown at length
in a forraer discourse. I need, therefore, do no raore at
present than advert to it. The Bible teaches emphatically
that we are j-ustified by faith, and that good works, which
always accompany true faith, cannot avail either in whole
or in part to our justification. (Eph. ii. 8, 9.) " By grace
are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God ; not of works, lest any man should boast."
(Rom. iv. 2.) " If Abraham were justified by works, he hath
whereof lo glory, but not before God. For what saith the
Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him
for righteousness." But what say the decrees of the Coun
cil of Trent ; the gospel of Antichrist ? The first and last
clause of Can. 11, de Juslific. are as follows :
" Whosoever shall affirm that men are justified
either solely by the imputation op the righteous
NESS OF Christ ; or also, that the grace by which
WE ABE justified IS ONLY THE FAVOUR OP GoD ; LET HIM
BE ACCURSED."
5. Again : Christ commands us to search the Scriptures ;
but THE CUUECH OF RoME SOLEMNLY DECLARES THAT THE
READING OF THE BiBLE DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD.
Says the Saviour, " Search the Scriptures, for in them ye

280 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASSTED.
think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify
of me.'' In the book of Acts we read of the B§reii,ns,
(Acts xvii. 11.) "These were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readi
ness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily whether
those things were -so." Paul writes to Timothy, (2 Tira.
iii. 15 — 17,) " From a child thou hast known the Holy
Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salva,-
tion, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is
given by inspiration oC God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God raay be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works." This is the testimony of the precious
word of God ; this is the joyful sound of the gospel ; blessed
is the people that know it. The bitter hostility of the church
of Rorae against the Bible and Bible societies, is too notori
ous to require much comraent. Bulls, abounding in scurri
lous anathemas, have been issued against the depraved
heretics who persist in circulating the Scriptures, and who
think that people will not be rendered imraoral if Ihey are
made acquainted with the revealed will of Alraighty God.
Decrees of Councils have been issued to the same effect.
The Concilium Tolosanum, A. D. 1229, cap. 14, resolved :
" We forbid also that the laity be permitted to have the
books ofthe Older New Testament; unless some one raight
peradventure wish, from a feeling of devotion, lo have the
psalter, or the breviary, or the hours of the blessed Mary.
But we do most strictly forbid them to possess the foreraen-
tioned books translated in a vulgar tongue."
The Cone. Biterrense, anno 1246, in its instructions to the
inquisitors, cap. ^6, speaks, ' de libris theologicis non tenen-
dis etiara a laicis in Latino, et neque ab ipsis, neque a cleri-
cis in vulgari ;' i. e. "concerning theological books which are
not to be kept by the laity even in Latin, and neither by them,
nor by the priests in a vernacular tongue."

ClJftlST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 281
The Cone. Terraconense, ann. 1234, c. 2, determined
as follows :
" We also decree that no one shall keep the books of the
Old or New Testament in the Roman tongue ; and should
any one be in possession of such books, he must deliver
them up to the bishop of the place to be burned within
eight days after the publication of this arlicle, and unless he
do this, be he a priest or a layman, he shall be suspected of
heresy until he shall have cleared himself."*
Experience has proved that the Bible is true, for the read
ing of God's word has always been profitable to every hon
est and prayerful inquirer after truth ; " the raan of God has
always found it profitable Cor doctrine, for reproof, for cor
rection, for instruction in righteousness.'' Like David, all
who make the testimony of the Lord the man of their coun-,
sei, will find it "a lamp to their feet, and a light to their path."
But the Pope, the poor blind Pope, and all who sympathise
with hira, who love darkness rather than light, cannot en
dure the Bible. Men and women have been burned for
having portions of it in their possession, and for searching
the Scriptures without permission from the holy priests.
And so anxious is Holy Mother to prevent the Spirit of God
from making heretics by enlightening their minds, and help.
in c them to understand the Scriptures, that if she could, she
would put every Bible in creation where neither Protestant
nor Papist would ever get a glimpse of them. For proof of
this, you must not look to this country, where Roman
Catholics may laugh their ffriest's injunction to scorn, and
do so with impunity if they choose ; but ask how it is among
the priest-ridden people in Roman Catholic countries. Even
here the priests do all they can to hinder the circulation of
* Giessler*s Text Book of 'Ecclesiastical History, vol. 2, p. 39^,
Philadelphia : Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1836.
24*

282 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
the Scriptures, and keep up appearances at the same time-
In testiraony of this, hear the 4lh Rule of the Council of
Trent, under the index of Prohibited Books.
" Inasrauch as il is raanifest from experience that if the
Holy Bible, translated intq the vulgar tongue, be indiscrimi
nately allowed to every ono, the temerity of men will cause
more evil than good to arise frora it; il 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 those persons whose faith and piety they appre
hend will be augmented, and not injured by it ; and this per
mission they must have in writing. But if any one shall have
the presumption to read or possess it without such written
perraission, he shall not receive absolution until he have first
delivered up such- Bible to the ordinary. Booksellers, how
ever, who shall sell, or othorwi.se dispose of Bibles in the
vulgar tongue to any person not having such permission, shall
forfeit the value of the books, to be applied by the bishop to
some pious use ; and be subjected by the bishop 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 ofthe 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.
That the priests do carry out these instructions, I have
not the least doubt ; nor do I suppose they would wish to
deny it. An instance of this inquisitorial tyranny occurred
not long since, under my own immediate observation. I
met wilh a poor grey-headed man, who professed to be :a

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 283
member of a Roman Catholic church in this city, and whose
prejudices in favour of the peculiar tenets of his religion
were inveterate, but who seemed to be an honest, simple-
hearted soul, not quite bigoted enough to believe that a
wicked Roman Catholic was better than a pious Protestant ;
nor so stupid as to imagine that there is no salvation out of
the popish church. In the course of conversation, I asked
whether he had a Bible; he told me he had not. I then
offered to furnish him wilh one, on condition that he would
read a chapter every day, and look lo God for the light of
his Spirit to enable him to understand it; renn'nding him of
the direction .given by the apostle James, " If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men libe
rally and upbraidelh nol, and it shall be given him." He
accepted my offer thankfully ; the Bible was sent to a
friend's house, and the old raan received it joyfully, For se
veral weeks I had no tidings of the Roman Catholic; but
at last I met him at the place where I had first seen him ;
and when I entered the room, he was speaking about the
Bible which I had given him. "Well, what about the
Bible?" said I. "Oh, sir," he replied, " the priest would
not let me keep il." " Why not?" " Because, he says, our
religion is the oldest, and our Bible is the best, and I must
not have a Protestant Bible; but," continued the old man,
"I pray for you before ray candle every day!" I then
asked him whetheiv he thought it was right that his priest
should forbid him to read God's word, and whether he really
believed that the study ofthe Bible, which the priest himself
acknowledged to be a revelation from God, would be likely
to do injury to the souls of men ? The poor man seemed a
good deal perplexed, and could say nothing. I advised him
to keep the Bible, and never mind the priest, and I'hope
he has taken my counsel. In justice to the ghostly father,

284 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
I must say, however, that he directed the old raan to return
the Bible to the person from whom he received it.
If hissoul perishes for lack of knowledge, when God
makes inquisition for that blood, I am witness that it is upon
the skirts ofthe priest who forbade that grey-headed raan to
read God's word, and corapelled him to put away the Bible,
when tottering on the verge of eternity.
6. Again : The Scriptures teach that all ihe public ser
vices of the sanctuary should be in a tongue with which
the worshipers are familiar ; but the greater part of
the ritual of the Church of Rome is performed in
A language which the common people DO not UNDER
STAND. In justice to the advocates of this practice, we
will let them speak for themselves. They give the follow-
in<T reasons for celebrating the mass in the Latin tongue.
"Why does the church celebrate the mass in the Latin
tongue, which the people, for the most part, do uot under
stand ?
" 1. Because it is the ancient language ofthe church used
in the public liturgy in all ages in the western parts of the
worid. 2dly. For a greater uniforraity in the public wor
ship ; that so a Christian, in whatsoever country he chances
to be, raay still find the liturgy perforraed in the sarae raan-
ner, and in the same language to which he is accustomed at
home." Query. How is the faithful soul lo know whether it is the
sarae language or not, when he does not understand one
word from another? Might not a holy priest perforra the
service in Greek without one Roman Catholic in twenty be
ing aware of it?
" 3dly. To avoid the changes which all vulgar languages
are "daily exposed to^ 4thly. Because the raass being a
sacrifice which the priest, as minister of Christ, is to offer,
and the prayers of the mass being most suited to this end,

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.

285

it 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 in turn
ing his back upon an audience oC empty pews.
"Nor is this any way injurious to the people who are in
structed to accorapany hira in every part of the sacrifice by
prayers accoraraodated to their devotion, which they have
in their ordinary prayer books."*
Might it not be as well then after all, to have the service
in a tongue which would not require an interpreter? It
would certainly look a little more like paying deference to
Scripture. Paul, by direction of the Holy Spirit, writes thus to the
Corinthians, in order to reprove those who spoke in un
known tongues in the asserablies of the church. " If the
trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself
to the battle ? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue
words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is
spoken ? For ye shall speak into the air." But the Roman
Catholic raay reply, " only the prayers and the liturgy of
our church, and some of the anthems are celebrated in Latin ;
the rest of the service is in the vernacular lanKuaae." Let
Paul answer this objection. " If I pray in an unknown
tongue, ray spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruit-
ful. I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the
understanding also ; I will sing with the spirit, and I will
sing with the understanding also. Else, when thou shalt
bless wilh the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room
ofthe unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, .seeing
he underslandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily
givest thanks well, but the other is not edified." This, by
* Grounds Cath. Doct. p. 53.

286 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
the way, is a great deal more than Paul would have been
wilhng to predicate of every Romish priest. Even if the
matter of their prayers were in accordance with Scripture,
there is many a one among thera 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 they are of
Chinese. " I thank my God,"' says the apostle, " I speak
with tongues more than you all ; yet, in the church, I had
rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my
voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in
an unknown tongue." This testiraony we deera conclusive;
it clearly condemns the Latin muraraery of the Romish
church. But the practice of the church in all ages raust
forsooth be received as paramount authority ! If the Bible
says one thing, and Rome says another, the word of the
Lord must give way to the authority of the Man of Sin!
As to the assertion,." that the Latin language was used in the
public liturgy in all ages of the church in the western parts
of the world," it was so, no doubt, wherever Latin was the
vernacular tongue ofthe coraraon people ; but where this
was -not the case, there is the araplest testimony to prove,
that for about eight centuries, public service was performed
in a language with which all were familiar. I might cite
direct testiraony from the fathers to this point, for I have the
references marked and at hand,* but tirae would fail me ;
and besides, the Bible clearly conderans praying and sing
ing in an unknown tongue, let the fathers say what they
will. " Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound."
Let us thank God that we have liberty to pray to God, and
to praise him in a language which we understand, and that
the gospel trumpet to us gives no uncertain sound.
? See Rhemes vs. Rorae, p. 156.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 2i
7. The Bible uniformly enjoins upon Christians to bei.
•with meekness the perverseness, and even the persecution of
the ungodly ; but the church of Rome breathes per
secution AND destruction AGAINST ALL WHO DIFFER
FROM HER, EITHER IN DOCTRINE OR IN PRACTICE. " The
servant of the Lord must not strive ; but he gentle unto all
men, apt to teach, patient ; in meekness instructing those
that oppose themselves ; if God, peradventure, will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth."* The
Saviour says, "Love your enemies, bless thera that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefuUy 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 re
quire them to do for us. If we deserve punishraent, as he
retics, we shall receive it. " Vengeance is mine, I will re
pay, saith the Lord: therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed
him ; if he thirst, give him drink ;f for thou shalt heap coals
of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.":}:
Does the church of Rome profess to leave vengeance fo
the Lord? Not she. Her principles require her to extir
pate heresy by fire and sword. Does she feed her enemies
when they hunger; and when they thirst, does she give
them drink ? She does indeed. She feeds them with the
bread of tears; she gives thera water of gall to drink. Oh!
she has heaped coals of fire upon their heads, and the Lord
will reward her ! The history of the tender mercies of Rome
is written in the blood of slaughtered millions. She is the
nurse of sanguinary fanaticism. Her doctrine begets per-
* 2 Tim. ii. 25. f Rom. xii. 19, 20. t Prov. xxv. 22.

288 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
sscution ; her polity demands it ; and her'priests are trained
to all the service she requires. The story of papal tyranny
transcends in the abundance and atrocity of execrable acts
all other annals of oppression. Cruelty and treachery in "
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; the groans
and shrieks and prayers of the martyrs of Jesus, have come
up for a raemorial before God. Verily Babylon will come
in remembrance before Him. The Lord has preserved the
tears of his saints in his bottle ; and when the vials of his
wrath are emptied, these scalding tears will " burn the flesh
of the great whore." The noble array Of martyrs, who
stand around the Saviour's throne, wilh robes of white, and
palms of victory, will be there to testify, how Rome has
loved her enemies.
My brethren, the joyful sound of the gospel proclaims
peace on earlh, and good will to 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 gibbet, the rack and the stake, that she illus
trates her failh in the gospel of peace. She has other wea
pons also at coramand. It is true, violence is her delight;
and she tells us,- " when evil raen, be they heretics or other
raalefactors, may be punished or suppressed without disturb
ance and hazard of the good, they raay and ought, by pub
lic authority, either spiritual or temporal, to be chastised or
executed." So far frora attempting to conceal her deterrni-
nation to exterminate her enemies, she openly avows it.
The Rhemish annotation on the text of my last discourse
is as follows :
" V. 6. Drunken of the blood. It is plain, that this wo
raan signifieth the whole corps of all the persecutors that
have and shall shed so rauch blood of the just : of the pro-

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 289
phets, apostles, and other martyrs, from the beginning of
the world to the end. The Protestants foolishly expound it
of Rome, for that there they put heretics to death, and al
low of their punishment in other countries ; but their blood
is not called the blood of saints, no more than the blood of
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,
and she therefore must find some other vent for her raali-
cious rage against those who abhor her abominations. If
she cannot kill them, she will curse thera. If she cannot
heap up fagots around thera, she will cover thera from head
to foot with her anathemas. It is true, her imprecations
are very harmless things, in so far as we are concerned;
but they illustrate her Antichristian spirit. She arrogates lo
herself power to punish all baptized persons whom she de
nounces as heretics and schismatics. The following is her
own theory on this subject.
"There are but three classes excluded from her; first,
infidels ; next, heretics," (i. e. Protestants,) " and schisma
tics," (the Greek and Oriental churches ;) " lastly, excom
municated persons. Heretics and schismatics because they
have departed from the church ;" (i. e. the Romish church,
not the church of Christ;) " for they do not belong to the
church any raore than deserters belong to an army from
which they have deserted. It is not, however, to be denied,
that ihey are still in the power of the church, as those
may be summoned to trial, condemned, and punished
with an anathema."^
* Rhem. Test. 431. Annot. on Rev. xvii. 6.
-j- See Catech. ex decreto Cone. Trid. &c. p. 60, Roms, 1566,
folio, quoted in Home's Protestant Memorial, p. 92.
25

290 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
Such are the impudent claims arrogated by the church
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 punished with death?"
St. Thomas ans,wer.s, 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 OP TIIE 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 Aug. 26,
1840, in reply to a comraunication from a worthy Protest
ant minister.
" Now I beg all attention to another glaring piece of im
posture perpetrated by Mr.  ; one which deserves
soraething more of chastisement than the mere exhibition of
its extravagant impudence upon your columns. The raan
who forges a dollar note is severely punished ; what must
we think of the raan who forges in matters appertaining to
the dearest spiritual interests ?"
Really ! ought the Rev. Mr.  then to be pun
ished 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, iraprecated upon the stubborn
souls of all who question her authority.
Thus, after the staleraent of the Romish doctrine of the
merit of good works, we find thirty-three solemn curses de
nounced upon the heretics, who deny that we can be justi
fied, either in part or in whole, even by better works than
• Den's Theol. Mor. torn. ii. p. 289. Prot. Mem. 94.

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 291
the best of papists ever did. The mysteries of popish bap
tism are defended by fourteen very heavy anathemas. The
doctrine of transubstantiation, and of the Eucharist in gene
ral, is satisfactorily proved by eleven very eloquent male
dictions, &c. &c.
But one ofthe choicest speciraens ofthe manner in which
the Pope blesses bis enemies is offered in a bull issued by
his Holiness against an unhappy alura-raaker, who had
charge of certain works belonging to the Pope; but who
abandoned the service of his Holiness, and introduced the
secrets of his trade into England. It runs thus :
"By the authority of God Alraighty, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, and ofthe holy Canons, and ofthe Immaculate Vir
gin 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 ; and of all the apostles and evan
gelists ; and of all the holy innocents, who, in the sight of
the Larab, are found worthy to sing the new song ; of the
holy raartyrs aud holy confessors; and of the holy virgins,
and of all the saints, and together with all the holy and elect
of God, we excoraraunicate and anathematize this thief or
this malefactor N : And from the thresholds of the holy
Church of God Almighty, we sequester hira, that he raay be
tormented, disposed, and delivered over wilh Dathan and
Abiram, and with those who say unto the Lord God, De
part frora us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
And as fire is quenched with water, so let the light of him
be put for evermore, unless it shall repent him, and he make
satisfaction. Amen.
" May God the Father, who created man, curse hira. May
the Son, who suffered for us, curse hira. May the Holy
Ghost, who was given for us in baptisra, curse him. May
the Holy Cross, which Christ, for our salvation, triumphing

292 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED.
ascended, curse him. May the holy and Eternal Virgin
Mary, curse hira. May Michael, the advocate of holy soulsi
curse him. May John, the chief forerunner. and baptist of
Christ, curse hira. May the holy and wonderful company
of Martyrs, curse hira. May Peter, Paul, Andrew, and all
other Christ's Apostles, together with the rest of his disciples,
and four evangelists, curse him. May the holy, choir ofthe
holy Virgins, who, for the honour of Christ, have despised
the things of the world, curse him. May all the Saints,
who frora the beginning of the world, to everlasting ages,
are found to be the beloved of God, curse him. May the
heaven and earth, and all the holy things therein remaining,
curse him. May he be cursed wherever he be, whether in
the house or in the field, 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 slumber
ing, in lying, in working, in resting,  and in blood
letting. May he be cursed in all the powers of his body.
May he be cursed within and without. May he be cursed
in the hair of his head. May he be cursed in his brain.
May he be cursed in the crown of his head ; in his temples ;
in his forehead ; in his ears ; in his eye-brows ; in his cheeks ;
in his 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 storaach.;
in his veins ; in his reins ; in his groins ; in his thighs ;
 ; in his hips ; in his knees ; in his legs ; in his feet ;
in his joints; and in his nails. May he be cursed in the
whole structure of his raerabers. Frora the crown of his
head to the sole of the foot. May there be no soundness in
hira. May the Son of the living God, with all the glory of
his majesty, curse hirn ; and may heaven and all the powers

CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST CONTRASTED. 393
that move therein rise against him, to daran hira ; unless he
shall repent and make full satisfaction. Amen, amen, —
so be it."
A beautiful coraraent, this, upon the apostoUc rule, " Bless
AND curse not."
8. Finally, for I must hasten to a close. The gospel as
sures us that the righteous, immediately upon their death,
are received into heaven, to dwell with God and the Lamb
in glory, for ever. Not so the church of Rome. There
is no such joyful sound as this in the messages which her
priests are comraanded to bear to her children. The voice
from heaven whispers sweetly to the dying Christian, " Bless
ed are the dead that die in the Lord, frora henceforth ; yea,
saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours, and their
works do follow thera." And the child of God, when he
hears this joyful sound, is blessed. Oh ! how blessed ! He
is on the verge of heaven. Angels are near his dying pil
low. Jesus is with him in the hour of darkness ; his rod
and his staff corafort the poor pilgrim as he treads the val
ley of the shadow of death. Peace fills his soul ; the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding! He is happy.
He holds on his way rejoicing I The light of heaven beams
brighter upon his soul, the nearer he draws to Immanuel's
land. His bursting heart swells with joy ; his eyes are
glazed in the fixedness of approaching death ; but, oh I the
sights they see ! His spirit struggles lo be gone, until his
heart-strings break and his soul is at liberty ! He is in hea
ven ! He is with Christ I He is clasped to the bosom of his
Saviour !
But oh ! the poor papist ! Does he anticipate thus joy
fully the day of his death ? See hira there — the hour of his
departure is corae.* He is encouraged to hope that his raor-
* Extreme Unction, one of the seven Romish sacraments, is
usually administered at such a time. The Apostle James, writi
25*

294 CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST contrasted.
talsins are all washed away in the •Saviour's blood; but
alas ! alas ! bis venial sins stare hira in the face ; the blood
of Jesus has not atoned for thera, and they must be pureed
with fire before he can enter heaven ! What corafort can
the ghostly father administer to the trembling sinner ? Can
he say " peace, he still ?"' He does presume to say, " Son,
be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee.'' But what of
that ? His venial sins, for which no penance has been paid —
Ah ! these rise up ; they do not assure hira of Paradise ;
his guilty conscience cries out, " Verily this day shalt thou
be in purgatory !" No wonder that he shrinks from the
touch of death ; no wonder that his soul is tossed with tem
pests, and not comforted ! He does not know the joyful
sound.- He has been taught that salvation is lo be purchased,
in some raeasure at least, wilh silver and gold. He expects
to be redeeraed in part with corruptible things ; he hopes to
be saved by fire ! No wonder, then, that disraay and hor
ror overwheira his soul ! He has never understood the in
vitation, " Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy and eat ;
yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without
price."* Had he known this joyful sound, he never would have
weighed his salvation against penance, and alras, and raasses;
ing to the churches, directs the elders, when called in to visit the
sick, to anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord ; and says,
" The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise
him up." The gift of healing diseases was one ofthe mu'aculous
endowments conferred upon the primitive church, and the
anointing with oil was a mere sign to connect the sick man's re
storation to health with the prayer of faith; but the priests do
not anoint to heal the sick, but to assure them that ihey are about
to die.
* 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 raan is peace."
When was it ever known that a papist departed this life
in the full assurance of faith, triumphing in the confident
anticipation ofthe fulness of joy at God's right hand ? How
can he triumph ? At best he expects to drop into purgatory,
so soon as the last cord that binds him to earth is .severed I
He dies in the fearful anticipation of horrors and torraent
scarcely inferior to the pains of hell ! How can he rejoice ?
He fancies that he already hears the weeping, and wailing,
and the gnashing of teeth of those, who welter in a sea of fire !
Alas ! ray brethren, why will you pervert the gospel? Why
will you doubt the precious truth that Jesus Christ has de
livered from condemnation all 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 frora henceforth ?"
What ! frora henceforth ? " Yea saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labours/" '' They shall hunger no
more, neither thirst any more; neither shall tho sun light
on them, nor any heat ; for the Larab, which is in the midst
of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto liv
ing fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes !"
This, my brethren, is the sure portion of the righteous :
God grant that il may be yours.
I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. My
heart's desire and prayer to God for you all is, that you may
be saved. God give you grace to turn wilh loathing from
the abominations of Antichri.st, and to embrace the glorious
gospel of Jesus.
My Protestant Brethren, let me say lo you in conclusion.

29g CONCLUDING REMARKS.
in the langfiage ofthe Book we love, "Stand fast, therefore,
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be
not AGAIN entangled with the yoke of bondage.* Flee from
IDOLATRY. f Let the WORD OF CiiRisT (uot humuu tradi
tions) dwell in yoii richly in all wisdora ;f for other founda
tion can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ,
(not Peter.)^ We have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word
of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, cora
mending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of
God. II If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and to the doctrine, which is according to godliness, from
such withdraw thyself.IT Wherefore, corae out frora
araong thera, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch
NOT the unclean THING.**
Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be vvith your
spirit. Araen.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.
It raust be apparent to every intelligent and honest raind,
that has investigated the subject, that the tenets of Roraanisra
cannot be sustained by a direct appeal lo the letter and spi
rit ofthe Scriptures. Protestants have hitherto, in too raany
instances, been actuated by a spirit of false liberality, which
has led them to speak and to act as though the Romish
church were a part ofthe church of Christ. I verily believe
that the papal schism is as distinct from the true and holy
Catholic church, as Christ is from Belial. What fellowship
* Gal. V. 1. II 2 Cor. iv. 2.
t 1 Cor. X. 14. 1 1 Tim. vi. 3—5.
+ Col. iii. 16. ** 2 Cor. vi. 17.
§ 1 Cor. iii. 11.

CONCLUDING REIVIARKS. 297
have Christ and Antichrist? And who that has ever exam
ined the prophecies relative to the Anlichristian power, that
is to afflict the church in the latter days, can rise up from
their study, and refuse lo acknowledge that the papal sys
tem is a part of that Antichristian power? Every predic
tion relative to the Man of Sin finds a full and literal ac
complishment in the Romish apostacy.
Is it said that the Man of Sin shall exalt hiraself above
all that is called God ? Does not the Romish church an
nul the commandments of Almighty God, and teach that it
is lawful lo bow down to graven iraages? And that these
likenesses ofthe Deity, " may be had and retained," though
the Lord God solemnly forbids them to be used as appen
dages to his worship ?
And does not the Council of Trent, whose decisions are
regarded as the standard of Popish orthodoxy, formally de
cree,* " 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, that
Christ oub lobd gave it to be e.4.ten?"
Is it said that the Man of Sin shall " sit in the teraple of
God, showing himself that he is God 1" Is not the Pope con
stantly addressed as " Dominus Deus noster Papa ;" " Our
Lord God* the Pope?" Thus far has Antichrist proceeded
in impudent blasphemy, and thus literally is the prophecy
fulfilled !
Is it foretold that in the latter times sorae shall give heed
to doctrines of devils, or " daeraon-gods ;" the spirits of de
parted saints ? Witness the honours which Rome comraands
the faithful to pay to her saints, of whom many never ex
isted at all, whilst others were notorious for cruelty and all
manner of wickedness.
Is it said that they shall " speak lies in hypocrisy ?" Wit-
• Sess. 13, c. 5.

298 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
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
hohness canonized, A. D. 1816. "A confessor may affirm,
even with an oath, he knows nothing about a sin which he
has heard in confession, meaning thereby that he does not
know it as a raan, but not that he does not know it as the
minister of Christ." " A culprit, or a witness, who is inter
rogated by a judge unlawfully, can swear that he is igno
rant of a crime, which, in truth, he knows. "f
Must not they who are trained in such a school of mo
rality, " have their conscience seared with a hot iron ?"
Is it said that in the great apostacy of the latter times,
there shall be some " forbidding to 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.:):
Does the sure word of prophecy reveal that men shall be
" comraanded to abstain frora meats?" Is not this one of
the peculiarities of the Romish church? What consistent
Roraanist would dare to eat raeat on Friday, or during Lent?
Is it said that " his coraing is after the working of Satan,
with all power and signs, and lying wonders?" Do not the
legends of the Roraish church swarra with lying wonders?
Her books of devotion are full of thera. Here is a specimen,
which is only one of a thousand that raight be taken from the
sarae source. I quote frora an old Breviary which is before
me. It tells that " Mary Magdalen, for thirty years after the
* See Secreta Monita Societatis Jesu. Secret Instructions of
the Jesuits, printed verbatim from the London copy of 1725.
Princeton, 1831.
t Ligori's Moral Theology, p. 160. New York, 1836.
i The reader who wishes a detailed account ofthe various orders
of monks and nuns, may consult Biedenfeld's Moenchs undKlos-
terfi-auen Orden im Orient und Occident, 2 vols. Weimar, 1837.

CONCLUDING REMARKS. ggg
death ofthe Saviour, dwelt in a cavern of a high raountain,
secluded from all intercourse wilh the world, and that every
day she was carried up by angels to heaven, that she might
listen to the anthems ofthe redeemed !"*
Take up the prophecies, referring to the Man of Sin, as
you find them in the word of God, and who that compares
them wilh the papal system, can doubt that they point to
the Romish church, and to no other? This alone should be
enough to deter any friend of Jesus from being found in the
fellowship or communion ofthe Romish church. I will not
say that all who are in connexion wilh her must perish, but
this I do believe, that few, comparatively very few of her
communion inherit the kingdom of God. How can it be
otherwise? She puts her ban upon the Bible; she inserts
the Holy Scriptures upon her list of forbidden books ; and
thus wilh one fell stroke she cuts off God's choicest means
of sanctifying the soul and preparing it for glory. The
Saviour prayed for his disciples to the end of tirae, " sanc
tify them through thy truth, thy word is truth." God never
sanctifies a conscious soul without the agency of truth.
Oh! what wickedness to seal up this sweet fountain, and
forbid the perishing to corae and take freely of the living
waters; when the Spirit and the Bride, and every voice in
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
of iniquity," we should abhor it because popery is the sworn
foe of the Bible. I do not say that we ought to hate papists,
God forbid ! We raust do thera all the good we can, whilst
we detest the aborainations of their false religion.
Rorae is the Araalek with whora God will never raake
peace. The popish apostacy is not to be reforraed ; for the
Lord has said it shall be destroyed by the breath of his
* Breviarium Monasticum PauliS, Pont. Max. auctor. recognit.
Farisiis, 1671.

300 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
mouth, and by the brightness of his coming. Just in pro
portion as the light of the gospel is diffused, the strong holds
of popery are underrained. It cannot endure the light ; it
will not come lo the light lest its deeds of darkness be re
proved ; but the Lord is pouring light upon this guilty world
from all the windows of heaven, and the days of Antichrist
are numbered ! No longer shall he deceive the nations, for
the gospel witnesses are in every land, and the angel is even
now flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlast
ing gospel to preach to thera that dwell on the earth ; the
Gentiles are pressing into the kingdora of God, and the pro
phetic vision declares that soon the second angel will follow,
saying, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because
she made all nations drink ofthe wine of the wrath of her
fornication !" As sure as Christ sits at the right hand of
the Father, popery shall be destroyed. It is the abominable
thing which he hates. It is a false, a bloody, and a
BLASPHEMOUS RELIGION !
The woman clothed in scarlet is " full of the names of
blasphemy." Popery is a mere rhapsody of blasphemies.
Its head is a head of blasphemy, " Our Lord God the
Pope !"
Who is there that loves the Saviour, and knows the true
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
of God's children ! Let us pray that the Lord would come
to redeem his people, and that the sighing of the prisoners
may be heard by their Saviour. Let us pray that the cap
tives raay hear the sound of salvation, and that all God's
people in Babylon raay "come out of her that they be not ¦
partakers of her sins, and that they receive not of hor
plagues." Amen. FINIS.

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